a few shades of gray

It was a Soccer Weekend

2011-01-24T23:27:00.000-06:00

Jenny and I earned our first "cap" this weekend and saw the US Men's National Soccer team play a friendly vs. Chile. Granted it was our "B" squad, as most of the first teamers are in Europe and weren't called back to the US to train. It was a great chance to see some our America's young soccer talent and a few of these guys are likely to be on the squad heading to Brazil in 2014.

JLV scored some sweet seats behind the goal about 10 rows up and had a great view of the only US goal scored by Sporting Kansas City's own, Teal Bunbury. Here's my video of the goal and the semi-failed "Dougie" celebration.

And if you haven't seen it by now here is the video that has gone viral of the Spanish language broadcast's goal call. I'm sure we will see some rendition of that call at the new KC soccer stadium this summer.

The game ended in a 1-1 draw, but the atmosphere was better than any soccer game I've ever attended. The only negative to the evening was the concession stands didn't take credit/debit cards. Do they not want us to buy beer?!? I don't understand how any large stadiums can still only accept cash. Lines at the ATM machines were 40 deep JLV reported.

On Sunday I continued the futbol weekend and helped out with the LA Galaxy physicals. I didn't do his physical but I was in close proximity to Landon Donovan, one of the most prominent US players in history. It was crazy to stand a few feet away from a national hero from this last world cup. He was just relaxing and catching up with teammates and acting like a normal guy - the clip below was anything but normal.

One of my great memories was watching the game in a packed Ragtag theatre and becoming friends with 100+ strangers. Our experience was like many others gathered in bars and plazas across the country unified by national pride.

I still get chills watching that.

Xtranormal

2011-01-24T01:01:00.001-06:00

While reading through the latest issue of Fast Company I came across an article about Xtranormal.com. It is a site that provides automated animation and computer generated voices for whatever you type. Sounds a little confusing I know, but check out this video below made by a Best Buy employee and you'll see the creative possibilities that it can unlock.

WARNING: Contains some hilarious computer voice profanity.

Life as a Ski Doc

2011-01-10T15:26:00.000-06:00

I've been calling Park City, Utah home for about a week now and I'm halfway into my stay here. For those of you who don't know, I'm up here working at a urgent care ski clinic at the base of Park City Mountain Resort. It's the tan double wide in the center of the picture.

Basically, they work me for 6 days a week and then I get to ski free on the 7th. Not too bad of a deal. I'm seeing all sorts of fractures, sprains, and dislocations. It's a great experience and obviously a beautiful setting.

I'm staying with a very nice couple in their early 60's who are kind enough to rent a room to a traveling fellow. The house is a quaint old mining shack that was moved down from the mountain when the ore business dried up. About 10 years ago they renovated the interior of the house while preserving the historical exterior. It's going to be on the market in the spring for a cool 1.5 mil if your interested. It's a perfect location to walk to the ski resort while just blocks from the shops and restaurants of downtown.

One of my favorite things about the clinic is that they have dogs trained in avalanche rescue that lounge around the clinic. The pups are part of Wasatch Backcountry Rescue Organization. They live with their ski patrol master and come to work when they are on duty. Sometimes I'm in a clinic room seeing a patient and in walks a dog. I'm also a sucker for giving them treats. How can you say no to a face like this?

I'm skiing again on Thursday and the weather is supposed to be nice with highs in the low 30's. I'll try to post some more pictures but until then here is one from last week. The summit gives amazing views for miles and miles and you can see some of the buildings of the resort from this picture at the base of the mountain.

Kids Hate to Read These Days

2010-12-24T02:55:00.000-06:00

featured on Jimmy Fallon tonight

I hope you didn't buy a kid books for Christmas this year!

The Original "Boom Goes the Dynamite"

2010-12-21T00:28:00.000-06:00

Most people have seen the Ball State student newscast from a few years ago that quickly spiraled downhill and is known by many people as one of the worst sportscasts ever. It did, however, coin the catchphrase "boom goes the dynamite." 15 years ago in Quincy, Illinois another sportscast at a local TV station went from bad to worse to absolute hilarity. The 15th anniversary of the telecast was yesterday and the Quincy newspaper wrote a bit about that infamous day in Quincy TV history.

