Power of the Stache

Somehow, Beemsville ally Grubb neglected to properly promote his participation in the annual Robert Goulet Moustached American of the Year Awards Ceremony that took place in St. Louis over the weekend.  Nominees included Attorney General Eric Holder, Sully Sullenberger (a decent pilot), some baseball pitchers, and University of Illinois alum and CBS Sunday Morning humorist Bill Geist.

Geist filed a report in his trademark hardhitting style here.  Watch the clip and marvel at Grubb sporting the Hacksaw Jim Dugan-style stache on CBS.

In Beemsville, the power of the moustache has always been tempered by the preference of the missuz.  She’s not a fan of bristly kisses.  It probably doesn’t help that any attempts at facial hair by me end up looking more like a high school kid than Thomas Magnum.

At any rate, we’re glad the moustache is making a comeback and that Grubb has his support group down there, even if he can’t find the time to blog about so momentus an ocassion as ‘Stache Bash 2009.

Ups for Sad on Vacation

Mark V. checked in with a heads-up on a new website featuring some of his youtube sketch comedy goodness.  It is Sad On Vacation (sadonvacation.com).   They have three clips up so far and are ambitiously laying claim to a weekly update schedule.  That’s good enough for us.  We’ve been to a couple of shows written by and or featuring Mark, George and Co. up in Chi-town and their brand of comedy gets the official stamp of approval.  The clips include Developmentally Disabled James Bond, Hey Look at Me (much respect), and Brownie Gun.

Mark’s current show at the Annoyance Theater is Salem! the Musical (he’s directing).  Read this review of the show, then drop Mark a line and give him some schtick for his hilariously inane and self-important rationale for avoiding background research!  Not watching/reading The Crucible – what a tool…  But seriously.    Go see it next weekend if you’re in Chicago.

So check out our newest addition to the blogroll and bookmark it for the future.  Sad On Vacation.

Can’t Blog Now… FIFA-ing

FIFA 10 dropped earlier this week, which partially explains the extended absence of posts.  That and some minor flu issues… 

Yes, this game is really, really fun.  After (ahem) only a few hours of dedicated play-testing, I can report a number of improvements over last year’s edition.  Team America is tougher for one thing (finally garnering some respect), and the game physics and passing seem more realistic.  Basically, everything mentioned in my demo preview still stands.

Soccer bloggers across the nation are watching their productivity decline.  It’s all reminiscent of the summer several years ago when GTA San Andreas came out, and suddenly a number of popular comic books were inexplicable delayed as the freelance community suddenly had something else to do.

Hit me up on PS3 for a match: MacShark_72.  But don’t bring the weak stuff.  I’m like the Cobra-Kai dojo – No mercy and I will sweep the leg…

No Soup for WCQ TV

In a strange and annoying turn reminiscent of the mid-90s, US Soccer has managed to not have the second-to-last World Cup Qualifier broadcast tomorrow.  Oh, the game is available for viewing, via closed-circuit TV in a handful of bars across the country, but no pay-per-view, no web-cast, nada.  For me, this would mean a drive to Chicago if I really wanted to watch this game.  And I really want to watch this game – just not enough to spend six hours in the car.

It’s an important, vital match.  Win or tie and Team America is in the World Cup.  Lose and the last game against Costa Rica in D.C. next Wednesday becomes scary.  Just to review:  tomorrow I can watch Bahrain v. New Zealand or Denmark v. Sweden, or even freaking Liechtenstein v. Azerbaijan.  But no USA v. Honduras.

Go BSU Broncs!

They run the Statue-of-Liberty in a bowl game.  They win a lot of games (103 this decade, trailing only Oklahoma by one).  They play the spread how it was meant to played (are you watching, Coach Zook?).  They are the consummate BCS party-crashers and underdogs.  And, oh yeah, they play on the most hideous field in all of college football:

The Smurf Turf

Hey, the colors are pretty familiar…  To this we add that they’re on the ESPN channels fairly often on Thursday/Saturday nights, so you can actually watch them.  How do they do it?  How do they recruit kids to Boise?  How do they roll up so many yards and points?  Here in the cradle of Big 10 ineptitude, inquiring minds want to know.  We do know one thing:  the BSU coaching staff figured out long ago that you have to score points to win.  It seems elementary, but our local team’s coaching staff still hasn’t figured that out.  BSU knows how to control the ball – by putting it in the endzone.

So Beemsville hereby adopts Boise State for the remainder of the season (see if that ain’t the kiss of death…).  Here’s hoping they manage to crash the BCS party and knock off one of the sacred cows.  Go Broncs!

