tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-198147102012-01-30T09:33:06.013-05:00Just trying to make my way in the world...lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.comBlogger2351100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-32427206065298639462012-01-04T13:00:00.003-05:002012-01-05T18:06:46.610-05:00

A Facebook friend of mine said that she "wants to found a religion based on Sesame Street." This got me to thinking about what some possible SS-related religions might be like. I came up with a few ideas based on some of the more popular characters.Elmoism: expounding on the inherent joy found in all of creation----Grouchianity: rejects all luxury, focusing instead on the purity and goodness

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-2377318569523635922011-12-13T12:15:00.002-05:002011-12-13T12:27:52.115-05:00

Anachronism - an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other.This is what I felt like this morning. Getting ready to go to work at Melrose Plantation, I stood in front of the mirror after showering and dressing halfway. As I started getting ready to shave, I saw this in the mirror: a mid-

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-36472847952710449992011-09-19T20:37:00.003-04:002011-09-19T23:24:41.181-04:00

Today's post will be predictably disjointed, as I'm watching Monday Night Football and occasionally flipping to ABC to see if Hope Solo is on Dancing With the Stars yet. I've watched about thirty seconds of the latter so far, which is about twenty-nine seconds more than I had ever watched before.Let's talk about rules. I like rules. They tell you where you stand, or at least where you're

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-8965005234089879242011-09-18T20:11:00.004-04:002011-09-18T20:15:16.804-04:00

Here is a video of me discussing the cleaning project for the Claude Thomas Pierre Metoyer grave in the American Cemetery in Natchitoches, LA. To read a writeup of the project, visit my business website here. At times I look like a disembodied head floating above a blue blob. Whatever you do, please don't make me listen to the sound of my own voice.

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-61371196170859626132011-08-17T12:45:00.005-04:002011-08-17T13:57:01.828-04:00

I've been either on the road or out of town quite a bit lately, spending at least one day each of the past five weekends driving to or from Natchitoches. It started with a trip to New Orleans on the Sunday of the Women's World Cup final between Japan and the United States. I have previously used this space to praise the Women's US National Team, and today will be no different. I love how they

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-71169757363077018082011-07-13T11:30:00.003-04:002011-07-13T11:50:06.831-04:00

I do. Sort of.This morning I opened up my copy of Will Durant's "The Life of Greece" and found these:Two tickets each to three matches of Olympic soccer held at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando in 1996. We saw the US Women play Sweden. Suiting up for Sweden that day was a girl named Pia Sundhage. Fifteen years later, she's coaching the US team in the World Cup.(Note: I'm currently inclined to take

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-18708797160308418942011-06-30T10:31:00.002-04:002011-06-30T11:17:13.036-04:00

The Women's World Cup is held the year after the men's tournament, and this year's event is in Germany. The US is ranked #1 in the world, but Germany is considered the favorite. They have won the last two World Cups, and the US has not won one on foreign soil. A few notes from watching the first set of group stage matches:1) Please watch this commercial. I already love Abby Wambach to begin

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-40864888025229177602011-02-13T12:38:00.004-05:002011-04-05T21:07:04.116-04:00

I previously promised to talk about the wonders of Williams Grave Cleaning, so I shall do that now.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------During my first semester in the Heritage Resources program at NSU, our Methods class had something called a monument treatment assignment. Each student selected a gravestone -- headstone, flat marker,

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-71908095663401192382011-02-03T16:07:00.017-05:002011-02-03T21:45:46.948-05:00

I know I was planning on writing about the wonders of Williams Grave Cleaning, and I will get around to it. However, someone directed my attention to Bill Maher's recent segment in which he states that the reason the NFL is so successful is that "the NFL takes money from the rich teams and gives it to the poorer ones", ensuring equal opportunity and competitiveness for all. This results in more

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-75199610867740051712011-01-25T21:37:00.007-05:002011-01-31T22:22:43.996-05:00

I hope you like posts that are essentially a series of random thoughts. You do? Excellent.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------I hope there's nobody out there playing a drinking game where you do a shot every time people stand up and clap during the State of the Union address. They're gonna be D-E-D dead.---------------------------------------------

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-54573999586228558462010-12-13T14:41:00.006-05:002011-01-03T21:38:30.590-05:00

Here are some things that have stood out to me in college football this season:Boise StateEvery week this season there was talk, hype, justification and denigration of Boise State's worthiness to be in a BCS bowl game, if not the BCS title game itself. They started as the AP's #3 team and USA Today's #5. They didn't lose until the penultimate game of the season, on the road against a good

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-12290384711853881022010-09-04T12:31:00.015-04:002010-09-06T17:10:06.127-04:00

I am very happy to say that I recently completed a road trip that took me from Natchitoches, LA to Hoboken, NJ. When I pulled back into the driveway at the end, the odometer read 3,030 miles. This was by far the longest trip I have ever undertaken on my own. I've done some family trips to Orlando, but I only drove a few hours each way. I was very excited about it all. I will now bore you with all

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-73039408854225457552010-07-27T19:48:00.002-04:002010-07-27T21:43:07.033-04:00

Today's post is presented in three sections, each dealing with devotion and religion. Hey wait! Come back! It's not what you think!Actually, it's a little bit what you think, but not totally.Section #1: Grocery Store GrammarFor some people, correct grammar is a religion unto itself and worthy of strict and unforgiving devotion. I get a little twitchy at some of the things I see in text

