"Who's Albert Einstein?" When I asked my 15 y/o daughter she replied, "Are you kidding me? He's like the smartest dude in the world. Ever. E=MC², man. The theory of relativity..." Her response made me almost as happy as last week when she heard a song from my PC and asked, "is that the Bottle Rockets?"

Wired magazine has an article by Rowan Hooper called A Century of Einstein. It's been 100 years since Mr. Einstein wrote "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies." Its theories are responsible for much of the technology we take for granted today. For example, if not for Al, you might not be reading this fascinating blog.

As the father of two teenagers, the author really grabbed me with his opening: “If you think it's sometimes hard to understand how a teenager's mind works, have some sympathy for Albert Einstein's mother. When he was just a teenager, Einstein was pondering what a light wave would look like if he could observe it while moving at light speed.” While he solved the seemingly unanswerable, he didn't get all the answers he was seeking. "I want to know how God created this world." Then again, maybe he did.

Today I’m going to go in-depth on meatballs… Yeah, I’m sure some of you are thinking, “Why does it always have to be about meatballs?” Well, meatballs are important to me; an obsession, really. Since I went to college in Arizona (no, not Arizona State), I’ve been on a quest to re-create the meatballs my mother has made famous. OK, maybe “famous” is a stretch, but they are in serious demand within my extended family. On several occasions I’ve asked for the “recipe,” but it doesn’t exist. Making meatballs is an artform, and my mother is the Mary Cassat of meatballs. Now lets make some meatballs!

One thing I’ve been able to pry from Mom is that she uses only 85% lean ground beef. It seems to help make the meatballs softer, and much of the excess fat gets cooked out of the meat. To the meat I add some finely diced onion, parmesean cheese and Progresso brand Italian bread crumbs. Not a specific amount. Just enough. One other secret ingredient evidently is water. Just a little, like 4 3/4 to 4 7/8 tablespoons… It also seemed to make the pre-cooked product a little softer.

ROLLING IS CRITICAL!!! The important thing is to form the meatball with as little compression as possible. Over-rolling with result in a hard, and in this case, under-satisfying meatball experience. Also, no matter what you may have heard, size does matter. I try to roll my balls into orbs about 2 inches across.

Some people like to brown their meatballs before submerging them into the molten depths of the sauce, but not me. We pass the frying pan and go right into the fire. With medium heat, bring the sauce to a boil and then gently place your balls into the sauce. Let the sauce re-heat again to a boil, then set it to low and let everything simmer for a minimum of 2 hours. NOTE: There will be shrinkage! Do not be alarmed. The shrinkage of your balls is caused by the fat content being forced out by the heat. Yeah, it’s the opposite effect of a cold pool, but stay with me here… The fat will form gross little glistening pools on the surface of the sauce and should be skimmed off.

A note on tomato sauce: Granted, sauce, or “gravy,” as Mom calls it, is important, but my dirty little secret today is that I’m using Classico Cabernet Marinara, doctored with sautéed mushrooms, roasted garlic and basil. Yeah, I can make sauce from scratch, but don’t bother because the jar stuff is fine with a little customization.

The "Mom's meatballs" taste test: My 15 y/o daughters take: "I don't know. One time you got really close, like two batches ago. These are good, though." She's right, but I think I know where it all went wrong...

Here’s an Onion link to get things going today:

Relationship Beats Second-Quarter Expectations

The article spoofs corporate earning releases and relationships at the same time. Let’s look at both, shall we? Corporations and investors live and die by the quarterly earnings report. Unfortunately, it’s this short term measurement that seems to get many companies in trouble. Long-term, strategic initiatives and investments often lose out to the short-term requirement to show results. The intense pressure to deliver results is what created some of the accounting scandals that surfaced over the past couple years. Oh, and lots of greed. I’m lucky to work in a company that has done a great job of balancing both long and short term needs of the business. Yesterday we reported our 100^th consecutive quarter of revenue growth compared to the same period in the previous year, and our 71st consecutive quarter of profitability. What’s really amazing is that these results were achieved as we conducted a major reorganization of our field Sales and Service organization, and prepared to roll out a new accounting system in the company. It’s a credit to our management and employees.

