Lisa Diane Tilley-Newman Has A Blog

Is a blogger from Boston a "bloggah"??

I'd like to be the first (well, probably not the first, but who cares, it's an expression) to welcome my friend Lisa to the world of blogging. I like when my friends have blogs, it makes me feel like less of a high-schooler, my addiction to The O.C. notwithstanding. Anyway, it's great - she's a bit of a Bon Jovi freak, but who among us doesn't have some sort of semi-embarassing addiction (see aforementioned O.C. reference)?? Also, by the looks of things, she might be ... a liberal. I've definitely made my journey leftward over the past few years, but she was doing it WAY before it was the in-thing. Take that, Al Franken.

Her blog is now forever (or at least until my 2 1/2 years are up, I was just wondering this afternoon what I'm going to do when that happens...) linked at the left, joining Neola, Ziggy, me & Jeremy, The Roommate, and Dana as my friends that have blogs. She gets the top spot, because it's the newest one, and because I've known her the longest. We used to swing together at recess in first grade. (PS - her husband's a stud. Only guy I know who can jump from quoting Fletch to Pee Wee's Big Adventure to The Breakfast Club in the same breath while lining up for a putt.) There are a few other noteworthy blogs over there as well, but I'm not exactly friends with Mark Cuban, I just like his blog.

Who else out there has a blog that they're not telling us about?? It's ok, don't be shy. You can tell me.

Oh, and one other thing. You may have noticed that I took off the Red Cross thing to donate to Hurricane Katrina relief. That's not because I'm a douche. It's because at this point (or ever, really), I just don't think the Red Cross is getting too many donations as a result of my blog. Not that I don't think I make a difference in people's lives in other areas (I shudder to think what some folks' lives might be like without my semi-regular ramblings about the O.C. or my fantasy football team). Anyway, I hope I didn't offend anyone by taking that down, it was just time.

I Believe In America...

That's the first line from what movie? Anybody know?

So, I just popped into this little Persian market down the street from my apartment on my way home from work to pick up some hummus, pita, falafel, etc. for my Sunday School class this weekend, and I'm in the checkout lane and as she's ringing up my stuff I notice a sign that says "cash only." I asked her, "Do you not have that little thing to swipe the card?" and I did a little swiping motion with my hand. She smiled and said, in a thick accent, "Of course we do. This is America."

Is that what the world thinks of us? Even people who LIVE HERE??

The funny thing is (hopefully), I had about 40 bucks in my pocket, but I swiped my card anyway. I'm not going to be the one to break the stereotype and ruin it for the rest of the country.

Doctor, My Eyes

I really wanted to write tonight about the trip to Santa Barbara that Amanda and I took this weekend, but I'm not really feeling too well, and my eyes really hurt (which is sort of freaking me out), so I'm just gonna say this.

Texas sure played like crap on Friday, but we still managed to put up 40 points, and we're 11-0 heading into this weekend's Big 12 championship game against Colorado, who we pounded 42-17 earlier this season. That's all that's standing in our way until we meet (hopefully) USC for the national championship on January 4 at the Rose Bowl.

Check back on January 5, by the way, for pictures of the celebration.

(If we happen to lose Saturday, don't mention it to me. I'll likely be VERY unstable, and probably in tears.)

Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy Sir!

College basketball season is upon us, and Texas has started the season ranked #2. That seems to have worked out pretty well for our football team, so let's hope it translates for the basketball team as well.

This is Brad Buckman. He's a senior forward for the Longhorns, and he's been my favorite player since his freshman year when we went to the Final 4 and lost to Syracuse, who ultimately ended up winning the whole thing. In that game, our "star" player, T.J. Ford, played scared and was never able to turn into the player we all thought he was. We had no upperclassmen leadership on the floor, and we lost to a better team, led by soon to be multimillionaire freshman Carmelo Anthony. Buckman was the only Longhorn playing his heart out late in the game, grabbing every rebound that came his way, and diving for loose balls (sounds like my buddy Jeremy's prom night - I know, I need to stop making that joke, especially since I stole it in the first place), and I've been impressed with him ever since. I checked our schedule today, and we have an astounding 18 GAMES on tv this season, and I'm gonna watch them all, or at least try to watch them all.

