Thursday, January 24, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
TOP TEN IDEAS FOR THE NEW CONGRESSIONAL ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE
10. Everybody gets a Bridge to Nowhere!
9. Unemployed to get government jobs photographing Britney.
8. All CEOs to get a tax increase - Ha! We're just kidding! I mean, that's crazy talk.
7. For every job shipped to India, we get 10 gallons of chutney.
6. Sell A-Rod to the Chinese.
5. Use Warrantless Wiretapping Program to hack Bill Gates' bank account.
4. State of Arkansas Yard Sale.
3. Ladies of the 110th Congress Nude Calendar.
2. $500 bounty if you turn in an illegal alien - two problems solved at once!
And the number one idea for the new congressional economic stimulus package is:
1. Take the Giants and the points for $1 trillion.
9. Unemployed to get government jobs photographing Britney.
8. All CEOs to get a tax increase - Ha! We're just kidding! I mean, that's crazy talk.
7. For every job shipped to India, we get 10 gallons of chutney.
6. Sell A-Rod to the Chinese.
5. Use Warrantless Wiretapping Program to hack Bill Gates' bank account.
4. State of Arkansas Yard Sale.
3. Ladies of the 110th Congress Nude Calendar.
2. $500 bounty if you turn in an illegal alien - two problems solved at once!
And the number one idea for the new congressional economic stimulus package is:
1. Take the Giants and the points for $1 trillion.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
A.B.B. - 305
I started this at 1000 days, and we're down to 305. Talk about the audacity of hope! We're also on the verge of some votin', or caucusin' ("caucusin' by caucasians" - sounds like a Daily Show chiron) as it were, so it's again time to have a look at the would-be White House occupants:
REPUBLICANS
Mike Huckabee - As predicted here (you'll see that a lot - I like to gloat), the Huckster has become the default choice of the GOP base. He's ahead by a corn husk in Iowa and nationally, and moving up everywhere else. He's showing unmistakeable signs of cracking under the pressure, though. He's gotten a little petty and mean-spirited at times, and from what I've read, his staff doesn't seem to know what they are doing, which has reflected badly on him in the press. His lack of funds will be exposed after Iowa and New Hampshire. He can't possibly compete with Romney and Rudy for TV time in the Super Tuesday states. I don't think he can win by delegate count alone. It may actually come down to Minneapolis in September. Former Newt Gingrich staffer Tony Blankley has said publicly on two occasions that he is booking extra hotel rooms for the convention to facilitate deal-making. As the only faith-based candidate, Huck will get more than his due should it come down to that.
Rudy Giuliani - His fall in the polls has been precipitous, as predicted here. The scandal that got him good was the revelation that he had taxpayers pay for his extra-marital trysts with Judith Nathan. Joe Biden's line about "noun-verb-9/11" really nailed him, too. He's still got plenty of oil money, and he's cruising in New York, California, and Florida. At the very least he'll be in the mix on Super Tuesday.
Mitt Romney - The Well-Coiffed Latter-Day Saint is spending furiously to ensure a victory in Iowa, and he has a thin lead in New Hampshire. Like Rudy, he'll be around come February 5th with an unprecedented ad blitz covering all 22 states and all Democrats abroad. Knowing him, he'll have his message translated into 100 different languages and beamed to every TV station in the developed world. The man wants to win, which is half the battle, I guess.
John McCain - Mac is banking on a strong third in Iowa, where he rarely appeared, and a second win in New Hampshire to propel him ahead of Rudy and Romney as the moderate alternative to Huck. I don't see how anybody can make their living in the GOP as the moderate anything. Worst-case is that he finshes fourth in Iowa, second in New Hampshire, and all of the money runs out. This seems more likely.
Fred Thompson - Freddie is barely hanging on as a major candidate. The only way his campaign resurrects is with a win in South Carolina, where he is currently running third. Don't get too comfortable in that D.A.'s chair, Sam Waterston.
The Field - Ron Paul, Duncan Hunter. Paul is mysteriously raising big cash on the Internet, but he's not a Republican in anything other than name, and will not get the nomination. Hunter needs to crawl back under his rock and go away.
DEMOCRATS
Hillary Clinton - She still leads by a huge margin nationally and in New York, Florida, and California, and I still think she will be the nominee, but the whole inevitability thing has nearly vanished. It started with that press release about all the boys ganging up on her in the debates. What a dumb mistake that was by her campaign. Bill has pretty much taken over after that, and things have smoothed out, but Iowa may very easily go to Edwards or Obama, and New Hampshire is also very close. I doubt either of these results will have a bearing on the big three states or the Super Tuesday states, but once she starts ending up second or third, it could become a habit. It seems like a lot of Dems are trying to think of a reason not to vote for her.
Barack Obama - Well, I predicted that the party had given up on him as lacking experience, but he's held things together well in Iowa, is moving up nationally, and has emerged as the clear alternative to the Pantsuit. He's got to do a lot better in the big three states, though. If he could win California, it could turn the whole thing around, but so far, there are no signs of that happening. A win in South Carolina could help, and he is improving rapidly there. I'd say he has maybe a 25% chance of breaking through, which is a lot better than a few months ago.
John Edwards - He will follow up his win or second in Iowa with some really ugly results in New Hampshire, Michigan, and South Carolina, and then he'll be done, with a Veep spot a possibility. Pretty much the same as last time.
The Field - Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich. Iowa will be their last chance to kiss babies for a while. It's a three-person race now, and will be a two-person race by Super Tuesday.
INDEPENDENTS
Michael Bloomberg - Arianna Huffington says he's going to run, and he certainly has the money. At this point, his chances are nil, but Perot got 20% of the vote running against a sitting president, and he was balls-out insane.
REPUBLICANS
Mike Huckabee - As predicted here (you'll see that a lot - I like to gloat), the Huckster has become the default choice of the GOP base. He's ahead by a corn husk in Iowa and nationally, and moving up everywhere else. He's showing unmistakeable signs of cracking under the pressure, though. He's gotten a little petty and mean-spirited at times, and from what I've read, his staff doesn't seem to know what they are doing, which has reflected badly on him in the press. His lack of funds will be exposed after Iowa and New Hampshire. He can't possibly compete with Romney and Rudy for TV time in the Super Tuesday states. I don't think he can win by delegate count alone. It may actually come down to Minneapolis in September. Former Newt Gingrich staffer Tony Blankley has said publicly on two occasions that he is booking extra hotel rooms for the convention to facilitate deal-making. As the only faith-based candidate, Huck will get more than his due should it come down to that.
Rudy Giuliani - His fall in the polls has been precipitous, as predicted here. The scandal that got him good was the revelation that he had taxpayers pay for his extra-marital trysts with Judith Nathan. Joe Biden's line about "noun-verb-9/11" really nailed him, too. He's still got plenty of oil money, and he's cruising in New York, California, and Florida. At the very least he'll be in the mix on Super Tuesday.
Mitt Romney - The Well-Coiffed Latter-Day Saint is spending furiously to ensure a victory in Iowa, and he has a thin lead in New Hampshire. Like Rudy, he'll be around come February 5th with an unprecedented ad blitz covering all 22 states and all Democrats abroad. Knowing him, he'll have his message translated into 100 different languages and beamed to every TV station in the developed world. The man wants to win, which is half the battle, I guess.
John McCain - Mac is banking on a strong third in Iowa, where he rarely appeared, and a second win in New Hampshire to propel him ahead of Rudy and Romney as the moderate alternative to Huck. I don't see how anybody can make their living in the GOP as the moderate anything. Worst-case is that he finshes fourth in Iowa, second in New Hampshire, and all of the money runs out. This seems more likely.
Fred Thompson - Freddie is barely hanging on as a major candidate. The only way his campaign resurrects is with a win in South Carolina, where he is currently running third. Don't get too comfortable in that D.A.'s chair, Sam Waterston.
The Field - Ron Paul, Duncan Hunter. Paul is mysteriously raising big cash on the Internet, but he's not a Republican in anything other than name, and will not get the nomination. Hunter needs to crawl back under his rock and go away.
DEMOCRATS
Hillary Clinton - She still leads by a huge margin nationally and in New York, Florida, and California, and I still think she will be the nominee, but the whole inevitability thing has nearly vanished. It started with that press release about all the boys ganging up on her in the debates. What a dumb mistake that was by her campaign. Bill has pretty much taken over after that, and things have smoothed out, but Iowa may very easily go to Edwards or Obama, and New Hampshire is also very close. I doubt either of these results will have a bearing on the big three states or the Super Tuesday states, but once she starts ending up second or third, it could become a habit. It seems like a lot of Dems are trying to think of a reason not to vote for her.
Barack Obama - Well, I predicted that the party had given up on him as lacking experience, but he's held things together well in Iowa, is moving up nationally, and has emerged as the clear alternative to the Pantsuit. He's got to do a lot better in the big three states, though. If he could win California, it could turn the whole thing around, but so far, there are no signs of that happening. A win in South Carolina could help, and he is improving rapidly there. I'd say he has maybe a 25% chance of breaking through, which is a lot better than a few months ago.
John Edwards - He will follow up his win or second in Iowa with some really ugly results in New Hampshire, Michigan, and South Carolina, and then he'll be done, with a Veep spot a possibility. Pretty much the same as last time.
The Field - Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich. Iowa will be their last chance to kiss babies for a while. It's a three-person race now, and will be a two-person race by Super Tuesday.
INDEPENDENTS
Michael Bloomberg - Arianna Huffington says he's going to run, and he certainly has the money. At this point, his chances are nil, but Perot got 20% of the vote running against a sitting president, and he was balls-out insane.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
NYAH, NYAH, NYAH NYAH NYAH!
I have the rest of the year off, and you don't!
The flip side is, I'm so brain-stupefyingly bored, I'm posting an entry in this blog. And, you probably do have the rest of the year off, because only people under 22 read random blogs of people they don't know.
Well, I'm not sure what that proved, but I only have 12 days and 16 hours until I have something to do again.
The flip side is, I'm so brain-stupefyingly bored, I'm posting an entry in this blog. And, you probably do have the rest of the year off, because only people under 22 read random blogs of people they don't know.
Well, I'm not sure what that proved, but I only have 12 days and 16 hours until I have something to do again.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
OF ALL THE STORIES IN THE WORLD...
I guess Google News knows me better than I know myself...also, doesn't it figure that she'd be born in a Hindu nation?
Thursday, October 25, 2007
SHINY HAPPY LOCAL NEWS PEOPLE
Hey, it wasn't her fault they played the "cat-who-can-play-the-violin" story right before this one.
Monday, October 08, 2007
FLYING THE 'SEAT ASSIGNMENTS MEAN NOTHING' SKIES
Yeah, that would be USAirways. I'm on my bajillionth trip to Hawaii in the past year, and only Useless Air has the balls to ask me to sit in a middle seat because some dufus didn't bother to plan ahead and reserve seats next to their kid. Lack of planning on your part does not constitute a crooked spine on my part. This is twice now in two trips this has happened. If your reservation system doesn't work, don't ask me to inconvenience myself so that you can look good. And if you are bringing your snot-nosed little brat, BOOK IN ADVANCE!
Elsewhere, I like to play Spot The Newlyweds in the gate area. There's a guy in a backward Braves cap and a woman wearing sweats. Bingo! It's like the brides can't wait to rip off that dress and get into something with an elastic waist band.
Oh, there's no way I'm ever seeing my luggage again. I can feel it.
