Shilo When I Was Young, I Used To Call Your Name

Back with the same old. More rugby updates - Old Boy day we lost narrowly to Saratoga. It was kind of a boring game to play in as a back, as the forwards did the majority of the work. This past weekend, I was moved up into the "Man's position" of playing in the pack. I am now a second row, or lock. Here's some pictures of other people that I found online to show you all what that's all about:

The guys that you can't really see in this picture because they're buried in the scrum somewhere behind their respective front rows. That's where I played.


Yup. Head firmly between a prop and the hooker's ass, reaching between the prop's legs for a bind. It's not nearly as homoerotic as it sounds.



I also got to do a bit of line-out jumping, which was a lot of fun. Getting lifted several feet off the ground to catch a ball, all while surrounded by complete hooligans is pretty cool.

So all in all, I felt I did a good job as a lock, especially considering I hadn't really played a single minute as a forward, outside of the odd scrimmage. I didn't really screw up many of the line-out calls (Okay, there was one, but I'd really just learned them about an hour before game time), and even stole a couple of the other team's. And I scrummed down okay - the prop I was pushing seemed to think I did a good job, and I didn't take many steps backward (strong like bull). Several people told me I'd taken to it, found my place, etc. I was just glad that I held up my end of things. If I didn't take to it like a fish out of water, maybe it was like an Mick boy to whiskey? Oh, and we won - all thanks to some highschool kids who'd barely heard of rugby before Saturday, but came in in the second half to run three tries in right through a bunch of slow old men.

Everything else is rolling along fine, too. Cindy's found a job in town where she makes coffee and bakes delicious treats for people that aren't me, so now the rest of the world is getting to see some of her many talents. It got hot out here on the right coast, and muggy. We've been doing yardwork as schedules allow (I've got to get my garden planted this week - around practice, work schedules, and children). The roofers have been at it the last couple of days, and I sure don't envy them being out in the sun in the weather we've been having.

That's all from my boring life...

I Think You're Crazy

I've spent the last four days listening to the four songs on this website pretty much nonstop. If you're under the age of 35 (or over the age of 35, but hip to the noise that us "kids" listen to), click the link, turn up your speakers, click on a song title, then dance around your respective place of employment. All hail Gnarls Barkley!

Anyhoo. The weather in the ADK's has suck-diddly-ucked. Tomorrow is Old Boy's Appreciation day on the rugby front. Myself and the Not-So-Old-Boys will be playing a team from Saratoga (I think). This means I've got 24 hours to heal up the last of the bumps and bruises I incurred two weeks ago at Mud-N-Blood. Hooray for manliness!

B...Out!

Stay?

Has anyone else seen this movie? It's got Ewan MacGregor and that lassy from "The Ring." We watched it last night, and I'm not sure what exactly it was about, but it was pretty good. A total head trip/altered reality kind of thing. And Ewan's pants keep getting shorter and shorter as the thing goes on. Good soundtrack, nice somber flick, but I really have no idea what I was supposed to take away from it.

Does anyone but me HATE the new Yahoo! start up page? Bloody irritating...

Sometimes we find beans on the floor. And. I'm really protective of the 12 string - it doesn't come out of the case unless it's in my hands. But when it's in my hands? The case becomes the perfect place to play hide-and-seek, and last time, apparently, a good place for stuffed animals to go.

Suck It, Man!

My supervisor Simon and I have an ongoing discussion in regards to the fantasticness of moustaches. I recently finished one of my bi-yearly "Brandon can't be bothered to shave for two weeks" spells. The end result? Today I'm rocking a handlebar moustache, which I submit for your approval:


I know, it's a little bit Patchy Mc Patcherson, I really should have waited another week to have things filled in better.

So today, I'm wandering around with an overwhelming urge to tell people to "Suck it, Man!", blare some MotorHead, and call my coworkers "Brother."

Word.

Ouch, My Head

Everyday, I have at least two or three blogworthy ideas that pop into my head, that I think are the greatest thing ever. But usually I sit on them, and don't blog, because I fear that no one else will get them. Well, I'm not going to share any of that today either.

I will ask the question: Why do I keep getting e-mails and see links for the stupid celebrity anagram thing? I don't give a rat's patoot that the letters in Tom Cruises name can be rearranged to spell "Smells like Fred Durst" or whatever the hell they claim. I take the whole idea of that damned e-mail being entertaining enough to wind up in my in-box more than twice as proof that our society is going to fold soon.

I also want to take this opportunity to jump on the SOAP bandwagon, and share this image. An image of THE GREATEST MOVIE POSTER OF ALL TIME!


Isn't it teh awseome? I'm going to run out and have it tattooed on my pasty man-ass.
Here's a picture of karaoke morning at my house:

Resemblance much? Sadly, I think he looks more like my younger brother in this picture than me.

Of course I threw a monstrous tackle on his ass.

B-Wizz...Out!

My 0.02 Dollars.

