Random Notes: Rasslin', Football, and Wii

• If I bought Lego Star Wars for Wii for my son, then why do I end up playing it all the time? My "I'm trying to unlock Boba Fett for him" excuse isn't working now that I've blow'd up Jabba's barge and can now play the galaxy's baddest bounty hunter.
• A rather unscientific poll of college football aficionados rates WVU as having the rudest fans. Duh.
• Sorry, Paul. ASAT picking the Bengals to lose has no bearing on their performance. Rumor has it that someone in Norwood sold their soul to the devil for this season to happen.
• Congratulations, Sen. Byrd, for becoming the longest-serving Congressperson in American history. His next goal: Pass ProConsul T'grAtphas 187 years in the Romulan Senate.
• I've officially started telling friends and family to not bring me t-shirts back from vacation. Bring bbq sauce.
• These girls have a career.
• I watched some Chris Benoit matches the other day and winced every time that he put someone in a choke hold. Maybe someday I can watch his work and appreciate him as an in-ring storyteller. Not today.
• If Jericho isn't going to be The Undertaker's opponent at Wrestlemania, I'd love to see Y2J vs. CM Punk.
  

Week 11 NFL Picks

Last week I went 10-5 (one bad 4th down call from 11-4, but I digress) to bring the season record to 93-51. This week:

Dolphins @ Panthers
Colts @ Ravens
Steelers @ Chiefs
49ers @ Packers
Falcons @ Giants
Saints @ Buccaneers
Redskins @ Cowboys
Seahawks @ Vikings
Bills @ Jaguars
Browns @ Lions
Cardinals @ Rams
Bengals @ Raiders
Jets @ Patriots
Chargers @ Broncos
Eagles @ Bears
Titans @ Texans

My Five Fave Websites of the Moment

1. Justin.TV - Keep your eye out for streaming classic NWA/WCW rasslin. Don't let it get you fired.
2. Hulu - I'm too lazy to stay up for shows starting after 9:30. This catches me up.
3. SI.com - Peter King is quick to name-drop, rarely admits when he is wrong, and loves compliments to stroke his ego. Why is that ok? 'Cause, with Dr. Z out-of-commission, he is the best pro football working today.
4. Huffington Post - It reminds me that I'm not nearly as liberal as I think I am.
5. Buzzfeed - Memechow.

Week 10 NFL Picks

Last week I returned to respectability with a 9-4 record, bringing my season total to 83-46. Here's this week:

Bears @ 49ers
Falcons @ Panthers
Broncos @ Redskins
Buccaneers @ Dolphins
Lions @ Vikings
Jaguars @ Jets
Bills @ Titans
Saints @ Rams
Bengals @ Steelers
Chiefs @ Raiders
Cowboys @ Packers
Eagles @ Chargers
Seahawks @ Cardinals
Patriots @ Colts
Ravens @ Browns

Have You Forgotten?

Top Ten Beverages of the Moment

1. Pepsi Max. Tastes pretty good and keeps me awake from lunch 'til quittin' time.

2. Iced drip coffee. Tastes like dirt, but gets me by from morning to lunch.

3. Skim milk. I don't miss the fat.

4. Diet Pepsi. Best tasting diet soda, but it needs more caffeine to compete with its new cousin.

5. Iced tea with lemon and a little bit of sugar. The Southern-style tea syrup @ Maccas is just too much for me; I like to make my own.

6. Iced white chocolates soy mochas from Sheetz. I bemoaned another tobacco, gas, and booze store in the area, but the cold coffee drinkz are badazz.

7. Coke Zero. Double the caffeine and you'll be on top.

8. Tap water. Why pay just for the privilege of adding to a landfill?

9. Red Bull. OK, I see a trend. Maybe I should get some help.

10. Soy milk. I like the taste, but my wife hates the inevitable "dutch ovens" that result.

Token Berlin Wall Post: That Scorpions Song

Week 9 NFL Picks

Last week was another ho-hum 7-6 for a season total of 74-42. This week:

Ravens @ Bengals
Packers @ Buccaneers
Cardinals @ Bears
Chiefs @ Jaguars
Texans @ Colts
Dolphins @ Patriots
Redskins @ Falcons
Panthers @ Saints
Lions @ Seahawks
Titans @ 49ers
Chargers @ Giants
Cowboys @ Eagles
Steelers @ Broncos

Pan Fried Chicken Thighs

We got some boneless/skinless chicken thighs the other day at WalMart and I figured that they'd make for some excellent pan fried chicken, one of my favorite Appalachian dishes.

I dipped them in a mix of skim milk and sour cream (I forgot buttermilk) and rolled them in flour mixed with salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, and Tony's. I fried them in a skillet with some vegetable oil on both sides at a high temp and then turned down the heat & covered for a while longer.

Here's the result:

Good stuff. Next time I'll make sure to go easier on the salt, but the sodium soaked in overnight and they were just fine when re-heated the next day.

I give them 4 out of 5 Col. Tylers.

Cartman vs. Lady Gaga

Tater Heads

Even more accidentally hilarious headlines from the BBC

Why was David Nutt sacked?

Week 8 NFL Picks

Another crappy week last Sunday, going 7-6 for a season total of 67-36. This week:

Seahawks @ Cowboys
Rams @ Lions
Broncos @ Ravens
Browns @ Bears
Texans @ Bills
49ers @ Colts
Giants @ Eagles
Dolphins @ Jets
Raiders @ Chargers
Jaguars @ Titans
Panthers @ Cardinals
Vikings @ Packers
Falcons @ Saints

Halloween tip for my friend Matt's kid

How To Find A Masculine Halloween Costume For Your Effeminate Son

5 Awesome Things

1. Watching 11 month-olds learn to walk

2. Iced banana white chocolate mochas from Sheetz

3. ABC's Modern Family

4. Mustard greens

5. This artwork

Broadway is dark tonight

RIP GeoCities. Today Yahoo is shutting down the once glorious, now nearly forgotten free web hosting service fondly remember by 30-something internet geeks everywhere. In honor of my friend's old website, located in the "Broadway" city that was one of the first website that I ever bookmarked on Netscape Navigator, here is a song from that era by the Goo Goo dolls:



This makes me sad. Now where am I going to find cool chatroom portals, neato gifs, killer MIDI files, and Empire Records fansites? I'm gonna get on ICQ and complain to random chat person about this. :(

Update: Last chance!!! If you don't well up a little bit, then it is past your bedtime.

Prettiest leaves in Huntington

If it is on your way, be sure to drive past the intersection of 9th Ave and Elm St. There is a tree near that intersection with the prettiest yellow-orange leaves that I've seen in ages.

Our Lady of the Carbonite

We recently got a magazine featuring a marble relief of Mary on the cover. My older son, ever the Star Wars fan, immediately recognized a similarity:


It looks like even the Holy Mother isn't safe when she crosses Jabba. Either that, or Han Solo was honored by some geeky Byzantines for the 1000s.
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Week 7 NFL Picks

Last week was a major turd sandwich with a record of 7-7, bringing my season total to 60-30. Here are this week's picks:

49ers @ Texans
Colts @ Rams
Chargers @ Chiefs
Packers @ Browns
Patriots @ Buccaneers
Vikings @ Steelers
Bills @ Panthers
Jets @ Raiders
Saints @ Dolphins
Bears @ Bengals
Falcons @ Cowboys
Cardinals @ Giants
Eagles @ Redskins

It's Moltin' Time!!!

About once every 15 months Atacama, my Chilean rose hair tarantula molts. This time around was particularly serendipitous, as her old exoskeleton makes for a spooky Hallowe'en decoration.