tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324312452009-06-15T22:44:02.169-04:00dolphin safe | zero emissions | calorie freeSnorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.comBlogger154125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-66420910622090933372009-06-04T15:58:00.000-04:002009-06-04T15:58:45.858-04:00

Unlike LeBron James, I won something last weekend: a USTA tennis tournament! Okay, it wasn’t exactly the French Open, but it was pretty tough. I prevailed in fairly straightforward fashion on Saturday (6-3, 6-2), then managed to win a real battle on Sunday against a very tough opponent (7-6, 2-6, 6-3). It took about 2.5 hours and man, did I suck in the second set, as you can see by the score. The

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-49077020962456652152009-06-01T12:53:00.000-04:002009-06-01T12:53:32.342-04:00

This post is dedicated to cheering up LeBron James now that his Cavaliers have been eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals by Orlando. I figure these two videos will do the trick. Better luck next year! And p.s., LeBron, stop being such a crappy loser.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-80789785026800727022009-05-24T18:59:00.000-04:002009-05-24T18:59:43.203-04:00

As promised, some lovely photos of the new ride and one of the old one. Note that it took less than 24 hours for the new car to get covered in tree schmutz. I think I need to fire the chauffeur, he is a slacker!Expand/collapseNext, here’s a closeup of the cute little decklid spoiler and one of those rad alloy wheels.And the interior, where you can see the heads-up display above the very sportay

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-68288542593933743802009-05-20T14:37:00.000-04:002009-05-20T14:37:51.076-04:00

Battle stations, everybody! Since I saw Star Trek on Sunday I’ve been thinking about how I might go about reviewing it. It’s not easy to sift through everything I think about it, and moreover there’s already a huge amount of discussion about the movie on the net, so it’s hard to be original. Hence I’m going to approach this as a meta-review.Expand/collapseFirst, as a longtime and fairly dedicated

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-33591334107722715392009-05-13T17:55:00.001-04:002009-05-13T17:55:21.474-04:00

It hardly seems possible, but there’s been too much going on recently and it’s been keeping me from updating the blog. So here is a summary:New wheels: Finally, after many, many false starts (going back a ways!) we bought a new car last weekend. The hard part is over now—the price research, figuring out which dealer might be less sleazy than the others, the horror of haggling, the feeling that,

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-33792816148158633582009-04-23T11:15:00.000-04:002009-04-23T11:15:36.718-04:00

My homie Beerad, living a newly itinerant life, has set up a blog to document his travels. Go check it out! It’s guaranteed to be interesting or he owes you a deep-fried chili dog or something.In other peep news, we saw the ever-elusive Sashe this past weekend! How funny to have a friend from freaking Malaysia be the first person to see the new crib. I subjected him to some Halo 3 playing, and he

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-41945367495668628452009-04-15T17:28:00.000-04:002009-04-15T17:28:27.341-04:00

Well, I spent a day off of work today doing two very important things: mailing my damn tax returns, and clearing crap out of the old condo. Success on both fronts!It is pretty sad to see the condo all empty. Funny, it looks much more worn around the edges than it did when it was full of our stuff. I wonder if this is why brokers don’t like to sell vacant properties: because every scuff mark and

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-84271182560549263832009-03-31T13:04:00.001-04:002009-03-31T13:05:14.533-04:00

Another step toward sanity and happiness was taken today as we closed on the sale of the condo. I am now free of debt, free of a crazy neighbor, free of thinking about repairs and termites and crabgrass. Right now I feel totally miserable about the whole thing. I think about all the money that was made off of my unhappy circumstance by the real estate brokers and the lawyers, the town, as they

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-39653506010759711742009-03-21T10:54:00.000-04:002009-03-21T10:55:06.442-04:00

Today’s the memorial service for the mother of my close friend Erin. You can view the obituary here. She was an amazing woman; I’m very grateful that I had the chance to meet her.Everybody hug their loved ones today, extra tight.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-66395211583609647612009-03-15T10:49:00.000-04:002009-03-15T10:49:43.807-04:00

I am totally remiss is not publicly congratulating Frantix and kaskasero on their new(ish) arrivals, Mihir and Olivia! Thank goodness there will be a new generation around to show us how to use our electronic devices as we get old and dotty. By then everything will all be controlled by our thoughts, and as one whose thoughts are particularly undisciplined, I will need all the help I can get.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-28730997253024983682009-03-06T15:24:00.000-05:002009-03-06T15:24:24.234-05:00

A lighthearted moment in the middle of all the angsty darkness: an octopus at the Aquarium jammed itself into a small box to try and liberate its lunch. The picture alone is worth visiting the link, I promise.I am torn between wanting some sushi and feeling bad about having eaten octopus in the past. Although at least I didn’t have to unlock a box to get to it.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-68942805518435003812009-02-23T12:26:00.003-05:002009-03-31T13:03:38.527-04:00

I’ve been holding back from blogging this month due to being overwhelmed with house-selling trials and tribulations. To get the facts out of the way early, there was an offer, there was counteroffering, there was an agreement accepted, there was a home inspection, there was negotiation over the Purchase and Sale Agreement, there was signing of P&S. So that’s where we are now. “Pretty awesome!”

