Our Maine/NYC Vacation Begins!

We left work a little early to head north for a vacation in Maine. We weren't the only ones! Traffic out of DC has been very heavy. We hope to make it to Connecticut tonight and will get to Little Deer
Isle, Maine, tomorrow.

While the temperature in DC today hit 104 (actual--not the heat  index), we are expecting it to be in the high 70s in Maine. We can't wait.

We will be going to New York City on Thursday until Sunday. We have tickets to see the Broadway show, The Book of Mormon, on Satuday. We will be seeing other shows too. Keep posted.

Thursday Night Cocktails with My Now Legal Niece

Shane and I took my niece, Nikki, out to Wisdom for a few cocktails.  She just turned 21 this month and she likes the fancy mixed drinks.  I used to change her diapers!

Music to Run By: Let the River Run

I am still on track with my training for the Philadelphia Marathon.  I ran 5 miles on the treadmill at the gym today in 42:30.  My knee is feeling a bit better.  I think the roller exercise I posted about earlier  is helping.  This song came on my iPod Shuffle today and help me get through to mile 5.

Disgusted by GOP Debt Ceiling Political A-Holes

Like most Americans, I'm disgusted by the "negotiations" ongoing with a deadline quickly approaching to raise the debt ceiling.  It is pretty obvious that no deal will be made by August 2 and financial disaster is likely next week.  I can't watch the news lately because it makes me too depressed and angry.  I totally and completely blame the Republicans playing politics with this issue.  They are happy to run the economy into the ground, cause interest rates to go up, and cause the debt to go higher by having our country's credit rating down-graded.  Good job Republicans.  Dumb asses!

New Yorker Caption Contest #296

Oh my, Ms. Palin!  You look so much taller in person.

This is my idea for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #296.  Let me know if you have any ideas for a caption too.  

Enough with the Heat Already

Like much of the country, it is hot as hell in DC.  With actual temperatures in the triple digits and heat indexes just plain outrageous, I've had enough of the hot.

Our poor air conditioner is running constantly.  Earlier in the summer, I had someone come check out the AC unit and he added freon.  But since then, the air is actually warmer than when the freon was low.  He said that the too cold air would have caused the unit to freeze up eventually.  Though the proper amount of freon makes the air the proper temperature, the colder air made the house colder.  However, I want the unit to continue to work too.

We have a blanket duct taped over the windows of our back door to prevent the sun from making the house too hot.  I'm strongly thinking about putting canvas over the skylight to also block the sun from beaming in.  We have ceiling fans going in the bedrooms and a oscillating fan going downstairs.  I don't know how people ever lived before electricity or AC.  I remember not having AC as a kid.  As I recall, I think we spent most of our time outside under a shade tree.

I've heard that more people die from extreme heat than die from tornadoes, hurricanes, the cold, and other such natural disasters combined.  With climate change, it seems things are just going to get worse in the future.  Lucky for us we're going to Maine next week where the average highs for the days are projected to be in the high 70s.  Sounds like heaven!  Except, if it does get hot up there (and it was in the 90s recently), there is no AC in the house we're renting.

Cake Decorating Boo Boo from Fail Blog

 

This one made me laugh.  Visit failblog.org by clicking the link here or going to the link on my Blog List in the sidebar.

Goodbye Old Kitchen, Hello Stainless Steel

We have a very small galley kitchen and it looks like our appliances were from the 1960s.  The problem is that they still worked, so we still used them.  We had previously gotten a new refrigerator.  Today, we got a new stove and dishwasher.  Like the previous appliances, they are "apartment sized."  The stove is only 20 inches wide and the dishwasher is only 18 inches wide.  Do you think it looks better?

Here's the old stuff.

Here's the new appliances. 

Started Training to Run the Philadelphia Marathon

This past Sunday was 18 weeks until the 2011 Philadelphia Marathon (November 20), and this week I started my official training program.  I am doing the Hal Higdon Intermediate 1 18-week training program.

I've already fallen short of the schedule, but I'm blaming that on my knee problems and going to New York yesterday.  I was supposed to run 5 miles yesterday, but did do 4 miles today.

Also, I bought a foam roller and have been doing my knee exercises (see Monday's posting).  I think it is helping; that along with the new shoes.

Anyway, I'm going to try to keep on schedule better.  Hopefully, the result will be a sub-4 hour marathon.  My ultimate goal is to qualify for Boston, but since they have now made the requirements more stringent, I have to run a qualifying race in under 3 hours, 30 minutes.  That seems hard to imagine.  I can only try.  Look for me with my blue sponge.

