Hello out there. It took me a while to recover from the weekend, and I'm just now getting caught up with work and non-work stuff, so sorry for the layoff. All of you thousands of people that just sit at home all day and all night reloading this web page to eagerly devour my entries, my apologies. You may now exhale.
Anyway, wow, what a Thanksgiving break. Wednesday through Friday morning was spent playing golf, touring the gorgeous red cliffs and other scenery in southern Utah, and eating bird. Good times. The InLaws have quite a place up there. Also, we test-drove the locale for the Big Event and it is really something. Just beautiful. Set between the red cliffs and white mountains in fields of lava, it is picturesque, flawlessly manicured, and quite impressive. The golf course winds its way through the lava fields and the clubhouse affords fabulous views. It's going to be a good party next September.
Friday after lunch me and LittleBro headed for Sin City. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel, which proved to be an excellent choice. Lots of people, lots to do, and the gaming wasn't too crowded. Friday night we ate steak at the south end of the Strip, and then headed northward, stopping at the New York, Boardwalk, Paris, Bellagio, Caeser's, Venetian, Treasure Island, Mirage, and finally the Wynn. Both LittleBro and I sustained heavy losses but ingested copious amounts of White Russians and Vodka Tonics, so it wasn't all doom and gloom. We made it back to the hotel by sunrise, and caught a couple of hours of sleep. Saturday was spent taking care of some car-related business (LittleBro was rear-ended on his way from L.A. on Wednesday) and then hitting the blackjack tables to gain some of that ground back from Friday night's buzzsaw of cold cards. I ate a light dinner at this inappropriately-named restaurant while taking in the Stanford-Notre Dame game, and then we headed out once again to try our luck. We hit many of the same places Saturday, with post-dinner cocktails at Caesar's and then a gambling binge that landed us at the San Remo (soon to be the Hooter's Hotel and Casino) at 5:30 AM. I wrapped it up shortly after that because I had a wake-up call for 7:30 and headed to the airport at 8:00.
Awesome things about the Hard Rock: 24 hour lingerie room service, satin comforters on all the beds, good gaming, widescreen HDTVs, great music, great people watching, and I ran into Depeche Mode.
Not awesome things about the Hard Rock: Inordinately expensive liquor, not enough casual bars, easy to get to the strip but not as easy to get home.
Overall, I give it an A. Rock on, Hard Rock. I'll be back for seconds as soon as possible.
There is no better way to celebrate the quintessential American holiday than in the city that the Pilgrims hoped and dreamed for when they landed here those many thousands of years ago: Las Vegas. Las Vegas should be our national capital, and Hugh Hefner should be on the one dollar bill. Those two things are the encapsulation of the American Dream. Okay, enough about that.
Happy Holidays! I love this time of year, and the holiday festivities start off with a bang this weekend, as we welcome Tito Puente and his dutch mistresses to town for a visit. We'll enjoy the last of the college football season Saturday with conference championships stacked up and then a holiday charity event at a downtown club courtesy of brand new uncle and snappy dresser A-Ha. Forecast for the weekend: Steady showers of Jager and Red Bull with 65% chance of scattered blackouts.
Bachelor Party Update: For those that are or want to be included, it looks like the bachelor party hosted by myself and Gate, in our own honor, will indeed be in late March in the great city of Amsterdam, Netherlands. We have a couple of details yet to work out, but start planning for it. We hope to set a number of records, none of which are fit to be discussed on a family website like the Offering. If you want info, you should get in touch with me or Gate. If you don't know how, you're not invited.
Cubs Update: I won't rehash the whole situation right now, but the hot stove is heating up and KRock did a nice job of getting the relevant transactions in summary form, so go ahead and read it to get up-to-date. My feeling is that I wouldn't mind Cedeno for Wilkerson, but only assuming we get Furcal. The Walker for Bradley trade would be a nice second option if we don't get Damon or Pierre, but only if those two don't happen. It's a coin flip whether Milton Bradley is going to murder another human on any given day. He's unbalanced, and we have a weird enough clubhouse as it is.
Hawks Update: I just don't know what to think about this team. We still haven't played our best basketball yet, although we looked good against Kentucky, pretty decent but quit at the end against Texas, and then just flat-out terrible against N.C. State. But we got two wins in three games against ranked teams, including N.C. State, where we shot 29% and turned it over 19 times. When the Big Ten season rolls around, that isn't going to cut it. We'll have to see...we need more contributions from our bench, better and more consistent inside play, and our guards have to wait until people are looking before they pass the ball. That, and Pierre Pierce back. Just kidding.
Iowa fans, remember to vote in the Outback Bowl Fan Poll for the Hawks! Let's give them a reason to bring us back to that game. I went to the game last time they were there, and it was a blast. And we only blew up one RV on the way, so it was an easy trip.
Random Tidbits:
What is on your Christmas list this year? I've got to get my shopping started, and I have no idea what I'm getting for people this year. I love Nike IDs, but it takes a while to design, order and have them shipped.
What am I getting? I don't know, but I've been good this year and do not expect any coal.
I caught Sarah Silverman's movie last week, and I really liked it. Very funny, good staging on the songs, and although the shock comedy thing is getting kind of played, it's still worthwhile.
How does a snarky tool like Jimmy Kimmel get a hilarious cutie like her?
Bush is selling a plan for victory in Iraq, but America isn't buying. I foresee more PR problems for the Prez in the coming weeks; this is the time of year when pictures of our troops abroad hit hardest at home. Those guys and gals want to be here for the holidays, and I don't blame them.
Finally, Hooray! We're all set to execute our one thousandth death row inmate in this country, so congratulations to all who worked so hard so that our civilized government is able to kill its own citizens. The Offering isn't per se for or against the death penalty, but I was fortunate to be working at the ACLU several years ago when the famous Liebman Study came out of the University of Columbia, so I got my free copy along with Prof. Liebman's phone number...it definitely made me re-think my views on the subject. It's interesting reading to say the least.
That's all for now. Hope you're ready for the holidays. More soon.
T
1 comment:
Glad to have you back so I can breathe again. Thanks for the link to the Liebman study--hadn't read that yet. I have neglected my own posting duties as well. Anyway, just wanted to applaud the herculean effort on your trip/post. Very impressive. You are really coming into your own as a sentient being.
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