The Gospel According to Mike

Oscar Preview.

2009-11-28T23:35:00.000-08:00

The weather is getting colder. This means one thing, Oscar Season has arrived. Much has been made about two big changes to the 2010 Academy Awards. The first change is that it has moved back in the calendar, to March 7th, 2010. The second (and more peculiar) change is that there will be 10 nominees for Best Picture, rather than the usual 5. Several already released films have gotten plenty of buzz, as have several films that haven't been released yet. For your convenience I have broken down my predictions into 3 groups, Locks, Probables, and Dark Horse Candidates. Obviously, these are just guesses and I would not be surprised if I am way off. As William Goldman once said of Hollywood, "Nobody Knows Anything." So, with that in mind, lets do this. First, the locks:

Locks
- Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
- Up
-Avatar

These three very different films are my three locks for nomination for very different reasons. There are some experts who are saying Precious is the best acted film of the year. Oscar worthy performances are turned in by Mo'Nique (not kidding), Mariah Carey (still not kidding), and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe. The movie did surprisingly well at the box office and was pushed (no pun intended) by both Oprah and Tyler Perry (those two together are the equivalent of eleventeen Barack Obamas).

Up is an interesting case. If it is in the category for Best Picture, does that mean it automatically wins Best Animated? That point aside, Up is most definitely going to be nominated but will have a tough time winning. No animated feature has ever won, and only one other, Beauty and the Beast in 1991, has ever been nominated for best picture. One could definitely argue that animated films will benefit the most from the expansion of the number of nominated films.

Avatar, James Cameron's $300 million dollar movie, is the third and final film that I consider to be a lock for Best Picture. Since it has not been released yet, and the previews are not revealing much it is leaving the general public in a state of confusion. However, it did cost $300 million dollars to make and it is James Cameron, that is enough for me to believe it will be there.

Probables

-Up In The Air
-A Serious Man
-The Lovely Bones
-Invictus
-Inglorious Basterds
-An Education
-The Hurt Locker

This category has a ton of big names, which could lead to big buzz.
Up In The Air has George Clooney and everyone's new favorite director Jason Reitman.
A Serious Man has the Coen Brothers.
The Lovely Bones is a Peter Jackson film.
Invictus is Eastwood+Damon+Freeman.
And of course Inglorious Basterds has Tarantino and Pitt (although Christoph Waltz is the best part of the movie).
The more intriguing films are the two that lack star power. First we will look at An Education.
An Education is a movie that nobody will talk about much in the mainstream media, but will certainly garner a lot of attention when it comes time for the Oscars. The movie left people amazed at both The Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals.
The Hurt Locker is the movie that should have had the most impact of any release this summer due to the fact that it is a movie about a few soldiers in Iraq. However, the best part of the movie is that it did not inspire any political rhetoric what so ever. Director Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break) did not make the movie about the war, no she made the movie about war and about the people in war. The movie was nearly perfect, save for one random, gratuitous scene.

Dark Horse Candidates
-500 Days of Summer
-The Road
-Public Enemies
-Nine

I picked these four movies either because I really liked them or because I have not heard much about them other than that they are supposed to be very well made, well acted films. In the case of both Public Enemies and 500 Days of Summer, I picked them because these are two of the better movies I saw thus far this year. 500 Days was a breath of fresh air for Romantic Comedy fans. Public Enemies was just a well made movies. It captured the feeling of the time, and made you fall in love with a murderous villain. The Road and Nine, on the other hand are supposed to be very, very good movies. Much is being made about Viggo Mortensen's performance in The Road. It is another Cormac McCarthy novel being adapted, as was No Country for Old Men, the winner in 2007. Nine is a Rob Marshall film. Why is that important? It isn't really except for the fact that he is rumored to be directing the fourth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean. Also, Daniel Day-Lewis stars in Nine. Which means that no matter what, it will get a lot of buzz.

NOTE- This post, along with some other great stuff can be also be found at my other blog, The Common Room. You can access it on my links page or go to alwayschilling.blogspot.com. Thanks.

The Day Is Upon Us.

2009-11-23T00:18:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

This is a great day. For it is the day that I am announcing the Grand Opening of the Common Room - a new blog. Like I said, this blog will still be updated, but I urge you to come check out the common room. There are some incredible writers taking part in the act and they are very good at what they do.

Here is the link:

www.alwayschilling.blogspot.com

Thanks.

Live Blog. Feat. Em Woodz

2009-11-20T15:50:00.000-08:00

Emily here speaking for Mike Leboff. The silly suite is throwing a Friday night evening party (supposed to be a day party, but we ran a lil late). I love these boys. I would consider them my best friends and I've known them for about a month not even. I wanna write about each person separately, but only in this room because there are so many of them. They are awesome. First Kassy is here and I consider her to be one of my best friends in the entire world. She does not say one bad thing about a single person and she is constantly happy. We are so much alike it's fucking ridiculous. When kass is drunk she has this one face that she makes when she's drunk that she sort of scrunches and rolls her eyes at whoever's talking, no matter what they have said. It's the funniest thing in the world (I guess you have to see it). Second- Emmett Manning. This kid is classic. His fucking brother in law plays on the Rangers. We constantly steal this plastic cup he is secretly obsessed with. It's not even an important cup, it's from some stupid golf course. A couple weeks ago we stole his Vineyard Vines shirt and pretended kassy had the same one, well it was the same one... it was his. FUNNY! He's such a dad. (I'm wasted, so if this isn't funny it's only funny because I think it's funny). Tommy O'hanlon. I LOVE HIM. I love red heads, the end. (Probably why I love him so much) But he has blonde eyelashes and eyebrows and it's the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life. Me and him both get red faces when we drink, no matter what. No matter what I drink, my face gets red, so does Tommy's. He's from new york, but doesn't look like it. He's not an asshole, like most new yorkers. I think I may marry Tommy.. or Mike. And that brings me to MIKE LEBOFF- kid's fuckin hilarious. we played video games the other night for about 2 hours and I laughed the whole time. We both love our dogs, our grandma's and PBR. (chemistry) we have chemistry. I love everyone here, as you can see. SOLTISH- he sings with emotion and hand movements, he has the messiest room in the world, and chode feet. He's staring at me right now with his "cape codder". You can catch him farming. YES farming- farmville. and finally- ROB he has 5354736843 millions on his itunes, he sponsors everyones itunes with his mojo and he is proud of it. He is transferring which is unfortunate because I love his impressions of everything. He has sucha dad voice. His dad is a smokeshow. I commented on one of his pictures with his dad and his dad replied- "I LOVE college girls!" Well I can't write about everyone and Kassy's beer smell is making me sick. But I love every one of these kids and yeah, thank god for the silly suite. <3

Keep Your Ear to the Grindstone.

2009-11-05T12:08:00.000-08:00

It is with great pleasure that I announce that the Gospel According to Mike has a new side project coming out in Mid-November. Don't fret, the Gospel will still be updated but please be ready for a new project. It will feature everything. Satire, Reviews, Odd News, and Much More. The project is still untitled but will be posted in less than a week.

Check back for updates. But for now there's this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6A2-AuhiwI

Live Blogging Chemistry - A God vs. Science Class!

2009-10-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

10:51 AM- I arrive into class. I sit down in the back row, then get up and pick another seat because the back of my former seat was broken. I will let you know what sucker picks my old, broken seat.

10:54 AM- I am sitting to the right of a middle aged asian woman. She is playing an online game to prepare herself for class. Nice technique.

10:56 AM- Some kid on the other side of the room is blasting some thrash metal on his iPod. We can all hear it. I feel bad for the kid because now we all know he has horrible taste in music.

10:58 AM- The busted chair was taken by a girl. When she sat down she said, "F**k, my chair is broken."

11:00 AM- Giddy Up.

11:02 AM- The professor for this class is a good man, however he has a thick Middle Eastern accent and it is tough to understand everything he says.

11:07 AM- Today we are going to discuss uncertainty. Although, I guess I can't be sure.

11:10 AM- I have no idea what this guy is saying.

11:12 AM- "God does not play dice" - Albert Einstein

"Who is Einstein to tell the Lord what not to do?" - Niels Bohr

Niels Bohr, them be fighting words.

11:14 AM- Were now watching a video from the website, www.freesciencelectures.com, I don't feel comfortable with this.

11:17 AM- There are three middle aged women in this class. Two of them sit in front of me, the other one is the aforementioned Asian lady. Anyways, the point is the two in front of me are gossiping right now.

11:20 AM- There are some characters in this class, but none quite like Blonde Protestant Kid in the Front Row. His voice sounds like what would happen if you mixed Ellen Degeneres' voice with a gerbil. Needless to say, I love when he talks.

11:26 AM- Still, I have no idea what this guy is saying.

11:29 AM- The professor must have just made a science joke, three people laughed, including Blonde Protestant Kid.

11:31 AM- Here are my favorite animals, in no particular order:

Wolf, Tiger, Otter, Koala, Raccoon.

11:33 AM- Pretty sure the Asian lady just farted.

11:36 AM- Some girl just left. She brought her sunglasses with her. One can only assume she is done for the day.

11:38 AM- Nice pun from the professor, "Does anyone find Neil Bohr, boring?" Keep 'em coming.

11:40 AM- In what was easily the most random part of class, we went from looking at a picture of the greatest scientists in the world sitting down, to a picture of Sean Penn, to a picture of Kate Winslet, to a picture of Humphrey Bogart, to a picture of Keanu Reeves. I have no idea what just happened.

11:42 AM- The class is still reeling from the actor slideshow. People are making fun of Keanu Reeves, all I know is they best stop before I go all Shane Falco on they ass.

11:43 AM- Out comes a black light.

11:45 AM- Morgan Freeman is playing Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwood's newest movie Invictus coming out in December. Matt Damon is playing the other lead role. I am so pumped. Down with Apartheid!

The movie is about the 1995 Rugby World Cup and Nelson Mandela being a stud. There is a good book out there about Mandela and the 1995 Cup that I've read. Buy it here! http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Playing-the-Enemy/John-Carlin/e/9781594201745

11:48 AM- Still trying to figure out the actor collage from before.

11:50 AM- The professor is looking for his laser. Blonde Protestant Kid had this advice for him, "Check your pocket, I always forget when I put things in my pocket. It is so frustrating!"

11:52 AM- We just started to talk about Kate Winslet and her acting expertise.

11:55 AM- Now onto President Truman.

11:56 AM- Just asked the class whether we want to get out early or talk about something else.

11:57 AM- Now he is talking about class participation and how this class is not doing well in that department.

11:59 AM- Peace.

Ridiculous Age Restrictions.

2009-09-27T02:29:00.001-07:00

One thing that perturbs me to no end are stupid age restrictions. The reason I am blogging about this now is that the other day, we stopped at a McDonald's in Fairfield. It was a well-kept McDonald's and seemed pretty welcoming. However, there were two things that got me pretty upset. The first was that their PlayPen was off limits to anyone over the age of 12. I am 19, meaning that I was prohibited from entering said Playpen. This was disheartening, but the next issue at hand really got me upset. Since I was not ordering any food, I was just checking out the menu and my eyes came to a screeching halt on a frightening sight. In fine print under the Happy Meal menu read this blasphemy, "Toys Only Included for Children 10 & Under." Thats some bull right there. I don't know what 11 year olds did to piss off McDonald's so much to not make the cut, but I imagine it to be something nasty. It just doesn't make sense to me. What difference does it make if I am an 8 year old with a free Rugrats toy or a 36 year old with a free Rugrats toy? The answer is zero. So this got me thinking about other stupid age limits in life. Here's a doozie. You are trying out a new restaurant, you look at the menu, you don't see anything that is really in your price range until you reach the very bottom of the back page. There you see something that sounds delicious and recession friendly. One problem, under said section reads this, "For Children 12 & Under Only." Fuck that. If I want Dino-Shaped-Chicken-Nuggets (try and pretend you don't love the gratuitous and grammatically incorrect hyphens) I should get them. No matter if I am 3 years old or 57 years old. Maybe I am a paleontologist who happens to love chicken nuggets? What better food could there be in that situation than Dino-Nuggets? There are some stupid things that have gone on in the world since its inception in 1312 A.D. From religious intolerance, to racial discrimination, to the fact that Keanu Reeves still can land lead roles in films, we need to get rid of dumb things. Stupid age restrictions should be the first to go. Followed by Keanu, we've waited this long for prejudice to subside, a few more years can't hurt. Plus, The Lake House REALLY, REALLY SUCKED.

Funny The Way It Is.

2009-09-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

Last night, a few of my suite mates and myself took part in a social drinking game. It took an hour to complete the game so we were talking throughout. The talk got political but remained calm. Everyone talked about who they supported in the past few elections. An argument or two surfaced but, nobody really raised their voice. Until the conversation switched topics. At dinner the same night, four of us were discussing what foods were "party foods." I mentioned lasagna, while another mentioned baked ziti. The line was drawn. When the conversation switched from politics to party foods, things got heated. People were screaming at each other, calling the other's family parties fake and boring. We were calling friends from home, other kids at school, and even pizzerias. The argument was not really going anywhere but everyone dug themselves in and would not waver on their views. Finally when everyone went to bed things began to calm down and nobody got hurt.

The point is, we talked about politics for approximately 10 minutes, while we talked about what food we see at family parties more often for about 50 minutes. We also backed up the latter argument with facts and surveyed other people. While the political conversation barely could be called a conversation at all. We just talked about how cool it would be to hang out with George W. Bush.

Typical Katie.

2009-09-14T00:08:00.000-07:00

"Typical Katie" is a metaphor for that one girl who goes out to a party or a bar and doesn't fare too well in a battle with alcohol. She is the one who by the end of the night is either sleeping with the porcelain princess, still drinking, face down on a fairway, or getting her stomach pumped. Every time a group of girls go out to a party, it seems like Typical Katie is just waiting to come out.

You can easily point Typical Katie out. During a pre-game session, Ty-Kat (an acronym for Typical Katie) is the one pounding shots at a feverish pace. At this point it would be wise to slow Typical Katie down a little bit. Typical Katie, already drunk, refuses to slow down and you know this is going to be a long night. When the group finally makes it out, lets say this time its the bar, Ty-Kat stumbles into the bar, emphatically greets everyone she knows at the bar and then orders a Cranberry & Vodka. This is when her girlfriends try to slow her down as much as they can. They try to keep her away from the bar but, Typical Katie is usually a pretty elusive person and winds up with a fresh drink pretty regularly. As the night drags on, Ty-Kat seems to be having an exceptionally good time, she is dancing, singing, yelling, getting into pictures, the whole nine. But then it happens. Typical Katie orders that last drink of her night. You see her fun night turn into a nightmare in an instant. As you watch her head bob up and down at the bar with a miserable look on her face, you know its only a matter of seconds before T.K. (yet another acronym) is down for the count. You swoop in and tell Typical Katie it is time to go, and she is belligerent. She fights you off and tells you she is fine and just needs some air. You retort, "No Typical Katie, you need to go to bed." So you get your friends and tell them its time to go. They reluctantly comply and the fun part of the night is now over. Back at Ty-Kat's place, she is belligerent still. She may swing at you, yell at you, curse at you, or even throw up on you. But you weather the storm and wrestle Typical Katie to bed. You breathe a sigh of relief and call it a night.

Just a typical night, for Typical Katie.

You're So College.

2009-06-28T00:03:00.001-07:00

Going away to college has taken on a certain mystique in the past few years. The reason it is so attractive is because of the independence, free time, new people, and it is a new start. All of these are good things, but the whole "being college" epidemic that has grasped most of kids my age is awful. Is college a lot of fun? Yes. Is it utter crazy-debauchery 24/7? Not if you want to last more than one semester. There is plenty of fun to be had at college without being the next Van Wilder. To those who go to school now, you can point out the kids who think they are living the dream. To those who haven't gone away to school yet, here is how to pick out the typical college tool.

