August 29, 2004

Has anyone noticed that The Late Show has been running some of its funniest and most inventive stuff in that odd slot between network and local commercials at about the 48 minute mark? They typically pan the audience and run graphics or cut to Alan Kalter. "Dwight the Troubled Teen" re-occurring the most and therefore likely the best known. Tonight though I watched a show from earlier in the month (Tivo magic) with a bit I'm still chortling over. This little reenactment pales in comparison but here goes.

"Celebrities Who Would Still Be Alive If They Weren't Dead"


Dan Blocker


Norman Fell


Moses

Hilarious, I tell you. High-larry-ous.

10:40 PM | Comment (1)

August 28, 2004

Jessie and I had straight-boy fun this afternoon. GM's road show was in town again. Rather nifty event. Getting to wheel a passel of brand spanking new cars through the orange cones. Unfortunately right off the bat we elected to wait in the interminable line to drive a great pumpkin orange 350Z. The unfortunate part is that we didn't realize our mistake until we were too far committed to back out. However, we rectified that error with our next choices which were selected solely on the basis of which lines were the shortest. A much better system because in the space of 90 minutes, we got to lap with all three Saabs (though the 9-2X was a huge disappointment), a CTS and the startling swift Buick Park Avenue Ultra Special Edition. Surprisingly the Buick also proved the most entertaining. Not sure if it was end of the adventure giddiness, the absurdity of the situation or a combo of the two. But Jessie mashed the accelerator on the big black beast, we whooshed down the back straight, lunging into the first turn and then we just started giggling. Uncontrollably. Like two junior high school girls sampling their first joint.

11:48 PM | Comment (0)

August 25, 2004

HBO has another great show on the schedule. Entourage seems to get funnier with each episode. Go, watch it now. Go on. You'll laugh. I promise.

11:07 PM | Comment (0)

Northwest Airlines now wants to charge you $5 to 10 extra to buy a ticket in person vs. from their website. You gotta wonder about the business minds at the airlines. Rather than taking steps to improve service and convince customers to pay a premium for their products, they keep finding "creative" ways to extract more revenue. What next? A $5 charge for a boarding pass unless you print your own? How about attaching a coin slot to the reading light, like a laundromat dryer? Maybe pay toilets?

10:56 PM | Comment (1)

August 22, 2004

Tried out OmniWeb 5 this morning. Mainly due to the rave reviews. I don't know though. I just can't get excited about investing the time to morph a new browser to my quirks. Particularly when both Safari and Firefox are competent and free. Besides, having lived with the minimal button approach for so long, those big color icons in the Omni chrome strike me as a tad disquieting.

11:50 AM | Comment (1)

August 20, 2004

Still kicking around. First there was a week off from work and other reality, driven by a visit from Darren. Much fun was had. Much wine consumed. Then back at work all of two days when a brief but virulent stomach flu hit. Wednesday consisted of your obedient servant snoozing for 21 hours, followed by mere 16 on Thursday. Mostly better today. Managed to stay at work until 5:30 even. Hopefully we'll have a nice quiet dinner with our (unlinkable) pal Stephen. Though Rich just injected a note of caution with the concern that his tummy is starting to feel a bit flip-floppy. But with six-week-plan-ahead reservations at Delfina at stake, there's no last minute pulling out. No sir, serious foodies are we.

06:57 PM | Comment (0)

August 08, 2004

I'm slightly tardy noting Henri Cartier-Bresson's death. I have to admit that upon hearing the news midweek, my first reaction was surprise. I had the fuzzy impression that he had died years ago. Perhaps that's because his photos define the notion of timeless. But it took a nugget on Sunday Morning to compel this post. One sentence noting that during a 1970 CBS News interview, he kept his back to the camera because he didn't want his face to become recognizable. He felt that notoriety would inhibit his ability to capture subjects. I can't begin to express how much I admire the attitude that work takes precedence over personal fame. It's nothing short of a revelation given today's celebrity-obsessed media.

10:44 AM | Comment (0)

August 06, 2004

Poll shows Kerry leads Bush 63% to 29% among likely voters. Damn, I love living in the Bay Area. Why can't the rest of the country be like us?