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-4718716723177119782009-02-05T00:03:00.001-05:002009-02-05T12:04:52.971-05:00

In the midst of my very dire winter doldrums comes this dish that Swami and I make all the time. It’s relatively fast and relatively healthy, and might briefly make you forget your troubles. Especially if you drink some of the wine while you’re cooking!- 6 oz. uncooked pasta (linguine works best)- 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil- 2 or 3 dashes crushed red pepper flakes- 1 tbsp. minced fresh garlic

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-13262186833404831452009-01-20T13:56:00.000-05:002009-01-20T13:56:33.043-05:00

What a pleasure it was to watch Dubya’s helicopter flying away from Washington. It’s time to scrub off the grime of the last eight years and get to work finding what has been lost, rebuilding what has been destroyed, righting what has been upset, and healing what has been harmed.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-73822152108382374842009-01-18T10:56:00.001-05:002009-01-18T10:56:26.693-05:00

Last night we were stymied in our attempt to see Slumdog Millionaire—the lines for tickets were waaay too long, I guess because of Notorious or somesuch, so we decided to hit dinner instead at the most delectable Rod Dee 2. Well, imagine the shock when we came upon its location on Peterborough St. The whole row of buildings that had once been a bunch of cool restaurants had burned down! Here’s

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-63087608964361166752009-01-02T19:35:00.001-05:002009-01-02T19:39:46.905-05:00

Well, during this long week off (not long enough, actually!), there’s been just a little bit of time spent playing Halo 3 online. Just a little bit. I figured out how to take screenshots, so here are a couple. You can either shake your head and wonder what the heck this silliness is all about, or if you’re kaskasero you can feel incredibly jealous! Expand/collapseIn the first one, I am actually

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-53558453726437843822008-12-29T18:16:00.001-05:002008-12-29T20:48:05.375-05:00

It’s getting down to the wire here in 2008, isn’t it? Somehow a final taking of stock seems appropriate.Miles bicycled: 915.98Minutes of tennis played: 6,949Appallingly short list of movies seen in the theater:There Will Be BloodIron ManW.Valkyrie2009 movies that hopefully won’t suck:X-Men Origins: WolverineWatchmenStar TrekPresidential elections pwned: 1Purchases reflecting my deeply conflicted

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-70711074485040483162008-12-19T16:39:00.000-05:002008-12-19T16:39:28.793-05:00

Whoops, I promised myself I would keep up the blog, yet here I’ve been lax for all of December. Here’s a photograph of a chandelier made of shattered plates that I saw at MOMA in New York over Thanksgiving, as a gesture of apology.Tomorrow we head to the family holiday festivities. Wish me luck. Otherwise, no news to report: no offers on the house, no more crazy neighbor encounters, no decent

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-3855181507262906412008-11-25T17:17:00.001-05:002008-11-25T17:17:50.004-05:00

In a break from my personal housing crisis, the Swami and I saw Robyn Hitchcock last Friday in Somerville. We first saw him with the Egyptians in Columbus back in 1993, and I remember that show being awesome. Next, after moving here in 2000 we saw him with Grant Lee Phillips at the Middle East, where they screwed around with a lot of cover songs, including an infamous rendition of “Kung Fu

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-53409339081473805862008-11-13T14:45:00.002-05:002009-03-21T10:56:54.268-04:00

One of the reasons I’ve been quiet on the blog is that some things have been happening that are a little too painful to describe. Also, even in the relative anonymity of this forum, I’m still a little squirrely about giving details about what’s been happening.Expand/collapseSo what the heck has been going on? It turns out that our new neighbor downstairs, who moved in less than two months ago, is

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-16822929042796567122008-11-06T22:28:00.000-05:002008-11-06T22:28:55.807-05:00

The Onion nails it.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-15037773489809089052008-11-05T07:58:00.000-05:002008-11-05T07:59:12.714-05:00

Yes we muthafuckin did.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-42287817063537189232008-11-03T16:03:00.001-05:002009-03-21T10:57:46.272-04:00

Recently it seems as though things are far less settled than usual, from the large-scale to the personal: the economy, politics, and a new (crazy) neighbor downstairs. I haven’t had much to say publicly on any of it the last few weeks, so it’s been a little quiet in blogtown. (For the neighbor story, even the purported anonymity of this blog doesn’t feel like enough cover for me to publish all

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-36199972332250480242008-10-16T12:24:00.001-04:002008-10-16T12:25:27.541-04:00

I’ve been trying to think of how to write a blog post about the election without it just being a litany of all the ways I hate John McCain. Although if you would like a semibiased source for many reasons why you might want to vote against him, this article in Rolling Stone might be for you. Anyway, as I was listening to him say a bunch of inflammatory shit in the debate last night, I found myself

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32431245.post-22548504651102085422008-09-28T14:53:00.001-04:002008-09-28T14:54:20.381-04:00

As promised, we did go canvassing for Obama in New Hampshire yesterday, and as promised, I’m here to tell you about it. First, the facts. We went to the local democratic party office about 9 a.m., got driving directions for where to go in NH, and then picked up a couple of people who needed rides. It turned out the directions were really crappy, but we did make it to the destination at about 11.

Snorklewackerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278523863943628915noreply@blogger.com1