Step 1: Look for a "rare and vintage" fitted cap- Over the past two years you have seen these hats pop up more and more at your local mall and bars. For example, if you are a Long Islander like me and see a Minnesota Timberwolves fitted, you are probably staring at one of these species of kids.
Step 1B: If they are wearing a fitted, look down. You will see the matching Nike Air Maxes.

Step 2: Look for a polo shirt or a button down that is tucked in at one random part of the belt line and then not again. Hot spots for tucking in the shirt would be the front or adjacent to the front.

Step 3: Are they wearing semi-high socks?? Of course they are! Nothing screams I am a huge tool more than socks that go right up to the shin.

Step 4: Peep the hairstyle. Do they have really long, unkempt hair? Is the hair in the back, long with some nice "flow" to blow out from under their lacrosse helmet? If their hairstyle matches these descriptions, then by golly we have found one!

Step 5: If you are in an outdoor drinking atmosphere: Are they wearing a throwback NBA jersey? Are they wearing a lacrosse pinny? Yes they are. Because they are too cool to wear sleeves!

Step 6: Check their iTunes. I bet they will have an incomplete, maybe even scant collection of songs from "cool bands and musicians to listen to when your a college kid" like: Wyclef, Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def, State Radio, Asher Roth, MGMT, Bon Iver, Dr. Dre, Kid Cudi, Immortal Technique, Dialated Peoples, Bob Marley, Dave Matthews Band, John Legend, Jay-Z, or any self-aware-Obama-loving hip-hop artist?

Step 7: Do they claim that college is the best thing ever and they don't ever wanna graduate? While college is tons of fun, it is not the best thing ever. It doesn't come close to dogs, hockey, grilled cheeses, or the theme song for "Cheers". These kids will keep you up late telling stories of their conquests, their beer pong expertise, all the girls, all the beer, all the blacking out, and of course all the never going to class. Also, when these kids come home from breaks, all they do is talk about how much they want to go back to school.

Step 8: Look at their Facebook profile picture. If it is of them during one of their great college moments, then they are infected.

Step 9: Do they have a sudden interest in soccer? The key to being "college" is being a little different from your eerily similar friends at home. For instance: they all dress the same, but they go above and beyond to have the nicest aforementioned fitted hat. Soccer is like a metaphor for the hat. These kids think that if they claim to like soccer then, they are worldly and different from the rest of their friends.

If you or anyone you know suffer from this disease, please hand them their life back. They can never be as lame as they are when they are suffering from this disease. It is taking Long Island faster than the Guido infestation of 2006.

Bonnadrew.

2009-06-21T21:15:00.001-07:00

About a week ago the annual music festival, Bonnaroo, was held in Manchester, Tennessee. It is considered by some to be the Mecca for the modern hippie and indie music lover. It is a huge gathering of musicians, other artists, and their fans over 4 days. People flock from all over the world and converge on this huge field and camp out for the duration of the festival. It has grown and grown over the past years into one of the biggest musical festivals in the world. It even caught the eye of Ms. Drew Barrymore and her current beau Justin Long. My issue is not that they went to the festival, but I do question their intentions, especially Ms. Barrymore. The picture to the left was taken of the couple listening to indie band Bon Iver. While Bon Iver were not the headliners (Bruce Springsteen & Phish were), they are a very popular band within Indie ciricles. I would love to dissect this picture with you guys. We will start with Mr. Long. Notice the simple attire. A plaid button down shirt with a white v-neck t-shirt. It is a pretty basic, simple outfit. He would fit in well with the hippies who attended Bonnaroo with those clothes. He does however show that he is a tool with his double-dosage of sunglasses. First the pair that he is not wearing. They look like Ray-Ban Wayfarer's to me. A lot of people who go to something like Bonnaroo would have a pair of Wayfarer's. But they would be on their face. The other pair of sunglasses, look like aviators, I can only assume they also cost a pretty penny. This is a place where materialism and status don't mean anything and Mr. Long's sunglasses have more status than 80% of the people who went to the festival. I do think Justin Long is a little more sincere than Drew Barrymore in his attendance. Simply because he did not try as hard to be "indie" as Drew did. So now let us move on to Ms. Barrymore. What a train wreck this is. We'll start with the cliche peace sign she is throwing up. Bonnaroo is a peaceful place. People are supposed to put everything aside and just enjoy the wealth of great music and fine art that has converged on this field. I am pretty sure Ms. Barrymore tossed up the peace sign just to show, I am here at Bonnaroo because I want it to be known I believe peace is good, as you can tell by this peace sign I am throwing up for this "random" photo op. Lets move on. The feather. Oh my. Are you kidding me Drew? You were in Charlie's Angels. You are not a fucking hippie. You are not "indie". You are a celebrity with more money than I could ever imagine. You wouldn't be caught dead dressed like that in LA. Yet, when you are at Bonnaroo, the real Drew comes out. The face paint is the kicker. Just incase you couldn't tell how "indie" Drew Barrymore is, she painted her face to really show how "out there" she is. Right now the cool thing for celebrities to be is self-aware. You can see by all the celebrities showing they care for the environment, adopting kids, or campaigning for politicians. Now, I am not a hippie, I am not "indie", I am me. Which is why I have an issue with this picture. I don't need to go to Bonnaroo to show how cool I am. I have never been there. I listen to 90s boy bands. I have never read a David Eggers novel. It is not that I am upset that Drew Barrymore was at Bonnaroo and I wasn't. No, its that Drew Barrymore didn't go. This pseudo-Drew Barrymore went. Would I have liked to have gone? Yes. It had some brilliant music and is supposed to be quite the experience. Would I have bought new clothes to fit in there? No. I would have gone as me, along with the thousands of other people who went as themselves. Drew Barrymore put on her best Joan Baez impression to show people that she is a scenester at heart. Miss Barrymore, Bonnaroo is a simple concept. You go to Tennessee as yourself to leave the real world for 4 days, listen to music, have a good time, and experience something like nothing else. And somehow Drew, you managed to miss the point of the festival.

Guest Blogger: Cody Alt

2009-06-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

Cody Alt is a friend of mine whom I met freshman year in high school. He and I share eerily similar interests. From movies to soccer we like it all. He has lent this blog his pen to write a review on the movie "The Hangover."

The movie entitled “The Hangover” was pitched to moviegoers as a comedy. The movie was funny up until our four main characters take that first shot of Jagermeister spiked with Rohypnol which served as a proverbial slingshot into one of the most infamous blackouts in movie history. This is when the movie, in my eyes, turned into a Tragedy/Horror/Suspense/Docu-Drama. Yes, sure, all these fourty-somethings and fifty-somethings thought it was hysterical of this idea of blacking out so bad that you make possibly life running mistakes. The reason they thought it was funny because this idea is so far-fetched to them. Just as I thought Forgetting Sarah Marshall was funny, it would never happen to me. I inherently do not trust women and would not be surprised if some whore I was going out with started fucking another dude, which is why I usually beat them to the punch. However, The Hangover just hit too close to home as an all-to-possible future.

Furthermore, if I were to be one of those fifty-somethings I would have this problem with the movie. This was an ensemble comedy, except the only funny person was Zach Galifianakis. He carried this ensemble by himself. And the problem was the director, writer and producer knew it, and focused the movie on one of the side characters. Yeah, Bradley Cooper had his moments, like the casino scene flipping off the cameras, and the. But Ed Helms from The Office was a no-show, and was just an annoying character. The cast was the minor league to Judd Apatow’s cast of major leagues. Maybe Gilifianakis gets the call, he deserves it.

Old People and Unemployment

2009-06-07T20:20:00.001-07:00

First, as I've said before, I love old people. I think they are portals to the past. Each person who has been around this world for 60 plus years has stories and then some to add to one's everyday life. That is why I wonder why more old people don't get kidnapped. I would love to chase down some old lady in a motorized scooter and take her home to tell me stories. One thing that always gets me about the elderly though is when they talk amongst themselves. I was exposed to the elderly a few weeks ago after my great aunt passed away. At the table with the elderly I kept hearing one question that got me every time, "Oh! I haven't seen him/her in so long, is he/she still around?" Getting old is tough, and I think that question epitomizes why it is so tough. It isn't 'How is Hank Clark doing?' Instead it is, 'Has Hank kicked the bucket yet?'

I have been recessioned. I am still unemployed despite applying at over fifty businesses. The thing is I love being unemployed just as much as I hate not having any money. I love sleeping in and knowing that I have absolutely nothing to do with my day. It means there is a lot of time to pal around with my dog, watch the food network, and have play dates. It is tough to be motivated to get a job when I haven't had to do any real work since august. But, I can't live like this forever. Or can I? This is where I ask you to participate. I am currently accepting donations of any amount to the Help Michael Not Have to Work this Summer Yet, Still Have Enough Money TO Thoroughly Enjoy His Sophomore Year of College And Maybe Even Have Some Money Left Over to Put Towards His Dream of Going to World Cup 2010 In South Africa Fund. If you are interested in donating e-mail me at leboffm@sacredheart.edu

thanks.

Guest Blogger: Zach Biondi

2009-05-26T22:59:00.000-07:00

Zach Biondi is my roommate at school. We became roommates through an interesting turn of events. We have grown to become the best of friends. He has come to me asking to guest blog about our intramural floor hockey team the Synnabunz. It was a team built with the right amount of talent, hard work, and chemistry. So without further ado here is Zach.

First of all, I would like to thank Mike for letting my blog here. He is a great roommate and I love him. Sacred Heart has many intramurals to offer throughout the year. My friends and I took part in football, volleyball, and floor hockey. Nothing compared to the floor hockey season. We had high expectations entering the season. We put in a lot of hard work and late night practices on the basketball court. Our season started with a win via forfeit. They must have watched our practices; they were intimidated. We finished the regular season 4-1, with stellar play from all around. Entering the playoffs, we had high expectations. In our first game, we found ourselves down 4-0 late in the third. We made it 4-3, but couldn’t manage to complete the comeback. We gave it our best shot. We will be back next year. I’d like to give a special thanks to Mike Leboff, Tommy O Hanlon, Emmett, Fritz, Cee, Julia, Mama, Brian, and Solty for a great season.

Go Synabunnz!

State of the Blog Address

2009-05-21T22:21:00.000-07:00

Every year in January the president makes a State of the Union address. He usually says the nation is doing well, then rifles off 30-40 areas that need fixing. I just like to watch the State of the Union because it is immature, and I like immature. When the president says something about killing Native Americans (always a good strategy) the GOP members stand up. When he says something about killing babies and helping the environment the democrats stand up and clap. And of course when he says something about soft hands and the triple deek, Coach Gordon Bombay stands up and claps. I figured since I am the president of this blog, I will do the same tonight.

The state of the Gospel According to Mike is strong. Originally a tool to help keep in touch with those at home, it has blossomed into a lot more. In a brief moment of narcissism, I added a hit counter for a day to see how many hits the blog would receive on an average day. The answer was very encouraging, I put up the hit counter at 3 AM and took it down at 4 PM. The blog had a whopping 256 hits in that span. The Gospel has found its way into a local newspaper, a comedy club owners hands, and of course on the official Rob & Spyder Show website. The blog is not even a year old and it has surpassed my expectations. I would to thank all of you for that.

There is one thing I would like to ask. I would like to enlist more guest bloggers. In the past Chris Mango, Dylan Prior, Rob Coloney, and Killian my dog have guest blogged. I need more people to guest blog. The Gospel is working on having a round table blogging session with 4 huge names in history. Jesus of Nazareth, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, and Will Smith. That should happen within the month. However, I need you guys to guest blog please.

Thank you to all of you for reading.

All-Boys High School.

2009-05-09T23:57:00.000-07:00

The tone has shifted a little bit on this blog. It went from sentimental, everyday humor to a promotional tool (sorry) to the work of someone in the midst of an existential crisis. This post will consist of the sentimental, everyday humor.

I went to an All-Boys High School. Oh yeah, it was Catholic too. When one attends a school like mine, there are several possibilities. Some people come in a boy and leave a young man. Others find out what they want to do in life. Some become priests. Me? I walked in a boy, and left with the maturity level of a 5 year old. I also learned I do not, do not care what people think about me. Aside from that there are some other startling facts one learns at an all-boys school. The things that cross a student's mind at that school would disgust any normal person. For instance, there were less than 10 female teachers at Chaminade High School (my school). They were all less than 5's on the scale. There was one who was clearly the best looking though. She was about 55 years old. Any outsider would think "she is not ugly, but she is also not good looking." But she drove the 1600 boys in the school nuts. Absolutely bonkers. She did smell really good, which is weird. If a student was walking down the hallway, he would most likely hear this, 'Mrs. Kump called on me today. She wants me. Bad.' No she didn't. The thing was we all knew she wasn't that good looking. Yet, from September to June she had us all under her thumb. Everyone would sign up for her clubs, stay after and talk to her, and make excuses to hang out with her.

peace ya'll.

Winding Down.

2009-05-05T00:54:00.000-07:00

College. I like to think of college as an oasis. While the rest of the world is going about its business, us college students are in our own little world. It is a place where one experiences new things, meets new kinds of people, and grows up. When I first got here, I was very skeptical. I didn't know how I could last without the comforts of home. I thought I was gonna be here for a little while and come home. It didn't happen like that (sorry mom). The thing is, college has made me appreciate these comforts of home so much more. Now that I am leaving here in less than a week, I have to reflect on my experiences. Some things college has done for me since September:

Sleep Cycle: My sleep cycle is about as normal as I am at this point. Early to bed for me is before 3 AM. When I say morning here, I mean sometime between noon and 2 PM. I have gone to bed when the sun is up a handful of times. Once in the winter, I slept from 3 AM til 4:45 PM and didn't see light.
Culture: I have been introduced to some new things, and have become aware of some things I didn't know I had in me. Country music was never something I really enjoyed. That all changed with coming to school. I started to get into country pretty hardcore. I have also started to like Bruce Springsteen a lot.
Independence: Although everyone who goes away to college says they look forward to "the independence" that college brings with it, I was not that ecstatic for it. I still think it is way overhyped. I mean its nice having a different structure in one's life, but I am not in any way independent. I probably spend less than an hour here alone when I am not doing work or am in class. One of my favorite things about being here is the fact that at any moment I could hang out with people I love.
People: Easily my favorite thing about college is the exposure to new people. I lived in a bubble town, and went to a catholic school. My horizons were expanded within the first week here. I met a new cast of characters that were so diverse. I am now friends with kids from Maine to Rochester to Boston to Virginia. I am friends with someone who works at Fenway Park and friends with someone whose father patented the portable first-aid kit. I have become best friends with some incredible people. I sleep 5 feet away from my best friend on campus every night. I became closer to one of my best friends from home. My first new friend on campus was a guy who had the same interests as I did. We are so incredibly compatible it scares me. Now we are friends for life, as well as co-hosts. I spent countless hours talking to a girl from Maine whose self-deprecating humor made me laugh as hard as I ever had. I met two girls who became best friends here at school and are just incredible friends. No other way to put it but that they are stand out friends. I met four guys from Beacon, NY who are all polar opposites, yet the same person. I met the nicest person on the face of the earth, hands down. I became close friends with a kid who forgets everything, for one reason or another.

Everyone is connected. People are beautiful. Whether it be saying hello to a stranger, holding the door for someone, or striking up a conversation on a line, connect with people. I love meeting new people and at school I haven't only met new people, I have met incredible people. I thank all of them for shaping me into the person I am today.

College has kept the kid inside of me going strong. Too often, we lose that kid in us, and once that kid is lost, it is so hard to get back. Everyone of us is guilty of getting caught up. Life is meant to be enjoyed. Now go out and have some fun.

live.

Poetry.

