Frosted Nixon Flakes

It can be a little dangerous to organize your life around what you think would make for interesting blogging fodder. For instance, last night, the beautiful KMD & I were planning on what movie to take in this off Friday. We jointly decided upon Frost/Nixon because: 1) Dolberry thought it would be fun to have "Frosted Nixon Flakes" as a blog title, and 2) tbKMD didn't have any say in the matter because she's still serving her 7 movie suspension for picking out M**** M**.

So, while twinkling w/ excitement over the idea of being the #1 google search for "frosted nixon flakes" AND "apathetic coffee drinking Nirvana slackers", I checked out Fandango.com and got the time and location for our movie.

Unfortunately, in my giddiness ... I didn't realize that I was looking at the Thursday listings and not the Friday ones. So when we get to the theatre today we see that we're an hour early for Frost/Nixon and we won't be able to watch it and pick up APD on time. Normally, Dolberry would have advocated just being late, but we were also driving home some of his schoolmates, so that was less of an option.

The only two movies showing at the time we were there were: New in Town and Last Chance Harvey. We saw the preview for NiT and that looked predictable and lousy, so we went w/ LCH. It wasn't very good. Emma Thompson was good, but in at least half of the Dustin Hoffman scenes I think they just had a Hoffman mannequin. I think he was playing the role as the protagonist of this much better film, 42 years later. Unfortunately, I think the rest of the people associated w/ the picture were doing something else altogether.

Anyway, it was a mess of a film, and given our attendance was credited to my ineptitude, I was given a 5 movie suspension from the board ... leaving me a frosted Nixon flake.

Battle: The Story of the Bulge

BIG thanks to the Alexanders for their Christmas gift of John Toland's Battle: The Story of the Bulge. The book covers the Battle of the Bulge from its origins in Hitler's conference room, through the initial German sucesses, through the eventual Allied repelling counter, and ends w/ a quick recap of what some of the principals had done in the 15 years between the battle and the book's publication (1959).

I'm glad that I read the book in the winter, but even still I cannot imagine how awful it would have been to have people shooting at you while being stuck out in snowy fields and forests.

The book made me want to go back and read through the WWII history from Grandpa Fitz which can be found at the Fitzgerald family web page. The book makes the point that Hitler's decision to go on the offensive in Belguim probably saved the lives of thousands of Allied troops who would have eventually had to break through even more fortified German defenses sans the Battle on the Bulge.

Anyway, fascinating history. Thanks Nancy and Dave.

The outlier

Dolberry is the puppy who doesn't like to wander from the pack. Probably not the only one.

So last night I went to band night at the Cary Senior Center (?) to see a friend of ours band play. I'd say I was probably the only person who wasn't a teen or a parent of a band member. Dolberry felt a little conspicuous ... wondering if he appeared more an undercover cop or a stalker.

This morning I played in a Heroclix event w/ APD and several other middle schoolers. Ahem, the only adult ... not counting the organizer ... playing. My team of: Circe, Yellowjacket, and Dr. Strange was pretty much unbeatable. No mercy boys!

Then tonight, Carey (a great human being BTW), invited some EPA'ers to join him at a Chinese restaurant for Chinese New Year's (which is Monday if I understood correctly). The Chinese to non-Chinese ratio was something like 75-2. Again, there was that conspicuous feeling. (Which was quickly surpassed by a feeling that I ate about 3 times more than I should have. Too good. Bǎo!)

I wonder what it's like to always be in the minority. I think it'd be really tiring. Dolberry probably retreats to his comfortable regimes (softball, family, blogging, the Weather Channel, Guitar Hero) more often than he should. I guess it's nice to have the option to stretch or not.

21 weeks

Did all of you see this study? Well, you're welcome.

U of L sure has been fun to watch of late. At the Pomeroy Ratings site, they're ranked 10th in the country, but what is interesting is that they are rated #1 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Basically, it's a measure of how many points you give up per opponent's possession. They have the best rating of any team over the past 5 years in that category. Last year Kansas was #1 in that category and the season ended pretty well for them. Of course, Kansas was #2 last year in offensive efficiency and this year's Louisville squad is 92nd. I'm just afraid at some point in the tournament they'll have one of those 18-67 shooting nights and no amount of defense is going to overcome that. We'll see.

