TV Overload (part deux)

We caught up on the tv shows we had on DVR this weekend.

I mostly enjoy 30 minute sitcoms (most of you know I have a short attention span)... but also enjoy some hour long dramas from time to time.

I watched Dirty Sexy Money... it's really more of a comedy...but I was somewhat entertained... we'll see how entertained I'll be when the newness wears off.

Desperate Housewives is back. I had recorded a recap episode last week and watched that today. I had forgotten so much about that show. I missed a lot of last season...I kind of got to a busy & dont really care point about that show. I still enjoy several actors (women) on that show, so I'm going to give it another go.

Brothers & Sisters is back and I was totally excited about that. They didnt disappoint. The show is a great mix of comedy & drama... Sally Field as the lead actress always ensures that there is likely to be a good cry at some point in the show. LOVE this show.

A new show I'm definitely interested in is Cane on CBS. It's an hour long drama that is reminiscent of Dallas... so I'm all in on that... OK? hehe... Seriously, it does remind me of an updated Dallas... competing families... the evil family having a daughter that sleeps with the enemy (yeah, I'm talking to you Victoria Principal/Pamela Barnes Ewing).

Who the frig am I kidding... I wanted to be a Ewing back in the day... maybe thats why I want to watch an updated Dallas???

Weekend wrap-up

Ugh... it's technically Monday already in just one hour...oh well... Big Wheels keep on Turnin'

I had such an enjoyable weekend. This is the first weekend in a while that we didnt have something specifically planned... which means hanging out at home... 'relaxin' and sleeping late.

Friday night, we had dinner downtown at Merchant's ... It's a fun, historic building... it was a hotel at one time & Loretta --among others--stayed there... that's reason enough to eat there, right? OK!

In all honesty, their food is good... it's not my favorite dining destination, BUT... it's a fun building and the people watching is even more fun (our table looked over the tourist traffic of Lower Broadway).

Saturday & Sunday were mostly uneventful... a welcoming break, indeed.

P.S... a fabulous friend of mine is moving from San Fran to Philly...he's documenting via video blogs on his blogsite... he's a hoot & his vlogs are always entertaining... Check This Out on a regular basis...he'll be traveling across the US over the next two weeks.

What the?

This story apparently was deemed newsworthy by a local tv station. While I fail to see the pertinent value of this story, it really made me laugh.

Go to this link...make sure you watch the video clip.

Football Update

I won the football contest against Hal again this week... it's still early in the season... but I'm hoping my predictions continue to be correct.

Keep your fingers crossed!

Senseless

I really dont understand people sometimes.

A news story I saw on Friday talked about a convenience store owner being killed in North Nashville. They flashed a picture of the victim & his wife. I recognized them. They opened a lunch spot in Brentwood (I Love Teriyaki!)... I went there often.... they sold out & I stopped going there... for the most part.... but...

I was so sad to see that he was killed senselessly... apparently, the killer didnt even take any money... he was mad about an earlier encounter. The victim was shot while reading his Bible (surveilance camera's proved this).

What in the world could a convenience store do to you to make you murder?

I'm really sad about this story. The victim & his wife were so sweet. They always knew me at the restaurant.

I wish everyone believed in Peace & Non-Violence.

Here's the news channel link

TV Overload...

I dont feel like I need to tell most of you...but in case you dont already know...I enjoy quite a few tv shows.

Well, it's season premiere mania right now... some of my old favorites are back (Survivor, My Name is Earl, The Office, Heroes, 30 Rock... I might even be forgetting something... is that possible?).

Well... if that's not enough... there are some new shows I'm interested in (Kid Nation, Journeyman, Pushing Daisies, Cane, and Dirty Sexy Money).

Thank goodness for a DVR right? lol... Some of the new shows I've recorded but not yet watched--Cane & DSM--and not exactly sure I'll be a follower... but we'll see if I get around to them and if I enjoy it.

Odds are that some of those new shows will be cancelled soon enough anyway, right?

I'm a junkie, blog readers... a tv show junkie... better than being a heroin junkie I suppose.

Holla if you are watching any of the above shows!

Meet the Predators???

Can you freakin believe that hockey season starts next Thursday night? I can & I cant wait. It's been a crazy summer for Nashville Predator fans. We had one of the best teams in the league during the last season (often times the best record)...only to get beat in the first round of the playoffs...AGAIN... :(

As if that was not crazy enough... ownership & the future of the team in Nashville is still an open question--although local ownership appears to be very promising.