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-75184995679804284172010-07-02T17:32:00.003-04:002010-07-02T18:35:14.856-04:00

Welcome to the World Cup 2010 edition of the lascotty blog. Here are the things I've been noticing and thinking about.1) A lot of people have been complaining about the vuvuzelas, the loud horns that fans are blowing in the stands. I pretty much tuned them out after the initial series of games. I think that Swiss fans should not have vuvuzelas, but should instead wear large, loudly-ticking

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-89054109111372421992010-03-28T23:09:00.006-04:002010-04-03T22:07:49.403-04:00

Let's start out with a joke.A town in the Midwest was experiencing a terrible flood. The water rose very rapidly, and everybody was ordered to evacuate. Soon the water was so high that it began to cover the roofs of many buildings. A priest was standing on the roof of his house when a rescue crew came by in a boat."Father," they said. "Get in! We'll take you to safety!"The priest shook his head

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-17335305931901170852010-03-25T16:21:00.004-04:002010-04-03T21:49:10.713-04:00

I know I have previously written about trying to restrain myself when commenting on the status updates of my Facebook friends. I even considered giving up commenting for Lent. I've decided that instead of risking offending people by pointing out the nonsense that they put up for all the world to see, I'll put it here, where nobody can see. On the Internet.These are my responses to status updates,

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-82003992766896730042010-03-19T20:51:00.003-04:002010-04-03T21:51:08.865-04:00

Sometime around the second week of August, the first of the NFL preseason games will begin. When preseason news and predictions start going around, I'm sure the thought will pop into my head, "Who won the Super Bowl last year?" I'm going to have to think for about a beat and a half before I remember, "Oh yeah, the Saints won!" At least that's how it's gone so far. I'm still in a state of

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-36551653407432492332010-02-06T14:40:00.002-05:002010-02-06T18:14:17.412-05:00

Allow me to begin this post with a joke we tell around here from time to time:Satan was making the rounds through Hell one day. He came upon Boudreau, who was sitting in a rocking chair on the porch of his house. Deciding to torment him a little, Satan teased, "Hot enough down here for you, Boudreau?To which Boudreau replied, "Aw man, I tell you. Dis here wedder is great! It reminds me of

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-78205847543116755922010-01-25T21:29:00.003-05:002010-01-28T00:33:52.738-05:00

Saturday the 16th was a very interesting day that was broken up into four separate activities, one of which I had never done before. The other three are things that I enjoy very much. All told it added up to nineteen hours of fun and merriment. On to the show:Act I, where our hero reads to childrenI was asked to read at the St. Mary's Quiz Bowl tournament Saturday morning. Twenty-four teams

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-90922925556608355392010-01-08T22:34:00.002-05:002010-01-08T23:43:36.785-05:00

I made the drive down to Alexandria today to go see Avatar. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever gone fifty miles out of my way to see something in 3D. Before we get to the movie, I of course have to talk about other tangential topics.I went to the Grand Theater in Alexandria, a place I'd never heard of 24 hours ago. The most notable thing about it is that their logo--seen on the

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-92045097776216966012009-12-23T22:42:00.004-05:002010-01-01T15:11:56.128-05:00

I have seen a few articles/cartoons/blurbs about how lousy 2009 was and how people can't wait for 2010. I hope those people have a good year, but I have to say that 2009 was pretty good to me. I had two good semesters in school and a great summer internship in New Orleans in between. I've been out west to Seattle and Las Vegas and danced the night away a few times in Natchitoches. I have few

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-45996526045056298922009-12-10T21:35:00.004-05:002009-12-11T13:58:47.609-05:00

I suppose that in some alternate universe--or perhaps even this one--it is theoretically possible for a human being--or alternate-universe equivalent thereof--to see two more different movies back-to-back than The Blind Side and Ninja Assassin. If so, I would like to know what they are. Such was the case at the majestic Parkway Cinema Theater last night in beautiful Natchitoches, Louisiana. When

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-11532581630939474932009-11-18T21:05:00.002-05:002009-11-24T20:17:36.239-05:00

In the last couple of weeks one of the most interesting secondary stories in sports has been the case of Elizabeth Lambert, the New Mexico soccer player who is seen on video being--what's a good word here--"aggressive" with other players. She punches, kicks, charges, and yanks, among other things. After she was suspended, she apologized and said she got carried away. You can see the video of

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-63268053568608486372009-11-15T19:13:00.002-05:002009-11-17T13:04:10.483-05:00

One of the projects I've been working on for months is a grave cleaning activity at the Catholic Cemetery in Natchitoches. I'm using it to get material for one of the components of my project thesis. I had a small but energetic turnout of people, and we got a good bit of work done in the process. I was pleasantly surprised.One of the participants was a writer for the Current Sauce, NSU's

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-24116225499012313372009-11-02T23:26:00.004-05:002009-11-17T13:03:51.864-05:00

I have told all of you, I'm sure, the story of how I ended up first going to Sign of the Whale. After a bad day, I talked myself into going to the Thursday Night Out with fellow GW students. The site that night was SOTW. The World's Greatest Waitress took care of me, and a few years and a lot of money later, I had a place I felt I could always, always, always go.I don't know if I ever told you

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-57837716079532993692009-10-23T22:28:00.005-04:002009-10-24T20:34:42.460-04:00

