Whine & Cheese

Fine Wine #8: Roger Federer

With the Athens Olympics seeming like...well ancient history at this point...it it time to bid adieu to that very popular Canadian diver. His replacement - 2004 US Open Champion Roger Federer.

Now Roger is not the typical Fine Wine candidate - he is kinda cute, but certainly would not knock anyone off of the runway at Fashion Week. But what is sexier than success? And Roger has been all that and more on the tennis court this year. He has held the #1 tennis ranking for much of this year and thanks to notching his third major title of the year (following wins at the Australian Open & Wimbledon) he is going to remain there for the foreseeable future. Federer became only the third male player to win 3 majors in one year - something that many tennis prognosticators (myself included) thought would never happen again. The competition is just too tough these days. The "Federer Express" now has nearly double the ranking points of his closest competitor, American Andy Roddick. I should add that Federer also has one of the most beautiful games to watch -- none of this "serve-smash-point over" stuff.

Of his two "looks" I prefer his on-court hairstyle - pulled back tight into a small ponytail. When he lets his hair flow dare I say he looks like a bit of a "girly man" -- but these days I am view that phrase as more of a compliment than a criticism. The man from Switzerland does have a cute little button nose though.

Welcome to the list Roger!

Reflecting Back

Since this my first September 11th as a blogger (my "blog-iversary" is this coming week), I thought I would share my own experience about the day.  I did not lose anyone on that day... just a mere television spectator sitting thousands of miles from the tragedies. 

As with most other people, it was a normal work day.  Got up and turned on the TV, saw that a plane had hit...thought it was strange...but just thought it was some bizarre accident.  That did not last long as the mind could simply not process all that happened next... the 2nd plane hitting, the Pentagon being hit, the other planes out there, and then the unfathomable... the towers falling.

I grew up in NJ.  My parents were born just across the river from Manhattan in Bayonne, NJ.  My grandparents lived there pretty much my entire life...so the NYC skyline was a familiar site to me for as long as I could remember.  Dozens of times a year we would head over the Turnpike bridge into Bayonne have the city laid out before us like a picture post card.  I went to college in Montclair, NJ and our dorm on the hill was quite popular since it gave us views of the city off in the distance.  Rooms that looked out onto the skyline were quickly swiped up by juniors and seniors.  Often at midnight, we would stare at the skyline to catch the lights going off on the Empire State Building.

So while I now lived thousands of miles away, the loss of the Towers was still a pretty personal experience. I have pictures of me and my grandfather atop the WTC Observation deck back in August 1981 (I was 13 at the time).  Being a bit of a packrat, I still have my ticket stub.

My parents, who still live in NJ, drove a few miles to see the Towers after hearing news of the first plane hitting.  Like most of us, they didn't know at the time what was going on.  But they did see the smoke rising from the first Tower.  They contemplated driving into Bayonne for a closer look - but wisely turned back (a good thing since the bridges were closed shortly thereafter and they would have been stuck), returning home by the time the first Tower fell.

Working from home there was no way of avoiding the television coverage - watching the planes hit over and over again and the Towers crumbling over and over again I am sure had some pyschological affect, but at the time it was just hard to believe your eyes.   The television that followed the days after were perhaps the toughest.   Watching family members holding pictures of their loved ones ... telling their stories and pleading for help that they would be found was utterly gut-wrenching.  There was many a time when I would well up with tears ... these were the things that would haunt me (and I am guessing most of us) for the days, weeks and months the lied ahead.

I made a trip back home in December 2001.  During that trip we drove to Jersey City and to a spot directly across the river from the WTC site.  There were no words to describe seeing the NYC skyline without the Towers.  On a railing in Jersey City there was a hand-written sign that simply said "We Will Never Forget."  Just before we left, there was a cloud of smoke rising from the site.  We learned that night on the news that it was the last demolition done in clearing the debris away from Ground Zero.  Leaving Newark airport, my plane took off parallel to the NYC skyline.  Again it was hard not to have a lump in my throat .

So here were are three years later.  Life has moved on, as it needs to.  We don't and can't forget what happened on that day and the lives that were lost - but for many of us...and for our own sanity...it has moved to another portion of our brain/memory bank. 

But it can all return in a flash...and for me it did this morning as the local morning news showed this morning's ceremonies at Ground Zero.   The family members were reading the names of the victims and ending the roll call with the son or daughter or father or wife or sister or mother they lost that day.  Their voices suddenly cracking, the tears in their eyes...and it all comes back.

Pride, Hawaii & Joey

Work has been absolutely crazy for the last day or two (and it is definitely going to go into overtime mode this weekend)...but since I am fully under the delusion that people really stop by here on a regular basis and worry when I don't post ... I figured I would whip up a quick post.

NBC got a jump over the other networks in unveiling their new fall shows. I have been pretty good about checking them out. But not unlike last season, it looks like there are not many "keepers" thus far.

