Universe of Synergy

The Game

2010-02-01T12:59:00.000-08:00

So I was thinking (dangerous, I know)... this morning on the drive into work. I know there are a fair number of Star Trek fans who read my blog out there, so hopefully some will get this. :)

Does anyone remember the episode of TNG titled "The Game", where Riker brings back this virtual game device, that everyone started playing. It wasn't until nearly the whole crew of the Enterprise was absolutely addicted to it that the ever-annoying Wesley Crusher and his partner in crime determined that it was actually a mind-control device sent by a group of rogue aliens with the intent of infiltrating and taking over the ship. Their very existence was threatened by this all-consuming game that would allow the evil bad guys to swoop in and capture them all for eternity.

Ladies and gentlemen... I give you Farmville.

Disneyland Videoblog

2010-01-29T14:19:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I met my friends Kristen and Mark down at Disneyland for some good times in the not-always-so-warm California sun. As part of my adventure, I decided to try something new and record a bit of a video blog of the fun. It was my first time using the Flip MinoHD recorder, and it leaves a bit to be desired. As you will notice, there is absolutely zero image stabilization, so unless I was standing in one place, it was pretty hopeless to get a steady shot. But that didn't stop me from getting some hilariously entertaining clips, and a capture a bit of the Disney magic on film. Enjoy!

Pictures and Updates

2010-01-17T19:20:00.000-08:00

OK, nearly 3 months since my last post. I'm lazy. BUT, some good has come of it...

Pictures

I finally got around to uploading all of the pictures from Disneyworld back in August. Find them in my photo album. The only problem is that going through them all again made me just want to go back again. Good thing I'm going to Disneyland next weekend. :)

Holidays and Stuff

Well, I survived the holidays. Nothing too exciting there, it was holidays, it was vacation, it was what it was.

OK, on further observation, nothing exciting has been happening. I have a slew of random posts to make about random things. Those are more entertaining anyway. I'll get around to that... in probably 3 months.

Update, Olympics, and Curling

2009-10-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

Another long stretch without an update. I finally have pictures from WDW ready to put online, when I get around to it. Maybe next week.

Olympics

The Olympics are coming! Yesterday they unveiled the Vancouver 2010 Olympic medals. The medals themselves in recent games have been one of the most visible ways for the host country to showcase their individuality. From the donut-holes of Torino, to the jade-inlaid medals of Beijing, the 2010 medals are no exception, recognizing the Aboriginal roots of the Pacific coast of Canada. On first glance they may look rather artistic, yet traditional.

That is until you look at them from the side and realize they are far from ordinary -- and far from flat!

Rather amusing. I actually like them a lot. Too bad I'll never get one. :)

Curling

In related news (well, related only because curling is an Olympic sport), the curling season has started again. This year I'm curling on Tuesday and Friday nights, which should give me a bit more manageable schedule (to fit in everything else that's going on in the world). I'm once again managing the Friday night league, because it's still fun. We'll see how many more years until I give up on that. :)

Huskies

How 'bout them Dawgs? Who would have possibly expected we would be 3-3 halfway through the season. Well, perhaps me, but it wasn't the 3 wins I was expecting to have. Husky Stadium has come alive again, in a way I haven't seen since the beginning of the decade. And maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to make some holiday plans this year to go find a football game to go to. We'll see.

This will mark the beginning of a new round of blog posting. I hope. I just have to get in the habit of it again. I'm trying not to leave my were-to-be-avid readers waiting. Until then...

Wicked

2009-09-15T12:39:00.000-07:00

I know, I know... I still haven't posted an update after my Florida trip, but that will have to wait until I'm inspired again (which by my calculations will be about 3 weeks from never). But in the meantime, I need to do a musical review of Wicked.

Wicked made its way back to the Paramount this year after a 3 year hiatus, but this time with an incredible month-long run. Avid readers may recall all the way back to one of my inaugural musical reviews from from September 2006, where I briefly graced the show with my coveted 5-star rating. It's exciting to see it again to see what I may have missed the first time.

I actually attended opening night of the Seattle stop on the tour, which if I see correctly, is actually the first stop on the entire tour. The performance was not without its share of hiccups, but overall it's still hard to beat such an outstanding collection of music and an amazing performance. That said, this performance wasn't quite as brilliant as I recall. That's not to say it still doesn't receive my 5-star rating, or that I wouldn't go see it again next time it comes to town.

Most notably, the ensemble seemed a bit on the weak side musically. I fully expect this to improve over the course of the run, but it was a bit rough at points. Also, the role of Glinda was performed so over-the-top that I actually found her to be somewhat annoying. Musically weaker than I've previously seen (and certainly weaker than the outstanding performance by Kristen Chenoweth in the original Broadway production), and just overacted. Fortunately, these minor weaknesses in the performance were more than compensated by the phenomenal performance of Elphaba, which was as good as any performance I've seen or heard.

My ratings for this performance:

Script: 5-stars - still a hard show to beat.

Music: 5-stars - I don't think there's a bad song in the show, compared to a typical musical where you maybe get a couple showstopping numbers and a lot of fill.

