Obviously I didn't get around to posting much like I said I was going to, for those of you who are even reading my blog right now. Hope everyone has a good safe holiday season and I'll see you all back here in the new year.

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 1:39 PM

Whew! I'm back from the dead, or at least the near dead. Last week was horrible. I'm finally back to my old self again after being sick all last week. I'm operating at about 90% now with just a bit of leftover illness in me. Hopefully I can kick that last little bit before Christmas hits. I'm going to try to make up for the past week of not blogging by posting a bunch today and tomorrow, but after that I'm going to take a little while off from posting for the holidays. I can't make to many promises though, I still need to start my Christmas shopping today!!

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 11:49 AM

Some of you may be interested in this bit of news.......

".....recently passed a law citing blog abandonment. The new law deals primarily with the multiple personal internet based journals, also known as "web-logs" or "blogs" published through sites like TextAmerica and Blogger. It states that all publishers of said "blogs" must post new material at a minimum of once per calendar week or face charges of Blog Abandonment under the new statute. If not, the publisher may face penalties assessed on an individual basis as deemed fitting by the court...."

Man I hope the penalties aren't too extreme, otherwise I know some folks who are in big trouble.

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 8:35 PM

Sorry for the lack of posting over the course of the past few days or so. I've been laid out with a pretty bad case of the flu since Sunday and I am just now starting to feel the slightest bit better. I think I must have had one of the more "ass-kicking" strains of the virus too. My fever on Monday night and Tuesday morning was pushing close to 105 degrees (I think I maxed out at 104.5). I even started having mild hallucinations while I was taking a shower on Monday. That was ton's of fun. Headache, high fever, runny nose, sore throat, fatigue, horrible muscle aches and weaknesses, I've pretty much got it all. I haven't done a damn thing over the past few days either. I've watched about 10 movies, played some video games, and slept a lot and that's about it. Hopefully I can kick this thing before the weekend is over so that I can get some Christmas shopping done and get caught up on all the other stuff I've been missing out on this week, like going to see the Return of the King (which came out today). Ok well, enough complaining for now, I'm gonna go attack some chicken soup.

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 8:22 PM

In the words of Paul Bremer, "Ladies and gentleman, we got him."

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 7:11 AM

I'm starting to get just a bit worried about some of the Cardinals offseason decisions (or lack thereof) up to this point. While every other major National league contender (especially those in the NL Central) is out doing things to bolster their line up or pitching staff, we've kind of been sitting back on our asses doing nothing but letting players go. Since the end of the season, the Cubs have picked up a major addition to their lineup in first baseman Derrek Lee from the Marlins, and closed deals with all their major free agent and arbitration eligible players including pitcher Matt Clement, as well as brought up some new minor league pitchers with great potential. The Cubs are also showing interest in now free agent pitcher Greg Maddox. The Astros on the other hand have signed dominant starting pitcher Andy Pettitte (21-8 in 2003) from the Yankees, resigned Brad Ausmus, and Jose Vizcaino, as well as their manager and GM, and now rumors are abound that Roger "the rocket" Clemens is going to pop out of his 3 month retirement stint to play for them in 2004 (Both Pettitte and Clemens are Texas natives).

Now the Cardinals have made plenty of offseason moves mind you, but we seem to be losing great players and getting nothing in return. We've managed to lose all our power off the bench with Eduardo Perez going to Tampa Bay, and Miguel Cairo Headed to the Yankees, we basically gave Tino Martinez to Tampa Bay plus paid his salary for 2004 for them, lost Vina to the Detriot Tigers, and declined options on a whole bunch of other free agents. We have however resigned, Chris Widger, Steve Kline, Cal Eldred, and Chris Carpenter (a big sarcastic whoopdy-doo), and picked up Evan Rust, Brent Butler, and Steve Cox (who are these guys again, not MVP caliber pitching certainly). I can understand moving players or not resigning contract options to free up salary, but where is the big payoff? I suppose I'm going to have to be patient here. I trust old Walt Jocketty has something up his sleeve but I'm just not sure what. I've been hearing Greg Maddox's name tossed around a bit, as well as a both Ramon Ortiz and Odalas Perez. I'd probably be happy with any of those three as one of our top 3 starting pitchers especially if we could pull the deal off without dealing an everyday player. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. The winter meetings are underway as I type this and hopefully something good may come out of that. But certainly before we can do anything else, we need to give Pujols the "bling, bling"