Father of the Pride - This seemed like a good idea. Use Shrek-like animation technology to create a new series. Unfortunately the show ran into a bit of bad luck when one half of the producing team (Las Vegas icons, Seigfried & Roy) got mauled by a tiger. Ok, so these are lions...but there still seems a bit of a creepy factor. The show is cute, but after two shows I can tell you that more money is spend on the animation than on the writing.

Hawaii - I'll call this the sister show of one of my guilty pleasures...NBC's Las Vegas. It is trying to attract an audience based solely on its locale. We get a lot of nifty scenery, but again the writing is the weak link. I enjoyed seeing Eric Balfour (one of the earlier boyfriends of Six Feet Under's Claire), but he can't save this show...unlike Josh Duhamel on Las Vegas, now that boy could be on CSI: Topeka and I would be watching! I suspect it will be Aloha! to Hawaii sooner rather than later.

Joey - I enjoyed Friends, but I was not a huge fan. I am pretty sure I missed a few seasons (pre-TiVo I opted for Survivor)...so I am not one of those folks going through Friends withdrawal. But Joey can definitely thank his Friends...because after the first episode, which I heard was good, was not very good. Based on the premiere, I don't think this show would have made it on the air if it were not for its history. I was excited to see Drea de Matteo again...but Gina just ended being a happy version of her Sopranos character Adriana. I think A must have just been whisked away under the Witness Protection program. I am not buying her having a college-aged son either (I don't care if she had him 14 years old or not... but that's pretty darn funny, huh?). I'll give it a few more chances, but not expecting much from this one.

Have a great weekend!

TAR5: "Mud" Spelled Backwards...

Thoughts on this week's episode: "If They're Screwing The Helmet To My Head, It Can't Be Good":

I have to admit that I don't really have many thoughts about this episode. While it was still enjoyable, there seemed to be little to get into a tizzy about... well, Colin actually apologized, well kind of...not exactly the most sincere apology I have ever heard. Are you thinking Christie might just sabotage the team and finish 2nd in some upcoming leg just so she does not have to go on another free vacation with this guy?

God Is Watching... From A Distance
The Almighty was certainly busy last night. Not only did he answer Cowboy and Drew's prayers to "win the Golden veto" (well at least have the increasingly diabolical Diane win it for them) last night on BB5 - but he once again was watching over his favorite models, Brandon & Nicole. All it took were some praises to go up... and voila... the clue emerges from the bubbling mud of New Zealand. Lord, just keep in mind that Nicole wants to win that $1 million -- as she yelled on her way off to the roadblock.

Todd brought up a good point last night, don't you think the team that loses all their money due to finishing last in a non-elimination leg should not be able to beg for money until they are allowed to "leave" the mat? The God Squad quickly re-funded and, like the other teams who have suffered the same fate, were able to catch up to the other teams in practically no time at all.

The Non-Yield
It was a nice reality moment when Chip & Kim realized that they should have been the first to use the "Yield" option. Chip was trying to be the nice guy as he teased the Team K-Squared about using it, only to kick himself when he realized that those sneaky Bowling Moms had beat them to the clue. It could have been one of the greatest TAR goofs ever...

Blunder Twin Powers... De-activate!
But leave it to a typical bad decision by the Twins to make it a non-issue... 9 times out of 10 any Detour that requires a "search-and-find" is the far worse alternative. Since the Twins knew they were battling for last place, why not try and beat out Chip & Kim to the "clean" Detour... I know... all Monday morning quarter-backing, but in a foot race I think Kami/Karli had the advantage... but alas it was their long-overdue Philimination.

So onto next week... it appears Colin earns himself a place in an even lower circle of Hell and there is the "ultimate betrayal," which CBS leads us to believe has something to do with the Yield.

A New Bed To Lie In

Bought a new bed this weekend. I was a mattress salesman's dream ... went into the store, did not plan to leave without buying something, and pretty much agreed to everything... well almost, I stopped short of immediately agreeing to buy the $1500 mattress set he insisted I try out!

Granted anything would have been an improvement... we have been sleeping on a decade-plus old mattress set... which pretty much leaves us with more aches and pains than when we got in. I have to say I was pretty ignorant on the cost of a new bed. It is not something you go out and buy on a typical day. I figured it would be $800 for a top-of-the-line model, but I should have known better that prices have gone up over the past ten years or so. I stayed in my price range (thanks to a "$200 off" sale) and opted for the "better" mattress set out of the "good/better/best" offerings. While the $1500 model was quite lovely, it was not twice as lovely.

The good news is that it arrived today... not bad for a Sunday purchase on a holiday weekend. I was shocked to see how much higher off the floor the new bed is...at least 2 or 3 feet higher it seems! I don't think there will be any tying of shoes while sitting on this bed. Also, I think the bed is officially basset hound proof. Toby had little problems getting on the old bed with a wonderful awkward leap. But as he checked out the new bed this afternoon, he could barely lift his basset-hound nose to the tip of the pillow-top bed.