Cast: 4-stars - The only weakness in the production, but minor at that.

Technical: 5-stars - Still an amazing set and a true theatrical spectacle.

Overall: 5-stars - You should still see this any chance you get. Still in that elite class of musicals to receive my 5-star rating along with Avenue Q and RENT.

Wicked continues to play at the Paramount in Seattle through October 4th.

9 Days of WDW - Day 1 - Epcot

2009-08-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Day 1 - Epcot

Aha, you all were expecting something else? For the last day, I choose ALL of Epcot. A whole park you can't find anywhere else! Of course, the first thing people think of when they hear Epcot is the iconic geodesic sphere housing the Spaceship Earth attraction. I know it's the first thing I think of.

Epcot is divided into two parts: Future World, consisting of most of the ride-based attractions in the park featuring primarily science and technology; and World Showcase, featuring 11 pavilions representing countries from around the globe. The pavilions of the World Showcase span around the aptly-named World Showcase Lagoon. What I love about it is that Disney has done such an amazing job theming each country, it's almost as if you've taken a small trip around the world. Most of the countries have at least one attraction, though most of them are some sort of interesting movie-based show, most are pretty good. Though, no doubt by design, the United States pavilion is at the center of the showcase, and contains I believe the best attraction in the showcase, an show featuring an audio-animatronic history of the US entitled "The American Adventure". Or as I also like to call it "the best 30 minutes of air conditioning you'll find in Epcot."

Disney is also known for its spectacular nighttime shows, and Epcot has one of the finest in IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. Fireworks, lasers, fire, and water, all synchronized to another amazing soundtrack. (Hey, I'm a musician, a good soundtrack means a lot to me.)

Tonight I'm on the redeye out of Seattle (with an intentionally ugly layover to coordinate flight times), so I'll be in Florida by morning. Updates to follow later.

9 Days of WDW - Day 2 - Tower of Terror

2009-08-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

Day 2 - Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Apples

What: A one-way ticket to The Twilight Zone in a broken elevator.

Where: Disney's Hollywood Studios

Only 2 days of WDW left, and we reach the only ride in WDW to make me legitimately scream everytime I ride it. Like Splash Mountain, this ride is so elaborately themed it's hard not to love it. Even if you're deathly afraid of the ride, I believe that everyone should "survive" it once, just to see how amazing it is inside.

The ride itself, well, for those of you who haven't ridden it or its much younger (and vastly inferior) brother at Disney's California Adventure, I won't spoil too much of the magic. But it's not hard to assume that the centerpiece of the ride is a 13-story drop in a runaway elevator car. As if that's not bad enough, for you physics majors out there, the car actually falls faster than the pull of gravity, and you literally would fly out of your seat if not for the fact that you are securely (and they double-check that you are) belted in.

When this ride first opened, it was terrifying. Then they made it scarier. In a fit of Imagineering genius, they reprogrammed the entire drop sequence to be random. I've ridden this ride countless times, and sometimes it's FAR more terrifying than others. Maybe I'm an adrenaline junkie afterall. It's fantastic.

One day left... tomorrow night I leave for Florida. What will be the last day of WDW anticipation? We'll see...

9 Days of WDW - Day 3 - Expedition Everest

2009-08-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

Day 3 - Expedition Everest

What: A thrilling roller coaster through the Himalayas.

Where: Animal Kingdom

Our only stop at the Animal Kingdom in the 9 Days of WDW takes us to the newest mountain on the Disney landscape: Expedition Everest. Last time I was in WDW, this was heavily under construction before opening in April 2006.

Since I haven't actually been on this ride yet, I have no idea what to expect. Other than it should be a pretty exciting roller coaster, like the Matterhorn only crazier! OK, I don't really have much more to say. There's nothing to compare this ride to, there's nothing to explain about it, so I'll just be excited about it.

And the fact that there are only 3 days left! WOOHOO!

9 Days of WDW - Day 4 - Splash Mountain

2009-08-05T09:00:00.001-07:00

Day 4 - Splash Mountain

What: Log flume ride based on the Song of the South.

Where: Magic Kingdom

Finally, after 5 days of WDW, we actually make it to the Magic Kingdom. One of my favorite rides at any Disney park, and not because of the excitement of the big drop. What makes Disney attractions the best in the world is the stories they tell, and how well the ride is integrated into the story. Splash Mountain takes a fantastic ride and wraps it throughout a great story, told through even better music, to make the ultimate ride.

There are slight variations between the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland versions of the ride. As is usually the case, the Disneyland ride came first in 1989, then was replicated at WDW in 1992. Some improvements were made, yet some corners were cut. First and most obviously, the logs at WDW are 4 rows of 2 across, rather than the single file 6 down the log that Disneyland has. This makes it immensely more comfortable to ride in, and less of sliding around the seat feeling like you're going to fall out of the log. As for the ride itself, a few differences of little consequence, except that it has just over half the number of audioanimatronic figures that the original version has.

As to which one is better? I guess I'm partial to the Disneyland one, but overall it's pretty much a toss up. This is one where the second version isn't vastly inferior to the first, and I look forward to it wherever I am.

