This Is Super Bowl Weekend, and I Will Be Celebrating the Ads

I remember vaguely when the Super Bowl was a game, and not a soap opera. I am not the most savvy football person out there, but holy cow….cheating, on the field and on your girlfriends (you know who I’m talking about), and “I’m too good to talk to the media” (you know who I’m talking about), and now one of the big time players may miss the game due to his girlfriend giving birth to their child (you know who, and if he loves her, put a damn ring on her finger and your name on the birth certificate). Honestly, I am half-tempted to DVR the whole game so I can skip it and fast forward to the commercials. But if I did that, Hubby would be disappointed. Although….. we did just get a new TV for upstairs, so he has that going for him, which is nice. Besides, the game justifies the food.

No, I’m not making that food stadium extravaganza. I am making seven layer dip and pigs in a blanket and popcorn chicken and po boys and micheladas and snickerdoodles and fried biscuits bits rolled in cinnamon sugar. Hopefully that will be enough for the five of us.

And what will y’all be ingesting in celebration of the end of football season? 😀

Tuesday Sithy

You know, if this were an actual league, I would buy jerseys and give a darn about a team, or five.

You can find them all here. Originally found at Imgur.

Now I’m off to go to the DMV to get Son’s driver’s permit. I have been trying to accomplish this for a week, which is why I have been remarkably absent around here, and which is also why y’all get a Sithy today. Otherwise I would be ranting and raving about government offices and no one has time for that 😉

Thursday Never List

It’s College Bowl Time around here, and boy howdy, has it been fun!

The Aggies won, the Spartans won, the Raiders won (I will catch hades for this one), the Ducks won (and this one, too), so I’m a happy camper overall. Especially with the A&M- Duke game. But that’s my bias typing.

Anyway, one of the complaints heard from the Peanut Gallery was my lack of *ahem* hostess skills this time. When Draco was here visiting, I went out of my way to set out snacks and sandwiches for the guys while they watched football. Apparently my lack was noticed by some, since this time I decided to enjoy the games and let them fend for themselves. They weren’t raised by wolves, apparently.

Things One Should Never Skimp on Football Days

#5– Pillows

You’ll be on the edge of your seat, so best to have some backside support.

#4– Ice

If you run out, you’ll get tasked to get some. Which means you’ll be missing the game.

#3– Throat lozenges

You’ll thank me for that. And avoid the cherry flavored ones. You’ll thank me for that, too.

#2– Snack foods

This goes without saying, I know.

#1– Painkillers

Because not every team wins, and “moderation” is not in your vocabulary during a game.

Anyway, I’m off to shop for tonight’s game. The last thing I need is more Peanut Gallery musings while screaming at the TV 🙂

Thursday Never List

Yesterday I wrote about having a distinct lack of motivation to get stuff finished around here. I did manage to finish a couple of projects after I unplugged myself from the interwebs wrote that post. A smartipants suggested I make a list of projects I’ll never finish. Depending on how the weekend goes, that may be next week’s list.

When I was perusing for a motivational funny, I found quite a bit that were sports and exercise oriented. Seriously, the only motivation I would ever need to exercise would be a clown in a hockey mask. But I do understand what motivates people to work hard to win at a sport. There are some sports however, that I will never understand.

#5– Cross Country Running

Like I said, clowns with hockey masks.

#4– Sumo Wrestling

Uh…. this needs no commentary.

#3– Curling

I am sure to catch Hades for this, and I get there is a method, but it looks to me like you are ironing the ice.

#2– Jai Alai

I can barely make sense of lacrosse. Adding a wall and lines just serves to up the confusion ante.

#1– Wife Carrying

And I can just imagine what transpires if he drops her, seeing as he carries her on his back, upside down.

Don’t get me wrong. I do watch some of these. It’s like a train wreck in a way. And there are other sports that I would have included, too. But Chess Boxing just sounds too existential, even for this itty bitty blog 😀

The Day of the 12th Man

The story of the 12th Man is special at Texas A&M University.

[T]he first recorded instance of the term “12th Man” referring to an individual was to denote E. King Gill and his actions in Dallas on 2 January 1922. At the Dixie Classic, the forerunner of the Cotton Bowl Classic, Texas A&M (then known as The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas) played defending national champion Centre College. In this hard fought game, which produced national publicity, an underdog Aggie team was slowly but surely defeating a team which boasted three All-Americans. During the game, A&M coach Dana X. Bible realized that one more injury would leave him without another backfield player to send into the game. Coach Bible remembered that Gill, an individual who had tried out for the squad but who “lacked the experience and ability to play for the varsity” had made the trip as a member of the school’s Corps of Cadets and was sitting with his friends in the stands. Bible sent for Gill and asked for him to suit up and be ready if needed. Gill later said, “I wish I could say that I went in and ran for the winning touchdown, but I did not. I simply stood by in case my team needed me.” Although he did not actually play in the game, his readiness to play was noted. As there were 11 men on the field, E. King Gill was the 12th Man, hence the term. (From Wikipedia)

As Aggies, we are all 12th Man. We stand at the ready at every game, and stand at the ready for any Aggie in need.

