posted 2004/06/29 at 16:48
Thanks to Don for coming through on the question about the Camry bumper. I really should take a photo of the damage just to show you all; it really doesn't look that bad, but I was literally only a foot away from major damage to the car, and four feet away from severe damage to my own body.
And Don, since I haven't gotten around to answering your question in the .forum yet: ultimately I think the Wings need to keep Dave Lewis around simply because both he and Barry Smith could pretty much have any coaching job in the NHL they wanted. As I've said before, I think it's unfair to pin too much blame on the Wings -- as a whole or the individual members -- for the last two years of early playoff exits when pretty much every powerhouse team of the West got done in by a young upstart team. These things just happen sometimes.
posted 2004/06/26 at 18:11
So last night, as I was driving home to pick up a DVD before going to my final destination of the evening, some asshole ran a red light and chipped off a nice big piece of my fender. Had I been just six inches further into the intersection at the time, I probably would have been fully t-boned. (For those of you who know Toledo, it was the intersection of Central and Secor, I was westbound on Central, the jerk was heading north on Secor.) I'm still a bit shook up, but I'll live, and the car's still fully functional.
However, my father says that even the auto shop he goes to may have a problem finding a replacement, so if anyone knows of anyplace online where I can get a replacement front bumper for a 1985 Toyota Camry, e-mail me at the usual address.
posted 2004/06/25 at 17:50
Well, it turns out that the theatre I was talking about yesterday has started showing Fahrenheit 9/11, and had no real plans to send the reels back before release. And right after I e-mailed Michael Moore's people and all the news crews in Toledo about what I'd heard. Shows you what I get for trusting information from Jeff McGinnis.
Since I seem to be building quite a nice little shit list here, let's go ahead and add the executives from Food Network to it. It's bad enough that they had to make that Iron Chef America claptrap, but now they have to put up graphics during their showings of the original, never-to-be-improved-upon Iron Chef, and they always put them on exactly when Chairman Kaga is speaking, so the graphics block his subtitles. I mean, it should be common sense not to put the graphics on right then and there, but I guess the people at Food Network really are idiots.
By the way, I did get my new cell phone yesterday, so if you had my old number and need my new number, e-mail me at the usual address. If you didn't have my old number, there's probably a reason for that.
posted 2004/06/24 at 15:02
Well, Showcase Theatres Maumee, the one place in town that was going to have Fahrenheit 9/11, just sent their print back because of the threats of protests. And keep in mind, folks, Toledo is a union town; we're fairly liberal up here on a lot, although not all, issues. So now if I want to see it I'll probably have to drive up to Ann Arbor, and I'm not sure if my jalopy can handle that.
Speaking of films and my personal shit list, add the American Film Institute to the people I'd like to give a symbolic knee to the groin to for not including anything from Dancer in the Dark in their hundred songs list. (And add a symbolic punch to the face for putting that Celine Dion claptrap in there.) I mean, how can you not have at least "Cvalda" and "Next to Last Song" in a top hundred list, given that those moments in the film were some of the best in cinematic history?
Oh, and to top it all off it turns out that my old prepaid wireless plan expires tomorrow, and the place where I thought I could go to get a new Virgin Mobile plan took down their displays over the weekend. So now I have to go out later tonight, when I should really be here at home working on stuff, to find someplace else where I can get the new phone. Grrr, I am not a happy camper right now.
posted 2004/06/23 at 04:19
New on Backwash: "Words on a Screen". Some rather harsh musings on the stuff we say on the Internet and what it all really means. Those of you who remember me from my former Internet life will probably remember a lot of the topics I cover in here.
posted 2004/06/22 at 19:27
Well, it's officially summer now, and we're not going to get into the 80s temperature-wise here for several days. Not that I mind; I prefer cooler temperatures like this. It's just that I don't want to go back to Wildwood until I can get new shoes, and now it turns out I have to get a new cell phone by Friday. And it's not that I don't have the money to get both, but I'm kind of hoping that with what I've been saving up recently, and the stipend I'll be getting from UT next year, that by the time I'm done with my Masters work, I'll have enough cash to put a downpayment on a nice house, and won't get stuck in the apartment trap.
Oh, and I think I will have a Backwash column later this week, but right now I've just got more important fish to fry. Or whatever a vegetarian equivalent of that phrase would be. You know what I mean.
posted 2004/06/21 at 14:50
In case anyone's wondering why they couldn't access the site this morning, my hosts were upgrading my server software. Among the upgrades was, at long last, spam detection software, and seeing how the software is able to tag incoming spam is, well, kind of cool. In a geeky sort of way.
posted 2004/06/18 at 22:12
More DDR AAAs you probably don't care about:
Jam and Marmalade (Light, on MAX2 this time)
Celebrate Nite (Light)
posted 2004/06/17 at 15:39
Okay, I can send e-mail again, so for those of you who've been waiting to hear back from me on stuff, I should get to you shortly. And if you weren't waiting to hear back from me ... I don't know, go make yourself a sandwich or something.
posted 2004/06/15 at 22:51
Just to make this clear ahead of time, I'll certainly be partying with everyone else if the Pistons can pull out the championship victory tonight. But Detroit is still, and will always be, Hockeytown. Got it?
posted 2004/06/14 at 05:16
New on Backwash: "Cat Scratch Fever". A small slice of life in the Shannon household and how it contributes to my growing depression and insanity.
Gee, what do you know, no messages on my voicemail. Go figure that one.
posted 2004/06/12 at 03:59
Yeah, I shouldn't be up right now, but we've got thunderstorms ready to roll in and the low pressure is really messing with my head.
