Today I took a guided tour of Liverpool. Nothing extraordinary – but certainly better than a sharp stick in the eye.

Toward the end of the tour we spotted Gerry Marsden. Who the hell is Gerry Marsden you may ask? He is the Gerry of Gerry and the Pacemakers. They are best know in the US for the song Ferry Cross the Mersey. Clearly not as famous as the Beatles (is any one other than Jesus?) but still – I got to shake dude’s hand.

So this got me wondering, beyond Gerry and the Fab Four, what other bands cam from Liverpool? Because I am an Elvis Costello fan I know he was born here. As Joy Division/New Order fan, I know Manchester’s just up the road, but that’s kind of all I knew. Since I am at a doctoral residency, I guess I should do some research.

Here is a list of the bands from Liverpool that people in the US may have heard of. The whole list is really long, but if I haven’t heard of the band, I didn’t bother to type their name. There are also some duplicates – sort of, as if the band had a member go solo I listed the member too.

Atomic Kitten
The Beatles
The Boo Radleys
Christian Burns
The Chants
Elvis Costello
Dead or Alive
Aynsley Dunbar
Echo & the Bunnymen
Ralph Ellis
Ray Ennis
Brian Epstein – Not really a performer – but he managed the Beatles (duh) and Gerry and the Pacemakers too.
The Farm
A Flock of Seagulls
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Gerry & the Pacemakers
George Harrison
Billy Hatton
The KLF
John Lennon
Julian Lennon
The Lightning Seeds – Named after a line in a Prince song – no shit.
Paul McCartney
Ian McCulloch
The Merseybeats
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
The Searchers
Will Sergeant
Ringo Starr
The Swinging Blue Jeans
The Teardrop Explodes
Ultrabeat
Pete Wylie
The Yachts

I have earned a new nickname here, it’s CBGB. Why? Well, on Tuesday afternoon I was wearing a CBGB’s T-Shirt and got into a conversation about CBGB’s, the New York music scene, the Ramones, Talking Heads, etc. Apparently I impressed the hell out of someone because I knew that CBGB and OMFUG (the real name of the infamous former rat hole) meant, Country, Blue Grass, Blues and Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers. Since I wasn’t wearing a name tag, the two ladies I was speaking with did not know my name, so they have been calling me CBGB ever since. I don’t know their name’s either. Just that one is working toward a PhD in Accounting who lives in Germany and the other is an art teacher from Florida.

One of our stops was the beach. Now when you think of Liverpool, beach is not what comes to mind – at least not for me. Well, it was cold and windy and kind of miserable. It cost 20p to use the bathroom, but as a group of PhD students, we outsmarted the fee and propped/held the door slightly open so that each person could get in. We are so sneaky, us hyper-intelligent Yanks.

Any way, the reason for the beach was to see an art installation. Another Place is a piece (or I should say pieces) by Antony Gormley. There are 100 life size nude bronze statues of the artist spread over a 3 kilometer area of the beach, some get completely or partially submerged when the tide is high. It was a traveling exhibit, but Liverpool liked it so much, they bought it. It is now permanent.

Apparently my odd sense of humor earned me some additional credibility at the beach. All of the statues are facing the sea. So I stood there, on the car park of course, and said, “Standing on the beach, staring at the sea. I’m alive”. Three separate people then asked me if the Cure was from Liverpool. I said I did not know, but that I would check. Hell, I did not even get the words right.

So, we headed back from the beach, stopped at a touristy kind of shopping place for 15 minutes, where the Manchester person grabbed me, the art teacher, the accountant, and the residency logistics coordinator and pulled us (okay maybe coerced is the right word) into a wine bar and promptly bought two bottles of Chardonnay. The problem was, we only had 10 minutes. So, five of us drank two bottles of wine in 10 minutes.

The rest of the ride back to campus was quite entertaining.

By the way, the Cure are from Crawley, England. Hometown of no one other than the Cure.

The more I travel to Europe, the more I decide I truly love visiting here.

I think I tend to smile more when I am here and Stephanie will tell you I really do need to smile more.

I spent yesterday (Monday) traveling from Budapest to Liverpool. There were some extremely minute tense moments, but overall nothing I could not handle.

The day started with a cab ride to the Budapest airport. The driver was actually early, quite friendly, and spoke decent English (unusual for Budapest). I was concerned at first as he used his meter and there is a flat rate to the airport from district nine where we were staying. When I ordered the cab, I requested airport transfer, but maybe should have been explicit with the fee. It all turned out well though, as the fare was exactly the fixed price. So with a wave of the corporate card and a 500 HUF tip, I was at the airport.

