Poutin' Manning

I truly, genuinely completely hate the NFL quarterback named Peyton Manning (aka Poutin' Mooning, Pey-me-a-ton Mooning, etc. etc.). I go to Vanderbilt (and thus am anti-UT), I am a Titans fan (and thus am anti-Colts)... and I even considered myself anti Volunteers in high school becuase that obnoxious orange drives me crazy.

Poutin' hosted SNL last week. I didn't see the show. I didn't expect it to go that well as I personally think Mooning is not very natural and believe that his commercials, though sometimes funny, take multiple takes to get to the mediocre performance he usually gives.

That being said... I saw this sketch/pseudo-commercial/short and I have to admit it is absolutely hilarious. I think it appeals to me becuase he is saying things that it looks like he's always thinking while he's on the field. So kudos to Mr. Manning for a good performance, at least in this.

HURRY AND WATCH IT WHILE IT IS STILL ON YOUTUBE!!!

Nuestro Perro Nuevo

This is our new dog. We adopted her from a shelter in Murfreesboro. I was excited to find a dog that fit our preferences and at the same time rescue an animal. She is 6 months old and is approx. half chihuahua and approx. half miniature pinscher. I say approx. because there is some suspicion that she might have some dachshund in her (because of her rather long, narrow back). Either way, chihuahua and min-pin are her dominant traits. As of yesterday's visit to the vet, she weighs 4.4 pounds. We don't expect her to get much bigger; 6 pounds is probably her maximum healthy weight, if not less.

We decided she needed to have a spanish name to honor her Latina heritage. We decided on Tequila, but we call her Tiki. Of course that hasn't stopped me from using several nicknames, from chalupa and gordita to cucaracha and, my favorite, "rejected taco meat." I try not to confuse her, but there is a plethora of entertaining and stereotypical nicknames available for an animal you have identified as Mexican.

She's pretty much bipolar. First thing in the morning, you would think she has been smoking crack all night. Then she curls up in your lap and conks out for anywhere from an hour to a day. She has an excellent temperament and is well socialized from her time in the shelter. She is still adjusting, but I think she is getting comfortable with us. She has started exhibiting some protective behaviors (barking/growling and noises and knocks), but I'm working hard to establish my dominance, which should help her relax and behave.

One of the great things is that she came to us about 95% housebroken. She was so used to using the ground to eliminate that she only had one accident of each variety in the apartment. Since then, only outside. The real test comes tomorrow when she will be confined during the day. She's also relatively crate trained, which is wonderful. Oksana wants her in the bed, but we're putting her in the crate for now. She whines, but she understands it is her place and hasn't woken us up from the other room (brief attempts to have her in the same room failed since she whines every couple hours).

She has shown very little mischief. She hasn't chewed on anything (we can barely get her to touch her toys, even ones stuffed with treats). She has been extremely picky about treats, which is difficult because having treats a dog loves are the key to humane training. We've already tried three different kinds (inc. one recommended by the vet) and she turns her nose up at them after trying it maybe once. I'm going to try some kitty treats today, a former neighbor of ours had success with those with her small dog.

Here are the photos. I'm afraid she is not very photogenic at all. Trust me when I say she is much cuter in person.


Scratching at her new collar.


Looking at the photographer.


Perhaps her favorite activity, couch lounging. It looks a little like she joined the police force, but that's just her harness. We switched to it because she is so small we were worried about jerking her around by the neck.

