Good Times!

Anderson Cooper, Kathy Griffin, and Veuve Clicquot = my New Year's Eve.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year's Eve, and that your next year is better than your last!

Continuing on the theme from my Christmas posts (here and here):

New Year's Eve 2000 - London Eye

New Year's Day 2001 - London New Year's Day Parade

Disney Trip 2013 - Day 8

Today's our last day - our flight leaves at 7:25pm tonight.  Woke up exhausted - lack of sleep the night before last and our very late night combined with the long day yesterday has taken it's toll.  I'm pretty zombie-ish and focus on getting packed and ready to go.  I'm accused of ruining our last vacation morning.  Words are exchanged.  It takes us a few minutes to work through it, then we're good again.

We head downstairs to the airline check-in stand beside the hotel entrance.  We check our luggage and wait for the bus to Animal Kingdom.  One of Todd's favorite rides, Kali River Rapids, was closed for refurbishment this week.  A plus of having to shift the trip by two days is that now it's open and we can ride it before we leave - I got us fast passes a couple of days before using the My Disney Experience app (still more on that later).  As an added bonus, Jackie is going to meet us again today to spend a little time before we have to leave.

Disney Trip 2013 - Day 7

Saturday, December 14th.  Today is our only full day at Disney's Hollywood Studios, so let's get going!

The park opened at 9am to the public, but today was an Extra Magic Hours day for resort guests.  That meant that people staying on-property in a Disney hotel could get into the park an hour early at 8am.  We decided to take full advantage of this and slept in.

We did manage to get up and get going early enough to walk past all the people waiting at the gate and make it inside the park by 8:45, which was more than enough time to ride Rock 'n' Roller coaster and get in a 5 minute line for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.  Check, and check.

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster is such a sweet ride.  Launching 0-60mph in under 3 seconds, zipping through 3 inversions in the dark, flying by and through lit up neon signs, all while Aerosmith cranks out of speakers by your headrest - not to mention how smooth the ride is - this is a perfect roller coaster!  I could ride it over and over again if the line wasn't long.

Disney Trip 2013 - Day 6

Friday the 13th and we're off to the Magic Kingdom.  Holly and Brian got all of us nice matching t-shirts, with each of us being one of the seven dwarfs.  I'm Dopey and Todd's Grumpy.  Hmm...is there a message there?   :o)

In the back row:  Bashful, Dopey, Grumpy, Doc, Sleepy.  In the front:  Happy, Sneezy.  Photo courtesy of Sleepy, I mean Brian.

Redbeard

Here's the un-cropped photo from Printemps in Paris with the chandelier Christmas tree.  The date was December 22, 2000, not 2001 as I had previously captioned.  I've corrected that post.

That winter we spent Christmas in Paris, and New Year's in London.  Someday I may write about and post photos from that trip.

Thirteen years ago this week....

Disney Trip 2013 - Day 5

Epcot today, and surprisingly few photos.  We spent the morning and early afternoon riding a few rides with Brian, Holly and the kids, then Todd and I split off around 3pm to explore the World Showcase.  One of the things I'd always regretted from past trips was not spending time really exploring the different national pavilions of the area, so we made it a priority this trip.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Printemps Department Store - Paris, 2000

Just In Time For Christmas

Some time before Thanksgiving I posted this on my Facebook page, as I'm sure millions of other people did.  Needless to say the responses I received to the post were underwhelming (as in none).

It seems the Thanksgiving twerky was to no one's liking.  I thought it was hilarious.  So naturally when I heard about the following this morning I felt I had no choice other than to create a reminder to look it up and post it to my blog when I got home.  Just a heads-up before you click on Continue Reading - what follows is not for the squeamish.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you:  chickenbear.

Disney Trip 2013 - Day 4

An early start today - going to the Magic Kingdom.  Jacob has an appointment to transform into a pirate and join the Pirate's League, and Katie is going to get princessified at the Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boutique.

We got there early enough to watch the opening ceremony at the front of the park

Ah-ha!

I figured out how to link the videos so they can be made larger and the resolution can be increased.  I'm going back now to update other videos in the blog.  No more tiny, crappy movies for me!  Bwah-hah-hah!

To celebrate, here are videos of a guy in see-through pants, the coolest doughnut shop bathroom on the planet, and a fountain spitting on kids.  Enjoy.