2009-05-04T00:44:00.000-07:00

Just a few poems I wrote to change the tune:

Window.

I was a king once,

I looked out the window and saw the horizon,

I owned all that lay before me,

I told the waves when to crest,

I told the sun when to set,

I owned spoils known to no other man,

I was a king once,

and I still wanted more.

I was a peasant once,

I looked out the window and saw the horizon,

I owned nothing that lay before me,

I was tossed by the waves,

I was burnt by the sun,

I owned nothing,

I was a peasant once,

and there was still hope for more.

Safari.

People hop into the bus,

The lion awakes,

they wonder what lies ahead.

he knows what lies ahead.

An hour unlike any other awaits them,

An hour just like any other awaits him,

they gawk at the king of the jungle in all of his glamour.

he sleeps.

Upcoming Shows

2009-04-26T19:41:00.001-07:00

Here is the current list of my upcoming shows:

Date: May 13th

Time: 8 PM

Place: Stand Up Ny

Address: 236 West 78th St, New York, NY

For Reservations: 212-595-0850

Date: May 18th

Time: 9:30 PM

Place: Caroline's On Broadway

Address: 1626 Broadway, New York, NY

For Reservations: 212-757-4100

Date: May 23rd

Time: 9 PM

Place: Eastville Comedy Club

Address: 85 East 4th Street, New York, NY

For Reservations: 212-260-2445

Date: June 14th

Time: 7 PM

Place: Broadway Comedy Club

Address: 318 West 53rd Street, New York, NY

For Reservations: 212-757-2323

Fire Alarms.

2009-04-21T21:18:00.001-07:00

I feel like fire drills are detrimental to the safety of people. The point of fire drills is to make a situation where something has combusted into flames mundane and routine. Under no circumstances should a fire in a building be routine That is not what should happen when there is a fire. In fact, the opposite should happen. People should go out of their way to stay safe, rather than stay orderly and neat. . While it probably helps that it is not a chaotic situation, it is no time to make a single file line and walk out slowly. If there was ever a fire in my high school, I would most likely make a bee line to the exit rather than sit and wait for instructions. I never understood the whole, no talking and walk in a line thing. And I never will. So, students if you are reading this, if there is ever a fire in your school, run to the exit.

The other thing fire drills do is make people think that a fire alarm is arbitrary. As soon as people hear the alarm go off, the first thing they think is, 'Probably a false alarm,' nobody ever moves right away. There could be a 500 degree blast in the room upstairs and you are assuming that some device whose sole purpose is to alert people when there is a fire is malfunctioning. I don't get it.

Stand Up Video

2009-04-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

My Stand-Up Experience.

2009-04-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

The day began at around 8:30 AM for me. I woke up, showered, got dressed, and went to my communications class. After class was over, I went back to my room to grab my iPod and went to catch the 11 AM SHUttle to the train station. Since I had some time to kill before my train, I walked around Bridgeport (always a good idea) for a little while. After sauntering about in Bridgeport for a while, I made it onto my train. I was awake for about 3-5 minutes before I knocked out. I woke up on the train and about six people were looking at me, leading me to believe I was snoring. I fell back asleep. I woke up and the train was empty. So after a great start to my day, I was in the city. I walked to Times Square chilled for a little while, then headed down Broadway to Caroline's. After checking out the club, I walked a few blocks to get something to eat at St. Andrew's Pub. I sat across the aisle from four men who were talking very loud. Naturally, I eavesdropped. Turns out they were comic book writers getting ready for some Comic convention in San Diego. From there I went to Grand Central Station to meet up with my girlfriend and then met my family for dinner. I left dinner a little early to walk back up to Caroline's. When I got to the club, the hostess took me to the area where the comedians wait for their turn. I walked into the green room and got a glass of coke, when I heard the next comedian being introduced. Ladies and Gentlemen keep it going for Darrell Hammond! So I was going to be on the same stage, on the same night, as the record holder for the most appearances on Saturday Night Live. The first show concluded and the rest of the comedians for the 9:30 show started to arrive. A few of them looked familiar from comedy specials on TV and such. I was a little overwhelmed, especially after the reaction the man in front of me got. I was nervous all day, but when the host for the night announced my name my whole body started to feel like I was in a freezer for the past 24 hours. Then when I took the stage, everything sort of stopped. I did my set, and then walked off the stage and felt great. My favorite part of the whole night may have been the backstage experience. After the set, I talked with the other comics about my jokes. They all were impressed, especially since it was my first time. Talking with them and getting advice was such a great feeling. The whole experience from the time I took the stage until the train ride home was a high. It was something I would love to do more often and will do. I am planning to return to Caroline's in May and then try to do open mic's in the city throughout the summer, as well as an open mic tour in a few cities on the east coast. I'd like to thank everyone once again for their support.

Calm Before The Storm.

2009-04-06T01:34:00.000-07:00

In about 17 hours or so I will take the stage at Caroline's On Broadway. I am very nervous. I have had a lot of support from all over the place. So this blog entry is dedicated to everybody who has supported me on my way to this day. I have a great family and great friends and I really appreciate all they do for me.

If you are wondering what I am thinking before I go on tonight, this blog post will help settle that curiosity.

I was wondering why at every doctor's office they have those really encouraging posters hanging in every room. Well, I do know why but I don't get them. Okay, doctors we get it you want to be positive around your patients. But why are the posters so God damn random. It will be a framed poster of a cat dressed in a suit and under the cat it will say "THINK POSITIVE!!" What the hell does a cat dressed as a stockbroker have anything to do with thinking positive. In fact it makes me think negative, why in this economy are there positive thinking cats working on wall street?!
I still go to my pediatrician.
I am afraid of revolving doors. I tend to think they are a death apparatus.
Kidnapping would be such a fun sport.

Countdown 13 Days.

2009-03-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

Many of you may have heard already but, for those who haven't here is the official blog post.

I will be performing Stand Up Comedy on Monday April 6th, at 9:30 PM, at Caroline's On Broadway in Times Square, New York City. To go to the show all you have to do is call (212) 757-4100. You give them the date and time and say you are going to see me. The cost is five dollars.

For those of you who do not go:

e-mail me a 3,000 word disposition on why you didn't go and buy me a watch.

Here is the address:

Caroline's On Broadway

1626 Broadway, New York 10019

McDonald's Bag Check/Waking Up.

2009-03-10T23:43:00.000-07:00

Did you ever notice that when you go to McDonald's and elect to use the drive-thru the experience does not end with receiving your meal. Everybody does the bag check after they get their food. You know how it goes, you get your food and automatically assume the employees (documented or undocumented) got your order wrong. You rummage through the bag like a wild banshee. And God help the poor person in the window if they messed up. "I ordered medium fries!!!! There are no fries in here!" Poor souls.

Since going to college something has happened to me on more than one occasion. I have fallen asleep in my bed after a night of socialization and drinking. And woken up with a random object in it. And when I say fall asleep, I mean it. I am not saying I passed out. The first time it happened, I woke up and there was a notebook in my bed. Nothing to write home about. The second time was a little odd. I woke up with my friends sweater in my bed. He and I both wonder how it got there. The third time was the freakiest instance. I went to bed and woke up with a single quarter in my bed with me. My first reaction was to check to make sure I didn't lose a tooth. When I felt all my chompers, I started to dwell on it. Who thought I was sleeping so well that I deserved a 25 cent tip? Who knows? All I know is if the tooth fairy is up to her shenanigans again, I am about to cap that trifling bitch.

Hoping For A Snow Day.

2009-03-01T23:31:00.000-08:00

Here I am, 18 years old, in college and doing the same thing I did from 3rd grade 'til senior year of high school. Waiting to hear if school is cancelled due to snow. However, tonight is a lot less hetero than any of those nights in my past. It is me and six other guys in my room watching the Lion King. Everyone is also snacking. And here is where it gets a lot less hetero, the snack of choice was crackers with port wine cheese. Disclaimer: I am straight. Instead of liveblogging this one, I'll just post random thoughts

Rafiki may be the best character of any animated movie of all time. His main scene in the film is when he helps Simba realize who he really is and to not live in the past. His silly, yet thought provoking statements are life lessons. What an incredible character.

One of the kids in the room, Andrew, is belly laughing at Pumbaa's lines. Did I mention we go to college?

If I had to pick the scariest Disney Villains the rankings would be:

Ursula-Little Mermaid
Jafar- Aladdin
Scar- Lion King
Miley Cyrus

I wish animals really were anthropomorphic. (For all of you not on my vocabulary level, look it up.)

I just belly laughed when Pumbaa had his little Mr. Pig soliloquy. Did I mention I go to college?

It is snowing very hard outside, yet no word on the snow day status. Maybe that is because most normal human beings sleep.

Parents in Disney movies do not stand a chance. I think Walt had something against his parents or something. So many Disney fathers and mothers bite the dust in movies, or are bad parents.

Simba is about to take his rightful spot atop Pride Rock.

I had to try really hard to hide my goosebumps when Simba made it to the top of Pride Rock.

Its 3 AM and we are all up just talking about if there will be a snow day or not. We are adorable.

There are people smoking outside in the courtyard. If you need a cigarette that bad that you need to go smoke at 3:10 AM in a snowstorm, you need to re-evaluate your life quickly.

Oscar Preview!

2009-02-18T20:30:00.000-08:00

These are my Oscar Predictions.

Best Original Screenplay:

Frozen River

Happy-Go-Lucky

In Bruges

Milk

WALL-E

Winner: Milk

Best Adapted Screenplay:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Doubt

Frost/Nixon

The Reader

Slumdog Millionaire

Winner: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Visual Effects:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Dark Knight

Iron Man

Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Sound Mixing:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Dark Knight

Slumdog Millionaire

WALL-E

Wanted

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Sound Editing:

The Dark Knight

Iron Man

Slumdog Millionaire

WALL-E

Wanted

Winner: WALL-E

Best Short Film, Live Action:

Auf der Strecke (On The Line)

Manon on the Asphalt

New Boy

The Pig

Spielzeugland (Toyland)

Winner: Auf der Strecke

Best Short Film, Animated:

La Maison en Petits Cubes

Lavatory-Lovestory

Oktapodi

Presto

This Way Up

Winner: This Way Up

Best Makeup:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Dark Knight

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Winner: The Dark Knight

Best Original Score:

The Curious Case of Benjamin

Defiance

Milk

Slumdog Millionaire

WALL-E

Winner: WALL-E

Best Film Editing:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Dark Knight

Frost/Nixon

Milk

Slumdog Millionaire

Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Documentary Short:

The Conscience of Nhem En

The Final Inch

Smile Pink!

The Witness-From the Balcony of Room 306

Winner: The Conscience of Nhem En

Best Costume Design

Australia

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Duches

Milk

Revolutionary Road

Winner: Milk

Best Documentary Feature:

The Betrayal

Encounters at the End of the World

The Garden

Man on Wire

Trouble the Water

Winner: Man on Wire

Best Foreign Language:

The Baader Meinhof Complex

The Class

Departures

Revanche

Waltz With Bashir

Winner: The Baader Meinhof Complex

Best Original Song:

"Down to Earth" from WALL-E

"Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire

"O Saya" from Slumdog Millionaire

Winner: Jai Ho-Slumdog Millionaire

Best Art Direction:

Changeling

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Dark Knight

The Duchess

Revolutionary Road

Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Cinematography:

Changeling

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Dark Knight

The Reader

Slumdog Millionaire

Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Animated Feature:

Bolt

Kung Fu-Panda

WALL-E

Winner: WALL-E

Best Actress In A Supporting Role:

Amy Adams-"Doubt"

Penelope Cruz-"Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

Viola Davis-"Doubt"

Taraji P. Henson-"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Marisa Tomei-"The Wrestler"

Winner: Marisa Tomei

Best Actor In A Supporting Role:

Josh Brolin-"Milk"

Robert Downey Jr.-"Tropic Thunder"

Philip Seymour Hoffman-"Doubt"

Heath Ledger-"The Dark Knight"

Michael Shannon-"Revolutionary Road"

Winner: Heath Ledger

Best Actress In A Lead Role:

Anne Hathaway-"Rachel Getting Married"

Angelina Jolie-"The Changeling"

Melissa Leo-"Frozen River"

Meryl Streep-"Doubt"

Kate Winslet-"The Reader"

Winner: Kate Winslet

Best Actor In A Lead Role:

Richard Jenkins-"The Visitor"

Frank Langella-"Frost/Nixon"

Sean Penn-"Milk"

Brad Pitt-"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Mickey Rourke-"The Wrestler"

Winner: Mickey Rourke

Best Directing:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Frost/Nixon

Milk

The Reader

Slumdog Millionaire

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Picture:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Frost/Nixon

Milk

The Reader

Slumdog Millionaire

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

The Leaders of Tomorrow...

2009-02-16T23:01:00.000-08:00

I was watching television today and it turned out to be a horrifying experience. During the first commercial break, I saw what could be the most pathetic 30 seconds of television of all-time. It is bad enough we have things like the candle snuffer around. I want to know what the pitch was for the first candle snuffer was. "Don't you just hate to breathe hard on fire? We should invent something so that people don't exhaust themselves blowing fire out." As bad as the candle snuffer makes human beings look, it gets blown out of the water by Listerine's latest innovation, Agent Code Blue Mouthwash! It is mouthwash that turns your teeth blue (makes sense). You see what happens is it makes your teeth turn blue so you know where to brush and how long to brush for (until the blue is gone). I can't believe this. Your teeth are not hard to find. They are the white things that are inside your mouth between your lips and tongue. Here is the pitch off of Listerine's website:

LISTERINE® AGENT COOL BLUE® is a pre-brush tinting rinse. Used before brushing, it tints teeth blue so kids pay attention when cleaning their teeth; giving kids a sense of accomplishment that they are doing a good job and reinforcing the positive behavior.

Tints teeth blue so children pay more attention to cleaning
Makes brushing fun
Helps your kids develop proper oral care habits
Alcohol-free

Let's dissect this shall we. Tints the teeth blue so kids pay more attention to cleaning?? When the kid is brushing his or her respective teeth, I do not think they are gonna be running after squirrels or playing with Tonka Trucks. I have never bought the "Makes Brushing Fun!!!" argument. Even in my time. With the electronic tooth brush revolution. Brushing your teeth is not fun. It is something you do for 2 minutes a day. Suck it up. Helps your kids develop proper oral care habits? You see kids, by painting your teeth the same color as the ocean you will have white teeth for your whole life. Alcohol-Free? Well, I am pretty sure whoever came up with this brilliant idea was on more than just alcohol.

What this product tells me is that people think every child is inept. If they can't brush their teeth without painting their teeth blue, plaque is the least of your worries.

Blue font for Blue teeth paint!!!!

MJL

Dinner Tonight.

2009-02-13T17:16:00.001-08:00

Here at school we have on main dining hall and adjacent to that is a Mini-Mart sort of deal. I was not hungry today til about 7:45 and the main hall closes at 8 PM then turns into "The Late Night Bistro" where they sell chicken tenders and fries and such. I wasn't really feeling that so I hurried to Flik (the main hall) to get food. I walked in and saw it was pretty bare and decided to check the frozen foods at the mini market. I got some Mac 'n' Cheese. I went back into Flik because Mac 'n' Cheese would not be enough for me. So I got a california roll. As I went to the register to pay the clerk said "Go get another one." I complied. He said "Have a nice day, Flik Love." So now for dinner I am eating 16 California rolls and mac 'n' cheese. What a nice combination. Sophistication meets tv dinners.