New Orleans SaintsI've been trying to figure out which Twilight Zone episode most resembles the New Orleans Saints season so far. It's got to be one of the ones where the protagonist goes to sleep or blacks out, then wakes up in a world that doesn't make any sense. The guys in the fleur de lis helmets aren't doing the things Saints fans are used to. I've never seen such a bewildered look as I

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-81607387030493232792009-10-22T18:35:00.002-04:002009-10-22T21:01:34.729-04:00

ChocolateIf one night in Bangkok makes a hard man crumble, what does watching two Thai martial arts movies do? The first was Chocolate, which follows the violent adventures of a young autistic Thai girl named Zen who has the ability to learn any martial arts style just by watching it. Her ex-gangster mother is sick, so she pays visits to her mom's former clients to collect on their debts. When

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-54254070870043154652009-10-16T19:05:00.004-04:002009-10-22T19:57:00.716-04:00

Monday Night ZombiesI have often said that the best time to go see a movie is Saturday morning. When I say it's the best time, I mean the best time for me, of course. Saturday afternoon and night, then all day Sunday you get the crowds. I realize that these people paid their money just as I did, but I just want to run most of them out of my theater so I can watch the movie in peace. I've been

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-62524314485872522502009-10-04T19:56:00.002-04:002009-10-14T16:27:47.222-04:00

Scotty, Media StarI got the chance to do some grave cleaning Thursday afternoon as part of service learning for my graduate program. I cleaned my first grave about a year ago as part of a class assignment, and I liked it a lot. It's easy, mindless, quiet, and nobody asks me any questions while I do it. I can work on one thing and think about another at the same time. With the cleaning product

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-73566019856237908432009-09-18T22:20:00.003-04:002009-10-14T16:27:47.223-04:00

Quick note before we get started: I was asked by a message board colleague to be a writer for an LSU sports blog he started. He founded the blog soon after a third colleague posted that I should have my own column because my writing was "very rational and usually without a homer-slant." (I don't have to listen to these wild accusations!) You can view the blog here. Click on the ads, if you

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-24917932823894509222009-09-09T21:33:00.002-04:002009-10-14T16:27:47.223-04:00

Many moons ago, back when the world was young, I went to Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge to watch LSU play Texas A&M. I remember only two things: LSU won, and everybody booed the Aggie band when they walked onto the field. They put on such a good show that everybody cheered when they walked off. It was another eighteen years before I would see another LSU game in person. I went with my sister to

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-16337736337158406342009-08-24T17:49:00.003-04:002009-10-14T16:27:47.223-04:00

It seems odd that I've written so little about what I was up to while living in one of the most interesting cities in the country. I guess I'm not all that sure how to describe things. Either that or I'm just not very interesting. Let's go in reverse, and talk about what I did on my final Friday.I met up with a couple of friends at May Baily's on Dauphine Street and had a drink. Then we

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-33345208470508426092009-07-21T21:47:00.002-04:002009-10-14T16:27:47.224-04:00

Aah! Lutherans!As I write this post, I am drowning in a sea of Lutherans, the OGs of Protestantism. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is holding their 2009 Youth Gathering in New Orleans. It is being billed as the largest service ministry ever attempted. I have seen reports that 37,000 people are coming to town as part of the ministry. Several groups of them were in and out of Basin

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-63132150275616497222009-06-25T21:36:00.003-04:002009-10-14T16:27:47.224-04:00

What a run of twists and turns the world has thrown at us.Ed McMahon died, but that wasn't a major surprise. He'd had health problems the last few years. He was the best sidekick to the best late night host of all time. He hosted Star Search, which has somehow been forgotten in TV history. It was a good show, and have you checked out the list of people who performed on it? And of course,

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-30283345678221515142009-06-09T16:15:00.005-04:002009-10-14T16:27:47.225-04:00

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, Major League Baseball was graced with the presence of a pitcher named Joaquin Andujar, who first came to my attention pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Kansas City Royals in the 1985 World Series. He had a pretty good career, going 127-118 in 13 seasons, winning 20 games twice, and getting consideration for the Cy Young Award during his prime. However

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-82183989226383679732009-06-06T08:54:00.004-04:002009-10-14T16:27:47.225-04:00

Last Sunday I went to St. Louis Cathedral for 11 o'clock Mass. It's a nice place, and is featured in tons of photos of Jackson Square, which it overlooks. It's been a long time since I've been there, and it's a bit smaller than I remember. It's always neat to me whenever a bishop is doing the service and at the point where a regular priest would be saying a prayer for "Sam our bishop" or

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-77038584616900624462009-06-05T20:18:00.005-04:002009-10-14T16:27:47.225-04:00

On May 28th I moved down to New Orleans for the summer. My graduate program requires that we have a heritage-related internship this summer, so I'm working for Save Our Cemeteries. The work is good, the people are nice. I've already traipsed into St. Louis Cemeteries 1 and 2 and Lafayette Cemetery 1. I'll see a few more before I'm done. The SOC office is a few blocks away from the French

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-33118602917893465812009-06-03T21:18:00.007-04:002009-10-14T16:27:47.226-04:00

When I posted about Iron Man last time, my intention was to do a post for each of the movies I'd seen recently. Change of plans. Instead I'll just do a short bit on each one. This will save you some reading time, as well as allow me to start writing about New Orleans sooner.After Iron Man came Incredible Hulk, which was okay. Hulk movies have the same problem as Superman movies, in that it's

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-34126652947656230832009-05-24T19:06:00.002-04:002009-10-14T16:27:47.226-04:00