Only 4 Days to go...

9 Days of WDW - Day 5 - Soarin'

2009-08-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Day 5 - Soarin'

What: Ride that simulates flying over California.

Where: Epcot, The Land pavilion

This first-and-only-of-its-kind ride originally debuted as "Soarin' Over California" with the opening of Disney's California Adventure in 2001, and was replicated simply as "Soarin'" at Epcot in 2005. As far as I'm concerned, this ride demonstrates the sheer brilliance of Walt Disney Imagineering. Unlike roller coasters that jerk you around and give you the thrill of speeding through the air, Soarin' gives you the same thrill of flying all while completely seated and with nothing but gentle movements carrying you.

I think what makes this ride such a success is that it really appeals to people of all ages. Young or old, everyone feels comfortable on this ride (with the possible exception of the severely acrophobic).

I've actually ridden this ride more times than I can count, primarily at DCA, but also several times on my most recent visit to Epcot, just after that version opened. Despite the fact that the experience is identical each time, it doesn't affect the repeatability for me. It's just fun!

Not to mention the soundtrack that was composed for the ride is absolutely amazing. Just how a soundtrack can define a movie, the majestic soundtrack here enhances and defines the ride.

Just 5 days left! Almost here...

9 Days of WDW - Day 6 - Toy Story Midway Mania

2009-08-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

Day 6 - Toy Story Midway Mania

What: A ride through a world of 3D interactive carnival games.

Where: Disney's Hollywood Studios, Pixar Place

One of the latest additions to WDW (and also at DCA in California) is Toy Story Midway Mania. Opening just last year, it features the next generation of ride technology. Since the ride is fully interactive, it's like being in a carnival game each time, so you could ride it infinitely and have fun each and every time.

Obviously, the ride is themed around Pixar's popular Toy Story movie franchise. Just from the picture above you can see that you are intended to be toy-size and in your own world of toys and games. I like toys... I like games... should be fun. :)

In fact, I have not been to Disneyland or WDW since this ride debuted, so I have NO IDEA what to expect. All I know is from what I read, which makes it sound pretty darn cool if you ask me. At least worth a ride or two.

9 Days of WDW - Day 7 - Universe of Energy

2009-08-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

Day 7 - Universe of Energy

What: An Epcot pavilion devoted to Energy

Where: Epcot

OK, so this probably wouldn't make any sane person's top 9, top 10, or even top 40 lists of attractions at WDW. But I had to pay homage to the Epcot pavilion from which my web site's name is derived.

The building itself is a model of smart energy use, as the entire roof of the building is covered in solar panels, which actually supply a large amount of the power used by the attraction, and are also used as an architectural feature. Fear not folks, a little science while you're on vacation wouldn't kill you.

The lone attraction that consumes the entire pavilion is Ellen's Energy Adventure, starring Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye the Science Guy. This ride/show originally opened in 1996, at the height of Ellen's first rise to mainstream stardom, and probably would be "old and played-out" if not for Ellen's resurgence as an (even funnier, IMHO) talk show host. Even Bill Nye is probably a bit dated at this point, but he's always funny to me. Again, this is a quirky, cheesy show, but I find it a welcome break, mainly because it's nearly 40 minutes of air conditioned, sitting down and riding through the Universe of Energy and being entertained. In the middle of a hot Florida day, it's hard to go wrong. Oh, the point of the show? Who cares, it's funny. But if you must know, it's all about the history of energy, where energy comes from, and oh yeah, there are probably some of the largest and coolest animated dinosaurs you'll ever see, short of watching Jurassic Park.

One week to vacation... the excitement builds...

9 Days of WDW - Day 8 - Port Orleans Resort

2009-08-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Day 8 - Port Orleans Resort

In all fairness, I had originally planned Day 8 to be a salute to Disneyland Classics, such as the Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion. But then I decided that rather than spending countless words comparing and contrasting the rides at both Disneyland and WDW's Magic Kingdom, I'd focus on something that exists only at WDW, and happens to be the resort I'll be staying at.

Port Orleans is divided into two parts, Riverside (formerly Dixie Landings) and French Quarter (formerly Port Orleans, before the two joined together and jointly kept the name). I've stayed at Port Orleans Riverside twice before, and I find it to be one of the coolest resort Disney has. The theme of the resort is the antebellum South along the Mississippi River. So as expected, the hotel rooms are divided among 4 buildings designed to look like classic plantation homes (though much bigger, as each building has about 250 hotel rooms). On the other side of the Riverside resort is a section called Alligator Bayou, with smaller buildings designed to represent rustic lodges in the bayou. The neighboring French Quarter is themed much more towards New Orleans and the real French Quarter.