Not your Everyday Tailgate

2010-12-09T18:37:00.000-06:00

The action inside the Rose Bowl during the USC-UCLA game this past weekend paled in comparison to the craziness during tailgating. A flag football game nearly turned deadly when a football bounced into a parked Mercedes and a brawl erupted. Reports say that 50-75 people were involved and 2 guys got stabbed and one man was arrested on attempted murder charges. I haven't seen fans that intense all year and this was 3 hours before the game!

Today a clip surfaced of a granny "gettin' her ~~groove~~ freak on" during tailgaiting festivities. Someone, please tell me there was alcohol involved. The clip is safe for work but not safe for your eyes. You'll never be able to see someone wearing a maroon track suit the same. I can't imagine being her children or grandchildren seeing your grandmother backin' her thang up.

The Real MacGruber

2010-12-08T01:08:00.000-06:00

I used to love MacGyver when I was younger, but I never realized he had such a super mullet. I want to find a way to watch some old episodes to see if they were actually any good or just something I remember to be much better than it really is (like SpaghettiOs).

Anyway I came across some of great MacGyver pictures on Google images.

Why Not...

2010-12-07T02:01:00.000-06:00

So I'm now 30. It's been a year since I have blogged. Most of my contribution to the internetz is on twitter, but I have always liked more of the options of a blog. So who knows maybe I'll start posting more. Rumor has it that @jhawkgray might even start blogging or tumblring soon.

Monday Night Football was in New England last night and it was cold and breezy. The Don was there along with his hair and one of them got a little riled up when a sudden updraft of air rushed into the luxury sweets.

I've never fully taken advantage of some of the goodies that Hulu has to offer but I came upon a cool series of videos from AV Underground where they have 25 bands cover 25 songs on a first come first served basis. Nashville's own Ben Folds has a great cover of Elliott Smith but my favorite so far is Coheed and Cambria covering The Smiths.

It's Been Too Long

2009-09-23T00:32:00.000-05:00

I don't know why it has been so long since I updated the blog...really no good excuse.

Lots of things have been going on since last post...finished 2nd year of residency, oriented all the new interns, about to finish up my 3 months as chief resident. I've applied to 26 sports medicine fellowships and waiting to hear back about interviews. I'll be crossing the country interviewing during November and December and maybe stopping a location near you. I've been riding my road bike a lot and even entered my first bike race, a criterium in St. Louis. Got some cool pics to show from it...

Thanks to Barack I got $4500 for my Jeep that was worth about a 450 bucks and got a new Honda Civic. It felt like I was taking a dog to be put down when I was driving my car to the dealer for the last time...lots of good memories in that car. But she had seen much better days and it was time to part with her. I've promised an blog entry devoted to the Cherokee soon.

Heading down to south eastern Missouri for my 4th Berryman Adventure Race. I've wised up from my younger days and 12 hours is now a sufficient adventure compared with 24-36 hours that I thought I could complete in college. Weather is looking like 40% chance of isolated storms which could be interested. I'm still trying to figure out how to do some twitter updates during the race. Our Team is Biggie Smalls because last year Biggie (me) was in the front of the canoe weighing it down and Smalls (Wes) was steering us in the back. That's one thing we are for sure fixing this year.

Just downloaded the new Derek Webb album Stockholm Syndrome tonight. I've always loved his music and voice. He put on a great show for TN Tech RUF about 8-10 years and I've been hooked ever since. He's one guy who is not afraid to sing controversial lyrics and I appreciate it. The single below didn't end up on his physical CD but you can download it for free from his website.

Lenny's Retirement

2009-04-23T22:54:00.001-05:00

Lenny Dykstra used to be hard nosed on the baseball diamond and earned the nickname "Nails." These days he is a crooked businessman who has lawsuits chasing him from coast to coast. If you have some time check out this lengthy article by ESPN.com investigative reporter Mike Fish.

Dykstra's business: a bed of 'Nails'

Update: Lenny has been let go by TheStreet.com and will no longer be providing columns for the website.