MJL

Liveblogging My Laundry/Shower

2009-02-02T12:44:00.000-08:00

Today I was done with classes at 12:15 PM. This gave me ample time to do all sorts of things, I could read Oedipus Rex, I could clean my room, I could get out of my pajamas, I could nap, or I could do my laundry. I opted for laundry. I will give you some background information on the relationship between me and my clothing. Since I was a kid, I did not really care what I wore as long as it was comfortable and did not have any New York Rangers or Boston Red Sox insignia on it. There was also another person in this relationship, my mom. You see my mom did my laundry up until early september of 2008. Pathetic? Yes. Am I complaining? No.

3:03 PM- I have to wash sheets, t-shirts, socks, a pair of jeans, and boxers. I believe that mixing your whites and colors is not as bad as people say it is. Listen, we mix all kinds of whites and colors here in the world, and while the first couple hundred years didn't go so smoothly, we did work it out. Why can't laundry be any different?

3:05 PM- The two loads are separated and ready to go.

3:07 PM- I walk down the hallway with my laundry in hand. I am excited. Some kid almost bumped into me and I dropped a sock. He turned the same corner as I did, but we were going in opposite directions. When we saw each other we both studder stepped in the same direction, twice. I don't know how that always happens. No matter where you are or who you are walking into, nobody ever goes in two opposite directions. It never goes smoothly, never.

3:11 PM- The clothes are in their respective washers. I made some last minute switches, (I had two red shirts in with the mostly whites). I hit spin. We are off. I am going to shower while these clothes get cleaned. Its like me and my clothes are getting clean together!

Sometime during the shower: I am one of the few people who walk to the shower in nothing but a towel toting my shower caddy along with me. Most people walk there in shorts and a t shirt. I don't know why. Anyways, I was in my usual walk to the shower garb when I saw two of my friends. I started to talk to them in the hallway. We chatted like high school girls for about 4 minutes or so. I had forgotten that I was still in only a towel but I was reminded quickly when two girls walked by me and said you should put some clothes on. I had no idea who this girl was and she didn't know me I don't think. But she made her point.

3:28 PM- The noises that laundry machines make lead me to believe they are from hell.

3:31 PM- I am the only one in here still. Which is good, because I don't want somebody to walk in on me alone in the laundry room (which is about 4 by 12 feet) on my laptop.

3:34 PM- Time to put the wash in the dryer.

3:38 PM- There are two washers and two dryers on the first floor. Someone forgot about their clothes in the dryer. And they are not warm and the dryer has been off since I got in here, so I do not suspect he will be back soon. There are so many possibilities here. I don't condone theft but I am tempted. I think I will screw with him a little bit and put them in the washing machine again.

3:42 PM- The transition went pretty smoothly.

3:48 PM- I have been wrestling with something in my mind for quite a while now. Do I want a ShamWow? I feel like I do for three reasons

You have to admit, it does look cool.
I hate the ShamWow guy so much that I feel like if I buy one he will stop advertising them to me and I won't have to see him again.
Its made by the Germans. And you KNOW they make good stuff.

3:54 PM- Some kid came in here asking if the dryers were being used. I said yes. That was that.

4:01 PM- I decided that I wanted to start a summer camp for kids with A.D.D and Tourettes today. They need the help right. I thought that these kids need to focus. They need to learn how to focus and sit still. So I thought, Michael's Concentration Camp will be a hit.

4:12 PM- I apologize for that.

4:19 PM- There are 11 single socks on the floor in here.

4:24 PM- My music of choice during this session has been Billy Joel.

4:29 PM- Another kid just walked in. He did not say anything. He peeked in and bounced. Gotta love communication.

4:34 PM- Ten minutes to go. What an adventure this has been.

4:40 PM- I am bringing this to an end.

Liveblogging Room 136

2009-01-26T21:03:00.000-08:00

Since mid-November room 136 has become a nice late night weeknight hangout. We usually have one to three patrons a night. We usually snack on microwavable treats, chips, goldfish, and the occasional pop tart. So tonight I'll give you all a nice look at my life here on campus after dark...

12:05 AM- In the room right now are my roommates Zach and Brian and our pal Andrew from the second floor. We all are on our laptops listening to music except for Brian. He is reading. The Girl Next Door is on the television in the background. Nobody is really paying attention to the movie for the most part. Some scenes have caught our eyes however.

12:07 AM- Andrew whips out some Pizza Flavored Goldfish.

12:09 AM- I took out my headphones for a second to hear what was going on. Nothing really.

12:11 AM- I just belted the chorus to 'Heard the World' by OAR. All three of the other people in the room just stared at me. Something I've been accustomed to here. I get weird glares, stares, and glances often.

12:13 AM- Bathroom break for Zach.

12:14 AM- He's back. A very quick bathroom break from the roomie from Jersey.

12:16 AM- Zach just got invited up to the 5th floor by some friends. He extended Andrew and myself the invite, to which Andrew replied "We'll make the rounds later." Then we giggled.

12:18 AM: To give you an update of what everyone is doing, Andrew is watching Marley and Me on his laptop while eating his goldfish and a Rice Krispy Treat, Brian is reading The Odyssey on his bed, Zach is upstairs, and I am liveblogging and munching on a Rice Krispy Treat.

12:20 AM- I am a primetime player when it comes to snacking. And I gotta say Andrew is up there with me. Last night he came down with some Dinty Moore microwavable stew and Goldfish and crackers. I had Chef Boyardee and Sun Chips. We both had our Franks Red Hot Sauce (mine is Xtra Hot). You wouldn't believe last night. We usually do these late night feasts twice a week at most. So they are special when they happen. Last night was incredible. As we microwaved our food and prepared to dig in, Varsity Blues came on. We were giddy.

12:24 AM- Some people love Facebook. Andrew lives Facebook. He is thrilled because some girl recorded a video bitching out some other girl. He is so into it.

12:28 AM- There is no wrong time for a Starburst.

12:30 AM- Vicks VapoRub is kind of addicting.

12:32 AM- Usually around this time each night Sporcle trivia uploads new trivias and they are late today. Much to our chagrin here in 136.

12:34 AM- Andrew is whipping himself with his headphone wires and he said "Ouch this hurts. Why would you ever do this?" He's odd, yet stylish and oh so debonaire.

12:36 AM- The original Land Before Time is the best animated film of all time. There I said it.

12:38 AM- Thats all from 136 for now. We are venturing upstairs. I plan on doing this more often.

MJL

Guest Blogger: Rob Coloney

2009-01-24T12:38:00.000-08:00

So, Tuesday, January 27th, will certainly be another day of significance in the tremendous career of singer/songwriter, or, as I like to say, poet, Bruce Springsteen. His 24th album, Working on a Dream, will debut in stores, and having heard it, I can safely say that Bruce has done it again. Now, when I say Bruce has done it again, I mean, he has done his own thing. To this point, to understand Bruce Springsteen, and his beliefs, motives, and reasoning, is about as easy to understand why John Lennon was shot - damn near impossible. But, I'll try to offer my insight here.

Throughout his career, Bruce Springsteen has done things that have changed music, history, and America. Like him or not, you cannot argue that his Born to Run stadium anthem has fired you up at least once, that Glory Days (love it or hate it) has been sung in a drunken splendor, or that Dancing in the Dark made you wish you could put on tight Wrangler jeans, play football in the mud with Brett Favre, and then dance like Adam Sandler on SNL. Face the facts, the Boss has dictated pop culture for awhile now. As his reign of supremacy winds down with Working on a Dream (WOAD from here on out), the conclusions one can draw from the intensity of his lyrics have only just begun.

Over the past ten years, Springsteen has been "there" for America. A raging Republican, I cannot express enough how much I loathe his concert-antics of Bush-bashing (which now, may have come to an end). His political campaigning is where Bruce takes much of his criticism, but flat out, he does not care. In 1999, Bruce returned after a long absence and an acoustic album (Ghost of Tom Joad) to take NYC and the world by storm - with a reunion tour. On this tour, the band debuted two songs, which were never studio recorded nor studio released. One, "Land of Hope & Dreams," spoke about how historic America was. How important is continued to be, and how we cannot lose our faith in America. The next, was American Skin (41 Shots), which was a memoir to Amadou Diallo, inspired by the police shooting death which took place in NYC. When the police racially profiled (in Bruce's mind) the young Diallo, he reached for what police thought was a gun. They then shot him 41 times, as if one wasn't enough. Diallo was really holding his wallet, with identification. To further prove that Bruce operates on his own terms, he played this in NYC on the reunion tour, then again on the Rising tour, and scattered inbetween.

In 2001, America, Bruce's 1st love, saw the worst point in history, take place on our doorstep. With the attacks of 9/11, the country turned to Bruce for help. Bruce then wrote arguably his most significant album since The River, in The Rising. An entire album about tragedy, longevity, love, life, and recovery, The Rising was Bruce's stamp - he was back. Bruce went on to have a monstrous tour, in which, when he found out he did not win a Grammy award in 2002, opened an Duluth, GA show by saying "Fuck you if you don't appreciate it," clearly aimed at the Grammy selection committee, and played powerfully. "Come on Max," Bruce yelped, as No Surrender began to play, to open the show.

That's just the Boss, he does what he feels is right, and furthermore, American. In 2004, he launched a Vote-For-Change Tour, in which he teamed up with REM, Jackson Browne, John Fogerty, amongst others, to campaign for John Kerry in the election of 04. Did it fail? Perhaps. Did John Kerry get more votes because of Springsteen? Hell yes. Does that scare me? Hell yes. This is how important Springsteen is to America.

All of my life, I have said Springsteen was a poet first, then a musician, then a singer. His songs have meaning. "Johnny" is not a name Bruce just likes - it signifies a man in, coming home from, or lost in war (which Bruce sees as tumultuous and unnecessary). "Mary" is another such name of significance. His songs relate to him, America, change, and things that Bruce cannot get off of his chest otherwise. In 2007, Bruce launched Magic, a powerful CD, that was catchy, and fun, alla Born in the U.S.A. Every track was great, and it left people wanting more.

If you see my note about Danny Federici, you will find some significance on his death amidst the Magic Tour. I was fortunate to see Danny in action one last time before his death. When Danny died, Bruce, 59 yrs young, realized something - the time of Bruce and the Band changing the world, was slowly coming to an end. Unlike in his songs, and albums, life cannot go forever. Second chances are few-and far between, and it's so rare to move on, when someone you truly love has been lost. Feeling a cited "energy, and desire to keep going," Bruce and the Band announced one final hoorah together - another ESB album (within a year) - UNHEARD OF.

Now, having heard this album, I can say that it is without a doubt his best album of the decade, following trend of significance, lyrical importance, and timing. For some reason, I feel like Bruce is ready to let American stand on their own two feet, similar to a parent dropping their kid off at college. Bruce has left the country in the hands of Obama, whom he also campaigned for, further citing his regard and love for what's best for his, and our country.

Up and down the album, it starts with Bruce's first 8 minute studio track (Outlaw Pete) since Drive All Night (The River) / Thundercrack (Tracks). Outlaw Pete discusses a vagabond sort of child, who becomes a man, and becomes rescued, similar to what Bruce did by helping Danny Federici out of drug abuse. The album, which is sort of a ballad to Danny, is so important to end the Band's career. It features significance, party songs (My Lucky Day) and closure.

The Last Carnival, track 12 of 12, is the most significant track Bruce has written in years. It not only closes the Band's career, but closes their final CD together, and is about losing Danny, each other, and a fitting tribute and send off. Rolling Stone put it best: "If you don't count the soundtrack tune "The Wrestler," tacked on as a bonus cut, the album ends with "The Last Carnival," a plain-spoken, heart-rending elegy for E Street Band organ player Danny Federici, who died of cancer last year. The tune doubles as a sequel to Springsteen's beloved 1973 song "Wild Billy's Circus Story," in which the romance of the circus stood for life on the road — here, the circus is moving on without Billy. "Sundown, sundown/They're taking all the tents down," Springsteen sings in a choked hush, at the bottom of his range. "Where have you gone, my handsome Billy?" The song ends with a choir of what sounds like Springsteen's and Patti Scialfa's layered voices, vaulting up to infinity: For a fallen comrade, it's one last opera out on the turnpike."

This song ends a career of work, importance, significance, love, hate, anger, and controversy for Bruce & the Band. I encourage you to pick up the album, and listen to it, not hoping it has a "Thunder Road," "Dancing in the Dark," or "Radio Nowhere" type of catchy-ness, but please listen as an attentive music lover, who strives to prove a point, for anyone who can listen and understand.

God Bless, and enjoy. The road is a short one, so we must appreciate every day. "It's a town full of losers, and I'm pullin' out of here to win." Bruce certainly won over his career - love, fans, but most of all, he won, and earned, respect. Not only from us, America, and other musicians, but from himself. Bruce finally proved to himself that he found out he could change something through music. "Come on rise up," and change the world. If a musician can do it, so can we.

A College Snack.

2009-01-21T21:27:00.000-08:00

Just an update for the disciples of the gospel, I am back at school. Tonight after I got back from watching the Lost premiere, I was a little hungry. I decided to have a snack. I wanted something salty and something sweet. So my first pick was some Sun Chips (Original flavor). They were quite tasty. Now the next segment of my snacking was crucial. I needed something sweet. But I am not huge on chocolate or most candies. One candy I love is Starbursts. If you put a Starburst in front of me, I will eat it. No matter the flavor. Yes, I said it. I like all Starburst flavors. There are literally millions upon millions of people who like only the Pink and Red. Me, I do not discriminate. I mean c'mon Yellow and Orange need some lovin' too. I am also kind of OCD about how I eat my gummy fruit chews. I try to eat the same amount of each color in the same sitting. And I try to eat them in this order Pink, Yellow, Red, Orange-REPEAT until satisfied. I feel like that order is the best way because each one complements the previous one. Anyways, after my sweet snack. I wanted another salty food. I went with a Slim Jim. It was delicious as well. The combination of these three snacks was a sensation like nothing my tastebuds have ever experienced.

MJL

Someone I Need to Hang Out With.

2009-01-16T22:12:00.001-08:00

My eyes were wandering in my kitchen today and they stopped at a peculiar location. A familiar face was glaring right back at me. We stared at each other for about 4 seconds before I just smiled. I couldn't help it. If you were looking at the same thing I was, you would smile too. The bushy mustache, the bow tie, and the warm look on his face could warm the hearts of the coldest of men. By now you have figured out I am talking about the Pringles Man. How awesome would it be to hang out with him? Infinity Awesome. He is always smiling and has impeccable style. His hair is great. I feel like his idea of fun would be pulling out some lawn chairs to the beach and kicking back a few, while eating Pringles. He definitely tells great stories.

Once you pop, the fun don't stop.

Guest Blogger: Killian Leboff

2009-01-06T19:46:00.001-08:00

As you all know, The Gospel welcomes, no encourages our patrons to lend their voices to this blog. Tonight's guest is Killian Leboff, a 3 year old Fox Red Labrador who lives in the same house as I do. She is my best friend so I was ultra-psyched when she mentioned that she wanted to blog tonight. Killian wanted to focus on her life as a dog and some of life's mysteries in this entry, so ladies and gents, we proudly give you The Gospel According to Killian:

Humans always talk about how they envy a dog's life. The truth is they are 100% right in doing so. I sleep for 65% of the day. I do not have any real responsibilities. Sure, if I defecate inside the house I'll get yelled at, but thats no big deal. It is almost condoned. Masters will get mad at us canines but then they will feel bad about it and say something like, "What do you know, you are just a dog? I can't stay mad at you." Now, if one of you humans decides to have a bowel movement on a rug, I assure you the result will not be the same (Unless you are senile). In fact the whole experience will be different. Not only will the perpetrator have to clean up his or her own feces (something a dog will never have to do) they will be scolded and embarrassed.

Another great thing about being a dog is, getting pet and scratched by strangers. There is nothing I love more then when I am being walked and a stranger comes up to my master and me and says in a high pitched voice "Awwwww, she's sooo cutteeee." And starts to pet and rub me all over. I will wag my tail until they leave and then it is on with the walk. Speaking of walks, completely overrated by dogs and humans alike. If I want to walk, I will walk. There is no reason to wake me up from a nap to go outside for a few minutes so I can go to the bathroom.

