Predictions for 2008

• The election will be between Obama/Richardson and McCain/Rice. Bloomberg will run as a third-party candidate. Obama will win.
• I will buy at least one piece of furniture, for which I will have very little input.
• One or more Supreme Court Justices will announce their retirement.
• The writer's strike will end in April, with new shows airing throughout the summer. At least three plot lines from new shows will include striking and/or standing around outside.
• Bush will publish a "Plan for Iraq" that no one believes will work.
• Daniel Day Lewis will win the Oscar for best actor.
• Lilah will call me "da-da."

Iowa

Man, Huckabee scares the shit out of me.

Kids Today

I don't pay much attention to the radio these days, and I'm not too hip on what the kids are listening to. Here's a link to a song about rainwear that's pretty popular.

Seriously?

This is British singer Lauren Rose's techno spin of Hava Nagila. This must be from the same people who thought giving Brittany Spear's mother a book deal was a good idea.

Motion Granted

I just learned that my motion for leave to appeal to the New York State Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state, was granted. They only accept about 5% of the cases looking to appeal, and it freaking rules that we won.

The case is Sum v. Tishman Speyers. Sum was a cleaning lady in a union who was sexually harassed at work and ultimately fired, after she complained. We brought the lawsuit in state court, and the company moved to compel arbitration, saying that under the union's collective bargaining agreement ("CBA"), she had waived her right to a jury. The court granted the motion, since the existing state law says these agreements are enforceable.

The problem is that the federal courts, and almost every court in the country, hold that these CBA jury waivers are NOT enforceable. We appealed to the mid-level court, the First Department, asking the court to essentially reverse itself and bring the law of New York State in line with the rest of the country. We lost, in a very short opinion.

Our victory today permits us to appeal to the highest court in the state, to see if we can get New York in line with the rest of the country. I'll keep you posted. This rocks.

What I Learned From Blacking Out At Our Annual Holiday Party

• RULE #1: When, at 12:30 am, after a night of drinking beer, then wine, then gin & tonics, it is NOT a good idea to switch to rum & cokes. 12:30 should be your turn around time.


• Should you fail to adhere to this RULE #1, be prepared to clean up rum & coke colored vomit in the morning.


• Should you delegate cleaning up said vomit to your wife, be prepared to offer her jewelry to compensate her.


• Waking up and not remembering how you got there is as fun as it sounds.


• Don't have a bagel and orange juice after you just threw up. Not a good idea.


• Leave the chip bowl on the coffee table overnight, so that it will be right near the sofa the next morning, just in case. Be prepared to buy Nilda a new chip bowl.


• Its better to throw up ginger ale or Sprite than to throw up nothing at all.


• It might make sense to think that you've got a virus, but its more likely that you're just really hungover, or have alcohol poisoning.
• Lord of the Rings is an amazing trilogy.


• Have the saltines & chicken soup. Nilda is right.


• Yes, you are actually dying.


• Julie is my sister and I love her.


• I am advised that I still can't take down cousin Bill.

Bad Ass Bears

Here's what random youtube browsing found:



Here's a great one of bear fight (wouldn't let me embed). Check out how the one bear craps himself. Fo' real!

What Have I Done This Year

As the New Year approaches, I thought I'd reflect on what's happened this year. So far, I:

• Got married.
• Went to Spain with Nilda.
• Made partner.
• Joined a wine of the month club.
• Worked out regularly and even did pilates in preparation for the wedding.
• Went from the best shape of my life to the worst shape of my life.
• Re-did the bedroom, including painting and getting new furniture.
• Bought a laptop.
• Watched my nieces keep getting bigger.
• Bought Guitar Hero III.
• Had an awesome bachelor party.
• Started a blog.

Overall, a pretty good year.

Cloverfield Monster

Here's the first glimpse of the monster in Cloverfield, the NY monster movie from the guy who made Lost, with the head of the Statue of Liberty getting thrown around.



Still only completing 80% of One on Guitar Hero III. I'll keep you posted.

Here's a link to the full trailer for Cloverfield, totally post-9/11. While we're at it, here's one for the new Batman movie, too.

Excuse Me

Please don't call Steve Martin a "comic genius." Otherwise, we'll have to start calling Huey Lewis a "music legend." Did you see Housesitter?

Guitar Hero Hero

It's amazing how some college kid playing Guitar Hero III with his loser friends watching can totally change my perception of what is possible for mankind.

http://www.break.com/index/1-guy-beats-hardest-guitar-hero-level.html

Ballet Thoughts

Here's some of what I was thinking on Friday night when I took Nilda to the American Ballet Theater at the City Center (the tickets were for her birthday):

1. How do I know its started if there's no talking?
2. I don't get it.
3. Yeah, she's the hottest.
4. If he's not gay, I'll bet he gets laid a lot.
5. Do you think these guys go out dancing at clubs for fun?
6. Someone actually sat down and thought about this?
7. I wonder how much they get paid for this.
8. Oh, its sort of like the circus.
9. Man, there are a lot of old people here.
10. Hey, that's Mo Rocca!
11. What did I miss?
12. I should have brought more candy.
13. I am so playing Guitar Hero III when I get home.
14. Happy birthday, Nilda.

Best Arm Wrestling Movies of All Time

1. Over the Top
1. Over the Top
1. Over the Top

Whats Happening, Doobie?

Check it out 3:30. Oh, Rerun...

Last Night

So I saw the Shins last night at Terminal 5 (used to be Exit). I had not heard them much before that and no one could tell me who they sound like. You'll be pleased to know that I, yes I, have figured out who they sound like. Their a combination of Modest Mouse, the Strokes and Radiohead (they even played a Floyd cover). The crowd was post-college professionals and everyone was looking to see where the weed smell was coming from, so they could find something to help ease their pain from glaucoma.

To the lady on the subway platform this morning

Thank you for blasting "I Will Always Love You" on your earphones so loud that everyone around you could hear it. It was truly a delight to hear the lovely - and inspiring - shrill voice of Whitney Houston at 7:30 in the morning. I look forward to possibly hearing some Celine Dion on the way home.

More On The Road

The legend is that Jack Keroauc wrote "On the Road" in a three-week, benzedrine-filled marathon writing session in 1951, recounting his travels back and forth across the country. The truth is that Keroauc had decided to write "On the Road" years before he even went on the road, and had worked on multiple variations and settings for years before the three week session that produced the scroll, which later became "On the Road," fueled almost entirely by coffee.

While "On the Road" is in many ways a love letter to the mentality of Keroauc’s friend Neal Cassidy, the writing of the book itself is also a tribute to Cassidy’s writing style. Before writing the scroll, Kerouac was fascinated by a letter that Cassidy wrote over a marathon of three days, and emulated that method in writing the scroll. While "On the Road" recounts Keroauc following Cassidy’s travels across the country, it was Kerouac following Cassidy’s writing style that similarly led to "On the Road."

Goodbye Flower

Tail Ripped Off

Here's an amazing video of a comet being hit by a wave from solar eruption, ripping off the tail of the comet. More details on apotd.

Aliens In America

After reading a great review in the NY Times, I made a point of watching "Aliens In America" on CW last night, about a loser in high school whose parents bring in an exchange student from Pakistan to be his friend. What makes the show so interesting and real is the blatant racism coming from the chacters. The mother, having expected a white European, wants to return him, a teacher asks which of the students don't like the "terrorist," and the kids at school call him "Fudge-Pakistan." Almost as good as the Steve Urkell Show.