Anyway, here we are at the beginning of yet another season... I'll just worry about the things I can control...such as going to games & having fun. Thankfully, Hal & I have more free ticket opportunities this year. His company has full season tickets now...and his sister shares season tix with another real estate colleague. And guess what? If we dont get free tix but are dying to go to the game...we'll make it happen as we always have.

On to tonight... the Predators had a "Meet the Players" event for full season ticket holders. We were able to go. It lasted 2 hours & you supposedly had the opportunity to get autographs from players, tour the locker room as well as shoot a puck from center ice.

They had several different autograph stations with different players. As you entered, you received a random color card that corresponded with a station. That was the only station you could get an autograph. Hal & I both got good stations... but SOB... the lines were insane. We're not crazy about autographs at all... so we decided to skip that part... although I did go around at gawk at a few of my favorite (read cutest) players.

Even the line to go to the locker room & shoot the puck was insanely long... they did give free food (stupid lines for that too...but we waited--nothing near as crazy as the other lines)...

Bottom line... we went down to the arena for this event... and all's we got was some crummy concession stand food.

Oh well... at least next Thursday night... we get a real game...

P.S... we did get a new scoreboard over the summer & it is night and day different from the old one... that was a positive.

Go Titans!

Yay! The Titans beat the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football! We watched the game with some friends & had a lot of fun... with a win & a great time. The Titans are 2-1... if you keep up with football, you'll know that this is their best start in about 4 years. Yay!!!

On a related note, I am winning the 'friendly' competition with Hal on who can better predict the outcome of games each week. I won the first week, he won the second... and I won again on Sunday. Please keep your fingers crossed that that trend continues. :)

Roller Coaster mania...

After a several year hiatus, I returned to King's Island on Friday. It's one of the best theme parks in the country for roller coasters. I LOVE coasters.

Each year, the GLBT group in Cincinnati rents out the park for a 'private party.' It's really open to anyone who knows about it and is not a homophobe. It's a scaled down version of what you would experience at the park on a normal day. They dont have all the souvenir shops open or the kid's rides or many of the refreshment stations. They stick to the major attractions... (roller coasters & a few other crazy contraptions).

It goes from 6pm until Midnight. It's everything you've ever dreamed of if you love coasters. You barely stand in line at all for any rides. The only thing you have to stand in line for is a new ride. I think the longest we waited this year for the new ride was 30 minutes.

If you've ever been to a theme park on a normal tourist day, it's nothing to wait well over an hour for almost every ride. On Pride Night, you can walk up to most rides and not have to wait over 2 minutes.

I rode some crazy roller coasters & had an opportunity to be in the very first car for some of the most intense rides. I screamed like a little school girl, but I loved every second of it. It's such an adrenaline rush.

There was a group of 7 of us that went and it was a blast. We didnt spend much time at the hotel, but we snagged a great deal in downtown Cincy. Unfortunately, we only spent one night. It was unfortunate b/c on Saturday & Sunday, they were holding Oktoberfest in downtown right outside our hotel (yes, in September, WTF?). Anyway, it appeared to be a fun outdoor event. It's supposedly the best attended Oktoberfest in North America with estimated attendance of 50K. Why do I care about Oktoberfest? It's quite simple really... I like... no... LOVE beer... and it's a great excuse to start drinking early.

We walked through the festival this morning on our way to breakfast at FirstWatch, and people were already drinking it up at 11am. Those are my kind of people!!! I might have to check that out next year if it's the same weekend as Pride Night in King's Island.

Anyway, I'm kind of tired from a whirlwind weekend... Cincy and back in a little over 24 hours..including freaking awesome, exhilirating roller coasters, so I'm going to wrap this up.

(P.S., Josh... you're going next year since you'll be on this side of the country!)

A little bit of Hedwig for a humpday treat...

We went to see 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' tonight. A local group, People's Branch Theatre, presented it at the Belcourt Theatre. It was really fun. I honestly havent seen the film version, but I thought the live performance was great. The local cast did a fantastic job as well.

I'm now anxious to see how the film compares.

Going to the Belcourt is always a fun experience. For those of you not in Nashville (and too lazy to click the link I provided above), it was originally built in 1925 as a silent theatre. They actually had the Grand Ole Opry there from 1934-36. It evolved and almost was torn down several years ago, but fortunately people stepped up to save this gem.