Why do I stay at a Disney resort when I go to WDW? Aren't there other cheaper "regular hotels" you could stay at instead? Of course there are, though considering how I only go to WDW when I can get a too-good-to-refuse deal, the cost difference isn't usually too great. But the bigger reason is what I've found consistently every time I go to WDW. You get there, and you're completely immersed in the "world". No highways outside the hotel room, no worrying about what's happening on the outside world, it's all in one place! It's the ultimate vacation for relaxation and fun... well, to me anyway. There are also some great perks to staying on property, including "Extra Magic Hours", where each day one park will open an hour early and one will stay open 3 hours later, exclusively for those staying in Disney resorts. Plus Disney will whisk you and your luggage to and from the airport for free, so you're saving there too. No thought required, and I definitely don't want to think when I'm on vacation. Except maybe at Epcot. :)

This will be the first time I've gone to WDW in August, though I've gone in September twice before. I expect it to be hot, but what do I care? I'm on vacation, there's plenty of air conditioning when you need to beat the heat. And a little sun won't kill anyone (though a lot might). 8 days left... wooo...

9 Days of WDW - Day 9 - MuppetVision 3D

2009-07-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

Few people don't know my enthusiasm for Disney and well, mainly Disney theme parks. Fewer still understand it, so I've stopped trying to explain it. :) But in my own efforts to build up the excitement in these 9 days until I make it on my next vacation to Walt Disney World, I decided to resurrect my blog and present 9 things I'm looking forward to on my trip. Some perennial favorites, others just things that for some quirky reason I find cool, and some I'm looking forward to but are new since the last time I visited. For those keeping count, this will be only my 4th trip to WDW, the last one being nearly 4 years ago in September 2005.

Without further ado, with 9 days remaining we have:

Day 9 - MuppetVision 3D

What: A 3D movie, with audience interactivity.

Where: Disney's Hollywood Studios

What can I say when you combine Muppets with a Disney attraction? Something spectacular happens. Yes, it's utterly cheesy, but it's the Muppets, so what more do you expect? MuppetVision 3D is pretty much what it sounds like, a 3D movie with, of course, the inevitable Disney interactive magic added in that brings the movie to life. What's probably the most amazing part of this is the elaborate theming throughout the whole theatre and show building. It's like you've completely entered the world of the Muppets, and you're stuck inside an episode of the Muppet Show.

Why do I like it? Because. It's cool. Hey, it's Day 9, we gotta work our way up to the really good stuff. :)

RENT

2009-06-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night brought another performance of RENT to the Paramount. It's been just over 2 years ago since the last time it came to Seattle. [You can see my review of that performance here.] Making this the 5th performance of RENT I've seen, I will start by saying this is quite certainly the best performance I've ever seen overall.

This tour includes the two pioneers of the original Broadway cast, with Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal as Mark and Roger. I have very little to complain about here. These are the voices most people will recognize from the original cast album, and and the benchmark by which all other actors since have been compared. Of course, they probably have performed these parts more than any other actors, but they still put a bit of differences from what I've seen and heard in the past. The only part I slightly questioned was in Another Day, Roger (Adam Pascal) seemed to be channelling the lead singer from the B-52's with his recitative chanting. I was amused only because I've heard him so many times on the album I didn't quite expect it.

The vast majority of this touring cast had played these roles in some previous incarnation of the show, either on Broadway or a previous tour. One notable exception is the role of Mimi, played by some girl who was apparently a contestant on American Idol this season. All I can say about her performance is: overacted and underwhelming. Not only was I unimpressed, it really stuck out in such an outstanding cast top to bottom.

Overall, absolutely incredible. This didn't have an of the issues that plagued previous performances I've seen. It did clock in at about 2:30 + intermission, which flew by like it was maybe an hour.

Ratings (which should be no surprise):

Music: 5 stars - Brilliant music, and the band performed it fantastically.

Cast: 5 stars - Even Mimi can't bring this cast's rating down.

Technical: 4 stars - This isn't a theatrical spectacle. But outstanding as it was.

Overall: 5 stars - One of my must-see musicals, and a performance not to be missed.

Long Overdue Updates

2009-05-30T21:27:00.000-07:00

A month and a half without an update. Certainly not for a lack of things to write about.

Curling

Curling season ended the first week of April, but over Memorial Day weekend, I went down to a summer bonspiel in Hollywood. It was a nice way to spend the weekend, and my team managed to nearly win, only losing in the A finals for a 2nd place finish. Not so bad! But now I'm definitely done curling until the fall.

Never-ending Car Challenges

This story could be a 5-page blog unto itself, but here it goes. I loved my car, a 2001 Nissan Altima, built like a tank, over the past almost 7 years hadn't had a single breakdown, no major expenses other than routine maintenance, and most importantly it was reliable. Until recently. Back on Christmas Eve, driving home over the horrendously icy roads, my dashboard lights up like a Christmas tree (festive, right?). I make it home without any trouble, still perplexed as to what the problem was, though by the indicators, it seemed to be something electrical. Day after Christmas I decide to drive over to Schuck's to get a new battery, assuming that was the problem. Just as I get a block from the store, one-by-one every electrical component in my car starts to shut down. As I pull into the Schuck's parking lot, the car dies completely. I replace the battery in the parking lot, and the car starts up again, but no difference in the dashboard lights. The guy there brings out his tester and determines that my alternator is dead. I had enough in juice in the new battery to get me over to the Nissan dealer, and I got the alternator replaced, and thought all was fine. Then two days later, I'm at home and try to start my car, and the battery is dead. I get it jumped and go back to the dealer that replaced my alternator, and they claim the problem was the battery (that I bought new at Schucks). Instead of messing with it, I had them replace the battery and I would just take the defective battery back to Schuck's. I tried that, and they hooked it onto their tester and said everything was fine. Something didn't add up, the chain of logic wasn't there to me, but I went with it. The car proceeded to work flawlessly.