There are a few bad things about being a dog though. Wooden floors are so tough to run on with claws. Leashes suck. And the fact that when a really sucky movie like Armageddon is on, we can not change the channel. We have not figured out televisions yet, but we are getting there.

All in all, as a dog growing up in a nice, suburban town in the northeast I can't complain much. Whoever said, "Its a dog eat dog world out there" is an imbecile. Dogs don't really eat other dogs. Plus, it is a dog eat free food world out there. I have never paid for a meal in my life.

Paws Up, A-Town Down.

Killian

A Very Awkward Situation.

2009-01-04T23:34:00.000-08:00

Today I went out to dinner with my significant other and her friends to the Cheesecake Factory. They gave us one of those things that lights up and vibrate when your table is ready. Which, by the way, needs to be utilized in more situations. Well anyways, when our table was finally called, I was last in the line of people in our party walking to the table. The place was crowded and I was weaving in and out of people like a Pueblo Indian weaving a basket. Well as I was walking south toward the table, a lady in a wheelchair was rollin' north toward me. It was a very tight squeeze and as I tried to walk by her, I bumped into her legs. I immediately apologized and she said its okay. But then I wondered if she even felt it. Is there a more awkward situation than that? I don't know.

Oscar Buzz Part II.

2008-12-29T20:23:00.000-08:00

Here are some actors and movies to keep an eye on for Best Actor and Best Picture:

BEST ACTOR

Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)- Thus far this has been my favorite movie of the year. And Jenkins' performance is one of the main reasons that I have given it that honor. Jenkins has had a bit of a coming out year (Step Brothers, Burn After Reading). But the job he did in this movie makes you wonder why we haven't seen much more of him. I think he should be on the ballot and he is also my pick right now to get the award. He steals your heart as he goes from an emotionless widower to a vibrant, African Drum playing, man. In a sense you watch Jenkins' character grow up again. If he is not on the ballot it would be a crime.

Will Smith (Seven Pounds)- Although he makes more money per movie then everyone else in Hollywood, the Fresh Prince is still looking for his first golden statue. Smith's role in Seven Pounds is the toughest of his illustrious career. He remains mysterious throughout the whole movie and keeps you wondering for all two hours. He is considered a longshot to win the award at this point but I still loved his work.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road)- He rekindled the "Titanic" chemistry he had with Kate Winslett and it may pay off big time. Especially with Sam Mendes (The Usual Suspects) behind the camera.

Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)- Mickey Rourke plays a wrestler who wants one last chance to be "The Main Event." Which is a coincidence because this was a desperate role for Rourke who has been off the map for quite some time. The movie is getting rave reviews from all over the country and this could be a second wind for Mickey.

Sean Penn (Milk)- I thought Sean Penn's portrayal of Harvey Milk was very good. I am not Penn's biggest fan (The Academy loves him) but, he really was good in this role. He did not overwhelm the movie or outshine the rest of the cast (Emile Hirsch's performance was the best in the film) but he did enough to turn some heads.

Hugh Jackman (Australia)- The world's sexiest man turns up the heat in this Aussie-War-Romantic movie. I do not plan on seeing the movie but I have read all over the place that Jackman delivers a very strong performance.

Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)- Langella has won 3 Tony Awards, including one as Richard Nixon. Langella finds a way to make the cold and brittle president sympathetic almost to the point where you feel bad for the man.

Steve Coogan (Hamlet 2)- Coogan is my dark horse pick for this award. He was brilliant in the lead role of the funniest movie I have seen in years. He plays a struggling art teacher. His portrayal is almost a sheer mockery of struggling artists. If you have not seen this movie, I suggest you do so ASAP.

Other Notables:

Viggo Mortensen (The Road)

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)

Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

Greg Kinnear (Flash of Genius)

For Best Picture, I am going to pick the Ten Best Movies I've seen this year...

1. The Visitor

2. Slumdog Millionaire

3. Gran Torino

4. Hamlet 2

5. Seven Pounds

6. Milk

7. The Wrestler

8. The Changeling

9. Burn After Reading

10. Tropic Thunder

Note: I did not see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Revolutionary Road, or Doubt yet so I could not include them in the list. However a lot of critics are picking them to take home some serious hardware in February.

Saint Agnes Elementary School.

2008-12-22T23:48:00.000-08:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you my Alma Mater Saint Agnes Cathedral Elementary School:
I was babysitting for my cousins today. At just after 3 PM I had to pick up the oldest one from his bus stop. You could see the excitement in his eyes from a mile away. So when he got all settled after school he was showing me all the stuff he got from his classmates before Christmas break. He then clasped his face in his tiny hands and said "Michael, guess who came to my class today." (I knew the answer, but I played coy) "Who??" I retorted as if I didn't know. (I knew) "Santa!!!!" (I was right) But what came after was the jewel of this whole conversation. Here is the dialogue:
My Cousin: "He had a naughty and nice list with him."
Me: "Oh really? Were you on the nice list?"
Cuz: "Yes I was..."
Me: "Was anyone on the naughty list?"
Primo: "Yes, two kids were, John S. and Matthew D. because they are the baddest boys."
Me: *sound of person picking jaw up off the floor*

So yes. St. Agnes decided they would teach too boys a lesson by putting them on the naughty list and coincidentally ruining their year, causing them to become alcoholics, or maybe Jewish.

Which got me thinking... why isn't there a naughty list for Channukah or however the hell you spell it? Then I remembered, you are all naughty because you killed the savior of the world.

Which got me thinking...in terms of assassinations, who was the most prominent figure to be killed. So here are my assassination power rankings:

Jesus Of Nazareth- The Juggernaut from the Holy Land had a future as bright as the sun. To this day he is the only known man to walk on water and that was taken from us. Other notable achievements: Turning water into wine, rising from the dead, multiplying loaves of bread.
Abe Lincoln- He really brought the Illnoise. In his spare time he liked to free captives and emancipate. He was a proponent of tall hats and "Lincoln style beards."
Socrates- Socrates was Sogreat. But he could have been greater if the Greeks were not so damn Gree(k)dy.
Martin Luther King The Sequel- He was the only person I know who could so vividly remember every detail of his dream and tell it to 10,000 people. I don't get it. I have had far weirder dreams then a multi-cultural game of hopskotch but I never got to tell the world about it. I blame affirmative action.
Tupac Shakur- Also rose from the dead but did Jesus one better. He made music and a movie.

Others Receiving Votes: JFK, William McKinley, John Lennon, Tom Cruise (A guy can dream right?), St. Paul, Aahliyah (don't you dare try to tell me it was an "accident")

Early Oscar Buzz.

2008-12-22T22:02:00.000-08:00

The 2009 Academy Awards are two months away. This year's installment will be hosted by Aussie heartthrob Hugh Jackman. This show is hands down my favorite awards show. It may also be my favorite thing on TV for the whole year. I love every second of the Oscars. Right after Thanksgiving the buzz starts to build around certain movies that are strategically released very close to the ceremony. I try to see as many of these movies as I can. A movie is a beautiful thing. While you are watching a movie the real world takes a back seat and you are engulfed in the story. And the Academy Awards celebrates these films in extravagant fashion. So with that in mind here is my first attempt at predicting the nominees for the major awards. When the nominees are actually announced, I will do another post picking my winners.
Best Supporting Actor:
The Best Bet:
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)- Tragic death aside, Ledger's portrayal of the Joker could be the performance of the year. He brought the psychotic, make-up wearing killer to life. Ledger became the joker, it was as simple as that. He disappeared into his character like nobody I've ever seen. Ledger could be the closest thing to a shoo-in that you will get at this years awards.
Contenders:
Haaz Sleiman (The Visitor)- Although he is an unknown to many, Sleiman depicted a Syrian man who, along with his wife came to America and illegally stayed here. Sleiman's character can't help but make you fall in love with him. He is carefree and is always wearing a smile.
Josh Brolin (Milk)- Brolin had an interesting year. Since being apart of the Coen Brothers Best Picture winner, No Country For Old Men, he took on the task of playing George W. Bush in Oliver Stone's "W". His next role was in Gus Van Sant's picture Milk. Brolin could be apart of two Best Picture winners in a row and is also being considered for Best Actor for his portrayal of Dubya.
James Franco (Pineapple Express)- No I am not joking. Franco (also in Milk) did an incredible job playing a stoner in Judd Apatow's summer hit. He could also receive a nod in this category for Milk but it is more likely he'd get a nod for Express.
Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder)- After Ledger, Downey Jr's character could be considered the hardest to play. He played a Black man. Downey Jr's borderline racist portrayal could garner him some votes as the best actor in a supporting role.
Longshots:
John Malkovich (Burn After Reading)- Malkovich's zanieness+The Coen Brothers= A Shot at hardware.
Michael Caine (The Dark Knight)- With all the big names in Christopher Nolan's Batman series Caine is sometimes forgotten. I would not expect him to win, although he does deserve a nod.

Best Supporting Actress:
Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)- Even though Winslet was in almost every minute of this movie, she will not be considered the lead role because she will be nominated for her leading role in The Reader. The Academy does not like to nominate someone twice in the same category so Kate will just have to suffer here. She could possibly win Best Actress and Supporting Actress this year. She plays a wife in a stagnant marriage (Husband: Leo DiCaprio) in this story about making things work. It is directed by her husband Sam Mendes.
Penelope Cruz (Vicky Christina Barcelona)- Spanish actress, Spanish city. It was a great fit for Cruz since the movie was conceived. Not to mention she worked with the incredibly talented Javier Bardem (Best Supporting Actor 2008-No Country For Old Men).
Ahney Her (Gran Torino)- The young asian actress plays a teenager growing up in a very traditional Hmong family. The only problem is the lived in a very bad suburb of Detroit where gang violence runs rampant.
Amy Ryan (Changeling)- Although she maybe overshadowed by Angelina Jolie in this movie, Ryan's performance is as strong as anyone on this list.
Also Keep An Eye On:
Amy Adams (Doubt)
Meryl Streep (Mama Mia!)
Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)

Best Actress:
Angelina Jolie (Changeling)- Off screen weirdness aside, Jolie gives one of the most stirring performances of the year in Clint Eastwood's suspense filled thriller Changeling. It is by far the best performance of her career. She plays a mother whose son was abducted for her. The movie follows her in her frantic search for her young son.
Kate Winslet (The Reader)- Winslet plays a woman who is on trial for war crimes during WWII. She has a daunting task of making you feel for a Nazi sympathizer. It seems like Winslet is nominated for something every year and you can see why in any one of her movies.
Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)- Hathaway plays a woman coming home for her sister's wedding. Seems simple enough, throw in the fact that her character was in and out of rehab for the past ten years and you have an intriguing role that caught the eye of many critics.
Meryl Streep (Doubt)- Streep is looking for her third Oscar in this category in this creepy drama. This movie could win in 4 separate categories and Streep is one of the favorites for best actress.

Part II:
Best Actor
Best Picture
Best Director

-Feel free to email me your own previews if you would like.

Some Incredible Unintentional Comedy.

2008-12-20T20:57:00.000-08:00

I could not locate a link to this videos, so you will have to take my word for it.
On Wednesday December 17th I sat down to watch the news. I love Chuck Scarborough and I always thought he was the consummate news anchor so I flipped on NBC Newschannel 4. Scarborough was off for some unknown reason and a black man was his replacement. This guy was a good filler, he was professional, loquacious, and had flair. He was on a roll until we got to the end of the broadcast. He introduced a story like this.
"Some startling new news about cancer, here is so and so with the new study." At this point I am thinking that we will be hearing about how drinking tea or lemonade will reduce the risk of cancer in men. But I got a whole lot more than I bargained for. This reporter, who is caucasian, broke us a story about how African-Americans are 50% more likely to get cancer than white people. She went on for about 3-4 minutes about this story. At the end of the story the camera immediately panned to the black news anchor. He took it in stride and delivered the next story about a 65 year old woman with glaucoma who smokes weed. I loved every second of it.

Colonial Penn.

2008-12-15T16:08:00.000-08:00

I was watching Steve Soderberg's movie Ocean's 11 last night on TBS. As the movie was coming to an end, the last commercial break aired. I thought about flipping to ESPNews for the 3 minute or so break. But then a certain commercial came on. It was an ad for Colonial Penn Life Insurance and it was Unintentional Comedic Gold. The commercial featured two old ladies sitting at a table watching TV. One lady says to the other "Turn it up, this is the commercial I was talking about." The other lady complies and Alex Trebek appears on the TV talking about Colonial Penn life insurance. He tells the viewers how anybody 50-85 years of age is accepted into the plan. There are no physicals or anything of the sort. These two ladies are so thrilled about this life insurance plan it got me thinking. This is commercial aired at 3:45 AM and was intended for 50-85 year olds who plan on dieing soon. That is what life insurance is all about. Their slogan could be this:
"Are you old? Do you think you may die soon? Has your ride on the life train pulled into its final destination? Well, why worry about funeral arrangements and those left behind when you pass away, call Colonial Penn." It makes you feel selfish for dieing. Another possible slogan could be:
"Don't be a dick when you die. Get Colonial Penn."
What a world we live in.

A Deal With Myself.

2008-12-13T23:03:00.000-08:00

The New York Islanders stink. And since I am a superstitious young lad, I will be doing everything in my power to help them out of this funk. Therefore, I will not shave until they win two games in a row. Those of you who know me know that my facial hair does not grow in too fast. But I just need to do my part to help the team.

Cage Vs. Costner Vs. Reeves

2008-12-02T23:23:00.000-08:00

I was walking through the hallway the other day and I heard someone talking about how Keanu Reeves sucks at acting. That person is correct. For the rest of my walk I was thinking about a dark time in my life. An unnamed soul said that Kevin Costner is the worst actor in the world. I wouldn't admit it until now, but that night I cried my eyes out. Then, I saw an incredible video shown to me by Mike Lynch (see link to his blog on the links section) that mocked Nic Cage. This got me thinking, if people think that these three actors suck why do I still love Costner's work? Well its simple:

People will claim that Costner plays the same character in every movie, somebody who has something to do with baseball. BUT what they fail to realize is that Costner brings something new to every character. Ray Kinsella (Field of Dreams) was a baseball fan. Crash Davis (Bull Durham) was a Minor League ballplayer. Billy Chapel (For Love of the Game) was a hall of fame pitcher. Denny Davies (The Upside of Anger) is a former ballplayer turned DJ. Can you say diversity?

Keanu Reeves does not play the same character in any of his movies but he seems like he does. I want you to watch The Devil's Advocate then watch The Replacements. I am pretty sure Kevin Lomax and Shane Falco are the same person, which got me thinking; Shane Falco's life has several missing pieces in it. In the movie they say that he blew the 1996 Sugar Bowl while quarterbacking THE Ohio State University Buckeyes. In Point Break, Falco's character was the QB at OSU. BUT after they mention that he blew the game and got drafted by Seattle in The Replacements they do not fill you in on the rest of his life. So I think that Falco wanted to change his life. He went to Law School and changed his name. He worked for the Devil, saw that it kinda sucked, and moved to the DC Area on a houseboat. And the rest as they say is history... Shane Kevin Lomax Falco led the Washington Sentinels to the playoffs.
Nicolas Cage just sucks at acting in every movie he is in. I like some of the movies but he just sucks. And sucks bad.

