May 2003 | Page 3 | A.J. Wood

May 14, 2003 by A.J. Wood

Spurs 96, Lakers 94… whew…

“One game after overcoming a 16-point deficit, the Lakers nearly erased a 25-point hole before falling 96-94 when Robert Horry’s 3-pointer with 3 seconds left went in and out Tuesday night.”

Sometimes you dominate the game, sometimes luck is smiling upon you. The Spurs edged passed the Lakers tonight after dominating the first half. (I didn’t know until this evening that the majority of playoff series between the Spurs & Lakers have followed this pattern) You have to give it to Phil Jackson if the Lakers win it’s all in the coaching. His ability to make the most minute adjustments during a game almost got the Lakers a win going back to LA.

Michelle & I will be crossing our fingers & toes in hopes that the Spurs will close out the series on Thursday.

On a personal note, I received a pleasant e-mail from Aidan who happened to click over from Katie’s blog. I have to thank him once more for his compliments about this site and Michelle. Aidan has a remarkable site of his own and I’m humbled to think he liked my design as I’ve barely tapped the limits of Flash & other advanced techniques.

Will you look at the time… Happy Hump Day Everyone!!!

in Editorial 5 comments

May 12, 2003 by A.J. Wood

not that i promote drinking…

While comparing tastes in alcohol Katie asked the question well what is Cherry Kirsch anyhow?

Ah, the memories. From the parties at Michigan State to the late night Meijer runs to find it, nothing beats a 90 proof “Cherry” Coke. I have Derek to thank for the introduction and Amy for carrying on the tradition. If you’re looking for a strong mixed beverage that doesn’t taste like a cocktail then this is for you.

Not as overdone as Jack & Coke, or Rum & Coke, not a fruity concoction like Sex on the Beach, nope this a unique beverage its base ingredient I have only ever seen in Michigan.

Of course, my days of drinking until saturation are behind me, but on those celebratory occasions it’s fun to introduce folks to something that appears new & refreshing.

And it’s a good chaser for Mind Erasers & Dead Nazi shots.

UPDATE 5:10PM – Got a quite a few questions via e-mail so let me sum up:

Mind Eraser Shot – this is a shot containing 1/3 Kahlua, 1/3 Vodka & 1/3 Tonic Water. The shot is layered not mixed. Add ice then slowly pour Kahlua, Vodka then Tonic. Remember NOT to mix the shot and slurp quickly through a straw.

Dead Nazi Shot – a little simpler to make this is simply one shot of Jagermeister topped off with Rumplemintz. You can mix 50-50 if the Jager is too strong. This shot is also known as the Burning Nazi. Oh and don’t let anyone fool you into using any brand of Peppermint Schnapps instead of Rumplemintz. It is not the same shot.

In closing, here’s the Habanero Tequila story Rick was asking about. (View the picture and click the link for the text story window)

in Editorial 21 comments

May 11, 2003 by A.J. Wood

May Day Project

Hmmm… why is it during the week I have to get up at 5am and on the weekends when I have the chance to sleep in I’m up at 7am? Grrrr… stupid body clock. Well the upside is I spent the past two hours tidying up my photos for the May Day Project. And I quote:

“the may day project is an event where each person took (roughly) a photograph an hour to illustrate their day on saturday may 10, 2003. in 3 weeks, roughly 775 people signed up to take part and now this site lists everyone’s entries. people from australia, canada, america, europe and asia participated making it a worldwide photographic event!”

Welcome new viewers, here is my gallery from yesterday.

in Editorial 2 comments

May 10, 2003 by A.J. Wood

Movie Review – X2: X-Men United

My review is skewed because I read the X-Men comics and as such draw direct comparisons to their movie counterparts.

It is my hope that turning comic books into movies doesn’t become the “new thing” as the quality of filmmaking will only turn into a parody series similar to the Batman franchise. My expectations for this sequel weren’t too high as I knew there would be an introduction of newer characters on top of the ones we already met in the last film. I think this point lends itself to the weakness in the X-Men movies – how do you make an engaging plot while throwing in a new mutant around every corner? Characters already familiar to fans of the comic book showed up in quick 30 second sequences. Others like Colossus actually received a few sentences of dialogue only to disappear for the rest of the film. (I left the movie asking where all the extra children went)

There were several pieces to the movie that only those who read the comic book would pick up (all the ?ber-geeks are yelling it’s Jean Grey you fools). It is obvious that they are attempting to build a franchise as there were many openings set for another sequel. Overall the pace of the movie dragged. There were some cool action sequences, but much like Mortal Kombat it translated into “Let me show you what this mutant can do” The exceptions of course were Wolverine (who I hope to see in his own movie) and I did like that Bobby Drake aka The Iceman received a little more screen time.

(Borrowed from Ryan’s Buffy Blog)
The Good – The opening action sequences with Nightcrawler were excellent. Some decent cinematography for the the fight scenes and his character translated on screen very well. Wolverine opening a can of whoop-ass on the military. Could have been better lighting, but hey you get the point. The family scene where Bobby’s brother rats the group out to the police. Some good dramatic tension for that 10-20 minutes. Lady Deathstrike nuff said.

The Bad – More witty dialogue please. The sequel didn’t have the great one-liners between Logan & Scott. Villains seem to die. I don’t think you can build a true rivalry in the span of two hours and settle the results with somebody getting offed. I didn’t enjoy it with the Batman movies and I don’t think it works well here. Wolverine getting punked in his fight sequence with Lady Deathstrike. Really, in the comic he is so much more the bad ass. Jean’s haircut, nuff said.

Overall – Great movie for the younger generation with an underlying message about racism & prejudice. Comic diehards like me want to see more character development and a more cohesive storyline, but we’ll still end up with the DVD.

in Arts/Media 0 comments

May 8, 2003 by A.J. Wood

Spurs 114, Lakers 95 HOORAH!!!

Did you see the Spurs STUN the Lakers last night? Kudos to the Spurs for being aggressive all night, I enjoyed seeing Shaq & Kobe sit out towards the end of the 4th quarter. Michelle is predicting a sweep, but I’m a little more cautious as you never know what adjustments Phil Jackson will make in a series like this one.

This is not what I had in mind when I talked about girl power. Uhm, I just realized I’ve crossed over into that realm of adulthood I’ve been dreading all my life, but I have to ask the question “What the hell is going on with kids today?” Video from the Chicago incident has been shown on Good Morning America. It doesn’t look too bad until you see the paint buckets ricocheting off of the girls’ faces. I’m happy to say I never participated in this sort of hazing.

Moving right along, Jared has another entry continuing last week’s feminism discussion. This is good stuff people. Read, comment, learn.

The one thing I miss about blogrolling links is YOU the reader can’t tell when my fellow bloggers have updated. More importantly, have you noticed my link list is growing? New additions include Bettie Girl, Reverend Mykeru & Uptonia. Be sure to read my link descriptions to see why these people rock and why the good Reverend ownz me.

Oh and my personal request for the day go rate my blog at the Weblog Review (5 is the good number people). Then go give Katie’s blog a rating of 5 because she rocks the party. You can read my response to the March review.

in Editorial 4 comments