Fast forward to May. First free weekend I'd had in months, I decide to get up and drive to Canada in search of some Olympics merchandise and just a nice drive. Had a great time, start to head home, when I get stuck in stop-and-go traffic getting out of Vancouver. After about 30 minutes of the traffic, my car starts acting strange. Next thing I know, one-by-one every electrical component in my car shuts down. (Sound familiar?) Moments later, my car is stranded in the middle of a 4-lane street, in who-knows-where suburb of Vancouver in another country. Resisting the urge to panic TOO much, I call AAA, which automatically gets routed to the CAA offices in Vancouver who take care of me just as if I were still in the States. Just as I get on the phone with them, a tow truck pulls up behind me, just passing by. The nice guy reaffirms the obvious that this isn't the best place to be stuck, and he drives onto a side street, unhooks the car he already had on his tow, and then comes back and tows me off to the side street, rehooks the other car and goes on his way. At least now I'm not in the line of traffic anymore. Of course, it's 5pm on a Saturday, and every shop in town is closed until Monday. The best they can do is send out one of their CAA mechanics, who jumped the car and determined that the alternator was undercharging, but if I kept the revs up on the highway, I should make it home. Lo and behold, that's exactly what I did. The next week, I took the car back to the Nissan service folks, who proceeded to find ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR.

For the next 2 weeks, I don't know if it was just my own skiddishness worrying that my car was going to break down on me or what, but my car did not run happy. I'd get stopped at a red light for more than a minute or two, and the engine would start to rev funny, or something else would make me think there was a problem. I just didn't trust my car. I was constantly feeling sick whenever I got into my car, no doubt having mild panic attacks worrying about whether it was going to break down in a horrible place again.

I'd had enough. I'd been considering getting a new car for a while for other reasons, but this was the last straw. So that's what I ended up doing. I bought American this time, and got a 2009 Dodge Journey with about 12,000 miles on it. Never heard of it? I hadn't either, but our used car guy who hasn't led me wrong before knew it was what I was looking for, and I think it is. Though I have to admit, I miss my Altima, at least I trust my car again. So it goes.

Muppets

I previously mentioned the new Jim Henson exhibition at EMP|SFM this summer. Well, as it turned out, I obviously needed something more to add to my summer schedule, so I am now volunteering there once a week. What they have set up is a puppet stage where people can use some of their specially-made Muppet-like puppets (in the style of famous rock musicians, of course) and try their hand at what it's like to be a Muppeteer. The volunteers are staffing that area and basically having fun playing with puppets and helping other people doing so. For the most part, I'll just be there on Wednesday evenings from 4-7pm. The exhibit is pretty amazing, and well worth seeing!

Well, I guess I'm caught up with the major stuff, time for more random blogs in the future.

Cats

2009-04-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

Last night I saw the musical Cats at the Paramount.

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!

Folks, I go to musicals for great music, and usually an entertaining show to go along with it. This show had neither.

The musical originally opened in London in 1981. The music was probably bleeding-edge at the time: almost entirely synthesized. What a waste!

Of course, the plot line... oh, wait, there isn't one. The entire script (with a couple of exceptions) are taken from some poems by T.S. Eliot. Somehow this became a legendary musical still making national and international tours after nearly 30 years. You've got to be kidding me.

To cap it off, it contained the staple of classic musicals, the one thing I abhor more than anything else in musical theatre, the utterly painful presentation -- the 10-minute dance number.

The rest is a waste of space, here's my ratings:

Music: 2 stars - replace the synthesizer with real music and you might make 3.

Technical: 2 stars - entertaining set with lots to look at, but nothing more.

Cast: 3 stars - adept and generally impressive, too bad they were in THIS musical.

Script: 1 star - spare me

Overall: 2 stars - I do not need to see this again.

Updates

2009-03-18T09:22:00.000-07:00

I didn't realize it was so long since my last update. Sorry, avid readers... the daily routine has left something to be desired, I suppose. Here comes the roundup:

Curling

Well, I made it home from the Olympic Trials in Denver, and back to the grind. Hard to believe there are only 2 weeks left in the season. Once again, the season flies by and spring should be near. Someone tell the weather that. Fortunately, my teams managed to make the playoffs in both the leagues I play in. We've made it to the semi-finals of the B division on Thursday night, and, well, we're the second-from-the-last seed in the Friday B division, but we have high hopes... to be out early and done. :) What will I do when the season ends? I'll have so much free time.