Elsewhere, I like to play Spot The Newlyweds in the gate area. There's a guy in a backward Braves cap and a woman wearing sweats. Bingo! It's like the brides can't wait to rip off that dress and get into something with an elastic waist band.
Oh, there's no way I'm ever seeing my luggage again. I can feel it.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
THIS SEEMS FAMILIAR
As many of you (or any of you, if there are any of you) may know, I re-established my Met fandom last year after Phillies Managing General Partner Bill Giles told a reporter that Brett Myers wasn't beating his wife, he was trying to help her. Brett Myers was in fact beating his wife, exposing himself and Giles as the criminals and villains that they are.
In any event, I started rooting for the Mets again, and in the year and a half since, I have experienced a crushing Game 7 NLCS defeat at the hands of the Cardinals and now the worst September collapse in MLB history.
Yup, these are the Mets. I remember them well.
In any event, I started rooting for the Mets again, and in the year and a half since, I have experienced a crushing Game 7 NLCS defeat at the hands of the Cardinals and now the worst September collapse in MLB history.
Yup, these are the Mets. I remember them well.
A.B.B - DAY 398
Summer has ended, time to see what's happenin' (as Raj, Dwayne, Rerun and the always formidable Dee would say) with the Anybody But Bush crowd.
REPUBLICANS
1. Rudy Giuliani - Hanging on to first place by the skin of his falsies, Rudy continues to pray that every day was 9/11 (only a year away, big guy!). America's Mayor has withstood some Swift-Boating from the NYFD, but look for more as the primaries approach. He made it through the summer without any huge hemhorrages, only the usual Giuliani stuff, you know, minor scandals involving various former aides and supporters that never gained any real traction. "I will make you safer," is his mantra, and he's sticking with it.
2. Fred Thompson - He's in! Just ask Jay Leno. Ol' Fred joins up just in time to win the NASCAR Dad, or as I like to call it, the Rednecks Turning (And Always Were To Begin With) Right vote. Boy, I've never seen such a pair of Republican shams as these two guys. At least Reagan actually believed his bullshit, as much as a guy like Reagan could understand what the puppet-handlers around him were telling him to think. Fred, like Rudy, belongs at a tony Manhattan or LA dinner party more than he does kissing babies and/or pigs at the Iowa State Fair (maybe that's why Fred missed this years'.) It should be fascinating to see to what depths of folksiness these guys will be willing to go to get the nomination.
3. Mitt Romney - Things aren't looking good for Mitt, despite his store-bought win at the Iowa Straw Poll. The creepy spectre of Mormonism haunts his every move, and it didn't help that he thinks his five miltary-aged sons are serving the country by working for their Dad's election campaign. He clarified his stance on abortion rights by saying that he was for them before he was against them. Nice going, John, er Mitt!
4. Mike Huckabee - He's still my dark horse. Every time I see him, he makes more and more sense, which isn't necessarily good for a presidential candidate, but it is refreshing. Yeah, I know, he said via Wolf Blitzer-inspired hand gesture that he doesn't believe in evolution, but what he meant was that he didn't think that evolution was strictly a natural phenomenon with no divine intervention, which is a mainstream view.
5. John McCain - Wow, he's behind Huckabee now (well, to me he is). Big Mac is out of cash and bereft of ideas, aside from The Surge Is Working, and it looks like he won't be retaining Karl Rove's services.
6. The Field - Tom Tancredo, Sam Brownback, Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul, Jim Gilmore. None of these guys have done anything to distinguish themselves, aside from maybe Paul, whose Libertarianism appeals to Hollywood types, at least enough to pat him on the head. I'm surprised at Brownback. I kept hearing all this hype that he was primed and ready and a darling of the base, but he keeps polling in the low single digits. Is anybody there? Does anybody care?
DEMOCRATS
1. Hillary Clinton - The Democrats seem to have settled on Hill to wear the pants(uit) for them in '08, which also surprises me. At this point, she'd have to fuck it up pretty bad to not get the nomination. She leads in every state poll and in the overall polls, often by wide margins (although, ominously, Iowa is close). I guess Obama still has a chance, with all that Internet cash he has, but it appears that the party has listened and turned away. 2008 will be an historic, and historically ugly, political year.
2. Barack Obama - Not Enough Experience. The verdict is in, and when you reach a conclusion like that, a few more months isn't going to help. Hillary could still blow it (no, Bill, it's not what you are hoping for), but I doubt it. He would make a hell of a Veep.
3. John Edwards - $400 Haircut has been reduced to the fallback's fallback, and a weak one at that.
4. Al Gore - What's he doing here? Well, he's running ahead of Edwards nationally, and would definitely give Hillary a coronary if he joined. We should be seeing "An Inconvenient Truth" on basic cable any day now, which should only help his chances. I simply can't believe he can keep himself away, not with Hillary about to go through a nuclear holocaust of right-wing sexist rage that could set the Democratic Party back from a presidential perspective for at least 20 years and in the South possibly forever.
5. The Field - Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich. Dodd is the only grown-up of the bunch (sorry, Dennis, but you are pretty short). Biden foams at the mouth and never shuts up, Richardson is a future cabinet member, Gravel is wacky (although I like most of what he says), and Kucinich is left of Hugo Chavez. Given that, even Dodd's odds are still near zero.
REPUBLICANS
1. Rudy Giuliani - Hanging on to first place by the skin of his falsies, Rudy continues to pray that every day was 9/11 (only a year away, big guy!). America's Mayor has withstood some Swift-Boating from the NYFD, but look for more as the primaries approach. He made it through the summer without any huge hemhorrages, only the usual Giuliani stuff, you know, minor scandals involving various former aides and supporters that never gained any real traction. "I will make you safer," is his mantra, and he's sticking with it.
2. Fred Thompson - He's in! Just ask Jay Leno. Ol' Fred joins up just in time to win the NASCAR Dad, or as I like to call it, the Rednecks Turning (And Always Were To Begin With) Right vote. Boy, I've never seen such a pair of Republican shams as these two guys. At least Reagan actually believed his bullshit, as much as a guy like Reagan could understand what the puppet-handlers around him were telling him to think. Fred, like Rudy, belongs at a tony Manhattan or LA dinner party more than he does kissing babies and/or pigs at the Iowa State Fair (maybe that's why Fred missed this years'.) It should be fascinating to see to what depths of folksiness these guys will be willing to go to get the nomination.
3. Mitt Romney - Things aren't looking good for Mitt, despite his store-bought win at the Iowa Straw Poll. The creepy spectre of Mormonism haunts his every move, and it didn't help that he thinks his five miltary-aged sons are serving the country by working for their Dad's election campaign. He clarified his stance on abortion rights by saying that he was for them before he was against them. Nice going, John, er Mitt!
4. Mike Huckabee - He's still my dark horse. Every time I see him, he makes more and more sense, which isn't necessarily good for a presidential candidate, but it is refreshing. Yeah, I know, he said via Wolf Blitzer-inspired hand gesture that he doesn't believe in evolution, but what he meant was that he didn't think that evolution was strictly a natural phenomenon with no divine intervention, which is a mainstream view.
5. John McCain - Wow, he's behind Huckabee now (well, to me he is). Big Mac is out of cash and bereft of ideas, aside from The Surge Is Working, and it looks like he won't be retaining Karl Rove's services.
6. The Field - Tom Tancredo, Sam Brownback, Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul, Jim Gilmore. None of these guys have done anything to distinguish themselves, aside from maybe Paul, whose Libertarianism appeals to Hollywood types, at least enough to pat him on the head. I'm surprised at Brownback. I kept hearing all this hype that he was primed and ready and a darling of the base, but he keeps polling in the low single digits. Is anybody there? Does anybody care?
DEMOCRATS
1. Hillary Clinton - The Democrats seem to have settled on Hill to wear the pants(uit) for them in '08, which also surprises me. At this point, she'd have to fuck it up pretty bad to not get the nomination. She leads in every state poll and in the overall polls, often by wide margins (although, ominously, Iowa is close). I guess Obama still has a chance, with all that Internet cash he has, but it appears that the party has listened and turned away. 2008 will be an historic, and historically ugly, political year.
2. Barack Obama - Not Enough Experience. The verdict is in, and when you reach a conclusion like that, a few more months isn't going to help. Hillary could still blow it (no, Bill, it's not what you are hoping for), but I doubt it. He would make a hell of a Veep.
3. John Edwards - $400 Haircut has been reduced to the fallback's fallback, and a weak one at that.
4. Al Gore - What's he doing here? Well, he's running ahead of Edwards nationally, and would definitely give Hillary a coronary if he joined. We should be seeing "An Inconvenient Truth" on basic cable any day now, which should only help his chances. I simply can't believe he can keep himself away, not with Hillary about to go through a nuclear holocaust of right-wing sexist rage that could set the Democratic Party back from a presidential perspective for at least 20 years and in the South possibly forever.
5. The Field - Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich. Dodd is the only grown-up of the bunch (sorry, Dennis, but you are pretty short). Biden foams at the mouth and never shuts up, Richardson is a future cabinet member, Gravel is wacky (although I like most of what he says), and Kucinich is left of Hugo Chavez. Given that, even Dodd's odds are still near zero.
NOT THE MICHELIN GUIDE
I've finally decided to write about my many travels, but I'm going to do it in the form of a travel guide. I'll list a bunch of topics, and rate each destination by each topic. You'll figure it out...
BEST HOTELS
1. JW Marriott, Ko Olina Resort, Ko Olina, HI. I love my job. Any job where I get to blog while looking at the ocean right outside the window is my kind of job. Hey, there's the ocean now! That's a lot of water. Maybe I'll catch the sunset...that was nice. Seriously, the Ko Olina, as the guys at the refinery call it, is pretty damned special, as are the prices, if by special you mean "Holy Shit that's expensive!" And for most people, absolutely nothing is included! The rooms are the best rooms I've ever seen, with a humongous bathroom with a glass shower and two sinks. The food at the Naupaka Terrace Café leaves a lot to be desired. It's basically Sodexho Marriott cafeteria food at ridiculous prices. They also have a fancy Mexican restaurant (Azul) and a Japanese place (Ushio-Tei), neither of which I’ve tried. You’re better off going over to Roy's, a high-end national chain with an eclectic menu which is on the property of the adjacent golf course (18 holes = you need to fill out a loan application). Roy's is the best food I've ever eaten in my entire life, and that includes my mother's cooking after 6 months of dorm food. The hotel has a nice little breakfast bar in the morning, but again, everything including the formerly free coffee is pricey. I wish the gym would open earlier (it opens at 6 am), since I am usually up by 4:30 because of the jet lag, and I have to be in the refinery by 7 am. The company I work for gets free parking and internet. Without that, they wouldn't let me stay here, I think.
2. Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix, AZ. The Biltmore is a Frank Lloyd Wright paradise in the desert. I love Wright's designs, and this place is as spectacular as it must have been when it opened in the 20’s. The opulence of the place is stunning, with huge fountains, putting greens, a life-sized chess board, hand carved statues, and intricate stonework everywhere throughout the site. We drove by Lynda Carter’s house, "Woman In Tights", which is just off the property, as is Paul Harvey's (no name given, although I’m sure if it has one, it has something to do with Gold Bond Medicated Powder). I was fortunate enough to play both of the golf courses, which are no longer owned by the Biltmore, but are just as gorgeous. The big downside of the place is that for the unwashed who actually drive their cars in, the parking garage is halfway to Scottsdale. I was there for a conference where all the meals were provided, so I didn’t try any of the restaurants, and I was too busy golfing to swing by the gym.
