The Cake is a Lie

Yes it is true...the cake is a lie...I would like to thank Paul for going to Geneva and finding that bit of graffiti I think it may be one of the best quotes ever. It sounds so like the beginning of some art house scifi movie.

Anyway well it is snowing again in western Michigan I know that it was too much to hope for to have it all end so early. c'est la vie. I am delighted that I have tomorrow off from work I am way burned out right now and just tired of winter, Michigan and cold. These are the times of year that I think that I would love to go somewhere warm. I realize that nowhere is perfect but come on this is just too much. I then have to come back to earth and say to myself no Michael you cannot just fly off to Italy or Spain and spend the rest of your life being an ex-patriot you still need to work. Eh work blah blah blah. Sitting in a cafe in Italy or Spain drinking cappuccino or eating some amazing Mediterranean seafood now that it a life I could live. Instead I watch snow fall and coat the world in grays, and whites.

I am making a point to do a few things this year. First there is the 13 book series, I am still on "Jacob De Zoet" but I will get it done. Second, I and Erin discovered that we have never been to Chicago together, this must be rectified. Three, I am still running and plan on the Fifth Third River Bank 25k but I am also going to run a half marathon or marathon outside of Western Michigan. Fourth, I am going to take a trip to the U.P. I have never been and money be damned this year it will happen. Fifth, I will watch more foreign movies and less regular television. Sixth, I am going to start saving some money for nothing in particular but to actually have a savings and then once that is set I am going to save more for a trip to somewhere exotic, I am thinking Buenos Aries, or Istanbul, or Australia somewhere not Europe and not America.
That's it remember The Cake is a Lie!

Up in the middle of the night and the truth comes out

here it is...
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is the best Star Trek series...yep I said it the best one. I liked Star Trek: The Next Generation, but I love DS9. Before everyone goes out of their head, the Original Series and James T Kirk well they are incomparable so we will stick to the later series. Here's why I love DS9, although I love Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart you are the man who started my love for bald men), Benjamin Sisko I mean he is sooo cool. 
Let's go over the ways:
Bald head, Check
Cool goatee, Check  (he's a Star Fleet officer with a goatee, totally awesome)
Black man, Check 
The Emissary, Check
Avery Brooks with some cool ass line delivery, Check
I could go on.....


Then there is Garak, I have to say one of the best sociopathic murderers ever on TV. example:
Captain Sisko: Who's watching Tolar? 
Garak: I've locked him in his quarters. I've also left him with the distinct impression that if he attempts to force the door open, it may explode. 
Captain Sisko: I hope that's just an impression. 
Garak: It's best not to dwell on such minutiae. 


There is Odo, shapeshifter, Jadzia Dax, symbiont, Kira Naris, Bajoran, Julian Bashir, Doctor (kind of the only character that is a bit douche-baggy). Lastly there is some great writing and some great story lines, having the show on a space station instead of a starship allows for more story arcs and much better character development. I believe I have made my case.


Now the biggest thing that TNG has going against it, except for the awkward men miniskirts in the first few episodes, is that it allowed Wil Wheaton to play Wesley Crusher a precocious pre-teen and teenager, who somehow finds himself on the BRIDGE OF A STARSHIP! REALLY! Ok it is not that I blame Wil Wheaton for this, ok yes I do blame him a little bit, but seriously we are out is space on a starship and you allow a teenager to be the pilot of your starship, how outlandish is that. I realize he is supposed to be all super smart and as a teenager watching TNG I was super jealous that he was able to be on the bridge, but come on people spend years in Starfleet just to be a nameless ensign and die on the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Stop taking all the glory Wesley. There was also the writing on TNG. 
As for Characters well the is Number One William Riker, totally cool, Data, cool android (who doesn't love a greenish android with no emotion), Worf, even cooler Klingon, Deana Troi, eh ok empath whatever, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Wesley's mother, she's cool but for birthing that kid, and somehow using her, what I would classify as inappropriate, relationship with Jean-Luc to get Wesley on the Bridge of the enterprise). 


There are two other Star Trek's, Voyager and Enterprise. Voyager you tried but in the end, your nice but I am just not that into you. Enterprise, well, you on the other hand were a mess, a crazy mess and I had to walk away. Plus I have just never really liked Scott Bakula, Capt. Archer was just boring. I do have to say Kate Mulgrew as Capt Janeway always felt like she was really interested in what you had to say, so I am looking into your soul and seeing the real you with a smile even though you are just telling me there is a nebula ahead. 