Not the next Larry Bird

2009-03-18T21:33:00.003-05:00

This further proves why white guys should never try to dunk. Kid, I promise you there are easier ways to execute a foward flip.

Barack the Bracket

2009-03-17T21:10:00.006-05:00

I have to admit that it is pretty cool to have a President that enjoys doing the kinds of things that everyone else does. Andy Katz from ESPN interviewed him this week and his entire bracket will be revealed Wednesday on Sportscenter. His Final Four has 3 number one seeds(Louisville, North Carolina and Pitt) and Memphis. I am still working through my bracket and will post some of my picks on here.

Tracy Morgan back on SNL

2009-03-16T14:57:00.002-05:00

This was one of those great skits where the whole cast was trying not to break character and laugh. Double Big Mac tries to talk some sense into these troubled youths by warning them of how things go down in jail.

Rest in Peace Bat Man

2009-03-03T23:02:00.005-06:00

Don't know if anyone else heard about this but last year an independent minor league baseball team traded one of its players to another team for 10 wooden baseball bats. Teams often trade players for cash but for some reason this was seen as different and made rounds on national sports news. After the trade opposing fans ridiculed him with various nicknames. If you have ever been to an independent minor league game more than half the fans are just there to drink and mock the opposing team.Well the story took a tragic twist in November, less than 6 months after the trade, when John C. Odom was found dead in Georgia from an accidental overdose from heroin, methamphetamine, the stimulant benzylpiperazine and alcohol. Teammates and coaches have since come out and say that he took the trade pretty hard. Life as a minor league player has to be hard with all the long bus trips and dirty hotels. To have your coaches and general manager say you were worth 10 planks of wood had to be devastating. Really a sad ending from a strange and seemingly innocent story.

Fiction Family

2009-03-02T23:36:00.002-06:00

Picked up a new album today on iTunes from Fiction Family, a supergroup made up of Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman and Nickel Creek guitarist Sean Watkins. I have been a fan of Switchfoot from before they made it big. Starting back with their early albums, Legend of Chin and New Way to Be Human, they have always had a cool mix of rock songs and acoustic little ballads. This album is a sweet mix of the things that I loved about Nickle Creek combined with Foreman's sweet vocals on Switchfoot's slower songs.

Here is a funky little video from their first single

Fiction Family - New Music - More Music Videos

Alive

2009-02-18T14:12:00.002-06:00

So I am post call today and the movie Alive is on HD. I have seen parts of it before but never the whole thing. I always thought it was a pretty crazy story but didn't really know the events surrounding the whole thing. I Googled it and of course there is an awesome Wikipedia article about the whole thing. Did you know that they were stranded up there for 72 days at 10,000 feet elevation with very limited supplies. I couldn't believe that it was that long. Rescue crews only ended up looking for 8 days before giving up. In the end out of despiration a couple guys ended up hiking out of the mountains and found some hikers/ranchers that notified authorities. Oh yeah...and they ended up eating the dead bodies which is always interesting. Aaron Neville also sings Ave Maria during the credits which was an added surprise.

Prepare to get misty eyed

2009-01-24T18:14:00.001-06:00

I am a huge fan of Bill Simmons and his articles on ESPN.com and his weekly podcasts. His usual topics are sports related intertwined with pop culture and reality TV. This week however he took a different attitude to his column and wrote about dog, "the Dooze ." The article is NSFW because if you have ever had a dog this one will get to your emotions.

It's been too long

2009-01-13T21:34:00.001-06:00

Can't believe it has been a month since I have touched the blogs. All apologies to all you loyal readers...j/k. Last month in the cardiac ICU and this month in the medical ICU and my blogging time kind of disappeared.

Like to get back to it by letting you know what I am into...

Toblerone chocolate

Bill Simmons' Podcasts and Football columns

Campbell's Tomato and Rice Soup

Skin and Bones by Foo Fighters

Finding songs on Rock Band to purchase on iTunes

Riding on my trainer (a great birthday surprise from my J)

Dr. Mario on the old Nintendo

Lost

Settlers of Catan

and finally looking forward to WOMV

Jake and Tom on Cars

2008-12-11T13:46:00.006-06:00

One of my best friends since I was in first grade now lives in Washington, DC and works for Energy Action Coalition as their internet director. He and his dad, who has worked for GM for a long time, have different opinions on the auto industry and discuss them on this cool 4 minute news clip from the BBC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/world_news_america/7774590.stm

I encourage everyone to check it out.

