Things You Should Do Once a Year

I was just thinking about things that I want to be sure that I get done in a year at least once, some of them more. Since years seem to fly by faster the older you get, some of these could start to get difficult. I am going to try to do everything on this list this year.

Listen to a sporting event on the radio
Take a vacation
Lay in a hammock
Go to the dentist
Play a yard game (Horseshoes, Croquet, Bocce ball etc.)
Go sledding (or some other form of traveling down a hill at an increased rate).
Read a book
Try a new food or new variation of a food.
Draw a picture.
Give away a big chunk of money to help others.
Go to some sort of museum or exhibit for something.
Look through old pictures and/or papers.
Light some fireworks
Get a Physical
Rotate your Tires
Jimmy-Rig something
Have a fire/bonfire

If you have something to add let’s hear it.


Top Albums of 2008

I was going to do a top ten but I couldn’t come up with ten good albums for this year. I could only come up with a few good ones and some pretty decent ones.

8. Warpaint – The Black Crowes
This one got a three out of five star review before anyone could even possibly listen to it. For me it might be a 6.8 out of 10.

7. Strangefolk – Kula Shaker
It’s been a while since the last Kula Shaker album but they still brought the good stuff. 7.2 of 10.

6. Flight of the Conchords – Flight of the Conchords
Hilarious and imaginative, these guys have made the best funny album in a long time. 7.3 of 10.

5. HAARP – Muse
This is a live album so of course I know I like the songs. 7.6 out of 10.

4. Weezer (Red) – Weezer
For me I have only ever fully liked Weezer’s first album and Pinkerton. Everything else has just had a couple of good songs and then not been good as an album experience. This year they came out with a fine album which made me a fan again. 7.8 of 10.

3. And You Were a Crow – The Parlor Mob
A breath of fresh air to finally find a new band that I don’t hate. 8.7 of 10.

2. Ode to J. Smith – Travis
In their first album to use electric guitars since Good Feeling, Travis has made another good album. 9.0 out of 10.

1. Seldom Seen Kid – Elbow
Another great album from Elbow. The only thing stopping it from being a 9.9 or a 10 is the fact that there seems to be a lull in the pace of the album from time to time, but don’t let that make you not enjoy the album. 9.3 of 10.

Things to Say

There are some words and phrases that I want to say more, so I will put the list out there. Some of these are old quotes and phrases and some are newly made up.

Main Street

When someone is a solid citizen and takes care of their business. Ex. “That was pretty main street of you.” I am mostly mocking how much I have heard and been annoyed by the phrase in the last couple of weeks.

“I am terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought.”

This is a classic quote from Ghostbusters that I need to say more.

“I celebrate his entire catalog.”

Another great quote from Office Space which was referring to Michael Bolton. If someone asks you what you think of someone you can say that you celebrate their entire catalog.

Wall Street

Acting selfishly without regard for anyone else. Ex. “That Michael Jordan is so wall street.”

Foolish

In the spirit of calling good bad and bad good here is another one to confuse past generations and make you feel more clever. When someone does a very good job. Ex. “Those are some foolish moves man.”

Congressional

Deceptive and confusing for the purpose of personal gain.


Top 5 Burgers

As someone who had burgers and Taco Bell embedded into their DNA as a child and who is a big fan of Hamburger Heart Bear, I can appreciate a solid performance from a burger. These are my top 5 burger joints in order.

5. Burger Master – (Tonopah Nevada)

If it was anyplace else it would be a standard struggling Mom and Pop establishment. But being in Tonopah made it the true burger master. Unfortunately they don’t do too much business because Tonopah is a small town and there is a McDonalds up the street. The McDonalds was disgusting and since there were only about 4 other places to eat in town Burger Master had the best burgers. My favorite thing was the Patty Melt. I often wonder if I hadn’t lived there but had only passed through and eaten there if it would have been as good. On taste alone In-N-Out might deserve my 5th spot but the Burger Master was there when I needed him.

4.Whataburger

If you have ever been to Texas or seen an episode of King of the Hill then you have been introduced to Whataburger even if only subliminally. I can’t really pinpoint exactly what it is that I like about Whataburger. They do have quality food, but most of my reason for putting them on the list has something to do with the enormous number of times that I have eaten there. Even if only for nostalgic purposes Whataburger makes number 4 on the list.