I've seen a few movies lately, thanks to Netflix and the Parkway Cinema in Natchitoches. It was a little predictable and yet nostalgia-inducing to find that in the 20-something years (I'm estimating) since Parkway Cinema opened, they haven't changed anything about the original four theaters. They have added two theaters with stadium seating, but the original four still contain thirteen rows of

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-81951930187535114952009-05-08T22:22:00.006-04:002009-10-14T16:27:47.227-04:00

We'll be talking about quite a few things in this post: basketball, New York City, fried chicken, and New Orleans.BasketballBack in April, the North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Michigan State Spartans 89-72 to win the NCAA Tournament championship. UNC led by 21 points at halftime, a margin they had achieved just ten minutes into the game. MSU's largest lead was 1 point. UNC's largest lead

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-73681288360673093422009-04-03T14:59:00.004-04:002009-10-14T16:27:47.227-04:00

A few things before I get into telling you how bad I think Knowing was:I almost screamed like a little girl when I saw this: http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/tauntaun.htmlThe NCAA has hosted a women's basketball tournament since 1982. In every single one of these, Tennessee has reached the Sweet 16. Coming into this year, they were 27 for 27 in that department and had won eight titles. In

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-67244269169593547942009-03-03T21:21:00.004-05:002009-10-14T16:27:47.227-04:00

Down in New OrleansWhere the blues was bornIt takes a cool catTo blow a hornOn LaSalle and Rampart StreetThe combo's there with a mambo beatThe Mardi Gras, mambo, mambo, mamboParty Gras, pambo, mambo, mamboMardi Gras, mambo-oohDown in New OrleansThose are the opening lyrics to the "Mardi Gras Mambo", which is quite catchy.I had thought about telling you what a good time I had at Mardi Gras in New

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-22055579076842600092009-02-26T18:40:00.005-05:002009-10-14T16:27:47.228-04:00

I mentioned in this post that I was looking for a place to spend my Saturday nights now that Sign of the Whale was no longer an option. For a while I was considering the Ducournau, which was right on Front Street. It was a good restaurant and had a nice, quiet bar. Notice that I said "was" twice. It closed in January. Happily, I have found someplace else.Mama's is just up the street from the

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-53465508121497262072009-02-19T23:35:00.003-05:002009-10-14T16:27:47.228-04:00

Saturday, February 14, 2009 was a beautiful day for baseball here in Natchitoches.Oh, so you went to a baseball game? Who won?Um, no...What did you do?Actually, I went to the library to study, and took an hour off to go watch NSU women's tennis. It was a little strange, since they play all the matches at once. It's tough to keep track of six or seven matches at the same time. I had no idea

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-34016557330442007152009-01-07T23:06:00.002-05:002009-10-14T16:27:47.229-04:00

There's a book out there somewhere called "The Lesser Key of Solomon", which supposedly contains instructions for summoning any of the 72 demons of hell to do one's bidding. Among them:Agares, who can make runaways come back, cause earthquakes, and teaches languagesVassago, who can discover hidden and lost thingsFurfur, who can cause love between a man and a womanIn true demonic fashion, I'm

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-14386653955960258762009-01-03T22:34:00.005-05:002009-10-14T16:27:47.229-04:00

I was very happy to be able to spend the New Year's holiday in and around some of what I'm starting to think of as the "old places": Smithsonian Museums, Pentagon City, the tunnels beneath Crystal City, Sign of the Whale and some other spots have received a great deal of my time and attention over the last nine years, and it was nice to get back to some of them.I got into BWI on Sunday and met

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-16060973280938287262009-01-03T21:02:00.003-05:002009-10-14T16:27:47.229-04:00

On New Year's Eve I visited one of my old haunts, the Regal Gallery Place movie theater in DC's Chinatown. If I had to do it over again, I probably would have gone to the AMC theater at the Hoffman Center on Eisenhower Avenue, since I spent much more time there when I lived in Alexandria. Alas.I went to see Gran Torino, starring Clint Eastwood and a bunch of people you've probably never heard

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-29670771664098830802009-01-03T20:18:00.007-05:002009-10-14T16:27:47.229-04:00

"We Germans aren't all smiles und sunshine." -- Simpsons episode 8F09, "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk"Saturday December 27th, 2008 was a bright, sunshiny, pleasant day with clear skies and a gentle breeze wafting through the tree limbs. It was a fine, fine day to be out and about with friends and loved ones, and there was nothing at all to mar the experience. Smiles und sunshine,

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-72504547310818525372008-12-21T23:35:00.002-05:002009-10-14T16:27:47.230-04:00

We'll start by me saying that the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still isn't as good as the original, but that's pretty obvious. I still enjoyed seeing Gort, but there was too much blah-ness that overrided anything good. The original came out in 1951, the same year that brought us such notable films as An American in Paris (probably my second-favorite opening scene, behind Patton), A Place

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-46822740362440101072008-09-27T11:37:00.003-04:002009-10-14T16:27:47.230-04:00

There's got to be some post limit or date of expiration for old posts on this blog, because when I did a search for mentions of Paul Newman, I only came up with this one. I just can't believe that I haven't talked about more than one movie with Paul Newman in it. Running through his IMDB bio, I know I've seen Road to Perdition, Hudsucker Proxy, Slapshot, The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-19011766485144399632008-09-21T21:12:00.002-04:002009-10-14T16:27:47.230-04:00