Huskies

The Huskies finally made it back to the NCAA Tournament. We're a #4 seed in the West Region, but somehow must have drawn the ire of the selection committee with our matchups. Thursday we kick it off against Mississippi State, who made the tourney by knocking off Tennessee to win the SEC Championship. The Dawgs are 5.5-point favorites as far as the Vegas oddsmakers are concerned, but somehow I think this will be one crazy battle. If we get past the Bulldogs, we'll likely match up against the 5th seeded Purdue, followed by the potential rematch with top-seeded UConn... again. I predict that if the Dawgs can make it past Miss St. tomorrow, they'll clear all the way to the Elite 8. I'm not exactly certain how a potential matchup with #2 Memphis would work out though, but at that point, I won't care. Tomorrow's game is key... I'll be taking a late (and slightly long) lunch for the 2pm game. :)

Economic Tips

In these difficult economic times, I have managed to find a fool-proof way to keep costs down. Of course, I stumbled onto this without realizing it when I opened my natural gas bill to find that over the past month I used exactly zero cubic feet of gas. A few interesting things with this... I still pay just over $10 for the privilege of having gas hooked up to my house. Furthermore, I am impressed by the fiery orange glow my fireplace provides when there's apparently no gas flowing into it. Doing a bit of investigation on my own, it's apparent that the dials on the gas meter haven't moved since sometime around the end of January. Sadly, I'm too honest of a person and rather than letting PSE finally figure this out on their own, I called them up. Of course, you get their customer service people who incredulously assume that you're calling up to complain about something and put up their rough exterior. I simply pointed out that "I believe my gas bill is too low." She looked up my account, and began with, "Well sir, it appears in the last month you used... uh... I see, let me transfer you to our meter department." They were of course closed for the evening, and I'll await a call back from them today. Personally, I'm in no hurry for them to fix it at this point, but I have done my duty to promptly inform them of the situation. I am however curious if they will attempt to estimate my usage and backcharge me for the prior month. More to come on that...

Work in the Down Economy

My company continues to coast along... just barely. Reducing fixed costs and financial liabilities seems to be the chief goal, in an effort to reduce or eliminate the need to lay off employees. As we recall back to December, we had a mandatory office shutdown for 1 week between Christmas and New Year's, requiring every employee to take 4 days of paid vacation, in an effort to reduce vacation balances and their associated financial liabilities on the books. Well, yesterday we were informed that in this and next quarter each we will have additional 1-week shutdowns. This time they are a bit more flexible, however, in that in lieu of actually taking the designated shutdown weeks, we have the option of simply using 5 vacation days anytime during the quarter and designating that as our "personal shutdown". (my words, not theirs) As it works out, this won't affect me too much, as I nearly had enough vacation already planned for the next 6 months, with a few days planned in April, and a week in Orlando planned for August. Others I work with are hit a bit harder, as some of them had extended multi-week vacations planned for the summer, and this cannibalization of vacation by the company is wrecking havoc on their schedules. I suspect they'll work something out, but it's a dangerous trend messing with employees' hard-earned vacation time. As it is now, those employees who earn 3 weeks of vacation annually have basically just been told (along with last December) when they must take all their vacation. We'll see how it ends up.

It's in on the P-I (website)

I leave with just a brief memory of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. I've actually always been a Seattle Times reader myself, but the loss of a Seattle icon is always disappointing. Strangely enough, my fondest memory of the P-I is the plexiglass paperweight (I guess that's what I'll call it) that my grandpa made and enclosed the P-I headline and masthead from the day I was born. I've wondered where that is... I know I don't have it anymore, so I presume it's in some box or desk drawer at my parents' house. On the one bright side, the Times has assumed a few syndicated bits from the former print P-I, including some of the best comics around.

Denver - Day 7

2009-02-26T13:44:00.000-08:00

A late night and an early morning. I think I got about 6.5 hours of sleep, and morning came around way too soon. We had the last men's draw this morning, followed by one women's tiebreaker that was necessary for seeding. At 4pm today we have one men's tiebreaker as well, followed by the 8pm 1v2/3v4 playoffs for the women. Fortunately, I don't have to work until the 8pm draw tonight, which means naptime is coming up soon.

And things are getting a bit hectic around here, as NBC just arrived and they're going to start getting things ready to broadcast the semi-finals and finals live on UniversalSports, their new all-Olympic sports station. You can find it in Seattle on Comcast channel 115, or over the air (if you have digital antenna) on 5.2. Check local listings for other stations. For reference, the schedule is:

Women's Semi-Final: Friday 4pm MST (3pm PST)

Men's Semi-Final: Friday 8pm MST (7pm PST)

Women's Final: Saturday 10am MST (9am PST)

Men's Final: Saturday 3pm MST (2pm PST)

I'll be on the ice working the Friday 4pm and Saturday 10am draws, so feel free to look for me if they get bored showing coverage of the teams and I happen to walk by. :)

Denver - Days 4-6

2009-02-25T19:34:00.000-08:00

So busy I haven't had much of a chance to blog updates. When I've been in the hotel room, it's been mainly to sleep. But I have a few minutes here so I thought I'd update the past few days.