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 12:36 PM

As you may have noticed, I just added two additional songs to the "Music of the Moment" feature. I'm still kind of unclear as to what I'm actually going to do with this feature and what direction it's headed in. I may just keep it like it is now and add a few songs every now and then. I was also thinking of doing like a "Top Ten" sort of thing where I rotate out the old songs once everyone has had plenty of time to listen to or download it. Another option I was considering was doing an "Album of the Week (or Month)" feature instead. Maybe I'll just do both. Keep the list of individual tracks by various artists, as well as add a link to a .ZIP file where you could download all the tracks on an entire album by one artist. Let me know what you all think. For now, here's a bit about the two songs I just added:

Jason Mraz - Curbside Prophet: I'm not usually a huge fan of happy-go-lucky fun music but this song made me crack a huge smile the first time I heard it. I had a tough time choosing a song to post of this album because I like almost every song on there equally. After a few days I may even change this song to something else off the album.

Howie Day - Sorry, So Sorry: This song is the first track off Howie's debut album, Australia. Again I had a tough time choosing a song on this album for the same reason. This one seemed to make the most sense though, it sounds the most like a single and it has the best production quality on the album.

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 11:17 AM

I wonder if lesbian bars have large crowds during important televised WNBA games like regular bars have large crowds during Monday Night Football games? Just a thought.

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 2:42 PM

This story right here, and again here, is truly fucked up. I heard about it on talk radio on my way into work one morning last week. Liam also mentioned it briefly on his blog. It seems like something out of a horror movie. I'm not going to write too much about it because you just have to read it for yourself. I will give you the basic rundown though. It involves: deep fried penis, Germans, sexual gratification, the internet, cannibalism, videotaped murder, and a death wish. I'm telling you, just read it.

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 6:22 PM

So you know how you get the munchies when you get stoned? Lately I've been getting bad cases of what I call the "Drunkies". When you have a nice big belly full of alcohol, and you just have to have something to eat. It's really bad for you to do, eat a ton of food when you've been drinking a lot, especially if you do it late at night before you go to bed. It's hell on the friendly neighborhood digestive system. But I just can't resist getting some grub after a long night at the bar. Especially good old Del Taco (see previous post).

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 5:58 PM

I have to tell you all about the wonders of Del Taco. I know most of you are used to picking up Taco Bell when you're in the mood for Mexican fast food, but you should really give Del Taco a try. It's better on so many levels. Many, many moons ago when I was a wee lad, my dad used to take me there whenever we were in the downtown area and in the mood for a quick bit to eat. Back then it was known as Naugles and there was only one in the entire city of St. Louis that I can recall. I don't know if it just changed names or if it was bought out by another company, but the menu is pretty much the same now as it was back in the day. I've been going there as an adult pretty regularly for the past three years or so and have had very few less than acceptable experiences. Many less at least than other fast food joints I frequent. I remember back a few summers ago when Liam & I were both working for my dad, we used to go at least once a week and get burrito's the size of our head for like $2.50. Those things really did weigh over a pound. Get the combo meal to go with it and you were pushing close to 2000 calories in one sitting. For shits and grins, lets compare Del Taco to Taco "Hell" in a few different categories:

Customer Service / Speed: Del Taco edges out the Bell by just a bit on this one. They always ask if you want sauce, offer drinks, repeat your order back to you, give you napkins and a receipt each time, etc. During lunch time, Del Taco is pretty fast, although they are lacking in speed during the overnight hours.

Food Quality & Overall Taste: Del Taco hands down on this one. Everything just tastes more natural. The beef tastes real, the cheese tastes like real fatty goodness, the taco shells are crisp, etc. Not only that but they actually put the right amount of shit on your item. Tacos have a good amount of cheese and meat, not just a handful of lettuce. Last taco I ate at the Bell had three!!!! shreds of cheese on it, and that's if you count the ones that fell off into the wrapper.

Menu Selection / Variety: This is a tough one. Taco Bell has stuff like Chalupas, and Gorditas, enchiritos, etc, plus it has all sorts of different sauces like the Baja sauce (which by the way goes great on regular tacos) and the Santa Fe sauce, etc. Taco Bell will even make you shit they used to serve 3 years ago but no longer is on their menu if you just ask for it. Del Taco is a bit more straightforward. Tacos, burritios, nachos, and quesadillas. That's about it. But then I remembered that they fucking serve french fries, hamburgers, salads, and even serve breakfast too. How cool is that. You can go get a double bacon cheeseburger and a chicken works burrito in the same stop. I'll say this one is a tie.

