The game's not even over yet, but I can definitely state with authority that Iowa State is going to lose to Northern Iowa tonight. We could be back to the days of 0 wins here as I'm not sure there's anybody on the schedule that the Cyclones could beat. I don't know what defense they're trying to play, but UNI has rolled up 265 yards of offense through three quarters while completing 83% of their passes.
Did you watch this one, too, Nate? What are you seeing?
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Never mind, we don't deserve fans
The Last Round Draft Picks successfully demonstrated last year's form by being shutout via the mercy rule. It's a good thing nobody came out to see us as there was a ridiculous amount of mosquitos out there. Even the wives' club couldn't be enticed out of their car.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
We Need Fans!
My Rochester city league touch football team, the Last Round Draft Picks needs fans. We're taking the field tonight for our first game of the season, so if you'd like to show your support by coming out to the game or lending moral support in the comments section here, we'd appreciate it.
Last year, we only managed to win two games (one by forfeit) so we're looking to improve on that this time around. Game time is 9:00 PM under the lights at McQuillan Field (Field #1). Look for us in the bright yellow shirts. Be there or, uh, don't be.
Last year, we only managed to win two games (one by forfeit) so we're looking to improve on that this time around. Game time is 9:00 PM under the lights at McQuillan Field (Field #1). Look for us in the bright yellow shirts. Be there or, uh, don't be.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
#93: David Lynch's Lost Highway
A mere two months after watching Lost Highway a first time, Meaghan and I sat down Saturday night to watch it again. You may ask what took us two months? Well in the interim, we took advantage of our Lynchian mood by watching the entire second season of "Twin Peaks" which I received as a present sometime last year. Allow me a quick digression before I get back to movie #93.
For those not familiar, "Twin Peaks" is possibly the greatest television show ever. Critically acclaimed and much loved by fans (just check out that 9.5 rating at IMDB), it aired on ABC back in 1990 and 1991. Sadly it only lasted 30 episodes before ending due to poor ratings. I actually watched it when it was originally on the air (somehow my parents decided it was fit for a 12 year old -- thanks Mom and Dad). Counting that, this was the third time I'd watched the show.
The show's hook in the beginning is the mystery of "Who killed Laura Palmer?", the homecoming queen in the small Washington town of Twin Peaks. From that humble beginning, we spin into a surreal and supernatural world where we explore the very nature of good and evil. The show follows the investigation of the FBI's Special Agent Dale Cooper (expertly played by Lynch regular Kyle MacLachlan -- now seen on "Desperate Housewives") as he delves into the world of Twin Peaks. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. If you want to borrow it, let me know. If you want to watch it with someone to help you make sense of the trickier bits, let me know, and we can try to set up screenings somewhere.
If you've seen "Twin Peaks" and think it's strange, it is nothing compared to David Lynch's movies. Free from the constraints of ratings-driven television, his movies are entrenched in the surreal as they jump from one mind-blowing scene to the next. I saw it described somewhere that he makes extremely right-brained films. Attempts to break apart and analyze the plot can leave one frustrated. Instead, you almost have to feel the movie instead of think about it. Being a left-brained person, this is hard for me to do most times, but there's no denying the visceral impact of many of his works. Lost Highway is no different.
Fred Madison (Bill Pullman) is a jazz saxophonist, living a quiet life with his beautiful wife Renee (Patricia Arquette). Like all husbands who marry above their level, he's suspicious, paranoid, and distrusting of her. He "sees things his own way, not necessarily the way they happen". After someone begins leaving creepy videotapes on their front steps that show various parts of their house in the middle of the night, including the couple sleeping in their bed, they go to a party where Fred has a run in with a mysterious man (Robert Blake - yes, that Robert Blake). After that, his life is never the same.
Obviously, that 2nd grade reading of the plot doesn't begin to tell the full story. Without giving too much away, Lynch has said in recent interviews that the film was unconsciously inspired by the O.J. Simpson murder trial of 1996. Keep that in mind if you see it, and you're probably well on your way to understanding most of it. Aesthetically, the movie's spartan sets are shot beautifully and the script and sound design creates a duality between different parts of the film by reusing songs at key points and repeating entire sections of dialogue. In short, it's a masterful, but difficult movie that deserves a watch.
