News Notes

 Not a slow time in news, but I'm short on time so I'm just taking two things right off the top.

• Albert Haynesworth, ya'll remember him the guy who got carried away and acted out a scene from American History X during a 2008 game against the Cowboys.  The most recent highly sought after free agent, and more recently the guy that couldn't pass a conditioning test.  As a side bar, in college we had to do a 300 yd shuttle test and as college students our times were substantially faster than his required time.  You'll say well, he's older... he's also a world class professional athlete that is one of the highest paid in the game we were NAIA college football players.  Anyway, not talking about that today,  since the season is 3 games in and Shuttle-gate buzz has died down and McNabb is now getting all the DC media attention, Mr. Haynesworth was interviewed about Shuttle-gate on DC's 106.7 The Fan,  Here's what he said:  “I guess in this world we don’t have a lot of people with, like, backbones,” Haynesworth said. “Just because somebody pay you money don’t mean they’ll make you do whatever they want or whatever. I mean, does that mean everything is for sale?  I mean, I’m not for sale. Yeah, I signed the contract and got paid a lot of money, but … that don’t mean I’m for sale or a slave or whatever.”  Yep, he made reference to being a slave.  Albert, slave (n) a person who is held in servitude as chattel of another.  Albert, Albert, Albert.  You have a 7 year, $100 million contract with $41 million of that guaranteed in the first 3 years.  Having to switch to a new position, show up to practice, and do a conditioning test doesn't exactly make you Kunta Kinte.   
• Congress still sucks.  I just can't believe that our "Democracy" (I'm going to start referring to it in quotes, so picture me doing the standard "air quote" gesture)  It's more of the same, infighting and bickering amongst the parties that stalls out meaningful legislation.  I think there should be a new rule that would help them out.  Items must be passed one at a time.  Now initially this will be more work for them, but it is nonsense some of the things that get passed and don't get passed simply because they are attached to a no brainier bill.  Can't remember if it was Simpsons or Family Guy, but they did an episode where something idiotic got approved simply because of a paper clip.

Video of the Week

TV

I'm a TV watcher.  I like TV.  A lot.  I have a ton of shows that I love and don't miss unless there's a really really good reason.  It's because of my "ridiculous amounts of TV watching" (my wife's words), I feel like I'm an authority on TV programing, self proclaimed yes, but an authority nevertheless. 

Now as a self-proclaimed authority I am going to tell you the two things that annoy me about most shows.  1) They are on too long and have no direction.  It happens nearly every season there is a break-out hit show that just blows people away, great concept great ratings, just a solid piece of programing.  Season 1 is a bang, Seasons 2, 3 the same results.  The only problem... the creators didn't really have enough in the tank for 4+ seasons.  So they jump the shark as they say, they twist the story beyond what it was ever intended to be, it loses focus makes no sense and then just disappears into oblivion.  See Heroes.  The show was great and I feel like they had some great ideas and great stories to tell but they went on too long, they drug the show out beyond the story and it started to suck.  2) Creators and networks think that all shows need a twist.  We get Sixth Sense was awesome.  No one saw it coming.  It was first of its kind, amazing.  But come on man... you can't pull it off in every case, sometimes the story is just the story and it should be straight forward and clean.  See Lost clones, The Event.  Now... I've only watched 2 episodes but the herky jerky flashbacks and cryptic nonsense is already old.

At least I can count on HBO... TV series that are amazing.

Picture of the Week

3-0 Sunday, great atmosphere at Arrowhead.  Chiefs are off to a fast start, this team has grown up a lot faster than I'd thought possible.  My 9 win ceiling for this team may have been too low, here's to hoping I was wrong (this one time).

Life Update

Again, too much has happened too fast.. the past few weeks in snapshot form:

• Home for cousin Ashley's wedding, great times with family, too short as always but niece and nephews are growing like weeds and all is well.
• Chiefs have started with a bang 3-0!  I'm pretty sure it's my presence that is the key to this whole thing.
• Work is work, about 1 trip a month for the rest of the year, which is pretty good considering my past jet setting ways.
• Fall is here and that chill is creeping in on the air and I absolutely love it.  Soup is one of my favorite foods and it is nearing full on soup weather.  I love it.
• Harry Potter Party is rapidly approaching... the new trailer has made the wait nearly unbearable.
• Fantasy football is in full force, my teams are stupid, top scoring team that is 3-0.  Why is it that my team is always playing another high flier, 3 weeks in a row.
• Chicago weekend was great.  Graham Elliot food was amazing.  A tad overpriced compared to other fine dining restaurants we've been to, but the food was awesome and I would recommend it.  Tip: go with the a la carte, not the tasting menu, won't get quite the variety, but in my opinion it's the tasting menu that is overpriced, not necessarily the food.
• Speaking of rapidly approaching... KC 1/2 Marathon, emotions are mixed, legs are feeling very heavy for some reason these days.  Hoping this is nerves and over thought and less a physical thing.  Getting some new shoes tonight so, fingers crossed shaving a few oz will help.