I arrived early, as I was unsure what to expect with a late morning/early afternoon flight. All of my previous flights had been in the early morning. It turns out that they do not allow check in until a specified time. I had to kill an hour. So I found a place to hang out and read my book. I was in plain view of the sign that would indicate when it was time to check in. As it got closer I decided to visit the WC and when I exited, there was a huge line checking in. Ouch.

It took about 30 minutes to check in and security was a breeze. I grabbed a mozzarella and tomato sandwich (1200 HUF or about $7.50) and waited for my Air France flight to Paris, where I would connect to Manchester.

We boarded promptly and my Delta Sky Miles Elite status garnered me an unexpected pseudo first class upgrade. Very nice. Real food, wine, and lots of leg room. I say pseudo as Air France has three classes of service on some flights, and this is one of them. On this plane (A320), first class still had three seats across, but the middle seat was filled with a table. In my section, Tempo Challenge, the middle seat was available for use. However, first class was full, and there were only five people in Tempo Challenge. So I had the whole row to myself. It was awesome.

I am not a big fan of Paris, but this small visit made it somewhat better. The view of the city as we descended to land was unreal. I could see the Eiffel Tower through the haze and the city was spectacular. I guess Stephanie and I do need to return so we/I can see the real Paris, and not the cold miserable place I visited on Boxing Day 2004.

The Paris Charles de Gaul (CDG) airport is undergoing a renovation. To get to my transfer flight, I needed to leave the confines of the “secure area” and cross through the public areas. This was no real problem. The queue at passport control was short and all was in order. As a frequent traveler I am prepared for the whole shoes, belt, laptop thing when going through security. The people in front of, while looking like seasoned travelers, had no clue. They kept walking through with metal, event tried to walk through with a laptop (yikes). I had a tight transfer and was getting nervous. I managed to catch the attention of the French version of the TSA agent and she let me ahead. I was prepared. I went through and set off the metal detector. What was up? They asked about pockets, I assured them I had nothing. When patted down, low and behold, the man found my PDA/Blackberry/BlackJack whatever in my back pocket. Needless to say, I was embarrassed. I apologized, he ran my phone through the X-Ray and I was on my way.

My flight to Manchester was on a commuter jet. It was larger than the ones I frequently fly on to Omaha and Appleton, but it was still a commuter jet. This time no special privileges for me. I was seated by the window next to a man who smelled like he had not bathed in days. I guess it was his job that day to enhance the French stereotype. After what seemed like an hour taxiing we finally took off.

The view of the English Channel and especially the cliffs of Dover is spectacular. Stephanie and I have been to Dover, where we departed for a Baltic Sea cruise. At the time the cliffs were neat, but not much. From the sky, the story is quiet different.

Once arriving at Manchester, passport control was short and simple and I had my bag and I was off to Liverpool. But I did not see the requisite person holding the Walden sign. I called home; spoke with Michael and after some time he was able to read me the instructions – confirming, Walden sign and taxi circle. He left out one vital piece of information; I was supposed to be at the taxi circle for the airport train station.

By the time I got there I missed the bus – a bus that was sent there just for me. Fortunately I was able to catch a train to Liverpool and £13 ($25) and 90 minutes later I was in Liverpool. One more train ride and a 10 minute walk uphill dragging 50+ pounds of suitcase and computer bag. I was here.

After checking in and cooling down, I took part in a work conference call and then walked down the street to Tesco Express (think Wal-Mart convenience store), picked up some water and a sandwich. I also used the ATM and got £50. This should be plenty for my visit.

The residency/conference is at the Carnatic Conference Center of the University of Liverpool. My first impression is positive. The accommodations are unusual. I am staying in a dorm room with no air conditioning. It is a bit warm inside, but outside is awesome. High 60s and sunny.

Tater is a friend of mine. Someone I have known for 15 or 16 years. I can’t really be sure how long.

This evening, Tater passed away in his sleep, in his favorite place.

Tater, given name Mutato, is my best friend's cat.
Most people anthropomorphize their pets. Tater isn’t any different. Yet somehow, it fits him more than any other pet I have known.

Tater was born into a world that has little patience for misfits and Tater epitomized misfit. His front feet are malformed, his tongue protrudes, his head is mishaped and he is known to occasionally have schizophrenic episodes. Yet when he isn’t randomly attacking you as you pet him or deciding it’s time to relieve his bladder on the clean laundry or on a visitor’s coat, he is the most human cat I have ever met.

