Welcome Back and Walk On Back

The Most Interesting Man In The World

2009-05-04T15:47:00.000-07:00

If you've been watching the NHL playoffs, you've seen the Dos Equis ad campaign featuring a bearded magnate of sorts, who is billed as "the most interesting man in the world." Here is the ad:

I have almost nothing but words of praise for this ad. In fact, the only problem I have with it is the tagline: "stay thirsty, my friends." If I am drinking Dos Equis, wouldn't my thirst be quenched, in a way? Anyway, I digress. My favorite part about the ad (aside from Jai Alai), is the endorsement: "I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis." What a line! How refreshing, in the age of ads touting certain brands as the only beers with "drinkability" (really? Is Millerweiser Ice Lite the only beer that is drinkable??), to have such an honest and passive endorsement. It makes me want to go buy a case of Dos Equis right now.

There are other spots included in this campaign, although I haven't seen any of them live outside of youtube. There is also an interesting microsite where one can, among other things, apply to be the Assistant to The Most Interesting Man In The World.

Turns out this campaign actually began in 2007 (on the tail end of the Chuck Norris facts phenomenon). It's too bad it hasn't surfaced (at least in my TV viewing) until now. It's a shame that often the best creative is associated with the weakest media buy. It's (arguably) an even greater shame that the worst creative is often associated with the best media buys.

welcoming myself back...again

2009-04-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

It's a shame I let this get away from me. Maybe it was a winter hibernation. In truth, I had visions of an amazing post recapping the Phillies' World Series win and I just got so caught up in it all that I forgot to do it, and now it's April. Since then I've been laid off and hired, travelled to zero countries besides the United States, and participated in a wedding involving Foxes. Also, I'm working on starting a sports-related blog with a few of my sports-related friends that will be updated much more consistently than this site has been. Details on that to follow...

The Good, The Brad, And The Utley

2008-10-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

Various "headlines" for tomorrow's Inquirer (with plenty of outside contribution):

Cole-Train
Cole'd Statement
Cole'd Hard Facts
Cole'd Blooded
Cole'd Shoulder
Durbin Sprawl
Cole'd As Ice
Moyer Than Meets The Eye
Werth His Weight In Gold
Durbin Legends
Dur-Band-Aid
Net Werth
Two Cents Werth
Moyer Than Words
Moyer Than A Feeling
Cole'd Fusion
Coste Guard
Lidgendary
Romerolling
Ruiz-y Does It
A Burrell Of Monkeys
Stair-Down
Stairway To Heaven
Stair Master
Manuel Transmission
Manuel Labor

Any guess as to which of these have already been used? A few of them were. Some other ones from yesterday:

Field Of Streams
Reign Delay
Pour Judgment

Annnnd a few from 1993:

What The Kruk?
Doolin' Daulton
Milt-itary Force
The Third Eisenreich
The Great Morandini
Stocker Options

Phillies in the World Series! Philadelphia Celebrates on Broad Street!

2008-10-16T16:28:00.000-07:00

World Series! Been waiting 15 years to come back. Been waiting my whole life for a Philly championship.

After watching the last out at Mike's house, I hopped on the back of his moped and we drove up and down Broad Street. Tens of thousands of people were outside, going insane. It was a scene I'll never forget. Following are a few pictures and above, of course, is a video compilation that I took from the back of the moped.

I'm a Philebrity (kinda) and Matt Stairs

2008-10-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

Looks like Philebrity picked up the picture posted in my recent entry, "Domestic Disturbadelphia" which can be seen a couple posts ago. Shows just how crazy the police response was on that call.

Also, Matt Stairs is the man. The first professional baseball game I ever went to was in 1991, Harrisburg Senators vs. Albany Yankees. Albany won, but Stairs played in that game for the Senators, and wound up being the Eastern League MVP that season. Now he's 40 and hit the game-winning shot on one of the most exciting baseball games I've seen.

He also gave one of the best postgame press conferences you'll see, which included this gem of a quote:

"When you get that nice celebration coming into the dugout, when you're getting your ass hammered by guys, there's no better feeling than having that done."

Yikes. Either way, gotta love the mammoth two-run homer to put the Phils within a game of the World Series.

"Fair and Balanced" or "The Best Political Team in the UNIVERSE!!!!"

2008-10-08T06:34:00.000-07:00

It's amazing to see the differences in reporting between Fox News and CNN.

In the wake of last night's "super-enlightening" debate, the headlines on Fox's website included an article wondering who the winner was and an article about Obama bumming cigarettes on the campaign trail.

CNN's headlines included "Obama picks up second debate win, viewers say" and another one about McCain being too old.

The verdict here is that both of these websites are a joke when it comes to political reporting, and I would submit the only way to get a good barometer of what went on is to...umm...I don't know. You can try reading them both, but that may have the same effectiveness as standing in the middle of a snowball fight.

