10.31.2002

Wow - incredibly sad news about Jam Master Jay, Run-DMC's turntable master. Both of the front-men must be just devastated. I've spoken more than once about my appreciation and my nostalgic waxings about Run-DMC, so it's a sad day in Robot-land. I remember just recently watching the Behind The Music episode, and both front-men were very clear that while they wrote most of the songs and sang them, it was Jam Master Jay who was the most talented and the glue that held the band together. It seems so incredibly senseless that someone would just shoot the guy in his recording studio, too - a studio that he gave use of at no charge to local musicians to try and help them break out. God damn, that DJ made my day......
posted by Jeff Copetas

10.30.2002

I don't like it when you pick something up and then for the rest of the day, your hand smells like whatever you picked up. This ever happen to you? This morning I was making lunch for myself to bring to work, and I was making a ham & turkey sandwich, right? Now I can't get the smell of friggin' ham off my hands no matter how many times I wash them. This also happens sometimes with money, especially coins. If you handle coins for an extended amount of time, I can't get that horrendous smell of metal coinage off my hands. Gasoline is another one. If you accidentally drip some gasoline on your hands at the gas station, it takes many hours before that stench is gone. But I like the smell of gasoline. Other things I like the smell of:


White-Out
Those permanent big black magic markers
Candles in the Yankee Candle Factory
Freshly laid pavement
Rubber cement/glue (used to build car models with that....)
The soy protein powder I use


Yeah, I like smelling stuff. Lots of stuff. I really like to do that. It's kind of insane, but it's true.

posted by Jeff Copetas

10.28.2002

I kid you not, there was a headline on Boston.com over the weekend: "New Moon Found On Uranus." Need I say any more than that? I'm 31 and the Uranus jokes just never, ever get old.

Well, you know you're in for a week or so of off-kilterness and mild depression when you turn the clocks back an hour. Not only will it now get dark at like 2:30 every day, but the baseball season is over, too. A double-whammy! While this World Series wasn't as dramatic as last season, this was still one of the better playoffs in recent memory because it's difficult to hate the Angels - they are a great, exciting team to watch and in a world of selfish, wildly over-affluent, spoiled pricks in the baseball world, this team really seems like a good group of guys. The way they came back late in Game 6 Saturday night was simply historic, the best game of the season and heart-stopping. I hope Mo Vaughn is feeling good about his move to the Mets now! Hah, ya jackass!

I caught Black Hawk Down during a very rainy Saturday afternoon this weekend, and wasn't even close to impressed. Essentially it was 2.5 hours of killing and war, with no real story to accompany it. If done well, a war movie can be a masterpiece, look no further than Saving Private Ryan. But this was just senseless and the acting was only marginally good. Sounded real nice on the home theatre system, though.
posted by Jeff Copetas

10.24.2002

It's a great feeling when you put your car into "park" and get out of it for the night. Another day's work is over, come home, relax, chill out, eat dinner, etc etc. It's not a great feeling when you get out of the car and you hear it hissing. Loudly. Of course, not terribly hard to figure out the issue at hand, a flat tire. My first "issue" with the new car. Minor, of course, but still an issue. Cars are funny, you know, it's really one of the only large-scale investments people make that is guaranteed to lose value right from start and never gain value going forward. Still, more and more people buy 'em.....

So check this out, last night I participated in a consumer research group in downtown Boston for the automobile industry. It ended up being a consumer opinion panel discussion about the newly redesigned Honda Accord, which I actually don't like. It was pretty interesting - I've never participated in one of those before, and they essentially pay you an amount of money - in cash - to just sit for an hour or two and answer their questions and give your opinions. They have the whole room miked, they videotape you, and the room has a two-way mirror where someone, I assume from Honda in this case, sits and observes. There were nine people in all in the group and they paid us each $75 bucks to do it. It took an hour and a half, which translates to like $50 bucks an hour. Nice!
posted by Jeff Copetas

10.23.2002

I love dogs. I never hesitate to stop and pet them while walking down the street, no matter how menacing they look or act. And while I do usually ask a dog owner if their dog is friendly or not, it usually doesn't stop me, for it doesn't matter if it's friendly or not. If it's friendly, then great! There's nothing better than a living, breathing being that goes into a state of sheer bliss just by being administered a petting. And if it's proclaimed unfriendly, well, no problem! 'Ol Jeffo is such a friendly dog person that he feels he could tame a black bear if needed. Of course this is not true.

So where does this all lead? Well, I saw this picture during my travels on the internet and I thought of that Coors Light commercial, the incredibly annoying one that I've been seeing so much lately because I've had my eyes glued to the baseball playoffs. You know, the one with the really cheesy rock riffs and the so-called "rock band" professing their love for burritos at 4am, parties that never end........and twins. And the "twins" they refer to are these two Barbie doll ladies with big boobs and their hair blowing around. It's clearly pandering to the lowest common denominator - surely no intelligent people are watching baseball, so let's hit 'em with this commericial! Anyway, I was watching the game last night and started daydreaming about being able to break into the tape machines in the TV networks offices and inserting my own images into their commercials. So when that silly Coors Light commericial got to the part about............"TWINS!" - I would insert this picture instead:


posted by Jeff Copetas

10.22.2002

This little idea could either be a brilliant stroke of marketing genius or an invitation to complete, utter bedlam for Taco Bell. Either way, I hope it happens 'cause I want a free taco. Taco Bell always reminds me of being in college and being SO dirt poor that I would be digging and digging in my change basket, hoping and praying that I could amass enough dimes and nickels to get myself a soft taco and a beef burrito and put off hunger for another 3-4 hours. All it took was 15-20 dimes, really, and you could get both. I hope I never again have to wish that hard for anything silver in a sea of copper pennies. And holy crap, if you ever were digging and you came across a quarter? Well, that was like finding eternal happiness, like discovering oil.....or passing a test.