Now, they have a theatre for live performances as well as an additional film theatre. They play a lot of artsy movies & things chain theatres wont touch (Shortbus for example). It's always nice to know there's a place in Nashville you can go for things like that.

I dont have a graceful ending for this post... on the brightside, I am going to an amusement park in Cincinnati on Friday! I'm super excited & will blog about that later. Until then... ciao!

Wino's on the River (part deux)...

Here's the link to photo's taken on Saturday at the event mentioned in my previous post

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hwil3/sets/72157602053619334/

Wino's on the River

Yesterday was a freakin beautiful day. We had San Francisco weather... it was fantastic.

It was a perfect day for an annual Nashville event, Wine on the River. It was our first time (hehe...we were virgins)... so here's the deal in a nutshell... it's around $50 for a ticket.. you get a wine glass as you walk in and there are 40 something different tents that give you a taste of their wine. It ran for 4 hours so there was ample time to sample a lot of wine & quite frankly... get your buzz on.

There was a group of 10 of us... and we had a lot of fun in a fantastic location. The event is held on a old pedestrian (it was originally built for cars, so it's big) bridge that has wonderful views of downtown Nashvegas. Factoid: It's one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world.

We took the camera & have a lot of fun pictures. Once I put them on a photo sharing site, I'll let you know.

When the event ended, we walked over to Sole Mio for dinner. It's a fantastic Italian restaurant. We needed some sustenance to counteract all the wine we had had... ok, ok... we drank more wine with dinner... Why not?

After dinner, we all went our seperate ways (in taxi's, no DUI's wanted)... I cant say it enough... great weather, good wine & fun friends. A perfect day.

My Life on the F List

Friday night... freaking thank heavens. I had a really good Friday.... for some reasons I cant blog about..... but...

It carried on.... We stayed home... & watched a new reality series on Fox... "Nashville"... it's been billed as Laguna Beach meets Music City.... in other words...a faux semi-drama meets country artist wannabee's...

It wasnt quite the most entertaining show... but we enjoyed seeing the city we love on tv...

Moving on,

Hal wanted sushi for dinner, so we went to Virago ... I have yet to be persuaded by the sushi fans...but that isnt their only menu choice... so I went along....plus...it's a very trendy spot.

On our way there... we turned up a side-street & I said..."Wouldnt it be crazy to see some of those 'Nashville' people out tonight?".... no kidding.... seriously... 5 seconds later.... there we see a few of the characters walking up the street....

Moving on again... we get to Virago... valet.... and they say it's a 45 minute wait.... it turned into a 10 minute wait...but whatev!

Hal got his sushi... I got my non-sushi.... which was very delicious btw.... but here's the thing...

Terry Bradshaw's daughter is also on this reality show... and I'll be darned if she didnt come sit at the table next to us... obviously I was the only weirdo to recognize that.... but I didnt say anything... why should I? (factoid: I dont think she'll be a legend)

... a while later.... Ace Young gets seated at the table on the other side of us....(he was on American Idol).... so... whatever... he had a popped collar... & thats all good... if that's your thing.

I went to the bathroom after dinner...and I'll be darned if I didnt see a favorite ex-Titan... Eddie George... he's retired fromthe NFL now....

Anyway, y'all... I told Hal....for the most part...these people are insignificant to everyday life...but isnt it interesting to see these people out? We really dont go places just b/c we think we'll see so & so... it just seems to happen in this town....

I also said... do you think people think I'm lying about this stuff.... b/c I'm dropping names (that some of y'all know).... but...I realized... I'm not name dropping.... I'm not saying I'm friends with these folks... I saw them out & about... and... why would I make up seeing these people? It wasnt Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston for crying out loud!

Early Morning Breeze

I got an exciting surprise in the mail yesterday. Whitney sent me a compilation CD of some awesome country music women's songs. I dont have a real "type" of music I listen to most often. The thing about music to me is the timeliness of it.

I grew up with my parents listening to various things including Simon & Garfunkel to regular 80's pop.

Around the early 90's, Country music was all the rage. I was mostly interested in female artists'... even though the first concert I ever attended was Garth Brooks (before he was huge--thanks, Joy!)... and the first arena concert I saw was George Strait... I spent a lot of solitary hours as a teenager 20 miles outside a small town listening to the radio. So many songs on the CD that Josh sent brought back memories...not necessarily b/c of the lyrics of the song, but b/c I remember what I was doing or thinking at that time.