Went to New York City and Saw Hair

My Hair Playbill and flower handed out during the show.

Had the chance to go to the Big Apple today, so I went and got a ticket at TKTS to see Hair. I had a very hard time deciding what show to see. It was between Mary Poppins, the Fantasticks, Billy Elliot, and others, but nothing was standing out. Shane and I are coming back to see some shows in a few weeks, so I decided on Hair because I knew he had no desire to see it.

While watching this show, never have I felt more like an old fuddy duddy. I have to say I'm not a big fan of musicals that insist on trying to get you to clap along. I don't want to participate. I want to watch.

Yea... There was nudity. I was told you really didn't see anything because of how it was lit, but that is not true. The lighting was dim, but I was 10th row center and I could see plenty. I didn't really understand why they all got naked. There didn't seem any reason for it as part of the story.  I guess it was just one of those hippy things they do.  Another interesting side note, the theater was full of very old people and lots of little kids--I saw some under 10. Why wasn't my mom that cool?

Overall, I would say the show was so so. Some of the songs were good, but it was too much of a lot of so so songs. The end was very affective, but there is not much of a story. It definately would have been better if I had a few drinks in me.

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #295

Naturally, the Hummer is in the bedroom.

This is my idea for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #295.  Let me know if you have any ideas for a caption too.  

Trying to Fix My Runner's Knee

I've been running for years and have never really had any problems with my knees until recently.  I stopped running for a couple weeks because of a bad cold, and when I started again about a week ago, almost immediately I was having pain in my right knee.  I did some Interwebs research and it sounds like what I have is "Runner's Knee." 

I was hoping to start training for a marathon in the fall, but this has put a big crimp in those plans.  I went to a local running store today at lunch and the sales guy is a running coach at a local university.  I admitted it has been a couple years since I've bought new running shoes.  He said you should replace them ever 400-500 miles.  I know I ran more than 1,000 miles just last year.  I did buy a new pair of shoes--Asics GT-2160s ($100), which he said will help with my stability.  He had me run on a treadmill so he could evaluate what I needed.

He also explained the importance of strengthening my core and loosening my hips to improve my knee problem.  I found the video below to be very helpful and it echos a lot of what the sales guy said.  Humping the foam noodle may look a little strange at the gym though.  The sales guy also suggested icing the knee a couple times a day.  I'm going to give it a shot and hope I can keep on running. 

An HDL Miracle or Medical Mistake?

Back in March, I had my cholesterol checked and found out my "good cholesterol," the HDL, had dropped from a low average of 43 to only 29, which is below the safe range.  My ratio of good cholesterol to bad went from a barely good 5.1 to a not so good 7.   As a result, I made a change in my diet to include salmon at least three times a week, oatmeal for breakfast with flaxseed added, and lots more nuts.

Recently, I purchased private life insurance that required a medical exam, and today I received the results of that exam.  It has been only a little more than 4 months since my last test and according to the new results my HDL is up--way up.  It is now 52 (normal range is 35-59) and the ratio is down to 3.9 (the lower the better).  How can that be?  Can that be right?  While my total cholesterol is 205, I can't tell you how good I feel about the surge in my HDL.  I hope it's not a mistake.

Blue Sponge Movie Review: Midnight in Paris

We went to see a movie today; the newest Woody Allen film, Midnight in Paris.  It had gotten good reviews, so we decided to give it a shot.  We are both big fans of Allen's old movies--Hannah and Her Sisters, Radio Days, Manhattan, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Annie Hall, Broadway Danny Rose, Purple Rose of Cairo, Take the Money and Run, Sleeper, Husbands and Wives... the list goes on and on.

I was a little wary about this film when I read in the review it involved time travel.  I've never been a big fan of time travel as a plot element.  I thought it might be interesting to see how Woody would do such a thing.

The story is of a young American couple traveling to Paris--Gil (Owen Wilson) and his fiance, Inez (Rachel McAdams).  He is a screenwriter that loves Paris and wants to move there to work on his novel.  Inez doesn't see the allure of Paris, and wants Gil to go back to Hollywood and make lots of money.  She meets up with an old boyfriend and Gil wonders the streets until an old car drives by at midnight each night and takes him back to the 1920s where he meets up with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Cole Porter, and a host of other geniuses.  Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) offers to read Gil's book and he falls for Pablo Picasso's girlfriend.

I have to say that I was not as taken with this film as the critics.  I thought it was kind of boring.  The best part of the film was seeing the scenes of Paris.  It is quite a love letter to the city.  It made me want to be there, but I wished I didn't have to watch the dull characters populating the film.  The movie had very little humor.  Like many Allen films, it was quite talky, but this one was talky in an irritating way.  I guess you can tell it was not one of my favorites.

