lewis and clark had a journal. you, beth-annie, have a diary.

Friday, August 30, 2002
Ha. Ha ha. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Take that, no one in particular.
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Thursday, August 29, 2002
Life sucks, Craig.
Gosh darn it. Annika is NOT going to be at the LPGA tournment Josh and I are going to this weekend. At first I thought maybe I didn't want to go anymore, but it only costs $18 and the whole experience would be interesting, and there are some other players there that I like, though not as much, and since it's the final round we would get to see someone win and everything. Plus we would get to see Kaly and Greenville and maybe even my parents for a few minutes. So we're going anyway. We didn't have anything else to do with our Labor Day weekend, since we were always planning on this. Still, though, booger on her. I hear she's looking for a summer home in Sweden. Not a good enough excuse in my book. :)
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Tuesday, August 27, 2002
People are apparently wondering what I am obsessed with. Well, what if I don't want to tell you? What if it makes me look pathetic? (This is all just hypothetical, of course).

Okay, I will give you a few hints.

First, from my last post one person (I am guessing only one) will know after tomorrow night. (Hmmm, what's tomorrow night? you wonder...)

Second, it is something that I have mentioned once or twice in this blog.

Third, it is something that is keeping me in a lot of suspense on a daily basis, so much so that I now spend way too much time on certain message boards on the internet speculating and defending and interpreting and hoping and...argh, just waiting.

Fourth, it is something that I have not as of yet begged Josh to let me spend $9.95 to indulge further in my obsession, and please don't let me. Although, you know, it IS only ten bucks...and so I wouldn't get anything done during the day for about a month...that's really no big deal...and it would tell me oh so much more than the crappy stuff I spend all day reading anyway... No, really, I won't though. I don't think. He would never let me anyway. I'm already driving him up the wall. *whooooooo, deep breath* I'm fine. Really.

This is so sad.

6:40 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me!

Saturday, August 24, 2002
And so it has finally happened. I have crossed that line into obsession.
Well paint my gnome and call me Sparky.
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Friday, August 23, 2002
The internet sucks, Craig.

I WANT MY COMMENTS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pretty puhleeze? I'll love you forever.... Really, I will. Come on! I need interaction with the outside world! I need it! No one should have to live like this! It's so inhumane! Don't you love me? Did I wrong you in another life? Did I wrong you in this life? What? Are you saying reincarnation doesn't exist? Well...well...well.........poo on you!

Really. The comments. NOW, please.
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Oh happy day.

Two things:

1. My Jase is HOH, which means he and Dani are sittin' pretty. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, shame on you for having a life.)

2. Today we bought tickets to my first ever Counting Crows concert. And they are even good seats. And they weren't outrageously expensive. And Josh is being nice enough to accompany me even though he has no particular affection for the Crows or their music. And who cares if we have to drive all the way to DeKalb on a Wednesday night and miss choir? I'm seeing my band!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not that excited, though.
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Thursday, August 22, 2002
A NOTE ON SONGS.

I hate 311's "Amber." It is ultra-annoying. Trust me. [Don't listen.]

I love OK Go's "Get Over It." [Listen.]

I like Weezer's "Keep Fishin'." The video too. Muppets kick. [Listen.]
[Or if you and your internet connection are really ambitious, go here to watch.]

I am ready to hurl now. As if her first video/song wasn't bad enough, Avril Lavigne now releases a single with a title (and, I can only assume, lyrics and video) that confirms everything we feared and more from watching her first video: she is, in fact, a "Sk8er Boi." Wow. Words cannot express. [I refuse to give you a link to a song called "Sk8er Boi."]
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Monday, August 19, 2002
I am so sick of Elvis.

___________________________________________

In response to moM's phone message this weekend: at the time of the message, talking had occurred but no decision had been made (or communicated at least) by the other party. As of this morning, it appears nothing is going to happen on that particular front right now. So we are back to the waiting game.

___________________________________________

Nah, the waiting game sucks. Let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos!

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Friday, August 16, 2002
What is up with my Annika?
She has only participated in 2 of the last 6 LPGA tournaments, and one of those she even missed the cut and didn't go on to the final rounds! Huh? When on earth was the last time she missed a cut? And what's with the not even playing golf? I realize everyone needs a little time off every now and then, but the #1 player in the world doesn't typically just stop playing in more than half the tournaments when it's always been a pretty much full-time thing. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm whining too much here--I'm really not. I'm more curious than anything else. And I guess a little disappointed that I haven't been able to see my favorite player much at all lately (it seems that whenever she actually IS on tv, it's on a weekend when we're out of town or there's something else that keeps me from being able to watch the tournament). It would be like if the ISU women's basketball team just took a month-long break in the middle of basketball season. It kinda stinks. I just hope she doesn't miss the cut at the State Farm Classic in Springfield (since we're going for the final round). That would REALLY stink.
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Thursday, August 15, 2002
Celebrities, Part 2.
This one should make Opie happier. ;)

The following is a list of celebrities (mostly actors/actresses) that I am somewhat fond of. Maybe because I've liked pretty much every movie or role I've ever seen them in. Maybe because they make me laugh. Maybe because I admire them for things I've heard about them offscreen. Maybe I just, um, like looking at them. ;) Whatever. All the same general kinds of reasons I'm not fond of certain celebrities, ranging from legitimate to completely superficial. And, once again, I like certain people on this list more than others, and I'm sure I've forgotten people. So. Here goes.