3. The Lodges at Deer Valley, Park City, UT. The Lodges is set at the base of a ski resort in Park City, affording spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. The rooms are very large, almost suites, and unlike many high-end, full-service joints, they provide a fridge and a microwave (what a concept, JW!). One weird thing was that you had to walk through the parking garage to get to your section of the hotel, which if I was driving I wouldn’t have minded. For this particular conference, though, I had my transportation provided, so it seemed unnecessary that I had to dodge rental cars in the garage just to find my room. All my meals were provided, so I can't say much about the restaurants. I saw a gym and an outdoor pool with jacuzzi, neither of which was able to get to. They had a nice little Starbucks Robo-Barista machine in the "General Store" behind the Front Desk, which was handy. The overall vibe of the place was old time Alpine Ski Lodge, which was strange in the summer, but it was nice enough that I’m looking forward to going back next year.
4. Marriott Copley Place, Boston, MA. At thirty-four floors, it is the tallest hotel I've stayed at for more than one night. They have a Starbucks, so score one for them. The gym was huge, but still full (damn those Boston travelers, always staying in shape). The room was tiny, but well-appointed. I didn’t try the restaurants because the conference I was at provided all the meals. The hotel is connected to the Shops at Copley, which is connected to the Prudential Center and the Hynes Convention Center, plus it is right on top of a T stop. Don't use that T stop to go to Fenway, though, like I did. It's two changes and lots of walking from the park. Use the Copley station across Copley Square, which is on the same line and only two stations from the Fenway Park Kenmore Square stop. I did get to meet 500 of the sweatiest 20-somethings Boston has offer, so that was nice.
5. Concord Hilton, Concord, CA. I only stayed here once, but it was nice. The breakfast was excellent, they have free parking, and there is an outdoor mall within easy walking distance with at least five restaurants and a bunch of shops. It's another full-service hotel, so not many freebies. They have a Starbucks shop right in the lobby, so I would live here if I could. I didn't try the gym there, but they have one.
6. Marriot Lincolnshire Resort, Lincolnshire, IL. This place looks like it was built in the 50's to accommodate families making cross-country trips in wood-paneled station wagons. The hotel building itself is mostly wood-paneled and low-slung (only three stories), and the resort has just about everything on the grounds, including horseback riding, tennis, golf, and even a drama theatre! The hallways go on forever and then branch out and go on some more. I spent almost 48 hours never leaving the hotel, it had so much stuff in it. This is another hotel with a Starbucks on site, although the barista was an annoying amateur comedian, and he shuts it down around 2 pm.
7. Embassy Suites North, Phoenix, AZ. It looks like a sprawling adobe Motel 6 from the street, but it's actually pretty sweet. They have a Cajun-themed restaurant, and a lobby that puts more expensive hotels to shame. The gym isn't bad, and the suites are huge.
8. Homewood Suites, Houston, TX. Pretty standard, run-of-the-mill extended-stay place, but they do everything well. They have a pantry, and the free hot breakfast was more than expected. The suites are good size, with a kitchen.
9. Residence Inn, Foxborough, MA. It's the Homewood Suites with none of the proceeds going to support Paris Hilton's coke habit. Nothing special, but more than adequate.
10. Embassy Suites, Walnut Creek, CA. I hate this place's parking garage! It's in the basement, and every space has a pole on one side or the other that is holding up the building. I brushed one with my rental car, and the company had to pay $500. They do have suites, and the food isn't bad. The breakfast is free, and it's a pretty good selection of stuff. There's a nice little outdoor "main street"-type mall up the road with a Greek restaurant and a coffee shop. The gym sucks, with only some crappy treadmills.
11. Uptown Motel, Kenai, AK. I was expecting an utter shit hole, so I was pleasantly surprised. The rooms are small but serviceable, and the wireless high speed internet is the best on the planet. No logging in to a stupid hotel firewall or anything, just boot up and go, and it's really fast. There is a semi-attached restaurant, Louie's, where the food is spectacular. The portions are so huge, though, that I can only eat there once a visit. Forget about a gym. You're happy just to stay un-frozen. You could go running, but I wouldn't recommend it. You might get raped by a moose. Or a north sloper.
12. Best Western Seven Seas, Mandan, ND. What can you say, it's a Best Western. They have a bed, a bathroom, and the old “Sanitized For Your Protection” seal. The restaurant was full of hearty Midwestern fare, and this hotel comes with, incongruously, a Water Park. I was there in August, and it was till too cold to swim, so, like, when isn't it?
13. Fidalgo Country Inn, Anacortes, WA. Another place with an improbable pool. It has great views of Puget Sound, and our refinery, but not much else going for it. The wireless Internet didn't work in my room. How hard is it to buy another router? Jeez louise, this is supposed to be Microsoft country. There was a restaurant in the same parking lot that was pretty lousy, and they also had a convenience store and not one but two drive-through espresso islands. There isn't much up in this neck of the woods, so you have to take whatever you can get.
14. Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, HI. The hotel itself isn't bad at all, but the location, right on Waikiki Beach, is terrible. You have to drive through about 6 million cars on narrow two-lane streets to get to and from it, and I was so exhausted after the commute back and forth from Kapolei that I barely had time to eat before I crashed. They have a bunch of nice little restaurants in the Village, and the rooms and amenities are great. You have to pay for internet and parking, and the gym is $10 a day. Forget it. I'd rather flab up for a week.
15. Hyatt Regency Waikiki, Honolulu, HI. This may be the worst nice hotel ever. They have two 40-story towers, and of course, they don't tell you which room numbers are in which towers. You get to do that coin-flipping experiment yourself. The parking garage is a nightmare – narrow and tall, and you have to go up six floors until you get to the self-parking. On top of that, it is across the street from the hotel, and there is no footbridge, so you must go down to the street and cross in the heavy Waikiki traffic. I ate at the "Terrace Bar" restaurant, and birds almost ran off with my meal. And it's 30 miles from the refinery, through more heavy traffic. I left after one night and checked in at the Ihilani.
16. Extended Stay America, Phoenix, AZ. Stay the fuck away. I mean it. What a disaster. They do throw in the mildew stains for free, so that's something. Never again.
BEST AIRLINES
1. Continental. The non-stop from Houston to Honolulu is about as comfortable as being locked in a flying death-cage for 8 hours can be. You get meals and in-seat entertainment, and the stews mostly leave you alone to sleep. I have tons of frequent flyer miles with these guys, so I don't want to write anything negative they might read.
2. Southwest. I hate having to line up to get a decent seat, but Southwest is one of the only airlines that acts like they actually care about what they are doing. They have this sense of urgency that the rest of them haven’t even heard of. They get the planes turned around like their hair is on fire, and everybody you meet is friendly and knowledgeable. If only they had more room in the cabins, but then again, none of them do anymore.
3. United. I like the CRJ-700 flights that I can take direct out of San Antonio to SFO, Phoenix, and eventually, Salt Lake and Los Angeles. They are a little cramped, but it beats changing planes. Other than that, United is unremarkable.
4. Era Aviation. They fly a little DeHavilland Dash-8 from Anchorage to Kenai, Alaska every hour or so. Nothing fancy, but efficient and timely. You get the pre-flight safety talk directly from the pilot.
5. Delta/Skywest. They really aren’t much better than Northwest, but at least they fly into Salt Lake directly. I remember Delta from my youth, flying into Atlanta on the way to Florida. I think they still use the same planes.
6. US Airways/America West/Mesa. I take these guys to Phoenix if United or Southwest isn't available. God, do they suck. They are just playing out the string until they finally are allowed to merge with United. They were the first and only ones so far to lose my luggage! Congratulations.
7. Northwest. Absolute worst. I fly Northwest to Alaska via Minneapolis. They charge for everything, and you get no in-flight entertainment of any kind, even audio! The only good part is I get Elite Access status because they have an agreement with Continental, or otherwise, these flights would be completely intolerable.
BEST AIRPORTS
1. Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP). No, it isn't for the bathroom cruising, you sicko. I like MSP because of the central food court/mall. They have practically everything in there, including an iPod vending machine. Even the longest walk from concourse to concourse isn't that far, and it routes you through the food court/mall, which is very bright, open, airy and convenient. It beats having to eat at one of the satellite concourses that you see in most airports that are very hit and miss. Yup, I take a wide stance on MSP (maybe that should be the new slogan)!
2. Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX). Pretty much everything is great about PHX, (including the name "Sky Harbor") as long as you stick with Continental and Southwest. The luggage carousels are all modern and roomy, the rental car place is centrally located so you don't have to drive all over looking for your car company, and the concourses have plenty of good eating places. The United terminal SUCKS though; it's old and cramped and the security set-up is totally inefficient.
3. Baltimore/Washington International (BWI). This is an oldie but a goodie for me, since I used it a lot when I was in Philly. The Southwest terminal is almost completely new, looks great, and is very convenient and comfortable.
4. San Francisco International (SFO). The rental car dropoff place at SFO pisses me off because the sign comes up way too late and you end up having to drive around 18 cloverleafs to get back. Other than that, it’s pretty good. This is another central rental car place, and this once has a train, which is nicer than the stupid shuttle bus, I think. They have a killer soup place that serves fresh sourdough rolls in the United terminal, plus a place called "Just Desserts".
5. Bismarck Municipal (BIS). Wow, what a cool airport! I wish they could all be this nice, only in big cities and larger. They have free wireless, and the whole place is wood paneled and brand-spanking new.
6. Anchorage International (ANC). ANC is a nice homey little airport, with high vaulted ceilings and a pleasant restaurant that overlooks Prince William Sound. It's under re-construction on the inside (unlike on the outside, which would describe every other airport in America), so it's kind of messy. I love seeing the North Slope roughnecks in line for their flights. They crap guys like me.
7. Honolulu International (HNL). Overall, it's not that bad. The concourses are mostly open-air, which is pretty strange and exotic, they have a restaurant where they serve a melt-in-your-mouth polish sausage with sauerkraut, and security is always a breeze. However…the rental car place is a clusterfuck. I mean, a place like Hawaii doesn't have Hertz Gold Club or National Emerald Aisle? I'm going to get run over in that rental car parking lot one of these times. Bringing the car back is even worse.
8. San Antonio International (SAT). It's actually further down the list, as in at the bottom, but I didn't want to name every other airport I’ve been in before commenting on my home airport. The whole area is under construction, and probably will be for another 10 years, which makes any trip there depressing. The two terminals are competing with each other to see which one sucks worse. For a city of 1,000,000 people to have a sorrier airport than Bismarck, ND is quite a feat, but San Antonio has done it. The place looks almost Eastern European. It's gray, dank, crowded, and a complete mishmash of styles. The luggage carousels are not labeled, so you don’t have any idea which one might fire up and deliver your bags. The rental car places are spread out over a 5 mile radius, so good luck finding yours. Security at Terminal 1 isn't half bad, but the line at Terminal 2 (where Southwest and the Mexican airlines are housed) can spill out down the hall, around the corner, back up another hall, and back out into the main terminal area. And if you park out in economy long-term parking, be prepared to wheel your bags a good half mile. I just wish I could close my eyes, open them, and see the final result of the construction, but instead, we'll be suffering for another decade.
BEST RESTAURANTS
1. Roy's, Kapolei, HI. I ate a macadamia-encrusted swordfish steak there that almost made me cry. At lunch a couple of weeks later I had a bacon cheeseburger to end all bacon cheeseburgers forever. So good.