He will jump up on your lap, talk to you for moment or two and then just lay down. Tater is a cat that could teach you humility. Unlike other cats who behave as if they do us a favor by allowing us to domesticate them, Tater is somewhat dog-like in his response to his human friends.

Sadly, because of Tater’s proclivities toward random misanthropy, he does not really have too many friends. Of course my friend is Tater’s best friend and father. Tater has a sister, Boo, who is more traditional in her “catness”. Tater’s human friends are limited to myself, my friend’s current girlfriend and one former girlfriend. Most people are turned off by the fact that Tater is a misfit. Yet being a misfit does not define Tater, it is simply a piece of who he is.

I will miss Tater. I mourn as his friend and as his unofficial uncle.

For lack of a better word, I also mourn for my friend.

My friend, like Tater is a misfit. He is one of the most brilliant people I know, yet is content to work a simple job earning just enough money to pay his bills and keep up with his hobby of collecting odd movies, TV shows, and comic books. He is a misanthrope to a fault and I am one of maybe less than a half a dozen people he calls friend, and honestly probably the only person other than his girlfriend that he speaks to on a regular basis.

He is not an emotional person, yet when he and I spoke this weekend about the possibilty of have having Tater put down I could tell he was crying. Again this evening when he shared the news of Tater’s natural passing, he was again crying. As a point of reference, he did not cry at his mother’s funeral. He did not cry at his father’s funeral.

This is the part of my job and the travel I do not like. I really should be there for my friend. There isn’t anything I could or would do specifically. I would simply sit in my spot on the couch, unconsciously watch for the requisite Tater lap visit and possible mid-pet attack, drink a beer, share a bowl, and watch some odd TV show or Japanese rubber monster movie. Sometimes just being there is all that matters. Today would be one of those times and I cannot be there.

Cliché or not, Tater is more than just a cat, more than a part of the family. Tater touches anyone who can see beyond his abnormality. Tater is one of this world’s conundrums; a puzzlingly unique flawed creature that adds to the mystery of life and the universe.

As I sit in my hotel room in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, I raise my bottle of Diet Mountain Dew to Tater.

Here’s to Tater.

http://www.coasterbuzz.com/charmland/

Your love for Chuck is limitless...

Thanks for the laugh.

Micorcredit is the idea that provides very small loans to business owners in the developing world. For the cost of two movie tickets and a drink to share, or dinner for two at your local generic bistro, you can help.

These loans don't just help the business, they help the community as well. These businesses are often in places with limited access to goods and services. Regardless of your political leanings it is hard to deny that commerce advances society. These communities do not have the luxury to discuss the value of Mac versus Windows, they worry about where they may find their next meal or clothes for their children.

www.kiva.org

In the grand scheme of life this is truly irrelevant, yet somehow it seems oddly important to me.

During the past week I flew my 25,000th mile in 2008 on Delta.
Actually, 25,428 miles on 49 days. Now that I have crossed this line I am now automatically upgraded to first class on all domestic flights, pending availability of course.

Once I joined the frequent flier program it finally made sense to me why first class always seems full, even when the rest of the plane is not even at 50% capacity. Most of those people are like me who get upgraded and don't have to pay.

A silly thing really, but still pretty cool.

Sadly, my next round of trips are to Omaha and those flights are on CRJ-700s and they do not have a first class cabin. No free perks for me until March 6th.

Part of my job is to conduct a failure mode evaluation analysis, or FMEA. I know its just another acronym and sounds like just another excuse to shuffle paper - or in the case a electronic document. However, there is a very specific value to this process, and today's world events prove it.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/01/31/dubai.outage/index.html

I was working on a FMEA for a project and added several entries regarding internet failure. From something as simple as a local hardware failure to regional and continental outages. The PM on this project scoffed at this requirement. Ultimately I "won" and the entry was added. Each entry includes an expected response to any particular failure. Today, as India lost significant internet access due to a possible cable breech in the Mediterranean, that PM is secretly happy I won instead of her, and there are several other highly important people that are openly happy that we have a mitigation plan.

Unfortunately, none of those people will probably ever know it was little old me that insisted we require a redundant circuit across the Pacific as well as leased access to satellite relays.

I definitely earned my pay today.

It has been a really long time since I have posted more than a quip or comment and honestly, I am not sure why. I have been ultra busy, yet I am not sure anyone can be so busy that they don’t have five or 10 minutes to decompress. Isn’t that really what blogging is supposed to be – an opportunity to decompress?