His website is The Realist Idealist and a link to it is over on the right.

Another Natural Disaster

2008-12-11T13:41:00.000-06:00

Thanks Adam M. for this one.

Oh Pat...

2008-12-08T21:21:00.000-06:00

The Wheel of Fortune sure has come a long way from its early years.

Tortoise on a Treadmill

2008-11-19T17:10:00.001-06:00

Last night, for the first time in a while, I went to the gym. While running on the treadmill, I noticed this middle age guy over on another treadmill who was walking at an extremely leisurely pace. He was going so slow that if he were walking along a sidewalk or in a mall it would be awkward to walk next him. There was absolutely no way he was coming close to breaking a sweat or increasing his heart rate. It wasn't like he was just cooling off either because he was walking for the 30 minutes that I was running. He probably walked only 1 mile in that half hour.

My question is what is a person like that trying to achieve or what is their motivation to get to the gym? Are they just trying to get their mind off things? If that is the case I can think of a lot more things that I would do to relax other than creep along on a treadmill.

The Power of One

2008-11-18T10:53:00.001-06:00

I am a sucker for the inspirational sports features that ESPN features on Sportscenter and E:60. Jenny always laughs at me because I get moist eyes while watching the segments on ESPN but not as much during tear jerker movies. I have to share this one about Adam Bender, an 8 year old from Kentucky, who excels in everything he tries while only having one leg. He wrestles and plays baseball, soccer, and football and would be one of the first selected in pick up games. Be prepared with a box of tissues if you can watch the 9 minute clip.

Here is the article about him by Jeremy Schaap.

Pregame Taunting Australian Style

2008-11-04T10:13:00.000-06:00

Check out how they do taunting before a rugby match in the Land Down Under. This is from a rugby league batch between New Zealand and Australia. If you coach youth sports, get your kids to do this before the game and see how wide eyed your opponents would be.

He's Back!!!

2008-11-03T00:09:00.004-06:00

Lance is back and winning races, even though he looks like he has a Barry Bonds'esque head on a tiny body. He competed at the the Tour de Gruene in Texas this weekend and captured first in the solo and team time trial. He has committed to the Giro d'Italia but hasn't said if he is going to do the Tour de France yet. Just keep Livin'Strong Lance! Watch for those yellow bands to make a comeback again...

Find more pics of the race at Cyclingnews.com

This is of my favorite Lance moments below. It is amazing how fast he accelerates away from the rest of the climbers.

Man's Best Friend

2008-10-27T13:46:00.006-05:00

It's a chilly afternoon here in the Midwest and another day for me to slip into my flannel lined Carhartts. I have had them for almost a year but nearly everyday in the late fall and winter I find myself wearing them. Jenny thinks they feel uncomfortable to touch, but I beg to differ.

For me they are great for getting stuff done outside, chilling on the couch watching football, or taking Macy for a walk.

Ladies if you are looking for ideas for Christmas for your man consider a nice pair of these fine pants. Nothing defines manliness quite like Carhartt.

I don't know who this cute little girl is but I just had to post this. I guess you could dress your whole family in Carhartts.

A Little Big 12 Humor

2008-10-23T16:04:00.000-05:00

Iowa State is about the only team Texas A&M can make fun of since they did lose to Arkansas State to start the year.

Paging Carl Spackler

2008-10-20T10:03:00.005-05:00

So I have been battling a mole problem in my front yard this summer but over the past few weeks that must have reproduced because they are everywhere. They won't dare go into the back yard because Macy would give them the business if she found them. I have tried the little mole pellets but they didn't work. I don't know what to do next and was wondering if anyone had any good experiences with other weapons of mole destruction.

I might have to start using this guy's tactics if this other stuff doesn't work.