2. Jamba Juice. I discovered these in Kapolei, and I’ve been going there for breakfast in every city I travel to, if I can find one. I get a 16-oz smoothie with an immunity boost, to battle those sniffling masses on the plane, and I usually get the honey bran muffin as well. The only complaint I used to have is the poor selection of fresh-baked muffins and pastries, but they’ve recently expanded their offerings to include a protein cookie, an energy bar, and a blueberry muffin.
3. Louie's, Kenai, AK. Louie's serves enormous helpings of food, so much that you're in pain for a couple of days. It tastes good going down, though! The blackened prime rib bites are a unique appetizer. I pretty much order clam chowder and a salad now, and I can't finish that. The breakfast sausage is the size of your head.
4. The Chart House, Honolulu, HI. Mai-tai's and steak, that's always a good combination. The atmosphere can get pretty raucous, with tourists and locals alike jamming the place.
5. In & Out Burger, Phoenix, AZ. The best burgers in the world, except when Roy cooks one.
6. Charlie's Steakery, Phoenix, AZ. The buffalo chicken cheesesteak with ranch sauce is highly recommended. Extra ranch sauce for the fries!
BEST CITIES
1. Foxborough/Boston, MA. Massachusetts is my ancestral home, and I always enjoy returning. I would live there if not for the snow. The people are just totally cool. They are smart, funny, engaging, acerbic, and sarcastic, but in a good way. They have the second-fiddle-to-New York mentality like Philly people, which keeps them humble, but they evince it in a wry, humorous manner instead of the aggressively antagonistic behavior of most Philadelphia denizens. The best of the many good things of going to a game at Fenway Park is listening to the inane yet witty banter from the college kids behind you in the stands. The streets and highways of Southeastern Massachusetts are scenic and completely bizarre, but the public transit system is excellent, so you can get out of your car if you want to. And Foxborough is, of course, home to my beloved Pats.
2. Phoenix, AZ. Clean, well-planned, dry, with a sweeping mountain view, it's a hard city not to love. I'm not sure I'd feel the same way in August, but February and May were excellent. Phoenix is a lot more diverse than I imagined. I was thinking I'd run into a million Midwestern retirees, but it's not like that at all. Phoenix has the same huge Latino population that most Southwestern cities enjoy, and there are tons of young families everywhere, as well as a healthy assortment of Joe Dirt types. I was impressed with the amazingly sustained booing of the Phoenix Suns fans in Game 5 against the Spurs, at which I sat in the last row of the arena with a ticket I bought on e-Bay. They booed every single time the Spurs had the ball, all the way to the end, and they stayed completely projectile-free.
3. East Bay Area, CA. I'm calling this the East Bay, because I've never gone into San Francisco the couple of times I’ve been there. The East Bay people aren’t nearly as snooty as their Marin County and San Fran counterparts. I love the scenic, mountainous drive from the airport to Walnut Creek or Concord where I stay. Both Walnut Creek and Concord are upscale little suburbs with new, modern shopping and eating places, right off the freeway. I can’t wait to go there during the summer to see AT&T Park.
4. Chicago, IL. That toddling town was a little disappointing, but it was good to go back. It's been a while since I experienced Midwestern hospitality, and it was jarring. The barista at Starbucks (not the creep at the Marriott, another one) asked me how my day was going, and I thought she was talking to somebody else behind the counter. The Tri-State Tollway is a freaking mess. The exit from the Tollway to the Edens Expressway bottlenecks from three lanes to ONE lane. They built it that way! Gee, I wonder if it backs up, EVERY DAY?! Toward the end of the trip, my sister, my boss, another co-worker and I walked back to my sister's high-rise through Wrigleyville after taking in a Cubs game. I heard the other day that Chicago is one of the most highly segregated cities in America, and after I thought about it, it was pretty startling, and kind of sad, not to see very many minority faces in such a large city neighborhood.
5. Honolulu, HI. Are you interested in going to Tokyo, but don't want to be encumbered with all that Japanese efficiency? Go to Honolulu! You’ll see millions of Japanese people, with a highway and street system designed like Northeast Illinois! Ugh. The traffic in Honolulu is the absolute worst in America. The drivers are either locals in no hurry or tourists who have left their brains on the mainland. And everything is under construction, all the time! And lanes begin and end on a whim! It's great, you’ll love it. My advice is to drive from the airport to the hotel, and NEVER DRIVE AGAIN. Better yet, take a taxi or a shuttle from the airport and don't drive at all. Other than that, the people are great, but as I mentioned, they are never in a hurry. That's fine if you are on vacation, but it kind of sucks when you are on business. You can't beat the scenery, I must say.
6. Kenai, AK. Well, it's not much of a city, really, just an outpost. They do have most of the modern conveniences, including blazing fast internet for some reason. The snow-capped peaks are spectacular, if you are lucky enough to see them. In December, I drove to work in the dark and drove back to the hotel in the dark. There's not much else of interest in Kenai, unless you are unhealthfully attached to salmon.
7. Houston, TX. Houston has become like Honolulu, without the scenery. I shudder to imagine what Houston would be like without a really good highway system. It's complete chaos as it is. The other main reason I don't much like traveling there is because I've lived there, so I've seen and done everything there is to see and do, at least twice. Minute Maid Park is still one of the best parks in the majors, except for the Astros fans, who never sit down and just watch the game.
BEST HOTELS
1. JW Marriott, Ko Olina Resort, Ko Olina, HI. I love my job. Any job where I get to blog while looking at the ocean right outside the window is my kind of job. Hey, there's the ocean now! That's a lot of water. Maybe I'll catch the sunset...that was nice. Seriously, the Ko Olina, as the guys at the refinery call it, is pretty damned special, as are the prices, if by special you mean "Holy Shit that's expensive!" And for most people, absolutely nothing is included! The rooms are the best rooms I've ever seen, with a humongous bathroom with a glass shower and two sinks. The food at the Naupaka Terrace Café leaves a lot to be desired. It's basically Sodexho Marriott cafeteria food at ridiculous prices. They also have a fancy Mexican restaurant (Azul) and a Japanese place (Ushio-Tei), neither of which I’ve tried. You’re better off going over to Roy's, a high-end national chain with an eclectic menu which is on the property of the adjacent golf course (18 holes = you need to fill out a loan application). Roy's is the best food I've ever eaten in my entire life, and that includes my mother's cooking after 6 months of dorm food. The hotel has a nice little breakfast bar in the morning, but again, everything including the formerly free coffee is pricey. I wish the gym would open earlier (it opens at 6 am), since I am usually up by 4:30 because of the jet lag, and I have to be in the refinery by 7 am. The company I work for gets free parking and internet. Without that, they wouldn't let me stay here, I think.
2. Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix, AZ. The Biltmore is a Frank Lloyd Wright paradise in the desert. I love Wright's designs, and this place is as spectacular as it must have been when it opened in the 20’s. The opulence of the place is stunning, with huge fountains, putting greens, a life-sized chess board, hand carved statues, and intricate stonework everywhere throughout the site. We drove by Lynda Carter’s house, "Woman In Tights", which is just off the property, as is Paul Harvey's (no name given, although I’m sure if it has one, it has something to do with Gold Bond Medicated Powder). I was fortunate enough to play both of the golf courses, which are no longer owned by the Biltmore, but are just as gorgeous. The big downside of the place is that for the unwashed who actually drive their cars in, the parking garage is halfway to Scottsdale. I was there for a conference where all the meals were provided, so I didn’t try any of the restaurants, and I was too busy golfing to swing by the gym.
3. The Lodges at Deer Valley, Park City, UT. The Lodges is set at the base of a ski resort in Park City, affording spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. The rooms are very large, almost suites, and unlike many high-end, full-service joints, they provide a fridge and a microwave (what a concept, JW!). One weird thing was that you had to walk through the parking garage to get to your section of the hotel, which if I was driving I wouldn’t have minded. For this particular conference, though, I had my transportation provided, so it seemed unnecessary that I had to dodge rental cars in the garage just to find my room. All my meals were provided, so I can't say much about the restaurants. I saw a gym and an outdoor pool with jacuzzi, neither of which was able to get to. They had a nice little Starbucks Robo-Barista machine in the "General Store" behind the Front Desk, which was handy. The overall vibe of the place was old time Alpine Ski Lodge, which was strange in the summer, but it was nice enough that I’m looking forward to going back next year.
4. Marriott Copley Place, Boston, MA. At thirty-four floors, it is the tallest hotel I've stayed at for more than one night. They have a Starbucks, so score one for them. The gym was huge, but still full (damn those Boston travelers, always staying in shape). The room was tiny, but well-appointed. I didn’t try the restaurants because the conference I was at provided all the meals. The hotel is connected to the Shops at Copley, which is connected to the Prudential Center and the Hynes Convention Center, plus it is right on top of a T stop. Don't use that T stop to go to Fenway, though, like I did. It's two changes and lots of walking from the park. Use the Copley station across Copley Square, which is on the same line and only two stations from the Fenway Park Kenmore Square stop. I did get to meet 500 of the sweatiest 20-somethings Boston has offer, so that was nice.
5. Concord Hilton, Concord, CA. I only stayed here once, but it was nice. The breakfast was excellent, they have free parking, and there is an outdoor mall within easy walking distance with at least five restaurants and a bunch of shops. It's another full-service hotel, so not many freebies. They have a Starbucks shop right in the lobby, so I would live here if I could. I didn't try the gym there, but they have one.
6. Marriot Lincolnshire Resort, Lincolnshire, IL. This place looks like it was built in the 50's to accommodate families making cross-country trips in wood-paneled station wagons. The hotel building itself is mostly wood-paneled and low-slung (only three stories), and the resort has just about everything on the grounds, including horseback riding, tennis, golf, and even a drama theatre! The hallways go on forever and then branch out and go on some more. I spent almost 48 hours never leaving the hotel, it had so much stuff in it. This is another hotel with a Starbucks on site, although the barista was an annoying amateur comedian, and he shuts it down around 2 pm.
7. Embassy Suites North, Phoenix, AZ. It looks like a sprawling adobe Motel 6 from the street, but it's actually pretty sweet. They have a Cajun-themed restaurant, and a lobby that puts more expensive hotels to shame. The gym isn't bad, and the suites are huge.
8. Homewood Suites, Houston, TX. Pretty standard, run-of-the-mill extended-stay place, but they do everything well. They have a pantry, and the free hot breakfast was more than expected. The suites are good size, with a kitchen.
9. Residence Inn, Foxborough, MA. It's the Homewood Suites with none of the proceeds going to support Paris Hilton's coke habit. Nothing special, but more than adequate.
10. Embassy Suites, Walnut Creek, CA. I hate this place's parking garage! It's in the basement, and every space has a pole on one side or the other that is holding up the building. I brushed one with my rental car, and the company had to pay $500. They do have suites, and the food isn't bad. The breakfast is free, and it's a pretty good selection of stuff. There's a nice little outdoor "main street"-type mall up the road with a Greek restaurant and a coffee shop. The gym sucks, with only some crappy treadmills.
11. Uptown Motel, Kenai, AK. I was expecting an utter shit hole, so I was pleasantly surprised. The rooms are small but serviceable, and the wireless high speed internet is the best on the planet. No logging in to a stupid hotel firewall or anything, just boot up and go, and it's really fast. There is a semi-attached restaurant, Louie's, where the food is spectacular. The portions are so huge, though, that I can only eat there once a visit. Forget about a gym. You're happy just to stay un-frozen. You could go running, but I wouldn't recommend it. You might get raped by a moose. Or a north sloper.