Disney Trip 2013 - Day 3, Part 2

I totally forgot to put the videos up in the last post.

I also forgot the first thing we did when we got to the Magic Kingdom for the Christmas Party.
I also forgot my New York hat.  I just can't let it go, I'm sorry.

In the Town Square Theater at the front of the Magic Kingdom, you can now meet and greet and TALK to Mickey Mouse!  This was too cool to pass up, so even though we felt a little old and foolish, we had to meet Mickey.  It was kinda magical.  Check out the video of the people in front of us below.

Disney Trip 2013 - Day 3, Part 1

I stopped making notes this morning, so the photos are going to have to guide me now.  My last entry was:

OMG it was good (plus the one I had didn't have all that crap on top)

Bay Lake Sunrise:  4 Orange Vodka, Midori Melon Liqueur, and Sweet-and-Sour with a splash of Sprite.

Photo copyright:  eatingwdw.com

New York Hat - In Memoriam

4/2011 - 12/2013

Gone too soon

Disney Trip 2013 - Day 2

Up at 7am.  Going to Animal Kingdom today.

Sunrise.  Or, "Uh-oh, there goes Cape Canaveral."

Disney Trip 2013 - Day 1, Part 2

We touched down in Orlando, and the weather was amazing - high 70s, bright and sunny with a breeze.  With a couple of exceptions, it would stay like that for most of the week.

Blue skies over Orlando

Disney Trip 2013 - Day 1, Part 1

Up at 4am after alarm went off.  No text or email alerts so far.  Left the hotel at 4:30 to go the the Parking Spot, then on to the airport.

Got to the airport about 5:20am.  No problems at security.  Flight before ours shows cancelled, but 7:20 flight still shows green with boarding scheduled for 6:55.

Nervous/stressed about the flight, so we walked from one end of the terminal to the other, then back to the gate.  We saw several people asleep in cots.

The plane was parked at the gate.  However at 6:45am they announced a flight delay to 7:30am due to a missing flight attendant.  Then they came back and announced a delay until 8:00am, then 8:10, then 8:30, then 8:40, 8:50, then 9:30am.  EXTREMELY ANXIOUS.  Todd was trying to lighten the mood by taking a video, but I wasn't having it.  You can practically hear my eyes rolling:

Disney Trip 2013 - Day 3/4

Text alert came over at 10:30 last night:  flight cancelled.  On hold for AA agent for 2 1/2 hours, then working with agent for another hour.  Now flying out AA Sunday the 8th at 7:40am, landing in St. Paul, MN at 10:05am, then flying out Delta at 10:51am to land in Orlando at 3pm.  Assuming our plane leaving Dallas actually takes off, and assuming it takes off on time, that barely meets the MSP airport's minimum connection time.

We called and since our entire flight is booked through AA, our luggage will transfer to the new plane in MSP - we don't have to get it and re-check it.

Of course if our plane leaves Dallas and is delayed we're screwed on the connection, but booking another flight out of MSP will be easier than trying to get out of Dallas.  We're trying to mentally prepare for our Dallas flight getting cancelled again.

Going to drive to a hotel near the airport tonight, and take the shuttle to the airport in the morning from the Parking Spot next to the hotel.  If our flight is cancelled we will try standby, barter, whatever we need to do to get on another flight that will actually leave DFW.

Disney Trip 2013 - Day 1/2

Continuous plinks of ice heard against the window all night long.

Up at 4am to find Todd on the phone.  12pm flight cancelled due to ice.  Reached an American Airlines agent three hours later at 7am (she was great by the way).  All flights to Orlando today either cancelled or booked.  Tried connections through Minneapolis, then through Detroit - also cancelled or booked.  After an hour with the agent, finally rebooked for tomorrow morning at 9:30am.  Hoping that won't also be cancelled.

Called Disney and was able to shift our reservations forward a day with no penalty.  Whew.  Just had to pay the difference for one night from a Thur. rate to a Fri. rate.

Todd calling airline again now to change departure date for return flight.

Nerve racking.  All is white and covered in not snow, technically; "accumulated freezing rain", I guess.

Disney Trip 2013

Just got back from our trip to Disney World with friends.  We had a great time, but it was heck getting out of here due to the ice storm.  The next several posts will be about the trip, and will be photo-heavy.