As for the time travel, Gil did not seem to question the transport back into time after he realized how to do it -- like it was not that big a deal.  I'm still not a fan of time travel in movies.  I would give this film only 2 out of 5 blue sponges--and that was just for seeing Paris.

Finally Using Our Capitol Hill House Backyard

We've lived in our Capitol Hill house for more than 8 years, but we have never really used our very small back yard.  Last year we had our fence and deck redone and bought a gas grill. Recently, I bought a small bistro table with an umbrella and tried fixing up the backyard a bit with some potted plants and petunias in the flower bed.  Also, our cactus and crape myrtle are blooming.  So, tonight, since the weather was nice (not too hot) I cooked some steak kabobs out on the grill and we used our bistro table for the first time.  Other than a slight explosion with the grill that singed my eyebrows and eyelashes, it was pretty nice.  Shane loved the kabobs.  

"Make You Feel My Love" by Adele

I don't listen to a lot of radio, so I don't know what the kids are listening to these days, but I did download the Songs for Japan CD from iTunes and this song was on it.  I love it!  Sorry if there is an ad.  Don't ya just hate that.

Who Knows a Celebrity? Reaching for a Star

If you are a celebrity or have a close, personal friend who is a "star," you can help.  My mom is the President of the 6th, 7th, and 9th District Auxiliary of Union Hospital of Cecil County, Maryland.  They are having an auction on September 9, 2011, called, "Reach for the Stars," to raise money to help the mentally and physically challenged adults at the Union Hospital Adult Day Service Program.

We're looking for celebrity-themed items to auction off.   Do you have a cool autograph you are willing to donate?  Dorothy's ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz?  Is your best friend Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie?  Anyone with a star connection that can help us get stuff would be greatly appreciated.   Leave a comment or email me at mkr20003@gmail.com if you can help or have an idea.  Thanks!

Where In The World Is Shane?

This has got to be the easiest one yet. Doesn't he look important though (and handsome)?

Second City Network Takes on the Bachmann's

I saw this on Joe. My. God. Blog.  Priceless! 

Uploaded by TheSecondCityNetwork on Jul 13, 2011

Written and Directed by Andy Cobb http://www.twitter.com/andycobb
Produced by Jeph Porter
http://www.twitter.com/jephporter

Happy Birthday Karlye-Out with Co-Workers

Stephanie, Me, Sara and Rassi

Sara and Karlye

A group of people from my office went out to Masa 14 in NW DC.  It is a Latin-Asian Fusion restaurant and I must say the food was great.  It is  served Tapas-style.  The best thing on the menu by far was the Crunchy Shrimp.  I also tried the Barbecued Salmon, the Brisket, the Wings, and a variety of other foods.  I also had a a Mojito and several Vodka Strawberry Lemonades.  It was a fun night.  Happy 25th Birthday Karlye.

First Lady Criticized for Eating a Fattening Lunch

The Washington Post reported today the calorie count of First Lady Michelle Obama's lunch.  Slow news day?  She went to the new Shake Shack in DC and ordered a burger, fries, a shake, and a diet soda  with a reported calorie count of 1,700 calories.  There is no report that she actually ate all those calories, but she drew criticism for promoting her children's health initiative and not following her own advice.

Certain Republicans have also been critical of her health and nutrition initiative, citing that it was not government's place to tell parents how to raise their children.  Of course, the government has been doing similar things for decades.  Ever heard of the President's Council on Physical Fitness?  It was begun back in the 1950s by Republican Dwight Eisenhower.

As a side note, I've heard about the Shake Shack and I'm dying to give it a try.

My Triplet Nieces Turn 21-Kelly, Megan and Nicole

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRLS!!!

Megan, Nicole, and Kelly from today.

Kelly, Megan, and Nicole

At the top of the Eiffel Tower.

That's their mom and Shane.

Michele Bachmann Signs Anti-Gay Pledge

Crazy Tea Party Darling Congresswoman Michele Bachmann was the first GOP Presidential candidate to sign an anti-gay pledged on Thursday.  The pledge entitled, The Marriage vow: A Declaration of Dependence Upon Marriage and Family, was started by a conservative group called the The Family Leader, which asked all the presidential candidates to sign.  Bachmann couldn't wait.