Lying and cheating, like that contributing to companies getting in trouble was the subject of a movie I saw last night, “Closer.” It’s about the self-deception that fills people who allow a fleeting moment of infatuation, and perhaps short-term performance, to devolve into a disloyal affair. It was an interesting, but ultimately depressing film that left me hoping I never experience anything like it...again.

Finally, and even though Jeff has covered this particular ground, I must plug the film “Sideways.” One reviewer wrote Sideways is a "Comedy about wine, women and men's inability to handle either is painfully funny." If you’ve ever had the experience of touring wine country anywhere (Pal Dave and his wife Georgia actually toured wine country in Chile!), you’ll love this film. It brilliantly uses wine as a metaphor for life.

In my favorite scene of the movie, Miles, the downtrodden protagonist describes his favorite wine, pinot noir. He says pinot is "a hard grape to grow...thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early...Only when someone has taken the time to truly understand its potential can Pinot be coaxed into its fullest expression. And when that happens, its flavors are the most haunting and brilliant and subtle and thrilling and ancient on the planet." His new acquaintance Maya responds by describing wine as a living thing, "constantly evolving and gaining complexity" toward its prime until it reaches its peak. The real beauty of the scene (besides Virginia Madsen as Maya), is that Miles and Maya are defining themselves. Go see “Sideways.”

I love Jeff's blog! I love Jeff! (And Leo...)

I was supposed to help Leo blog the Tife and Limes of Jeff this week. Instead, I've been blogged with illness and family events. Illness is not good. Family events are unpredictable.

I'm ill. Old story...

Yesterday we had to place my 102-year old Grandma Frances Klug (my Dad's mother) in a nursing home. Sound odd? I mean, she is 102. Well, she's lived alone in her home now in Peru, Illinois for 15 years since my Grandpa Francis Klug died. She has all her mental faculties about her...she's as sharp as a tack! But her physical body is giving in. And yesterday my Grandpa Klug's sister-in-law, Bernice, who lived around the corner from my Grandma and was 93 years old, died. My father helped bury her. A big day in history for the Klug family. My son, Joseph, who's 4 years old, is the only one of over 50 children, grand children and great grandchildren of Frances and Francis that will carry on the Klug name. Life is funny. And sad.

I hope Jeff and Steph are layin' on a beach right now, just hanging out. Hearts are one now. In love...
Dave

np The Boss: Factory (one song that always sends chills...)

Hey Dave, is he gone? OK… Leo here… A friend of mine thinks blogging is just so narcissistic. I love it already.

People in New England have entered the realm of the insane today. Gearing up to watch the Patriots burn Pittsburg* on their march to the marvelous basin, you say? Of course I mean the “big game.” The actual game name is trademarked and the NFL employs herds of lawyers year-round to slap lawsuits on anyone using the term without paying to do so. With Jeff dropping so much money on his honeymoon, I sure don’t want him coming back owing someone money. Anyway, no, it’s not over the game. You see, there’s snow in the forecast and people behave like a new ice age is descending upon us. I just returned from the grocery store and I have never seen it so mobbed. I did manage to catch up on some celebrity news while in line. Brad and Jen on the cover of “Us” with a very sad picture taken, “hours before the breakup.” Sure, people make fun about Hollywood couples and their fleeting pairings, but isn’t it still sad? All the money and fame in the word doesn’t diminish the pain of a broken relationship. Wait. How the hell do I know? Maybe it does.

On that note, lets move on to the world of online dating, an area Jeff and Dave refuse to cover. Here’s a picture of a 40-ish woman from an online dating site.



She looks pretty good, right? Did she not notice anything else in the picture besides herself? I emailed to ask, but she hasn’t responded.

Yesterday was a “use it or lose it” vacation day and a trip to Harvard Square and the Fogg Art Museum. It was about 2 degrees with a bitter, cutting wind, so the walk through Harvard Yard was, uh, refreshing. Once in the museum though, the Maurice Wertheim Collection was a highlight. It includes Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art, including works by Degas, Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, Gauguin, Renoir, Cézanne, and my favorite of the Impressionists, Camille Pissarro. My “art buzz” was wrecked when I descended into the subway to see a homeless man asleep on a bench (See weather conditions above...). Then once in the train, another homeless man was talking to himself for the entire trip. I did, however, heed what the man kept repeating: “Six to twelve coming. Better get ready.” Over to you, Dave.

