inspiration strikes - a break from the monotony

Friday, April 18, 2003

ON WATCHING AMERICA'S PASTIME

Tonight, I'm going to my first game at Fenway Park this season.
Here's a preview of the spectacle (and a grittier translation):

The boys of summer take the field this night
(Tonight I'll watch Manny and Nomah play.)
While throngs of watchers drink in all the sights
(I'll bet the townies get real drunk today.)
And from my careful perch I'll view the sport
(My seat is in a Fenway grandstand bleacher,)
Amidst the bustling crowd where all cavort.
(where the brawling drunks are often featured.)
Taking in the pastime's ambiance
(I'll probably eat 'dogs and drink some beer.)
My head somewhat uncertainly ensconced
(At Fenway, bring a scarf this time of year.)
Let's hope the olde towne team claims victory!
(If they win, then have a drink on me!)

Go Red Sox!
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mattchun 4/18/2003 01:38:00 PM [+] ::
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REFERRAL

My friend Bryan Adams now has a weblog. You should visit him because he's funny, intelligent, opinionated, and occasionally smells like peanut chicken. Plus, if you get to know him via the web, you won't be offended by his more uncouth and malodorous tendencies. If you get past the football-sized goiter, he's a real charmer.
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mattchun 4/17/2003 03:19:00 PM [+] ::
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KNOW YOUR CURRENT EVENTS

President Bush's economic plan touts smaller government as an effective way to boost the economy. His rationale is that a reduction in taxes will boost growth and consumer spending, leading to an effective increase in overall tax revenue. Come on, Reaganomics is so 80's. Let me grab my jean jacket and some leg-warmers and I'll electric boogaloo myself silly.

Speaking of unfortunate trends, have you heard about these parents whose communities are so dangerous that they lie about their home addresses so their children are placed in more advantaged school districts? The students end up having to lie to teachers and administrators too. What happened to the good old days when kids would lie to get out of school? What's next, teachers giving apples to students? My homework ate my dog?
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mattchun 4/17/2003 11:26:00 AM [+] ::
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LATE TO BED, EARLY TO RISE, MAKES ME MY ALARM CLOCK DESPISE

Today, I took another day trip to Philadelphia with my boss to visit a client. I was decked out in full Brooks Brothers regalia, which always makes me feel self important. I'm happy to report that the meeting went well.

The downside of today's meeting was that it was scheduled for roughly 8:30am, which meant a 6:30am flight, which in turn meant a 5:00am wakeup. Normally, I wake to the radio and the soothing and informative voice of Bob Edwards guides me to wakefulness. I usually rise at 7am, often getting up just before my clock radio turns up NPR.

On days when I have to get up well in advance of my regularly scheduled programming, I use the buzzer setting on my alarm clock, just in case the radio can't get me up. Oh, how I despise the buzzer! It's actually more of a shrieking harpy beeping sound. You know that sound that trucks make when they back up? It's like two delivery vans are converging on my head, and they ain't dropping off good cheer. Given my usual reaction, they probably loaded up at the docks, because by the time I can reach the snooze I'm swearing like a sailor. You know, if I'm going to start off the day with a "fu&k," I'd rather it be of the non-verbal variety.
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mattchun 4/16/2003 05:44:00 PM [+] ::
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A COUPLE OF NICE GOLF SHOTS

It's a beautiful day here in Boston, and I had lunch outside with some coworkers for the first time this year. A mere two days removed from a brief vacation, it's a bit difficult for me to concentrate at the office.

How about a little photo procrastination to break up the monotony?

• This is a view of one of the more pictoresque holes at Bryan Park in Greensboro.
• This is a view of Sully's approach from the fairway at Hillandale in Durham.

And now back to work.
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mattchun 4/15/2003 02:10:00 PM [+] ::
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DON'T BE HATIN'

Hollywood is enamored with the intersection of white culture and urban black culture (e.g. Head of State, Bringing Down the House, Black Knight, Nothing to Lose, Beverly Hills Cop, Trading Places, the list goes on and on). There are interesting precedents that span American history. Think of the development of jazz, which based on the blues form, takes its roots in the work songs and circle shouts of African America. For two hundred years US entertainment has drawn from black culture to stretch and shape the edges of the mainstream.

It continues today with less illustrious forms of entertainment. In films like Malibu's Most Wanted, those clever studio folks shake things up by exchanging the "fish-out-of-water-black-guy-in-a-white-man's-world" for a "fish-out-of-water-white-guy-in-a-black-man's-world." It's like blackface minstrelsy, 2003. What a creative and ingeniously bling-bling idea! That must be why those execs get paid the big benjamins. You can have a cafe latte on me, homeys. It's black and white too!

Fashizzle ma nizzle.
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mattchun 4/15/2003 11:04:00 AM [+] ::
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A QUICK NORTH CAROLINA RECAP

I'm back in Boston after four relaxing days in North Carolina. Here's a quick summary of some of the good and the bad.

BAD: My flight down to Raleigh (oversold); Friday's weather; Saturday's scoring (99, 51-48); my sunburn; the airline that lost one of my bags on the way back to Boston; the elevator in my apartment (I had to carry my luggage up four flights of stairs).

GOOD: The gracious hosting of my friend Sully; sparkling conversation with a "single-serve friend"; the weather on Saturday and Sunday; a free round-trip ticket; Spice Street, Brixx, Lucy's and Top of the Hill; the women of Chapel Hill; the presence of Shiner Bock in North Carolina; dinner with a college friend and his fiancee; Sunday's scoring (85, 47-38!!).

If I had more time there'd be more to tell and definitely more good than bad. All in all, it was a fantastic trip and I hope to visit again sometime soon. In the meantime, it's back to the old grind...
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mattchun 4/14/2003 12:41:00 AM [+] ::
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