Dancing with the Stars

The Dalai Mama and I had another one of our crazy conversations the other night, this one about what it would take to get us to watch Dancing with the Stars. We came up with a list of "stars" that would definitely get us to tune in. We don't know how many people are actually on the show, so we're going to come up with ten.

1. Jason Hawes, one of the lead investigators on Ghost Hunters
2. Donald Faison, who plays Turk on Scrubs
3. Yao Ming, the 7'6" Houston Rocket who is currently the tallest player in the NBA
4. Stephen King, the king of horror
5. Robert Byrd, the 90-year-old West Virginia senator (no, we don't want him to die)
6. Amy Poehler of SNL
7. Amy Winehouse, the English singer-songwriter-trainwreck
8. Serena Williams, the tennis great
9. Giada De Laurentiis, the Food TV chef and personality
10. Wendy O. Williams of the Plasmatics

Someone call the suits and see if they can make this happen, 'cause if they do, we're watching. I'd love to see some of your lists.

Friday Music

It's Friday. I need music.

And so does Clash! My man is a regular here at RtN, but he doesn't actually have his own blog. He is, however, the host of the biggest internet motocross radio show in the world, DMXS Radio, not to mention he's just a peach of a guy. And Clash is going to host Friday Music this week as I travel to Seattle to watch a championship (or two?) get determined and drink some damn fine coffee.

As I always do when I have a guest host for FM, I offered Clash the opportunity to pick the topic. This was his response:

While it seems like a cop-out, I’ll go with whatever the mob spins….. “People's Choice Awards” Friday Music. I would have gone with the “movie-themed” or “80's...etc,” but to be honest, I like the unpredictable nature from the gang.

Some of the best songs I’ve heard on FM, I’ve never heard before. We will keep it simple and let folks set the tone from their bag of tricks.

So there you have it. It's name your own tune here this week, and Clash is on the receiving end of your love. As always, please post links.

Wanna Buy a Castle?

Today I posted over at Picture West Virginia. I do hope you'll follow me there, even if it's just to see the coolest house for sale in Morgantown.

Oh, and if you'd like to listen to a good new album for free, check out Freddie Stevenson's All My Strange Companions. It's well worth the listen, courtesy of his U.S. publicity company, Fanatic.

A New Slogan

There was quite an uproar when our state's slogan was changed a while back from "Wild, Wonderful West Virginia" to "West Virginia: Open for Business." The name was changed to promote a positive business environment in the state, but that wasn't enough to sell a lot of people (myself included) on the change.

Fortunately, I've come up with a new slogan that I think everyone can live with. It's so obvious, in fact, that I'm surprised it took me so long to figure it out.

My proposed slogan? West Virginia: That's some good business!

Picture West Virginia Launched

My new blog, Picture West Virginia, has been launched as of today. I hope you guys will check it out, comment on submissions, and, if you think of yourself as a West Virginian (even at heart), send me your own submissions. We started things off with a couple of really cool photographs by Charleston teacher and artist Rebecca Burch -- check 'em out!

Friday Music

It's Friday. I need music.

I was reading a silly feature in Wired magazine last night about intelligence when I came across something that interested me. Their #10 way to "supercharge your brain" is to employ visual cues to help remember things, which is a method I've used to help me remember things since I can remember. The example they cite is memorizing all of the nations of Africa. I like the idea of being able to locate every African nation, so I've decided to use the exact method they describe -- dividing the continent into five sections and then creating visual cues for each country, one section at a time, until I know them all. I've started with the the northern section, which is easy because I knew most of the five nations anyway. There's Morocco, which I don't need a cue for, then the Atlanta of the north (ATL: Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya). Algeria is particularly easy to remember because it's western border is like an A on its side. Then of course there's Egypt, which I also don't need a cue for. So there -- five countries down, easy as can be. It'll get a bit tougher from here on out, but I'm game.

So this week's topic is music with places in either the song title or the band name. I think I'll get it started.



Links, links, links.

Motorcycle PSA

It's Spring, so more and more motorcycles are on the road. If you drive, please watch for us.

Picture West Virginia

I've started a new blog called Picture West Virginia, loosely based on Friday Music in concept, and I'd like to invite everyone over to check it out. I'm still ironing out the details, so it's not officially launched yet, but because this is a community blog that will rely on posts by various people, I need to spread the word a little now so I'll get some submissions. You don't have to be a West Virginian to post -- if you're originally from here, if you went to school here, or if you have some other connection that makes you care about the state, your submissions are welcome. And of course I encourage everyone, regardless of where you're from, to stop by comment. Maybe you'll see how wrong Hollywood's stereotype of our state really is.

Here's how PWV works: Each week there's a topic, and people use the topic as inspiration for a creative response. They send it to me and I post it and open it up for comment. That's pretty much it. I've posted my response to the first topic -- "My Town" -- and I'm taking submissions for more. I'll be posting them as I get them. You'll also see that the next two topics are announced, so there's plenty of time to think about them.

I hope you guys will stop by and consider participating!

Friday Music

It's Friday. I need music.

But before I get into that, I just want to send a little "word up" to my friend Melissavina for sending a little "word up" to me. It moves me that Friday Music moves you, Melissavina. It really does. I suggest everyone head on over her way to check out the songs she posted as a tribute to FM, and to check out her cool new blog header and layout.