They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Last night LSU and Auburn renewed their SEC West rivalry with an exciting and much-too-tense-for-me football game. All LSU-Auburn games for the last decade or so have been nail-biters than leave the caring viewer exhausted and trembling when it was all over. The game even has its own Wikipedia entry (arbiter of all that is true and right). The

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-63127843371140658842008-09-12T16:45:00.003-04:002009-10-14T16:27:47.231-04:00

It's been an interesting couple of weeks lately. I started my graduate assistantship, where I am scheduled to work all day Monday/Wednesday and half a day Friday. The first week the mayor gave us Friday off. Then Monday was Labor Day. Classes and the office were closed Tuesday and Wednesday due to Gustav. Thursday and Friday I was out of town for a wedding in Florida. So I was basically on

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-6395953266592170472008-08-31T22:49:00.004-04:002008-09-01T00:04:59.520-04:00

I know I had all sorts of stuff I really wanted to talk about, but most of it has left my consciousness. Let's see what I can do anyway.OlympicsI'm willing to believe that the 3rd graders on China's gymnastics team are old enough to compete, as long as China gives us back our nuclear secrets. The nucular secrets they can keep.My favorite part of watching Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh win

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-15549791173952137082008-08-18T17:28:00.002-04:002008-08-18T18:32:12.748-04:00

I picked a pretty good time of year to have two solid weeks with no responsibility. I get to see pretty much all the Olympic events that are on TV if I so choose. I really do enjoy watching certain sports I don't get to see very often, such as badminton, archery, field hockey, and handball. Track and field is on sporadically throughout the year, but I don't pay as much attention then as I do

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-37832019768590221412008-08-12T17:29:00.002-04:002008-08-12T17:43:22.076-04:00

I spent the weekend in New Orleans with my parents. Dinner at Galatoire's Friday night (duck crepe, turtle soup, poisson meuniere amandine, coffee chocolate layered over chocolate mousse covered with whipped cream), Insectorium, Riverwalk, WWII Museum and Vincent's Saturday night. Pretty nice.Saturday morning we were wandering outside the French Quarter and saw three or four guys wearing red

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-68318256036337728062008-08-12T16:38:00.004-04:002008-09-27T11:16:31.142-04:00

I've seen three movies in the theater over the last month or so, each of which is much different than the others and was seen under different circumstances. So here we go:Wall-e.I saw this on a Monday afternoon at Gallery Place in Chinatown while I was wandering around DC taking pictures of things I didn't have on digital camera yet. It's well done and kind of funny, and I could see some people

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-21532748215173428982008-07-15T17:54:00.005-04:002008-09-27T11:17:01.814-04:00

These two things have taken up a rather large chunk of the time I've spent in the DC metropolitan area. I don't regret that at all. Good thing, too, since that's what I did yesterday. I saw Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. I would tweak the title to read The Golden Duet instead. The duet designation can refer to my two favorite scenes in the movie, which ran back-to-back, or to the actual duet

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-48423845190393261412008-07-13T18:14:00.002-04:002008-07-13T21:03:10.819-04:00

I'm not the only person who has felt a little disturbed watching this Travelers Insurance commercial. A girl at Sign of the Whale said something to me when it came on during the NCAA Tournament. The part that gets me is the strange man walking up to children who are out all alone, offers them a ride, and they just hop on with him. Didn't their parents ever tell them not to speak to strangers?

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-69700402129766984762008-07-11T21:58:00.004-04:002008-07-12T08:53:20.105-04:00

Over the weekend I wandered into DC with the intention of seeing a movie at Gallery Place, probably Wall-E. But jeezum crickets, the lines were long, and it's not something I want to see that bad. Long lines means crowds, crowds mean crowded theaters, and crowded theaters get on my nerves. And people younger than me, to make it even worse. Bah.So I kept wandering on over to E Street Cinema,

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-80165917767018049732008-06-10T19:10:00.003-04:002008-07-12T08:54:26.549-04:00

In the past few weeks I had the opportunity to see two things for which I have particular fondness: a Chinese martial arts movie and Prairie Home Companion. The movie was Forbidden Kingdom, and PHC was playing at Wolftrap, where I'd never been before. Movie first:I was very excited back in March or so when I heard that Jackie Chan and Jet Lie would be in their first movie together. The 1994

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-18721709311705947162008-05-24T18:42:00.002-04:002008-07-13T23:21:53.740-04:00

It's been an interesting few weeks in LSU sports. Let's start with what most people would consider the biggest story: Ryan Perrilloux getting kicked off the team.Perrilloux had been suspended by Les Miles for much of spring practice for missing class, team meetings, and workouts. Then there was some incident at a restaurant. Then he was suspended for the rest of the spring for not meeting his

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-33532737629145309422008-04-09T22:16:00.002-04:002008-07-13T23:22:07.445-04:00

My understanding of game theory is limited at best, mostly coming from ecology class in college and some independent reading. I do find it interesting, though. So here's a Slate article on the "weak-bidder" theory as it may apply to how men get chosen by women as they get older.LSU's women's basketball team made the Final Four for the fifth year in a row, only the second team to accomplish the

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-69867091325211029262008-03-30T21:55:00.002-04:002008-07-14T00:28:00.835-04:00

60 Minutes had a very pleasant story on Bill James tonight. It's not often I'll intentionally watch something other than the Simpsons or Sunday Night Baseball at 8pm. But this was an exception. They talked about his early yearly abstracts, which sold a few copies. They also showed his Historical Baseball Abstract, which I think is one of the most informative books I've ever read. I recommend

