For the money, surprisingly accurate

the Observer Test finished!

you chose BZ - your Enneagram type is FIVE. "I need to understand the world" Observers have a need for knowledge and are introverted, curious, analytical, and insightful. How to Get Along with Me Be independent, not clingy. Speak in a straightforward and brief manner. I need time alone to process my feelings and thoughts. Remember that If I seem aloof, distant, or arrogant, it may be that I am feeling uncomfortable. Make me feel welcome, but not too intensely, or I might doubt your sincerity. If I become irritated when I have to repeat things, it may be because it was such an effort to get my thoughts out in the first place. don't come on like a bulldozer. Help me to avoid my pet peeves: big parties, other people's loud music, overdone emotions, and intrusions on my privacy. What I Like About Being a Five standing back and viewing life objectively coming to a thorough understanding; perceiving causes and effects my sense of integrity: doing what I think is right and not being influenced by social pressure not being caught up in material possessions and status being calm in a crisis What's Hard About Being a Five being slow to put my knowledge and insights out in the world feeling bad when I act defensive or like a know-it-all being pressured to be with people when I don't want to be watching others with better social skills, but less intelligence or technical skill, do better professionally Fives as Children Often spend a lot of time alone reading, making collections, and so on have a few special friends rather than many are very bright and curious and do well in school have independent minds and often question their parents and teachers watch events from a detached point of view, gathering information assume a poker face in order not to look afraid are sensitive; avoid interpersonal conflict feel intruded upon and controlled and/or ignored and neglected Fives as Parents are often kind, perceptive, and devoted are sometimes authoritarian and demanding may expect more intellectual achievement than is developmentally appropriate may be intolerant of their children expressing strong emotions Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele The Enneagram Made Easy Discover the 9 Types of People HarperSanFrancisco, 1994, 161 pages You are not completely happy with the result?! You chose BZ Would you rather have chosen: AZ (THREE) CZ (ONE) BX (NINE) BY (FOUR)

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 25% on ABC You scored higher than 0% on XYZ

Link: The Quick and Painless ENNEAGRAM Test written by felk on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Brilliance.

What do you get when you mix David Hasselhoff and the song "Hooked On a Feeling"? Only the greatest video known to man.

Skip-scape artist

So, the crating did not go as planned today. He managed to get out of the crate and once again peed on the rug upstairs despite my putting what I thought was an adequate barrier to prevent him from getting up there. I thought the design of the latch was kind of crummy so I decided to use a carabiner clip to prevent the latch from just rotating open when I went out again. I was wrong. Turns out the weak point of the crate was the entire crate. This is what I discovered when I got home after dinner.


The door is actually bent and one of the hinges came apart. Also of note, this is (er, was) an inward swinging door.


Here's a closeup of the clip I thought would help keep it closed.

Now I'm not sure what to do. I could close him in the basement. There's not much he could get into down there. But it's kind of messy with construction stuff, and coldish. Erghh. Don't really want to leave him in the main area, but that may be what I have to do. I think I've got the upstairs barrier fortified properly now though. I'll break him of this peeing problem yet!

O. M. G.

This is so freakin' cool. I love the 80's!

On with the Skip-periment

Well, I let Skip have the run of the house yesterday. He ended up peeing on my rug upstairs. Today I have him crated up. He was not happy about it. Hopefully he'll be able to adjust somewhat to my schedule. It's a bit more regular than "Mike"'s I would guess.

I think I might have to figure out a hiding spot for my extra key in case anybody wants to stop by during the day and say hi to Skip. Hmm.

Are you Skip-perienced?

Day 3 of the Skippy puppy experiment continues. So far, things have gone, for the most part, well. He left me a puddle one night though, but that may have been my fault for not feeding him on time. He also wanted to go for walks in the coldest weather of the winter. I seriously thought my legs were going to freeze up like tree trunks, like in that Radiohead video where Thom becomes a tree. It was cold. He also seemed to get along ok with Sydney and Bentley, when my dad brought them over.

My dad came over to help with painting my basement. My mom keeps pushing me along on it. It's kind of getting there. I'll take some pictures of the painted walls.