Bob Balaban
Jim Belushi
Jack Black
Wayne Brady
Sandra Bullock
Levar Burton
Jim Caviezel
Joan Cusack
John Cusack
David Duchovny
Harrison Ford
Morgan Freeman
Janeane Garafalo
Jennifer Garner
Bruce Greenwood
Cary Grant
Bonnie Hunt
James Earl Jones
Tommy Lee Jones
Ashley Judd
Danny Kaye
Gene Kelly
Craig Kilborn
Heath Ledger
Jason Lee
David Letterman
Jon Lovitz
William H. Macy
Garry Marshall
Steve Martin
Ewan McGregor
Matthew Modine
Bill Murray
Paul Newman
Guy Pearce
David Hyde Pierce
Natalie Portman
Parker Posey
Dennis Quaid
Robert Redford
Ving Rhames
Campbell Scott
Harry Shearer
Tony Shalhoub
Kevin Spacey
Jimmy Stewart
Jon Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Billy Bob Thornton
Michael Vartan
Denzel Washington
Fred Willard
Rita Wilson
Alfre Woodard
Al Yankovic
Steve Zahn

And, to keep this list shorter, anyone from the following television series: Ed, Gilmore Girls, seaQuest, Northern Exposure.

I also for the most part left the mega-stars off this list (Harrison Ford is I think the only exception, but I just couldn't leave him off), in part because I guess most people like them, so it wouldn't be a big surprise that I do, too. But just to let you know the bigger stars that I like more than the other bigger stars, here they are: George Clooney, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Jennifer Lopez, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan (although not so much lately). And I'm probably forgetting someone there, too, but otherwise most other mega-stars I'm rather indifferent to.

I also didn't really delve into the whole music area. That was just too much thinking right now (and it's also not quite as easy).
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You know, I do this all the time.
I started watching the movie "Out of Sight" this afternoon on cable, just 'cause it was on and I'd never seen it and I'd always wanted to see it. The mistake I often make when doing something like this is that I try to watch it while also doing stuff on the computer. The first half hour or so of the movie I usually pay pretty good attention to, then I get really involved in something online during a commercial break and then don't pay attention when it comes back. Once this happens, it becomes very easy to pay less and less attention to the rest of the movie, since I don't know as much about what's going on. This is made even worse with a movie like "Out of Sight," where the scenes aren't all in chronological order (well, either that or I've been paying even less attention to the movie than I thought). So before I know it, I have to go and rent the movie if I want to see what actually happens. Boo hiss. Well, at least that way it will be unedited and Josh can see it, too.

And, yeah, that's where the Luis Guzman comment came from.
3:42 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me!

I swear Luis Guzman is in half the movies ever made...

Oh, okay, fine. Half the movies made in the last ten years.
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Wednesday, August 14, 2002
Celebrities, Part 1.
The following is a list of my celebrity (mostly actor/actress) annoyances. They are simply people who, for whatever reason, I cannot bring myself to like, and in some cases actively dislike. Sometimes I know exactly why, sometimes I only sort of know why, and sometimes I have no idea. Not everyone on this list is equal, but I didn’t feel like actually ranking them all in order, so it’s simply alphabetical. I know, I'm a slacker.

Jason Alexander
Rowan Atkinson
Sandra Bernhard
Jason Biggs
Nicolas Cage
Jamie Lee Curtis
Rodney Dangerfield
Geena Davis
Ellen DeGeneres
Andy Dick
Whoopi Goldberg
Tom Green
Melanie Griffith
Anne Heche
Val Kilmer
Chris Klein
Nathan Lane
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Andie MacDowell
Malcolm McDowell
Tobey Maguire
Bette Midler
Cheri Oteri
Mary-Louise Parker
John Ritter
Roseanne
Mercedes Ruehl
Winona Ryder
Susan Sarandon
Rob Schneider
Brooke Shields
Mary Steenburgen
Sharon Stone
Meryl Streep
Patrick Swayze
Uma Thurman
Liv Tyler
James Woods
Amy Yasbeck