Jim Gaffigan

Last night Oksana and I went to the Ryman to see standup comedian Jim Gaffigan. The show was pretty good. It was a decent mix of new and "classic" material, although perhaps maybe a bit too much older material. The really cool thing about it was that Gaffigan has a personal policy of signing autographs and taking photos after his show. Keep in mind this is the Ryman Auditorium, not exactly a small venue. He waited around at least two hours to meet and greet. (the show itself was less than 90 minutes!). It took me about 1.5 hours to get to him. Even after all that time he was very pleasant, funny, and grateful (he shook my hand and said "thanks for coming out"). He always autographs anything you want him to and takes time to make sure he spells your name right. It was very cool for a celebrity or at least semi-celebrity to be so accessible. He really appreciates his fans and it certainly doesn't hurt him to have a merchandise table near so that you can buy something to get autographed (but you don't have to). Here is a NY Times article about his meet and greets. (use klausnyt6 as the username and ciaociao as the pw if you aren't registered)

Here are my photos from the evening:


I was waiting in line here.


This is my photo with him. He always adlibs his pose.


Here is my autographed ticket and hot pocket box. If you are confused about the hot pocket reference, see below.

Who is Jim Gaffigan? Aside from being a stand-up comedian, he has appeared in several Sierra Mist commercials. Below is his most well known bit, "Hot Pockets." Below that is one of my favorites "The Case Against Cinnebon." Enjoy. After that, several of his Sierra Mist commercials (the first one I just saw for the first time and is absolutely hilarious). After that, one of the "Pale Force" cartoons that he does for Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He appears on Conan at least every few weeks. And I think he's involved with their current hornymanatee.com (google it if you don't know what I'm talking about) obsession. He is also on a new TBS show called My Boys. I haven't seen it. Sorry for all the clutter, but I think it is hilarious so I thought I'd share.

(Removed because they were giving me problems loading the page- email me if you want them)

honestly, i didn't think MadTV was capable of producing something like this

Spiderman Site/Trailer

There is website being run by comcast at http://spidermanoncomcast.com/. Tomorrow (3-23) they are supposed to launch the final Spiderman 3 trailer there. I don't know whether you have to be using comcast to access it (I am using it right now, and I didn't try it at school). I would guess you don't, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, there is a ton of great stuff on there even before the trailer is posted. There are several very short behind the scenes things. There is also a long behind the scenes thing for Spiderman 1 and 2 and a very long sort of documentary on the evolution of the "black suit" in the comics. I thought it was really cool and gave me a lot of insight as someone who did not read the comics and doesn't know the story.

Here are some screen caps I got from the new trailer. I just picked out stuff we haven't seen in other trailers yet (mostly venom, but there is a picture of a scarred Harry first) Click to see full size version.

Bewaaaaaaare the Ides of March!

BeWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE the Ides of March!!!

2051 years ago, Julius Caesar was assassinated.

In 10 Minutes

For the geography student in all of us...

How many of these can you name in 10 minutes?

• US States


• European Countries


• African Nations


• Countries...actually UN Recognized States

holy crap

ummm... you guys remember Jennifer Elliot from highschool? she was in our class-

so this girl Jenn invites me to be her friend on myspace and i look at her profile- lives in Cali, doesnt look familiar at all- so i'm about to reject it when i see that she grew up in nashville-- so i shot her a message- "hey i see you grew up in nashville- am i supposed to know you?"
and she replies:

"Scott Scott Scott,

We graduated together... actually you and I have know each other since elementary school... we had band together in Jr High... Jennifer Elliott is the name! -

you don't remember me! We had tons of classes together throught the years... I don't remember the exact ones... I had Ms. Winfrey, Ms Giles, Ms Grisham, Ms Haas, Ms Smith, Ms Wagner, and Ms Ham in Elementary. I know we had Mr Starks together in Jr. High... but then we had some highschool classes together too.

I didn't look like that in highschool... I was about 100 pounds heavier... that may be throwing you. But I've always had dark brown hair"






ok- here's her picture- and they all look like this (and becuase i'm single i'm allowed to say this)- they are all really hot, in my humble opinion...

thats gotta be one of the bigger transformations i've seen in terms of someone i knew personally- wow

Anyone else think this is really funny?