It's A Cruel, Cruel Summer. No, Wait, The Other Thing...Oh, The Weather Outside Is Frightful

Winter is here.  After almost reaching 80 degrees on Wednesday, the temperature plummeted to below 30 by 7pm Thursday.  We had 9 hours of freezing rain Thursday night / Friday morning, and these are the results:

Come Undone Monday

Oh Jimmy, you rat bastard.

Come Monday, It'll Be All Right

Jimmy Buffett wouldn't lie to me, would he?  Because I am really not ready for this weekend to be over.

Random end-of-the-weekend photo:  Here's some birds in the top of a tree from my walk yesterday.

They were all in the top of this one tree

Winter Music - Part 2: Forgotten Song

Forgotten Song

I was reading an article about new Christmas albums being released this year, which caused me to listen to and purchase Mary J. Blige's new album, A Mary Christmas.  Soon to become a classic, and only $7.99 on iTunes right now!

A Mary Christmas by Mary J Blige

What really caught my eye in the article though, was a reference to a new album by an artist covering the song Old Toy Trains.  I don't care for the artist mentioned, but seeing that title brought back a small flood of memories about Christmas time while I was growing up.  I had forgotten that I had forgotten the song, it had been so long since I heard it, but I'm pretty sure I used to love it when I was little.

I'm not sure who used to sing it on the country radio stations we listened to back then - although it was written and sung by Roger Miller in 1967, Glen Campbell released a version on his 1975 Christmas album, That Christmas Feeling.  I would have been 5 at the time, so it was probably the Campbell version that was getting airplay.

I listened to the samples of both Roger Miller's recording and Glen Campbell's, then decided to purchase the song sung by a country artist named Joe Nichols.  I have never heard of him before, but he has a great classic country voice, and his version sounds clean, clear and traditional at the same time.  The album is called A Traditional Christmas, and the title is apt.  I highly recommend giving it a listen.  Also at only $7.99 on iTunes right now, it's well worth the price.

A Traditional Christmas by Joe Nichols

Winter Music

I'm putting together my Christmas/holiday/winter playlist, and two songs jumped out at me first thing.

Tam Lin (Child 39) by Anais Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer from their album Child Ballads.  This is an amazing song from an amazing album.  Stephanie Coleman, writing for NPR summed it up as "...an epic ballad that clocks in at nearly seven minutes and has 27 verses.  It's the story of a young maiden who gets pregnant by a woodland shape-shifter named Tam Lin.  As he morphs from one fearsome creature to the next, his lover has to hold on to him until he finally becomes human."

This is not really a song for the holiday list, but it came up on shuffle while I was putting it together, and I could not believe that I hadn't already sung it's praises.

Tam Lin (Child 39) from Child Ballads by Anais Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer

The second song is The Heartache Can Wait by Brandi Carlile.  This song is on the compilation album The Hotel Cafe presents Winter Songs, which was released in 2008, and is an excellent album for the season.

For me, this song combines all the mixed emotions that can sometimes come with the holiday season when the days are short, dark and cold, but filled with music and sparkling lights.  While there's always the hope of a magical, spiritual, and joyous winter and Christmas, all adults know that some years things just don't work out that way.  The Heartache Can Wait captures the feeling of the holiday season and a little winter sadness at the same time, which makes it a special and honest song in my book.

The Heartache Can Wait by Brandi Carlile from The Hotel Cafe presents Winter Songs

Black Friday, Shmack Friday

What a great day!

Breakfast at the in-laws, then into Fort Worth to meet Mom at the Omni IMAX theater at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History to see Rocky Mountain Express.  Todd and I had already been talking about taking a Canadian rail journey - I think seeing this movie pretty much cinches it as a "must do" for a future vacation.

From the film's website:  "Rocky Mountain Express propels audiences on a steam train journey through the breathtaking vistas of the Canadian Rockies and highlights the adventure of building a nearly impossible transcontinental railway."  Photo © 2012 The Stephen Low Company. All Rights Reserved

After the movie we made a stop at the Vending Nut Company, a Fort Worth landmark (in my opinion).  They have a large, fresh selection of dried fruits, whole and shelled nuts, snack mixes, candies and gift baskets.  We bought small bags of Cajun Mix and Supreme Mix snack mixes, assorted sour balls, and dried cantaloupe.  In addition to their retail storefront, shown below, they also have a online store for quick and easy shoppin' and shippin'.  Check them out at www.vendingnut.com, or in person at the address below the photo.