Please forgive me if I’ve forgotten anyone. I wouldn’t want anyone to feel left out.
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Monday, August 12, 2002
And, yeah, so I finally got my birthday present this weekend.
While we were in Ames, we browsed through this really cool store downtown called Worldly Goods. They basically sell all kinds of cool things from all over the world (Africa, Asia, South America, India, etc.), and everything is made through fair labor programs in third world countries, both as a means of education of other cultures and as an income source. We got a really cool scorched bamboo coffee-table-type-thing that I think was made somewhere in southeast Asia. I like it muchly. So there. We do get around to things eventually.
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I'm pooped.
I just spent a good chunk of the afternoon, along with one other person, on a messageboard defending Christianity to a whole mess of people who, well, let's just say they didn't get it and they don't want to get it. I am emotionally and intellectually exhausted, and all I want to do for the rest of the night is veg out in front of the tv and not think about anything. Bye all.
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Thursday, August 08, 2002
I just need to say something quick here. We're watching the end of the Cubs game on TV, right? And I see the thing that always for some reason makes me fall on the floor laughing: when one of the coaches gives hand signals to the batter. It is so freakin' funny! Because all I can think is how it looks just like it always does in movies, and how it really shouldn't. I mean, everything else in movies is exaggerated or glamourized (can you say birthing scenes? Just watch an episode of TLC's A Baby Story and you'll find out right quick that birthin' babies ain't nothin' like how it's done shown in the movies). It just makes me laugh whenever I see that, yes, that is ACTUALLY how they do it in real life. Too funny.
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Wednesday, August 07, 2002
Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I watch reality TV. Sue me.
I like it (sometimes). It's interesting (most of the time). I have watched every episode of every Survivor, Big Brother, The Mole, and The Amazing Race. I also watched (ahem) The Bachelor, and have seen episodes of Road Rules, The Real World, Meet My Folks, Popstars, and Lost. I will now rank these from best to worst, with a break separating those that are and are not worth watching, in general.

1.  (tie)  The Amazing Race and The Mole.
Amazing Race:  teams of two (mother-daughter, husband-wife, roommates, etc.) race around the world following clues and performing tasks, games, etc. along the way.
Mole:  a group of people work together on various tasks, games, etc. to try to win varying amounts of money for the "pot," while one of them is secretly working to sabotage their missions and keep money from the "pot," which will ultimately be won by one person who figures out the identity of the mole (and scores highest on the final "mole quiz").
----These two are definitely the most interesting and involve the least amount of back-stabbing.  I am generally fond of most of the contestants on these shows, and they seem like they are having the most fun of all those in reality shows.  Neither show involves contestants voting out their fellow players (in Race the last team to make it to the end of each leg of the race is eliminated, and in Mole the person scoring lowest on each "Who is the Mole?" quiz is eliminated).  They are the most entertaining and the least likely to exhibit the horribleness of the human race.

3. Survivor.
Anyone who doesn't know the basic concept of this has been living up a tree for the last couple years.
----This just barely beat out Big Brother for this spot, because they are basically the same thing. Survivor just has a more interesting location. The challenges and facing of the elements make this somewhat interesting, but the psychological games amongst contestants are not quite on par with BB.

4.  Big Brother.
Like Survivor, but in a house.
----The one thing this has on Survivor is that the game as a whole has more twists to it.  There is a competition each week for "Head of Household," the winner of which nominates two people for eviction.  Another competition then occurs, the winner of which has the choice of vetoing one of the nominations and forcing the "HOH" to nominate someone else.  Then everyone except the "HOH" and the two final nominees vote to evict one of them.  This puts a much bigger emphasis on strategy than does Survivor, and makes for more interesting human interaction.  That is why the two are only separated by a very minute amount.  (Note:  this year's BB I am finding far better than the two previous years, and would rank the current above both of the last two Survivors.  Danielle and Jason are my peeps!  You go, guys!)
____________________________________________________________________________

5.  Road Rules.
Seven gen-whatevers (about 18-25 in age) travel around the country (or sometimes other countries) in an RV, performing "missions" either for immediate trip spending money or to add to the "handsomeness" of their ultimate "handsome reward."
----The quality of this varies wildly from season to season, based on who the cast is made up of.  The missions can be quite entertaining to watch, but much of the "drama" in between is exactly the kind of crap you would expect from an MTV show with seven 18-25-year-olds living together.  Hit and miss.

6.  Lost.
Not extremely successful 3-episode series where three teams of two (who don't know each other) are dropped off in the middle of nowhere somewhere on the globe, and have to make their way back to the Statue of Liberty first, with only a finite amount of money and a few supplies.
----An interesting idea.  Too bad the show didn't turn out to be as interesting as the premise.  I don't think we'll see this one again.

7. Popstars.
A bunch of chicks compete over time to be members in a "girl group."
----I only saw this when they were running a marathon some afternoon when there was nothing to do. Not as mean-spirited as I've heard American Idol can be, but I also don't remember all that much about it, so it can't have been very good.