Also, in honor of Brad Buckman's senior year, I'm going to post Buckman's line for each game here in the blog, just for the hell of it. I can't help it, I'm gonna miss him in the burnt orange next year.

Tonight, we opened against the Southern Jaguars. Buckman's line was as follows:

16 points on 6-for-9 shooting, 2-for-2 from the 3 point line, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks (yeah, boy!), and 1 steal. 2 turnovers.

Look out for this kid, he f'ing rocks. Also, doesn't he look just like Billy Zabka, the guy who plays Johnny in the Karate Kid?





Speaking of F'ING ROCKS, I just picked up the new live Wilco album, Kicking Television. It is unbelievable. There's a decent chance I like this band more than anyone in the world likes this band, but as unbiased as I can be, I can tell you that this album is great. Check out some of the songs here on their website. You will not be disappointed, unless you only like crappy music.

Friday Night Lite

It's been awhile since I posted with any semblance of regularity, and I'm going to try to rectify that now, if for no other reason than the fact that it just gave me a good excuse to use the word "rectify."

When I first moved here, I was sitting at home all day watching TV and posting on this blog. About a month ago, I got a job, so I haven't been home with hours on end to kill in this manner. I don't really want to get in the habit of posting while I'm at work, for reasons that seem to escape some people I know, and truthfully, when I get home at night, I'm usually too tired to sit at the computer and try to think of something funny to say. I work in a law firm, it's not like I'm out fighting fires or building houses, but let's face it, I tire easily. That's a secret to no one.

This weekend, though, Amanda is in Canada and The Roommate is in Cincinnati, so I've got the house to myself, the computer to myself, and more importantly, the TV to myself. So, with a case of Diet Coke, The Roommate's newly purchased seasons 1 and 2 of The West Wing, and a Tivo box that is literally 99% full, I figured this was a GREAT opportunity to catch up on a ton of TV, mainly the shows that I've been putting off watching for some reason.

This is what I watched tonight. Friday night. Sitting in my apartment in scrubs and a sweatshirt. Please, hold your applause. Really, it's quite unnecessary.

Reunion (1 hr.)
This was last week's episode. I'll get to this week's in a bit. I learned that 1989 was a crazy year. I learned that people in Seattle wore flannel in 1989, and that the movie Hudson Hawk was supposed to be a HUGE hit. I wish I were kidding when I say that I saw that movie three times in the theater, on its opening weekend. I think I contributed to about 15-20% of its box office take. I also learned that women in 1989 used much much less hairspray than they did in 1988, at least according to the show's writers. Also, judging by this episode, the most successful music act in 1989 were the Fine Young Cannibals.

Numbers (1 hr.)
This is the single best show that I can't believe is still on TV. (This is different from the single best show that is no longer on TV, which, as of today, goes to Arrested Development. If it weren't for The OC, Reunion, Family Guy, and the Simpsons, I'd probably boycott the Fox network all together.) It doesn't really have a single quality that you would want in a hit TV show. Here's the premise: it's about an FBI agent (Fleischmann from Northern Exposure) who gets help solving crimes from his brother, who is a math teacher. Their father is Judd Hirsch. It takes place in LA, though Fleischmann inexplicably speaks with a New York accent. Also, the math teacher has a colleague who also teaches math who also helps him solve crimes for the FBI, played by Peter McNichol, who is better known as either The Biscuit from Ally McBeal or the squirrelly guy from Ghostbusters 2. An esteemed career, to be sure. This dude plays such an over the top dorky character that the only thing he's missing is a pocket protector and tape on his glasses. And glasses. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the plot of each episode is incredibly far-fetched (even more than the math teacher out-sleuthing the feds), and the dialogue is completely ridiculous. And in spite of all of this (or possibly because of all of this), I can't get enough.