I'm in the market for a new prepaid cellphone provider, since I'm sick and tired of my old FreeUp account. (Minimum of $180/year to keep the account active, old crappy phone that's on its last legs, byzantine Internet service, you know the deal.) I'm in the market for something cheap, and the Virgin plans only cost a minimum of $80/year. I can even live with the stigma of having one of their phones at that price. Is there a cheaper, better prepaid plan out there, though?
I also need new shoes; I haven't bought new shoes in over three years, and my most recent walk at Wildwood reminded me that when the insides of your shoes are all shot to hell, it makes getting foot blisters all the easier. My Skechers lasted me a real long time here, though, so I'm thinking I might go with another pair of them, but if anyone has any footwear recommendations, I'd appreciate them.
I am so fucking lonely right now. Sorry, had to say it.
posted at 03:59
Yeah, I shouldn't be up right now, but we've got thunderstorms ready to roll in and the low pressure is really messing with my head.
I'm in the market for a new prepaid cellphone provider, since I'm sick and tired of my old FreeUp account. (Minimum of $180/year to keep the account active, old crappy phone that's on its last legs, byzantine Internet service, you know the deal.) I'm in the market for something cheap, and the Virgin plans only cost a minimum of $80/year. I can even live with the stigma of having one of their phones at that price. Is there a cheaper, better prepaid plan out there, though?
I also need new shoes; I haven't bought new shoes in over three years, and my most recent walk at Wildwood reminded me that when the insides of your shoes are all shot to hell, it makes getting foot blisters all the easier. My Skechers lasted me a real long time here, though, so I'm thinking I might go with another pair of them, but if anyone has any footwear recommendations, I'd appreciate them.
I am so fucking lonely right now. Sorry, had to say it.
posted 2004/06/10 at 01:43
Just so some people don't get the wrong idea, there's a problem with my e-mail account that relates to my Web host and the new cable modem and all of that. Basically I can receive e-mail just fine now, but I can't send it worth crap, unless I use one of my Webmail accounts which I normally save as a spam guard. So if you've e-mailed me and haven't heard back, that's why; my sister's supposed to be helping me with this (something involving the cable company and how they set up their e-mail servers), but things with her fiancé and trying to get him back into the US are really weird right now, plus there's home/work stuff and it's just ... sigh. Probably the less I say about that, the better. But I promise, I'll be e-mailing people just as soon as I can here.
posted 2004/06/07 at 21:53
DDR home AAA #6: I Was The One (Light). Yeah, I know most of you don't care too much about this stuff, but if you knew how freakin' hard it was for me to get these, you'd understand why I share them with you so frequently.
There may be some changes afoot here at the .org soon; once I can get my e-mail account properly working again (since I got the cable modem I've been able to receive but not send mail), I'll be working on changing the .org experience here. That is, if I can find the time, given that I'm still working on my Honours Thesis from last semester (groan).
posted 2004/06/06 at 05:53
Discretion won out ... this time.
New on Backwash: "Anything Else", which is precisely what I'm writing about in an effort to stop me from doing something I might really regret later. I'll say my peace about you-know-who eventually, but now just isn't the right time.
posted at 04:20
Talk about bad timing. I'm in one of the most bitter moods I can ever remember happening, and then ... well, if you've had the news on, you know.
I have Microsoft Word open right now, with the template for my Backwash column loaded up. Even two or three sentences in, I'm finding myself dropping f-bombs left and right, and the graphical descriptions I'm got in my mind for later in the column would make anyone wince.
I'm torn, though. On the one hand, I really want to pick a fight with anyone who would even try to defend the legacy of this nation's 40th President, and I am certainly not above hitting them hard when their hero just kicked the bucket. I don't mind making myself the target of every right-wing nutjob in this country. On the other hand, if I write this column right now, I will take things to such an extreme that I could seriously jeopardize my standing at Backwash, and likely get myself into some real deep shit legally.
But at least I'm trying to write again, right?
posted 2004/06/04 at 17:31
Since there's been a handful of negative feedback in DDR circles about Tanya's appearance on The Today Show this morning, I decided to write about over at my food log. Normally I'd write about that kind of stuff here, but since the DDR players are more likely to see the LiveJournal posts, I wrote it over there. But I figured I should let you all read it if you want. Be warned, though: that blue streak I started going on around my last Backwash column hasn't let up since.
posted 2004/06/03 at 21:00
On the DDR front, home AAA #5: xenon (Light). And remember, Tanya and others from getupmove.com will be on The Today Show tomorrow to talk about DDR and losing weight. Be there!
posted 2004/06/02 at 05:06
I feel like getting mauled to death by a grizzly bear right now.
Just thought I'd share that with everybody.
posted at 03:42
New on Backwash: "I Can't Write". Basically a rehash of the whole situation with the MFA applications and what that made me feel, plus some insight on the academic establishment and a lot of curse words.
Oh, and it appears that in my absence from Backwash, a right-wing reactionary has made it to Columnist status, and he's just looking for a fight with someone on the left. This could get messy.
posted 2004/06/01 at 23:23
I'm not normally one for passing along the titles of the spam I get, but this one's just too freaky not to share:
"dont you like teen rectum catchwords?"
posted at 22:59
You know, I'm real glad for the Pistons right now, but the slaughter is about to begin. Don't get me wrong, I think that if there's any team with the skill set to take down the Lakers it's Detroit, but it's not happening this year, especially with the playoff experience L.A. brings in.
And in case anyone's wondering, there's still talk of massive shakeups for the Red Wings in the face of the loss to Calgary. You know, this isn't exactly like a few years ago where the Wings lost to the Kings and then the Kings got knocked out in short order; Calgary beat Vancover and San Jose as well, and they're giving the Lightning a run for their money. The same way that last year Anaheim came out of nowhere and knocked out all of the top teams in the West. Just a little suggestion here, but if all these teams are getting knocked off by young upstarts, maybe it's not the Red Wings' fault.
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