12. Best Western Seven Seas, Mandan, ND. What can you say, it's a Best Western. They have a bed, a bathroom, and the old “Sanitized For Your Protection” seal. The restaurant was full of hearty Midwestern fare, and this hotel comes with, incongruously, a Water Park. I was there in August, and it was till too cold to swim, so, like, when isn't it?
13. Fidalgo Country Inn, Anacortes, WA. Another place with an improbable pool. It has great views of Puget Sound, and our refinery, but not much else going for it. The wireless Internet didn't work in my room. How hard is it to buy another router? Jeez louise, this is supposed to be Microsoft country. There was a restaurant in the same parking lot that was pretty lousy, and they also had a convenience store and not one but two drive-through espresso islands. There isn't much up in this neck of the woods, so you have to take whatever you can get.
14. Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, HI. The hotel itself isn't bad at all, but the location, right on Waikiki Beach, is terrible. You have to drive through about 6 million cars on narrow two-lane streets to get to and from it, and I was so exhausted after the commute back and forth from Kapolei that I barely had time to eat before I crashed. They have a bunch of nice little restaurants in the Village, and the rooms and amenities are great. You have to pay for internet and parking, and the gym is $10 a day. Forget it. I'd rather flab up for a week.
15. Hyatt Regency Waikiki, Honolulu, HI. This may be the worst nice hotel ever. They have two 40-story towers, and of course, they don't tell you which room numbers are in which towers. You get to do that coin-flipping experiment yourself. The parking garage is a nightmare – narrow and tall, and you have to go up six floors until you get to the self-parking. On top of that, it is across the street from the hotel, and there is no footbridge, so you must go down to the street and cross in the heavy Waikiki traffic. I ate at the "Terrace Bar" restaurant, and birds almost ran off with my meal. And it's 30 miles from the refinery, through more heavy traffic. I left after one night and checked in at the Ihilani.
16. Extended Stay America, Phoenix, AZ. Stay the fuck away. I mean it. What a disaster. They do throw in the mildew stains for free, so that's something. Never again.
BEST AIRLINES
1. Continental. The non-stop from Houston to Honolulu is about as comfortable as being locked in a flying death-cage for 8 hours can be. You get meals and in-seat entertainment, and the stews mostly leave you alone to sleep. I have tons of frequent flyer miles with these guys, so I don't want to write anything negative they might read.
2. Southwest. I hate having to line up to get a decent seat, but Southwest is one of the only airlines that acts like they actually care about what they are doing. They have this sense of urgency that the rest of them haven’t even heard of. They get the planes turned around like their hair is on fire, and everybody you meet is friendly and knowledgeable. If only they had more room in the cabins, but then again, none of them do anymore.
3. United. I like the CRJ-700 flights that I can take direct out of San Antonio to SFO, Phoenix, and eventually, Salt Lake and Los Angeles. They are a little cramped, but it beats changing planes. Other than that, United is unremarkable.
4. Era Aviation. They fly a little DeHavilland Dash-8 from Anchorage to Kenai, Alaska every hour or so. Nothing fancy, but efficient and timely. You get the pre-flight safety talk directly from the pilot.
5. Delta/Skywest. They really aren’t much better than Northwest, but at least they fly into Salt Lake directly. I remember Delta from my youth, flying into Atlanta on the way to Florida. I think they still use the same planes.
6. US Airways/America West/Mesa. I take these guys to Phoenix if United or Southwest isn't available. God, do they suck. They are just playing out the string until they finally are allowed to merge with United. They were the first and only ones so far to lose my luggage! Congratulations.
7. Northwest. Absolute worst. I fly Northwest to Alaska via Minneapolis. They charge for everything, and you get no in-flight entertainment of any kind, even audio! The only good part is I get Elite Access status because they have an agreement with Continental, or otherwise, these flights would be completely intolerable.
BEST AIRPORTS
1. Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP). No, it isn't for the bathroom cruising, you sicko. I like MSP because of the central food court/mall. They have practically everything in there, including an iPod vending machine. Even the longest walk from concourse to concourse isn't that far, and it routes you through the food court/mall, which is very bright, open, airy and convenient. It beats having to eat at one of the satellite concourses that you see in most airports that are very hit and miss. Yup, I take a wide stance on MSP (maybe that should be the new slogan)!
2. Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX). Pretty much everything is great about PHX, (including the name "Sky Harbor") as long as you stick with Continental and Southwest. The luggage carousels are all modern and roomy, the rental car place is centrally located so you don't have to drive all over looking for your car company, and the concourses have plenty of good eating places. The United terminal SUCKS though; it's old and cramped and the security set-up is totally inefficient.
3. Baltimore/Washington International (BWI). This is an oldie but a goodie for me, since I used it a lot when I was in Philly. The Southwest terminal is almost completely new, looks great, and is very convenient and comfortable.
4. San Francisco International (SFO). The rental car dropoff place at SFO pisses me off because the sign comes up way too late and you end up having to drive around 18 cloverleafs to get back. Other than that, it’s pretty good. This is another central rental car place, and this once has a train, which is nicer than the stupid shuttle bus, I think. They have a killer soup place that serves fresh sourdough rolls in the United terminal, plus a place called "Just Desserts".
5. Bismarck Municipal (BIS). Wow, what a cool airport! I wish they could all be this nice, only in big cities and larger. They have free wireless, and the whole place is wood paneled and brand-spanking new.
6. Anchorage International (ANC). ANC is a nice homey little airport, with high vaulted ceilings and a pleasant restaurant that overlooks Prince William Sound. It's under re-construction on the inside (unlike on the outside, which would describe every other airport in America), so it's kind of messy. I love seeing the North Slope roughnecks in line for their flights. They crap guys like me.
7. Honolulu International (HNL). Overall, it's not that bad. The concourses are mostly open-air, which is pretty strange and exotic, they have a restaurant where they serve a melt-in-your-mouth polish sausage with sauerkraut, and security is always a breeze. However…the rental car place is a clusterfuck. I mean, a place like Hawaii doesn't have Hertz Gold Club or National Emerald Aisle? I'm going to get run over in that rental car parking lot one of these times. Bringing the car back is even worse.
8. San Antonio International (SAT). It's actually further down the list, as in at the bottom, but I didn't want to name every other airport I’ve been in before commenting on my home airport. The whole area is under construction, and probably will be for another 10 years, which makes any trip there depressing. The two terminals are competing with each other to see which one sucks worse. For a city of 1,000,000 people to have a sorrier airport than Bismarck, ND is quite a feat, but San Antonio has done it. The place looks almost Eastern European. It's gray, dank, crowded, and a complete mishmash of styles. The luggage carousels are not labeled, so you don’t have any idea which one might fire up and deliver your bags. The rental car places are spread out over a 5 mile radius, so good luck finding yours. Security at Terminal 1 isn't half bad, but the line at Terminal 2 (where Southwest and the Mexican airlines are housed) can spill out down the hall, around the corner, back up another hall, and back out into the main terminal area. And if you park out in economy long-term parking, be prepared to wheel your bags a good half mile. I just wish I could close my eyes, open them, and see the final result of the construction, but instead, we'll be suffering for another decade.
BEST RESTAURANTS
1. Roy's, Kapolei, HI. I ate a macadamia-encrusted swordfish steak there that almost made me cry. At lunch a couple of weeks later I had a bacon cheeseburger to end all bacon cheeseburgers forever. So good.
2. Jamba Juice. I discovered these in Kapolei, and I’ve been going there for breakfast in every city I travel to, if I can find one. I get a 16-oz smoothie with an immunity boost, to battle those sniffling masses on the plane, and I usually get the honey bran muffin as well. The only complaint I used to have is the poor selection of fresh-baked muffins and pastries, but they’ve recently expanded their offerings to include a protein cookie, an energy bar, and a blueberry muffin.
3. Louie's, Kenai, AK. Louie's serves enormous helpings of food, so much that you're in pain for a couple of days. It tastes good going down, though! The blackened prime rib bites are a unique appetizer. I pretty much order clam chowder and a salad now, and I can't finish that. The breakfast sausage is the size of your head.
4. The Chart House, Honolulu, HI. Mai-tai's and steak, that's always a good combination. The atmosphere can get pretty raucous, with tourists and locals alike jamming the place.
5. In & Out Burger, Phoenix, AZ. The best burgers in the world, except when Roy cooks one.
6. Charlie's Steakery, Phoenix, AZ. The buffalo chicken cheesesteak with ranch sauce is highly recommended. Extra ranch sauce for the fries!
BEST CITIES
1. Foxborough/Boston, MA. Massachusetts is my ancestral home, and I always enjoy returning. I would live there if not for the snow. The people are just totally cool. They are smart, funny, engaging, acerbic, and sarcastic, but in a good way. They have the second-fiddle-to-New York mentality like Philly people, which keeps them humble, but they evince it in a wry, humorous manner instead of the aggressively antagonistic behavior of most Philadelphia denizens. The best of the many good things of going to a game at Fenway Park is listening to the inane yet witty banter from the college kids behind you in the stands. The streets and highways of Southeastern Massachusetts are scenic and completely bizarre, but the public transit system is excellent, so you can get out of your car if you want to. And Foxborough is, of course, home to my beloved Pats.
2. Phoenix, AZ. Clean, well-planned, dry, with a sweeping mountain view, it's a hard city not to love. I'm not sure I'd feel the same way in August, but February and May were excellent. Phoenix is a lot more diverse than I imagined. I was thinking I'd run into a million Midwestern retirees, but it's not like that at all. Phoenix has the same huge Latino population that most Southwestern cities enjoy, and there are tons of young families everywhere, as well as a healthy assortment of Joe Dirt types. I was impressed with the amazingly sustained booing of the Phoenix Suns fans in Game 5 against the Spurs, at which I sat in the last row of the arena with a ticket I bought on e-Bay. They booed every single time the Spurs had the ball, all the way to the end, and they stayed completely projectile-free.
3. East Bay Area, CA. I'm calling this the East Bay, because I've never gone into San Francisco the couple of times I’ve been there. The East Bay people aren’t nearly as snooty as their Marin County and San Fran counterparts. I love the scenic, mountainous drive from the airport to Walnut Creek or Concord where I stay. Both Walnut Creek and Concord are upscale little suburbs with new, modern shopping and eating places, right off the freeway. I can’t wait to go there during the summer to see AT&T Park.
4. Chicago, IL. That toddling town was a little disappointing, but it was good to go back. It's been a while since I experienced Midwestern hospitality, and it was jarring. The barista at Starbucks (not the creep at the Marriott, another one) asked me how my day was going, and I thought she was talking to somebody else behind the counter. The Tri-State Tollway is a freaking mess. The exit from the Tollway to the Edens Expressway bottlenecks from three lanes to ONE lane. They built it that way! Gee, I wonder if it backs up, EVERY DAY?! Toward the end of the trip, my sister, my boss, another co-worker and I walked back to my sister's high-rise through Wrigleyville after taking in a Cubs game. I heard the other day that Chicago is one of the most highly segregated cities in America, and after I thought about it, it was pretty startling, and kind of sad, not to see very many minority faces in such a large city neighborhood.
5. Honolulu, HI. Are you interested in going to Tokyo, but don't want to be encumbered with all that Japanese efficiency? Go to Honolulu! You’ll see millions of Japanese people, with a highway and street system designed like Northeast Illinois! Ugh. The traffic in Honolulu is the absolute worst in America. The drivers are either locals in no hurry or tourists who have left their brains on the mainland. And everything is under construction, all the time! And lanes begin and end on a whim! It's great, you’ll love it. My advice is to drive from the airport to the hotel, and NEVER DRIVE AGAIN. Better yet, take a taxi or a shuttle from the airport and don't drive at all. Other than that, the people are great, but as I mentioned, they are never in a hurry. That's fine if you are on vacation, but it kind of sucks when you are on business. You can't beat the scenery, I must say.
