Vive La France!

Well, this is most likely the last post I will make for 10 days. My special lady and I are off to the home of the cheese eating surrender monkeys... France! I know, I know, you are saying to yourself "Jay, why would you ever go to France?!". I don't always like French people because they are kind of jerks but that does not mean I am not interested in taking in the sites, the sounds, and bathing in the rich French culture (smells like Verbena I am told). We are pretty excited. Take off tomorrow mid day and get to Paris at 6AM Saturday. No sleep, no available hotel to check into, rain... should be an interesting first day but I am sure the adrenaline will get us through. So wish us luck and see you in a week+!!!!

Why is it Dark @ 5PM?!?!?!

Dang! Played b-ball for the first time this season last night and I am spent! My whole body hurts. Plus I could barely eat last night and my hands were shaking. Think I am getting old fast. So I have been really disturbed today by the story in the NY Post concerning ex-Mets GM and current ESPN analyst Steve Phillips. I mean, it is a terrible story that he cheated on his wife and let his kids down. It is even worse that he did it w/ by all accounts a work subordinate. Even worse... he was doing the same thing w/ the Mets and that got him fired. But the absolute worst part of the story? That girl is super busted looking and CRAZY!!!!!

I know I wrote about it before but why are we keeping Pete Rose out of the baseball HOF? Everyone is back in love w/ David Ortiz, Manny, and the entire Yankees team and they are cheaters? A-Job lied over and over about the steroids and tried to sully the reporter who called him out. What is the difference between that and Rose? Cheaters...

Raj & Kumar Go to White Collar Prison!

It is the newest flick from the people that brought you Weekend at Bernie's III, Cell Block 2B, and who could forget Madoff in Manhattan, with Your Money!!!, and the classic How do you Take Your Cioffi? With Ponzi and Cream!!! Good times. Is it really that shocking to discover guys who make billions on trades they will not disclose to their own customers are criminals? Seriously? 25% returns are abnormal and not really repeatable. I'm sorry, that is just the way it is. If you could beat the system it would not be a system. It's like Vegas... if people could really beat Vegas on a consistent basis it would not make sense to own a casino and Vegas would not exist. Which leads me to a movie review... 21. Watched it last night on Pay Per View w/ my special lady. It was not horrible but it was not really good either. The movie started out ok and was interesting but then fell into a tired formula. The kid started melting down, the foreshadowing was like a sledgehammer to the face, and the ending was so predictable a weatherman could figure it out. The kid in it looked completely different when he was in Vegas than he did in Cambridge. It was funny, like the producers wanted you to know he had different personalities so bad they hired 2 different actors! Kate Bosworth is sometimes really hot... sometimes not. She needs a sandwich. And chips. 1 thumb sideways.

We were on the road looking for a light lunch the other day and stopped into a place we never think of, Harrington's, in Shelburne. It was great. They have really good turkey, and ham. It is not slimy, has great texture and flavor. They use good bread, good cheese, and solid veggies. It is neither too much nor too little. Plus, the price is very reasonable. Really flies under the radar but I am going 2 thumbs up. Tell them Jay sent you... and then laugh when they look at you like you are about to rob the place!!!!!

It's Movie Time!!!!

First off, let me mention that when I woke up this morning it was 37 degrees and raining. Lows for the week are expected to get into the mid twenties, highs in the high forties. That my friends sucks donkey balls! I was also a little bummed about how meekly the Sox exited the playoffs, couldn't hit... couldn't pitch. I did however get a little party time in, witnessed the gory aftermath of a bouncy house gone wrong and a knee to the face... that was pretty funny. Got some time wandering around in the woods and clearing some brush which is a pretty good way to spend what should have been a work day. I also was able to get some movie time in! Friday night my special lady and I met up to see the movie Couple's Retreat which had a solid ensemble cast and looked very funny. Yikes... I need a therapist because I was thinking about breaking up w/ movies after this movie. It was really not very funny. There were a couple parts that were ok but overall it is a renter. The jokes were beaten like a dead horse and the female characters were very dull. Plus Jason Bateman mailed it in pretty bad. 1 thumb sideways but leaning ever so slightly down. The bright side is that we made a mean plate of no-meat nachos afterwards that were absolutely delicious! Uh, then we passed out around 10PM which was a little lame. Sunday night we decided to take a peak at our Netflix movie I Love You Man. Well director... I hate you, man. Very unfunny. Paul Rudd was a dud. Hahahahaha. The guy from Saving Sarah Silverman was also not funny, but he kept his junk holstered in this movie so that was cool. Really nothing to talk about here, a dull 1 thumb down. Monday we had an unexpected and pleasant surprise. While eating some chili and anticipating some work to be done, my buddy and I came across House Bunny on one of the premium channels (HBO or Showtime). To be fair the first 2 minute we watched had Anna Faris naked from behind which was pretty awesome and totally sucked us in. She was half naked for the rest of the movie. I think this would be a pretty ok date movie. It is the story of female discovery and empowerment... staying true to yourself... and at the same time there are hot girls in skimpy clothing and some pretty funny jokes sprinkled in. The midget and pregnant woman, and girl from Idaho were a little creepy... trust me. Anyway, I'll give it a thumb up, why not! Tonight begins a bit of a difficult week, friend dinner, 2 work dinners, and possibly work outing. Sounds fun and probably will be but these things leave me pretty wiped out. Wish me luck. I said WISH ME LUCK!!!!!

Jay About... Holy Smokes!!!!

