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6/30/08

Voice overs

Back in the day, it seemed like big movie stars didn't get anywhere near commercials or TV for that matter. Now we got George Clooney doing Bud ads, Gene Hackman w/ Lowe's, Jeff Bridges for Hyundai but all as voice overs. (By the way, the Nasonex bee is NOT Antonio Banderas)

what's Clooney's take home for reading 20 seconds of copy several times over? Is this really worth it for the company if only a fraction of people recognize the voice? or is vague subliminal familiarity also worth something? and if vague subliminal familiarity is worth something, why not just pay a Clooney impersonator? These are questions only the blog-o-sphere can answer.

While we're on the subject, what's the take home for being a voice in a Pixar movie these days? Those movies have more stars than The Player.

6/26/08

Sports highs and lows

They finally delved into the ultimate frisbee waiting list so I joined my team tonight mid-season. Let's just say the rust was showing. I made more poor throws than decent ones. O was there and, luckily, he has yet to develop a spectating eye. He came running on the field to give me a high five after some young fast dude beat me to the corner for a score. 'Great play Dad!' (O was about 100 feet away but we also can't rule out a sarcastic high five). I guess the pain was worth it when O jumped into the circle at halftime and said, "When someone is next to you and they're getting the frisbee, you can catch it instead!" The team loved it. And we got to drive a convertible out to the field.

The O's stuck it to the Cubbies today 11-4. What can you make of one series? I don't know but the Cubs had the best record in baseball and a 14 game home winning streak going when the O's came to town. After dropping two out of three to the O's and recently getting swept in Tampa, I'm sure the Cubs have gained a little perspective on their championship dreams.

6/24/08

Slow sports day Monday...

The Orioles were off following their 11th STRAIGHT Sunday loss (it's not all bad; they're 37-25 on other days of the week) so the sports world was left to deal with the revelation of Shaq's latest rap effort. I kept seeing the same update scrolling on espn "Shaq disses Kobe in rap" or something like that. I couldn't believe this would make the scroll, as it were, until I saw the rap on TMZ. It's hilarious -- you must check it out: Shaq, a grown man by all accounts, settling the score w/ Kobe in a semi-private setting where he must've known video would be rolling.

On an unrelated note, scroll through The Onion's statshot archives for a couple minutes between patients.

6/23/08

George Carlin 1937-2008

Sad news of the passing of comedy legend George Carlin last night....

It seems that he'll be remembered as 'edgy' and perhaps even 'angry' but if I haven't forced you to already, watch "Playin' with Your Head" to see one of the most clever and playful stand-up acts of all time.

And, as always, when told to "Have a good one!" make sure to reply:

"I already have a good one - I'm looking for a longer one"





6/19/08

When the cat's away...

Julie was out of town for a couple days so Owen and I got a chance to do all the wild things we dream of such as:


moongazing at the Franklin institute with Bix, Janet and Don




smushing two dimes and a penny...because we can


Eating gi-normous portions of black forest cake for dinner at German Beer night at the ball park



taking cool pictures, (O not actually dangling precariously on balcony)



shooting pool (in red crocs) way after bed time with Harsha

**In no way is Dad attempting to belittle the importance of schedule-following and adequate sleep. By Father's Day, it caught up to O who during brunch went through wild swings of melt-down (these shoes are giving me blisters!) and giddiness (uncontrollably laughing reading aloud sign saying 'do not touch the dog. she will bite your ass.')

6/12/08

Sniglets needed

If you don't know what a Sniglet is, read this then help me come up with two. (If there are already Sniglets for these, post them and take credit).

1) That moment when you're monologuing on a cell phone for an extended period and then you stop and there's silence. you don't know whether the connection was lost or the other person isn't responding (conversuction?). Also, maybe we need a separate Sniglet for the talking that occurs after an actual lost connection.

2) A similar phenomenon, but with typing ... when you accidentally hit the insert/typeover button (or the person who used the keyboard before you had it on....wtf?!?) and you inadvertantly start typing new words over the ones you've already written. If you're looking away while typing, you can sometimes erase a whole line (mega-[fill in Sniglet]).

Also gives me a chance to acknowledge a great Sniglet made up by, I believe, Jackie Kiang. It's called "buttprehension" and it's the feeling of squirrely-ness that causes you to run up the stairs hurriedly when someone is following you trying to pinch/poke your butt. (I'm guessing if you've never experienced buttprehension, it's because you were an only child and/or currently do not have a young child that chases you on the stairs trying to poke your butt.)

6/10/08

Two things that will never look/be cool

First is the blue tooth in the ear while in public spaces (airports, grocery stores, doctor's waiting rooms, etc). Seriously, whatever it is you're talking about could be condensed into a text message or email and then you would spare the world two things (1) your loud, inane conversation and (2) how stupid that thing looks in your ear.

Second is the Seg%way. I see these people in packs on the river bike path and I find myself instantly annoyed. First, the bike path is for exercise, not taking dork joy-rides. Second, what is the practical value of these things that cannot be much more cheaply accomplished with a bike or two feet? I am OK with a letter carrier exception because they have the bag. But cops? Bikes/horses can get around the city 5 times faster.

6/9/08

Greenfield happenings

Last Wed was the big Spring Fair ... but it got rained out. Most of the stuff was moved inside, including the Moon Bounce, which I was in charge of for an hour. The cute, little kids had already been sent back to their classrooms so I was left to referee the big ugly ones. I had to kick one of them out for rough-housing; I had the sense he might punch me when I told him he couldn't get a refund on his tickets. He might've been 4'6". The best part was that one of the parents came up to me towards the end of my shift to ask if I had a card, thinking I was the Moon Bounce rental vendor. I guess if medicine doesn't work out, I might make it as a Carny.

Today, they called a half day because of the heat .

This should get O fired up for summer camp. We took him there for an open house yesterday and it looks like it will be just about perfect: swimming pool, creek, two playgrounds, tree house, basketball courts...

6/3/08

The Age of Aquarium

O and fellow 110 classmates had a field trip to the Camden Aquarium today. I arrived late, choosing to ride my bike over the Ben Franklin Bridge. (Note to self: check wind conditions prior to attempting again). The ride was a bit treacherous but helped remind me that we're long over due to check out the Camden River Sharks, whose Campbell field looks more kid- and wallet- friendly than the mlb parks.

Anyway, O seemed to have a great time at the aquarium, even asking if we could come back Saturday ("No! You planning to get a job to pay for all your entertainment?" I barked at him). He even found time to form a new indie rock band called 'Turtle Is Hot' (please enlarge album cover below)
As you can see, one of their artistic statements is anonymity. As Bix explained to me, they have made a visual pun on the hack-neyed name-tag tradition by having theirs face backwards. They performed their first single "Seriously, this turtle is hot.... is it time for lunch?" live at the aquarium.

Owen also got other children (rather than adults this time) to worship him:


He also took time to pose for a proto-Senior picture choosing 'Jungle' as backdrop even though most of the others in his class picked the neon, cursive 'Class of 2020' on top of a Camaro.