* NE 24 Pitt 6 (13 at the most...)

Well, it's over and out for two weeks 'cause I'll be in Hawaii, not even thinking about stupid computers. In my absence, the ever-witty comedy team of Leo and Dave will be guest blogging. So look for upcoming posts about labor workforce management or the science of fingerprinting. Or maybe just farts. Who knows.....

Two quick news items worthy of your time today:

Only a few days after I posted my thoughts on sharing TV shows with the touch of a remote button comes this article about a new Tivo feature called "Tivo To Go." This feature doesn't exactly give you the option I spoke of, but we're getting there. Of course, Tivo will be out of business (or acquired) soon enough, for they're selling a product that is fast becoming nothing more than a cheap add-on (see file: Comcast, Cablevision, etc). Tivo had their chance and completely blew it.

We're lucky to be able to read Matthew Gilbert's writing a few times each week. He's the Boston Globe's TV critic and has a great writing style - sarcastic enough to make you realize just how ridiculous most TV shows are, but serious enough to understand that some shows really do serve a purpose. His summary of the American Idol audition shows is an interesting read. The Boston Globe needs to start making their articles accessible via RSS feeds. Soon.

Today's self-help tip: if you're looking for a job, I strongly advise that you try not to follow the path this guy took.

I have to admit, however, a few years ago while doing a job search, I decided that spitting out generic cover letters probably wasn't getting me anywhere, so I started experimenting. My real aim was to try and find out if HR people or hiring managers really even bother to read cover letters anymore. My gut told me they didn't.

Anyway, I started inserting random sentences, one of which was "I know every single phone area code in the United States by heart." At the time, this talent was something I actually could boast. Since then, there's been too many area codes added, so I don't know them anymore, but back then I really did know them all. Please don't ask why.

Another sentence I used on cover letters occasionally was "Oprah Winfrey once served me breakfast on airplane." This is also a true statement. Other than that, I'd throw in sentences about baseball stats, famous people I've met or things my dentist told me. No kidding.

The result? A flood of responses. This proved my theory wrong - I guess people actually do read cover letters, although I still believe to an extent that they're largely ignored. Most of the responses were complimentary towards my inventiveness, but none of them led to any job offers. Such is life. I ended up getting a job through a friend - the way it almost always happens.

The new American Idol started last night. As usual, I will stop watching when the actual compeition starts. If I want to hear smooth, pre-packaged FM dreck, I'll just turn on the radio. I mean, I really don't need to hear the original "On The Wings of Love," much less some 19 year old singing it. Right? American Idol's total brilliance is that for the first couple of weeks, they show bunches of auditions, most of which are utterly ridiculous and feature people who are atrocious singers or simply mentally ill. Sometimes it's both. Either way, watching the auditions guarantees many laughs. I'm willing to bet that as the reality craze slows down (and it will), that American Idol will see it's best ratings only when they show the defectives, for the real competition itself is such a bore.

So yesterday morning I'm playing hockey, as I do almost each Sunday, and I'm having a conversation on the bench with a friend about DVR technology. If you're still trying to make sense of all the abbreviations and tech products in our new world, DVR is basically what Tivo does. So anyway, I'm telling my friend about how good MLB's Official 2004 Baseball Playoff Movie was and he says he hasn't seen it. I told him I thought the program was so good that I saved it on my DVR in case I ever want to watch it again. That was that. I know, not exactly fascinating conversation, but stick with me.

A few minutes later, something hit me as I was skating around. Sure, we can all buy DVD recorders and record such programs onto disc and give them to friends. But that just seems so old school, so laborious.....doesn't it? So 2001.