The cats should still have no problem ... cats, of course, can leap to amazing heights and I don't think the new bed is going to pose any challenge. There is also enough room for them to still sneak under it. The new boy in town, Elvis, still like to get some quiet time underneath the bed.

So we'll see how it goes tonight... I am sure we won't be able to fall asleep since we are not used to feeling a good 'ole spring or two at our sides or back. Just hope we don't fall off... it is a long way down!

UPDATE: As occasionally happens in two-blogger household, often there is another side to the story. We did talk about this "issue" -- but for me it was no biggie. Heck, if I can drag him to five to six musicals a year with little to no complaints, the least I can do is buy a mattress every decade or so, right?!

Fine Wine #7A: The Return of Tommy Haas

Well, I never said that one of my Fine Wine honorees could not make a return appearance!

I knew someone from this week's U.S. Open would make the list. I was pretty darn sure it was going to be one of my favorites, Spanish hunk Carlos Moya -- but the #3 seed went ahead and lost his third round match to the diminutive Belgian Olivier Rochus (in men's tennis these days anything under 5'10" seems to be considered short... Rochus is 5'5").

So while there are still some new candidates left in the draw, I still felt compelled to return to one of my original Fine Wine picks... Tommy Haas. After knocking off the 12th seed earlier this week, the German made the fourth round earlier today. Haas will be considered a heavy favorite in his next round vs. Tomas Berdych...which would set up the anticipated blockbuster quarterfinal with Lleyton Hewitt.

So for his success at this year's Open and for all the reasons I mentioned the first time around... Tommy returns!

Welcome back!

RNC Recap

I decided to hold my tongue until after the Republican National Convention was over. As we watched the DNC, it only seemed fair to give the other a side a look and listen to...although we limited ourselves to the 3 hours of network coverage. There is only so much an anti-family, pro-terrorist, unpatriotic, flip-flopping household can stomach (though we apparently had a better reaction than Bill Clinton... bypass surgery... eek)! Here are my quick thoughts on the featured speakers:

Schwarzenneger: It is hard to deny that actors do make good politicians...well at least when it comes to speeches. Arnold easily gave the best performance that I saw at the Convention. I would think though he would start to want distancing himself from his movie star past... but no way, he called himself an "action star" and pulled out phrases like "I'll be back" and "Girley-men" (which heck is a SNL parody and not even his own thing). Had problems with his "What is a Republican?" portion...but heck conventions are all about propaganda (no matter what party you support).

J&B - The Bush Twins: Thought they were a mess and pretty embarrassing. Again, it was like a Saturday Night Live skit...the longer it went on the worse it got. But I guess it was worth it to seem W squirm on the jumbotron waiting to hear what the girls would say next.

Laura Bush: One of the more successful speeches of the Convention as he turned her husband who walked the line of portraying her husband as both decisive and strong as well as soft and fuzzy. As commentators noted, it seems like the speech was written for her and it did not come off as terribly natural...but it succeeded in portraying a loving and devoted portrait of their marriage...which, like it or not, will work on some folks. I thought she came off far better than her counter-part Teresa Heinz-Kerry who I think is a cold fish. I still wonder how we got to the point where the wives are making premiere Convention speeches.

Zell Miller: Hopefully any rational person (from either party) will view this for what this was... a vengeful, "going out with guns blazing" speech by a person with a serious chip on their shoulder. It is hard to question the guy's motives or the Republicans for putting him center-stage. If you have that many issues with your political party leave it... don't vilify under the banner that you are still (and will remain) one of them. So bitter old man, go back to "rural Georgia" and grind your axe in silence.

Lynne Cheney: A simple and short introduction of her husband... thank you!

Dick Cheney: After the firestorm that Miller created it is hard to remember anything about this snoozer of a speech. I should have saved the speech on TiVo for nights when I have trouble falling asleep... I honestly do not know what else to say...I am sure he said plenty of things to tick me off but I can't recall - he is just anti-charisma.

George Bush: Like Cheney, Bush is not much of a public speaker. I do not know if it was because of this delivery but the speech seemed unfocused and looooong. The speech was filled with a lot of great ideas, but not a whole lot of specifics...not that I expect any politician from any party to be able to promise specifics and actually execute them. Obviously I have a problem with the whole "defense of marriage" thing when he talks about "extending liberties" around the world.

And just some general comments:

It must be nice to have the ability to criticize your opponents' voting records when you do not have voting records of your own. Also nice to be able to take those votes out of context without noting what extra stuff may have been attached to bills or whether the vote was going to pass/not pass no matter how they voted (aka, the "protest" vote).