Happy Anniversary J

2008-10-01T10:11:00.000-05:00

3 years ago today I married a smoking hot chick who happened to be my best friend. It is crazy to look back and so much has happened over the past 3 years - Memphis, marriage, Macy, med school, moving here to Columbia. It has all been so much better with you, J. We have so many more cool adventures to look forward to over the next few years even though we will have some more moving mixed in between.

I am so glad we decided "to hang out some more" after camp and managed to survive dating long distance. Who would have thought that a few innocent sailboat rides would have led to this :)

As I look back we did have some sweet parties that weekend... Hope those that were there enjoyed!

The Adventure is Complete

2008-09-29T12:51:00.001-05:00

Wes and I survived the race over the weekend, but I have not felt this sore since the MTSU flag football tournament in undergrad. (If you were there, I am sure you remember that weekend well.) We finished 21st out of around 50 teams in 11 hours and 40 minutes. I will have a recap of the race and some of the funny parts over the next few days, but for now go check out some pictures courtesy of Anne who was an awesome support crew/chauffeur/paparazzi.

Time for Another Adventure Race

2008-09-25T22:10:00.002-05:00

Starting in the dark of the morning this Saturday (Sept. 27th) I start the Berryman Adventure Race for the 3rd time. Now I am much wiser than I used to be and I am only doing the 12 hour race. For those of you who aren't familiar with adventure racing here is a quick primer. But basically we are going to be hiking, mountain biking and canoeing for up to 12 hours with a map and compass as our guide. As always I will be representing the Headhunters Intramural and Adventure Racing Organization.

For anyone who wants to track our progress or send us a message on the course check out Checkpoint Tracker where they have a page dedicated to the race. I think that we are either going to have GPS unit to track our progress or they will record our times at each checkpoint. But somehow you will be able to follow our progress from the comfort of your living room while I am eating Cliff Bars and sweating profusely in the woods of southeastern Missouri.

I would love to have the most messages of any of the teams so send Team Headhunter your jokes or words of encouragement on Saturday.

I heart Jim Cantore

2008-09-12T22:02:00.000-05:00

This dude makes covering weather an extreme sport. I mean what a sweet job to travel into evacuation areas when every one else with 2 cents is leaving. The guy is wearing safety goggles as he is broadcasting the hurricane report. It looks like he could get impaled by a 2x4 at any moment. Sometimes he looks like he is standing on a surf board trying to stay upright while battling the wind. I now believe that Chuck Norris wears Jim Cantore boxers.

My thoughts are with those who were not able to or did not evacuate from the Texas coast.

Blogging Dreams

2008-09-10T14:05:00.001-05:00

At some point last night I had a dream that my friend, Justin, either made a post or comment that complained that I had not made a new entry on blog within the past 24 hours. In defense of my blog, I had to go check my blog and his just to make sure that it was something that I had dreamt.

Random Thought for the Day:

How much money would you have to make to perform a job in the public eye and get boo'd frequently??? Evidently up to 58 million over 6 years is not enough for Vince Young to be able deal with the stress and pressure of being an NFL quarterback. It seems that Vince isn't having as much fun as he was back in college when he was slicing through defenses and throwing over the top to his speedy receivers. VY's mom has said that he is "hurting inside and out" and he might not want to play football anymore. What the crap? The season just started and he has already had too much? Preseason was too stressful for him?

The Titans already made a mistake when they drafted VY and should have drafted down and grabbed the local Vandy product, Jay Cutler. Cutler had everything that you need in an NFL QB and he showed in on Monday Night Football this week. VY will never be able to make the accurate passes needed to drive teams down the field each week. Yes, he can make highlight runs and an occassional roll out pass, but overall he does suck and the Titans win despite him. I think to start winning over fans in Nashville it would help if he starts wearing a shirt when he goes out it with friends.

Keep Your Sword to Yourself

2008-09-08T22:30:00.002-05:00

Note to all: Keep your sword in it's sheath when in KC.

http://www.kansascity.com/679/story/785923.html

October in August

2008-09-04T16:41:00.004-05:00

This year the date was August 29th. That was the day that my lips tasted the lovely spices of the Fall. It was my first Octoberfest seasonal brew. We were at Beks in Fulton, Mo. and I didn't believe it at first when I saw it was their beer of the day.

