Utterly Useless Knowledge

This book is getting a lot of attention around the country, and deservedly so. I had been looking forward to reading it ever since I heard that it was coming out earlier this year. The advance reviews & praise for it only made it that much more intriguing to pick up before we left for vacation. For those that aren't Nebraska fans, or football fans in general, Jason Peter was one of the mainstays on defense through Nebraska's incredible championship runs of the mid-90's. Drafted in the middle ofthe 1st round of the NFL Draft in 1997 by the Carolina Panthers, he began to lean on painkillers to get through injuries and surgeries on his knees and neck. Finally after doctors refused to clear him to play, he was forced to walk away from the game in 2001. With the only thing important in his life now taken away, Jason was left with his addiction to pills and thoughts of what only could've been. Life spiraled out of control pretty fast after that. Written in a straightfor...

I've been on this "Fail" kick lately. I'm not going to bother explaining what it means, since I think it's pretty self-explanatory. When used correctly with a picture or video, it's pretty damn funny. Case in point: Bicycle Fail. He's okay, folks. Really. So go ahead and laugh at him.

Ahhh, the game of Jenga. Sweet, innocent Jenga. I never had the game growing up. It appears that it's made a bit of a renaissance comeback in recent years. As a family, my side rediscovered it this past Christmas, as we gave the game to our niece Ashleigh as a present. Soon after the gift was opened, it was full-fledged Jenga war playing itself out on the kitchen table. I'm pretty certain that the adults had more fun with it than the game's new rightful owner....a 6 year-old. For something to hold this 67 year-old's concentration like this is a feat that even '60 Minutes' cannot do. Remarkable. After at least three rounds and many hoots & hollers later, the game of Jenga had been deemed a new holiday tradition, to be on the same list of traditions such as the annual viewing of Christmas Vacation, Ida's cookie & candy trays, deviled eggs, and the ham & cheese ball. Lofty company, indeed. I had heard about the Jones version of Jenga. Sure, there we...

Hurricane Dolly has made landfall at South Padre Island, TX today. It got upgraded in the last hour or so to a Category 2 hurricane, with winds above 95 MPH. Here's a cool radar shot from GRLevel3 . Either I'm a true weather geek for thinking this is cool, or I'm still a 1st grader with ADHD that just likes pretty, swirly colors.

If you missed this on VH1 recently, I can only assume they'll run it another 79 times in the next few months. But this VH1 original is worth showing again and again. My personal favorite of the night is posted below. Pearl Jam blew the place away with their version of the classic "Love Reign O'er Me". I haven't heard Eddie scream like this since 1993. Flawless. VH1 TV Shows Music Videos Celebrity Photos News & Gossip

This post goes out to Jason, by request. I mentioned that buying cigarettes in Canada (if you're so inclined) could be a financial adventure, with tobacco taxes at their highest in Alberta. I don't normally smoke heaters, but with a few beverages in me, I've been known to bum a few from time to time. Such an occasion arose at the wedding after hours party down at the Drake Inn in Canmore, AB . My buddy Jason had long since run out of Parliaments that he bootlegged in from the States. He wasn't able to hold out a 2nd night without scoring some nicotine. He hit me up to go in with him on a pack. So we made our way downstairs from the main bar and dance floor of the Drake to a set of double doors. I walked through the doors and exclaimed, "What. Is. THIS!?" It was the bar I was looking for. Not some club with a fairly shitty reggae band (which did fit the bill nicely for a group of mostly drunk wedding-goers, including the bride and groom). I only say shitty regg...

So while we were away in the Great White North, apparently Rush made their first appearance on US television in 33 years, performing on The Colbert Report . "They're like the J.D. Salinger of Canadian Prog-Rock." The intro was hilarious. Okay, so this is likely only moderately funny to those who are not a drummer like myself, or a standard Rush geek like my brother. Suffer through it anyway. Linky to the full episode here. I've posted the first segment of the show below.

Back after a much-needed vacation, or "holidays" as they say in Canada. We just got back from a week in the Canadian Rockies for the highly anticipated Hertz-Screpnek wedding in Canmore, AB. Many more thoughts to come on this week of good times, but here's a few quick highlights..... First of all, not sure if you knew this or not, but the Canadian Rockies really need to be seen to believe. Someone told us that the Colorado or Wyoming Rockies are beautiful, but the Canadian Rockies are majestic. I think that sums it up. Every new direction you looked driving up the highway towards the Columbia Ice Fields, you couldn't help but say, "Gooooo!"(For you Canucks, that's a good thing.), or "Oh, Duuuude...". ((Also, for clarification, is use of the term "Canuck" a bad slang term for Canadians? Clarification, please. For now, I'll keep using it.)) Canadians. Beautiful people. I say that first because here's where I get into discussion...

We moved to the farmhouse on Bluegrass Rd. in the Winter of early 1984. I don't remember much about the circumstances at the time, but over the years I've come up with theories. The most exciting part about the move to the farm for me was that I would be able to ride the bus to and from school. I had always been jealous of friends who lived in the country, and never passed up an opportunity to ride their bus for a sleepover, or a birthday party. The novelty of the school bus wore off in time, but that was my first memory of living at the farm. I spent the rest of my formative years in that house. We never farmed, it's working years had ceased after Uncle Ralph passed away in 1982. We were essentially the keepers of the property. Mom & dad never purchased the home, and until Aunt Bernice passed away earlier this year, it was never really offered. But by then, it was time for them to move on. I guess it was time for the whole family to move on. There had been a working ...