What we need is the ability to share shows or any content we have on our media boxes - instantly. I'm sure someone is working on this already, for it seems way too obvious. It probably already exists, in fact. But in case it doesn't, I'm really onto something. How sweet would it be to record Game 7 of the Yankees series and just ship it off to your brother in Iraq, who missed the game because he was too busy stopping the search for WMD's? Even better, the prospects for gaming here are astronomical when you consider the opportunity for distribution. Game companies, properly compensated of course, would be drooling over the idea.

How sweet would it be to record the J. Giels Band video "Love Stinks" from VH1 Classic (stay with me here) and send it to your friend, then call him and laugh about it while he/she is watching because Magic Dick is playing the harmonica in the video, but there's actually no harmonica played in the actual song?

Furthermore, much like wireless players out there like Verizon who don't charge for network-to-network calls, if you record a program, you should be able to set up pre-loaded "friends" right from your cable menu so when the show is done recording, you could bring up a screen that says "send this program to:" and have a list of your Comcast friends to send it off to at no charge. Chances are all of your friends in the immeadiate area are using the same cable service you are, so this would be easy.

Like I said, I'm pretty sure this is in the works, especially as TV and PC's continue on their inevitable path of convergence. But I'd sure like to see this sooner than later. I haven't read up too much on the Microsoft Media Cente 2005, but I think they're starting to get at some of these ideas. Of course, there's tons of potential problems here, too: much like email, the potential for junk coming into your cable box is something that would need to be thoroughly built out and tested. There are probably all kinds of copyright issues involved, too.

As the world of physical media product (CD, DVD) slowly drifts into the abyss, in fact, I suddenly can't imagine a world without the ability to instantly share programs or other media with your friends without having to go out, buy recordable DVD's, buy the component to play them on, blah blah blah. Those are days are (almost) over. It's got to have companies like Netflix shaking in their shoes. Right now, I have a DVR, High-Def and digital cable box in one component. It's not far-fetched at all that one day, one single box with one plug in the wall will contain my music, my video games, my DVR, my cable TV, my phone voice mail - the works. I say bring it on.

Oh, by the way, these "thoughts" rarely just pop into my head during random hockey games. Normally I'm focused on what I'm actually doing. So the sudden obsession about it was certainly the exception to the norm. I have a hard enough time keeping the puck on my stick as it is....

Final thought: I'm not sure there's a better show on TV right now than Arrested Development. Scrubs certainly runs a close second, but there's nothing more fresh, funny or innovative than this program right now. Goes to show you that lowest common denominator, lillywhite sitcoms don't always have to be so down-the-middle.

As stated earlier this week, the initial shock of briefly bearing witness to "Kenny Loggins On Ice" last Sunday prevented me from being invested in any of the NFL playoff games that day. I kid. The Sunday paper was the real culprit. Apparantly, though, this whole Randy Moss episode has caused quite a stir. When I first heard about it, I really didn't understand what all the fuss was about. To an extent, I still don't. When I actually saw it, I just thought it was really quite funny. Sophmoric and crass, but funny. This should also give you, reader, an indication of the type of humor I appreciate, but that's a subject for another time.

Now, word comes in that Moss has been fined $10,000 for the incident and now I'm thinking this is starting to reach ridiculous levels, despite what Joe Buck thinks. The NFL, despite it's enormous popularity, fabulous business model and intelligent methods of maintaining parity (the latter two are intertwined, I suppose), continues to try and Orwell their players into becoming league robots. I suppose when this is really the only complaint about a professional sports league that one can think of, than an argument can be made that the league is doing a pretty good job overall, but really. Trying to mandate how players celebrate? It's kind of makes the whole thing feel like Miss Garber's science class in sixth grade (shout out to you Lancaster kids, yo). I wish the NFL would settle down a little bit. Personalities mean a lot. For the long term health of the game, I hope the NFL lightens up just a smidge and stops trying the whole "single-file line" stuff. Makes me think of the Ray Davies penned Kinks tune "Get Back In Line:"

"’cause when I see that union man walking down the street
He’s the man who decides if I live or I die, if I starve, or I eat
Then he walks up to me and the sun begins to shine
Then he walks right past and I know that I’ve got to get back in the line..."

An occasional funny celebration from T.O. or Moss isn't going to kill anyone.