In college, I was all about "Alternative" music... Jagged Little Pill was just coming out when I was a freshman... and a ton of other male band music... I still love all of those songs too and love to hear them on the radio even today.... it just brings back memories.

After college, more 'pop' type stuff started pervading my brain's music space.... I still listen to Top 40 sometimes.... but as time grew on, I revisted the classic country divas... while at the same time... getting crazy & embracing new artists who arent mainstream in the US (Scissor Sisters & Mika for example).

Anyway, I'm rambling... but the point is... isnt it funny how music takes you to a certain place in your life--whether it be b/c of the lyrics or just b/c you associate it with a certain time in your past?

Btw...the first song on my CD from Josh was Dolly Parton, "Early Morning Breeze"... I listened to it the first thing this morning... not knowing what songs were on the CD.... but how perfect was that to start out the day?

Get the F out of here...

OMG... (consider this a 1 out of 10 on the OMG scale, but I need to blog about it)...

we usually have a peaceful sleep... no noise other than usual city sounds drowned out by a fan....

5am this morning... it was a dog fiasco... it started as a single dog barking...but turned into a pack ...right outside my freaking window...

I'm a heavy sleeper... for the most part...but I heard this crazy barking... (mind you again... at 5am)...

My saviour (Hal) had already jumped out of bed & thought I was still sleeping... He's out of the bedroom by this time & I look out the bd window & see 3 dogs barking like maniacs at our very next door neighbor's storage building (under it)... next thing I know... I see our back light go on.. & the next door neighbor's back light at the same time... then hear Hal play the role of the Dog Whisperer... "shhhh'' "get out of here dog's"....They were seriously going crazy...but all of a sudden... they scurry off... and another dog emerges from under the building after the mean pack was gone... I bet that dog was happy that my saviour helped him out :)

This is probably a post that is one of those... you had to be there to understand the hilarity...yet madness at being awoke at 5am by a pack of crazy dogs type things... but I thought I would share with you folks.

After I mentioned it to Hal this evening, he never even realized the whole episode woke me up & I witnessed this mid-night/morning mayhem.

Should I put the dog catchers name on my speed dial???

Football Contest Part 1

Ok... there are 15 more of these posts to go.... this is my opportunity to disclose who won the football contest between Hal & I (see my previous post about Ruth's Chris)...

I freaking won today! I picked more winning teams than Hal...

AND... to top it off... the Titans won!!!!!!

but thats not all... after the concert (see the immediate post below)... we stopped for an after theatre appetizer... we saw Lendale White and Bo Scaife ...

I've never approached an athlete or celebrity I've seen in the past...but... I had just enough buzz to think... WTF... these guys are not really known nationally... so they'll appreciate being noticed...so as we were leaving... I approached LenDale... and congratulated him on a great game... and requested that we go 2-0 after next week (against the Colts... yikes!)... he said..."Hell, Yeah!".... lol... exciting, shit, huh? Bo wasnt paying attention (not being rude, but didnt hear the brief interaction)...

They are both very promising Titans... it was interesting to see them... especially considering what fun day I had... (Titans won, went to a concert, I won the football contest against Hal for the week).

Dont mess with me...I'm on fire right now, bitches.

Elvis was definitely in the building...

I saw Elvis tonight! Seriously... lol.. Elvis Costello performed at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center tonight. The sister-un-law had 2 fabulous tix to the show...and couldnt go... so she gave them to us...

It was quite fun. I'll be honest & say I've never really followed him but know who he is... (there were some people there who were REALLY into him).... I never turn down a chance to go to the Symphony though... it's a unique experience to see an artist perform while backed by a great Symphony group in a world-class building.

S-U-L had awesome seats...we had a pair of tix that were on the aisle... and I sat in the 2nd seat next to some older man... OMFG... I about punched him in the face... he had the most annoying/abnoxious breathing pattern I've ever heard... thankfully, there were several seats vacant in the row behind us...and early on, I told Hal that I was about to enter the 'red zone' if we didnt get away from him...

Once peace was restored, I was able to focus on the show...

The Symphony played for a while & then Elvis came out for a few songs... then intermission...and more Elvis... I only knew his song Veronica ... but perhaps I just didnt recognize some of the rest of the set...b/c... playing with an orchestra doesnt sound like a radio edit... right?

Anyway, it was a great time... I didnt understand what he was saying a lot of the time... I think the mic was a bit too much in his mouth...but anyway... a lot of people were really into it...