I'm pretty sure that there's roughly 32 things that I've forgotten, I need to do this kind of update more often.

Attack of the Killer Tomato

So I've written before about my distaste for this fruit... however in my ever vigilant quest to expand my pallet I reflected and determined that I'd mastered most of my demons, lettuce, onions, cucumbers, all fell one by one.  I dove into new cuisine, including sushi, carpaccio, and cow tongue (more on this later).  But still the tomato remained, my nemesis if you will.  It too must fall.  Rather than tip toe into battle, I confronted the enemy guns blazing.  YJ's Snack Shop was my Little Big Horn.  Turkey sandwich please... Now in the past this phrase would have been followed with an immediate and stern "no tomatoes."  Not this time, not this day.  While the tomatoes addition to the sandwich was not exactly fireworks in my mouth, it wasn't half bad.  That day was a small victory for me and I began down a road where I no longer feared this fruit.  This is not to say I'm not 100% over my distaste, I still can't bring myself to voluntarily add a tomato to my meal.  For example, Subway, no tomato on the sandwich.  However, In N Out, Double Double, as is, tomato and all.  So essentially the rule that will hopefully lead to full and total acceptance is this:  I will not ask for the tomato to be held or removed from a food item that is intended to be served with tomato, however if it is an upfront and/or optional addition I will still refrain.  Some may laugh at a 29 year old man writing about his internal struggles with tomatoes... I wrote that hoping to respond with a witty parry that would make you feel bad for laughing at me or at the very least make me feel better about you laughing at me, but I got nothing it is pretty funny.

Odd Thoughts...

He walked into the room.  His breath quickened and his heart began to race as the cold air touched hit his face.  Every footstep echoed through the room cold cavernous room, but even this sound could not distract him from the feeling that something was wrong.  Something was out of place.  But he'd been here before, he'd been here a hundred times, it all looked so familiar.  So why did this time feel so different?  Why was there this pull, this nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was amiss, something was wrong.  As he approached the corner he could no longer hear his footfalls as his racing heart overshadowed the sound of footsteps in his ears.  He feared what was around the corner, but it was too late, too late to turn back now.  As he rounded the corner and their was a rush of relief that washed over him as he saw them; there they were lined up in a row, glistening in white, a totem letting him know all was well; urinals.  He let out a long sigh of relief, he had not walked into the Women's bathroom.

Cooking Shows

I'm hooked on cooking shows and I'm not talking necessarily about Food Network, in fact the Food Network is probably toward the bottom of the list really.  Not that it's bad but I like the competition aspect of things and so enter the cooking competition shows.  Iorn Chef, Chopped, Master Chef, Top Chef, Top Chef Masters, Hells Kitchen all are great shows. 

Top Chef and Top Chef Masters get top bill my book, jumping to my two of my favorite shows on TV.  I think I like these two shows best because they deal with "real" chefs.  Top Chef features up and comers but up and comers that are already somewhat established with restaurants and/or legit careers.  This contrast to Hell's Kitchen is very nice, where you have people who can't cook a steak (I can cook a steak). 

However the worst show is Desert Chef or whatever that terrible new Bravo desert Top Chef clone is called.  It's like these guys are compensating for their the fact that they make cupcakes by being ridiculously over-the-top dramatic.  I watched 15 minutes and was done.

P.S. Ed should have won...

Sanity...

I've said it before... Jon Stewart is hilarious, he recently announced a "Rally to Restore Sanity" to be held in Washington DC.  So funny I nearly wet myself, below is his description.  Suggested signs include: "I disagree with you, but I'm pretty sure you're not Hitler" & "I'm not afraid of Muslims/Tea Partiers/Socialists/Immigrants/Gun Owners/Gays... But I am Afraid of Spiders".  Honestly his humor laced political news is the only way I can tolerate even listening to the nonsense that is politics these days.

"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!"