Now, if Moss had decided to actually drop trou, I can understand. Although I would have thought that to be even funnier, it would have been real cause for concern and certainly deserving of a fine. The whole story, however, took on some new light for me when I read this morning's story about Moss's reaction to the fine. His over-inflated ego and ignorance in commenting on the fine does more damage to the league, in my opinion, than a fake mooning does. Players have to be educated on watching what they say. Moss's comments simply make him sound like an asshole, and the truth is that since the late 1980s, professional sports players live in a much different world than we do, one of untold and unimaginable riches, where pre and post-game attention is heaped onto them until they deem themselves completely worthy of anyone's attention. That's not a shocking statement, really - anyone with half a brain knows it. But to boast in public by reacting to a fine with the statement "What's $10K to me?" among other things, that's what should generate fines. $10K might not mean anything to him, but the amount of people that $10K actually does mean something to (see file: 98% of us), he's turned them completely off. For those statements he made, I would have fined him again, only this time a cool million. See if he pays that in cash. Dumb ass.

In seperate news, I may have found my calling. Or not.

It's time for a spin around the web & news:

- No word on if Yoko Ono had a hand in this. Hah.

- The feel-good story of the year, perhaps. Someday I envision myself being a successful writer. Problem is I need to actually write. Haven't quite done that yet. I also need some ideas. Haven't quite generated any.

- I need to start using the word trousers more. Other words I need to use more: hoser, motorcoach, soda pop. Words I need to use less: insane, brilliant, amazing.

- Sure, he had $150,000 worth, but what they don't tell you is that it was $150,000 worth of Mike Moffatt cards - roughly 4 million Mike Moffatt cards. Obscure hockey reference. Sorry 'bout that.

- Excellent interview with Rick Rubin in this week's Onion. Rubin was one of the foundations of the Def Jam record label in the early 1980s and produced a variety of great albums by the Beastie Boys, RUN-DMC, Johnny Cash, The Jayhawks, etc. Really worth a read.

- The current score in the great Rod Stewart debate of 2005 (see below) is 2-2. It's tied. Frankly, I'm disappointed in the voter turnout. Six people responded, two of whom were actually too cool to pick one.

Yesterday was one of those days when I should have been out on errands. There's plenty to do, really. I need to buy lights for both our new half-bathroom and our dining room - currently we have no lights in either. I could have also run several other errands which don't need any pontificating here. I didn't do any errands. I chose to stay home and do absolutely nothing, which was clearly the right decision.

Instead, after a morning spent playing hockey, I settled in and read the Sunday Boston Globe, usually a 2-3 hour foray into our mad world. Occasionally I popped on the television to check the football playoff scores, but since both games were total bores those didn't stay on screen for more than 15 seconds at a time. It's very difficult for me to watch an NFL game if the Patriots aren't in it (and even then...). Occasionally I'll get wrapped up in a real intense game, but it's certainly the exception to the norm.

Anyway, the Colts were destroying the Broncos, so I switch around a little bit and lo and behold, I have found the very reason that justified my decision to be a lazy sumbitch yesterday. That reason was Kenny Loggins on Ice. When I saw it come up on my Comcast on-screen guide, I couldn't even believe my eyes. Professional figure skaters, doing their thang to powerhouse Loggins tunes such as "Footloose" and "Danger Zone?" The pin on my very own cheese measuring instrument was well into the red zone and rapidly overheating. Me, I can't think of anything more cheddar than post-Olympic figure skating superheros wearing their Liberace-esque sequined outfits while skating to Kenny Loggins songs. Is this even possible? Can there be any more of a white surrender flag from NBC that they know they're going to get slaughtered in the ratings, so they just put out the most ridiculous possible show they can dream up? But you know what? It worked! I had that show on for 35 seconds and the NFL playoffs on for 10 seconds. What does that say about me? Holy crap, I don't know.

Suffice it to say, had the Patriots game been on, or had there been something compelling happening in the NFL game, this blog post wouldn't exist. And yes, I am totally, 100% trying to justify devoting more time to Kenny Loggins on Ice than an NFL playoff game.

Out of complete curiousity, I did a search for "Kenny Loggins on Ice" this morning and found this message board. Enjoy.