Al Gore's Belle Meade home uses more energy per month than the average American home uses per year

Also here

Might we call this.... an.... inconveninent... truth....?

hopefully this wont get taken down right away

this was hilarious.



these are also great (you probably wont get much out of the 2nd one unless you watch the office. but if you DO watch the office, it's hilarious.)

Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, and Lent

I come from a Christian tradition who doesn't necessarily celebrate the Lent. Therefore the whole Mardi Gras-Ash Wednesday thing is foreign to me. It wasn't until my high school years that I became familiar with it due to my friends from other Christian denominations began to celebrate it.
The concept of it seems strange to me. Mardi Gras is the last day before Lent, and therefore is a excuse to get wasted, females to flash their breasts, and other things that traditionally would be regarded as terribly sinful. And then Ash Wednesday comes and suddenly we all become religious and give up chocolate or coffee, or whatever in anticipation for the celebration for Easter.
It just seems weird to me. Jesus died for the world's sins, therefore in honor of him, we give up Cheetos for 40 days? I'm of the belief that we should live holy lives throughout out lives, and not just 40 days before Easter. Yet part of me says that if it helps someone grow closer to God, then it probably is a good thing.
Please don't take this post as me trying to discount someone's religious tradition. I guess I'm looking to try to understand the concept better.

i've never seen a cuter cat

this just freakin cracked me up. i've never seen one do this before.

i just upgraded this blog to the new version

i didn't really have a choice. i had to do the same with mine.

if anyone has trouble with this, just let me know. we'll get through this.

Conan O'Brien Hates My Homeland

I don't know how many of you regularly watch Late Night with Conan O'Brien, but this is one of my favorite features. I only watch occasionally, but I have managed to catch a couple of these segments. Basically, Conan has made a point to go through every country (alphabetically) and insult it. I've tried to find a complete and authoritative list, but all of them copy or reference this one. Sorry this is a big long, but it was hard enough to narrow it to my top 10. Feel free to comment on any favorites that I missed. Also it appears that I enjoy the really mean spirited ones enough.

These are some of my favorites:

Afghanistan
The bad news is, there's a new article about everyone farming opium.
The good news is, you can't read.

Angola
Hey, call me when your life expectancy catches up with your inflation rate.

Cambodia
How many temples does it take before you guys realize God isn't listening?

Egypt
Where priceless ancient statues and mummies are so close, you can fly to London and see them at the British Museum.

Finland
You've had over 5,000 years of culture, and the world's most famous Finn is still Huckleberry.

Georgia
Where Europe meets Asia and says "Hey, why don't we both dump our crap here?"

Ghana
The 'h' is silent, like a room full of people after you ask "What's worthwhile about Ghana?"

Guatemala
Where the Mayans invented the zero, as in "What are the chances this shirt was made by someone over the age of eight? Zero!"

Italy
The newspapers are reporting a miracle. Apparently, a statue of Mary moved her hand and said, "I just worked harder than 80% of your workforce."

Nigeria
Where children come first... in the draft.

And , as a bonus, what has to be my absolute favorite:

Haiti
You just celebrated two hundred years of independence. Congratulations. Now make a wish and blow out your burning pile of tires.

Top Television Shows of All Time

So I was thinking today how great television has become (in some ways... and awful in others). I am thoroughly convinced that the following three shows are the best three television shows of all time, in this order.

1. Lost
2. Arrested Development
3. 24

There have been plenty of greats (simpsons, family guy, south park, the office [although I don't watch that one], seinfeld, etc.), but none of them are as profound as those above in my humble opinion.

First, Lost seems to transcend television. It doesn't FEEL like a television show at all. It feels like a really well done movie. The picture is so vibrant, crisp, clean, etc. The music is phenomenal. The story is incredible. The best part is that it is essentially impossible to anticipate where the story will go. At a certain point, most of us get a "feel" for the cliches of modern storytelling. But Lost captivates me and really makes me wonder what will happen next. Add a fantastic cast to the mix and I think you have the best show... ever.