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-64480408603021543602008-03-30T21:26:00.002-04:002008-07-13T23:21:53.741-04:00

There's a few thoughts I've had about some of the matchups and results to this point:All four number one seeds in the Final Four for the first time. In UNC, Kansas, and UCLA, you have three of the top programs of all time. UCLA is probably #1, UNC can make a strong claim to #2, though I don't know that you could put them ahead of Kentucky, which has three more titles than UNC. Despite having "

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-17294815546114649452008-03-08T21:01:00.003-05:002008-07-12T08:55:22.279-04:00

"Pretty good movie, though they could have cut off about a half hour or so and it would've been just as good." That's one of the comments I had for There Will Be Blood. Well, No Country For Old Men clocks in at about two hours, which works out well.I'd heard that Javier Bardem's character was really spooky and terrifying, but I didn't find him to be that frightening. He's certainly an

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-19046890705677931882008-02-03T20:07:00.000-05:002008-02-03T20:44:31.686-05:00

Whenever people see the title of the book I'm reading, they get a "look" on their face. It's kinda funny. Let's get to the good stuff."They closed the door on him, and he sat back down on the floor. It had been a valid question: what on earth had possessed him to do such a reckless, stupid thing? Unfortunately, he couldn't think of an answer, and he'd been searching for one ever since they

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-64147084599711694262008-02-03T19:22:00.000-05:002008-02-03T20:41:25.382-05:00

After a hiatus from the movies, I've seen five in recent weeks.Movie #1: Cloverfield. The best recent example of why I consider the type of movie and what it's trying to accomplish when evaluating it. This is an experimental kind of movie, shown from the viewpoint of a hand-held camera. If you don't like the jarring motion and all that, you'll hate the movie. It did give me a headache. But

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-85738831864525904742008-02-03T18:04:00.001-05:002008-02-03T20:43:52.931-05:00

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, so let's talk football: LSU football. LSU has more players in the game than any other team, so I can get away with it. Corey Webster has been playing the best football of his life for the Giants the past few weeks. The Patriots have Kevin Faulk (who's gotten a lot of praise lately), Randall Gay, Eric Alexander, and Jarvis Green. They also wear a 91 sticker on

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-68278493493193906502008-02-03T17:15:00.000-05:002008-11-19T01:59:43.164-05:00

Of all the strange quotes and comments I heard when I was home for Christmas, that was probably the most bizarre. Speaking of Christmas vacation...It was nice. The most interesting part was the road trip we took from the 27th-28th. We drove down to Plaquemine, LA and had lunch with my buddy Corey. We had planned on eating at City Cafe, but Corey graciously informed us that it was closed. So

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-36589954808684801682007-12-04T22:00:00.000-05:002008-07-13T23:23:05.996-04:00

I know I've mentioned before that TMQ is the best online football column there is. This week's edition is particularly good. It includes praise for the BCS, a rare position these days. Constant whining about a playoff gets on my nerves. I'd like to see one, but I'm not a fanatic about it. The worst is hearing from writers and yodelers who watch baseball and basketball and the NFL all year

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-91923281738272215762007-12-04T21:49:00.000-05:002007-12-04T22:00:50.397-05:00

I recently finished reading Moby Dick. Maybe you've heard of it. I think it's unique among all the books I've read. It jumps around often from subject to subject. Here's what the ship looks like. Here's what we ate. Here's a story about Nantucket. Here's a description about three crew members you'll never see again. Here's some facts about whaling. More about whaling. More about whaling

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-69151114311677781412007-10-01T21:39:00.000-04:002008-07-13T23:22:29.263-04:00

The day before the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team was set to play in the Women's World Cup semifinal against Brazil, coach Greg Ryan announced that Briana Scurry would start in place of Hope Solo. Solo had been the regular starter pretty much all year long. She'd won a hefty chunk of the games during the 50-game winning streak the team had going. She let in two goals against North Korea in

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-71572153876984480202007-09-14T06:18:00.000-04:002008-07-13T23:22:29.263-04:00

The U.S. Women's Soccer Team is playing Sweden right now, pitting #1 vs #3. No, I don't mean their FIFA rankings (Sweden is #4, I believe). As you ought to know, Abby Wambach is #1 on the Scotty Williams Big Board. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is #3 (or Kronprinsessan, for you Swedes out there). The higher ranking and American citizenship give Abby a huge advantage.She's used that

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-83522239976998226942007-09-11T05:42:00.000-04:002008-07-13T23:21:23.630-04:00

I thought about this yesterday: both my football teams opened the season on a Thursday night: LSU against Mississippi State on 8/30, Saints against Colts on 9/6. Their results were a little different.LSU forced seven turnovers and pitched a shutout, 45-0. The Saints got outscored 31-0 in the second half and lost 41-10. It's a good thing they don't play the Colts every weekend, or I'd be

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-62268082079640830932007-09-11T05:29:00.000-04:002008-07-13T23:21:23.630-04:00

I can't tell you how good it feels to get up at 5am to watch the U.S. women play their first game of the 2007 Women's World Cup in China. A couple of notable stats they've mentioned so far:-- Wambach scores about 45% of her goals with her head-- The U.S. is 51-0-7 when Wambach starts a game. They have never lost.The U.S. are the favorites and the top-ranked team in the world. The Group they

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-30846280319672285012007-08-22T20:52:00.000-04:002008-07-14T00:29:46.319-04:00

And no, I'm not talking about my age.The Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles today by a score of 30-3. The "game notes" section says that this is the most runs scored by one team at least since 1900. Let's consider a few of the more interesting things I see in the box scores. I'm sure Jayson Stark will have loads more in his next Useless Info column.Two Rangers had eight plate appearances.