Value / Price: Taco Bell is cheap. Del Taco is cheaper. I don't know how they do it but if you can get a burrito that weighs a pound for 3 bucks. That's a good deal. Tacos at the Bell I think are 89 cents, Del Taco has them for 49 cents. And you get more than just a head of lettuce in a shell.

Good eats man. Plus every store is open 24 hours. Bonus! If you've never had it give it a try next time instead of Taco Bell. I'd recommend the Chicken Soft Taco with some sour cream or the Chicken Works Burrito. Or if you're really hungry try the Macho Combo Burrito, that's the one that weighs over a pound.

I was seriously looking into what it would take to franchise one of those puppies. I could make a killing putting one up in west county on Manchester Rd or hell, any college town would love to have one. Missouri is one of only three states east of the mountain time zone to have any Del Taco's around. Unfortunately you have to have a net worth of over 750,000 bucks for them to even accept your franchise application. So there goes that idea. Unless I could find some investors. Anyone interested?

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 2:02 PM

Us entertainment buffs sure do have a busy month coming up. For starters, New Line Cinema is releasing both extended editions of the first two Lord of the Rings installments in theaters for a limited engagement on back to back weeks preceding the release of the Return of the King. So you have from (last Friday) 12/5 - 12/11 to see the Fellowship (which I went and saw Sunday night), from 12/12 - 12/16 to see the Two Towers, and then ROTK comes out on 12/17. (By the way I will be getting a group together to go see it on opening day like the last two years, so leave me a comment, an email, or give me a ring if you would like to attend.) Also this Friday (12/12) is Dave Attel and Louis Black at the Pageant here in St. Louis. Two funny ass mo-fo's that I would really like to see (unfortunately I have heard it may already be sold out). Then starting the same night and running through the next Thursday (12/12 - 12/18) at the Tivoli Theater in the Loop is the Animation Show. A collection of animated short films by various people including Mike Judge, and Don "My spoon's too big" Hertzfeldt. Remember the Rejected video folks? Yeah that guy. So that sounds like it could be interesting. Don't forget, we also have the El Monstero Y Los Masked Avengers, "Wish You Were Here: A Tribute to Pink Floyd" show coming up on the Friday and Saturday after Christmas (12/26 & 12/27). For anyone who hasn't seen this show, I highly recommend it. Let's face it, the real Floyd probably isn't going to tour again and even if they do, they're getting a bit old to rock the hizouse. This is as close as you're gonna get to the real thing. Three plus hours of Pink Floyd covers. All of The Wall, all of Darkside, most of Wish You Were Here, as well as selections from Meddle, Animals, and other Floyd albums. Basically its the members of native St. Louis rock band Stir, along with a few other local musicians and a bunch of lasers. But man is it good. I think this is the fifth year they have done this thing and will be the fourth year I have seen it. It was so awesome last year I almost went both nights (they used to only do one show but it was selling out each year so they bumped it up to two shows last year). Anyway, just go. It's worth the 18 bucks. Let me know if any of you guys or gals out there are up for any of these events.

By the way, go take the "Which Rejected Character are You?" quiz. Here's who I turned out to be:

You are spoon guy. You should have planned ahead
buddy, or packed a bigger lunch.


which rejected character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla


My "spoon" is too god damn big!!

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 12:01 PM

After passing out on the couch a few days ago, I woke up to find an old episode of Jerry Springer running on the tube. I ended up watching most of the rest of the episode which happened to be about trust and loyalty among this particular circle of friends. Externally everyone seemed to be getting along quite alright but internally, people were talking behind their friends backs, spreading rumors, getting involved in other peoples personal business and causing all sorts of unnecessary drama (which is the basis for most Springer episodes). On the show, a bunch of that shit all came out in the open and it got pretty ugly. I'm just glad that I have a group of friends that love and care for each other and wouldn't do anything like that. We got rid of that element of drama from our group of friends a long time ago and I'm glad it's gone. I know now that none of my friends would ever spread rumors about me or talk about me behind my back. I'm also glad that my friends are all so trustworthy and loyal and would never do things like reveal personal information about me to other people, or stick their nose into my personal business when it doesn't involve them and they know absolutely nothing about what is really going on. I think most of my friends are mature enough and smart enough now to think about all the possible consequences of their actions before they just jump the gun and start meddling in shit that they shouldn't be. I also would like to believe that if someone has a problem or concern with something related to me, that they would be adult enough to confront me personally about the problem rather than to discuss it with all of my other friends first. Like I said, it's been a while since we've had that sort of a problem among our friends, but who knows, I'm sure it's bound to happen again at some point.......