SLU hasn't been as fun to watch. Interesting SLU fact. They are 3rd worst in the country in FT% allowed (76%). For whatever reason, it's easy to make free throws against the Billikens. Probably because you're well rested.

Did you see that the ratings for the inauguration were the highest since Reagan? Did you also see which market had the highest percentage of viewers tuned in at 51%? Raleigh! Seattle was lowest at 19%. Apathetic coffee-drinking Nirvana slackers. It was dubbed the "Snobama Effect" here.

APD turned 12 today. What a great kid! I hope the next 12 go slower than the first 12 did.

Snow Day!

Wow. The snow patrol was out in Apex. Our rough estimate was 6 inches at our house. Though, the NWS says that Apex got the most of anyone at 7". EPA was off today (due to snow), so we played the usual snow football and went sledding w/ the Jensens at the Home Depot hill. Fun times. A video montage follows.

New U2 song is out

The first single from No Line on the Horizon is available from iTunes. It rocks pretty hard for about 13 seconds, then Bono downshifts it into something Zooropa-like odd. Ah, maybe it'll grow on me.

If I blogged about every time the NY Times irritated Dolberry! to no end, I'd have no time for anything else. But they really raised my dander w/ their article last night about the inauguration gala. U2 opened their set w/ "Pride (In the Name of Love)" an awesome MLK tribute that was meaningful in time (MLK day), space (steps of Lincoln Memorial), and context (inauguration of first black President). Bono, as he does from time to time, was doing some freestyle pontificating when he let drop that freedom is also an Israeli dream and "also a Palestinian dream". The NYT tut-tutted, calling it the "only sour note" of the gala. (I'd link to it, but can't find now. I swear I read it last night.)

I can't figure out why that is a sour note. Are we not supposed to mention anything political at an expressly political event? Do Palestinians not dream of freedom? It is not PC to even mention Palestinians?

Dolberry doesn't have an opinion re: Gaza, other than that they should quit killing each other. Here's a much better take from The Nation. I just gotta ignore the NYT. Basically, that web site is just like the comic strip "Cathy". I can't avoid reading it, but it generally ends w/ Dolberry! feeling like his intelligence has been insulted ... again.

Risen from the Lashes

(written Thurs night, posted Friday, hooray for airport wireless)

So … I’m out swimming under the stars and thinking about life, the universe, and whether Dolberry should have really had that 5th piece of pizza tonight. Seems even harder to stay afloat than usual.

It sure is nice swimming outside in January. Especially when you know in 24 hours it’ll probably be too cold to swim INSIDE where Dolberry is headed.

But that isn’t what I was thinking about. OK, well I was, but I thought about other stuff as well. The hotel I’m staying at is the host hotel of the NFL media for the NFC Championship game here this weekend. There are lots of middle aged, fat guys wandering around the lobby. (I was the one in the swim trunks.)

Many of you may not know this, but coming out of high school Dolberry was debating between four very different college and career paths:

a) Go to U of L and become an engineer. (It was free. El Cueto liked this one)

b) Go to Purdue for meteorology via ROTC. (El Cueto liked this one even more as it would have been free and our hero Dolberry would have had to cut his hair.)

c) Go to SLU and become a Billiken and live happily ever after.

d) Or, go to Western Kentucky and become a sports journalist.


I lost interest in the idea of sports journalism when I did a campus visit and they said you had to be good at interviewing people. At that point in my life, Dolberry didn’t even like talking to people he knew, let alone ones he didn’t know. WKU seemed like a nice school, though. I think one of Dolberry’s sisters friends went there … Rachel or Cherylyn … can’t remember. Somebody went there.

Anyway, I thought DCV readers would enjoy looking into an alternate reality had Dolberry chosen “d”. Enjoy.


Risen from the Lashes
By Dolberry!
USA Today

Phoenix – Seven weeks ago, stumbling off the field in a daze after an inexplicable tie against the bumbling Cincinnati Bengals, a Super Bowl appearance wasn’t even a mirage for Donovan McNabb. But on Sunday, he’ll need just 60 more minutes in the desert sun before reaching that ultimate football oasis.