If any of that sounds good, or you just want to see a lot of naked Patricia Arquette, then you should see this movie.
Next up is #94, the 1997 special edition release of The Empire Strikes Back.
For those not familiar, "Twin Peaks" is possibly the greatest television show ever. Critically acclaimed and much loved by fans (just check out that 9.5 rating at IMDB), it aired on ABC back in 1990 and 1991. Sadly it only lasted 30 episodes before ending due to poor ratings. I actually watched it when it was originally on the air (somehow my parents decided it was fit for a 12 year old -- thanks Mom and Dad). Counting that, this was the third time I'd watched the show.
The show's hook in the beginning is the mystery of "Who killed Laura Palmer?", the homecoming queen in the small Washington town of Twin Peaks. From that humble beginning, we spin into a surreal and supernatural world where we explore the very nature of good and evil. The show follows the investigation of the FBI's Special Agent Dale Cooper (expertly played by Lynch regular Kyle MacLachlan -- now seen on "Desperate Housewives") as he delves into the world of Twin Peaks. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. If you want to borrow it, let me know. If you want to watch it with someone to help you make sense of the trickier bits, let me know, and we can try to set up screenings somewhere.
If you've seen "Twin Peaks" and think it's strange, it is nothing compared to David Lynch's movies. Free from the constraints of ratings-driven television, his movies are entrenched in the surreal as they jump from one mind-blowing scene to the next. I saw it described somewhere that he makes extremely right-brained films. Attempts to break apart and analyze the plot can leave one frustrated. Instead, you almost have to feel the movie instead of think about it. Being a left-brained person, this is hard for me to do most times, but there's no denying the visceral impact of many of his works. Lost Highway is no different.
Fred Madison (Bill Pullman) is a jazz saxophonist, living a quiet life with his beautiful wife Renee (Patricia Arquette). Like all husbands who marry above their level, he's suspicious, paranoid, and distrusting of her. He "sees things his own way, not necessarily the way they happen". After someone begins leaving creepy videotapes on their front steps that show various parts of their house in the middle of the night, including the couple sleeping in their bed, they go to a party where Fred has a run in with a mysterious man (Robert Blake - yes, that Robert Blake). After that, his life is never the same.
Obviously, that 2nd grade reading of the plot doesn't begin to tell the full story. Without giving too much away, Lynch has said in recent interviews that the film was unconsciously inspired by the O.J. Simpson murder trial of 1996. Keep that in mind if you see it, and you're probably well on your way to understanding most of it. Aesthetically, the movie's spartan sets are shot beautifully and the script and sound design creates a duality between different parts of the film by reusing songs at key points and repeating entire sections of dialogue. In short, it's a masterful, but difficult movie that deserves a watch.
If any of that sounds good, or you just want to see a lot of naked Patricia Arquette, then you should see this movie.
Next up is #94, the 1997 special edition release of The Empire Strikes Back.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Road Trip Pt. 1: Nebraska Wedding
8/17-8/19
The first leg of our three part August road trip took us to a friend's wedding in the tiny northeast Nebraska town of Bazile Mills. We started out Friday night by staying another night at the wonderful HarrisWorld B&B where we would be leaving Zelda for the duration of the trip. Many thanks to Mike & Kim for continuing to look after her whenever we leave town.
We left Rochester early Saturday morning in order to arrive with enough time to secure our lodging and change before the 5:00 ceremony. We knew there weren't a lot of places to stay in the area, so we opted to camp for the night at the nearby Willow Creek SRA. We don't take the time to go tenting often enough, so this seemed like a good excuse to get out there for a night. The catch was that Nebraska state parks don't take reservations on the weekend if you're only planning on staying for one night, so we had to get there as early as possible.
We made it all the way to South Dakota before we realized that we had forgotten to bring any of our cameras, so we stopped in at the Yankton Wal-Mart (the first time I've set foot in one since the great Boo-Berry search of 2006) to get a couple disposable ones. As a result, we had no zoom, and everything you are about to see looks like it was taken from at least 100 yards away. We tested it out with this picture of a bowling alley/family fun center there in Yankton. Only in the heartland can you get away with painting the word "SH-BOOMS" on the side of your business.