3. Red Robin

This is the only big-name, nationwide chain on my list. I really enjoy that they give you all you can eat fries and they do have more types of burgers than I ever thought someone could dream up.

2. BJ’s Drive-In – (Odessa Texas)

This is a little place with HUGE burgers. The Jr burger is still big. When I was a kid we would go there and one burger would feed 4 kids and feed us well. One would think that you might lose something in the taste department when focusing on making burgers bigger than your head, but they manage to be a quality and quantity kind of place.

1. Five Guys

I went to one of the original Five Guys in the Washington DC area and by the second bite I had placed their burgers at the top of my list. The burger was perfectly cooked and very well put together. It was like it had been made with love and cuddled before it was brought out. Even the cow must have led a good life. The cheese melts perfectly on the meat and the vegetables are actually still nice and cool because they haven’t been under a heat lamp. Find a Five Guys near you and go.


10 Worst Things About Summer for Adults

10. No 3 month break

Your whole life teachers and schools have trained you that summer was a time to not be required to be anywhere and to take it easy.  Well guess what, they lied.

9. Baseball

Basketball has just ended and football won’t start up until fall.  You are out of luck unless you like to watch baseball or golf.  Personally those are both a little slow for my 21st century American attention span.  Every 4 years you get the summer Olympics but let’s be straightforward, watching an hour of TV to see a 10 second race is pretty brutal too.  The Olympics are best watched as a highlight reel but by the time they come around I am so starved to see people moving fast I will watch them in all their commercial glory.

8. Reruns

Personally I only watch a couple of shows at a time.  So all the stupid reality TV shows they show in summer to act like they are showing new material are just brutal and if I want to see a rerun of anything I will just go to Hulu or ABC and watch it on my own schedule.  (Side note: Has anyone else noticed that reality TV shows are just Game Shows with special locations?)

7. Worse Sunburns

As a kid you got to hang out in the sun all day.  But now that you are older and sit behind that desk all day, when the sun hits your skin you will begin to sizzle like a vampire.  It will hurt more and seem to last longer too.

6. Your kids are at home getting into your stuff

While you are stuck at work your children are at home and they are breaking into all of your prize possessions and destroying them.  They will ruin computers, TVs, guitars or anything else you want to keep in good condition.  No matter how tightly you lock it up they will find a way to get into it.

5. It is hot but you rarely get to cool off

Trips to the pool were a daily occurrence for me as a young man.  Now I am lucky to get out once a summer.  Now if you do get to the pool you have to watch and make sure that your children don’t drown, so you can’t really enjoy the full experience.

4. Summer treats will give you diabetes

Ice cream, Slurpees and Big Gulps used to be a staple of summer enjoyment.  Now in your older age you have suddenly become more concerned about health and diet.  As a youngster you would run around and burn off anything you threw into your body but now that you sit around all day you will have serious consequences if you indulge in the old ways.

3. Gas prices get higher

Taking a road trip will kill your bank account.  This is a recent development of course, as I remember gas in 1998 was $0.72 a gallon for a while.  In summer gas prices always go up as more people take road trips and now a trip that used to cost 10 dollars will cost 45.

2. You’ve seen all the summer movies before

When you were a kid, didn’t it seem like there were a lot more movies that you were excited to see?  Now all you see are remakes of old movies you used to like that aren’t quite as well done but have nicer graphics.  And how many superhero movies can you watch in one summer anyway?

1. Summer just isn’t special anymore. It just isn’t

If you can use your old person brain to recall the wonderful feelings you had for summer as a child.  They are dead and gone aren’t they?  All of the aforementioned factors added together with the fact that time gets faster and faster every year you live makes summer seem much less significant than it used to.  By the time I reach my 30’s those feelings of yesteryear will be completely forgotten.

One Liners

These are some one liners I have come up with.

“Self esteem is overrated.”

“I laugh at Americas Funniest Home Videos, that’s how I know I am stupid.”

“The two handed wave is a definite sign of low intelligence.”

“The Chinese are very efficient since their fire drills are much quicker than ours.”

“My mailbox is now just a small trash can for the front of my house.”

“If something is an acquired taste, that means it sucks.”