Monday was business as usual, working a few draws and finding times to eat and sleep when it was convenient.

Tuesday was my day to go do some things around Denver. I started out by heading down to the U.S. Mint and taking a tour. After going through a fairly intense security screening just to get in the door, we were taken on a short (about 20 minutes of actual stuff to see) walk through a observation deck where we could see the presses churning out pennies by the thousands (through some hefty glass, so we couldn't get our grubby little hands on them). It was interesting to see the mint in action, and quite a bit of historical coinage and artifacts were on display, but overall I was unimpressed. The tour was so constrained, there wasn't a whole lot to see and it just wasn't really worth the trouble, I think. But I did it, so there.

After that, I walked back downtown to the 16th Street Mall, which is the main shopping street through the middle of downtown Denver. It's a pedestrian-only street, with the exception of some extremely convenient shuttle buses that continuously travel up and down the street, so you can just hop on and off as you want to quickly get from one end to the other. Quite impressive.

I went to the far end of the street, where I found the Colorado State Capitol building. As it has become one of my quirky trip traditions to stop at every state capitol I come to, I went inside and wandered around the entire place. Being a weekday, the house and senate were both in session, and I wandered into the viewing gallery to see a bit of the Colorado legislature in action. They have a partial museum up in the lower part of the dome of the capitol which I went up to see, though unfortunately you can't climb all the way to the top of the dome, there was a viewing deck at the bottom of the dome. Pretty interesting. State Capitols are always fun to visit.

I did some shopping on the 16th Street Mall and worked my way down to the other end of the city and over to Coors Field. Not much going on there, but it was good to stop by and see where it was. Finally made my way back to the car and left downtown. Upon additional recommendations, I decided to drive all the way up to Fort Collins to check out the New Belgium Brewery. Just a mile away from it happens to be where one of my sisters works. I stopped by but she had already left for the day. In any event, I've been on quite a few brewery tours, but the New Belgium brewery tour was by far the most entertaining I've ever taken. Just a fantastic place.

Tonight after I finished officiating at the early draw this morning, I drove back to Loveland, just south of Fort Collins, to meet up with my sister and have dinner with her. It was good, mainly because if I went to Denver and didn't meet up with her, I'd never live it down. :) But we had a good time, and then I came back and here I am. Now heading back over to catch part of the late draw at the trials before finding some more sleep. Pictures to be posted later, it's always something.

More to come...

Denver - Day 2 and 3

2009-02-22T21:18:00.000-08:00

It's been a relatively uneventful first couple of days here at the Olympic Trials. Getting into the groove and not getting too much relaxing in at this point. My initial impression that this wouldn't be much of a vacation has been so far true. I put up a few pictures that I snapped tonight. Nothing too exciting there either. I'll try to take some better and more interesting shots later in the week.

This area (Broomfield, CO) is actually quite nice. I definitely ended up with a winner with the hotel here. Free made-to-order breakfast every morning (unfortunately, I'm not much of a breakfast person, so it's not exactly the most thrilling feature, and this morning I actually had to be out of here before they even opened), but the biggest advantage is that I'm not more than about 3 minutes away from the ice arena. Brilliant. I haven't had too much time to see much else, but expect to make it into the city on Tuesday. The high altitude hasn't affected me much at all, though fortunately drinking lots of water and staying hydrated I think has helped that a lot. What HAS bothered me is the dryness. My hands especially are getting chewed up, and I need to constantly remember to put lotion on them or else they will die.

Time to get some rest before the 6:30am alarm goes off. Why is it always that I get up earlier when I am on vacation than when I'm not. Something is seriously wrong. :)

Denver - Day 1

2009-02-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

Thus begins a series of blogs on my 8 nights in scenic Denver, Colorado. I'm here primarily to officiate for the US National Curling Championship / Olympic Trials. I worked the day today then caught a 6:45pm flight, which departed a few minutes late, but other than that was relatively uneventful.

Arriving in Denver, I was greeted with sub-freezing temperatures. All indications were that it had snowed earlier in the evening. So after my luggage finally coming out, I headed outside to catch the shuttle to the rental car place (which is not so conveniently nowhere near the actual terminal). After waiting outside in the 22-degree or so cold for about 15 minutes, the shuttle finally came and we made our way to the cars. I ended up with a red Prius hybrid, at least that's what I think I unearthed when I froze my hand brushing off the layer of snow and then scraping the ice off the windshield and ungluing the wipers. 10 minutes later, I figured out how to turn on the silly car and how to use the 50 bazillion buttons and knobs. I swear, I think this thing is more complicated than the space shuttle, and at night it looks like mission control, with the actual dashboard, plus the whole touchscreen that controls all of the audio/climate control/engine status, and then my life-saving GPS that I threw up on the dash next to it. Finally we had liftoff, and I zipped out of the parking lot and on my way (getting something on the order of 40 mpg). So then I had about 35 miles to get to Broomfield, not realizing that the shortest distance between two points involved toll roads. $13 in tolls later, just after midnight local time I managed to made it to the hotel.