Other than the amazing taste, I think it also signifies the changing of seasons to me. Summer quickly turning into fall as the weather cools and leafs change. Baseball pennant races are tightening and the post-season is nearing. Television is quickly being overrun by football most of the week.

Quick Octoberfest (or Oktoberfest) facts:

It is actually celebrated in September

The largest selling Octoberfest beer in the world is not German but the Sam Adams Seasonal Brew

Another "Reply to All" Tragedy

2008-08-26T10:45:00.004-05:00

I recently got this email as part of a professional sports medicine society via their listserv. It is read by almost all of the primary care sports medicine doctors in the country.

I am sure that the sender had no intention to send it to everyone but that is what happens when you are careless. Look how he throws a resident, a program and one of his attendingsunder the bus. I assume the guy is a resident or a fellow.

hey veronica....check this guy out....he will be interviewing with us this year....i wasnt a big fan of the guy when he interviewed here for our family med program...then ditched us for a retarded program at middlesex....and for some strange reason wanted to do sports med here.anyway, doesnt this guy sound pompous in this reply on the list serv??
no wonder dr. anderson really likes the guy

Regards,
Philippe

Imagine his surprise when he realized that he had sent this to all of his professional colleagues. Ouch!!! Let this be a reminder to us all to take a second and look at who is in the "To:" box before we send emails.

Babies are better off in Iran

2008-08-22T13:30:00.005-05:00

I wanted to alert everybody to something you need to watch or DVR tonight. ABC's 20/20 is showing the documentary Babyland at 9 central tonight (Friday). It is about the astonishing high rate of infant mortality in Memphis and especially in some of the poorer zip codes in the city. This hits close to home for me since when we lived there I got involved in some of these areas. The Commercial Appeal published an excellent article on the problem a few years ago.

Below are cemetery workers burying 8 homemade pine coffins of small little lives that were cut tragically short.

Some facts of the situation:

Memphis has the highest infant death rate of the largest 60 cities in the US

North Memphis' 38108 zip code has higher infant death rates than Iran, Vietnam and El Salvador.

A infant dies every 43 hours in Memphis.

The problem is a very complicated one consisting of poverty, unequal health care access, teenage pregnancies and many other factors. I encourage you to watch and reflect on how lucky most of us are to grow up in safety and security.

Worst Announcer Ever Finds a Job

2008-08-21T10:55:00.006-05:00

It looks like Brian (don't call him Brain) Collins has finally found a real job. A local news channel in Waco, Tx has decided to hand over their sports news to him. He became an overnight internet sensation a couple years ago when a video clip of his college sports casting hit the web. The entire video is filled with hilarious mispronunciations and other gaffes.

I guess anyone can get a job with the right connections.

Davy Crockett, Attorney of Law

2008-08-14T21:55:00.003-05:00

What does Davy Crockett, a three legged horse, a Morman sex slave, 5 cloned pitbulls, British tabloids and Booger have in common. They are all part of this news story about a lady wanted for criminal charges from England to Tennessee. It really is a story that is seems too far fetched to be true. It seems much more like something the crowd on Who's Line Is It Anyway would come up with.

Her attorney David Crockett said about her, "She was a rather bizarre character, and seems to have a strange circumstance now."

Update on Gymnasts in Diapers

2008-08-14T09:06:00.002-05:00

The AP is reporting today that they have come across a news article released from China's own government news agency that stated that one of the gold medal winning gymnasts was only 13 years old at a meet earlier this year. I don't think this story is going to disappear anytime soon.

Olympic Controversy and the Phelps Diet

2008-08-13T10:24:00.011-05:00

So many great stories coming out of Beijing...

Well the "little babies" of China dominated last night in women's gymnastics and claimed the gold. The U.S. had some opportunities late, but their experience could not calm their nerves and they had some untimely falls late. It turns out that some of the Chinese gymnasts on the team left their families at the age of three to move to the national training center. Only allowed to visit her family once a year, it is said that at some point she wanted to quit but her family would not allow her. I sure hope the gold medal was worth all those years! Now what is she supposed to do with her life?