A lot of things have happened in the past several weeks (or months) depending upon how you look at it. Since my last post in early October a lot has happened.

On the home front I managed to pull off quite a surprise party for Stephanie’s 40th birthday. I gained a level of respect for event planners and what they go through. Midway through the process we had a rush of unexpected expenses pushing several thousand dollars. This changed things greatly. I did not want to go into debt and had a specific dollar amount in mind. Add in the pressure of the unexpected expense and it got hairy. I had to cater the event myself. Good food for 65 people, along with an open bar is no easy task. Fortunately it all worked out great – the only glitch was running out of bottled water.

I am currently converting my daughter’s old bedroom into an office. When we bought the house the room was used for storage. The walls were unfinished and the floor was subflooring only. There was only one electrical outlet and no air conditioning. It is also the room with access to the crow’s nest. Yes, my house has a crow’s next.

When Madeliene returned from California after two years she moved into this room. My house is big, but the three boys each have their own bedroom and she chose this room over another smaller room. When we moved it we finished the walls and painted them. The the painters made a mistake (pale pink) but we lived with it and a discount too. For Madeliene we added a carpet remnant, a cable outlet and a safe, but convoluted extension cord system that gave her more power access.

About three months after she moved in she got a dog – not just a dog – but a puppy. Or maybe I should have called him a poopy. By the time she moved out in June the dog managed to tear up the room, the carpet in the room and the hallway – basically making the room uninhabitable. I know I am digressing, but there is a point here.

Anyway, because Stephanie and I are in the process of earning doctorates we need a better place to study. My “office” is actually the bar area of the house and it has no doors. With dogs and kids, doors are important. So we decided that we should use Madeliene’s old bedroom. First step, Kilz the floor – amazing what some paint will do to make the smell that no amount of bleach or Pine-sol could elimante. That was the easy stuff.

I decided that in order to be a proper office, suitable for two PhD’s in the making, that it needed adequate bookshelves. We literally have a ton of books in the basement still boxed from our move to Ohio in early 2006. These books, plus the 200 or so more we have accumulated, need a home. So, I am building a floor to ceiling bookcase, 14 feet long by 10 feet tall. There are seven shelves in four sections. An approximate total 98 linear feet of bookshelf. This should hold roughly 1200 books – depending upon how we stack them and how thick they are.
In the process of building this monstrosity I managed to upgrade the access to power – there are now three permanent outlets and a “flexible” outlet along an outside wall. I also hardwired cat5e cable into the room so I can have direct access to my home network. My home wireless is great (I am on it right now), but somehow I prefer the steady 100Mbps connection to a 54Mpps wireless.

I am not done, as it is a slow process when you have other things to do. Plus, no one will ever accuse me of being a master craftsman. I enjoy the process, but it isn’t even a hobby. Add my lack of skill to the fact that the wood I bought is not the straightest and caulk, molding and paint will be my best friends this weekend. Fortunately, the walls are straight and the floor is only uneven in one area and I compensated for that – I suppose.

We will move in the office before it is complete. I am leaving the floor alone right now, but will eventually put down hardwood – or at least a high quality laminate. An area rug on painted subfloor will do for now. I do not know if I want to do this myself or not. With the uneven floor, and odd shape of the room, I may need to hire someone. Also, I have a plan to put a duct from the main floor HVAC system into the room. It has an electric wall heater now, it works okay – but there is no air. The duct will come from the floor below and feed from one of three HVAC unit. It is actually easier to do it this way, as the third floor unit is AC only and the duct work would need to be seriously rerouted. With my current idea, I will take an unused duct from the main floor and reroute it through the service area above my kitchen (where the air handler is) right into the office. Seems simple enough. I have regretted those very words before, so we’ll see.

The new job has me hopping. I have already been on three trips: Tampa, Omaha, and Toronto. I return to Tampa Monday. I will be driving to the DC area right after Christmas for a school residency. After the first of the year I head to Amsterdam, Vienna, Budapest, and Frankfurt. I may also visit Bratislava and Lucerne. I will end up back in Canada and Tampa before too long and somehow I am going to have to fit in a trip to Chennai (India). I am worn out just typing it all.

Well I have rambled enough and I did not even touch on the people aspect of the new job. I will save those people interactions for some other time.

It has been a very long time since I last posted more than an occasional comment, and while I have had quite a bit to say (and many movies to mention) I will stick to just one topic, the topic that has kept me distracted for past several weeks.