Chicago Olympic Smackdown

Chalkie (unofficial Chi-town Bid Masot)

In the end, not even the bedazzling glow of an appeal by beloved President Barack Obama could sway the International Olympic Committee.  Chicago is out, Rio is in.  So much for all those ‘Chalkie’ t-shirt sales.  So much for a new corruption fiasco revenue stream for Chi-town.  In a fitting bit of irony, the Chicago bid appears to have been out-politicked by the international community within the IOC.   Too bad we still don’t have Blago heading up our fine state; with him (and his hair) given free rein to implement the Chicago Way and work all the bid-angles along with Mayor Daley, who can doubt the IOC would’ve eventually been persuaded.

From where I’m sitting, south of I-80, this failure is a good thing.  Sure the Olympics would’ve brought jobs, cash, and publicity to Chicago, but at what price?  Veteran Tribune Columnist John Kass knows the score.  He was ready to invest heavily in T-shirt sales along these lines: ‘Chicago 2016′ on the front, ‘Terra Haute 2020′ on the back.  Why, you ask?  Because, as he so eloquently puts it:

As every Chicago politician knows, Terre Haute, Ind., is home to a federal prison. That’s where a few would be tossed after boodling their way to Olympic fortunes. And why 2020? That’s how long it would take for grand juries to do their work.

Get Your Three Wolf Moon!

100% Badass

At this point, just about everyone has their own little anecdote about the transcendent awesomeness that is Three Wolf Moon t-shirt. ABC News ran a story, the New York Times, and now Beemsville.

I personally have a buddy/co-worker who was so ecstatic upon receiving his shirt he couldn’t stop talking about it.  His mother-in-law heard about his enthusiasm and created a custom Three Wolf Moon-inspired ornamental mirror which he now hides/displays proudly at the office.  Another co-worker claims that upon donning his Three Wolf Moon shirt certain male-specific dysfunctions were no longer an issue – much to his wife’s chagrin/relief.  (I don’t want to reveal this co-worker, but the initials are B.O….)

First Days

 

Today we participated in a ritual shared by millions of others this time of year: The Very First Day of School.  It was not without some small share of drama, as it turns out one little boy who used to bother my girl incessantly on her bus-ride to pre-school is actually in her kindergarten class.  Definitely a situation worth monitoring.  

We’ve been looking forward to this day for a month or so.  My girl is so excited for the new experience of friends, learning, and the next chapter of her young life.  She has an inquisitive mind after all.  Me, I had mixed feelings – not only because this is such a major change in her life (for her and little brother), but because of the serious questions I have about the state of the educational system in this country and our state.  My questions come from my own personal knowledge having worked in the system as well as the careers of several family members.  They revolve around what we choose to emphasize in our schools (is it learning, achievement, socialization, self-esteem?) and who we pick to lead these efforts.

Pulling Up Lame

The years go by and injuries take a lot longer to heal.  I was talking to a buddy of mine I used to play basketball with in high school, and he agreed.  It gives a guy added respect for guys like Brian McBride and Nesta, and even confused old Brett Favre…

This time for me, it seems like a strained hip-flexor/upper groinal, which has now led to hamstring problems as well.  Near as I can figure, I picked this one up volunteering in the dunk tank two weeks ago – either slipping off the seat or trying to catch myself when some smart-ass kid ran up to hit the lever after he missed with his shots.

The kicker is, I was sort of training to run in the annual Abe’s Amble 10K at the State Fair Grounds this weekend.  Last Sunday was supposed to be my last longer run to get ready, and it just wasn’t happening.  Now I’m wondering how much time I need to take off before I can get back to it.  Too long, I reckon.

And of course it goes without saying that Mrs. Beemsville is eager for the ol’ upper groinal to be back to full strength…

wait for it….

…because, naturally, she’s tired of me whining about it.

Moonday Reflections

Forty years ago today, NASA landed on the moon.  Just think about that for a moment…

iconic

That’s what I’m talking about…

We need to get back on that track at some point, don’t we?  Isn’t there some way to refocus on the science of exploration?

Here’s a book you may have heard about: Craig Nelson’s Rocket Men, definitely in the reading queue.

Some interesting podcast links for the discerning listener:

• Buzz Aldin reflects on the past, future
• The BBC provides a take on the Moon Landing and the Cold War
• Where’s our Moonbase? for those of us still wondering when our jetpacks will arrive…

And finally for the pop culture hound in all of us, the Red Eye provides youtubic evidence on how deeply (shallowly in some cases?) this event has touched the collective consciousness.  Mooninites onward!