We made it to the state park in no time, but that's where the trouble starts. It would seem that the park system doesn't receive a lot of funding in Nebraska, especially the ones in extremely rural areas, so the signage was poor to nonexistent, there were no maps anywhere, and everything is self-service (meaning that there are no offices or rangers where you can get help). I had looked at a map of the park while drawing up this plan and had picked out the tent campground on the NW edge of the lake as our destination, but when we got there all we found was a barren loop with a bunch of signs saying, "Do Not Camp Here".
I hadn't brought a map of the park with me and there wasn't one to be found, but I luckily remembered that the main trailer campground was around on the south side of the lake. I just didn't know how to get there. After many false turns due to poor signage, we made it there and picked out a site by around 3:30. That left us about half an hour to pitch our tent, fill out all the forms, pay for our park pass and camp site, and change into our nice clothes for the wedding. We managed it in about 40 minutes and bent a few speed laws to get to the church on time. (I understand they're loosely enforced 'round those parts anyway.)
I suppose I should probably tell you whose wedding this was we were going to. The groom, Brett, is a friend of mine from work. We play on the same Rochester city league football and basketball teams, are bitter foes in the work volleyball league, and have been to each other's game nights, etc. He was marrying his lovely girlfriend since college, Sarah, whose father presided over the ceremony. The ceremony was in the lovely little 19th century Lutheran church where Sarah essentially grew up. Here's the happy couple now, being bombarded with bubbles on their way out of the church.
Their getaway vehicle was a school bus (which we somehow managed to not get a picture of) with enough room for the entire wedding party and more. I landed a seat on it, and we whooped and hollered through the streets of nearby Creighton (where Brett grew up). It was fun to see how they knew everybody that we passed on the streets. There was even a sign congratulating them in the window of one of the local businesses. I guess that's small town America for you.
The reception was relatively uneventful. Instead of a toast, Brett's best men (his twin brothers) sang him a song to the tune of "Don't Worry Be Happy". Thank you for not doing that, Steve. As you might expect, the DJ played a lot of oldies and country music. Despite the urgings of our friends, Meaghan and I managed to not find a song worth dancing to before retiring to the campground relatively early. We had a long drive ahead of us the next day.
Before hitting the road the next morning, we took a quick spin down to the beach and took a walk out on the stone jetty that protects the swimming area. It reminded us of the much longer jetty protecting the much larger beach in Pärnu, Estonia that we walked along on our honeymoon. Here's me with proof that there are bodies of water in Nebraska (even if they are man-made reservoirs).
I'll continue with the next leg, visiting with Meaghan's family in Pflugerville, TX, sometime in the next couple days.
The first leg of our three part August road trip took us to a friend's wedding in the tiny northeast Nebraska town of Bazile Mills. We started out Friday night by staying another night at the wonderful HarrisWorld B&B where we would be leaving Zelda for the duration of the trip. Many thanks to Mike & Kim for continuing to look after her whenever we leave town.
We left Rochester early Saturday morning in order to arrive with enough time to secure our lodging and change before the 5:00 ceremony. We knew there weren't a lot of places to stay in the area, so we opted to camp for the night at the nearby Willow Creek SRA. We don't take the time to go tenting often enough, so this seemed like a good excuse to get out there for a night. The catch was that Nebraska state parks don't take reservations on the weekend if you're only planning on staying for one night, so we had to get there as early as possible.
We made it all the way to South Dakota before we realized that we had forgotten to bring any of our cameras, so we stopped in at the Yankton Wal-Mart (the first time I've set foot in one since the great Boo-Berry search of 2006) to get a couple disposable ones. As a result, we had no zoom, and everything you are about to see looks like it was taken from at least 100 yards away. We tested it out with this picture of a bowling alley/family fun center there in Yankton. Only in the heartland can you get away with painting the word "SH-BOOMS" on the side of your business.