There are some big changes happening to my company and only a select few really know what is going to happen next. We are restructuring big time and there have been and will be huge changes in the very near future.

Recently I faced the challenge of being uncertain of my own future. About two weeks ago a plan was announced that reduced our workforce by close to 2,000 people. A large portion of these people came from the ranks of management. It is important to note that the 2,000 is from a total organization of over 28,000.

As someone fully entrenched in middle management I waved between feeling safe and being worried. My actual business unit/group is pretty lean and mean, and we do not have a low manager to employee ratio, but our organization is also small and contributes very little in the grand scheme of the bigger picture.

While all of the decisions regarding a reduction in workforce were being made, plans for the next layer of the organization were being finalized. At the start of 2007 there were nine layers of management. At the end, there will be four for most areas, five for a select few. My job would be considered at the fifth level.

The organization is designed to place the levels only so far under the global operations leader. There is one operations leader, he is level zero. He has several direct reports, but the most important ones (to me at least) are the five Center of Excellence (COE) leaders. These people are layer N+1, they are one away from the global operations leader.

Each COE has no more than 12 business areas – their leaders are N+2 – two away from the global leader. The most recent announcement relates to their leadership members – or N+3. The last level of “management” as most people will know it will be N+4.

Last week I was offered, and accepted a position within the N+3 layer. This means that my job will dramatically change over the next several weeks. By the end of the month I will no longer be a senior operations manager. I will be an individual contributor (that means I will not be anyone’s boss) at the N+3 level. There are very few of us at this level. Most of the 518 N+3 people are indeed managers. The rest of us, the individual contributors have been labeled the “big brains” of the organization. I don’t know what I think of the label, but I can live with it.

Before I decided to accept the new position I had to do some significant soul searching.
The job itself is awesome and one of those jobs that will allow me to write my own ticket after a couple of years of doing it. However, there are a handful of catches, but really only one concerned me.

An easy “catch” is that there will be significant international travel, after all it is a global role. I may spend as much a 75% of my work time away from home. I will start with Europe and India, with Latin America and possibly China later on. I like to travel and enjoy visiting new places, and Stephanie is okay with me doing so. Catch resolved.

Another catch is that I may have to put my PhD on hold – but I won’t know until I get into day-to-day of the job. It will be long hours and I may not have the energy for the PhD work. But I am willing to put it aside for awhile in return for the experience that this job would provide. I have also recently planned out the remainder of my program, and so far it looks as if I should be able to accomplish both. In either case, I am prepared to hold up on the doctorate. Catch resolved.

Now comes the real catch and the reason I was conflicted. The position involves determining the capabilities of our outsourcing partners, identify skill gaps, facilitating the filling of those gaps, and then creating and monitoring measures to ensure the processes run as efficiently and effectively as possible. In essence, my job will be to facilitate the loss of American jobs, and then make sure that the new people doing the work, do it right and don’t figuratively “use lead paint”. Once the work has migrated, I will also serve as a liaison between the vendor and the leadership of the various areas of the company (N+2) whose work was outsourced.

The conflict here wasn’t the obvious one though. I will play no role in who is outsourced and the outsource contracts have long been signed. The conflict comes from within. The “old Eric” would never take such a job. While the “new Eric” sees that if my company does not do this, it may not stay viable.

The “new Eric” falls into the whole “you reap what you sow” concept. The “pragmatic” Eric says that demonstrates the company’s confidence in me and places me among the relative few who have been chosen to lead. It places me in a high profile position with unlimited opportunity.

The conflict is not that I find the idea of the job distasteful; it is more that I do not find it distasteful. I am still a caring and compassionate person. I feel for every person who has misfortune frown upon them. Yet, when it comes to what is best for me and my family, I need to draw a line. The question was whether or not this was the time to draw the line.

I enlisted the help of several people whose opinions I trust and value.

The most liberal person I spoke with told me that it was matter of perspective. The jobs I will indirectly create in Eastern Europe or India will help the new employees in a level we in the US could never imagine. The people in the US will for the most part be fine, while the off-shore people will be given an opportunity to better their lives exponentially.

The most patriotic person I spoke with surprised me and stated simply that it was the right thing to do for my family and myself, and that was all that mattered.

The most serious person I spoke with said that in all her years of knowing me, this was the opportunity that I was destined for.

My best friend, and the most cynical person I know, told me that I should not worry about anyone but my family. He also stated that it was a good thing I like Indian food.
Ultimately I came to the conclusion that now is the time and the place and I have made peace with my decision.