Well that's it DS9 best Star Trek series, I am pretty sure I am going to read this in the morning when I have slept a little bit more and it is not going to make any sense. 

What is the Wizard of Oz.

So, Todd and I have taken to watching Jeopardy!, only because I really don't think that I could take one more day of watching FOX News with him. So today's final Jeopardy! clue was something about a character from this movie tries to quote the Pythagorean theorem and get's it wrong. 2 out of 3 get it wrong, seriously.

Sot it is the end of a long week of listening to people talk about the Egyptian protest, I get it lets pull out every one who is remotely attached to Egypt or the Middle East. So, here is a person who studied ancient Egyptian history...So Dr. Blah you studied the Egyptians what do you think Ramses II would do in this situation? or Why do you think that the guy Tahrir square punch Anderson Cooper in the face? SERIOUSLY PEOPLE SHUT THE HELL UP!

So I am also officially done with winter, and I watched "Doctor Zhivago", I ask why would I do that. I actually thought that well I could read that, really? I am pretty sure that I have almost constantly advocated that no one should read Russian authors in the winter and I thought, oh OK, "Doctor Zhivago" I should read that in the dead of winter.

Shoveling Epic, or Epic Shoveling

Well I promise this will be the last I say about my snow shoveling experience this past week. As everyone should know last Wednesday the greater Grand Rapids area received about 16 - 18 inches of snow and I had the day off. Now, I should say that I did not have a day off due to snow, no, that day was just my day off during the week. So, Todd thought, and I am sure now regrets this thought, that I could earn some extra money helping him shovel snow. As most people who know me would quickly state, um Michael do you think this is a good idea manual labor isn't really your thing is it. I said a very reluctant whiny yes I will do it. Well we wake up way too early and get ready, I walk outside to about 16 inches of snow. We drive, and by this I mean almost die like about 100 times and two tracked though snow on the expressway, to the first office park and there are snow drifts 4 feet deep. I have a hard time not whining while shoveling 2 or 3 inches of snow, seriously you want me to shovel 4 fracking feet of this shit, ok. I start shoveling and pushing snow, we move to the next office park, then to the huge condos that I think now one lived in, and then the ugly way too expensive gated community. So Star Trek jump to the future 9 hours later and I am about to sit down in the driveway of a $800,000 home, start crying and die, just let the snow cover me and they will uncover me in the springtime. I hurt still from this snow and I have decided to never ever shovel that much show in my life. It is called a snowblower people, a SNOWBLOWER!

On a postive note I listened to like six hours of "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" and listened to a great very funny interview with The Black Keys and bought their last album because of it. Erin and Peter also had something to do with this too, but really the very funny story about a bunch of gay men dress up like Santa for Christmas in July might have pushed me over the edge. I add it to my list of totally awesome music purchased in the last 9 months starting with Weezer's best album Pinkerton,.

Now on to running...it was a bad week for running, first the snow shoveling, then the hurt from the snow shoveling. I did run a 6mile long run but lost no weight this week, still 209 this morning.

This weeks running schedule

Monday - 35 min slow run
Tuesday - off
Wednesday - 2.5 mile run
Thursday - 45 min run
Friday -  2.5mile run
Saturday - 1mile run/ 20min walk
Sunday - 6mile run

It's a Blizzard and Todd Freezes Some Soda

So this weather sucks the Blizzard of 2011 looks like it is going to be a doozy. I am not running tonight because I just can't contend with the wind and cold. Plus I am going to be shoveling snow with Todd tomorrow on his snow shoveling route. Seriously I feel like a kid getting paid to shovel snow for the neighbors. Bleh! I am not looking forward to it. But plenty of podcast and music should get me through it.

So Todd just froze some soda solid in our freezer seriously lets not freeze carbonated beverages.

Well with my running schedule totally f-up this week this is my schedule.
Wednesday - shoveling snow for 6hrs
Thursday - 2 mile run
Friday - 30 min run
Saturday - 2 mile run
Sunday - 6mile run

I have decided to make dinner at least 2 nights a week and this week I think it will be tomorrow night. I have totally fallen in Love (yes capital L) with Nigella Lawson when this woman cooks she is sexy as hell and makes excellent food.  She has a Lemon Risotto recipe that I think may be a Saturday dinner it looks devilishly good. That bacon tomato hash was fantastic this weekend.