8.  The Bachelor.
One guy (in this case) and about 20 women (in this case).  He hangs with them and whittles the field down with each episode, eventually settling on one.
----What a tacky show.  Not as tacky as Temptation Island (which I wouldn't touch with a 50-foot pole, thank you), but still tacky.  The whole he's-supposed-to-propose-marriage-to-whoever-he-picks thing aside, though (which he didn't really), I am sorry to admit I found the show rather entertaining as a whole (a few moments were less-than-thrilling).  I put it this low simply because of its tackiness, but I honestly would probably watch this one again before I would watch either #6 or #7 again.  Especially if the tables were turned and there was one gal and 20 guys.

9.  Meet My Folks
In every episode I've seen, three guys spend the weekend at the house of a girl, interacting with her and her parents.  The suitors have various embarrassing things revealed about themselves, ex-girlfriends visit, and it all finally culminates in a lie detector test a la "Meet the Parents."  The rents then choose one of the boys to go on a trip to Hawaii with their daughter.
----First of all, if I were these parents I would not go on a show that would result in my daughter going on any kind of a vacation alone with any guy she's not married to, especially one she knows so, like, hardly at all.  Second, these parents take the lie detector results as total and complete fact, when any sane person knows they can be horribly inaccurate at times.  Every episode I've seen the parents' final decision has simply been who lied the least on the "test," no matter what else happened during the weekend.  What is amusing is that they also almost always pick the guy their daughter is least interested in.  Coincidence?  Probably not.  This is a show I never need to see again, but, let's face it, I probably will.

10.  The Real World.
Like Road Rules without the interesting stuff.  Like Big Brother without the interesting stuff and with an exponentially immaturer and more volatile cast.  Also hit and miss, depending on the people, but mostly miss.
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Yeah, so like I said, BILL IS THE MOLE. I am so smart. *Pats herself on the back* :)
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Tuesday, August 06, 2002
Driving around relatively small towns in Minnesota this weekend (relatively small meaning about 15,000-23,000 ppl), we were amazed at how many downright frightening railroad crossings we were forced to drive through. What exactly do I mean by frightening? Well, I'm one of those people who is of the CRAZY and apparently COMPLETELY UNREASONABLE opinion that ALL railroad crossings that are not "exempt" should have warning signals. Every single one. Just like I am of the opinion that unmarked intersections should be outlawed. Is it really that hard to put up some "Yield" signs? Golly. Anyway, the number of unique crossings we saw without warning signals of any sort was astonishing. Most had a stop sign right before you crossed the tracks, but only on very rare occasions could you actually see more than about 40 feet down the tracks in either direction. And a few didn't even have a stop sign--there was absolutely NOTHING. Huh? Am I missing something here? Do trains only cross here VERY slowly merely a couple times a week or something? If someone could please explain the (sensible) logic behind this I would be quite grateful.
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Monday, August 05, 2002
I watched most of two episodes of "Sex and the City" this weekend, and I have just one thing to say: I don't get it. It wasn't funny (isn't it supposed to be a comedy?), the dialogue was weird and even a little corny at times, and the amount of boob-showing was, I found, quite unnecessary (I believe their philosophy must be, "Hey we're on HBO! Hey, we can show women's boobs! Hey, let's show women's boobs! A lot! Cool, man.") Um, yeah.
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Friday, August 02, 2002
So tomorrow morning we are *probably* going to Minnesota to, um, take a look around. Maybe play some disc golf. Probably eat at Boston Market (which I am in love with but are very scarce). Yes, we are crazy to be driving 12-13-hour round trips three weekends in a row, but you know us! Crazy, crazy, crazy!
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Thursday, August 01, 2002
The Cubbies are too durn popular.
In a desperate attempt to find some fun activity with which to entertain Josh's parents when they come visit us on an as yet undetermined weekend in September, we thought the most appealing idea would be to get tickets to a Cubs game, especially since Josh and I have been wanting to go to one all summer and haven't yet gotten around to it. But you know what? Tickets for weekend home games at Wrigley don't exist a month and a half in advance. Oh, I'm sure you can find single seats scattered here and there, but you just try finding even TWO available seats together, let alone FOUR. Even in the expensive seats. It just ain't gonna happen. Booger.

And no, the Sox just ain't the same, so don't even go there.

Now we are forced to come up with something else interesting to do, which is a bit of a challenge for us since we typically don't do much that's interesting on our own. :) Of course we get to take the 'rents disc golfing at our current "home course," which we have so far only shown off to two other people (my sister and a friend from college whose parents live in Milwaukee), and there are the inevitable board/card games, but it just seems like being so close to one major major and another minor major city, we should do something to take advantage of that fact. Hmmm, thinking....thinking....ow. :)
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