I don’t know where I will be in three months, either somewhere in Eastern Europe freezing my ass off, or sweating profusely near the Indian Ocean in the city of Chennai, but in either case, I will be shaping the future of my company, the people who will lose their jobs or will get new ones, and most importantly, the future of my family and myself.

The long winded, somewhat self-righteous babble is over now, you may move along.

My movie viewing has slowed down some in the past couple of weeks – mostly due to other commitments and a weekend away. However, I am back into normal mode, having seen a movie last night and Stephanie telling me that this evening’s date night is a double feature at one of our local cinemas. I have no idea what movies we will see, but I am fairly certain I will be entertained.

My last movie post was on July 23rd. Since then I have seen a handful of movies I can remember. Of the summer movies this year, the two I anticipated most have arrived (sort of) and they did not let me down.

The Bourne Ultimatum picks up where the last Bourne movie left off and never lets up. I can not truly describe how much I enjoy and action movie that does not try to build some overblown contrived plot as an excuse to have big explosions and a CGI budget bigger than the GDP of Belize. Before you tell me that spy movies are contrived, I will concede that, but hear me out. The plot is pretty simple. Bourne became Bourne as a result of some heavy CIA behavioral modification. He begins to become aware that he may be someone other than Bourne and in this installment he seeks more information. The action is nicely paced and the plot moves along enough to make sense, but not so much that you wonder what the hell just happened. There are some plot holes, but it is just a movie and sometimes you need to move past the book or logic to tell an entertaining story. The whole idea of a film (in most cases) is to entertain. If all movies had to be logical and all plot holes were eliminated, we would have missed some great classic films as universally loved as The Wizard of Oz, Raiders of the Lost Arc, and God forbid, the Harry Potter series. Bottom line, the Bourne Ultimatum is a great way to spend 2 hours. Say what you want about Matt Damon, but this guy’s diversity as an actor amazes me. If you consider that Will Hunting, Tom Ripley, Linus Caldwell, Edward Wilson, and Jason Bourne are all played by Matt Damon (with Loki thrown in for good measure and props to Kevin Smith) it is hard to deny that the dude’s got range.

As much as I enjoyed the Bourne Ultimatum, my favorite movie of the year absolutely has to be SuperBad. I saw this last night at a free sneak preview and I have not laughed so hard in a very long time. This movie is rated R and if you are sensitive to pervasive crude language, this movie is not for you. On the other hand, if you can appreciate the use of such language to accurately portray characters that feel as real as the person sitting next to, then please enjoy. SuperBad was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg when they were 14 years old. The movie revolves around Seth (Johan Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) - nothing subtle in the character names here - and their quest to break free from the stereotypes they have lived throughout their high school career. Each sees opportunity with their individual high school crush and they each also understand that high school is about to be over and they need to act now or forever regret their inaction. This movie break free of the American Pie teen comedy stereotype, and while not ground breaking, it is in my opinion very honest.

Seth is obsessed with sex and speaks about it in graphic detail even though it is clear he has no experience. Evan is uncomfortable with the way Seth behaves, but understands. Throw in Fogell (Christopher Mintze-Plasse), the nerdy kid full of false bravado and a new fake ID that has him named McLovin, and the quest for redemption, love and friendship in the guise of getting alcohol for a high school party, makes this movie entertaining on many levels.

Now don’t take my praise as an endorsement of SuperBad as high art. It is far from it. However, with the exception of some unusual behavior by two police officers (one of which is played by Seth Rogen) this movie is about as real as it gets. These things happen and teenaged boys/young men actually act and feel this way. Even 25 years out of high school, I could recognize people from my past, and even myself. Above all this movie is about the bonds of friendship and takes the ideas setup by Kevin Smith in Clerks2 last year into the high school environment and makes them more accessible. We like Seth, Evan and McLovin. Randal and Dante, take some work. Well, at least Randal.

Okay, since I am on a tear about high school movies, I should move on to Hairspray. We saw this as a result of an incorrect movie schedule and showing up to see a movie (Sunshine) that wasn’t actually at the theatre. The manager comp’d us in to what ever we wanted, and since we had seen almost every movie, this was our choice. I will be honest, John Waters movies are a guilty pleasure of mine and I was not so sure about a musical version of one. But then Hairspray was Waters’ successful foray into the mainstream (almost) and it is the only JW film that I would recommend to someone I do not know well.

I was pleasantly surprised by Hairspray. The music was entertaining, the casting was good, and I was even able to get past John Travolta in drag. However, the Travolta casting seemed more like a gimmick than anything else. He pulled it off, but it was hard to suspend belief with him in the role. I don’t know if it is because Edna will always be Divine, or if it is because I really don’t care for Travolta, either way, I never 100% bought in.