McNabb was roasted by Dolberry’s sportswriting peers for not knowing that NFL games could end in a tie and he was left to dehydrate in the heat along w/ all other players who would not be making a playoff appearance in 2008-09.

Or, so we thought.

Instead, the ageless QB from Mount Carmel High School, south of Chicago, has risen like a phoenix from the ashes. If grit alone could get you to the Super Bowl, then McNabb’s Eagles would be in, because he leads a team of gutty grinders who would rather eat a cheesesteak than a cheesecake. And over the last 23 years, the Eagles are 1-0 against teams they’ve already beaten on Thanksgiving on that same year.

Stats and grittiness aside, it won’t be easy. The homestanding Cardinals are feisty themselves and won’t fly away in the Battle of the Birds without a flap. Arizona middle linebacker Karlos Dansby will be watching McNabb’s every move like a hawk. Every breath he takes. Every move he makes. Every pass he play fakes … he’ll be watching him.

But when he steps on the field on Sunday afternoon, don’t blame Donovan McNabb for looking around for that oasis. And don’t you doubt that he might not just find it.

In the Valley of the Frying Sun

(written Monday, posted Wednesday)
APD, the title is for you. I thought you’d like it. Went w/ a HoH theme throughout. I do think you could get a sunburn out here this week if you put your mind to it.

The warm weather is quite dissimilar from the last time I was out here in the winter. I might have to give that the “Life Episode” treatment sometime. (OK. Long story short … tbKMD’s family had Dolberry standing out on a major Phoenix thoroughfare holding a sign in my short sleeves in a 40 degree rain. Considering the downwash & spray created by the cars speeding by at 50 mph, the wind chill wet bulb temperature was probably ~25-30. I think it was some sort of hazing ceremony.) Today it was an easy 70 w/ a satisfying sun.

Conference is fine so far. Seen a number of old colleagues. They’d probably say the same about me.

I’m surprised how many memories I have of Phoenix. They all sort of radiated down riding back on the shuttle bus, gazing out the empty back of the bus at the South Mountains. Warm replays of leaving the Valley the first time, riding back to St. Louis w/ John, Beth, and Bridget … crying silently behind sunglasses halfway to New Mexico dreading a summer away from tbKMD.

(we were children then)

It was the first time I met most of tbKMD’s family. Who knows what they thought of Dolberry, but here’s what I remember thinking about them. They were kind of scary.

(footprints in the sand)

It’s one of the happiest blessings of my life that those scary people accepted me as part of their family. Eventually all of them became less scary. It took Mary the longest. Part of it was her tape player which repeated eight Garth Brooks songs over and over in a first day programmer’s loop. Part of it was her tenacious love for her daughters. It was as obvious then as it is now that tbKMD deserves way more than what she got. (No tradebacks!) Over time though, my relationship w/ Mary became something that I really appreciated. She laughed at all my lousy jokes & I did the same for hers. And it was genuine laughter. Nobody could make more smiles w/ less material than Mary. And during that one Chicago spring where Dolberry kinda lost it … Mary straightened me out w/ a simple reminder that nothing was going to happen that day that God & I couldn’t get through together. Before I knew it, we were good friends.

(and like that sand through our hands go our grandest plans)

The year she was sick went like a blur. There was sudden bad but uncertain news. Then it got worse. For a while the medicine worked, but then it didn’t. And we shared lots of happy times. And there were lots of nice talks and visits. And we took pictures in the fallen leaves and with new puppies. And right after that APD & I were out standing on the driveway under a halo-wrapped moon and she was gone.

(and through the cloud of death we find our way back home)

And sitting here in the Valley of the Sun, I selfishly wish I could go back in time and live it all over again. I’d do some things different (see summer jobs entry) but mostly just to experience it all over again. It's been too fun. Like always, I’m just so grateful for all the people in my life, the ones who are on the other side and the ones still here.

(the end … is not the end)

Phoenix

Did you know that Phoenix is the 6th largest city in the U.S., but if you watch the local news you will see commercials for alpacas? I knew that and now you do too.