So a couple of us decided to make a trip up to Bueno Y Sano for a burrito the other day and notice 4 cop cars and an ambulance in front of the building. Never good to see an ambulance in front of the place you are about to purchase food from. Of course this led to a discussion about whether or not we would eat there anyway... even if there was a dead body. The conclusion? Yeah probably. Fortunately we did not have to face that awful decision... the crowd was all in the alley between Finnegan's Pub and Stone Soup. I casually mentioned it must be a jumper. Well, as we wait in line that was confirmed by the burrito guy. Some clown was robbing an apartment when the cops busted in. What do you do? Well, if you are this tool you make a break for it by jumping out of a fourth story window onto concrete. You can guess how that went.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20091009/NEWS02/91008021

Now I have certainly have jumped out of buildings when in trouble (hey my wife is scary), but I like to cap it at 2 stories for f* sakes.

Speaking of trouble... the Red Sox if they don't start hitting. Nice to see Ortiz returning to form. Probably ok, the Yankees may have won but they were also pretty shaky. A vastly inferior Twins team outhit them and left 16 guys on base. BTW, why is the Sox game on at 8:30 PM Monday night? I can't stay up to watch that. East Coast... East Coast!!! I like Drink in Burlington, solid female bartender, good vibe, great drink specials. Super cold beer!

Boomer, our cat caught a mouse last night. Mrs. Bird turned on the lights and started freaking at 3:30AM after she heard something in my closet. I went out, grabbed Boomer and tossed him in the closet and BAM!!!! He snagged the mouse then made a run for it. I know he will not eat it, only play w/ it until it is dead and then leave the body to rot in a weird place. So I had to chase him around for the nest 15 minutes until I poked him w/ a broom, he dropped it, I stomped on it, and then picked it up w/ a dust pan and threw it outside. Why do these things always happen a 3 F*ING AM in the morning!!!!

High Fives... apparently this site (and probably most blogs but don't ruin it for me) has been blocked by the stuffed shirts at E-Trade. Take that The MAN!!!!!!

Jay About Junior's!

Ever find something that has been right in front of you for some time? My wife and I were taking a walk the other day and I noticed trees trimmed in a very odd shape around power lines. My lady said we had talked about this before but she is making that up. Anyway, it was a fun find for me! Well today, it was like finding $20 in an old pair of pants... lunch at Junior's! The place has been there for over a year and I have had pizza there for dinner or late night several times. It is always very good! But today as we were wondering what tired and uninspired place we should choose for lunch I started thinking meatball sub. That is when Big Hair Todd and the Monsters suggested... Junior's!! There were so many tasty looking choices but I went w/ the meatballs w/ onions and peppers. After getting a look at the large roll I went w/ the small... which was huge. This thing was stuffed w/ meatballs, onions, peppers, and tons of melted cheese. The bun was very good and toasted to crispy perfection. The meatballs were a little heavy handed w/ the garlic but good. The accouterments? fantastic. All for less than $10. The cookie I did not need but also picked up was a disappointment, I still have 1/2 sitting here and it will most certainly get tossed. The money shot? While we waited we got the special treat of watching The Price is Right... in fact we timed it just right to hit the showcase showdown!!! Boo-Yeah!!!! In the Rotation and 1 7/8ths thumbs up!!!!!!!!!

wow

So I am currently hiding in the upstairs office because my wife is hosting "wine group" and it is intense! After that Kid Rock concert I was all fired up to download a few songs but he is not on I-Tunes? WTF?!?! Speaking of I-Tunes... I just got an I-Phone for work and at first blush it sucks. Unlike my Blackberry it gets no reception, is always looking for a wi-fi signal as opposed to just the cell signal and since it is an AT&T service there is little to no cell coverage anyway. BOOOOO!!!!

OK, so the Sox really backed into the playoffs and I am not super confident that they can make a real run. Beckett is shaky and the whole team just doesn't seem quite right. The Yankees look pretty good heading in but their pitching is also suspect. OK, here is something I really hate about NY sports... I know I have mentioned it before but there is no other city that sucks up to their athletes and teams as bad as NY. If you are a mediocre team/player in NY the media will make you out to be a god. The J-E-T-S for example. Nice start to the season but according to NY papers they are already Super Bowl bound. Oh yeah, they just lost and are not going to even go to the Super Bowl w/ their rookie QB. Stamp it! On the flip side, the Patriots lost 1 game and in New England we are convinced they are F**cked! I listen to Yankees and Red Sox baseball on my drive home. WEEI, the Sox station holds to the Protestant ethic... you can never be good enough to gain praise. If Dice-K pitches 7 shut out innings and then gives up a run... Bum! Close play at the plate? Sox player is definitely out! Borderline strike for Lester? Yeah probably a ball. The Yankees station?A-Roid is already a top 3 all time great. Jeter goes 1 for 6? That 1 hit was the play of the game... amazing plate awareness. Borderline strike for Pettite? oh yeah, that was a strike... no doubt about it, in fact Andy is looking very sharp tonight, he may be throwing 112 MPH despite what the radar gun says, did you know he can read minds, see into the future, and may be the best left hand pitcher ever? Jack-asses. That is why people think a guy w/ no range to his left is a gold glover, why Joe Namath w/ stats not up to par w/ Jim McMahon is in the hall of fame and Clyde Frazier is somehow a legend when he has stats that rival Xavier McDaniel. Meanwhile, an all time hero David Ortiz had a tough start to the season and we here in New England wanted to trade him for a 12 pack of beer and Gabe Kapler!!! Dang...