Reunion (1 hr.)
This week's episode. 1990. A time of innocence, evidenced by the nanny (who may or may not be a murderer) sleeping with the abusive, newly separated adopted dad of her best friend's illegitimate baby whose real, unknowing father is an ex-con preacher (who may or may not be a murderer). Is there anything else that really needs to be said here? Ahh, the joys of Fox programming.

The O.C. (1 hr.)
Ok, we're back. THIS was a good one. It all starts with Marissa waking up in bed with Summer, which is certainly the right foot to lead with. The shameless plug for Peter Gallagher's new blues CD was, well, shameless, but that's what we LOVE about Fox programming. (Entertainment Weekly gave the CD an F, by the way. I think they were probably being generous.) This Chilly (or is it Chili, or maybe Chile?) character at Marissa's new school is awesome. Ho. Ly. Cow. Aryan Antagonist Taylor Townsend has one smokin hot mom. This show is great. I don't get the whole surfing thing, though. I mean, I get it, I understand it's a sport that people like, I just don't get it. It's like hockey. Some people like it, I guess, but I just have no use for it. At least surfing doesn't waste valuable Sports Center minutes. I'd also like to announce that I'm over the Jeri Ryan era on this show. At first it all seemed to work out, she was conniving and she wore a lot of tank tops. Now, it just seems forced. Enough already. At least give her a tank top. We haven't seen her in one since like the third episode of the season.

Numbers (1 hr.)
Man. I'm starting to feel a little fatigued, entering my 5th straight hour of TV. This one started with Fleischmann, his math teacher brother, and their over the top dorky friend playing, of all things, frisbee golf. I don't think I've played frisbee golf since I was in college. That's going to have to change. I like being outside, but I'm not going to wander around aimlessly. I like "competing," but I really like NOT exerting myself unnecessarily. Is there a better combination of the two? Well, other than actual golf, I mean. But I have a feeling frisbee golf is much, much cheaper. Seriously, how is this show still on the air and Arrested Development got the boot?? This show sucks. I love it.

I think it's probably a good idea for me to get some sleep. All this TV watching, man, I'm all tuckered out.

Selling Out

There are two fairly widely understood definitions for selling out.

In one instance, there might be a limited number of seats, or tickets, to an event, or a finite number of Harry Potter books at Borders. When all of them have been sold, the event, or the bookstore, is considered a sellout. That is a good thing.

The other isn't really as good. Wikipedia (And, really, if you haven't yet discovered Wikipedia, here's your chance. It's a pretty f'ing amazing online encyclopedia that seems to know EVERYTHING. I mean, just check out that table of contents for "selling out." I'm almost speechless.) defines selling out as follows:

"Broadly speaking, it refers to the compromising of one's integrity in exchange for money or other personal gain. It is commonly associated with attempts to increase mass appeal or acceptability to mainstream society. A person who does this is labelled a sellout."

So, to use the term in an example that demonstrates both of the definitions at the same time, I would offer the following statement:

The Rolling Stones are some of the biggest sellouts of the last ten years.

Now that we're all straight on the double entendre, let me get to my point. When I was 19, I got my first car. I lived in Mississippi, it had Mississippi plates. I spent four years in Texas, with Mississippi plates on my car. I lived in New York for over two years, and while my car didn't really run for most of that time, it sat in Ross's mom's driveway with Mississippi plates. I've been in LA for 3 months, and yesterday I put California plates on my car. It made me pretty sad, actually. On the one hand, I guess I'm in less danger of being pulled over now, but on the other, I feel like I've just done something against my will. Actually, the two hours I spent at the DMV yesterday in somewhat hostage-like conditions REALLY made me feel like I was doing something against my will. At one point I was expecting someone to hand me a copy of the LA Times to hold in the picture they were going to send to my parents.

Anyway, my car's got California plates, but I've still got my Mississippi driver's license, which means two things: I haven't completely sold out yet, and there's another miserable visit to the DMV sometime in the near future.