So Here is my list of greatest actors of all time:

Morgan Freeman/Zach Braff
Kevin Costner
Morris Chestnut
Michael Caine
Casey Affleck
Don Cheadle
John Candy
Denzel Washington
Malik Yoba (Yule Brenner from Cool Runnings)
Gunnar Stahl (I would look up his name but I think I would rather like to think his name is actually Gunnar Stahl)

Honorable Mentions: Robin Williams, Nicolas Cage, Meg Ryan, Emilio Estevez, Donald Faison, Dustin Hoffman, Keanu Reeves, Helen Hunt, Robert De Niro, Danny De Vito, Alan Arkin

Alcohol Probation Watch Days 15-18

2008-11-21T20:41:00.000-08:00

None of us have breached our probation as of yet, but I did run into some other issues this week. On Thursday night WHRT held its weekly DJ meeting. The meetings are dull and nobody wants to be there. With this in mind I tried to make the meeting more interesting by adding my own soundtrack to the meeting. During roll call I decided to meow after every name. After I did it a few times others started to add more noises to the mix. The station already has not shown our show much respect and this added fuel to the fire. Well in short I was suspended from the show for a week. If someone is suspended for a week for something like that, the people in charge need to get off their high horse and get over themselves. What I did was not malicous or mean in any way.

MJL

Alcohol Probation Watch Days 10-14/Show 9

2008-11-17T21:12:00.000-08:00

2 weeks in and no problems thus far.
Quick Tidbits:

Campbell's Soup At Hand is an incredible thing.
Darius Rucker is the next big thing in country music.
The Saved By Zero Commercial Still Sucks.
I would wanna hang out with Orville Redenbacher, so long as he dresses like he is on the box.

For Rob & Spyder Episode 9 go to the website www.robandspyder.com and then click previous shows. All our shows are there for you...

Alcohol Probation Watch Days 7-9

2008-11-12T22:18:00.000-08:00

Well lets just say today was weird. I found out via Conor Finnegan that my fifth grade English Language Arts teacher is a lesbian. That is just the beginning of the whole saga though. You see she got married the year after we finished fifth grade. She was married for seven years. Well, she got pregnant and then ditched her husband for her lesbian lover. So in essence she used this man to get pregnant because she can not get pregnant with her lesbian lover. So my fifth grade teacher pretty much took advantage of her husband and then kidnapped their kid. Can one kidnap their own kid?? This is pretty damn close. She now teaches at South Side High School and is keeping her job. Here is the kicker, she is the co-president of the gay-straight alliance along with her lover. You can't make this up.
In other news, I have developed a serious talent. I have an 8 can case of Spaghetti-O's. However, I lack a can opener. But do not fret. I get mine. I have become very skilled at opening the cans with a knife and a Qu'ran. I hold the knife on top of the can facing down. I take the Qu'ran in my other hand and slam it down onto the unsuspecting knife. You do this a few times making a square hole on top of the can, then you take the knife and pry open the top of the can so you can pour out the tasty little o's. So all you Qu'ran owners out there, your welcome.

Rob and Spyder Show #8

2008-11-10T22:14:00.001-08:00

The show can be downloaded at our official website..

www.robandspyder.com

go to previous shows.

thanks for listening

Country Music Awards Preview by Dylan Prior

2008-11-10T21:15:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday night, America will stop in its collective tracks at 8 PM for the Country Music Awards on ABC. Well, maybe not quite, but I will certainly be tuning it, and I have some predictions for who will be taking home the hardware:
Nominees listed, predicted winners in bold:
Entertainer of the Year: Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Sugarland, Keith Urban
Album of the Year: Carnival Ride by Carrie Underwood, Cowboy Town by Brooks & Dunn, Good Time by Alan Jackson, Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates by Kenny Chesney, Troubador by George Strait
Female Vocalist of the Year: Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, Martia McBride, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood
Male Vocalist of the Year: Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Keith Urban
New Artist of the Year: Jason Aldean, Rodney Atkins, Lady Antebellum, James Otto, Kellie Pickler
Vocal Group of the Year: Eagles, Emerson Drive, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts
Vocal Duo of the Year: Big & Rich, Brooks & Dunn, Montgomery Gentry, Sugarland, The Wreckers
Single of the Year: Don’t Blink by Kenny Chesney, Gunpowder & Lead by Miranda Lambert, I Saw God Today by George Strait, Stay by Sugarland, You’re Gonna Miss This by Trace Atkins
Song of the Year: Good Time (Alan Jackson), I Saw God Today (Rodney Clawson/Monty Criswell/Wade Kirby), Letter to Me (Brad Paisley), Stay (Jennifer Nettles), You’re Gonna Miss This (Ashley Gorley/Lee Thomas Miller)
Musical Event of the Year: Another Try by Josh Turner featuring Trisha Yearwood, Every Other Weekend by Reba McEntire and Kenny Chesney, Gone Gone Gone by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Life In A Northern Town by Sugarland featuring Little Big Town and Jake Owen, Shiftwork by Kenny Chesney (duet with George Strait)
Music Video of the Year: Don’t Blink by Kenny Chesney, Good Time by Alan Jackson, Stay by Sugarland, Waitin’ On A Woman by Brad Paisley featuring Andy Griffith, You’re Gonna Miss This by Trace Atkins
Musician of the Year: Jerry Douglas, Paul Franklin, Dann Huff, Brent Mason, Mac McAnally

Live Blogging Academic Writing 110

2008-11-10T06:27:00.000-08:00

9:24- I walk in, compared to other classes this one is pretty well attended. There are a handful of people here already.
9:28- It might be a bad thing but every time I come into any class the first thing I do is look at the clock. If a teacher does not show up within the first fifteen minutes of class you do not have to stay. Were 17 minutes away from freedom.
9:31- He has arrived. It sucks that class has to happen again today.
9:32- He announces this is our last class for the semester. We will have individual meetings from now on. That is great news.
9:38- We have an 1800 word essay due Thursday. That is not great news.
9:40- The kid one row ahead of me, and a seat to the right is playing chess. I will keep you updated on his game as we go along.
9:43- He is in a bit of trouble, he just lost his queen.
9:50- This class is unique compared to my others, everyone is usually up and paying attention. We ask questions and take notes.
9:51- Checkmate, game computer. Its all good though he just started over.
9:56- This professor is an odd character. He wrote a novel and always flaunts the fact that he is a "professional writer." However he always wears a vest to class. That assures me that I am a better human being than he is. A vest is a sign of weakness to me. It tells you that he is worried about being cold but he doesn't want to wear something that will make him too hot.
10:05- He just lost again. This class is very tough.
10:13- This kid loves computer chess, and God bless his little heart because he sucks.
10:18- The professor tried to get on to Google. He failed twice because he misspelled Google.
10:20- The amount of e-mails this school sends out is ridiculous. I am not a junior so I should not be getting an e-mail for juniors.
10:28- He is still on Google, he has not said a word in the past fifteen minutes. An awkward silence has blanketed this class with the exception of the sounds of fingers typing.
10:30- I want to use this time to ask the government to ban the "Saved by Zero" Toyota commercials. If I have to hear SAAAAAVVVVEEEDD BYYYY ZEEERROOOO one more time, I will start killing baby penguins or something until it stops.
10:33- The kid is still playing chess.
10:40- Class is ending and he just got up from the chair. We just spent 12 minutes waiting for our teacher to fail at trying to find something online. He failed and failed miserably.
10:45-Departure.

Alcohol Probation Watch Days 4-6

2008-11-09T22:34:00.000-08:00

My first weekend on alcohol probation has been completed. Friday night nothing was really going on and the weather was not too nice. Saturday night I did not have to worry because I was off campus from 11 AM-3 AM Sunday. However there was a close call with two of the twelve apostles of alcohol probation. An unnamed resident had a bottle of an alcoholic beverage in an unnamed room and two unnamed probationaries were in there. One of them fleed and the other one was in bed and nothing came of the situation.

My roommate and I are currently IMing each other. We are 5 feet away from each other. So many people are guilty of this however. People text each other in the same room. Texting and IMing has made personal encounters so different. It is so easy to say something online but face to face is harder. Real, concrete, personal conversation is a dying art. It is sad but its the truth.

Here is a story from my past for all of you who read:
In November of 2003, a movie called Timeline came out. If you have heard of this movie, give yourself a pat on the back. It was a bad movie. To put it in perspective for you, it cost 80 million dollars to make and did not even gross 20 million while in theaters. It is a movie about scientists who time travel to the year 1357 in the midst of the Hundred Years War between France and England. The movie was so bad. Anyways, one day we had off for Christmas break my friends Dylan and Mike decided it would be a good idea to see this movie. There was one issue, it had just snowed. And when I say snowed, I mean there was a blizzard. Well we thought it would be a good idea to walk to the theatre because the roads were so dangerous. We trudged about a half-mile in a foot and a half of snow and 20 degree temperatures to see an awful movie. People tell stories to their grandkids about how they walked 3 miles in a blizzard to save someones life or to get to school because there was one school in the county back then. Well we walked in a blizzard to see a bad film starring the worst actor I can think of (paul walker-notice I did not capitalize his name because he sucks.) What a great experience.

Alcohol Probation Watch Day 3

2008-11-06T23:18:00.001-08:00

Today was an interesting day. I had my Media Studies class that meets once a week for two hours and forty five minutes. So after that I came back to my room and took a nap. While I was slumbering, my roommate Brian was asked to show our dorm for a campus tour. He obliged. So a group of people came into our room and saw me asleep. Its a weird feeling knowing that people saw you when you were asleep and you have no idea. Like for all I know, they were dressed in banana hammocks and danced around in here.
Tonight was also movie night for our media studies class. We went to see the 7 PM showing of Changeling, the new Clint Eastwood film. To say the movie was great would be an understatement. To say what happened after the movie was good, would be a gross overstatement. It was not a well put together trip. There was no bus arranged for us. Prof. Miller asked who had cars on campus in our class (a freshman only class, with an exception a senior named Doug who snuck in). Since only Doug and Maile (a volleyball star from California had cars) Prof. Miller asked Doug to ask a friend of his to drive. We had four drivers for about 19 people. When we arrived at the designated pick up spot 5 people did not show. So Dougs friend did not have to drive. He came anyways. But I digress..So the movie ends and we are all getting ready to leave when Maile realizes her car won't start. A student named Henry, Doug, and myself tried to get a car with two women to pull over to see if they had jumper cables. We approached the car and they did not roll their window down, they waved and sped off. We all were pretty shocked. Then our Professor left. Soon it was just Maile, Rob, Tom, Henry, and Myself. It was an interesting experience. But we got home safe and sound and we were good friends to Maile. And the 12 of us who were written up have made it to day 4.

I hope to liveblog Religous Studies again tomorrow.

Show 7

2008-11-04T13:03:00.001-08:00

http://robandspyder.com/Shows/08%20November%203,%202008.mp3

our new site is up!!

www.robandspyder.com

Alcohol Probation Watch Day 1

2008-11-04T12:44:00.000-08:00

On October 17th Room 136 was written up along with 9 other people. We were playing beirut in our dorm on a 7 foot table. We all had our meetings yesterday and were put on 30 day probation. I will be updating our journey back to innocence.

Live Blogging Information Literacy

2008-10-28T05:02:00.001-07:00

7:59- I walk into class, I woke up at 7:45 and I had to come to class because if you miss more than one class you fail the course. However, I just view this class as an interruption of my sleep, I come to class and then go back to my room and go to sleep til about noon. It is raining. I hate today. Info. Lit is a one credit course that is mandatory for all freshman to take their first year. The class is designed to help you find information, or so they say. In essence they teach you how to use the library. It is 3rd grade all over again.
8:03- There are 9 people here. The class has a roster of 18.
8:05- Professor Kwasnik is the teacher in this class. He is taking attendance. He is letting the 9 of us know that it will help our final grade being here today. Really? Showing up to class is going to help our grade?
8:09- We finish a quiz, a kid walks in and is told he will be marked absent because he is more then 5 minutes late. He walks right back out.
8:12- Professor Kwasnik tells us to e-mail him with a fake name, so that we can take another quiz, that won't be graded and someone can grade it without embarrassing us. Since my pride is already broken by having to be in this class, I chose to be John the Baptist.
8:18- I am telling you I feel like its 3rd grade. We literally just made a little diddy to remember the Dewey Decimal System. Yikes.
8:22- He is collecting the quizzes. He wants to know if anyone chose Barack Obama or John McCain, someone raises their hand. The whole point of the exercise was to raise anonymous. This kid should be marked absent.
8:25- Alex walks in 25 minutes late, he is told he has to see Professor Kwasnike after class because this is his second absence. Poor guy.
8:26- I was checking my e-mail and....My 8 O'Clock Class tomorrow is cancelled! I love today.
8:29- Out of the now 10 kids in here, there are 3 sleeping. 30 Percent of this class is sleeping.
8:32- I just got called on and got the answer right. I won't type the transcript because my cousin Owen who attends my alma mater, United Nursery School, would probably get the answer, then again he is extremely bright for a pre-schooler.
8:37- The kid behind me is videochatting, I know this because the person turned his computer around for a second to show the person on the other end the class.
8:39- Professor Kwasnik announces that next week is the last class for this course. I have to contain myself from picking up my chair and lifting it up in glee.
8:41- I can't wait for Thanksgiving.
8:45-We are a half-hour away from dismissal and I can honestly say that I have learned nothing new this class.
8:47- I just discovered a new window in this classroom. It overlooks the north parking lot.
8:54- We have to go online and find reliable sources for a certain subject. Professor Kwasnik went to each individual to see how the search was going. Mine is not going. It was awkward when he came over here but we pressed on. He asked me how it was going, I said fine, he said good and moved on. I dodged a bullet.
9:02- We are now 13 minutes from dismissal. I am so excited to go back to sleep. That statement is kinda sad. When the thing you are most excited for at the moment is to go to sleep, thats a scary thought. Oh well.
9:05- Professor Kwasnik is giving us a little pep talk for our last class. The excitement level is undescribable. If this doesn't get your blood pumping, I don't know what will. He tells us its been a pleasure working with us and that we all have "futures so bright, we need lampshades." I want to tell myself this is a college course but I know I'd be lying.
9:12- We are about ready to be dismissed. Check in friday to see if I liveblog religion 101 again.
9:13-Dismissed..

Rob and Spyder Show #6

2008-10-27T22:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.mediafire.com/robandspydershow

this was a fun show. we had two guests and it turned heated. some good callers too.

also check back later for a possible liveblog of my 8 AM class tomorrow.

we also set up a rob and spyder website, you can find the link in the links page. convenient eh?

Rob And Spyder Show #5

2008-10-25T00:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry I am late posting this one.
Be sure to check out the live blog of my religion class below.

http://www.mediafire.com/robandspydershow

Live Blogging Religous Studies 101

2008-10-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

9:27- I arrive in class, there is currently one other person in class. Promising day attendancewise.

9:31-Professor Dost arrives. There are now 15 people here.

9:36-17 People! We are handed a leaflet about a field trip in which we have to provide our own transporatation to. It is to Yale University. Thats reassuring isn't it? Were going on a field trip...to another school that is better than ours.

9:39- First question of the day:
"Can anyone tell me the start date of Islam?"
I answer "around 500 or 600 AD"
"Right, actually 610 AD"

9:49- A 45 year old lady named "Steffi" who sits front and center, is on her iPhone.

9:51- Professor Dost asks us to take out our textbooks, one person, Steffi the iPhoner takes it out. She volunteers and is picked on to read.

9:53- Steffi is still reading.

9:54- Steffi is becoming a main character in this live blog. Professor Dost just asked "Who is Moses and what did he do?"
Steffi retorts: "A lot "
We have a jokester on our hand.

9:57- Sleep count: 5 students.

9:58- Professor Dost explaining the story of The Poor Man Lazarus.

10:01- We are told to turn to page 306, however, the passage is to lengthy to read. Time is precious and we can not waste it by reading the text. Back to the beginnings of Mohammed.