For dinner, my dad and I ended up going to Woo Lee Garden. That was once again, very tasty. We had originally wanted to go for Thai, but that place is closed Sundays. WLG was kind of a backup plan. I didn't totally stuff myself, but I still ate a bunch. Next time I go though, I definitely plan to really get my money's worth.

More dog updates later.

Site you should check out

Hey, peoples. Want to waste a lot of time?

Check out Videobomb. It's full of funny videos and what not. Cool.

Because I'm a follower

How I'm good


How I'm bad

My oh my, can't find a reason why

There's so much and yet so little to post about. Went to see Final Destination 3 last night with Dan and Jackie. It was pretty cool, if a little short. Weekend was fun, especially the Catalog Only concert and The Recital concert. Brunch was awesomely tasty, I was surprised I ate as much as I did, considering my previous evening's stomach pyrotechnics. Dim Sum, also good. Panera was also very good, the crispani was delicious (thanks Sarah!). Still so very tired. At least the coming weeks are full of reruns so I can catch up on some stuff. Mmmm... television.

Anime-niacs

Went with Austin and Jenn tonight to see "An Evening With Shinichiro Watanabe" at the DFT. It was really cool. Watanabe is the director of Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo and Macross Plus. There was a short intro, and then they played the title sequences from Bebop and Champloo. They then played the rest of the first episode of Champloo and had a panel discussion with Watanabe, an interpreter, a professor of Japanese culture from MIT and the Detroit News' anime reporter. I didn't even know they had such a guy in the News/Free Press. The audience also was able to ask some questions. It was very interesting. Got a lot of insights into the influences and motivations of the director. Jenn had Watanabe sign a couple of her NewType USA magazines and we got a picture with him. Also cool.

It's Like We Were Separated At Birth

Wow, it's like we're twins or something. Yes, this was actually the inspiration for my current mustache style. I kind of laugh at myself every time I catch a glance in the mirror. It's just so ridiculous.

Tenative Schedule of Weekend Events

I talked to Dan on the telephone over the weekend. He had a variety of desired activities for his week back here in the D.

Thursday: Tap Room
Friday: Hang out and then go to Dim Sum ~11:00-12:00
Saturday: Catalog Only Farewell Show
Sunday: Brunch at John and Julie's

I'm sure there will be more details in the coming week. That is all.

A perfect example of how my lovelife goes...

Click for fullsize version

So very neutral...

WHITES are motivated by PEACE, seek independence and require kindness. They resist confrontation at all costs. (Feeling good is more important than being good.) They are typically quiet by nature, they process things very deeply and objectively, and they are by far the best listeners of all the colors. They respect people who are kind, but recoil from perceived hostility or verbal battle.

WHITES need their quiet independence and refuse to be controlled by others.
WHITES want to do things their own way, in their own time. They ask little of others, and resent others demanding much of them.
WHITES are much stronger than people think because they dont reveal their feelings.
WHITES are kind, non-discriminate, patient and can be indecisive, timid, and silently stubborn.
When you deal with a WHITE, be kind, accept (and support) their individuality, and look for nonverbal clues to their feelings.
What Color Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Much more than expected

I am really tired today. Which is surprising. We helped Jessica move yesterday, but I wasn't that tired last night, and I didn't go to bed that late, but still, I did not want to wake up this morning. Must get more coffee.

Amusements

I saw Underworld: Evolution tonight with Tess and Tim. It was pretty decent, lots of action, even if the plot was a little lacking in parts. Plus Kate Beckinsdale was naked, but the shot naked so you can't see the good parts way.

After the movie I stayed at Tess and Tim's to watch The Fifth Element, which I've seen literally dozens of times, but Tess has the "Ultimate" or "Extra-Spectacular" or some-such edition which has a trivia track along with it, so that was pretty cool.

For dinner, I ended up going out with John and Julie, and we were going to go to Texas Roadhouse, but it was packed, so we ended up going to the Clawson Steakhouse. It was pretty good, although, we were a little underdressed. There's apparently live music and dancing Weds through Sat. The band was a pretty cheesy lounge act. We left soon after the band started.