Go check out Pete's blog (Its the Hygiene Hypothesis stuff for those of you that find this a year from now) if your a)at all curious about the usefulness of the line of work that I (and Peter) are involved in; or b) just like to keep your brain strong and learn some cool science-type-stuff once in a while. Turns out, all of those parasites, germs, bugs and other assorted nasties that we've done such a good job of eliminating over the last century might hold some benefit to us. I seem to remember learning in ecology that many parasite/host relationships (or any other organism/organism relationships for that matter) held mutual benefits for both species. Ants and Acacias, Jellyfish, Lichens, and Mitochondria all come to mind. Interesting stuff - worms, anyone?

One of the post-docs here at work leant me the new Tool CD 10,000 Days this morning to listen to, and I must say, in addition to the usual high quality spooky/heavy/deep Tool music, the album art is hands down the finest cover art ever. Attached to the case is a set of stereoscopic lenses, and the booklet inside has fantastic 3-D images of artwork (Courtesy of guitarist Adam Jones) and cool spooky noirish pictures of the band. It's done so well, that I'd swear I just had Maynard offer me a glass of port wine while a ghostly woman hovered in the background. Go out and buy the CD, look at the stereoscopic artwork, put it in a box, take it out a year later, then look at it again. It's fantastic.

The (Triumphant?) Return

Yesterday I played in my first actual rugby match(es) in about eight or nine years. I didn't play the "cleanest" rugby I ever have, but following such an extended absence, I felt pretty good. The team's doing well for this time of the season (Mud-N-Blood '06 Tournament champs!). I could use some more conditioning, definitely, but at least I now enjoy the not-so-dubious position of not being the lightest guy on the pitch. So while some of the nippier guys can make a step on me, I can hit them that much harder when I get the chance. Yay. Here's some pictures, sorry for the lack of action in them:


The SL backs (and a prop named "Hottub") line up in anticipation...

The forwards pack in for a scrummage...

I'm about 75% sure that's me going into a tackle, but since all we can see is a body about to hit the dirt I can't be certain.

Who wears short shorts? B(#12) wears short shorts...

I'd be remiss if I didn't share the war wounds - apologies for the picture of pasty man leg - I got a nice cleat to the inner thigh (Doesn't actually hurt, but is bruising up nice). During one match, I tried to pick up a ball that was on the deck and the other team's scrum-half booted me in the hand, square on my big thumb knuckle. It's made typing this up fun, as that half of my hand is nice and stiff right now. The good news is that my shins/ankles/knees actually aren't stiff right now - and they have been, every morning, for about the last two months - but my shoulders, thighs, and abs are. I guess I shouldn't have allowed them to atrophy the way I did?

Anyone curious about rugby can look here or here.

Word.

An Update? How Great.

It's beautiful. And then some things blow my mind. Guitar players like that piss me off, because I know I'll never be that good, even if I learn their songs. Oh well.

But that's not why I brought you here.

I've seen a few movies lately. Here's what I thought:

King Kong: Here's three ways I would have made this movie better.

1. No penis bugs. Those things that ate Andy Serkis really sicked me out. Screw that(™James Sells, 2006).
2. The whole damned thing should have been about an hour shorter.
3. You want to have a giant monkey fight some T-Rexes, football style? Fine, when the ape hits the final dinosaur like Jerome Bettis hitting a linebacker, have him spike the pretty blonde like a football when he's done, and maybe I'll crack a smile.

Then there was The Chronichles Of Narnia:The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe. I would have made it better by animating it, in 1982. Wait... I must say, however, that my pronunciation of the word "Narnia" is superior to yours. But since I don't know how to write it phonetically, you'll have to call me and have me scream it at you (518-3...Yeah, like I'd give my number out online - Screw That!™James Sells, 2006).

But that's not why I brought you here, either.

Wait, why do you come here? Is it for the champagne?

The weather's been off and on nice, so we've been off and on yard working - Cindy's been kicking ass at the landscaping. I'm ruggering. Ethan's spazzing. Connor's Drooling. Oh, and I've been at this job two years and one week now. And we bought a lawnmower. So I'm officially going to have to start admitting that I might have grown up leanings now.

But you're not here for that either.

Is it the cake? The deco?

Here's a few pictures from the old 'folio:
BTW - has anyone else had random flickr invites from random creepy couples?


Portabella and fettucine in a Merlot sauce. I also pronounce "portabella" better than you.


He's been watching some old VanHalen videos, so he's all about the tapping solos.


The rockstar pose is solid.


Here's the winner for cutest.


Nanners!


I'd include more pictures of the boy, but usually he just zones out, staring at the boob tube all day, even if it's off. That's what was going on here, although he caught me trying to take a picture of it, hence the awesome witch of Endor face.


This was mid-"No TV" bitch, but again, the camera was spotted, so the beast was not captured in it's natural habitat.

Well, I've just blown my load with pictures and (hopefully) good conversation. So it'll probably be another week, unless something wacky and exciting happens, 'till I blog again.



daedal \DEE-duhl\, adjective:
1. Complex or ingenious in form or function; intricate.
2. Skillful; artistic; ingenious.
3. Rich; adorned with many things.

Brandon Lost
His Daedal Side
Bad Adult Leaning

Word.