Probably won't be blogging much this week as have not stumbled upon free wireless (that works) anywhere. Hope all is well for you guys!

Shaqtastic!

I think my favorite commercial right now is the ESPN one where Shaq is playing scrabble. Shaq does seem to be an excellent player and I hate to quibble, but in his first play he would have gotten 54 points had he played "quash" on his opening turn instead of "shaqfu" which was just 50 if my math is right.

Speaking of games, my 2009 Sudoku streak over tbKMD ended at eight today. We print out the same "expert" level puzzle from this web site and race to see who can finish it first. Usually takes about 20 minutes, but I got one done in 10:34 this morning. Unfortunately, tbKMD beat me by about 20 seconds in our 3rd match of the day. So, now I'm 8-1 on the year.

Speaking of streaks, I've gotten a lot of questions about my Guitar Hero prowess (well, one ... thx El Cueto). My longest consecutive note streak is in the 400s on easy. I can do pretty much every song at the easy level at least 90%. I've focused on two songs at medium level for now ("Everlong" by Foo Fighters & "The One I Love" by REM). I can do both of them at 90% on medium.

Watched a Josh Hamilton show on ESPN last night. The job he'd want to have if he wasn't a MLB player ... weatherman.

Went running around the lake today (2 miles) & APD whupped me. That kid is a competitive runner. He does not like to lose ... to his Dad anyway.

Probably no blog tomorrow unless there's free wireless somewhere.

I've had enough cold & I am outta here!

Day 3 of the water heater strike brought 55 deg F water which was a vast improvement over yesterday's 33 F. Looks like even warmer water can be expected tomorrow morning. The water heater strike came only 6 days after our car heater strike. Heat is an expensive commodity in the winter.

So, I'm headed out to the desert Southwest for the 89th annual American Meteorological Society meeting next week in sunny Phoenix. Forecast temps are in the 70s all week. Presumably, the Airport Marriott will have heated showers (they have a heated pool anyway, which is good enough for me). And I'll be hearing about global warming all week, so that should by toasty nice.

I'll try to blog along the way, but if not, stay warm out there.

Spinning

Hey ... hope your day got off to a better start than mine. Woke up around 7a ... still no working water heater ... 90 seconds dodging sleet from the nozzle. Then went from that to a 8a dentist appointment. Then work.

But really the dentist wasn't that bad & while work is busier than usual right now, it was ok.

After work, straight from the bus, we went to the gym where I did a Cycle 60 class. I guess it's called spinning as well. It's really fun for exercise. The lights are off ... they have big TVs showing Lance Armstrong riding up mountains ... they play some good music (& some bad music) ... and a nice lady yells at you to work harder. Big fun.

My goal this year is to do three triathlons and a half-marathon. 8 days in ... I haven't done any of those things ...

I really like this song called "Spinning" by Jack's Mannequin ... sort of sums up what life can be life sometimes. Check it out on the "Lala" musical widget thing to the right.

I'm keeping quiet 'til there's no more sirens.
Lately its hard to keep the hinges on with all the noise.
I found my words when there was no one talking.
The room is spinning i have got no choice.
Be patient, i am getting to the point

I can't remember when the earth turned slowly.
I just waited with the lights turned out again.
I lost my place but i can't stop this story.
I found my way but until then,
I'm only spinning.

I'm keeping quiet 'til the phone stops ringing.
Lately it's hard to disconnect. I just want something real.
I found the words if i can just stop thinking.
The room is spinning i have got no choice.
Be patient, i am getting to the point.

I can't remember when the earth turned slowly.
So i just waited with the lights turned out again.
I lost my place but i can't stop this story.
I found my way but until then,
I'm only spinning.

Spectacular double rainbow this evening in RTP

I'd credit the photographer, but given that he took the picture w/ his newly, ill-gotten, government-property Blackberry ... I'll save him the potential GAO audit.

Anyway, it was a real thin squall line of heavy rain & gusty winds, but immediately behind it was clear skies, thus the rainbow. Kind of a nice reminder that better weather is ahead. Softball signups start next weekend. Two months to spring training. I think I'll make it.