6. Kenai, AK. Well, it's not much of a city, really, just an outpost. They do have most of the modern conveniences, including blazing fast internet for some reason. The snow-capped peaks are spectacular, if you are lucky enough to see them. In December, I drove to work in the dark and drove back to the hotel in the dark. There's not much else of interest in Kenai, unless you are unhealthfully attached to salmon.
7. Houston, TX. Houston has become like Honolulu, without the scenery. I shudder to imagine what Houston would be like without a really good highway system. It's complete chaos as it is. The other main reason I don't much like traveling there is because I've lived there, so I've seen and done everything there is to see and do, at least twice. Minute Maid Park is still one of the best parks in the majors, except for the Astros fans, who never sit down and just watch the game.
Friday, September 14, 2007
VIDEO SLIGHTLY INJURED THE FOOTBALL STARS
As a Patriots fan I'm thoroughly enjoying this Patriots video spying scandal. A team I root was trying so hard to win that they videotaped the other teams' signals? It's about damned time! I'm only upset that they were so ham-handed about it, they got caught. How can you try it in the Meadowlands with your former coach, Man-Genius, watching every move? Stupid. Do it only during home games, and buy the dude a ticket so he can do it from the stands with a nice 20x zoom lens.
The funniest part is hearing Eagles fans and even Eagles players whining about the Super Bowl they lost to the Pats. Yeah, you were really cheated out of that one. You were driving for the winning score, and your quarterback ralphed all over himself! What, did the Pats slip him some bad Chunky Soup? Besides, you pathetic losers haven't won anything since 1960, when dinosaurs roamed the gridiron, so it was not at all unexpected that you'd honk that one. Hilarious.
The funniest part is hearing Eagles fans and even Eagles players whining about the Super Bowl they lost to the Pats. Yeah, you were really cheated out of that one. You were driving for the winning score, and your quarterback ralphed all over himself! What, did the Pats slip him some bad Chunky Soup? Besides, you pathetic losers haven't won anything since 1960, when dinosaurs roamed the gridiron, so it was not at all unexpected that you'd honk that one. Hilarious.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
SUMMER AND THE NOT BLOGGING IS EASY
Hey, I'm alive. I'm back in the 50th state for my seventh trip in 10 months. It's still 82 and sunny, in case you were wondering. Much has transpired since that last blog entry. Not in my life, but you know, generally. We moved out of our squalid little pied-a-terre (love that word) into our new house. I've spent three full nights in it so far. This hotel room, or ones exactly like it on other floors, feel more like my home. I've eaten entire menus at the fast food joints in Kapolei, and I've taken to naming the birds that land on the lanai. I have no idea if these are the same birds each time, but I can fantasize.
I'm putting the finishing touches on my travelogue piece, and will publish it soon. I'm hoping for a cease-and-desist letter from Extended Stay America, at the very least. Aloha `oe and mahalo nui loa (that means, goodbye, thank you very much, and that'll be $8.00 for a #2 combo meal).
I'm putting the finishing touches on my travelogue piece, and will publish it soon. I'm hoping for a cease-and-desist letter from Extended Stay America, at the very least. Aloha `oe and mahalo nui loa (that means, goodbye, thank you very much, and that'll be $8.00 for a #2 combo meal).
Monday, May 07, 2007
TCP'S DAY OFF
I am in Chicago, and due to my poor efforts at scheduling my own travels, I have arrived a day early to my conference. Like Ferris Bueller, then, I am enjoying my very own day off. Here is a table comparing mine to his, as it were:
Anyone know how I should kill the rest of the day? Anyone? Anyone?
| Ferris | Me | |
| Cute girlfriend, played by Mia Sara, gets to come along | Wife, not played by Mia Sara, is pissed because she can't | |
| Friend, played by Alan Ruck, wears Detroit Red Wings jersey and affects silly voice to aid in caper | I have no friends | |
| Ferris, Sloane, and Cameron take Cameron's dad's Ferrari | I have a sweet Chevy Malibu rental car. Ok, not so much sweet as mind-numbingly dull | |
| Ferris and Co. eat at a swanky French restaurant, giving the rude waiter his comeuppance | Um, I got a Jamba Juice... | |
| Ferris snags a foul ball at a Cubs game | I saw Spiderman IMAX, and didn't even get the free soda I was entitled to | |
| Back at home, Mr. Rooney breaks in and is maced by Ferris' sister, played by Jennifer Grey | They are doing an apartment inspection at our crummy temporary apartment. I hope our dog Chloe pees on them | |
| The Ferrari is trashed, and everyone learns an important lesson about being young at heart, or something | I can't afford to have another rental car incident, and there's absolutely nothing to learn here, except that you should read the conference's agenda before you make your flight arrangements, or better yet, get an MBA and become a manager so that you can get someone else to plan your trips. |
Anyone know how I should kill the rest of the day? Anyone? Anyone?
Monday, April 09, 2007
A.B.B - DAY 575
We're well under 600 days now until we choose a replacement for Doody Head. The race has become unprecendented in terms of the money raised to this point, as NPR so ably demonstrated last week through the use of the BeeGees song, "Stayin' Alive". Let's see where we stand.
REPUBLICANS
1. Rudy Giuliani - Rudy has firmly established himself as the front runner, a new development since the last time we checked in. His star has dropped a bit recently on revelations that his current wife suddenly "remembered" she's been previously married two times, and not the one she had told Giuliani. In addition, Giuliani's BFF, Bernie Kerik, is about to be indicted for various mob-related influence peddling shenanigans that occurred during and after Rudy's mayoral tenure. This stuff will continue to trickle in and eventually capsize his candidacy, but it ought to be fun while it lasts. I never did get to shake his hand at the NPRA convention. I'm sure he was disappointed.
2. John McCain - Second, but barely. McCain is steadfastly flogging the war effort, recently surfacing in Baghdad to claim that the surge needs just a little more time, and comically asserting that Baghdad is as safe as any American city, while strolling a market wearing a flak jacket and being escorted by attack helicopters and 100 soldiers. It's hard to tell if he really believes that any more, or if he's just signed on with the Rovian machine and is courting the hard-core right wing. If he believes it, well, I hope he's right, because Bush isn't pulling out. If he doesn't believe it, he's doomed.
3. Mitt Romney - The Mormon Thing is still a big problem, even as McCain and Giuliani are starting to decline in favorability. My take is, hey, he may wear funny underwear, but he isn't nigh on 70 and he doesn't wear WOMEN'S underwear. He's got the cash, so it's only a matter of figuring out a way to fend off the other Faith-Based guys. It's not clear that he can manage that, but again, he's got cash.
4. Newt Gingrich - I'm not sure if his "confession" to James Dobson helped or hurt. It got him some air time, which always helps, but the hypocrisy inherent in his statement was remarkably breathtaking, even for a Republican. He's making a nomination-winning move by courting Dobson. It'll take a lot more than that, though, and I don't know if Newtie has it in him.
5. Fred Thomspon - With a bullet. I'm not going to bother with the Wikipedia treatment on 'Ol Fred. You know him, you love him. He's a man's man, aside from the fact he's an actor. He isn't officially in yet, but his polling numbers have to be encouraging. Gallup even has him in third. He's not a Reagan conservative, depsite his acting pedigree, so I'm doubtful his candidacy will gain much traction. I get the feeling he'll say something stupid really soon, and be renegotiating his "Law & Order" contract immediately afterward.
6. Sam Brownback - I haven't heard a peep out of Sam since he announced. He'll always be the Dobson-type's fair-haired boy, but he's too obscure for the rest of the country, and from what I've seen, he has too much integrity to play the Rove game. He's kind of the Pro-Life version of Russ Feingold, which would be disastrous for his handlers.
7. Tom Tancredo - Again, unless his one issue becomes THE issue, he's not viable.
8. Tommy Thompson - He's like Fred, only without the charisma.
9. Mike Huckabee - He's the dark horse. He's not as extreme and strange as Brownback, and he's also not busy being a Senator like Sam is. I could easily see a scenario where Rudy, McCain, Newt, and Romney are all systematically disqualified by the GOP kingmakers, and Huck is the man left standing. His big problem is that Hillary would probably mop the floor with him in a very nasty, old-time Arkansas race, and Obama is too big of a personality in comparison.
10. The Rest - Chuck Hagel, Ron Paul, Jim Gilmore, George Pataki, Duncan Hunter. Of the pari-mutuel field, Hagel has the best breakout capability in terms of media coverage due to his anti-war stance, and Hunter is probably best-loved by the right.
DEMOCRATS
1. Hillary Clinton - Bill and Hill have been slashing and burning with a vengeance on the fundraising circuit, questioning the patriotism, brains, and sanity of any and every Democrat who doesn't back them. I guess this worked for Bill, but what Hill has to remember is that there won't be a Ross Perot to save her skin come next November. She'll have to get 270 electoral votes the hard way, and pissing off a big swath of her potential voters isn't going to help.
2. Barack Obama - From what I've been reading lately, Barry is going to run on a "Leadership" strategy, light on the specifics. It worked for Bush, but he was a white guy that most people knew and who had a rabid following among a very high turnout group, white evangelicals. Obama is a black guy, who people are still getting to know, and who seems to have a rabid following only among the relatively small, mostly non-voting media. Even so, I think this may actually work, if it turns out he's a great natural leader. If not, he'll be sucking wind down there with Kucinich.
3. John Edwards - After all the pundit foofaraw surrounding his wife Elizabeth's announcement of serious health problems, Edwards appeared to emerge more or less unscathed and even re-energized. It seems like more people applauded their courage and pluck than castigated Edwards for being an unfeeling Presidential Candidate robot. That being said, he's got problems. Even if Elizabeth's cancer remains relatively stable, having to deal with it will take the steam out of his traveling and fundraising effort against two already formidable opponents. It might have worked if he had anything to say on the Iraq war other than "Whoops, I blew that one!"
4. Al Gore - He hasn't started, but the train hasn't departed (to paraphrase Garry Templeton). And by train, I mean MagLev. In the past two months, Gore has won an Oscar and seen his views on global warming be accepted into the mainstream at a precipitous, almost global-warming-like rate. It also looks like he's on the melting glacier diet, having shed several pounds since the red carpet. I think he will run, and I think he'd win if the election were held in 2007. Unfortunately for him, he may have peaked too early. We'll have another cold winter in the Northeast, and everybody will start laughing at him again just as the primaries start. We probably deserve what comes after that.
5. The Rest - Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, Christopher Dodd, Dennis Kucinich. Biden will make some noise, and Richardson will rally the Hispanic vote somewhat, but these guys are strictly Cabinet material.
REPUBLICANS
1. Rudy Giuliani - Rudy has firmly established himself as the front runner, a new development since the last time we checked in. His star has dropped a bit recently on revelations that his current wife suddenly "remembered" she's been previously married two times, and not the one she had told Giuliani. In addition, Giuliani's BFF, Bernie Kerik, is about to be indicted for various mob-related influence peddling shenanigans that occurred during and after Rudy's mayoral tenure. This stuff will continue to trickle in and eventually capsize his candidacy, but it ought to be fun while it lasts. I never did get to shake his hand at the NPRA convention. I'm sure he was disappointed.