We made it to the state park in no time, but that's where the trouble starts. It would seem that the park system doesn't receive a lot of funding in Nebraska, especially the ones in extremely rural areas, so the signage was poor to nonexistent, there were no maps anywhere, and everything is self-service (meaning that there are no offices or rangers where you can get help). I had looked at a map of the park while drawing up this plan and had picked out the tent campground on the NW edge of the lake as our destination, but when we got there all we found was a barren loop with a bunch of signs saying, "Do Not Camp Here".
I hadn't brought a map of the park with me and there wasn't one to be found, but I luckily remembered that the main trailer campground was around on the south side of the lake. I just didn't know how to get there. After many false turns due to poor signage, we made it there and picked out a site by around 3:30. That left us about half an hour to pitch our tent, fill out all the forms, pay for our park pass and camp site, and change into our nice clothes for the wedding. We managed it in about 40 minutes and bent a few speed laws to get to the church on time. (I understand they're loosely enforced 'round those parts anyway.)
I suppose I should probably tell you whose wedding this was we were going to. The groom, Brett, is a friend of mine from work. We play on the same Rochester city league football and basketball teams, are bitter foes in the work volleyball league, and have been to each other's game nights, etc. He was marrying his lovely girlfriend since college, Sarah, whose father presided over the ceremony. The ceremony was in the lovely little 19th century Lutheran church where Sarah essentially grew up. Here's the happy couple now, being bombarded with bubbles on their way out of the church.
Their getaway vehicle was a school bus (which we somehow managed to not get a picture of) with enough room for the entire wedding party and more. I landed a seat on it, and we whooped and hollered through the streets of nearby Creighton (where Brett grew up). It was fun to see how they knew everybody that we passed on the streets. There was even a sign congratulating them in the window of one of the local businesses. I guess that's small town America for you.
The reception was relatively uneventful. Instead of a toast, Brett's best men (his twin brothers) sang him a song to the tune of "Don't Worry Be Happy". Thank you for not doing that, Steve. As you might expect, the DJ played a lot of oldies and country music. Despite the urgings of our friends, Meaghan and I managed to not find a song worth dancing to before retiring to the campground relatively early. We had a long drive ahead of us the next day.
Before hitting the road the next morning, we took a quick spin down to the beach and took a walk out on the stone jetty that protects the swimming area. It reminded us of the much longer jetty protecting the much larger beach in Pärnu, Estonia that we walked along on our honeymoon. Here's me with proof that there are bodies of water in Nebraska (even if they are man-made reservoirs).
I'll continue with the next leg, visiting with Meaghan's family in Pflugerville, TX, sometime in the next couple days.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Coming soon: Road Trip Review
We just got our pictures back from Target yesterday, so a big overview (with pictures!) of our sprawling road trip across the country will be coming soon. For now, I'm off to the Mall of America to meet up with friends and partake in my 2nd of a possible 4 fantasy football drafts. For a guy who doesn't like it that much, that seems like an awful lot of drafts. Oh, well. Keeping true to form, I'm selecting 10th out of 10 in this one.
Lollipops for the Homeless
Last night we watched a quirky little movie from Netflix called LolliLove, directed by and starring Jenna Fischer (Pam from "The Office"). It's a pretty funny mockumentary that satirizes charitable organizations that take people's donations and don't actually do anything worthwhile with them.
In this case, Jenna and her husband James Gunn create a charity called LolliLove whose goal is to produce and distribute lollipops with custom-made inspirational wrappers to the homeless to make them feel better about themselves. The movie is hit and miss funny throughout (and incredibly dark from time to time), but the big treat is the end where there's 5-10 minutes of the cast handing out lollipops to real homeless people in LA. Some of the reactions are priceless.
If you're at all a Pam fan, I would recommend checking it out. Fans of Christopher Guest movies would probably enjoy it, too.
In this case, Jenna and her husband James Gunn create a charity called LolliLove whose goal is to produce and distribute lollipops with custom-made inspirational wrappers to the homeless to make them feel better about themselves. The movie is hit and miss funny throughout (and incredibly dark from time to time), but the big treat is the end where there's 5-10 minutes of the cast handing out lollipops to real homeless people in LA. Some of the reactions are priceless.
If you're at all a Pam fan, I would recommend checking it out. Fans of Christopher Guest movies would probably enjoy it, too.
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