That's about it. I should head to bed as I have to help Jessica move in the tomorrow. I wanted to say morning, because relative to when I'm getting up, it's early, but it will be after noon, so it's technically afternoon, but that just doesn't seem right either. Weird.

And then Nerds begat Dorks and Dorks begat Dweebs

This weekend was a lot of fun. If not a bit nerdy. Friday, I went over to Austin's to play Magic with him and ChrisB, and then a bit later, Beckie, Jenn, Ryan, Ryan's friend and Coronado came over to watch anime.

After a while we were hungry so we went to the Redcoat Tavern where once again there was the guy with reverse sideburns. Then the girls spent the night with Austin. On his couch. With him upstairs.

Saturday, I didn't wake up until 2:00PM, so I missed going to breakfast with Austin and Jenn and Beckie. After that Austin and I carpooled to the LAN party, picking up Jordan on the way.

At about 11:00 we left there to meet hot girls at the bar. We closed out the bar with the hot girls and went back to their apartment where we spent the night.

The hot girls were Beckie and Jenn, and I slept on the floor, because we were too tired and drunk to drive home. It was a strange morning after, Jenn made gyoza and tea, Austin and Beckie had Lucky Charms. Somehow this was funnier or more interesting in my head.

Best quote of the weekend: "Is there something wrong with Austin?" -Ryan on the phone after talking to Austin who was all jacked up on Jaegar bombs and beer.

Midseason Series Premieres Part Tres

NBC

The Book of Daniel
(Friday at 10:00)
Grade: B
There’s so much stuff jammed into the season premiere, it took 2 hours to tell it, so, here’s the shortish version. Daniel Webster (Aidan Quinn; Desperately Seeking Susan [ha!]) is an Episcopal priest, with a borderline alchoholic wife, a daughter just caught for dealing pot, a gay son, and a horny adopted asian son. His sister-in-law is a burgeoning lesbian, her dead husband ran off with $3.2 million of the church’s money and is found dead with the money still missing. Oh, and Daniel talks to Jesus, in a he’s invisible but in the room kind of way. Daniel’s boss, the bishop (Ellen Burstyn) is hassling him, and his father, another bishop, doesn’t think much of him. There’s actual even more things going on, but if this has interested you enough already, maybe you should check out the show.

I like this show. Not love it, but it’s definitely interesting. What I like best is when Daniel talks to Jesus, because, it’s pretty funny usually. Jesus is a bit mysterious, and a bit cryptic. The daughter is also pretty good. What I don’t like about the show is the fact that every time they talk to or about the gay son, it has to be mentioned that he’s gay and they seem to make a huge deal of it. There’s actually a lot of different plot threads going on, and it’s a bit confusing. Though to be honest, when I watched the second episode, I was playing a videogame and not really concentrating on the TV. Anyways, I think it’s interesting enough to keep watching.

Four Kings
(Thursday at 8:30)
Grade: C+
Ben’s (Josh Cooke; Committed) grandma has died and left him a gigantic NY apartment, into which he invites his 3 best friends to live with him. Barry (Seth Green; BtVS, Austin Powers) is a music producer, Jason (Todd Grinnell) is a real estate developer working for a Trump-type mogul, and Bobby (Shane McRae) is a slacker. Ben is the serial monogamist of the group, where Barry is the perpetually put-upon loser in the love game. This is a situation that would only be found in the sitcom.

Once you get past the very Friends-like setup of the show, you find a show that’s struggling a bit to find its feet. There have been a few very funny moments and quite a few more where the jokes fell flat. You can see that there is a long friendship and familiarity between the characters though, especially in the in-jokes and strange rituals that always seems to manifest in groups that have been friends for a long time. The show is not bad, but is just so uneven, that sometimes even the good laughs are dragged down by lame setups and unnecessary selling of the joke. I really want to like this show, as Seth Green definitely has the comedic abilities, and is especially funny when playing indignant or angry, but the Jason and Bobby characters I find not really that funny. I don’t know if the writers just haven’t found good material for them, or what, but I hope that they can make a better contribution to the show soon.