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-1925208059109058412007-08-15T20:01:00.000-04:002008-07-12T08:56:49.650-04:00

That's my initial impression of The Glenn Miller Story, anyway. That, and the music is great. Looking at the date of my last post, I have been terribly lax. Let's get down to business:I was in Louisiana, then drove to the beach in Alabama. My parents ordered a 50-piece box of Popeyes to bring on the trip. A friend had heard that there was a place called the Flora-Bama, and asked for a t-shirt

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-63273030090422729342007-07-06T21:31:00.000-04:002008-07-13T23:23:05.997-04:00

I know I had some stuff to link to, but I can't remember what it was. The FJM blog had a couple of good posts the other day, so you can check that out at http://www.firejoemorgan.com/.There's this Slate article on carding and telling people's ages.There's this article talking about how Neifi Perez was suspended 25 games for violating Major League Baseball's drug program.

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-1329888856802281772007-07-06T21:19:00.000-04:002007-07-06T21:31:21.617-04:00

Wednesday I went to the baseball game at RFK and watched the Nats beat the Cubs 6-0. It didn't happen for my team, but Dmitri Young hitting a grand slam on July 4th for the team that plays in Washington, DC has got to feel pretty special. I thought the Cubs looked tired and just didn't have any energy. I couldn't figure out why. It's not like they're not used to playing day games. I wandered

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-7908717447181140302007-07-06T20:28:00.000-04:002008-07-12T08:57:12.455-04:00

I really liked it. It's a very clever concept, and easy to lose control of if you're not careful. For those of you not familiar with the story, here's an overview in 25 words or less:Harold hears writer Karen's voice narrating his life. She says he's going to die. He tries finding her to convince her not to kill him. 25 words, and it was tough.Will Ferrell is quite good, and not because he's

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-50518899225109913592007-07-06T19:20:00.000-04:002008-07-13T23:21:23.631-04:00

...for the CUBBIES!..."was heard loud and clear the last four days at RFK. The Cubs were in town for a series against the Nationals, taking three out of four. I went to the first three, including having seats six rows behind the Nats dugout on July 4th. "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" wasn't written about or for the Cubs, but Cubs fans feel that it's still our song because Harry Caray sang it at

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-58390945840961001402007-06-27T20:05:00.000-04:002008-07-14T00:29:49.863-04:00

But apparently the devil does. So I'm watching The Devil Wears Prada now. I'll cut it off in a little bit to watch the PBS special for Paul Simon that Mr. Tony went to. Stanley Tucci's character is one I like.The mighty Cubs have won six games in a row and are a game under .500 right now. They've really heated up coming into the stretch before the All Star Game. A couple of LSU players have been

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-9583090392116504132007-06-14T20:28:00.000-04:002008-07-13T21:04:18.409-04:00

I watched Curse of the Golden Flower, which was pretty good. Not as much action and fighting as I'd thought, but a really good story, good acting, and what action there was was very well done. Lots of great visual scenes. And the ending after the great climactic battle--ah, it was good. I finished watching Little Miss Sunshine last night, which everybody and his brother seemed to gush about.

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-39544401720905477862007-06-14T19:45:00.001-04:002008-07-13T21:08:54.063-04:00

Before I get to The Queen, I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End over the weekend. I thought it was pretty good, better than the second and probably as good as the first. I'd heard people talking about how long it was and I knew it was supposed to be around 2:40 or so, but it moved pretty quickly. Lots of fun all around, I thought. I'm about in the middle of The Queen, and I'm really

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-3379638187965502512007-06-07T22:29:00.001-04:002008-07-13T23:25:14.154-04:00

Uh, I mean Waitress! It was pretty good. Funny. Sometimes sad. Sometimes angry. Andy Griffith is fun. Keri Russell is good as the centerpiece. Her supporting cast does their jobs well. I'd go see it again.I've discovered a treasure trove of youtube clips of Broadway musicals. Well, I say "Broadway"... The twist is that they're not in English.Click here to see "I Dreamed a Dream" from

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-8429860383202670662007-05-31T20:04:00.000-04:002008-07-13T21:08:54.063-04:00

I'm sure that title's been used somewhere before. It's not very original. I don't believe I've talked about this before in any length, but I love the National Spelling Bee. I was a good speller in school and like to watch other kids go at it. I was nowhere near as good as these guys and girls are, though. The competition has become popular enough to be televised in prime time on ABC. One

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-1522207381404664402007-05-13T21:59:00.000-04:002007-05-13T22:50:19.775-04:00

Long because I took a day off to go to New Orleans for the Jazz Fest, short because I spent chunks of two days traveling. I flew through Houston, which has the greatest airport in the world. It has both a Popeyes and a Shipley Donuts, which gives it the best chicken and the best donuts in the world. People around here talk about Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts, and they're good. But they can't

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-75949471067737203922007-04-30T21:16:00.000-04:002008-07-13T21:08:54.064-04:00