Who among us has not wanted to open their window and shout that at the top of their lungs?

Seriously, who?

Because we're looking for those people. We're looking for the people who think shouting is annoying, counterproductive, and terrible for your throat; who feel that the loudest voices shouldn't be the only ones that get heard; and who believe that the only time it's appropriate to draw a Hitler mustache on someone is when that person is actually Hitler. Or Charlie Chaplin in certain roles.

Are you one of those people? Excellent. Then we'd like you to join us in Washington, DC on October 30 -- a date of no significance whatsoever -- at the Daily Show's "Rally to Restore Sanity." Ours is a rally for the people who've been too busy to go to rallies, who actually have lives and families and jobs (or are looking for jobs) -- not so much the Silent Majority as the Busy Majority. If we had to sum up the political view of our participants in a single sentence... we couldn't. That's sort of the point.

Think of our event as Woodstock, but with the nudity and drugs replaced by respectful disagreement; the Million Man March, only a lot smaller, and a bit less of a sausage fest; or the Gathering of the Juggalos, but instead of throwing our feces at Tila Tequila, we'll be actively *not* throwing our feces at Tila Tequila. Join us in the shadow of the Washington Monument. And bring your indoor voice. Or don't. If you'd rather stay home, go to work, or drive your kids to soccer practice... Actually, please come anyway. Ask the sitter if she can stay a few extra hours, just this once. We'll make it worth your while.

Video of the Week

While I wouldn't say I'm a "YouTuber", I do subscribe to several (probably too many) YouTube channels.  I know, I know, YouTube is just for funny videos, although I come across several that make me seriously question the sense of humor of some people.  But all that aside a new channel that I subscribe to is called Black Box TV, now this is not a funny channel the creators are YouTube personalities I'm familiar with and they make videos that are horror/scifi ish in nature.  But bottom line for only 3-5 min of video they are very very good.  The most recent episode definitely warrants sharing, I swear this short video is better than the last 3 movies that would be in a similar genre, combined.  If you like it I'd encourage you to subscribe to them so you can check out all the new ones.

News Notes

Pretty interesting happenings in news these days, I mean it's all totally insane but still remains interesting.  So here we go

Burning of ... anything.  This whole thing is just another situation that baffles me.  The media reporting on something by saying that they shouldn't be reporting on something.  Just because we have Freedom of the Press doesn't mean that it's a good idea to give everything national attention.  I think that Freedom of the Press should come with some inherent responsibility to take a look at the bigger implications of what you are reporting.  How does reporting and publicized some whack job in Florida's antics do anyone any good?  All this is going to do is send an already volatile situation further into a tailspin.  It's fruitless.  I'm not saying we need to tiptoe through the tulips on the issue of the Middle East, Terrorism, etc. but there's little sense in unnecessarily fanning the flames by giving credence to a movement in BFE Florida that would have otherwise been attended by maybe 8 people and maybe made the local rag on page 2.  Now it's a global issue and I'm sorry but questioning if you should be giving this guy publicity won't unring the bell.  It's just irresponsible and dumb and that goes for the idiots in Florida too, but that's an entirely different rant all together.  I'll just say this:  Painting everyone with the same brush is a dangerous game.  There are lots of whites, Christians, men, women, hell pick any dividing characteristics who have done morally terrible things... but you can't judge the entire group by the misguided actions of the few.

Along the same line Fox News... wow.  I truly feel sorry for any American who gets their news 100% from only one media outlet (i.e. Fox News, MSN, etc) because the slant on things these days is absolutely unreal.  I know I've mentioned this before but the most recent interpretation of an interview takes the cake.  One of the leaders of the Muslim group working on the Mosque in NY, said basically he was concerned about the actions that extremists might take if these burning took place, were publicized, etc.  Fox reported this the next day as him making threats of violence against the U.S., which based on their soundbites sounded credible, but if you actually read/watched the full interview, it couldn't be further from what was actually said.  Bottom line it is just plain sad that there seems to be no where in media today where one can get a true report of what has happened.
  