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 11:05 AM

Wanna try something funny? Head over to Google and type the following two words in the search bar:

miserable failure

Now wait! Don't just hit enter! Click the button underneath the search bar that says "I'm Feeling Lucky" and see what happens. I thought it was pretty damn funny myself although I'm sure some of you may not.

Update: Here's a story about how this whole thing actually came about, my sister also left a link in the comments section explaining it as well. You can also try these phrases on for size "weapons of mass destruction" or "French military victories". Try it the same way and see what happens. Funny stuff.

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 12:48 AM

Blues vs. Wings at the Savvis Center for the second time this week starts in about 10 minutes. The game will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN, so no Ken, Dan, or Bernie tonight. It's too bad I'm not going to the game either because I thought up some great signs that would be sure to get me on the tube. Here they are:

Detroit

E lderly
S katers
P ushing
N inety

Or how about this one....

Detroit

E ven
S enior
P layers
N eed love

Guess I'll have to wait till next time they come through town.

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 6:22 PM

I was watching Monday Night Football the other night when I again noticed something that had been bothering me for quite a while. John Madden. Captain Obvious. If you know anything about football, you know who John Madden is. One of the most respected announcers in the game of football and former coach of the Raiders. The thing is, what the hell makes him such a good announcer? I'm sure he knows the game of football inside and out, but he sure doesn't show it. Next time you watch Monday Night Football listen to his commentary, it goes something like this......

"You can't count that as a catch if the receiver doesn't have the ball"
"This team is going to have to play good offense and defense in order to win the game"
"They're down by a touchdown, a field goal is no help here"
"It's fourth down, if they don't get a first down here, they're gonna turn the ball over to the other team"
"That tripping penalty is going to cost the team some yardage"

Really John? You don't say. Man I wasn't quite sure about that but now I know. Thanks Mr. Madden. Those are what I like to call "Maddenisms". Overstating the obvious. I think I am going to start applying the John Madden philosophy of announcing to my everyday speech patterns. It might sound something like this......

"I need to put some gas in my car, because without gas, my car isn't going to go anywhere."
"I'm starting to feel intoxicated, if I drink 6 more beers I may end up becoming drunk."
"Boys have a penis, and girls, well they have a vagina"
"If I shoot this man in the foot with my shotgun, he will most likely feel intense pain and will not be happy with me."

Man that would be some entertaining dialogue.

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 11:53 AM

My most recent issue of Rolling Stone is the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". It was voted on by musicians, producers, record executives, and radio DJ's. While most "Top (insert number here)" lists are usually pretty shitty, this one isn't half bad. (I actually own 31 of the top 100 albums.) I would have like to have seen some Zeppelin and Floyd albums a bit higher in the rankings (I think the highest Zeppelin album was #29), but for the most part they got this one right. Obviously the Beatles have like 6 albums in the top 20 which is understandable, as well as the number one album of all time "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band". There are however some pretty strange ones in there. As you get towards the 300's and 400's you start seeing a ton of albums that are less than a few years old, and some that just came out this year (the newest No Doubt album for instance). I think its pretty ballsy to categorize some of these newer albums as "the greatest of all time" since they really haven't had the opportunity to stand the test of time yet. Does anyone really think that years from now when we are all old and grey we'll look back and say "Wow, that "Ray of Light" album by Madonna was one of the best albums of all time"? Let's hope not.

Update: I decided that since this list was pretty good, and I've been buying so much new rock lately, I'm going to let this be my guide to purchasing all those kick ass classic albums that I've been meaning to buy but can never think of when I'm carousing the record store.

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 11:15 AM

In the past few weeks I had the opportunity to see two final chapters in two separate movie trilogys, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and The Matrix Revolutions. These movies both got pretty crappy reviews but neither of them seemed to be as bad as everyone was saying. I will say that I am pretty easily entertained by movies and I'm not too picky on which ones I consider to be good. But they were both satisfying for what they are. Action flicks. Neither of them were groundbreaking Oscar worthy films, but they didn't set out to achieve that goal. They were both logical conclusions to their respective storylines, and had good special effects, decent acting, lots of action, and plots that made sense. They also both left themselves open for a fourth movie if they ever decided to go back and do another one.

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 11:29 AM

Well, Thanksgiving weekend was pretty cool. Sorry I haven't posted in a while though. I was busy having fun all weekend and both Monday and Tuesday were pretty hectic at work. I'll try to get a couple of posts in over the course of the rest of today though.

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 10:38 AM