Sticking with teenagers, I recently rewatched Meatballs, the quintessential summer camp film from 1979 with Bill Murray. Still funny, even after almost 30 years. Hot Wet American Summer is a 2001 parody of summer camp movies made by the people who created the State on MTV in the 1990s and Reno 911. It is loaded with people you recognize and if you’ve got 90 minutes to turn off your brain and laugh some, it is worthwhile.

Prozac Nation was a NetFlix rental. I am not sure what to say about this movie. It was not good, it was not bad, it just was. Christina Ricci does an excellent job trying to work with a script that meanders worse than the Tennessee River. Just when it stared to take an actual direction, it ended. Unless you are a fan of Ricci’s (in which case you have probably already seen this) I would recommend staying clear.

Another movie to avoid like Red Lobster on Good Friday is Scary Movie 4. I will just plead the fifth and tell you that I have lost an hour and a half of my life that I will never see again. I knew what I was getting into, I guess I just wasn’t thinking straight.

A quick note about Beauty Shop, a movie Stephanie and I watched on cable and I actually enjoyed. Predictable and inane, it made me smile at times and sometimes that’s all that matters.

I Know Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is a sight gag that went on way too long. Adam Sandler has made some great movies in the past, Reign Over Me being one of his best, but Chuck and Larry sends him back to mediocrity. Like Click before it, there is a message hidden in the high jinks, but this one goes a little too far. Sandler can make a goofy movie and it can be fun. Look at 50 First Dates and The Wedding Singer; they fit the bill nicely. But then they also have Drew Barrymore.

I don’t know what I will see this weekend. I hope to watch The Good German as well as Audition so I can send them back to NetFlix. Double Indemnity should be in my mailbox today, a classic by most everyone’s standards. Billy Wilder was a genius.

Years ago I was taught that journalists were the keepers of our language. As the people who write for the masses on a daily basis they have the responsibility to set a good example for us, the lowly reader. Every day I see something that makes me cringe. This is not Jay Leno funny headline material, it is just simple laziness. Or at least I hope it is laziness, because ignorance would be so much worse.

This article is wholly unremarkable, except for the headline.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070809/NEWS0103/308090021/

Just how difficult is it to use the word "about" instead of "on"?
Here, I was thinking there would be a meeting held physically on the ramp, and that's why I read the article.

I have a relatively pedantic idea that has been bounding around my mind for a while and thought I would float it by the CF “technorati” (yea yea I know there’s site and culture around this word) for a sanity check.

So, for around $100 I can pick up a 100G (or more) portable USB external hard drive. My thought is that I would get said drive and use iTunes to load my entire CD collection. Using a very basic rule of thumb that one minute of music uses one meg of space as an m4a file, I should have no problems storage wise getting 1500 CDs into the drive and have plenty of space for more. Even thought many CDs are less than an hour, and some are more, I over estimate 1500 CDs as 1500 hours, which is 90,000 minutes or 90G. Using this method, in reality, I probably have between 75 and 80G of music.

This all seems reasonable (except for the time needed to load 1500 CDs into iTunes) but I want to be sure I can use this devise on any Windows based PC with iTunes.
I can bring to work, use it at home on any PC, etc. I know I would need to change my location settings in iTunes, but that’s simple.

Am I making the correct assumption? If I am, are there any brands I should look for or in turn avoid?

Help a middle aged man out here…

After a couple of relaxing days at Cedar Point - I came home and discovered this (http://www.wlwt.com/news/13792695/detail.html)

Saddly, the oldest daughter mentioned is one of my "dotted line" employees. This is about as horrible as it gets.

She is well liked and tomorrow will be very rough on everyone.

I am not sure whether or not my company has any grief counseling programs in their back pocket - but I expect that the EAP will be getting a call before noon.

I posted this elsewhere - but somehow I think it warrants its own entry...

So, waiting to see the preeminent Adult ADD specialist in CinCity seems have been the right thing to do.

We had a great conversation, he was very complimentary to me and to the research I had done. We even discussed fiction writers and diagnosing them through their writing. Hemingway was bi-polar, Ayn Rand had Asperger's and Stephen King shows bi-polar tendencies with more than just a touch of chemical dependency.

For me, I am clearly ADD. So, with a prescription for 30mg Adderall XR once a day
let's see where I end up.