It must be nice to talk about war and supporting the troops when you have never fought in war -- and more so if you did everything in your power to avoid going to a war yourself. But at least it is clear that you have a monopoly of loving your country, supporting families, educating children and taking care of seniors.

It must be nice to have all these grandiose plans without telling people how you are going to pay for them... except that it won't be through taxes...is there some money tree that we don't know about?

So onto the debates, which I think are a much more important part of the political process rather than these "aren't we wonderful" love-fests (and again, I am talking about both parties).

BB5: Eviction Night - Week 8

Another yawner of an eviction night... the BB folks even couldn't come up with enough fancy editing to try to convince us that Adria would survive last night's vote. While the result was no surprise, at least Adria gave us some fireworks. She has spunk and unlike Mary Richards' Mr. Grant...I like spunk (and apparently so does Miss Julie!). While she made her usual garbled speech before the live vote (c'mon A did you think you would sway votes by saying you honor commitments?), her walk to the door was even more lively...though equally confusing! She's proud that her and Nat tricked everyone... she is praying for everyone... we're on the jury so watch your back... good luck to y'all... some verbal smack exchanged with Marvin about the twins being individuals... I'm not mad... oh, whatever.. door slam! And with that Adria...the person I would think anyone would most want to go up against in the Final 2 ... was gone.

But that were not the only displays of immaturity: Cowboy running off to Drew to tell him about Marvin and Diane's "kiss" (c'mon it wasn't exactly tonsil hockey), Nakomis still holding up her pinky in a show of solidarity as she voted out Adria... and what can we say about our man Wil. Hell hath no fury like a gay man scorned! Crossing his fingers and rolling his eyes as he greets Natalie... who is the backstabber? Et tu Willy? But perhaps Wil and Nat did reach a truce as they were actually holding hands while watching the BB video tape. Though Wil probably had some other unseen body part crossed...well until Nat opened up her mouth and admitted to the Charles Manson comment. You got your boomerang Will... you get to spend a couple of days all alone with the "bitches" ... at least it won't be a long wait until someone else joins them after Saturday's eviction...

...and who will Drew nominate? There are not really many safe/self-preserving choices left...probably Marvin and Cowboy are the safest bets to avoid the wrath of the girls...but even then, Drew's days are numbered, and I think he even knows that. Heck, I'll admit to already being spoiled by the nominations...so I just better bite my tongue and wrap this up... tune in on Saturday!

Scrubbing Up Again

It's great having new episodes of Scrubs back on the air. I think we can safely say that this is our favorite sitcom. We caught the season premiere last night since we watched TAR on Tuesday (far easier to avoid spoilers about Scrubs than TAR). It was like meeting up with old friends. It only took a couple of minutes to fall in love with the show again... JD "had us at hello" when he was shown cuddling with "Katia, my pillow girlfriend."

The tour de force performance of the season premiere (as usual) was John C. McGinley (Dr. Cox) -- his rant of things he cared as little about than JD's last day as a resident physician... I played it back on TiVo this morning (several times!) and here is my best stab at the list:

"Low carb diets, Michael Moore, the Republican National Convention, Kabbala and all Kabbala related products, Hi-Def TV, the Bush daughters, wireless hot spots, The O.C., The UN, recycling, getting punk'd, Danny Gans, the Latin Grammys, the real Grammys, Jeff the Wiggle who sleeps too darn much, the Yankees' payroll, all the red states, all the blue states, every hybrid car, every talk show host, everthing on the planet, everything in the solar system, everything, everything, everything, everything, everything, everything, everything, everything, everything, everything that exists... past, present and future... and all discovered and undiscovered genetrones (??).... oh, and Hugh Jackman"

Classic (and timely no less!) and delivered in about 45 seconds! I have said it many times before and I will say it again... give this guy an Emmy...or at least nominate him!! Also loved it when Cox called JD "Fantasia" (it is not an episode of Scrubs unless Cox calls JD by a girl's name).

Catwoman Takes The Court

You gotta love Serena Williams! She loves to make an entrance ... especially at the Grand Slams... and she is doing that this week at US Open. I am guessing she is taking some attentiion away from the Republican National Convention. She knows how to get people talking and folks are buzzing over this year's ensembles...let's call it "Biker Babe meets Catwoman.".

For her first match, she wore pretty much the outfit you see above...but paired it with a short blue denim skirt. As you see, today the skirt was replaced with tight black spandex short-shorts. [Click on the picture for a better view] The "boots" are just glorified leggings that wrap around her sneakers. The quickly unzip for match play (for some reason the full boot look is not allowed during the match). Beneath the jacket (which comically has her name emblazoned across the back... like we wouldn't know who she was?!), is a studded black tank top that shows off her pierced navel. After winning her second round match, Serena called this outfit her favorite of the bunch...

Yes, there is more... Serena promises "another surprise" for her next match. I (and the world) will be watching!