Also, another big thanks to Devil Mood for her fine hosting job of Friday Music last week. It excites me when people host it -- sort of like somebody having a party in my house and inviting me to it, and I don't even have to clean up. Who's got the booze? I have my eye on a few other potential future hosts, and I can only hope they'll accept the invitation.

One other aside: This week I scored pit tickets for the Cleveland Radiohead show. Yeah, pit, as in in front of the first row of seats. That'll be the second time we'll see them this year -- we're hitting up the D.C.-area show in less than a month. The DM and I have already reserved our Cleveland room. EoB, you and the Greatest of All Time are cordially invited to the tailgate.

Okay, this week. Let's see. I do believe I want to rock. Bring it. All of you.

(Links, si?)

Tech Decks and Click-Throughs

First it was Heelys, now it's Tech Decks. A couple of weeks ago I bought my son a pack of two finger boards. When we got home, he gave one of them to me with a "Here, Daddy, this is for you, to keep." Which was really sweet and was what I was secretly hoping he would do. Since then I've been bugging the DM as I click away at it all over the house. She hasn't said anything about it, but it's got to be annoying. I usually try to wait until she's not around, but sometimes I can't help myself. When she goes into another room, I start clicking at it like I'm sneaking in a smoke. This is just the latest in tickish things I like to do.

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I've learned to ollie, and I've also been thrashing on the bathroom bowl sink. Now that I can feel how it works, I can see getting much better at this thing.

Yes, I'm a dork.

----

I've added Google ads to RtN, which is kind of silly because it's just a personal blog with unimpressive traffic numbers. Still, I'm interested in click-through rates, as I have another site in mind where I would definitely want to use them. I also added an Amazon link to purchase my favorite book, A Confederacy of Dunces. If you've never read it, I suggest you do, no matter where you get it.

Insomnia

When it's 3:05 a.m. and you aren't the slightest bit tired, and your alarm is set for 6:30 a.m. -- you just know Tuesday is going to be a real hoot. I think I'll go set the coffee pot.

It's Sort of Like I Just Got Kicked In the Face

So many things to be happy about today! For starters, I got to ride my motorcycle. Also, I finally learned to ollie the Tech Deck I got for, er, my son. But the best news, of course, was that Cafe of India finally opened again today. It closed down a couple of years ago, reminding me of Barry Sanders' decision to retire at the top of his game. Finally word started to spread that they would be reopening in a building that's a short drive from our house. The DM and I have been looking forward to this day for months.

We got there at 5:30, and though we were seated early, we were pretty frustrated when our drink order hadn't even been taken nearly an hour later. Our kids did the best they could, but asking a 6-year-old and 3-year-old to sit still in a restaurant where others are eating without having so much as a piece of bread? For an hour? Well, that's just asking too much. The trip ended in two children crying and all of us leaving. The kids had their hearts set on pakoras -- or, as they say, Indian hushpuppies -- so I did the best I could to come through by taking them through the Long John Silvers drive-through. I was starving at this point, so, against my better judgment, I ordered LJS too. Yes, I went from eating my favorite food in the world to eating cold, deep-fried, low-grade dog food. The kids thought it ruled, though.

Kicked in the face, I tell you.

Friday Music

It's Friday. I need music.

And so does my blog friend Devil Mood. She's super cool, loves music, and has a great blog over at Love is Stronger than Pride that you should definitely check out. This week she's guest hosting "Friday Music."

She picked a great topic, which she explains well:

My request is that people provide links to music that reminds them of "Teen Love". I specifically highlighted that I don't mean songs that talk about teen love but the songs that remind people of their teenage loves. (It can be both if it's the case, of course).

So reminisce and suggest away. Please post links!

It's On!

This one's for all the Morgantownies who make it to RtN. You've heard that Cafe of India is opening back up. Well, I did a little investigative reporting, and it turns out it's opening ...

drum roll, please ...

on freaking MONDAY! Glory, glory, hallelujah!

A Brand New Hat

I'd like to send a huge 'thank you!' out to my blog friend Dalyn for making a new header for me. I think it's real bitchin' and will wear it proudly. Thanks, Dalyn!

Here's a video that most of you have probably seen, but just in case it squeaked by some of you ...



That's just one of the best things I've ever seen.

Big Business near Chi-town

After a day of good actual business in a Chicago suburb, my co-worker and I decided to find a spot for some deep-dish pizza pie. If we were downtown I'm sure we'd be pointed to lots of locally owned hot spots, but options were more limited and we went to what I believe is a sizable regional chain called Giordano's. To our admittedly ignorant taste buds, the pie was fantastic, as were the local brews. Here's an iPhone image of the pie:

We also had a great waitress who steered us in the right direction throughout the entire meal. I felt like she deserved more than just a monetary tip, so I also presented her with her very own "That's Some Good Business!" sticker. She was quite appreciative, and even said something like, "That's the hot new phrase I've been hearing all of the kids say." While that did my heart good, I was even happier when she immediately peeled the sticker off of its backing and affixed it to her otherwise virgin ticket holder. As you can see, she placed it near the top, which means it'll peek out of her apron indefinitely as she serves more work-weary customers a few slices of excellence after their long days.

And that, my friends, is some good business.