The Warmth of the Sun

God Only Knows

Beach, meet pool. Pool, meet beach. (This is the view from the third floor.)

Wouldn't It Be Nice

The World Is Mine.

This is our rental house. I feel like Tony Montana staying here. And because the elevator didn't work during our stay, we get a free week in the house in November. Awesome (not sure that I'll be able to make it, though).

Gettin' Hungry

Fuck you, heart!

Tuesday was Man Night. While the ladies went to dinner and a show (A Chorus Line), the men stayed in, drank beer, and ate copious amounts of red meat. Grillmaster Uncle Chuck prepared my culinary highlight of the year: steak (1.5" thick! 1.75 lbs.!), baked potato, a whole onion - all grilled on the Weber. There was also some great salad and Texas toast, not to mention Uncle Mike's homemade ice cream.*

Then there was the impromptu after dinner rap-along. Don't ask.

You can keep your 4 star restaurants. I've had my share of haute cuisine (which is nice), but it doesn't get any better than this.

*It was almost like Patton Oswalt's bit about the gauntlet of angry food.

Don't Worry, Baby

When he's not smiling, my nephew Owen tends to look like a pissed off old man. But sometimes he just looks like he has no lower torso or legs.

Surfer Girl

This morning my brother went for a run on the beach and told me that he saw the elusive Miss Beach Balls (two guesses why he refers to her as that). So, I went for a beach stroll a little later, but no dice. There's always tomorrow morning.

Little Saint Nick

Tonight was our family's Christmas in July. During our blind gift exchange I got a bottle of tequila and some margarita mix, which is funny because I gave...a bottle of tequila and some margarita mix (and, no, I did not receive my own gift).

Help Me, Rhonda

For those trying to contact me via cellular telephone, forget it. I get no signal in the house. If I waive my phone around wildly while I'm in the street in front of the house, maybe I can get one bar. So I'm essentially incommunicado. And I like it.

Another thing that I surprisingly like: not watching TV. Aside from fleeting glimpses of some kids programming, the Weather Channel, and Fox News, I haven't watched any TV (playing Super Mario on the Wii doesn't count). And I'm cool with it. Of course, it's summer and I'm not missing anything besides crappy reality shows, but still...

Tonight I've experienced the joys of Southern Comfort. How come no one has forced me to drink this wonderful, wonderful adult beverage sooner?

Be True To Your School

I get more reading done at the beach than anywhere else. I guess it's all of the free time. On this trip's list:

-Chuck Klosterman IV by Chuck Klosterman (duh)
-The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones by Anthony Bourdain
-Cell by Stephen King

I'll likely finish the Klosterman book tonight. Three books may not be enough for my tenure here.

A thought: when I went to the Hemingway Home earlier this year I bought a silver plate bookmark. And yet, several books read later I still haven't used it. In fact, what I am still using for a bookmark is...wait for it...the receipt for silver plate bookmark. I am so punk rock.

I Get Around

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I have no real excuse. But tonight my brother-in-law and I made the trek to south and joined our family in Hilton Head, SC. I'm hot. I'm tired. I'm going to bed.

More tomorrow.

Requiem for the father of modern science

R.I.P. Don Herbert a.k.a. Mr. Wizard, 1917-2007.



I know you're droppin' science in a better place now.

Oh, the tears of unfathomable sadness! My-ymmuy.

Oh, let me taste your tears, Paris.

Christmas comes early for everyone this year. Thank you, Paris Hilton.

Harry Potter, frat boy

The above - "J.K. Rowling Hints At Harry Potter Date Rape" - put out by the Onion kills me. Especially the part with the webcam girl.

Shameless excuse to post her picture

Heigl alert!

The new issue of Entertainment Weekly arrived in my mailbox this weekend and it features former Crush of the Week Katherine Heigl. Yowza. Now I really want to see Knocked Up.

The Cleansing

I'm getting a bit too big for my britches and am really in the need for some detoxing, so to speak. I thought a great way to start my journey of self-improvement would be to to commence Salad Week Part Deux (the previous one occurred in 2005). The only difference between the prior SW and now is that I'm only doing it for supper. Anyway, tonight's dinner was a freakin' HUGE salad, complete with cherry tomatoes, bacony Bacos (actually, a knock-off brand), fajita steak strips, shaved parmesan (sexy!) and sharp cheddar cheeses, and Northern Italian dressing. I'm full of roughage!

Also as part of The Cleansing, I've been going on walks with a co-worker during our morning breaks. Yesterday I bought a cheapy pedometer from Target to keep track of my daily foot commute. Between approximately 7:45 am and 8:15 pm today I walked 5908 steps. Given that this device set me back $1, I question its accuracy, though.

Lastly, I've discovered the joy of Vanilla Mint Listerine. It's a relatively mellow variety that packs less of a sting. A fresh mouth is a wonderful thing.

My band finally made a video

Live from the Blue Oyster

To borrow a phrase from Patton Oswalt, that was gayer than eight guys blowing nine guys. My question: what was that hot chick (by 1979 standards) doing in the video?

Credit due: Bill aka Two Dollar Bill (get it?)