Today, at 12:12 PM, on 12/12/12, Aggies around the world will participate in the ultimate Aggie moment: playing the school’s war hymn at their place of work, home, or wherever they may be. Several Aggies at Hubby’s place of work will be participating, and I shall be on the phone with my sister and brother, warbling my head off.

Hullabaloo, Caneck! Caneck! GIG ‘EM, AGGIES!!! AY!!!

WHOOP!!!! 😉

Ugh….Starduay

There’s football today.

I can’t escape….

Wine? Check.

Beer? Check.

Cold cuts? Check.

Rosary? Double Check.

Y’all have a great Starduay!!! 😉

Gutterballs

Our first day at the lake, I was greeted with a beautiful sunrise, waves lapping gently against the rocks, and herons flying overhead. The morning was tranquil, and made perfect by my cup of coffee.

But good things don’t last forever, and so we woke the kids and asked them what they would like to do on such a beautiful day.

BOWLING!!

Uh, ok. We drove 250 miles and rented a condo ON the lake so that we could do…. what we can do at home. But the point of vacation is to have fun, and so we headed out to the bowling alley. And I must admit, it sure was fun. I had a record-breaking 42 gutterballs in three games. But I also scored some pins, and apparently I was very creative about it.

Son: (after I scored ONE pin) Hey, Mom! Now if you score another pin, and then score two, and then score three, and then score five, you’ll be on your way to doing the Fibonacci Sequence!

Me: So, my plan to establish a pattern is working.

Son: Yep.

Me: Uh huh.

Hey, it was a great excuse to explain my lack of prowess 😉

Pomp and Circumstance, Part Deux

Hm…where was I…?? Oh, right! The two hour tribute to the National Health Service.

I had to break it off there, because truly it took a very large portion of the program. I must give kudos to Danny Boyle for starting this tribute to the government by tying it in with J.M. Barrie’s bighearted contribution of his work, Peter Pan, to the Great Ormond Street Hospital. It was a very smooth transition. And after all of the hospital beds lighting up, and kids jumping on the trampoline “beds”, and nurses and staff dancing around (and they were great at it, which begs the question: do they have a second job to supplement their income from the NHS??), J.K. Rowling showed up to recite something I assume she wrote, since I can’t find any information on it, and suddenly, figures from every kid’s worst nightmare show up!!

The Red Queen, Cruella De Vil, Captain Hook, and VOLDEMORT!!! And he was HUGE. But not to worry, because an army of Marys Poppins arrived floating down in umbrellas to vanquish the nightmares.

Like Mary Poppins could take on Voldemort… Sheesh…

Moving away from the NHS lovefest, we find esteemed comedian and British icon Rowan Atkinson in his role of Mr. Bean, playing the theme from Chariots of Fire with the London Symphony Orchestra, texting on his phone, playing his chord with an umbrella as he reaches for a tissue in his backpack, so he can blow his nose, and toss the offending tissue to the pianist. Classic Bean, right?? But his chord is rather boring, so he begins to daydream that he is running with the runners on the beach, falling behind, hailing a taxi to take him to the front of the line, and crossing first at the finish line after he trips the guy in the lead. I have to admit, I was in tears from laughing so hard.

And after such a great skit, it goes to Hades again. A convoluted tribute to music spanning decades from the 60’s to today. Apparently, there was no music in the UK until the Beatles. It was full of black lighting, peace signs, and then a clubbing scene where a girl loses her phone, but a guy finds it and texts her he has it, and she texts back, but I have no idea how she can do that unless she also was carrying an iPod, but why would you carry an iPod to a dance club?? And this texting and cell phone and emailing debacle is a tie-in to Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the internet. Finally the texting and cell phones make sense. But the choice of a rapper to finish leaves more than a few people speechless.

And then the athletes begin to file out. Greece is first, as is custom, and then alphabetically with the host country going last.

Some of the countries chose well in the uniform department. Among them were American Samoa, Fiji, Australia, and China. Some chose poorly. Among them Germany (pink and baby blue track suits??), Czech Republic (rain boots and shorts??), USA (we looked French), and sadly, Great Britain (gold accents on white track suits??). After they file out, there are more musical acts, complete with cyclists sporting glowing wings. They looked a bit like the Flying Monkeys, which was creepy, in my opinion.

The head honchos give their speeches, and they cut away to David Beckham “driving” the speedboat carrying the torch. Nice touch with Beck. He passes the torch to five-time Olympic gold medalist Steve Redgrave, who brings it in to the stadium. Traditionally, a former Olympian of the host country lights the torch. But not this time. A group of seven young athletes hand-picked by former British Olympians for their prowess and promise run with the torch, and then come back to the Olympians to have six additional torches lit, which they in turn use to light the petals of the cauldron, arranged in a circle, which then rise to make the torch:

The mechanics of it and vision were spectacular, but the cauldron is supposed to be seen from ALL points of the Olympic Village, not just in the stadium, so to me it’s a bit underdone and disappointing. But it is very lovely, nonetheless.