Personally, I watched about half the debate, and I was disappointed that it was not more like the following:

Domestic Disturbadelphia

2008-10-05T14:29:00.000-07:00

This was the scene outside my window at about 5pm yesterday. We were out on the deck playing a game when we heard a good bit of yelling coming from the bar a couple blocks away (not an entirely strange occurrence). This followed by siren after siren after siren. We heard doors slamming and things that sounded like gunshots (we determined they probably weren't (more on gunshots in a moment)) and decided we had to take a look. When we poked our heads out the window, the above was the scene. This picture really only shows one angle of it; there were at least 26 police vehicles at the scene here.

So, what could possibly happen that would warrant a police force larger than that of a medium sized town? It turns out it was some kid on a dirt bike riding around causing a ruckus. One kid on a dirtbike (and I guess a number of other people yelling at him). 26 police cars.

Later that night, Jeremy and I were talking to the neighbors in front of their house at their stoop. One of the neighbors, Quinn, was demonstrating how his friend, Charlie, was adept at climbing walls (hence his nickname, "Spiderman"). All of a sudden, all we heard was POPPOPPOP POPPOP...Quinn runs inside, Spiderman jumps under the car parked in front of the house, and Jeremy and I realize what was happening and run inside and shut off all the lights and get away from the windows. Gunshots, at the same bar 200ft away where 26 cops showed up 6 hours earlier.

I suppose this is a normal day in the life in some parts of Brewerytown. Or, most of Philadelphia, for that matter. I do, however, feel pretty safe...this house is secure, and the neighbors did tell us they have our backs. I just wouldn't recommend anyone stop in for a drink at the bar a half block north of 30th and Girard.

5 sorry louts think they're yer mates!

2008-10-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

OK, this is what you need to do. Get on facebook. Scroll down to the bottom. Look for where it says "English" (or whatever your current language is). Click on it and select "English (Pirate)."

THEN, enjoy the changes that are made to your facebook page. You can see a few of them in the picture, like "Arrrplications Plank."

Whoever came up with this has both a sense of humor and too much time on their hands at their cushy job at Facebook. I wish more websites had this feature...I would love to read about the Phillies tomorrow on ESPN.com in pirate-speak.

Speaking of which, GAME ONE is today. Exactly zero of ESPN's 15-20 "experts" picked a World Series win for the Phils. Here's hoping they're all completely wrong. The Rays (no offense) BETTER not win a World Series sooner than the Phillies.

George Fox sets an example

2008-09-24T12:13:00.000-07:00

Read this: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/racial_incident_rattles_george.html

This is a prime example of where many stereotypes about Christians come from. But (in a stereotypical statement of my own), I'm surprised this happened in Oregon and not...Alabama.

These people should be ashamed of themselves. The problem is that they likely are not...I'm sure they'll wind up being televangelists someday.

Then vs. Now

2008-09-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

I went back to visit Messiah over this past weekend in between tryout sessions with the Harrisburg Lunatics, who I have played with the last couple of seasons. I saw a few faces I hadn't seen in awhile and had reconnected with some of the people I reconnected with, which was great. I, of course, went back to visit the radio station I used to run, Messiah's campus station, WVMM.

Going back to visit the "V" is always tough...it was my (and Mike's) baby during my time there and I'm proud of what we were able to do with it. Due to a number of reasons I guess, it has kind of gone a little by the wayside since our time there. Sure, there are some improved aspects of the station, but I think laziness has done them in in a number of places.

For a prime example, looky here: WVMM Top 30 2/19/07 and then looky here: Current WVMM Top 30.

Now, at the time of this posting, the second link gives you a playlist updated May 2, 2008. Really? It's 4 weeks into their current semester right now. Also, what's up with only having the artist, and not a specific song or at least an album? Lame. And, disappointing.

For what it's worth, I got the screen shot of the station website circa February 2007 by going to this site web.archive.org. Good fun for when you're bored, or just want to vent about something like this.

I hate politics.

2008-09-16T15:33:00.000-07:00

...but this is pretty great.

In other news...

I jumped out of a plane this past Sunday. I would highly recommend this activity to anyone. That is, of course, as long as you have a parachute to deploy.

Hiatus Over

2008-09-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

PHILADELPHIA, Pa --- The blogging hiatus of (the blogger writing here) is officially over for 2008. Normal blogging activies will now resume as originally intended.

This here entry serves no purpose other than the following:

At the behest of others, I'm not going to drop the ball so easily on this. Not that there's anything truly important here, but come on, it's fun.

If you want a real blog that balances issues with fun, go to jerseymike.org. Now THAT's a blogger. He's a fellow Hold Steady fan, show promoter at the splendid ABC microbrewery in Harrisburg, and essentially the Elijah (as in, the prophet) of Harrisburg.