Second, Arrested Development. Many will think this is a stretch. I think that AD broke into a whole new realm of comedy. Unfortunately, this series was never rewarded in ratings, so it struggled and eventually was laid to rest. It was just too smart for the average American sense of humor I suppose.

Last, 24. If I remember correctly, none of you are 24 viewers. I didn't start until last summer. But I think 24 is to action what AD is to comedy. There is a certain "no holds barred" characteristic to it. Nothing is sacred. I don't want to give anything away, but lots of terrible stuff has happened in the show that most "hero stories" would never allow. It can be a tad predictable once you learn Jack's personality, but there are still plenty of twists to keep things moving and keep me interested.

Anybody agree, disagree, have any alternate suggestions? I admit that there are many shows that I have not seen at all and some I have not seen enough, but as far as I can tell, these are the top three.

blogger blues

if anyone is currently unable to post on this blog because of the new blogger that came out, please let me know and i'll send you another invitation. this should fix it.

Snickers Pulls Ad

Snickers Decides to Pull Their Superbowl Ad from Any Future Re-Airing



I have really mixed feelings about this. I thought the ad was hilarious. I didn't even consider this "angle." And frankly, part of me things it is stupid to say that this ad somehow marginalizes the gay and lesbian community.

But I see their complaint, and I don't think it is completely unfounded, but I think we have to draw the line somewhere.

I really try to be fair and considerate of other people's feelings and beliefs. My gut says people offended by this (be they homosexual or not) should just get over it. But if I really think it through, it is pushing the envelope. Essentially this commercial depicts gayness as.. well "gross and unmanly." And while I personally may agree with that depiction, I'm not really sure it is an appropriate ad. This bothers me becuase I think that we, as a society, get offended by so many things these days (except of course the white male stereotype... tons of commercials make fun of white men, but we have to overlook that... I'm sick of "stupid husband" commercials... Imagine if there were a "stupid wife" commercial... sorry different rant). When does it end? Are we going to completely sterilize everything that used to be funny?

Thoughts?

Legal Lad Podcast

For those of you have ipods or listen to podcasts, I have a recommendation:

Legal Lad's Quick and Dirty Tips to a More Lawful Life

iTunes Link

The "quick and dirty" series started with the grammar girl podcast. I enjoy it because... well lets be frank here... I have a little bit of a thing for grammar. Some of you might like the grammar girl one, some of you might not.

Either way- she has expanded into several other "QD Tips" podcasts, the newest of which is the Legal Lad. The great thing about these is that they are SHORT (always under 10 minutes, often under 5).

I listened to his first episode on iTunes. I thought it was very good stuff, the sort of thing everyone should know (what you do and don't have to tell a police officer when you are pulled over).

Check it out. You can download directly from their site or subscribe on iTunes

i think you could just make one for like $20

Ignignokt the bomb
(the one i had up here originally got removed from ebay. it was going for over $5000.)

here are others: Err, Err, and Ignignokt.

that whole scare was so stupid. have you seen the news stories? the stupid media is calling it a bomb "hoax." it's not a hoax just because people thought an electronic device with an ATHF character on it was a bomb.


also, this is really fun.

Madagascar pictures

I know it doesn't have anything to do with M&M's, but I thought I'd finally post a couple of my Madagascar pictures.
Me in the first village I visited. They had been having a lot of plague so we went with the local doctor to give a sort of public service announcement. Basically, he told them they were dirty. It was awkward.


An interesting insect called a giraffe-necked weevil. Kind of like a lady bug with a freaky neck.

One of the multiple types of chameleons we saw on our hikes through the rainforest. Sadly, I forgot the name...

The guy on my shoulder is a brown lemur. This place was kind of a lemur petting zoo for animals that they rescued. It was awesome, but he kept looking for food in my ear. Plus, he was pretty stinky.

It was hard to just choose a couple, so hopefully you guys like them. Let me know what you think and maybe I'll try to post a couple more sometime.