Movie "Review": Bedtime Stories

The whole D'Berry clan took in a post-Christmas movie this past weekend. We narrowed it down to Desperaux and Bedtime Stories and let a coin make the final decision. It was fine. A little Adam Sandler goes a long way. I had a really nice ICEE though, so all was good.

Our water heater appears to have failed. I grumbled to tbKMD ... didn't we just get that installed 3 years ago. Turns out it was 9 years ago. Time files.

Closer to caving on the cell phone thing ...

As many of you know, one of my life's goals is to be the last person in the U.S. over the age of 8 to own a cell phone. I must admit it's getting harder. The stupid bus has been really late a lot these days & I've been thinking that it'd be nice to be able to call tbKMD & tell her that I'll expect my dinner to be on the table at 6:37 sharp instead of 6:22 sharp.

One of my wonderful sisters (Carrie) sent me a link to a funny The Onion article about an obnoxious cell-phone holdout who caved and then instantly became a cell phone junkie. I would so be that guy. If I ever get a cell phone, I want the best one. Preferably one that takes pictures, plays MP3s, serves as a browser, and can grill a burger indoors (i.e., the George Foreman phone).

Based on a quick Google search, it appears that somewhere between 70 and 85% of all American adults have cell phones at the present time. According to one study, more people say it would be harder to give up their cell phone than their TV. Ouch.

The advertising for cell phones is relentless. According to the internet, here are the top 10 spenders on advertisements during the first three quarters of 2008:

1 Procter & Gamble Co $2.3 billion
2 General Motors Corp $1.4 billion
3 AT&T Inc $1.3 billion
4 Verizon Communications Inc $1.1 billion
5 Johnson & Johnson $1.1 billion
6 Time Warner Inc $878 million
7 Toyota Motor Corp $819 million
8 General Electric Co $807 million
9 Ford Motor Co $742 million
10 Pepsico Inc $731 million

Anyway, I guess I'll stick it out another year. But if anyone wants to get me an iPhone for Valentine's Day ... I probably won't throw it out the window.

We got Guitar Hero over the weekend

It's pretty awesome. I'm on easy level for now, but I've already made over $3K by playing virtual gigs. I guess Activision sends you the money by check. It's pretty sweet. Basically, the game has already paid for itself as it was only $79.

Good thing for those guys most folks don't have Dolberry's innate musical talent. They'd go broke.

Hey! Another gripe from growing up. Why did Kathy & Kris get guitar lessons & I didn't. We could have made a lot of money as a Partridge family thing if I'd have gotten the lessons.

Oh well ... bygones be bygones ....

Top Board Games of all Time

Ho boy! Another countdown. Who saw that coming?

Tonight's edition: Best board games ever. Dolberry loves himself a good board game. Don't think it gets much better than hanging out w/ friends and/or family around a table and playing a board game ... then winning & then taunting them until they run away from the table crying.

OK, here are the games that I remember playing that didn't make the cut: Backgammon, Balderdash, Battleship, Boggle, Candy Land, Catch Phrase, Checkers, Chess, Chinese Checkers, Connect Four, Hi Ho! Cherry-o*, Hungry Hungry Hippo, Jenga, Mancala, Memory**, Mouse Trap, Operation, Othello, Parchesi, & Twister.

( * - do not play Molly Alexander in this game ... you will lose.)
( ** - do not play Brigitte Alexander in this game ... you will most definitely lose.)

20 - Cranium: This should be more fun than it is.
19 - Pictionary: I'm lousy at this but enjoy watching tbKMD and Shelly play as a team.
18 - Clue: Colonel Mustard and the Bad Seeds would make a good name for a rock band.
17 - Yahtzee: I'm not sure how Dolberry went to the bathroom prior to the handheld Yahtzee.
16 - Chutes and Ladders: First game I ever remember playing ... was Snakes and Ladders then.
15 - Scotland Yard: Tracking Mr. X all over London is the closest Dolberry's been to overseas.
14 - Outburst: Fine game
13 - Sorry: Remember playing this game up in Akron at G'Grandma's.
12 - Taboo: Man, El Cuerta is awful at this game. He always gets buzzed.
11 - Scattergories: Simple, fun game.
10 - Life: If only all kids were as well behaved in the car as those little blue/pink plastic pegs.
9 - Blokus: Kristin got me this for Christmas. It's a blast. Thanks Kris!
8 - Stratego: El Cuerta always beat me at this. In retrospect, I suspect he marked my flag piece.
7 - All Star Baseball: Ooh, I spent many an hour when I was young spinning those dials.
6 - Ticket to Ride: Only played it once, but really enjoyed it. Will buy at some point.
5 - Trivial Pursuit: I enjoyed this more when I was smarter.
4 - Risk: Used to have epic games of this down at Topher's house before we switched to D&D.
3 - Apples to Apples: This is a blast of a game. Only Gus & I know how nasty rust is.
2 - Monopoly: Classic.
1 - Scrabble: Did you know ... that in the "proposal game" I beat tbKMD 410 to 167? A great memory.