2222 Montgomery Street
Fort Worth, TX  76107
Phone:  817-737-3071
Toll Free:  800-429-9260
Email:  info@vendingnut.com
Photo from www.fwculture.com

After stocking up on snacks, we went to Mercado Juarez in North Fort Worth for dinner before heading home.  Always fantastic!

Snapped this photo as the sun was setting behind the sign.  I could never get enough of this place!

So there you have it - a terrific day with no crowds, no fights, no gunplay, no drama.  Now I can sing my little Friday song:  "It's Friday, it's my day, oh how I love Friday!"  (Which, incidentally is a lot better than the other song I stumbled across today called "Papa Smurf Can I Lick Your Ass?" - you'll have to google it, because I'm not going to link it here.)  Have a great weekend!

Pecan Plantation

Lunch buffet today at the Pecan Plantation clubhouse in Granbury. Good stuff. Here's a shot of the lobby. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is a day for family, food, and football. It should also be a day to count one's blessings, no matter how great or small.  Every day we draw breath is a miracle - be thankful for being.

I didn't have any turkey photos, so here are some fall pics I took on a 2011 trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, and Dollywood amusement park in Pigeon Forge, TN.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Bad (Man) Songs

Bad Man's Song by Tears For Fears

Seeds of Love

Bad Man's World by Jenny Lewis

Acid Tongue

Mr. Bad Man (Isabel) by Tori Amos

American Doll Posse

and just because...

Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Live) by Indigo Girls

Rarities

First World Problems

It's official - I am a bad man.

It's extremely cold, and wet this morning.  I woke up early, watched an episode of Portlandia on Netflix on my iPad in bed, then bundled up and drove to Starbucks for coffee.

There was a line of about 10 cars in front me in the drive-through (can't make myself type "thru"), so I waited patiently, singing along to songs that I streamed from my iPhone through the Veloster's speakers via bluetooth while the interior of the car warmed up.

After a short wait it became my turn to order.  I placed my order for a venti decaf non-fat no-whip but yes molasses drizzle gingerbread latte and moved up in line.  When I got to the window I had my Starbucks app queued up on my iPhone and ready for the cashier to scan my virtual personalized Starbucks gold card.

I held out my iPhone to be scanned and the cashier handed me my drink and told me the gentleman in the car in front of me had paid for my drink.  That was unexpected, so while the cashier looked at me expectantly I said "Oh." and then "Well, thank you." and then drove off.

My thoughts while driving away were first about motive, as in that was nice but what drives someone to do it.  They were mostly self-centered:  Was it someone I knew, did he look in the rearview mirror and think I was attractive and that was his way of flirting, did he see that I was enjoying my music and my chipper mood inspired him to make my day a little brighter, or was he a mindless sheep who saw a tv commercial or an inane blog re-post ("Re-post this if you heart puppies" or "Re-post this if war makes you sad" or "Let's get 100,000 likes to show our support for people born with webbed feet - Webbies are people too" or some other silly message about paying it forward?

Then the guilt set in about me just driving away and not paying for the next person in line.  Then I started to resent the kind, anonymous stranger for causing me to feel guilty and giving me too much to think about instead of just being able to enjoy my $5 coffee and my bluetooth-streaming iPhone music.

Then I wrote a sorta jokey, sort of serious blog post about possessions, elitism and selfishness, and re-reading it now I see it hits too close to home for comfort and makes me burn in shame all over again.  I am a bad man.

Thank you kind stranger, whoever you are and whatever your motivations were.  The coffee was delicious.

Soylent Green May Be People, But Soylent Brown Is Delicious

Made a quick trip to the store on the way home today and saw these things on an endcap in the freezer section that I had to try:

Mmm...splotchy brown wafers

Thoughts On Lunch

I love you Mercado Juarez...will you marry me?

Forget gay marriage - what we need is legislation that allows a man to marry a Mexican restaurant.*

Lunch today - the start of something good

*Hopefully obvious attempt at humor.  The right to marry the person you love regardless of gender is still a pressing and important topic.  I don't need government or religion to bless my 17-year committed relationship to the one I love, but the legal and financial benefits afforded to married couples should be open to all couples, regardless of their genders.

Well It Was Saturday Night, I Guess That Makes It All Right...