10:04- Random things out in plain sight in class:
Nail Polish
Aveeno Hand Moisturizer
Lacrosse Stick
Cheez Its
Umbrella-it is sunny and not a cloud in the sky

10:10- Professor: "Can anyone name a few of the gods the Jews believed in before they turned monotheistic, besides Yahweh?"
Kid one row back, one seat to the right: "Yahweh"
Professor: "Yes, the god of Israel is Yahweh."
We move on without naming a god. He literally is acting like he did not just ask that question, there are now close to ten people sleeping. I love this class.

10:15- I have been IMing with Regina Loftus who urges me to download Skype. I try to do so. However I forgot to turn off the volume of my laptop. When I began the download, the computer pretty much yelled "Download starting!!" Dost does not bat an eye lash.

10:17- Flora another 45 year old lady is reading now. She is from the Czech Republic, her accent is thick, but her facial hair is thicker.

10:19- A student just walked into class. 49 minutes late.

10:22- I was just reading the field trip leaflet again. He suggests we take the train or try to find a student with a car to get a ride with. I am gonna ask Steffi for a ride. I am sure she can fit at least 6 more in her mini-van.

10:23- Steffi is trying to argue a point. She completely contradicted herself in her statement. I won't print the transcript because I don't want the world to think Sacred Heart University is a school for special people.

10:33- Professor Dost is calling out Mohammed. According to Muslim belief, he received the message of Allah at age 40. Apparently the number 40 has big ties in the Old Testament. He calls Islam a "religion of borrowed tradition and good stories" gotta love political correctness.

10:40- I just found a Furby on ebay. I am considering purchasing it.

10:41- Mohammed dies in 632. He was 62 years old. We have an hour and four minutes left in class devoted to Mohammed and the Quran. It is a good sign when you are done with today's topic an hour plus early.

10:47- Break time.

11:03- Back from break. I was 6 minutes late. There are still about 8 people who have yet to return.

11:05- We are to assemble in groups. Not one person moves.

11:09- Nobody has grouped up. However Steffi is hard at work. She is flirting with the lacrosse player in her row. This is fun to watch to say the least.

11:11- The final person has returned from break. We were supposed to be back by 10:57.

11:16- Group work is going great. Nobody is doing anything. A football player was just standing in front of the room for no reason. I think he was sleep walking. He got up went to the board, leaned against it, and sat back down. No words were said. It truly was an incredible event to watch.

11:20- Still not in a group. Things I have accomplished this class:
Set up my fantasy team for this weekend.
Updated my iTunes.
Ripped about 50 songs from other peoples iTunes using Mojo.
Talked to about 10 people online.
Ate tater tots.
Finished a gatorade.

11:30- I am still not in a group. Nor is anyone else. Professor Dost is explaining to some of the kids about the final. One girl just asked if we could do an open book final because there is too much material. Well that is why its a final. Steffi is raising her hand. This is great. A 45 year old woman is raising her hand to get the teachers attention. I love it.

11:35- Group work is over! All good things come to an end. Professor Dost just asked us to share what we research. Since this is religion if he asks me I won't lie. I will tell him what I researched. I went on imdb.com and tried to get from Ben Savage (Cory from Boy Meets World) to Peter O'Toole. I have yet to get to O'Toole. So I guess in essence I failed this group work session.

11:38- Steffi is ruling group work discussion. Truly awe-inspiring.

11:40- Class is supposed to end at 12:15 but Prof. Dost says he will never keep us past 11:45. We are heading toward that deadline and I am scared.

11:42- While we are winding down here are some class stats:
most people sleeping at one time: 8
most people on their laptops at one time: 16
dumb field trips planned: 1
latest person to come to class: girl from Trinidad & Tobago at 10:19 AM-49 Minutes late
longest break: spanish girl with Uggz-24 minutes late
tater tots eaten by class as a total: approx. 120

11:45- Not dismissed yet.

11:46- The computer just logged off and we saw a photo of Dost's daughter. Cute. I think it was a metaphor, the computer left class, so we should leave class.

11:49- "When suicide bombers blow themselves up, they protect their genitals."
-Professor Dost.
I am glad that we are held a little late today, because that was a great statement.

11:51- Done. Thanks for reading.

Homecoming.

2008-10-10T23:17:00.000-07:00

Coming home was an incredible feeling. It was weird. I didn't know what to do at first, naturally I said hello to everyone and my dog. After that I felt a little lost. So I did what I do when I am confused, I sat down on a couch and watched hockey. There is something about hockey that calms me down, I don't know what it is exactly, but for those three periods (sometimes more) all is good in the world. I have talked about my affinity for S. Park Ave in RVC in previous posts. Today I took a walk down that road. The road that leads me to my house. It is such a nice road to walk down. It is well lit and on weekends is buzzing with people patronizing their favorite watering holes. It is really cool to see all that, but my favorite part is when you cross Lincoln Avenue. You cross from all the hubbub of the bar scene into a quiet residential area. All is quiet save the sound of a few sprinklers and the occasional car passing by. One thing I missed that I have overlooked is leftovers. I love leftovers. Anyways, all is well on Hendrickson Ave. Although I think Christopher Columbus is a phony and I still believe the world is flat, I thank him for giving me this weekend and a chance to venture back home.

MJL

Show #4

2008-10-06T21:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.mediafire.com/robandspydershow

This was my favorite show thus far. Rob and I just had a lot of fun and it was no holds barred fun.

Rob and Spyder Show #3

2008-09-29T18:39:00.001-07:00

This is the latest installment of the rob and spyder show. This show, in our opinion, was the best yet. Let us know what you think.

http://www.mediafire.com/robandspydershow

Things I Miss

2008-09-28T22:20:00.000-07:00

This is a list of things I have missed over my first month away from home. I obviously miss my family and friends, but this list is about the small things I miss.
Killian
South Park Ave
Quizno's
Driving
Privately Owned Barbershops
Roosevelt Field
Sand
Long Island Rail Road
Sunrise Highway
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Taco Bell
Ralph's Italian Ices
Southern State Parkway
Couches
Private Bathrooms
Deli's
Churchill's
Champs
Cabo
Grillfire
Softball
Bandits Soccer
The YES Network
MSG Network
MSG + Network
Wiffleball

Rob And Spyder Show # 2

2008-09-23T11:33:00.001-07:00

This is the permanent link for the radio show. From now on all shows will be found on this link.
There were some technical difficulties with the show last night but it went well. My mic was a little screwed up but we think it turned out okay..

http://www.mediafire.com/robandspydershow

Guest Blogger: Dylan Prior

2008-09-22T10:01:00.000-07:00

She was laid to rest on a Sunday in September, but her story is far from over. As I looked out onto the field from my seat in the left field bleachers last night, every memory I’ve had from Yankee Stadium rushed through my mind. From my first game in 1995, when the Yanks faced the Boston Red Sox and I learned what “1918” meant, to Derek Jeter’s farewell speech and the Yankees’ final lap around the Stadium with their caps doffed to 54,610 adoring fans, I’ve come to consider the place a second home. If someone visiting New York asked me what I thought the one place they should visit should be, my answer would be a no-brainer. Skip the Statue of Liberty, you might get seasick on the boat that takes you there. Catch the Empire State Building some other time, all those steps aren’t worth it. There’s barely room to move in Times Square, and those Broadway plays are a dime a dozen. You need to go to Yankee Stadium. Why? Because she’s got everything. Because she’s hosted Popes, rock stars, boxing legends, football greats, and most importantly, the winningest franchise in all of sports, her Yankees. Because her memories range from the most euphoric, including Don Larsen’s perfect game in 1956, the 1996 World Series clincher and Aaron Boone’s 2003 walkoff home run, to the most emotional, like Lou Gehrig’s “Luckiest Man” speech and President Bush’s first pitch in 2001, to the most gutwrenching, as in the Yankees’ 2004 collapse at the hands of the Boston Red Sox. Because win or lose, every Yankee fan takes with them countless sunny days in the South Bronx when they hadn’t a care in the world. Because more often than not, they won. Because every time you walk through the tunnel to your seat, you know you’re about to spend three hours in the company of your heroes. Because Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter stepped onto this field and into our hearts. Because every fan’s idea of Yankee Stadium is unique and beautiful in its own way.
For me, she’s given me the experiences of a lifetime. I stood in amazement with my friends Brian and Mike just feet away from Derek Jeter when he dove into the stands to make a catch in a game on July 1, 2004. I was equally amazed by his bodily sacrifice and concerned for the Captain’s health. I chanted with my friend Steve urging Bernie Williams to come back for one more year in what would be his final game at the Stadium on October 9, 2005. I felt the ground shake beneath me when David Justice sent the Yankees to the Subway Series on October 17, 2000. I joined Bald Vinny from Section 39 when he began his Bleacher Creature roll call with “Yo, Melky!” I pumped my fist with Joba Chamberlain on Opening Day, April 1, 2008. And I cried as the first notes of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” blared the moment Cody Ransom stepped on first base to end last night’s game.
She’s not just grass, seats, walls and fences. She’s the people who have performed on baseball’s greatest stage and the fans who have given her such a distinctive personality. She’s the reason I went to see the Yankees take on the Mets the day after my prom with about thirty minutes of sleep. She’s the reason I faked sick to leave school at lunch to catch a weekday matinee. She’s the reason I traveled four hours on Amtrak to see her one last time.
She’s Bob Sheppard, “Box seats suck,” the Great New York Subway Race, the YMCA, “God Bless America, “ and “Cotton Eye Joe.” She’s the constant clang of a spoon on Freddy the Sign Man’s pan. She's "THUUUUUUUUH YANKEES WINNNNN!". She’s “The Boys Are Back In Town” when the Bronx Bombers return from a tough West Coast road trip. She’s “The Imperial March” when the opposing lineup is announced. She’s “Enter Sandman” and a wall of sound. She’s “Black Betty” when the opposing pitching coach comes to talk things over with a clearly shaken hurler. She’s a four syllable chant that always seems to have the perfect ring to it. She’s never needed Thunder Stix, pom-poms or rally towels. She’s a homer into the black or the short porch in right. She’s a siren and “The Natural” as a Yankee rounds the bases. She’s the bright lights of October baseball, but she’s also a cold April night in a half-filled upper deck. She’s parking in the supermarket on Grand Concourse and walking past the courthouse. She’s Jeter’s fist pump. She’s Rudy Giuliani’s front row seat. She’s George Steinbrenner’s turtleneck. She’s hundreds of “Yogi-isms.” She’s Joe Torre’s gait to the mound. She’s standing on her feet with 2 strikes. She’s a crowded 4 train approaching 161st and River Ave. She’s the superstars I felt unworthy of being in the same building as: Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Roger Clemens and Alex Rodriguez. She’s the heroes of the four World Series teams I’ve witnessed: Paul O’Neill, Scott Brosius, Andy Pettitte, Tino Martinez, David Cone, Orlando Hernandez and Bernie Williams. She’s the role players that embody the spirit of New York: Jim Leyritz, Graeme Lloyd, Miguel Cairo, Ruben Sierra, John Flaherty, Mariano Duncan, Bubba Crosby, Luis Sojo, Andy Phillips and Tanyon Sturtze. She’s a reliable old friend. And she’s you and me, and that’s why her farewell was far from a burial.
Whether or not she needed to go this year is debatable, but the reality is that she will not be open for business in April 2009. And while this winter may be a long one, it could also be a time to reflect on all the memories you’ve had inside her walls. Goodbye Yankee Stadium and thanks for everything, and like it or not, I’ll be across the street next year rooting on my favorite team with you always in my heart.

Yankee Stadium.

2008-09-21T22:08:00.000-07:00

As I have said before, I am not good at saying goodbye. Tonight when I (along with millions of others) said goodbye to Yankee Stadium the feeling was solemn. I admit I am a much bigger hockey fan then baseball fan. But this building transcends baseball. It means so much more then any other sports-related building. It could be among the top 5 most important buildings in America. There is no way to describe the feeling you get upon entering the stadium. You see the field and everything feels right. There is something perfect about it. There is nothing like watching men act like boys in front of 50,000 plus people. It is innocent. The game itself is as innocent as anything in this world. The people who play it may tarnish it, but baseball is America. We all cherish it. At Yankee Stadium you pay top dollar but it is not like any other sports site. You pay for baseball, but even more than that you pay for the experience. You pay to feel the perfect aura baseball carries with it. You pay for something that is priceless.

"Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come."

-Field of Dreams

The Rob and Spyder Show

2008-09-16T17:48:00.000-07:00

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=ae24bb4855950f0bab1eab3e9fa335ca3ad660422d65fc39

That is where you can listen to the Rob and Spyder show, a radio show co-hosted by myself and Rob Coloney.

The Art of the Jersey Shirt.

2008-09-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

I love sports jerseys. I love jersey shirts even more. The jersey shirt is a beautiful thing because it is a much cheaper alternative to the authentic jersey. This gives the consumer room to be creative. If you are shelling over one hundred bucks for a jersey, most likely you will be buying the shirt of a superstar. However, at 15-24 bucks the jersey tee gives one a chance to show their true colors. Yesterday, a friend and I saw a Shea Hillenbrand jersey tee, today around noon I saw a Kansas City Royals shirt but I didn't get a chance to see who was on the back. We all get sick of seeing Tomlinson, Manning, Brady, Favre, Jeter, Ortiz, A-Rod, Ramirez, Rollins etc. but when you come across a Nick Johnson Nationals jersey or a Jason Bartlett Rays jersey not only is a smile immediately brought to your face but you also like the person wearing the jersey no matter what. It shows the person who is wearing the shirt is not a follower and can think for themself. The jersey tee is a great thing.

MJL

Old People

2008-09-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

One thing I miss a lot while I am away at school is that there are not enough elderly people around. The elderly are great. When you are nice to an old person and they tell you that not enough people do things like that anymore, your day gets that much better. They also hand out money like it grows on trees. One time I went to my grandma's house and she paid me 40 dollars for school, then she gave me 100 more when I helped her find the cap to the cranberry juice. Old people are also great because they are entertaining to watch and listen to. Think about how many times you've been walking in a parking lot and you see an old couple bringing their bags of groceries to their Buick Lacrosse. It is funny. Or think about when you are behind a car moving 14 MPH and you know the lady driving is about 92 and can not see over the steering wheel. Old people can also get away with anything. If they are saying certain words that were acceptable in their day, everyone lets it slide. Nobody bats an eyelash when an old man says "colored" or something worst. And also nobody ever criticizes old people if they tell a bad story. Everyone will always look like they are interested in what is coming out of the narrators mouth even if it is the longest, slowest anecdote of all time. I think old people are under appreciated. That is all.

MJL

Guest Blogger: Chris Mango

2008-09-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

Every so often I am going to ask a certain someone to blog about a certain subject. Today's specific person is Chris Mango who will enlighten us on this season as a yankees fan.

If you’re like me, a Yankee fan born in 1990, you know nothing but winning and success. You know nothing but October. You don’t know what missing the postseason is. Guys like Jeter and Rivera don’t know what being home for the playoffs is. This year might be a different kind of year. 2008 has been different from many other years in the past fifteen for the Bombers and the Pinstripe faithful. Why, you ask?

It is the emergence of the Rays? Maybe, we are 8-5 against them (including a pretty win tonight), but they sure are pesky as hell. They seemed like a nice story for a good part of the season, but after putting up 21 wins in August, they have legitimized themselves as a true contender. They care about the game. They play with energy and enthusiasm. They’ve just been doing everything right this year, and that might result in the Yanks missing the playoffs.

Is it because we have lost series that we would have eaten up in years past? Probably, find me another year in the recent past where the Yankees have lost home series to teams with worse records that Detroit (a sweep), Cleveland, the Mets (a sweep, the way they were playing in May), Cincinnati, Texas, Toronto, and lowly Baltimore, for Pete’s sake. The Orioles, the bane of the Yankees’ existence for the past few years (especially at Camden), have taken 3 of 5 series from the Yankees this year, a reason why we are in the shape that we’re in.