After the lighting, Sir Paul McCartney comes out to close the ceremony with “Hey, Jude”, bringing down the house. I guess because he’s a  Beatle. Personally, I think Sir Elton John would have done a better show. A duet with the two of them would have been spectacular! All in all, it was everything Britain liked, which I suppose that’s the point of the whole ceremony: to introduce to the world the host country.

At least, my droning over it is over. At least for the next four years 😉

Pomp and Circumstance, Part 1

What can I say? I knew I would be in for disappointment!

The Olympic Opening Ceremony was yesterday, and I was very, very careful to not peek during the day, since it was going to be preempted here. Before the opening, there was an introduction, nicely narrated, beginning at the source of the Thames and encompassing the beautiful English countryside as it followed the river to London. As the narration began, they showed sketches of famous British icons: William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Charles Darwin, and then John Lennon and Paul McCartney. It was as if there had been NOTHING of import composed or written or discovered in England between Darwin and Lennon. But I let it slide, since most young people here wouldn’t know if there had been, anyway. One thing that struck me as odd was how the narration talked about different nationalities competing, like the Chinese, and even the Massai, but lumped all Latinos. Huh…

The ceremonies opened as my British blogger friend Katipede informed: with a reproduction of a British pastoral scene, complete with livestock and working well and everything!! I had scoffed at it, but it truly was amazingly done. And ZOMG!!! Kenneth Branagh, who is awesomeness, recites from The Tempest!!!

Then as if by magic it began to transform into an industrial scene, and that was beautifully done. Smokestacks rising from the earth and men (and women, too) working in a factory setting, Branagh and Co. watching the transformation, with hundreds of drummers instead of 84 pianos to mark the transition, culminating in the forging of the Olympic Rings suspended above the field. It was masterful from a technological perspective. As the industrial revolution took root, there was then a pause for the War to End All Wars. Now, I’m all for a moment of silence, and was advocating for one specifically in memory of the Israeli athletes murdered at the Munich Olympics in 1972, forty years ago. But the IOC said that would be too political. However, the IOC did allow for a moment of silence for those who had died in the World Wars, as well as for the victims of the 7/7 attacks.

I assume those aren’t political in any way. Yes, I am a bit bitter, why do you ask?? But I had to remind myself that A) the director of this shindig happens to be a left-leaning socialist, and 2) the IOC is not exactly …. unbiased towards certain nation-states. And that’s where I will leave it!

Then it went to Hades.

People began filling the area dressed as members of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and other sundry Beatles films and song references, along with Chelsea Trumpeters and carnival goers, suffragettes, and dark figures representing the wounded. In a sweet tongue-in-cheek moment, Daniel Craig as James Bond escorts Queen Elizabeth II to the games, only to parachute into the stadium. Like that would happen! But she was a good sport, and did a great job for her first acting gig. That was the only redeeming part of this section. Because Danny Boyle decided to make the National Health Service the centerpiece of his tribute.

I am not putting down the NHS. They do have their problems, true. But my problem with this is that Great Britain, the United Kingdom as a whole, has contributed far more to the world than just universal healthcare. In fact, they didn’t contribute universal healthcare at all, since it is their system, not everyone else’s. And this is the OLYMPICS, where ALL countries come together to put aside their political differences and rejoice in the human spirit. Music, literature, medicine, law…there is no end to what they have contributed to the world. But the tribute to the NHS seemed like a discreet push to the government. It was tacky and overdone, and if the NHS is so strapped, why did they use actual nurses and staff to dance around?? GAH!!!

Anyway, stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2. There was so much to cover, I have to break it down in two posts. Trust me 😉

Five Colored Rings

Yes, it’s almost time for the SUMMER OLYMPICS!!!!

I love the opening and closing of the Games, but not for the reasons you may think. For me, the opening ceremony is not about the pageantry of the athletes. It’s about who can make the tackiest show!! I can honestly say the Barcelona Games were the least tacky in my opinion. The most? Los Angeles, 1984. BAR NONE!! C’mon…. 84 Baby Grand pianos coming out of the walls of the stadium while playing George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue will never be beat.

I do wonder what London has up its sleeve, though. Their choice of mascots, no matter the story that inspired them, gives me great pause. Perhaps it will surpass the ’84 ceremony. I know people aren’t too happy about what our athletes will be wearing,  the design of which will only add to the tackiness of the show, in my opinion.

In any case, I shall be glued to the TV watching and laughing at the spectacle. I’ll probably need a bathroom break when Wenlock and Mandeville make their appearance:

Seriously, London?? I mean, I understand the lion has been a mascot, but y’all still had the bulldog!!

The anticipation is killing me. I hope it’ll last 😉