Reconsidering the Catcher in the Rye

Dolberry likes to reread old books from time to time & in the last few weeks before Christmas, I was re-reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. (Not to be confused w/ the equally excellent Bob Uecker autobiography, The Catcher in the Wry.) At one time of my life (i.e., high school) this was probably my favorite novel of all time. I recall feeling totally linked into Holden Caulfield's experience: feeling lost in a larger world, not knowing how to fight back, and wanting to save the innocents from being lost to it. Now I read it, and while I think I still feel all those things from the previous sentence, now all I come away with is that Holden Caulfield is a jerk.

So what happened? Obviously, the book hasn't changed; so I guess I have. Did I just not read it critically enough the first time around or has 25 additional years of life left me unsympathetic to the protagonist's obvious psychological troubles? I'm interested in what others think.

Anyway, while you guys do that ... I'll leave you w/ Dolberry's favorite 15 "important" novels of all time. (Important is defined as one that you might be required to read in high school or college.) Some of these I haven't read in a while so there's a chance I may no longer like them. So, buyer beware.

15. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
14. The Bridge of San Luis Rey - Thornton Wilder
13. The Power and the Glory - Graham Greene
12. Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
11. The Jungle - Upton Sinclair
10. Sister Carrie - Theodore Dreiser
9. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
8. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
7. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
6. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
5. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
4. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
3. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy - J.R.R. Tolkien (nasty hobbitses!)
1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain

The Spreading of Disorder

There was a cool article in Science magazine last month. Researchers in Netherlands conducted a half-dozen experiments to test the validity of the so-called "broken windows" theory (BWT). The premise of the BWT is that being surrounded by disorderly/criminal activity can actually lead to increased bad behavior. So, if one is surrounded by litter, graffiti, or minor vandalism ... one is more likely to exhibit that same bad behavior, or worse. Apparently, before this article there was no quantifiable evidence to support the BWT.

Their experiments were quite clever. For instance, they set up in an alley near a shopping center in Groningen where people would park their bicycles. They put useless flyers on the bicycles while their riders were away and tested whether the riders would take the flyer w/ them or litter them on the ground when returning. For the control case, the alley walls were clear of graffiti. In the experimental case, the alley walls were graffiti'd. 33% of the riders littered in the clean wall case; but 69% littered the flyer in the graffiti case. The (subliminal) thinking was that 'hey, this place is ugly anyway; what's a piece of litter.'

In another experiment, they put two signs on a temporary fence that people would have to walk around to get to their parked car. One sign said "don't lock your bicycles to this fence" and the other said "don't walk through the area blocked by the fence". When the researchers locked bicycles to the fence, 82% of the people ignored the other sign. When there were no bicycles chained to the fence, only 27% broke the other rule.

In other experiments they found that people were twice as likely to steal money when surrounded by disorder / other bad behavior.

Isn't that cool? It seems to indicates that humans have a tendency to hold a shifting ethical code that varies depending upon what others are doing. I would hope my ethics are independent of that others are doing, but I know I'm influenced (the whole music downloading thing from a few years ago is probably a good example).

Looking at it from another more encouraging angle, the more I "behave" the easier it becomes for others to do so as well. Maybe it's part of growing older, maybe it's just part of our current situation; but sometimes the world seems to be careening off-track. Maybe in 2009 if we all do enough of the little things right, we can nudge us back on course?