This has got to be the funniest thing I've read in the last year. Normally, if I am shopping on Amazon.com, I do pay some mind to the reviews submitted by other people. But when I read the reviews for the latest Family Circle book, I was dying from laughter. Someone had a good time with those. In case you're unaware, Family Circle is an embarassingly bad comic, found in many newspapers. You've GOT to read the reader-submitted reviews here. Classic.

Another stunning photograph from the Earth Observatory of the destruction the tsunami brought to Asia. I can't even imagine seeing it in person.

On a much lighter note, we Tivo'd the season opener of Alias on Wednesday night because I had a hockey game. So we settled in to watch the 2-hour season premiere last night and as usual, it didn't disappoint. I missed the first season of Alias, but started watching in the middle of the second season and have been hooked ever since. It seems that at the end of every single episode, though, Jennifer Garner's character, the ass-kicking Sidney Bristow, ends up in solutude somewhere a quivering, sobbing mess. Stephanie and I have taken to calling her Sidney McBeal, in tribute to the ultimate "I'm so alone I could cry" show, Ally McBeal. What we have here is Ally McBeal in the CIA. Thankfully, it's only for the last few minutes of each show, though. The rest of it - I love.

Sidenote: there's now a hockey link over there to the right - certain members of the team keep whining that there's not a link on this blog to the team site. In order to further build team cohesion, I've added the link. Translation: no more whining.

Last night during dinner my musical taste was brought into question by my wife. She claims that Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" actually is the better song in comparison to "Hot Legs." I cannot be convinced of this and I won't waver. "Hot Legs" crushes "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy." But I did promise I'd put it to a vote here. So leave a comment if you want and give us your opinion - "Hot Legs" or "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy." If you had to choose one, which would it be? By the way, the commenting system is much easier now since I changed it - you don't need to register or anything. So vote. This is almost as important as the presidential election. My faith in my reader(s) is at stake here.

Another pre-holiday leftover I meant to write about is the recent release of the latest version of Trillian. Trillian, in a nutshell, is probably the best Instant Messenger product out there and if you're not using it, you should be. There's two versions available for download, the "basic" product is free and other, which is a little more souped up, is one you pay for. I use the free download, as the features in the premium version aren't anything I would ever need or use. The main advantage of using Trillian is that it provides an interface for all of the major IM services, combining them all into one interface. So if you use the MSN Messenger, but have a shitload of friends or co-workers who use AOL, Yahoo or ICQ for their instant messaging, Trillian gives you the ability to communicate with them under a single IM interface (provided you set up accounts with each, which takes all of 23 seconds to do). Additionally, as you can see in the screenshot, it will also monitor any email you have with the various services (be it Yahoo, MSN, etc). Good stuff.

Here you see the new Trillian IM window. One of my absolute favorite features of Trillian is the quick access to "IM history." Since I work remotely, I use IM a hell of a lot to communicate with co-workers, who are also spread around in a few different locations. It's an invaluable resource for me to be able to click on that "history" button right from the IM window to check on old IM's - answers to questions, URL's, etc etc. When you hit the history button, a notepad file pops up with the complete history of your IM exchanges with that particular person. Additionally, and this doesn't happen often, someone at work might have a little selective amnesia, if you know what I'm saying, and the history button is great to remind someone what they told you a month ago. You can also easily initiate a group discussion, send Word or Excel files through IM and video chat is an option, although I still think that technology is a ways away. I highly recommend Trillian. This new version is cleaner, a little easier to use and keeps Trillian at the forefront, in my mind.

I don't remember if I ever posted a link to the Earth Observatory, but even if I did, hell, it's well worth visiting at least once a week (tip of the hat to Paul for pointing it out to me). The Observatory is a relatively large collection of satellite photos and it's more a relevant place to be these days - they have some amazing and harrowing pictures of the devastation from the tsunami. But it's not just a haven for disaster photos - there's some stunning shots of tropical islands, various city skylines, weather patterns, the effects of large forest and brush fires and so on. It's a pretty incredible collection and a glorious time suck. Enjoy.