The pledge declares homosexuality a choice and that gay marriage is putting the institution of marriage "in great crisis."  It also says homosexuality may have a negative impact on public health.  How can anyone with a brain support the views of this horrible person? This horrible person could be the GOP nominee for president of the United States.  I hate that there are millions of people out there that support her nonsense.  Damn you Fox News.

The anti-gay pledge comes right on the heels of news about the congresswoman's husband, Dr. Marcus Bachman, who runs a Christian counseling center that tries to turn gays straight, and his strange views about homosexuality.  He calls gay barbarians that should be disciplined.  Ironically, the views got less comments about the content than it did about the presentation and the gaydar it set off with the doctor's lispy, effeminate voice.  Could he be another self-hating Republican gay who thinks that he shouldn't act on his inclinations or god will be mad?  

Just because he sounds gay doesn't mean he is gay.  All stereotypes are not true.  But come on.  Any guesses how long before he is arrested in a men's room playing footsie with Larry Craig? Get a load of the video running during the interview below of the good doctor dancing.


Ironically, while the congresswoman preaches about the evils of socialism and government spending, she and her family have collected $251,000 in farm subsidies over 14 years.  Also, Dr. Bachmann clinic has collected Medicaid payments of $137,000 since 2005.  Asswipes. 

People of Walmart-Chewbacca Attacks

I kind of feel bad having a link to the People of Walmart site on my blog list, cause I feel that it is humor at the expense of a certain class of people.  But the photos are usually pretty funny.  I can't discriminate against funny.  How can you not laugh at a woman that has that hair-doo?

Andrew Lloyd Webber Taking Over Broadway

A Broadway Critic Blog had a post today about Andrew Lloyd Webber taking over Broadway next season by having possibly five shows on the Great White Way.  Phantom of the Opera, which is edging near it 10,000th performance and has been playing since 1986, shows no signs of decline.

Also opening next season is the sequel to Phantom, Love Never Dies, revivals of Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, and a new Webber production of the Wizard of Oz.  We were a bit disappointed that our favorite Webber production wasn't being revived--Sunset Boulevard.  We saw a production of it years ago in Atlanta with Petula Clark and have been obsessed ever since.  When is it coming back to Broadway?

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #294

Just don't mention his freakishly long ankles.

This is my idea for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #294.  Let me know if you have any ideas for a caption too.  

Tot Mom Not Guilty-Nancy Grace, Not So Much

What Happened???

The country has been obsessed the summer over the murder trial of Casey Anthony.  I haven't really understood why everyone cared.  Today Anthony was found not guilty of first-degree murder of her young daughter.  Considering there was only circumstantial evidence linking her to the crime, it is not hard to understand why a jury came to this conclusion.

The real crime was a certain loud-mouth exploiter TV personality that convicted Anthony of the crime every night on her obnoxious cable news program.  Nancy Grace's self-rightious attitude and judgmental rants are beyond belief.  Is this a Saturday Night Live sketch or a real person?  Grace is biased, rude, bitchy, and basically just a horrible clown.  Does anyone take her seriously?  Really?  Really?  She is just bananas. Am I the only person that sees this?

Just as an aside.  I do think Casey Anthony killed her child, but I don't think there was enough evidence to  convict her.  I don't think it was a drowning accident.  She may not have intended to kill her child, but if it was an accident, it was a happy accident.  It was crazy for the State to go for first-degree murder.  There was not enough evidence.   

Happy Independence Day!

Nothing says Happy Birthday America more than a Photoshopped fireworks photo showing an impossible shot of the Washington Monument right next to the Capitol.  They are not this close.

Big Brother 13 Countdown Begins

Big Brother 13 debuts on CBS TV Thursday night, July 7.  You remember Big Brother, right?  It's the show that gets horrible people together in a house to try and win $500,000.  I know that it is a complete waste of time, but I can't seem to stop watching.  What is your hold over me BB?

The new house guests have been announced.  Click here for a complete rundown.  In addition to the eight new house guests, CBS has a poll on its Web site asking people to choose which couples from previous shows they want to see back in the house again.  My only hope is that Jesse and Natalie are not among them.  I don't think I could stomach them any more.

Below are the new guys:

Adam Posh is a 39-year-old music inventory manager originally from East Brunswick, New Jersey.  He says he has a girlfriend back home.

Dominic Briones is a 25-year-old college student originally from San Mateo, California.  He too appears to be heterosexual. 

Keith Henderson is a 32-year-old human resources manager originally from Bolingbrook, Illinois.  Also a straight man.  

Lawon Exum is a 39-year-old legal file clerk originally from Urbana, Illinois.  He considers his fashion sense "sick."  Gee... I wonder who the gay guy is.