Midseason Series Reviews Part Deux

CBS

Love Monkey
(Tuesday at 10:00)
Grade : A-
Tom Farrell(Tom Cavanaugh; Ed) is a sucessful A&R rep at a large music corporation. He lives music, literally, music is his life, and he has a “golden ear” for what is good. In the process of trying to get a talented singer/songwriter to sign with the label, he speaks his mind about what he thinks the label should be, and is fired for it. His girlfriend at the same time comes to the realization that Tom is not who she’s looking for and dumps him. He then tries to start his own label and continues to pursue the talent. Eventually he realizes he should be letting the talent do what’s best for them and not what’s best for him. Tom then gets offered a job at a small label run by a friend, who’s happened to have signed the guy he was after.

I really like this show. I never watched Ed much, but apparently Tom’s character is similar in many respects to Ed. Which if true, it’s too bad I never watched Ed. The supporting cast is excellent, it’s good to see Judy Greer and Jason Priestley. The writing seems good, and the music is excellent. It seems as though no reviewer can write about this show without making a comparison to High Fidelity, which for better or for worse, it does seem to draw some inspiration from, most especially the music snob slant of Tom’s tastes. I guess because I’m a bit of a music snob myself, I can relate to many of Tom’s observations about the “biz.” Maybe I just hope that there is someone out there like Tom, looking for the next great sound, not just the next Big Thing.

ABC

Crumbs
(Thursday at 9:30)
Grade: C+
Mitch (Fred Savage; The Wonder Years) is a “famous” screenwriter who had escaped his family after the traumatic death of his older brother. He returns home to help out after his mom (Jane Curtin) is released from the mental hospital for attempting to run down their father (William Devane) with a car. His father has left his mother and is having a baby with his new girlfriend. His brother still resents him for running away. Did I mention his family runs a restaurant? Mitch is in the closet, his brother Jody (the Chef) is a player, and his father secretly does the books for the restaurant when not at his new job as a new-agey massage therapist. And his mother is still crazy.

As far as sitcoms go, Crumbs is pretty decent. There were some good laughs, and the cast seems to work as a dysfunctional family should. The show was based on the creator’s actual family and events that happened to them, so at least the premise has a smidge of truth to it. It remains to be seen whether it will fall into typical sitcom plots and jokes, or will it rise above and be truly a show for the ages. (My money’s on the first one)

Added 11:22 PM, 01/19/06: BTW, the laughtrack on Crumbs is horrible intrusive.

Midseason Series Premieres Part Uno

ABC

Emily’s Reasons Why Not
(Monday at 9:00)
Grade: D+
So, I just read that ERWN’s production has been halted by ABC. This could mean any number of things, like they want to retool the show, but most likely it means that it will be canceled.
In short, Emily (Heather Graham) is an editor for a publishing house, and if she can think of 5 reasons why a guy is not right, she’ll dump him. She has a female friend and a gay friend. They assist her in this quest. She also has an office rival. In the premiere, she has just broken up with her boyfriend, who is also who’s book she’s publishing. She then dates the new marketing guy. He is reluctant to get physical, and has “weird” habits, thus leading to the “Reasons Why Not” and subsequent dumping. Most of the reasons are fairly shallow, except for the biggy, she thinks he’s gay and her friends gaydar concurs, while the truth is, he’s a Mormon virgin. (What?) Thus is the first episode.

In homage to the show, let me review it with Mike’s Reasons Why Not to Watch.

1. Annoying, annoying (yes, 2 times annoying) voice over and goofy-ass graphics for the “Reasons Why Not”
2. Only one reasonably likable character and one incredibly, horribly annoying character
3. Writing is, in a word, dull
4. Compared to Sex and the City in way too many reviews, usually disparagingly
5. Just not funny or remotely original

It’s not that a show needs to be original, but if it’s a sitcom, it should at least elicit some laughter. This show just did not. It also seemed to suffer somewhat from schizophrenia, jumping from a surrealistic chick-com (ala Ally McBeal) to more standard sit-com-y conventions and many other points in between and farther out. Let me give some suggestions to the producers, such as, tone down the “reasons why not”, get rid of the rival co-worker, and give her friends something to do, other than bitch about Emily’s boyfriend du jour.