I keep forgetting to mention this - on the way home last month from a business trip to Austin, I picked up a copy of Rolling Stone for the plane. As I've mentioned a few times before, buying and reading Rolling Stone is not something I do on a regular basis. I am, after all, a music fan, not a guy who likes to sniff cologne samples, check the latest fashion and leaf through 46 pages of ads before getting to the table of contents. But I digress.

My excuse for buying the issue was a good one, though: it claimed to have compiled the "Top 500 Songs Of All Time." Knowing this would be good fodder for a blog post, I took the plunge. I was right. I wish I could expense these purchases to my blog business, but I don't have one. Anyway....

First and foremost, I don't know who voted for these songs, but I can tell you one thing. There are a lot of songs out there, hundreds of thousands of songs in fact. Just step back for a second and think about all the music out there. So I'm feeling pretty confident when I tell you that Foreigner's "I Want To Know What Love Is" has NO BUSINESS being on this list. But there it is, slotted in at #476 next to Rick James' "Superfreak" and Del Shannon's "Runaway." That, my friends, is a travesty. I mean, I strongly object to Foreigner being on this list at all, but if you have to include one of their songs, it should, without question, be "Dirty White Boy."

Oh, that's not all. Weezer's "Buddy Holly," a fine song in its own right, also drops in at #497, but I believe I could think of many others that should have been there. Salt and Pepa's "Push It" is #440. I can accept that. "Bittersweet Symphony" (382) I cannot accept. Are you serious? Yes to "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" and no to Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly With His Song."

It's a sin to include Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven." A nice idea for a tribute to his fallen son, a horrific idea as one of the top 500 of all time. No way. They've got U2's "One" as the 36th best song of all time and the horrifying "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" at #93. Complete blasphemy. "Love Shack" (243) no. "Walk Away Renee" (220) definitely yes!

Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" hits at #301, but "Hot Legs" is nowhere to be found. This clearly should be reversed. Lots of people like to poke fun at Rod's post-Faces career, but everyone knows it and just won't admit it - "Hot Legs" is a great rock song. Had the Faces made "Hot Legs," it would have generated way more respect than it currently does.

It was very very nice to see "Thirteen" and "September Gurls," by Big Star, along with "Marquee Moon," by Television and Pavement's "Summer Babe" - one of my all time indie-rock faves. #1, by the way, was "Like A Rolling Stone" and it's hard to argue with that.

One more mildly amusing note: within the list, they also asked some famous artists what their ten favorite songs of all time were. The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson picked five Beach Boys songs out of the ten. Such a humble lad.

Ahhh, the last day of vacation. I'm not really sure why we were given today off as it seems most people who were off last week are back today, but I'll take it. Normally, every Sunday brings an odd combination of glory (of a day off) and gloom. However, when you've been off for almost two weeks, the day before going back is excessively gloomy. What a bummer. But I'm not bitching, because I'll be off to Kauai, Hawaii for two weeks effective January 23rd.

Anyway, I thought I'd post my top movies of 2004. My wife actually writes down all the movies we see, so if it wasn't for her, I'd never remember the list of films we saw during any given time period. So thanks to Steph, you get to find out what I liked the most. I'm sure you're thrilled.

1. Garden State
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. Dirty Pretty Things
4. Spanglish
5. Sideways

Over the holidays I did manage to see Napoleon Dynamite, which barely missed my top five, but definitely wins for funniest movie I saw in 2004 (and probably 2003, too). A year from now I may not remember many of the funny lines or the hilarious events that happened in this movie, but I won't forget the Napoleon character and the consistent dumbfounded look on this kid's face (see picture) as events unfold around him. This movie should end up being one of those classic indie films. It's priceless.

Other neat stuff: received the Deluxe version of Scrabble for Christmas. Also got one of those neat Altec Lansing portable IPod accessories, which is great!

Finally, if you can't get your arms around the power of water, I recommend you have a look at a couple of captivating amateur videos taken in Sri Lanka, Thailand and India when the tsunami hit. We're not getting these videos here in the U.S. media and that's probably ok. I didn't watch all of these, but the ones I saw were not graphic, just powerful. Much like 9/11, this is something that you just can't imagine unless you're witnessing it. A horrific, sad time right now.