Is it the pitching? No, the pitching hasn’t been as a bad as everyone has made it out to be. Yes, no wins from Hughes, and Kennedy (who everyone hates now, including yours truly), but who thought Mussina would have 17 wins with a month left? You could put the onus on the offense for the most part. Don’t tease us anymore. Don’t put up 16 runs one night, and just one the next. Don’t put a man on third with one out, and then proceed to strike out and pop out to end the inning. It’s not just A-Rod, he’s had a solid year (and a stint on the DL, mind you), it’s been Jeter a lot of times (21 double plays, phew), Cano (ghastly for most of the year), and (minor-league) Melky for the most part, among others.

Is it the Torre factor? I’m afraid so. There’s panic this year. There hasn’t been panic since the early 90’s in Yankee-land. How much would it irk me if the Red Sox, Mets, and Dodgers (b/c of Torre) all make the playoffs this year, and we’re sitting at home? A lot. In some of the games that we’ve lost (I’ve watched all of them), the loss seemed to have more of an effect on me than on the players. This shouldn’t be, and this hasn’t been Joe Girardi’s finest work of art either. Now, we’re paying for it. No one thought that 6-0 shutout to the Reds on June 21 or that 2-1 loss to the Rangers on June 30 would ever have an effect on such a team, but all of these losses hurt, and that is why with 24 games remaining, we’re facing an 11 game hole in the AL East (not catchin’ Tampa), and a 7 game hole in the Wild Card (we can catch em’). Let’s wake up.

Blogging From Bed.

2008-08-31T22:14:00.000-07:00

I moved into my new home/school today and I have to say it was bitter-sweet. I had a tough time leaving my family, really tough time. College is weird, it has been fun so far but it is something entirely knew. I love meeting new people and I have met a lot of good people tonight. Hopefully this is the start of something new and exciting. Hopefully I take advantage of this opportunity and have a great time. All I can say is "hopefully" because I have no idea what is coming my way. Today has taught me that we cannot stop time. Time will continue to roll on and we will not be able to stop it ever. I wish we could. So I guess this. There are so many cliches about time and how we have too little of it. But who really "Lives life to the fullest every minute of every day with no regrets" Nobody does. We all wish we did but we do not. It is sad but most people are content to just get old. The days pass and they just sit back as the days roll by. The key is to do your best to enjoy life. I'd like to thank you all for reading this blog. Hopefully you enjoy it. Today was the beginning of the rest of my life and I am nervous, but this blog has helped me a lot.

MJL

Letter to David Wilson.

2008-08-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

I decided that one can not know enough people in life. So I decided to try something new. I went to Whitepages.com and typed in Wilson, West Taure Haute, Indiana. There were a few names to choose from and decided to pick David Wilson. For David's sake I will not publish his address. What I am going to do, is mail David a letter. I hope to become friends with him over my life. I am going to publish the letter I am going to write to him and mail him though. This will be a part of a series, I will try to mail a letter or two a month this way i can mail one to all 50 states in a few years. Without further ado...The Letter.
Dear David,
My name is Michael Leboff, I am a freshman at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. One day I realized that I want to connect with as many people as possible in my life. So I decided to randomly select a few people from a few different states, you were one of them. I guess its kinda like winning the lottery without all of your "friends" coming back to ask for money. I guess I'll let you know a little bit about myself. I am 18 years old. I want to be a writer/documentarian when I grow up. I hope to make it big. I am a hockey fan, and I am a diehard New York Islanders fan. I have a dog, her name is Killian. I went to an all-boys high school. It sucked. I consider myself to be a people-person and you will not meet anyone else in your life quite like me (as is evident by this letter.) Anyways I hope to hear from you, and if not Godspeed and Go In Peace.

Sincerely,
Michael Leboff SHU '12

I hope this guy doesn't kill me.

MJL

**UPDATE LETTER MAILED AT 1:23 AM EST on 8/30/2008**

An End, A New Beginning.

2008-08-28T22:28:00.000-07:00

Saying goodbye is a part of life. It is not one of the better things about life but everyone has to deal with goodbyes. And I know this is not really a 'goodbye' but more like a 'see you later' but it is still pretty damn tough to deal with. There are some people who handle these sort of things pretty well and don't get too emotional about it. I am not too good with saying goodbye. Even though I will see my friends during various breaks and then again in the summer, that is still a lot less then I am used to. I am sure all groups of friends think this, but there is something special about this particular group. We came together and stuck. There was something so natural about us. We had "it". And the thing is, I really don't know what "it" is or at least I do not know how to describe it. All I know was that it was quite visible to those who knew us. They knew it and we knew it. These are the people we could turn to in any situation and they would help out. Sure, we endured rough patches and fought a little bit but we knew that when all was said and done, bygones would be bygones and at the end of the day we would still be friends. Things will be different now as we are separated by our respective schools and we will not see eachother as often as we like, but I think we all know that nothing will really change. When we see each other we will still be the same bunch of guys just sitting around a Taco Bell table laughing away the day. I will miss you guys a lot. See ya on the flip side.

MJL

Ranting...

2008-08-27T20:58:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let loose a bit tonight. I picked up on a few things over these past couple of days that need to be shared.

The Nickname is a dying breed. Sure a lot of people have nicknames but most of them are very simple (see: A-Rod, KG, D-Wade) I think gaining a nickname is similar to gaining stripes as a policeman. When you meet someone with a nickname like 'Asphalt' or 'Lollipop' you are immediately intrigued. You want to know how the name came about and the person immediately moves up a few notches in coolness. When you meet someone and they say "Hi, I am Joseph but most people call me Joe." Your reaction is not one of shock and awe. But if someone says "Hi, I am Greg but people call me Half-Pipe." You will probably double take and ask how he got that name.
Another thing I noticed is that waiting on line at the supermarket deli counter turns good people into bad ones real quick. My local supermarket employs one of those ticket dispensers with each ticket being individually numbered. Usually when you arrive at the counter you will be about 8-12 people away but it goes pretty quick because the counter has several employees. On Sunday's however the counter gets busy and thats when impatient people will pull some nasty tricks on you. After you use your ticket you put it in a basket on top of the counter. Two weeks ago I witnessed an elderly woman take an already used ticket out of the already used ticked basket and she moved up 11 spots and was waited on immediately. Now I was not mad at this lady(who I knew only ordered a quarter-pound of turkey because she knew she was down to her last sandwiches and didnt want to waste any cold cuts.)because she had balls and it was a gutsy move. I did however snitch on a middle-aged man dressed in plaid shorts, a collared shirt, and boat shoes to boot. I was mad because well he had virility. He was alive and kicking so he could wait the 10-15 minutes to get served while in the lady's case I didn't think she would make it home to chow down on her turkey on wheat sandwich. So when I said to the man, I believe you cheated, he said something to me that will stick with me for the rest of my life, kinda like herpes. He said "There is no cheating in deli meat kid. There are those who wait in line, and those who don't wait in line. What side are you on?"
The term pantsuit will always be funny to me.
I am not good at saying goodbye.

MJL

People/Things I Do Not Like Part 1

2008-08-27T13:25:00.000-07:00

Every so often I will publish a list of names, items, organizations etc. that I loathe. I feel like these columns will help everyone get to know me better. I will not give reasons for my distaste for these people, places, things, organizations etc. You, the reader, just have to trust my judgment on those entries.
Kevin Youkilis
The Jonas Brothers
Pumper-Nickel Bread
Energy Drinks
Fr. James Williams
Jack Johnson
Matt Johnson
White Castle
Steve Phillips
George Clooney*
Henrik Lundqvist
Lance Bass
Hernan Cortes
The Entire Cast of Every High School Musical Movie
Apartheid
Tom Cruise (after 2004)
Joe Buck & Tim McCarver
Sean Avery
Gary Mancini
Taylor Hicks
Barry Melrose
Genocide
PETA
Ed Hardy
Diet Soda
Mosquitoes
Tom Giordano
Boston (the city, not the band)
Boston (the band)
Ferris Wheels
Dr. Pepper
James Dolan
King Henry IV
Foreclosures
Pre-Season
Duke University
Cold Case

*-I think George Clooney is a talented actor and is a rugged-heartthrob, who has kept his pimp hand strong since his days on 'ER' I don't like him simply because I am jealous.

THE Debate

2008-08-26T15:27:00.000-07:00

In the suburban village of Rockville Centre, New York, residents are faced with one particular question that splits up families like the Civil War did almost 150 years ago. The debate(which at times has turned violent) has raged on since the year 2003 when the village was buzzing over the newly opened Quizno's on S. Park avenue. The convenient location (across the street from the movie theatre, right in the middle of "town") really helped Quizno's get off and running very quickly. On the other side of Sunrise Highway was a Subway which had been opened on Long Beach Road just prior to Quizno's. People on the north side of RVC were extremely pleased with Subway and swore by their relatively cheap sandwiches. The opening of Quizno's sent shock waves throughout the village. The question had to be raised, Are you a Quizno's person? or Are you a Subway person? To me it is a simple choice (now I maybe biased because of Quizno's proximity to my house) Quizno's is the better eatery.
Rockville Centre's Population is about 25,000 people according to the 2000 census. (and wikipedia) There are two sections of RVC. There are those who live south of Sunrise Highway, which is split half and half between residential and commercial real estate and those who live on the north side which is almost 100% residential. Those who live south of Sunrise usually are fans of Quizno's and those who are on the north side are fans of Subway. This only makes sense because it is easier for southies to get to Quizno's and the northerners to get to Subway. But for someone who comes from out of town and is looking for the best eating experience at a franchise deli, a decision has to be made. (I refuse to compare the two franchise's health benefits. This country is so wrapped up in calorie crunching that it makes me sick. If you don't want to eat a calorie laden meal, make your own salad.)
A very important criteria for picking the right place to dine, especially with today's economy, is the what your dollar(no matter how weak it is) is getting you. Subway has lower average prices then Quizno's. It always has. But when you look at what you are getting for the price you are paying it makes you think. Subway's sandwiches are extremely generic (i.e Meatball, Chicken-Bacon-Ranch, Italian) whilst Quizno's sandwiches are more unique. (i.e Chicken Carbonara-chicken, bacon, and mushrooms topped off with a creamy alfredo sauce. Baja Chicken-Chicken with bacon, onions with a secret baja sauce, and a spicy bar-b-q-like sauce.) Also the Quizno's toasting is of a lot higher quality then Subway's. The toaster at Quizno's is their go-to marketing tool. The innovative toasting device is what launched the Denver-based franchise onto the global scene. A few years later Subway offered its patrons the opportunity to have their sandwiches toasted (their method of toasting? a conventional toaster oven.) While both franchises offer pretty much the same amount of sandwich choices, what if you are not in the mood for a hearty sandwich? This is where Quizno's really blows Subway out of the water. Quizno's offers some incredible soups, flat bread salads, chili, and the new "Sammie" flat bread sandwich. Subway does offer pizza and soup but they are once again pretty generic. Sammie's are pretty much smaller versions of the delectable Quizno's sandwiches. They are small and can be taken to eat while walking. Marketing has always been Subway's strong point. Jared Fogle became a celebrity as we watched him shed pounds as if they were going out of style. After we got sick of Jared and his weight-loss antics Subway put two former NY baseball managers, Joe Torre and Willie Randolph on their commercials. They were pretty entertaining commercials. To counter Subway's affable commercial spokesmen Quizno's introduced us to "The Quizno's Sponge Monkeys" while the creatures are a little bit creepy and not in the least bit appetizing, they were unique and original. (for a look at these ads http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZrks-BPeLQ) Obviously both eateries have strong points. It just comes down to the fact that Quizno's is the classier, more upper-echelon eating establishment. The inside decor is more modern and edgier then the cozy look of Subways. Quizno's assumes you are a smart person too. To enjoy Quizno's one has to know what cilantro, baja, alfredo, and honey mustard are and what they taste like. This means you have to be somewhat cultured. It also means you are not a robot to the media today. You can sit and watch 30-40 Subway commerials a day and still have enough self-control to not choose Subway. So it comes down to this; Quizno's is the better choice and to disagree simply means you are not that smart.

MJL

Prepping for College/Politics

2008-08-25T21:49:00.001-07:00

I am leaving for school on Sunday. In fact, I ventured to the wonderful world of Target today with my mom to start shopping for my new home. As we walked through the aisles marked COLLEGE ESSENTIALS (written in a neon green color I can only hope to never, ever see again. Although it did its job because it had the same effect as a light does on moths. Except replace the moths with pre-frosh students and their worried mother who think they need at least twenty-seven towels, thirteen laundry baskets and a full set of china) I got to thinking about how I feel six days before leaving home. I broke down my feelings at 11:15 AM EST like so: 33.3% of me is excited, 33.3% of me is nervous, and 33.3% of me is curious, .05% of me is hungry, and .05% of me is tired. The first emotion to discuss is the excitement I am feeling.
I am very excited to meet new people, gain more independence, and because Islanders Opening Day is only about six weeks away. Everyone says it is only natural to be nervous before going away to school, they are right. Anyone who says they are not nervous is most likely lying through their teeth or has no soul. I like to think there is something for everyone in this world. Some people like sports, others enjoy theater, while some people enjoy switching genders..the point being you are not the only one who likes what you like. That is what is so wonderful/scary about this world. The trick is to seek out the people in your life who enjoy what you enjoy and enjoy doing it with you. For the past 18 years I have found a group of people that I enjoy to be with and I hope that feeling is mutual. To me one knows they have good friends when he or she can sit down and montage and montage hard for hours. (Editors Note: Not sure if montage was ever used as a verb before but it seems to fit in naturally as one)The songs in my montage rotate between, "Twister" by Remy Zero, "All or Nothing" by O-Town, "Zombie" by The Cranberries "Summer Girls" by LFO, "Turn" by Travis, and "A Walk Through Hell" by Say Anything. Curiosity killed the cat. That saying, first coined by Thurgood Marshall (fun fact #1), rings true not only in the feline world but also in 'The Real World' too. Think about how much drama is caused in the house because the roommates are curious. There is always that one slutty girl who is curious as to how fast she can sleep with every person within a three-mile radius of the city they are residing in. Then there is always the token African-American person who is curious about what it is like to "taste the white meat" for the first time, this leads to the southern alpha-male saying something borderline racist that ends up in a race-brawl. All kidding aside curiosity is a weird thing. As much as it can get you in trouble, it can also lead you to new adventures in life. We would live boring lives if our curiosity wasn't a gateway to the risks we either do or do not take. Going to college is just that, a risk. We are hoping that our past decisions which have taken us to this point have been for the betterment of ourselves. We all are spending enough money combined on tuition, books, and room/board to save pretty much every African nation south of Somalia (except South Africa, which is not in too bad of shape) on what we HOPE (keyword) is an experience worth the risk we are taking not only financially but emotionally as well.

Speaking of the exuberant price tag on college (segue), politicians keep promising to lower costs of education (among other things) Now I am not a fan of any politician really. It all comes down to who I hate the least. I supported Dubya in the past two elections strictly because I thought Al Gore was a pompous prick (still think that) and I liked Bush over Kerry because I thought Kerry's face was stretched out almost to the point of snapping in half. I know these are not the best platforms to base your opinion on who you support to be president but I was young. Now that I am four years older, I have decided to officially endorse Barack Obama for the Presidency. Why? You ask. I will tell you why. It is because he has more flair than John McCain. I think Obama has a charm about him that we have not seen since the days of Chester A. Arthur. He has a certain swagger and youthfulness to him that I am attracted to. (emotionally, and maybe a little bit sexually, but hey everybody is gay once in their lives) Once again this is not a perfect system but neither is the government.

MJL