A picture is worth...

My blog friend Stella recently despaired about not having the time, energy, motivation, or a combo platter of all three to write in her blog. Stella laments that sometimes she takes the easy way out by simply posting a picture instead of crafting some rivoting observations. The truth is she puts most of us non-professional-web-pundits to shame and I'm personally in awe of her.

As you can undoubtedly surmise from my efforts, I'm a firm believer in the power of pictures (or lack of motivation - take your pick). I recently came upon a primo example to prove my thesis. So here it is - dedicated to my friend Stella.

Stop the drama puh-leeze!

During the morning commute I listened to Frank Deford lament about the death of American tennis because there were no Yanks left in this year's Wimbledon tournament. Deford ascribes such significance to the event as to call it the "first crack in the edifice of the American Empire."

What sappy, self-absorbed, melodramatic crawp! Wasn't it just a couple of years ago that the Williams sisters dominated women's pro tennis? The sisters won 5 of the last 6 Wimbledons! Didn't Andy Roddick and Pete Sampras sneak in back-to-back US Open Championships just a couple of years ago? What is Deford talking about???!!! The way he makes it sound, US tennis is suffering a drought of biblical proportions. To compound his folly, Deford spends half of his commentary providing us with his reasons and excuses why American tennis has been lulled into hibernation.

It's exactly the type of sensational journalism that feeds the American stereotype. We experience a hiccup in American dominance in one of our traditionally strong sports and it's the end of the world. Frank...do us a favor - keep this type of drivel pent in until no American wins a major for at least 3 years.

Blue C

Helen and I took advantage of the holiday weekend by heading into Seattle. Based on our experiences in New York, we hypothesized that the city would be empty as people head out of town. We headed to U Village intending to grab some lunch, look around the shops, and catch the Yankees-Mets game at The Ram.

I'm happy to report we went 2 for 3. We did wander around the shops, all relatively empty for such a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Lunch was at the quirky "Kaiten" sushi joint Blue C. The entire place is built around a conveyor belt system which whips around bringing an assortment of dishes to every seat in the house. You just pick off what you want, or wait for the next group of dishes to roll by. The decor is simple and modern, almost Warholesque. The not-quite-subdued techno beat playing in the background was tuned just right - a few decibles below annoying but always noticeable. You could tune it out if you were talking or you could surrender to its invitation for bopping in your chair.


The food was quite good. Fresh, good quality, and enough of an assortment for both the raw buff and the sushi-squeamish. We especially enjoyed the Spider roll, Unagi roll and the Japanese cream puffs. I quite recommend a visit if you're in U Village and in the mood for a quick meal.

The Yankees-Mets game was rain delayed so I ended up watching the game from home. All in all, a most enjoyable Sunday.

Bianca Ryan

Another star in the making - and she's only eleven!

America's Got Talent

Been watching one of the spin offs from American Idol called "America's Got Talent." It's a similar formula, but almost like Idol on fast forward. The acts come out, do their stuff, get passed to the next round or buzzed off - never to return.

Lots of funny stuff, and some really incredible talent, like the guys in this video.

And now the funny side of sports

Sports bloopers are just as amazing and entertaining.

Lights Out!

Sports and athletes never cease to amaze me. Here's LeBron James making some unbelievable shots at practice.

Funniest Synopsis Ever

"Woman, 44, nabbed for sex with boy, 13. The Smoking Gun is - SWEET MOTHER OF GOD MY EYES MY EYES"

You have to read the story to get the full effect. Courtesy of Fark.

Laziness...that's what it is

Man it's been a long time since I've posted anything but pictures - call it being boring, or too busy, or just plain laziness. At least the weather's getting nice and we can take Jack for some nice walks around the 'hood.

Damn I forgot my skis!

We've had an exceptional snow year, and even though the ski areas officially closed last weekend, there's still a lot of it around. As it so happens, Jack absolutely looooves the snow, so as dutiful dog parents, we drove out to the Pass to let him get his fill.