Now the hotel I got on Hotwire. If I was going to be here 8 nights, I wasn't going to pay a whole lot a night. So with my luck, I ended up with an inn just a mile away from the ice arena where the competition would be. The front desk closes at 10, but they had left an envelope with my room key out front (there are only 16 rooms here) and I made my way into the nice warm room without any problem. This room is about as nice as some studio apartments. King-sized bed, sink, microwave, minifridge, couch, gas fireplace, internet... can't complain too much for the $45/night I'm paying when the going rate for the room is about $129. I'll take some pictures later.

Well, at this, I need to get up in just over 7 hours. Day 2 will continue tomorrow with the opening ceremony and first day of competition. It should be interesting to see the arena all set up for curling.

The Lion King

2009-02-20T17:21:00.000-08:00

Last night I attended the touring production of The Lion King at the Paramount. While this show has been around for a while now, this is actually the first time I've seen it. While some shows have brilliant music (which tends to be weighted much more highly in my reviews than other factors), this show definitely had what I would consider one of the greatest theatrical experiences I've seen.

As I think back to when The Lion King animated movie originally was released--which turns out to be 1994 believe it or not--I can't tell you how many times I've seen the movie over the past 15 years. I'm pretty sure I have the original movie soundtrack on CD somewhere around, though haven't listened to it in ages. But if you're expecting the musical to have the same music as the movie, you're partially mistaken. Sure the big numbers from the movie are still there, but a handful of new material has also been added, which frankly contributes a lot to the musical production. Obviously the story line is mangled a bit for the stage, cutting out some filler from the movie and adding some new material to tie up the loose ends.

I so often use the term "theatrical spectacle" to describe shows that may not have the greatest music or story lines, but more than make up for it in the visual stage experience. This show is the rare package deal, with great music, a reasonable story line, and the show to go with it. It's no surprise, given that Disney produced the stage show, that the experience is as amazing as it is. As a connaisseur of the finest theme park attractions Disney has to offer, think of this show as its own 2.5-hour ride that they delivered to the theatre.

Despite all of the great things I have to say about it, I can't say it's the best musical I've seen, or even one that I'd choose above others to see again if given the option. In this case, it's definitely a show I'd say everyone should see once, but now I've seen it and don't really need to see it again. Not that I wouldn't, but I wouldn't be chomping at the bit to see it.

Onto the ratings...

Music - 5 Stars - The songs were great, and you could listen to them again.

Cast - 4 Stars - Rafiki, Scar and the young Simba were definitely the high points.

Technical - 5 Stars - The mark of a true Broadway spectacle

Story - 4 Stars - It is what it is

Overall - 4 Stars - But you should see it anyway. :)

TV Commercial Roundup

2009-02-11T19:55:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I did a roundup of interesting TV commercials. So once again for the benefit of you Tivo users who may not have seen any of these, here's what you've been missing.

Now, this is an old one now, part of PEMCO Insurance's "We're A Lot Like You" campaign. This was probably the first of the series that I remember seeing, which is why I remember it so well. But here's the twist, I just saw this commercial again today, and they've renamed it "Relentless Recycler." Other than that the commercial is identical. Was some obsessive-compulsive recycler not flattered by the commercial and wrote a nasty letter to PEMCO? Has "obsessive-compulsive" got such a negative connotation that it's an insult? One must assume...

Premiering during this year's Super Bowl, Jack gets hit by a bus. No surprise for a company that has constantly thrived on its creative advertising campaigns. As expected, this latest twist has it's accompanying website hangintherejack.com, and is sure to follow with a whole series of related commercials.

Another Super Bowl ad, but this one gets credit for a different reason. MacGruber, a recurring sketch from Saturday Night Live parodying MacGyver, broke out of late-night and into the world of television commercials. Being the big MacGyver fan I always have been, I've found these sketches quite hilarious, but the added bonus this time is the appearance of Richard Dean Anderson himself... and can I just say, MacGyver does not age well. Oh yeah, and there's some product promoted too, but that seems irrelevant.

Venturing into the world of infomercials, I hate to give Vince (more popularly known as the ShamWOW guy) any more credit than what he doesn't remotely deserve, but suffice it to say... he's baaaaaaaccckkk! Yes, this time with SlapChop. Forget the fact that you've seen this exact product advertised before under a different name. Ignore the fact that this guy thinks he's the next Billy Mays. And join with me in hoping this is the LAST infomercial he does. "'Cause we can't do this all day." And someone can strangle him with that ridiculous headset mic he wears. That's all.

Jim Henson exhibit coming to EMP

2009-02-09T15:09:00.000-08:00

Opening May 23rd at the EMP/SFM at Seattle Center, Jim Henson's Fantastic World. As described on the website:

The exhibition features 100 original artworks, including drawings, cartoons and storyboards that illustrate Henson’s talent as a storyteller and visionary. Among the variety of exhibition objects are puppets and television and movie props, photographs of Henson and his collaborators at work and original video productions, including excerpts from Henson’s early career and experimental films.

Very cool. This will definitely be a must-see for me. Only running for a couple of months, from May 23-August 16th. Check it out.