TMI Thursday: Youthful Indiscretion

Many people make mistakes when they are young. You just hope that your mistake doesn’t end up hurting yourself or someone else. You hope that your mistake doesn’t end up with you in jail. You also hope that the mistake is forgotten and doesn’t come back to haunt you. Finally, you hope that there is no visual evidence.

As a senior in high school, I did something that I regret. All I can say is that I was young, but that’s not really an excuse. I was 17 or 18, so I really should have known better. I had actually forgotten about this whole ordeal until I found a picture of me when I was back at my parents’ house in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but here is the reveal: I bought and wore a New York Jets hat. The horror!



My theory is that I wanted to have a hat that was different than anyone else at school. Maybe I had a soft spot for Al Toon, Browning Nagle, Freeman McNeil or a reserve tight end named Ken Whisenhunt. (I looked up the team's 1992 roster and found that the current Arizona Cardinals coach was on the team.) Maybe I bought the hat in homage to Joe Namath, a native of Beaver Falls, PA like my dad. Actually, I think that I just liked the hat.

I am a die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan and a member of the DC Steeler Nation. I have no ties to the Jets other than the fact that they had Curtis Martin, a fellow Pittsburgher, in recent years. I don't have the hat anymore and will never wear any type of Jets paraphernalia again. I hope that you will forgive me and not think of me any differently.


As always, make sure to visit LiLu for more TMI Thursdays. Plus, you can click here to see all of my TMI Thursday archives.

Breaking Obvious News: Cats Control Humans

According to a study published in Current Biology* and posted on Yahoo, a study found that cats control humans and "exercise this control with a certain type of urgent-sounding, high-pitched meow," which is actually a purr mixed with a high-pitched cry. The researcher in the story "suggests that the purr-cry may subtly take advantage of humans' sensitivity to cries they associate with nurturing offspring."

There’s much more in the Yahoo article, but I don’t think you can accurately say that Ziggy controls us, right?







Yeah, we're just living in Ziggy's world.


* This will be the first and only time I reference Current Biology unless they feature an article about Troy Polamalu.

Best Musicians of the Decade

Let’s say that there was a new version of We Are The World, but this edition had to feature only artists that started, or at least made it big, in or after 2000. Based on my ground rules, you couldn’t include U2, Green Day, Britney, Christina, Jay-Z, Eminem, or even Justin Timberlake or Beyonce since their bands released their first album prior to 2000. I should also point out that my definition of making it big is when they first became known nationally. For example, the Goo Goo Dolls were around for about eight years before receiving mainstream success or attention. So who would make the cut? Here are my thoughts:

Coldplay
Nickelback
Kanye West
Miley Cyrus
Kelly Clarkson
John Mayer
Alicia Keys
Jonas Brothers
Norah Jones
Maroon 5
Fall Out Boy

I have to be missing someone, right? Is this the all-decade team? Are there even any Hall of Famers from this class?

Please share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below, especially if I am missing someone.

I’d love to see the thoughts of Sheena Beaston and the folks at Friday Morning Riffs on this as well.

Trivia Tuesday will return next week.

See The Steelers-Redskins Preseason Game For Free

I received an offer from the Washington Redskins to see the August 22, 2009 pre-season game against the Pittsburgh Steelers for free. All that I (or you) have to do is spend $260 to see Paul McCartney.



That's not quite free now is it? Here's the rest of the e-mail I received:

Don't miss your chance to catch the action at FedExField. August offers many exciting events and FedExField is proud to present an EXCLUSIVE OFFER for you.

Reserve one of the best Lower Level seats for Rock-and-Roll Legend Paul McCartney's concert on August 1st and get free parking and an invitation to a complimentary pre-party with an all-you-can-eat buffet for the special price of $260.* Plus you get a choice of one of the following events for FREE:** (Sean's note: Again, that's not really free.)

D.C. United vs. Real Madrid Soccer Match • Sunday, August 9, 2009
Redskins vs. Pittsburgh (Preseason Game) • Saturday, August 22, 2009
Redskins vs. New England (Preseason Game) • Friday, August 28, 2009

* Alcoholic beverages extra! (Boooooo. For $260, I want alcohol included!)

** Ticket locations are on the Club Level. Parking included. Offer is valid while supplies last. After ordering on-line, The Redskins Ticket Office will contact you within 5 business days to arrange for delivery of your Paul McCartney hospitality wristband and the ticket(s) to your complimentary event. If you want to call the Redskins (301.276.6050), please have your Ticketmaster confirmation number ready when you call.

Attention Reston Residents

I usually don’t write about politics, especially local politics, but I need to write about the election for the Reston Citizen Association's ("RCA") Board. There is a candidate for an at-large seat named Ken Meyercord, who describes himself as "a Holocaust revisionist." From The Washington Post:

"I believe millions of Jews were uprooted from their homes and died in droves," Meyercord said. But he dismisses as Allied propaganda the assertion that Nazi Germany embarked on a mission to annihilate European Jews, a plan known as the Final Solution. He also denies that Nazis used gas chambers to murder Jews, saying gas chambers did not exist, and expresses skepticism that the number of Holocaust victims reached 6 million.

From the Washington Jewish Week:

In addition, Meyercord calls into question the number of Jews killed at Auschwitz, and disputes the accuracy of a photograph depicting "smoke billowing up" from crematoria, claiming the smoke was "air brushed in."

I generally don’t really care about the RCA and Reston politics. I don’t understand why Reston residents have to pay a fairly significant amount of money for the "privilege" of living in Reston (in addition to the county and state taxes we pay). However, I don’t want Meyercord representing me and my fellow Reston residents.

Therefore, if you live in Reston, I encourage you to go to the Reston Festival TODAY (Sunday, July 12) and vote for Tammi Petrine and write-in Colin Mills, a former member of the RCA Board, for the at-large positions. The election takes place from 10-6 at the RCA booth at the Reston Festival.


Update 7/14: According to The Washington Post, Mills received 1,157 write-in votes. Meyercord, who had been running unopposed, received only 23 votes. Wow!

Mazel Tov

We may be witnessing history! I believe that right now is the first time in American music history that the #1 song features both "Mazel Tov" and "L'Chaim" in the lyrics. If you're not familiar with the song, you might be wondering the identity of the artist. Do the Beastie Boys have a new song? Did Adam Sandler create a Hanukkah in July song? Well, the #1 song according to the Billboard Hot 100 is "I Gotta Feeling" by none other than a special collaboration between Jerry Seinfeld, Natalie Portman, Sacha Baron Cohen, and the late Sammy Davis Jr. Plus, the video is directed by Stephen Spielberg. No wonder the song is #1! Actually, the song is by the Black Eyed Peas.



(The guy in the middle is not part of the group.)

Anyway, if you want to verify that these Hebrew phrases are actually in the song, click here to see the video (YouTube won't let me embed it). The song is quite catchy and BEP definitely deserves credit for the use of Mazel Tov and L'Chaim in the song.


Picture by F Micelotta/American Idol 2009/Getty Images

TMI Thursday: Not Quite Bobby Fischer

One of the reasons for my trip home to Pittsburgh last weekend was to clean up my childhood bedroom. My parents recently put their house on the market so I needed to sort through what I wanted to keep and throw away.

Sea shells stuck in Plaster of Paris (is that the correct name?) from an art project I did when I was 5 = throw away.

Baseball cards, football cards, hockey cards, and even some type of Alf trading cards = keep.

A slightly dented plastic globe (not a nice fancy globe) that features East Pakistan = garbage.

A scrapbook with award certificates and newspaper articles I was in = keep.

The scrapbook brought back some positive memories, one of which I will share now. I was on the high school chess team. I’ve definitely mentioned before that I attended the same high school that NFL players Steve Breaston, Ryan Mundy and Jason Taylor (sort of) attended. Let’s just say that I was not fighting off girls because of my chess team involvement. Anyway, team is probably a strong word as we basically played each other and then competed in one annual tournament against 7 or 8 other high schools. As a sophomore, my team, consisting of all sophomores, won the tournament defeating the junior/senior team among those from the rival high schools. We were even featured in the now defunct Pittsburgh Press newspaper. I found the article and winning certificate in the scrapbook.

This brings me to a negative memory found in the scrapbook. As a senior, I was bumped from the #1 team for a sophomore despite the fact that we won the previous two years. We went back-to-back and were going for a third straight title. How could they break up the Fab 4? (No we didn’t have that nickname. Or any nickname.) Facing the replacement guy in the tournament, despite making a dumb move to lose my queen, I salvaged a draw. I won my other three matches and finished with the top score of anyone in my seat. However, my record wasn’t enough to carry my teammates, and the #1 team ended up winning the tournament. That meant that my former teammates all won 3 straight years. I was bitter, and as you can probably tell, still am. Of course, I decided to keep the scoresheet from this last tournament in the scrapbook because of my high score.

There’s no real end to the story here. That was my last competitive chess match. Except for the occasional times I play against my brother (I always win), I haven’t played chess in many years. I guess the fact that I remember a chess tournament match from 16 years ago is worthy of a TMI post. Don't feel bad for me though; I now write a blog. And I bet that my blog is better than anyone else's from that chess tournament!

Make sure to visit LiLu for more TMI Thursdays. Plus, you can click here to see all of my TMI Thursday archives.

Henrik Zetterberg Updated His Website

The title of this post is true. After wondering in May if Detroit Red Wings' Henrik Zetterberg would ever update his website, he actually did. Here's what Hank has to say:

Thanks for this season!

We gave it our best shot and unfortunately we came up short this year. However, I am so pleased by the support you gave us and the fact that you all showed up and gave us energy. I hope that you will be there to support me and the team again next season.

See you in October and have a great summer.

Warm regards,
Henrik Zetterberg

Now the big question is whether or not he'll actually update his website before the end of the year.


Here are some other links to help you through the day:

- Kris Letang & Tyler Kennedy stopped by KDKA to do the weather report. It was nice that they put on their Sunday best for the newscast. (PSAMP)

- My friend Sarah of Smart Bitches was quoted and included in a USA Today article.

- I'm a little late in posting this but Cotter had an amazing Independence Day version of Meeting People Is Easy. (One For The Other Thumb)

- If you're a Pirates, Mets or Nationals fan, check out Dejan Kovacevic's interview with Lastings Milledge. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

- I wrote a post more than two years ago to share my appreciation about baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. The only reason I'm pointing that out is because ESPN wrote an amazing piece about Tony Gwynn Jr. joining the San Diego Padres. Must read article of the day!

Trivia Tuesday: Fathers Edition

OK boys and girls. Trivia Tuesday has been gone for a few weeks, so I hope that you haven't been sitting by the computer the past few Tuesdays hitting refresh every two minutes to see if it was here. This week's theme: fathers. (My assumption is that Stump Trivia created this quiz around Father's Day. Very timely for them; not so much for me). Your challenge is to name the "father" title from each description.

1. 1999 John McCain book

2. 1995 Barack Obama book

3. 2006 Clint Eastwood-directed film

4. 1986 Bill Cosby book

5. 1991 Steve Martin film

6. 1972 Francis Ford Coppola-directed film

7. 1997 Snoop Dogg album

8. 1988 George Michael single

9. 1998 Grammy-winning song by Eric Clapton

10. 1993 Daniel Day Lewis film


As always, please leave your answers in the comments section and do not use the internet to search for answers. In case you are wondering, we scored 9 out of 10 missing only #1. Good luck!

This quiz is courtesy of Stump Trivia.

Message to the USTA (Take 2)

Dear United States Tennis Association,

My name is Sean, and I am a tennis fan. My father played in college and taught me how to play when I was young. I was a member of my high school tennis team, and although I have not touched my tennis racket in nearly a year, I enjoy following and watching the Grand Slam events.

Naturally, I watched Sunday’s Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. With the match tied at 6-6 in the fifth set, I thought to myself, I would love to see a tiebreaker right now. As the match continued with Roddick and Federer tied at 8-8, 11-11, and 14-14, I thought, this is terrible and lacking drama; I would much rather have seen the match end 30-60 minutes ago via a tiebreaker.

I hope that you can sense my sarcasm in the last paragraph. If the Federer-Roddick match took place at the US Open, it would have ended with a fifth set tiebreaker. The US Open is the only Grand Slam tournament with this format. I mentioned my displeasure with the fifth set tiebreaker before, but maybe you weren’t reading my blog at that time. Based on Sunday’s exciting Wimbledon final, I think it’s time to reconsider how US Open matches conclude. Get rid of the fifth set tiebreaker (or third set on the women’s side) and follow the lead of your Grand Slam compatriots!

Sincerely,
Sean


P.S. The semi-final match between Elena Dementieva and Serena Williams that ended with an 8-6 final set was also lousy!

Meet Kris Letang and Tyler Kennedy

On Tuesday, July 7th, the Official Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup Champions DVD (I like the sound of this) will hit stores for $24.98. Coinciding with the DVD release, Penguin players Kris Letang and Tyler Kennedy will be signing copies of the DVD around Pittsburgh that day. Here is the info:

Kris Letang
Donaldsons Crossroads Giant Eagle
4007 Washington Road
McMurray, PA 15317
Signing will take place from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
**Please note that fans must purchase a copy of the DVD to receive an autograph

Tyler Kennedy
Dick’s Sporting Goods
The Mall at Robinson
5000 Robinson Centre Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15205
Signing will take place from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
**Please note that fans must purchase a copy of the DVD to receive an autograph

More importantly, how often do you have a chance to call Kris Letang, Kris Legame or Tyler Kennedy, Mr. Kennedy face-to-face?

Pirates Sign Three Taiwanese Players

I'm writing this post for all of my readers in Taiwan. In Thursday's PBC blog, Dejan Kovacevic reported that "the Pirates signed three players from Taiwan on the opening day of the international signing period: outfielder Ping-Hung Chi, right-handed pitcher Sheng-Chin Hung and first baseman Chih-Wei Hsu." There's even video of the signing of two players (I don't know which two, but my guess is the first two since they went to the same high school...possibly) courtesy of WHYGAVS:



The new Pirates look really, really young. I also found this picture of Hsu (on the right) at a Boston Red Sox facility.



You may have Jason Bay, Boston, but Pittsburgh has Hsu!


Photo from this album via Taiwan Baseball.

Debate: Loading the Dishwasher

Most of us are probably counting down the hours until the three-day weekend begins and don't want to deal with anything too thought-provoking. That's probably also the reason you visit this blog! A few months ago, I mentioned that I would bring up topics for debate on occasion. Well, today is one of those days, so put on your thinking cap (or perhaps a beret).

Topic: How do you load silverware into the dishwasher?

1. Load knives and forks facing upward.
2. Load knives and forks facing downward.

I left spoons out of this discussion (you'll see why momentarily), but I would consider sporks in this conversation.

There are clear pros and cons with both scenarios. Loading the silverware with the points upward probably cleans the silverware better. However, loading the silverware downward prevents you from stabbing yourself when you are emptying the dishwasher.

Thoughts? Comments? The debate starts now!

Vegas Vacation - Part II

Now that I wrote about my gambling experience in Vegas, I thought I would share notes from the rest of my vacation.

- I spotted Alexander Ovechkin lying out at the Bally's pool with an attractive female companion. At least, the guy looked like Ovechkin. Naturally, this prompted a discussion among our group. A female member of our group didn't think it was him because she thought Ovie would be in better shape and that his guest would have bigger breasts. My opinion was that it couldn't have been Ovechkin since he would probably rent a cabana or be at Mandalay Bay or the Bellagio as opposed to Bally's. Unfortunately, we did not see whether or not he is missing any teeth, so this remains a mystery.

- Pushing the automatic revolving door at the casino entrances does not make the door move faster.

- When I was in Utah a few years ago, I wrote about a newscaster named Big Budah. Is there a rule that every Mountain West city must have a newscaster with an odd name? As Messiah correctly predicted, I discovered KTNV's Rikki Cheese in Las Vegas. Yes, this is a real person, and I have proof. She was arrested earlier this year and here is her picture:



- At a restaurant I do not want to name (since she or someone who works there may read this*), we had Angel from Greensburg as our waitress. Her breasts are likely not from Greensburg.

- The Planet Hollywood sports book had both the Penguins and Red Wings at 5-1 to win the 2010 Stanley Cup. At the Caesar’s sports book, Detroit was 4-1 while the Penguins were 6-1. I also remember seeing the Steelers as 6-1 to win the Super Bowl. The Pirates were not 6-1 to win the World Series (although that was before the team acquired Milledge & Hanrahan!).

- The local ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates all show the national news at 5:30pm. That seems odd to me since they are either at 6:30 or 7:00 in Washington.

- I’m debating whether or not to share stories about the timeshare presentation. If I do, it deserves a separate post.

- We ate breakfast on Thursday morning at Harrah's buffet. They played a nice selection of 70s music followed by several Michael Jackson songs. During Billie Jean, a kitchen staff member danced near us, so naturally, we smiled and he started talking to us. We learned that loves Billie Jean since he recently discovered that a child that he supported for numerous years was not his son. He was happy about the fact that the kid was not his son and that now he is getting money back. He even showed us three paystubs in his hand. As everyone knows, Michael Jackson died several hours later.

- The highlight of my craps experience came courtesy of two guys at the table, Wayne and Jerry. Wayne was probably in his late 20s/early 30s, slightly intoxicated, and extremely social running around the table introducing himself to everyone. For some reason, he thought my name was Paul and continued to refer to me as Paul even though I corrected him several times. Wayne also revealed to everyone that he had a 2-inch penis, so I referred to him as Hal Gill (#2) for the rest of the evening. The casino staff was mortified. Meanwhile, Jerry was in his 50s or 60s, constantly smoked, had an impressive mustache and did not put up with Wayne’s shenanigans. He was there to drink, smoke and play craps. Naturally, Wayne wanted to become Jerry’s best friend. Oh, have I mentioned that Wayne thought Jerry’s name was Gary? At one point, Wayne had a big roll and went around the table to high-five everyone. Jerry/Gary ran away before Wayne could get to him. The entire Wayne/Jerry/Gary experience was highly entertaining. With Jon & Kate on the way out, Bravo should air Wayne & Jerry. It could be a ratings bonanza!


* It could happen!