Jets and sexual harassment, this has potential to get me in hot water so I'm gonna step lightly.  First and foremost, harassment is never okay and the situation should be dealt with and disciplinary action should be levied.  But.  This is a two way street.  The NFL needs to seriously, evaluate their policies on women in locker rooms.  They preach and preach to players about avoiding situations that have the potential to result in something that is undesirable.  Placing a young, attractive, provocatively dressed woman (and for that matter men) but women especially in a locker room with 53 men most between the ages of 24 and 35 is a recipe for absolute disaster.  Should they be able to control themselves, absolutely.  Some of these guys put their foot in their mouth on a regular basis with zero provocation whatsoever, you but this woman in there and it's like taking an alcoholic on a brewery tour, it's just not smart.  Furthermore, I Googled the reporter, before forming an opinion I recommend doing the same and watching some achieved interviews and judge for yourself.  Again... not justifying what they did and if they did something there should be actions taken, but come on, the Jets are the only ones guilty in this.


Politics... still can't care... still want to care, but it's just so very hard.  When your solution to stop a brush fire from spreading is to pile more brush in front of your houses, I really don't know that I can get behind the logic. 

Tax cuts... I don't want to pay taxes anymore than anyone else, but with the Bush tax cuts set to expire soon, increased taxes for some segments of the population are likely on the way.  I think the appetite for some modest increase in taxes would be better received if the Gov wasn't walking around with a blank check.  Government spending is absolutely out of control at all levels, local, state, federal.  You can't expect people to willingly pay into a system that is digging a hole of debt that appears to be deeper than any ladder in existence, yet they keep digging.  Furthermore, tax burden needs to be spread more evenly I think that everyone should pay some form of income tax.  If it's 1%, 0.5% or 0.25%, everyone should pay into the system, there should be no free lunch.  Everyone lives here everyone must contribute something. 

Weekend Wow

Whew... Labor Day weekend was a 5 day whirlwind.  
Thursday had the Chiefs final preseason contest against the Packers, finally picked up a W to head into the season with the taste of victory, countdown to Monday Night Football at Arrowhead is on like Donkey Kong.  It's going to be a mad dash to get those boards done though, needed a few more coats of paint than I'd anticipated.  
Friday we had the obvious celebration of 5 years with the wife, which I wrote on already.  We celebrated by heading to St Pius X for some Friday Night Lights football.  hadn't been to a High School football game in forever, and I'm hooked I'm now a St Pius fan and will be at all games possible.  Side note Charlie Weis' kid plays for Pius and I walked right by him, had to restrain myself from giving him a hearty man-hug.  Speaking of man-hugs, 
Saturday was KSU day at the Reyes casa, stayed up late, ate too much, and watched KSU get a big time W.  It was awesome to be able to watch the Cats.  
Sunday was initially a recovery day but ended up being a rib-straviganza with several great friends.  Ribs turned out pretty well for a first attempt at cooking them "Talty" style.
Monday, quick trip to see Beth's grandma and pick up a KSU hat... FINALLY found one that didn't look idiotic.  
Wow... have to rest next weekend, oh wait, heading to Chicago, sleep is overrated anyway.

5

Seems like only yesterday I was in Topeka for a hectic day, but today I hit the 5 year mark with the lovely wife.  Not really enough space to say all that should be said about the shenanigans that she puts up with, pretty much daily.  So I'll leave it at a picture.  Can't wait to celebrate with some football this weekend and then Chicago next weekend should be good times all around. Love honey!

Cornhole!

So not a lot new on the blog front partly because spare time has been consumed with construct of Cornhole (bags) boards in preparation for tailgate season.  For those unaware, Cornhole is a yard game played with bean bags (or corn bags), it's in the horseshoe family, much like washers.  Anyway, it has been quite the process and I am now ready to paint, which makes me very nervous because I have what I think is an ambitious paint scheme in mind.  Below are some pictures of the process.

Materials time, really not a lot involved here, some 1/2" plywood, 2'x4' and some 1"x3"s.  One trip to Home Depot Folks, that's a project record.  Truck, 100% justified.  Okay so maybe not 100%, but darn it it was nice to not have wood riding shotty or to have to wait on Beth to get home from work... Gotta love flex Fridays.

Here we have the beginings of constrcution, pretty simple to make, a frame, a hole, couple legs.  Really you can make it as complicated or as Plane Jane as you want.  I went with the folding legs, which took me every bit of 4 hours to figure out how to do.  So yep, I went complicated.  While I'm better now with the jigsaw, it's still not my best friend.

Here we have the boards and legs primed and ready for paint, hopefully that'll be done by Friday night.  Going Red/Yellow with the KC Arrowhead on one and a vertical CHIEFS type on the other.  Hoping that it looks good, fingers crossed that Mrs. Lebo taught me well enough that I can knock it out.  The hand stayed pretty steady with the razor while cutting the stencils, so I'm hopeful.