It's been busy on weekends. Jeezum crickets, what have I been doing?Last weekend I had one of the great alone days since I've been in this area. Took me down to Chinatown for Chipotle, then to see Hot Fuzz, which was really funny. I think it was funnier than Shaun of the Dead. It makes fun of big action cop movies, but changes the setting to a small town in England. It's actually got a lot

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-22207799255194411072007-04-17T21:04:00.000-04:002008-07-13T21:08:54.064-04:00

I spent most of the day in downtown DC. The Freer Gallery was running a free anime marathon, so I went to the first film. As a result I got to see the grand epic of Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie. Reagan Building for lunch, then wandered around the street festival for the Cherry Blossom Festival. A group of drummers and dancers was performing on the big stage. They were pretty good. I moseyed on over

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-5188108769800097542007-04-17T20:29:00.000-04:002007-04-17T21:04:34.943-04:00

The New York Times today has a pretty interesting article about the efforts of the Chinese government to get residents of Beijing to clean up their acts before the Olympics come calling in 2008. Highlights:----------------------------------------------------Last week, the city commemorated “Queuing Day,” an event held on the 11th of every month because the date symbolizes an orderly line.

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-68132672307850391402007-04-10T21:10:00.000-04:002008-11-19T01:59:44.452-05:00

On March 24, the Rutgers women's basketball team beat Duke by one point to advance to the Elite Eight in the women's tournament. On December 4, they had lost to Duke by forty points. That's a pretty big turnaround within the same season, and done against the #1 team in the country. Well done.The Scarlet Knights next ran over Arizona State to make the Final Four, then the Lady Tigers of LSU in the

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-24614861710262983152007-04-10T20:24:00.000-04:002007-04-12T21:48:35.527-04:00

I got my taxes done, so I guess I should mail the checks in pretty soon.They're doing Latin music night on American Idol (alas, no Gregorian chants) and everybody stinks so far, in my humble opinion. Of course, Haley hasn't come out and jiggled her jigglies yet.What's been going on? Let's see:Florida won the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. At the moment, they are the two-time champs

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-13995666446871224092007-03-25T17:24:00.000-04:002007-03-25T19:53:13.302-04:00

...Children of All Ages! Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey proudly bring to you The Greatest Show on Earth!I had the great pleasure of going to the Verizon Center yesterday and see the circus that had come to town. My recurring impression of it every time I think about it is that is was just so...pleasant. I mean, I really, really enjoyed myself. I know that a lot of it was corny and a sort of

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-84932564041956171362007-03-21T20:39:00.000-04:002008-07-13T21:08:54.065-04:00

Interesting episode of Bones tonight. Boneless bodies and boats headed to the Caribbean. Plus, they brought out the wonderful, the marvelous, the fantastic James Hong to play the owner of a Chinese mortuary. In 1986 he was in two really fun movies, The Golden Child and Big Trouble in Little China. Last year around this time I wrote this about the NCAA tournament and said that the Gods of

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-80957112656058170712007-02-21T20:01:00.000-05:002008-11-19T01:59:45.261-05:00

My, it's been a while. Where has the time gone? Ah, but what am I saying? It's not the time that's important, but the events and people washed over by time's relentless tide. What's been going on? February 7, National Signing Day. Christmas in February for college football fans. The day high school football players declare what college they'll be attending. I call it the "Feast of a Thousand

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-82441606179933029002007-01-31T20:25:00.000-05:002007-01-31T21:08:40.807-05:00

We've got a great TV viewing experience tonight, boys and girls. At 8 EST we've got Bones, back after a hiatus of a few weeks. Very intense so far. They brought back a very irritating villain, Howard Epps. Great character, but really irritating. I hope he gets hit by a bus. Then the great beast of them all, American Idol at 9 from Los Angeles. According to the "Idol Chatter" on USA Today,

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-68049588446270034162007-01-29T23:01:00.000-05:002008-07-13T21:08:54.066-04:00

I turned 30 on Friday. It was nice. For the last year or so, I've been telling people that the most annoying thing about getting older is that the stories I tell always seem to have another year or two on them since the last time I told them. I tell a story that happened five years ago, I swear. Then I start thinking about it and it was in 1995. What the hell happened?In other news, there's a

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-87882835838865204772007-01-24T20:10:00.000-05:002007-01-24T20:44:31.945-05:00

I have a standing rule about not voting for anyone who cries on American Idol. I think it started with Jennifer Hudson, who has since gone on to some pretty good things. (or at least one good thing so far). I don't have a particular reason, other than I don't like seeing people cry on TV ("real" TV, anyway). However, I did think it was kind of neat when the 16 year old guy whose parents

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-90159152049306863752007-01-13T22:42:00.000-05:002007-01-14T00:08:48.469-05:00

BCSOn Monday night Florida smacked Ohio State around to the tune of 41-14 in the BCS title game. Just about everyone was surprised, except a guy named Jim Walden, who used to coach at Washington State. He voted Florida #1 in the last regular-season poll, the only voter in the Harris poll to do so, and called this year's OSU team "one of the weakest No. 1 teams in 25 years." Every other #1 vote

lascottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15967727015553006047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814710.post-17141024757712314012007-01-06T10:04:00.000-05:002007-01-06T10:58:25.721-05:00

You can see what I thought would be the deciding factor in the Sugar Bowl here. A quick quote:Last year, I thought LSU's offensive line underperformed the same way ND's did this year. But they really pulled it together for the Peach Bowl stomping of Miami. There's certainly the possibility that ND could do the same thing and get it together. As good as LSU's back four are, there's not a

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