After weeks of waiting and the happenstance of a cancellation I will finally get to see the "special" doctor about adult ADD.

How I hope that there is a solution to unfinished projects, a mind that rapidly jumps from topic to topic, the inabilty to focus on any one thing for more than a couple of minutes, and more things than I have the patience to type.

What a breath of fresh air this may bring to my life.

Since I last wrote about movies my view sessions have dropped somewhat. Well at least dropped for me. A few weeks back a visit to the local cinema proved frustrating as I had seen every movie there.

So, here are the latest, in no particular order.

You Kill Me is a small indie film about a Polish hit man sent away to San Francisco to dry out. His drinking stopped him from killing the local Irish mob boss and the Poles are now rapidly losing “market share”. While in SF the hit man, Frank played by Ben Kingsley, meets Luke Wilson at an AA meeting and Tea Leoni at the funeral parlor where he works. The film is dark, somewhat predictable, but at least entertaining. Stephanie insisted we see it, and she fell asleep. However, she had a long day, and as a small film, it had a 10:30pm show time. 10:30 works for me, not for her.

Ratatouille was a pleasant surprise. As the parent of teenagers, its not often I see “kids” movies. But this one was good. I actually liked it better than Shrek the Third. Remy is a rat who wants to be a chef, add in your typical circumstance and he ends up in Paris “working” at a famous, but declining restaurant. The story is full of ethical dilemmas and the usual tug at your heartstrings type moments. It was fun without question.

I enjoyed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was darker than I expected, but then I have not read any of the books and it appears that dark is the way the rest of this goes. I am always intrigued by the side characters. Sure I care about Harry, but in this movie Lana Luna was my favorite. Maybe it’s because she is cute and quirky. However, when she grows up, she has the potential of being really annoying.

We saw No Reservations at a Sneak this weekend. It was formulaic, but entertaining. Think Raising Helen on the Food Network. The cast worked well. Catherine Zeta-Jones pulls off the lead (even though her accent creeps in and out) while her romantic interest is Aaron Eckhardt (from Thank You for Not Smoking). He does well with what he has. The star is Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine herself. This girl is phenomenal. I hope she plays it smart and does go the way of Dakota Fanning. Over exposure can kill a career and send you into a Drew Barrymore downward spiral.

Sicko was quite entertaining. What so many people forget is that a documentary is rarely unbiased. People complain about Michael Moore and his tactics, but you have to admit, he is entertaining. Sicko is about the US healthcare system and the only real bad guy here is big insurance. It seems like a topic we can all get behind. Of course someone has to complain. This movie really makes you wonder about our country and how we treat each other. Why are we the only western nation without universal health care? It turns out that the reasons most folks say we don’t want it – don’t fly. People do not wait forever in Canada. Doctors are not poor in Britain, and the care provided folks in Cuba is better than most of us have access to. Love him or hate him, Moore makes you think.

I got around to watching Run Ronnie Run. It was a great idea, but it never really went anywhere. The cameos are priceless. Mandy Patinkin singing Ronnie on Broadway, naked was priceless. But nothing topped Jack Black’s “Kick in the Cunt” song (think Mary Poppins complete with animated animals) or Patrick Warburton’s gay conspiracy plan that had its cover “blown” by Kids in the Hall’s Scott Thompson. I read after the fact that Bob and Dave disavowed this film because of the mess the director made. It’s not horrible, it is inspired at times (see above) but My Name is Earl plays country dumb better.

I saw several trailers during this process and three films stuck out. Get Smart and Dan In Real Life both star Steve Carell and look very good in very different ways. Dan In Real Life has Steve as a widowed father who unknowingly falls for his brother’s girlfriend.
August Rush is a music movie about a boy given up for adoption by his musical parents and how music reunites them (maybe).

I have Audition (Japanese horror), Prozac Nation, Grey Matters (lesbian rom com) and Seripico at home to watch. I will be dragged to the Simpsons the weekend and may also check out Brooklyn Rules before it disappears.

I just returned from the requisite viewing of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The reviewers hate this movie. It's too dark, it's lost the magic, yada yada yada.

Well, to be honsest - it should be dark - it's a dark subject. The forces of good - led by Harry Potter and friends are in a battle agains He Who Cannot be Named for the fate of witch and wizard kind. Seems dark to me.

The lack of "magic" comes from the fact that we've seen moving photgraphs and interactive newspapers for 5 movies now. It's not missing, it's just routine.

I liked the movie, and Michael - my resident HP expert says its much better than the last two.

For the record, I have not read any of the books and liked all the movies.