Here are some of the hopefuls for the London 2012 Chinese Men's Gymnastics Team

NBC featured a special on Michael Phelps last night and he said that he was supposed to eat 8,000-10,000 calories per day while he was training. This is 4 times what the average human is supposed to eat. I have no idea how he could eat that much. I almost want to try to eat that much one day just to see if I could do it. Then again I would also probably gain 3 pounds since I am not swimming 5 hours a day.

To put this in perspective this is 10 Chipotle steak burritos with rice and beans @ 1020 calories each.

Or 33 McDonalds cheeseburgers

Anyone else up for the Phelps challenge to eat 10,000 calories in one day?

China embraces the next Milli Vanilli

2008-08-12T13:26:00.005-05:00

It appears that China can't censor some things quick enough. A news story has leaked out of China that they 7 year old star of the Opening Ceremonies was lip singing her song. The beautiful voice belonged to an evidently not so cute girl who has chubby cheeks and crooked teeth. What a great message to send to the children of China...but the government doesn't care about them anyway. In case you missed it, the organizers have also admitted to broadcasting computer generated fireworks instead of the real deal at the Opening Ceremonies.

My only question is what else was faked??? Those dummers did look a little like CGI if you ask me.

Bernard Jeffrey McCullough 1957 – 2008

2008-08-09T14:16:00.000-05:00

Most of us don't have a lot of encounters with "celebrities" but when we do cross paths with them when tend to hold on to them for some time. Everyone has a handful of stories they throw out when others start talking about the famous person sightings. While definitely not as infamous as O.J. Simpson who I recently flew on a flight with from Miami, Bernie Mac was quite well known.

Back in the summer of 2003 my brother and were in Milwaukee at a Brewers game and afterwards they were filming a scene from Mr. 3000. His role was Stan Ross, a 47 year old washed up vet who returns to try to get 3 hits to reach the 3,000 career hits milestone. To try to get in the movie, we rushed up after the game and got front row seats right next to the Brewers dugout . The directors were filming a scene where Ross charges the mound and the benches clear. We did get some cool close up pics of him but heard from many people that he had been quite a jerk on sets around town.

The critics gave Mr. 3000 terrible reviews at its release and I have actually never checked it out. I think I will finally give it a shot.

The District's Plywood Project

2008-08-07T20:40:00.000-05:00

It looks like some of the people living downtown here in Columbia, Mo. aren't quite as hip as they thought they were. In today's online Columbia Tribune there is an article about a business owner who lives above his work and has been complaining about the noise level coming across the street from Shiloh, one of the main college bars in town. It turns out this guy has complained a few times and sound ordinance violations have been handed down to Shiloh. The owner of the bar decided to take a quick temporary fix and erected a plywood wall between his establishment and main downtown thoroughfare. There is no better way to say Mid-Missouri to visitors and tourists than sheets of plywood side by side hiding downtown restaurants.

What irks me is what do you expect when you live downtown in a college town!?! Columbia is in a major push to get people to live downtown in lofts and apartments, but the bars, restaurants, and shops are also a vital part of The District's economy. Local leaders are going to have to decide how to work this out and change the city ordinances to realize that nightlife on the weekends is not quiet. For the meantime downtown residents are going to have to go out and buy some noisemakers and rainmakers.

Hitler Hates Favre

2008-08-06T14:15:00.000-05:00

I have had enough of the Brett Favre drama fest. Give it up already, Brett! You would do a better job selling Just for Men than you will do as a QB this year. Go back to Mississippi and go hunting and fishing til your feet are rotting or your trigger finger has a blister. Your legacy is already going down in flames. Leave while the cheeseheads still adore you.

This all must be a little stressful for Aaron Rodgers. He now has the weight of Wisky on his shoulders every game. I think it is near impossible for him to have a decent season because he will try to avoid failure rather than take chances for a win. No way I am drafting him on any of my fantasy teams.

I do love the ESPN reporter who must be camped out at Lambeau Field because she has broadcasting there day and night. She has probably raided all the local botiques by now searching for new clothes for TV since there is no way she could have thought it was going to drag out this long. ESPN even has a Favre section to its Bottom Line ticker just like it does for MLB and college football.