I had a really good time...dont get me wrong... but I thought about Bernadette Peters while I was there and wished I was seeing her again instead.

It's a personal taste, eh?

Losers have to pay sometimes...

Well, I lost, again :( Hal & I have had a friendly contest the past three years related to NFL games.

We survey the games each week of the NFL regular season & predict who we think will win each game that week (secret ballot, of course). The one who predicts the highest amount of winning teams each week wins.. that week... and at the end of the season... whoever has the most weeks of better predictions wins...

The loser owes the winner a fantastic steak dinner wherever they desire in town.

I won the 1st year... and since we were going to NYC, I decided on Knickerbocker in Greenwich Village. It was a glorious win in a fabulous place.

Hal won the 2nd year & I reminded him a few times to let me know where he wanted to go...but he never made a big deal about it... so I dropped it.

Well, I lost again the 3rd year ... and we were a bit behind on the reward... but tonight I had to pony up & take Hal to Ruth's Chris (after all, the new NFL season starts this Sunday). We've been to our share of awesome locally-owned, upscale steak-specializing restaurants... so were a bit resistant to the RC chain... but... OMG... it was freaking fantastic... the best steak I've had so far (ask me that after I go to Argentina!!!).

We paired it with a Malbec (Argentina red) wine... funny story... I got carded... and the server said to me... "just barely".... I said... just barely what? I'm 30? Hal said... just barely by 10 years... he was oblivious to our comments even though we werent whispering... odd, huh? I get the fact that people say I dont look 30...but I dont look a day under 21 either... odd...

Anyway...the dinner was fantastic... now I need a favor from my bloggy friends... please keep up the positive energy this NFL season that I can make the correct predictions & make Hal have to pay!!!

Light at the end of the tunnel...

Ok... I dramatically announced that I had accepted a new career position in my current company about 2 months ago... there's been some corporate red tape holding back the transition... but I got a response today!! I have--at most--one more month before I make the change... it's so nice to finally have a defined date... it's been tough just waiting around for what will eventually be 3 months ... but good things come to those who wait I suppose!

Another step forward to BA...

It's official... we've now confirmed our flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina!!!

I've been monitoring different airlines & flights for a while... and had a particular departure in mind all along. Unfortunately, the lowest price I saw was around a month ago, but I thought the price wouldnt get too much higher b/c the flight wasnt really full...Apparently I didnt keep a close enough watch b/c that flight is almost full and was a bit more when I booked today... oopsie...but a lesson learned.

With that out of the way, I'm so glad to have our reservation. One option would've made us go through New York but having to get from JFK to LGA and I wasnt in the mood for that. Instead, we're going through Miami both ways.

The flight from Miami to BA will be 8 hours...which is longer than I've ever flown, but thankfully it's an overnight and I can put on my Blanche Deveraux sleeping shades and dream about South America on the way!

Less than 8 weeks to go... but who's counting, right? :)

Labor Day Music Mania

Ok... the birthday festivities are so last week at this point... so now I have a decade to flourish as a 30-something.

It's a holiday weekend...and I'm loving every minute of it.

Hal's at the beach with his family this weekend so I've been hanging out with... me! (and friends sometimes).

On Friday night I had a few drinks with some of the gang that are in my birthday pic below... It was a lot of fun... thankfully it was only a couple of blocks away from my house... b/c I caught a bit of a buzz :)

Saturday was mostly uneventful for the most part...BUT... I've blogged about this before... I FLIPPING love seeing fireworks... and I happened to be coming home after a bit of shopping/running around Saturday night... and caught a fireworks show... I'm guessing it was after the Vanderbilt football game. Frigging love fireworks, yall... love love love... I still get that feeling I had when I was 6 y/o when I see them.

Sunday was (still is Sunday) a glorious day. I had to run out to the recycle center to get rid of glass (Note to Metro: Please start accepting glass with the curbside pickup). I'm always amazed that there are so many others dropping stuff off too, so it's a good feeling.

Anyway... on to the music mania... after that... I went to a record store... I realized that there were so many country diva albums I didnt have... so... click on the following links to see what I got:

Click here

and here

and this gem that I am listening to as I post this blog

How freaking fun is that? Plus, I have complained about this in the past... but my first Amy Winehouse CD was a censored version... and Hal bought the "Parental Advisory" version for my birthday...

I'm a happy guy right now...

Islands in the Stream...that is what we all are, right?