It does not get much better than a Saturday night satiated with steak, a full moon floating through clouds, a glass of red wine in front of me (I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy), and Etta James in my headphones belting Take it to the Limit from her Live from San Francisco album.  One of the best albums I own, and amazingly, not on iTunes.

Buy this album - you won't regret it

Next up on the shuffle was Joanna Newsom singing Cosmia from her Ys album.  Also a great album, though of a different sort.

Plays the harp like Tori Amos plays the piano

And following that on shuffle (lest you think me a complete music snob) was Britney Spears Womanizer (Kaskade Mix) from the Womanizer (Remix EP).

Guilty pleasure - like eating hot-n-spicy pork rinds

Ok, so then it was The Night Flight from Houston by Laurie Anderson from Talk Normal: The Laurie Anderson Anthology.

This woman is a genius.  She was also married to Lou Reed, who's gone up to the sky like the Satellite of Love.  Goodbye Lou.

Before I bore you with too much of my Saturday night shuffle, I'll just tell you that the song that came up after Laurie Anderson was Light Speed by Dr. Dre from his 2001 aka The Chronic 2001 album.  My taste in music runs through all genres (which unfortunately can be expensive).

I need an adult!

Aw what the hell - after that was Stay by Me from Annie Lennox, Eyes by The Naked and Famous, then Viva la Juventud (Remix) by The Pinker Tones.

Ok, that's it.  The rest can just be whatever you want it to be.  I'm just going to chill with some more music and mellow with my wine.  Thanks for peeking into my Saturday night.

Hello and goodnight

Just dropped in to say hi.  I just finished paying bills while listening to a little music.  Think I'll just finish listening to Barbarella by Scott Weiland before crawling into my warm bed and reading.  I'm starting the Game of Thrones series by George R.R. Martin - good stuff so far.

Goodnight everyone.

Carffeine

I took this picture last week to show the shocking truth behind gas station coffee.  Fill 'er up anyone?

Yep, it tastes like it came from a tanker truck.  And apparently it's flammable.

Of course I'm glad they don't really transport coffee this way.  Or if they do I at least hope they wash out the inside thoroughly first.  "At Pilot, we're proud to now offer three premium-grade coffees:  A rich, aromatic Columbian blend, Hazelnut Supreme, and Diesel."

Technology + Boredom = Well, Mostly Crap, But Sometime Awesomeness

Some time ago I posted this.

Well, now the family portrait is complete:

Like a big pink asparagus - with cat eye glasses.  Makes me want to see Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 again to see if I can spot him.

What I Did Today

Played tennis

Bought a new suit

Found $2500

Learned to fly a helicopter

Hijacked a bus and drove it through the subway system

Was drugged by my son who pushed me out of my own car before stealing it and my money, leaving me in the street hallucinating that I was surrounded by chimpanzees then abducted by aliens

Blew up a freighter and using the submarine I'd stolen earlier, made off with a secret government superweapon prototype

Say what you want, but Grand Theft Auto V is a wonder. 

That Kind Of Sunday

How I spent my Sunday:

Breakfast at Panera Bread - a Power Breakfast sandwich and a cup of fruit.

Then to the store for the ingredients to make this

Sweet Corn Pudding - a corny, eggy, souffle type dish with a jalapeño kick

Then this

Mock Apple Pie - alway wanted to try this.  Not so much an apple taste as a yummy, slightly lemony, mystery fruit taste.  Still delicious.

Did the laundry while I was cooking, cleaned up the kitchen afterwards, then watched Titanic on tv 'cause it was on and I was kitchen-licked.  After that I checked the fluids and tire pressure on the car, and then came upstairs to post this.

And that is my Sunday.  I'll probably spend the rest of the evening farting around on the computer until it's time for bed.

Hope you had a good day, and a great week to come.

Current Music I'm Listening To

Always lead with a Bowie:

"When I'm Five" from David Bowie

"Q.U.E.E.N." (SOLIDISCO Remix) by Janelle Monae with Eyrkah Badu

"Honeymoon Avenue" by Ariana Grande and "Popular Song" by MIKA featuring Ariana Grande

"In The Stars (Galaxy Mix)" by Icona Pop

A Different View This Morning

A little blurry, with the highway in the background.

Go me!

I walked for 2 hours this morning; a distance of 7.1 miles. Weighed in at 216.5 lbs (down from 221)  Definitely heading in the right direction!

Here's the morning view:

And here's me in action: