Saturday, January 31, 2009

Black Holes and Revelations

I happily discovered a new band a few weeks ago. I admit that I've become pretty much obsessed with them. I think it's because I can actually play a few of their songs on the bass and they're a pretty bass-heavy band. I'd say the bass guitar is almost a lead instrument and I love it.

The band is Muse. I first heard them on the Watchmen preview (#2). At first I thought it was Radiohead. Then I looked it up and it turned out to be Muse.

I've been listening to Black Holes and Revelations on heavy rotation for the last week. I'm almost afraid I'll wear the CD out. If anyone knows about these guys let me know how you feel about them.

Is Obama for sale?

I subbed for Liz last Tuesday and a funny thing happened at the morning meeting.

One kid threw out the topic:

BP: If money wasn't an issue and you could buy anything what would it be?

MN: I would buy the U.S.

Me: It has to be for sale.

MN: OK. I'd buy the president.

Me: That's a pretty bold statement. Is the president that corrupt?

Who watches the watchmen?, or Why would I save a world I no longer have any stake in?

So, here I am stealing an idea for a blog post. Ashley had a post where she commented about the books she read in the last month. I thought it was a great idea so I'm stealing it.

Unfortunately I only read two books this month. Not only did the trip to Sioux Falls crimp my reading schedule (no complaints), but while I was gone I received two editions of the Sporting News. I had a lot of catching up to do.

While I was gone I finished reading Watchmen. Holy cow. That book fulfilled everything I wanted it to. If you're looking for some superhero story with a happy ending this is not the book for you. I really loved that the good guys didn't win in the end. And frankly, it never seemed like they would. It was a downer story on par with 1984. I loved it. I'm sick of reading stories where the main character always win. I'm sure there are many novels out there that have the main character losing in the end, I just don't know what they are. 5/5

On a side note: I believe The Dark Knight would have been a much better movie if both of the ferries had been blown up. I don't care who does it, I just wanted to see them both explode. It would have pushed Batman to the absolute extreme edge. The Joker would have won and it would have set up the third movie so well. I also think that if the main character is plunged to the brink it makes his/her ascension that much more meaningful.

The other book I read this month was called The Age of the Gladiators. It was a bit boring. It is a nonfiction history book about Rome during the time of the gladiators. Typically I'm extremely interested in this subject. This book just had too many things wrong with it. The author often repeated himself, sometimes many times in the same chapter. I felt like he must have thought the people reading it were extremely stupid. Also, I felt like there were about 125 missing commas (no hyperbole). It was a bit difficult to read. That's the only reason I wouldn't recommend it. It was definitely full of some pretty interesting information, though. 3/5

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Burrito supreme and a chicken supreme and a Cutlass Supreme

When you own a business that is part of a franchise you can do what you want but you must have certain things that are dictated by the company. For example, Subway is a franchise. In South Dakota they have breakfast subs. And they're cheaper than normal subs. Vegetarians can have egg on their vegetarian subs and it's cheaper than getting a vegetarian sub in the afternoon. What a deal. Also, in Chicago and South Dakota they don't have Italian dressing. Instead, they have vinegar and oil. I've also noticed in Chicago that they have fewer options for dressings. This is not a knock on Subways in Chicago. In South Dakota they have shredded cheese. This, according to Aaron, is a better deal because they give you more. They also have cheddar and pepper jack cheese. I'm sure there is a Subway in Michigan that has these cheeses, or more, but it's just something I've noticed comparing Ypsi/Ann Arbor Subways to the few I've visited in other states. They have Pibb Xtra, but that's just a regional thing. (Side note: Mr. Pibb is owned by Coca-Cola. Dr. Pepper is its own solo company. I like Dr. Pepper more.)

Putt-Putt was the same way. Not every Putt-Putt had an arcade room like the one in Ypsi. However, as I understand it, Putt-Putt owners have to pay dues for things like Putt-Putt brand cups to serve pop (or soda in other regions). Sometimes franchising is pretty cool because it's not the same thing everywhere (one thing that bothers me about American cultural expansion), but it can also kind of suck because I really like Italian dressing on my subs.

Burrito supreme.