If the rains hold, I'll be jumping out of an airplane this weekend. When it's 10,000 feet in the air. I suppose if that doesn't go well, then I'll drop the ball on this blog again. But that would be a whole other story.

Obligatory sports mention: are the Phillies done? I dare not yet publish a prediction that they are. I trust the Mets and their ability to fail.

I Almost Ate My Words...

2008-04-24T12:32:00.001-07:00

...making fun of Ovechkin. I will admit it, he is better than me. But he's still the ugliest professional athlete I've ever seen (with honorable mention to Tyrone Hill (pictured)).

The simple fact of the matter is that both A.O. and Tyrone Hill (a.k.a. Seal (HOW is he with Heidi Klum?!?!?!?!)) both probably get tons and tons of women. I just don't get it.

I'm hesitant to make fun of any members of the Montreal Canadiens, lest they sweep us in 4 straight games. Who knows, though...maybe we'll pull it out. If we do, I've got those Kostitsyns in my crosshairs...

Science and Defense

2008-04-18T07:06:00.000-07:00

Exhibit A: The best hockey player in the world, Alex Ovechkin.

Exhibit B-C: The best hockey player in the world in Philadelphia.

These playoffs have been thoroughly enjoyable so far. I understand they might not live for too terribly long in Philadelphia, but I always appreciate seeing cocky Russian players get shut down.

Attack & Release

2008-03-18T06:12:00.000-07:00

For the first time since the Earl Greyhounds in September of last year, I listened to an album and was instantly wowed. Actually, I can't use the past tense yet, because as I'm typing this, I'm still listening to it. The record is the Black Keys soon-to-be latest, Attack & Release. Aside from the expected riffiness (which I love), I think the drum stylings are really great. Check it out...I think it officially drops sometime in April.

Today is exciting because tonight will be my tenth time seeing the Hold Steady, and first time seeing them in their transplanted hometown of NYC. Their shows are, of course, always an amazing time, but I would imagine a free show in NYC will have the potential to be something extra special. At the very least, it has all the makings, and that excites me indeed.

Finally, I've followed the same silver Dodge Neon with the Hillary for President sticker on the back of the car into work two days in a row. Of the 10,000+ cars that drive Route 202 every morning, how can I follow the same car twice? If I see that car again this week, I'm running it off the road.

Sweet Georgia Brown

2008-03-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

Add the Harlem Globetrotters to the list of things that just aren't quite as cool in the third decade of life as they were in the late first/early second.

I and 7 compatriots went to see them this past Sunday. While impressed, of course, by the display of basketball talent, it was mind-boggling how much time they would take between actual plays! At one point, a member of the Washington Generals was taking a foul shot; we had to watch 8 minutes of one of the Globetrotters doing a gag of some kind with the ref about where he should stand (all while the clock was running intermittently). I'd much rather watch the crazy ball-handling, no-look shots, etc.

All this to say, when I was 9, it was the most entertaining thing ever. At 22...eh. I mean, it was still cool, and worth it to go, but it's definitely interesting how things lose their flavor over the years.

Other examples of things that aren't nearly as enjoyable now (but you might expect them to be enjoyable until you've found out by experience that they aren't):

1080 Snowboarding for N64

Snow, and the excitement of missing school/work

Any exchange of presents*

Amusement Parks
Cartoons (Saturday mornings in general)

Shaving (credit to Mike Pace for thinking this one up)

Most toys (Legos and matchbox cars would still excite me)

Full House

*obviously still great, but let's be honest...when you're 7, sleep on Christmas Eve simply isn't happening

These letdowns join together to create one of the major downers about joining the "real world." Things aren't exciting anymore.

Anyway, back to the Globetrotters. One thing they DEFINITELY had going for them was their mascots, Globie, Lil G, and Big G...

This mascot ate an entire can of Campbell's soup! I mean, it ate...the can! The entire inflatable 3 and a half foot high can disappeared into this mascot. It was phenomenal.

And finally, the quote of the last 20 minutes: "any young girl involved in insurance has gotta be at least sorta hot!" - Pace, M.

Hillary

2008-03-07T05:21:00.000-08:00

"I've been saying all along that we need experience to change America for the better, end the war, and say the things you want to hear. I promise to put on regional accents, tell each state they are the most important, and keep my annoying fake smile and laugh for 8 long years in the White House. Don't vote for Obama...he's black. We need a skirt in power, and we need an experienced one."
This message paid for by Hillary Clinton for President

Spinal Tap Mark II - Jazz Exploration

2008-03-06T15:10:00.000-08:00

My old friend Tiffany made me do it. She told me she was perusing old xangas from college and I got to looking at mine, and I realize that I kind of miss all that. I guess I'm too old for xanga these days, so I thought I'd grow up and get me a blogspot.

To catch up on my (mostly embarrassing) older blogs, go to www.xanga.com/alejandroiv

Okay, more to follow when it comes.