The Little Things That Amuse

Today I was in the apartment with hetero-cubicle-life-mate Ri Ri. (He of the Chai Latte fame).

We had just taken a bevy of workout supplements and were getting ready for what we hoped would be an "epic" lifting of weights.  Both of us generally get tired through a day and don't exactly feel like working out, so we do weird things to make ourselves feel more excited about it.

Like take workout supplements.

And talk like weirdos.

"Can't wait to get this lift on," isn't uncommon.

Nor is him saying something like, "This chest routine is going to be diesel."

I have come to understand it is just part of the routine.  I find it humorous, and sometimes go along with it.  I usually mess up because I'm not hip or down with the "cool guy" lingo.  I will say things like, "Is it bicep day?"

He laughs and says, "There isn't a day for just biceps bro.  Get with it."

Okay. Fair enough.

But today, my "teacher" of all things "gym-cool" was in the kitchen and I look over into the living room where he has what I thought was a box of workout supplements.

This is what I find:

WTF? Step Up 3?

A box of DVDs he picked up from his parent's house. Among them is Step Up 3.  I assume this means he has seen and was a fan of Step Up 1 and 2?

"Ri.  Why do you have Step Up 3?" I ask.

"Bro?  Have you seen it?"

No. No, I haven't.

For those of you who are curious, here is the synopsis of Step Up 3 - from IMDB.com:

After graduating high school from the Maryland School of the Arts (MSA), Moose, with his longtime BFF and fellow MSA alumnus Camille, decides to "grow up" by quitting dance and becoming an engineering student at NYU, much to the delight of his parents. An impromptu street dance battle in New York City in which Moose is involved against Kid Darkness of the renowned House of Samurai dance crew catches the eye of Luke, the leader of the House of Pirates dance crew. Luke convinces Moose to join his crew, which is comprised of a group of misfits who each has his/her own individual dance style. Luke and his crew live in what is called the vault - a converted warehouse - which has a living and dance rehearsal space upstairs and a dance club downstairs. Luke has his own personal reasons for creating the vault and helping these dancers. However, he is five months behind in the mortgage payments and the bank could foreclose at any second. Luke believes winning the $100,000 grand prize in the inaugural World Jam Championships would solve his financial problems. The Samurais, led by Luke's nemesis Julien, are their main competition. Beyond the prestige, Julien has his own motive for wanting to win and ruin the Pirates. Luke is also trying to recruit Natalie, a recent attendee to the downstairs club. In getting to know Luke, Natalie tries to get him to follow his own dreams. But Natalie's involvement with the Pirates may threaten its existence. Meanwhile, Moose is trying to balance his secret involvement with the Pirates against his commitments to school and to Camille, who secretly wants to be more than just a platonic BFF to Moose. But Camille may be able to take only so much neglect from Moose before even their BFF status is placed into jeopardy.

Erm. "...impromptu street dance battle in New York City..." ??? Lovely.

That is all.

TTFN Denmonites!

-ND

Ashes to Ashes Update

I am about to take the old knees out for a run in the evening air.  Usually, on my run, I can smell the salt water coming in on the breeze.  It rejuvenates me when I get tired, thinking about the waves just beyond the horizon over a small copse of trees that line the boardwalk.  Beneath the wooden walkway are tiny mounds of sand looking like brown, grainy, frozen waves in their own right; waves with shell and footprints and the rubble of ill-fated sand castles carefully laid by the most practiced of tiny hands.

The coastal air, the images it gives me, remind me that sometimes you can dream with eyes wide open.

Life, as much as it can beat you down, can also be inspirational.

When I am done, I know that I will be ready to rock and roll with Ashes to Ashes.  The novel is starting to come together and I find myself excited to sit down and write each night.  Our familiar characters are back at it - immersed in the politics of the underworld and surrounded by death at every turn.

Some are seeking it, others are hoping to avoid it.

Listening to tonight as I run and write:

• The Lumineers 
• Imagine Dragons
• Vicci Martinez
• Of Monster and Men
• Mumford and Sons
• Tom Petty
• Muse
• Death Cab for a Cutie
• Jack White

Have a great night!

TTFN Denmonites!

-ND

Blackout and Beyonce Equals Weird Super Bowl

Super Bowl Sunday was great, mostly because of the company and the food and less because of the game. The game was just weird to me. It was an epic blowout until someone at the stadium decided to pull the plug on the power. 

[Prepare for RANT]

Can you imagine being the guy or girl in charge of the Dome during that game? That is probably the worst scenario ever. During the biggest game in your abode, at the most inopportune time, the lights go out. Not only that, it pulls the plug on the broadcasters that would fill that time with pointless facts and the brushing of the egos of the players on the field…stretching... because you can’t play with half of a million lights.

At some point it became apparent they COULD play, but the announcer’s booth wasn't fully functional so they kept the game on hold for an extra fifteen minutes so they could get it right for the television audience. They say five seconds of silence on the air is an eternity. How about several minutes? How about thirty minutes of no action during the championship game right on the heels of the world’s worst half-time show? 

Yeah, I said it. Beyoncé was HORRIBLE. People are all over this like it was some excellent show. I don’t know if we watched the same thing. I thought about eating a bullet rather than continue watching her. She danced like a tired stripper. She sang three words of every song and did it with no passion and out of breath. Then she was doing giddy sidelong glances like she had never been the center of attention before.

Brutal. 

That was followed by the blackout. 

People began to leave the Super Bowl party. After all, there was work in the morning for most. NFL, get the memo, hold the Super Bowl on Saturday so people can actually enjoy it in its entirety. Then maybe people might be drunk enough to use that as an excuse for enjoying that crap Beyoncé put together. 

This is what was clearly supposed to be her best moment.  She came off as a trollop.   

[Here the rant shall end...mostly]

The game actually got exciting towards the end but by that time I was only half paying attention.  I felt even if the 49er's staged a comeback it was probably because of the effect on momentum the blackout had on a clearly dominate Raven's team to start the game.

The game almost reeled me in anyway, only to make me feel like the referees screwed the 49er's with several no-calls at crucial points in the game including their last attempt at a touchdown.   

Oh well.  I won some money in my fantasy football league, so I take monetary solace in that.

Also, the food was great.  I made my Yankee Noodle cookies.  

The treats I made...

People ate them and seemed to like them.  The rest of the spread was excellent as well.  Meatballs, chili, banana pudding cake, chips and salsa, fried chicken, and other snacks rounded out the tasty treats. 

It was all put on courtesy of my Dad who has an excellent new television for such events.

My brother Alex next to said TV

Ah well. The Buffalo Bills didn't make the Super Bowl so my chances of really being enamored with the event were slim to begin with, but at least the food and company held up to the highest of standards...even if the game and halftime show did not.

In the immortal words of every Buffalo fan everywhere, "There is always next year."

TTFN Denmonites!

-ND