2. John McCain - Second, but barely. McCain is steadfastly flogging the war effort, recently surfacing in Baghdad to claim that the surge needs just a little more time, and comically asserting that Baghdad is as safe as any American city, while strolling a market wearing a flak jacket and being escorted by attack helicopters and 100 soldiers. It's hard to tell if he really believes that any more, or if he's just signed on with the Rovian machine and is courting the hard-core right wing. If he believes it, well, I hope he's right, because Bush isn't pulling out. If he doesn't believe it, he's doomed.
3. Mitt Romney - The Mormon Thing is still a big problem, even as McCain and Giuliani are starting to decline in favorability. My take is, hey, he may wear funny underwear, but he isn't nigh on 70 and he doesn't wear WOMEN'S underwear. He's got the cash, so it's only a matter of figuring out a way to fend off the other Faith-Based guys. It's not clear that he can manage that, but again, he's got cash.
4. Newt Gingrich - I'm not sure if his "confession" to James Dobson helped or hurt. It got him some air time, which always helps, but the hypocrisy inherent in his statement was remarkably breathtaking, even for a Republican. He's making a nomination-winning move by courting Dobson. It'll take a lot more than that, though, and I don't know if Newtie has it in him.
5. Fred Thomspon - With a bullet. I'm not going to bother with the Wikipedia treatment on 'Ol Fred. You know him, you love him. He's a man's man, aside from the fact he's an actor. He isn't officially in yet, but his polling numbers have to be encouraging. Gallup even has him in third. He's not a Reagan conservative, depsite his acting pedigree, so I'm doubtful his candidacy will gain much traction. I get the feeling he'll say something stupid really soon, and be renegotiating his "Law & Order" contract immediately afterward.
6. Sam Brownback - I haven't heard a peep out of Sam since he announced. He'll always be the Dobson-type's fair-haired boy, but he's too obscure for the rest of the country, and from what I've seen, he has too much integrity to play the Rove game. He's kind of the Pro-Life version of Russ Feingold, which would be disastrous for his handlers.
7. Tom Tancredo - Again, unless his one issue becomes THE issue, he's not viable.
8. Tommy Thompson - He's like Fred, only without the charisma.
9. Mike Huckabee - He's the dark horse. He's not as extreme and strange as Brownback, and he's also not busy being a Senator like Sam is. I could easily see a scenario where Rudy, McCain, Newt, and Romney are all systematically disqualified by the GOP kingmakers, and Huck is the man left standing. His big problem is that Hillary would probably mop the floor with him in a very nasty, old-time Arkansas race, and Obama is too big of a personality in comparison.
10. The Rest - Chuck Hagel, Ron Paul, Jim Gilmore, George Pataki, Duncan Hunter. Of the pari-mutuel field, Hagel has the best breakout capability in terms of media coverage due to his anti-war stance, and Hunter is probably best-loved by the right.
DEMOCRATS
1. Hillary Clinton - Bill and Hill have been slashing and burning with a vengeance on the fundraising circuit, questioning the patriotism, brains, and sanity of any and every Democrat who doesn't back them. I guess this worked for Bill, but what Hill has to remember is that there won't be a Ross Perot to save her skin come next November. She'll have to get 270 electoral votes the hard way, and pissing off a big swath of her potential voters isn't going to help.
2. Barack Obama - From what I've been reading lately, Barry is going to run on a "Leadership" strategy, light on the specifics. It worked for Bush, but he was a white guy that most people knew and who had a rabid following among a very high turnout group, white evangelicals. Obama is a black guy, who people are still getting to know, and who seems to have a rabid following only among the relatively small, mostly non-voting media. Even so, I think this may actually work, if it turns out he's a great natural leader. If not, he'll be sucking wind down there with Kucinich.
3. John Edwards - After all the pundit foofaraw surrounding his wife Elizabeth's announcement of serious health problems, Edwards appeared to emerge more or less unscathed and even re-energized. It seems like more people applauded their courage and pluck than castigated Edwards for being an unfeeling Presidential Candidate robot. That being said, he's got problems. Even if Elizabeth's cancer remains relatively stable, having to deal with it will take the steam out of his traveling and fundraising effort against two already formidable opponents. It might have worked if he had anything to say on the Iraq war other than "Whoops, I blew that one!"
4. Al Gore - He hasn't started, but the train hasn't departed (to paraphrase Garry Templeton). And by train, I mean MagLev. In the past two months, Gore has won an Oscar and seen his views on global warming be accepted into the mainstream at a precipitous, almost global-warming-like rate. It also looks like he's on the melting glacier diet, having shed several pounds since the red carpet. I think he will run, and I think he'd win if the election were held in 2007. Unfortunately for him, he may have peaked too early. We'll have another cold winter in the Northeast, and everybody will start laughing at him again just as the primaries start. We probably deserve what comes after that.
5. The Rest - Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, Christopher Dodd, Dennis Kucinich. Biden will make some noise, and Richardson will rally the Hispanic vote somewhat, but these guys are strictly Cabinet material.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
WORD OF THE DAY
DingleBerry (v) - To send an e-mail from your BlackBerry while taking a dump.
They sent me the proposal while I was in the can, so I DingleBerried my response right back.
My gift to you.
They sent me the proposal while I was in the can, so I DingleBerried my response right back.
My gift to you.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
REHAB, HERE I COME!
I was going to post about Ann Coulter's sexuality, but I didn't think it would be right to mention transvestite midgets slathered in pig's blood and dog feces.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
GOALS! GOALS! (BUT NO OTHER GOALS!)
Since I was in Phoenix, I decided to attend the USA-Mexico international friendly at the University of Phoenix Stadium (motto: Get Your Accounting Degree By Halftime!). I'm a soccer fan, and I follow the USA, and I know this rivalry is one of the better ones in soccer. Mostly, though, I went to see the Peter Eisenmann-designed stadium, which looks like it belongs in Dusseldorf instead of Glendale.
Upon arrival, it became abundantly clear that this was going to be a road game for the US. Mexican flags, Mexico jerseys, Mexico signs, giant sombreros, more Mexican flags, hair paint, body paint...I'd never seen so much green, white and red. It felt like being instantly fast-forwarded into the future of America. I must have stood out like, well, a white guy at southwestern US soccer game. The final tally was over 62,000, about 60,000 of whom had once lived or were directly related to someone who lives or had lived in Mexico.
I sat in the upper upper deck, which isn't a bad place to watch a game, because you can see the plays develop (at least that's what I told myself). I could look straight ahead and see the girders that hold up the retractable roof, which was open on a beautiful desert evening. The game was supposed to start at 7:05, but at about 7:07, the teams went back into the locker rooms after warmups. Finally, at about 7:30, they marched out with the usual cadre of little kids that seems to accompany every FIFA game I've ever seen. I think they just use the same kids every time. Those little bastards must make a fortune. After kickoff, the Tricolores had the run of the match for most of the first half, with the partisan crowd chanting "ME-XI-CO!" all the way. They had a couple of good chances that USA keeper Tim Howard easily brushed aside or that the Mexicans themselves booted away (odd note: every time Howard kicked a goal kick, the crowd shouted "Boot-O!". Weird). This was better than the US, which did almost nothing offensively in the first 45 minutes. Still, the score remained 0-0 heading into the second half. Then the fun started, and not only on the field.
I went down a large green river of humanity to the mens room, and as I was heading back to my seat, I noticed a melee starting to break out. People were clearing out for two guys who were wrestling and shouting. Then I saw one of the guys who was wrestling step back. He was a tall, 40+ white guy, well built, with spiky gray/white hair and a green shirt, and it looked like he had a headset on, as if we were an employee. He was still upset, shouting at someone, and then suddenly, whoever he was shouting at threw a full cup of beer at him. This made him go completely apeshit. He dove into the crowd and picked out the beer-thrower and started wailing on him. Since he was just about the only white guy in the area besides me, and this was too good of an opportunity for some in the crowd to pass up, two or three latino guys joined in and were beating on the white guy. At this point, there was absolutely no one between me and the fight. For a microsecond, I thought of stepping in and holding back one of the two latino guys who had jumped in late, but my better judgment prevailed. I heard a security guy behind me on a headset calling for the police, and then the white guy realized he was outnumbered and retreated back toward the concession stand where he appeared to be stationed. The latino guys all quickly dispersed, and I finally found a path to my seat. I saw the cops coming, but I don't think they were able to find anyone. The white guy was wiping off blood from his nose the last I saw him.
After I got to my seat, another fight broke out one section over. It looked like a guy with Mexican flag body paint was slap fighting with a guy in a white tank top, who also appeared to be latino. The guy with the tank top would come down the steps, fight a little, and then head back up the stairs. The body-paint guy would yell something, and then the tank top guy would come back down, looking homicidal, and they would slap fight some more, and then back he would go. This went on for a while, and then the same cops who were under the seats a few minutes ago for the previous fight finally showed up. They dragged the tank top guy away, and came back several minutes later after the game had started again and were questioning witnesses.
Back to futbol. The US continued to be outplayed early in the 2nd half, but then managed to finally get a couple of corner kicks. On the second corner kick, Landon Donovan served up a perfect cross in the box to Jimmy Conrad, who headed it just inside the upright for the first goal. That's when I was introduced to the lamest "anthem" in the history of team sports. "Goals! Goals! Goals!" is its name, and it belongs to the US Men's Soccer Team. Here are some of the lyrics:
Our hearts will never tire,
Our legs will see us through ...
GOALS! GOALS! GOALS!
For the Red, White and Blue!
Yeesh. Hey, whatever, at least we scored. Down 1-0, the Tricolores unleashed a torrent of chances, a few of which were turned aside brilliantly by Howard. Our Tim made a stunning save on one breakaway, diving out to barely redirect a point-blank shot. Howard and the US defense withstood the blitz and the team even improved their possession as the game wore on. As I was heading down the stairs in the 90th minute, Landon Donovan broke free and feinted out Mexican keeper Oswaldo Sanchez to bury the Tricolores for good. I am happy to say there were no fisticuffs on the way out.
If you ever go to Diploma Mill Stadium, park in the Brown Lot. It's on 91st Street, across the street from the stadium. It's absolutely enormous, they will bus you over in luxury coaches, drop you off and pick you up, and you can drive away without a traffic jam. I stumbled on to it because I got there early, but I would recommend it for anyone.
Anybody want to play some golf tommorrow? God, am I bored.
Upon arrival, it became abundantly clear that this was going to be a road game for the US. Mexican flags, Mexico jerseys, Mexico signs, giant sombreros, more Mexican flags, hair paint, body paint...I'd never seen so much green, white and red. It felt like being instantly fast-forwarded into the future of America. I must have stood out like, well, a white guy at southwestern US soccer game. The final tally was over 62,000, about 60,000 of whom had once lived or were directly related to someone who lives or had lived in Mexico.
I sat in the upper upper deck, which isn't a bad place to watch a game, because you can see the plays develop (at least that's what I told myself). I could look straight ahead and see the girders that hold up the retractable roof, which was open on a beautiful desert evening. The game was supposed to start at 7:05, but at about 7:07, the teams went back into the locker rooms after warmups. Finally, at about 7:30, they marched out with the usual cadre of little kids that seems to accompany every FIFA game I've ever seen. I think they just use the same kids every time. Those little bastards must make a fortune. After kickoff, the Tricolores had the run of the match for most of the first half, with the partisan crowd chanting "ME-XI-CO!" all the way. They had a couple of good chances that USA keeper Tim Howard easily brushed aside or that the Mexicans themselves booted away (odd note: every time Howard kicked a goal kick, the crowd shouted "Boot-O!". Weird). This was better than the US, which did almost nothing offensively in the first 45 minutes. Still, the score remained 0-0 heading into the second half. Then the fun started, and not only on the field.
I went down a large green river of humanity to the mens room, and as I was heading back to my seat, I noticed a melee starting to break out. People were clearing out for two guys who were wrestling and shouting. Then I saw one of the guys who was wrestling step back. He was a tall, 40+ white guy, well built, with spiky gray/white hair and a green shirt, and it looked like he had a headset on, as if we were an employee. He was still upset, shouting at someone, and then suddenly, whoever he was shouting at threw a full cup of beer at him. This made him go completely apeshit. He dove into the crowd and picked out the beer-thrower and started wailing on him. Since he was just about the only white guy in the area besides me, and this was too good of an opportunity for some in the crowd to pass up, two or three latino guys joined in and were beating on the white guy. At this point, there was absolutely no one between me and the fight. For a microsecond, I thought of stepping in and holding back one of the two latino guys who had jumped in late, but my better judgment prevailed. I heard a security guy behind me on a headset calling for the police, and then the white guy realized he was outnumbered and retreated back toward the concession stand where he appeared to be stationed. The latino guys all quickly dispersed, and I finally found a path to my seat. I saw the cops coming, but I don't think they were able to find anyone. The white guy was wiping off blood from his nose the last I saw him.
After I got to my seat, another fight broke out one section over. It looked like a guy with Mexican flag body paint was slap fighting with a guy in a white tank top, who also appeared to be latino. The guy with the tank top would come down the steps, fight a little, and then head back up the stairs. The body-paint guy would yell something, and then the tank top guy would come back down, looking homicidal, and they would slap fight some more, and then back he would go. This went on for a while, and then the same cops who were under the seats a few minutes ago for the previous fight finally showed up. They dragged the tank top guy away, and came back several minutes later after the game had started again and were questioning witnesses.
Back to futbol. The US continued to be outplayed early in the 2nd half, but then managed to finally get a couple of corner kicks. On the second corner kick, Landon Donovan served up a perfect cross in the box to Jimmy Conrad, who headed it just inside the upright for the first goal. That's when I was introduced to the lamest "anthem" in the history of team sports. "Goals! Goals! Goals!" is its name, and it belongs to the US Men's Soccer Team. Here are some of the lyrics:
Our hearts will never tire,
Our legs will see us through ...
GOALS! GOALS! GOALS!
For the Red, White and Blue!
Yeesh. Hey, whatever, at least we scored. Down 1-0, the Tricolores unleashed a torrent of chances, a few of which were turned aside brilliantly by Howard. Our Tim made a stunning save on one breakaway, diving out to barely redirect a point-blank shot. Howard and the US defense withstood the blitz and the team even improved their possession as the game wore on. As I was heading down the stairs in the 90th minute, Landon Donovan broke free and feinted out Mexican keeper Oswaldo Sanchez to bury the Tricolores for good. I am happy to say there were no fisticuffs on the way out.
If you ever go to Diploma Mill Stadium, park in the Brown Lot. It's on 91st Street, across the street from the stadium. It's absolutely enormous, they will bus you over in luxury coaches, drop you off and pick you up, and you can drive away without a traffic jam. I stumbled on to it because I got there early, but I would recommend it for anyone.
Anybody want to play some golf tommorrow? God, am I bored.
Monday, February 05, 2007
BY THE TIME I GET TO PHOENIX...IT'LL BE YESTERDAY
Yes, I'm in Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, and aridity (ask my sinuses). Why? Why not? I'm trying for every state west of the Pecos. It's a personal quest.
I had the worst Super Bowl experience of almost anyone in America, short of Bears fans who electrocuted themselves while making bratwurst dip. I watched the game in a no-service hotel (which is what this particular chain should rename themselves), in Phoenix, on a 15" very low-def TV, with a migraine, and the team I hate more than any other won. Beat that!
Prior to that, I went out and watched the gripping battle between Jeff Quinney and Aaron Baddeley for the FBC Open title at the TPC of Scottsdale. Not exactly Tiger and Phil at Augusta. Hell, it's not exactly Fred Funk and Scott Verplank at the Greater Greensboro. At least Baddeley's (usually young, female) fans are prone to wearing tight blue tank tops. If not for that, the gallery would have been sucked up into a vortex of white-breaded blandness. Badds won, long after I had left to catch the game.
Now I'm staring at 4 more days of self-paced training, which I could finish in two if I wanted to. Hmmm, do you think my company would mind if I buy casino chips in Vegas on my corporate credit card?
I had the worst Super Bowl experience of almost anyone in America, short of Bears fans who electrocuted themselves while making bratwurst dip. I watched the game in a no-service hotel (which is what this particular chain should rename themselves), in Phoenix, on a 15" very low-def TV, with a migraine, and the team I hate more than any other won. Beat that!
Prior to that, I went out and watched the gripping battle between Jeff Quinney and Aaron Baddeley for the FBC Open title at the TPC of Scottsdale. Not exactly Tiger and Phil at Augusta. Hell, it's not exactly Fred Funk and Scott Verplank at the Greater Greensboro. At least Baddeley's (usually young, female) fans are prone to wearing tight blue tank tops. If not for that, the gallery would have been sucked up into a vortex of white-breaded blandness. Badds won, long after I had left to catch the game.
Now I'm staring at 4 more days of self-paced training, which I could finish in two if I wanted to. Hmmm, do you think my company would mind if I buy casino chips in Vegas on my corporate credit card?
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
A.B.B. - 795
It's been a while, so let's check in with the A.B.B. field.
REPUBLICANS
John McCain - Big Mac veers ever rightward, becoming the Senate's spear-carrier on Bush's surge plan. Until he formally hires Rove and gets on the complete values-voter bandwagon, his evangelical support will continue to be tepid.
Rudy Giuliani - No incriminating photos of him in bed with men yet. I hear he will be speaking at the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association conference in March. Since I might (and the CEO's of several oil companies will) be there, all I can say is, good move! Maybe I'll do a blog entry after I shake his hand.
Mitt Romney - My Man Mitt is working hard to ban gay marriage in Massachusetts before he steps down as Governor. This is a canny strategy, since it helps him with the skeptical evangelical crowd, and will probably be completely forgotten by everyone else once the ban is ultimately defeated.
Sam Brownback - Oh, no, he might actually run.
Newt Gingrich - Oh, yes, he might actually run!
Tom Tancredo - Little-known outside the Minuteman community, he's pretty much a one-issue candidate. If that one issue should happen to be thrust into the forefront because of a terrorist attack launched from Mexico, for example, he might get some play, but otherwise, he's a non-starter.
George Allen - Toast.
Mike Huckabee - Still trim and ready to lose.
DEMOCRATS
Hillary Clinton - Oh, Hillary. Just when you thought you had a clear path to the nomination, a certain Illinois Senator vists New Hampshire. I'm not sure who is licking their chops more, the dark forces of insidious sexism or those of insidious racism, but since sexism is generally more acceptable, I'm thinking Hillary's in big trouble.
Barack Hussein Obama - Yes, I did list his full name, but I'm not a dark force of insidious racism, as far as I know. I'm just getting everyone prepared. This not entirely surprising newcomer to our shindig threw his sort-of hat into the maybe ring with his aforementioned sojourn northeastward. Is America ready for Obama? asks the newsweeklies. The correct question is, is Obama ready to have his hide ripped opened by the newsweeklies, bloggers, Gang of 500, the Sons Of The Confederacy, and Us Magazine et. al., etc., for the next two years? Or, does Obama know a damned thing about foreign policy? Both questions will have to be answered, and soon.
John Edwards - Edwards, Tom Vilsack, and Dennis Kucinich are the only official candidates right now. I rate all of their chances to be about as dismal, despite Edwards' significantly higher profile. Edwards has taken his anti-poverty advocacy to a higher level with the formation of One Corps. This is odd for a 2008 presidential candidate, since poverty is not even one of the top ten issues that people who are polled think is the most important. The top 5 or 6 are the disastrous occupation of Iraq and the related strains this has had on the larger War Against Extremists Who Use Terror As A Weapon or whatever it's called. In Edwards' press conference (in the 9th Ward of New Orleans to maximize the poverty theme) announcing his candidacy, he repudiated his own vote for the war as a mistake. So, why exactly should we trust you to not make the same kinds of egregious mistakes as President?
Al Gore - He's teasing us. We'll get Melissa Rivers to ask him on the red carpet.
John Kerry - French Toast.
REPUBLICANS
John McCain - Big Mac veers ever rightward, becoming the Senate's spear-carrier on Bush's surge plan. Until he formally hires Rove and gets on the complete values-voter bandwagon, his evangelical support will continue to be tepid.
Rudy Giuliani - No incriminating photos of him in bed with men yet. I hear he will be speaking at the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association conference in March. Since I might (and the CEO's of several oil companies will) be there, all I can say is, good move! Maybe I'll do a blog entry after I shake his hand.
Mitt Romney - My Man Mitt is working hard to ban gay marriage in Massachusetts before he steps down as Governor. This is a canny strategy, since it helps him with the skeptical evangelical crowd, and will probably be completely forgotten by everyone else once the ban is ultimately defeated.
Sam Brownback - Oh, no, he might actually run.
Newt Gingrich - Oh, yes, he might actually run!
Tom Tancredo - Little-known outside the Minuteman community, he's pretty much a one-issue candidate. If that one issue should happen to be thrust into the forefront because of a terrorist attack launched from Mexico, for example, he might get some play, but otherwise, he's a non-starter.
George Allen - Toast.
Mike Huckabee - Still trim and ready to lose.
DEMOCRATS
Hillary Clinton - Oh, Hillary. Just when you thought you had a clear path to the nomination, a certain Illinois Senator vists New Hampshire. I'm not sure who is licking their chops more, the dark forces of insidious sexism or those of insidious racism, but since sexism is generally more acceptable, I'm thinking Hillary's in big trouble.
Barack Hussein Obama - Yes, I did list his full name, but I'm not a dark force of insidious racism, as far as I know. I'm just getting everyone prepared. This not entirely surprising newcomer to our shindig threw his sort-of hat into the maybe ring with his aforementioned sojourn northeastward. Is America ready for Obama? asks the newsweeklies. The correct question is, is Obama ready to have his hide ripped opened by the newsweeklies, bloggers, Gang of 500, the Sons Of The Confederacy, and Us Magazine et. al., etc., for the next two years? Or, does Obama know a damned thing about foreign policy? Both questions will have to be answered, and soon.
John Edwards - Edwards, Tom Vilsack, and Dennis Kucinich are the only official candidates right now. I rate all of their chances to be about as dismal, despite Edwards' significantly higher profile. Edwards has taken his anti-poverty advocacy to a higher level with the formation of One Corps. This is odd for a 2008 presidential candidate, since poverty is not even one of the top ten issues that people who are polled think is the most important. The top 5 or 6 are the disastrous occupation of Iraq and the related strains this has had on the larger War Against Extremists Who Use Terror As A Weapon or whatever it's called. In Edwards' press conference (in the 9th Ward of New Orleans to maximize the poverty theme) announcing his candidacy, he repudiated his own vote for the war as a mistake. So, why exactly should we trust you to not make the same kinds of egregious mistakes as President?
Al Gore - He's teasing us. We'll get Melissa Rivers to ask him on the red carpet.
John Kerry - French Toast.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
INDY, WATCH OUT FOR THE DONUT HOLE!
So, 64-year-old Harrison Ford is gearing up to don the fedora again as Indiana Jones. Hmmm, what will they call it?
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