Anyway, about three years ago I finally cashed in all that change I had amassed - from about 10th grade on I kept a relatively large change basket, and while in college it was mostly pennies, it grew ok after that. When I did cash it in, I ended up with $250 or so. Not bad!
posted by Jeff Copetas

posted by Jeff Copetas

10.21.2002

I saw Wilco on Saturday night. I used to be crazy into Wilco, but the last time I saw them was 1997. Since then, I've been underwhelmed by the records they were putting out - until their new album came out. At first I was hesitant - it took a while, but I tell you what, this new album is brilliant - and it transferred incredibly good live. I do miss Jay Bennett a little bit, but they still put on a great show - 2 hours worth. In the space of 5 years, they've completely reinvented themselves from cowboy country-rockers into knob-twiddling, experimental sparse songsmiths - a complete 360 turnaround. Did I really just type that? About Wilco? Yes, I did. And they sold out the Orpheum, a 2,800 seat theatre. I neverthought I'd ever see the day....

Surreal moment at the gym yesterday - the fire alarm went off. So they herded us all outside - hellooooooo COLD! - and we stood there for a half-hour as our muscles all contracted to the size of a raisin. Got back in there and it took me fifteen minutes just to feel normal again. It was some restaurant cooking breakfast or whatever. Fuckers.

Sometimes I get into these obsessive moments where if I need to do something, I feel like I need to get it done NOW NOW NOW so I can slack later. It's a little thing that happens to me now and then. So I try and cram as much errands and chores into as little time as possible, in some cases doing things simultaneously in order to maximize my relaxing. Yesterday I found myself doing three things at once - brushing my teeth, making a smoothie and getting dressed all the same time, so I could hurry up and do nothing (in this case, it was watching game 1 of the World Series, which I taped on Saturday because I went to see Wilco.

And that's another thing - I was OBSESSED about not seeing the score of the game or hearing anyone talk about it, because I taped it. I was so afraid some dude in the locker room or on the street was going to say something about the outcome of the game and ruin it for me. The gym would have been the prime suspect for such an event, since it's filled with jocks who talk about sports all the time. So while on the treadmill, with the TV's directly in front of me showing sports highlights, I had to look down the whole time, with my Discman cranked so I wouldn't hear or see any of it. It worked. And I acknowledge I have lost my mind.

And how 'bout that World Series!!!!!???? God damn these first two games have been just splendid! I watched Game One yesterday afternoon on tape (awesome to fast forward through commercials!) and the pitching and defense were tremendous. Then about three hours later Game Two started (live) and that was completely opposite - and one of the best games I have ever seen. That Barry Bonds' home run in the 9th last night was an epic blast, but not enough to win it. The World Series is the greatest sports event in the world. Someone dispute that!
posted by Jeff Copetas

10.18.2002

When you're not feeling especially creative or humorous, one can always take solace in the fact that the gym is a never-ending source for decent-to-amazing comedy. Two observations I made this morning while I was entangled in the eliptical machine:

Exhibit A: why do some people carry around notebooks when they work out? After every little thing they do, they have to write it in a notebook? Seriously? It makes me laugh. If you've been working out for, say, ten years, does the person have a gigantic stack of notebooks? Do they need to go back and refer to what they did on July 23, 1992? I don't understand it. Or maybe they're just writing down thier thoughts. "Whew - that was heavy." Or "left lower deltoid a little sore." I don't know.

Exhibit B: props for creativity to the woman on the eliptical machine who shoves the walkman she listens to down her cleavage. Of course, there's ample space on the machine itself, but nah. She wears a super-tight sports bra and no other top, and sticks the thing right down there. The best part is watching other people look at her - that interests me more than actually looking at the woman. Sociology - I just love it. I was going to major in it until I realized there weren't many lucrative jobs out there as a sociologist. Heh. So I minored in it.....
posted by Jeff Copetas

10.16.2002

Ryan Adams is such a little bitch. Apparantly last night during his show at The Ryman in Nashville, TN, a concertgoer yelled out "Summer of '69!" and he apparantly flipped his little lid, the punk. As you know, "Summer of '69" is a Bryan Adams song, not Ryan Adams, but supposedly he gets all pissy when people yell out Bryan Adams songs. I think it's pretty hilarious and I've even toyed with the idea of doing it myself. Sophomoric? Yeah, it is. I admit it, but it's funny as hell. So anyway, Adams stopped the show, pulled $30 out of his pocket and had other people in the audience point out the person who yelled it. Then he gave that person the $30 and told him to leave and refused to play another song until the fan left. Ryman Auditorium employees had to settle the situation and the fan stayed, albeit in a worse seat.

My advice to Ryan Adams - grow up, punk. People yell crap at shows all the time, most often worse than a title to a Bryan Adams song, and people will always yell crap. You're not even close to having the kind of clout to do what you're doing, and people who DO have that kind of clout are classy enough to ignore idiots in the crowd. You see, if you ignore it, then it won't be a story. Suck it up, dude. If you keep on throwing stupid little pissy-faced tantrums, then people will do it even more so they can tell the story. See? I'm doing it now. Punk. Why am I devoting so much blogspace to someone whose last two albums were insulting?

Now, onto other things that make me laugh - 100% of the vote! You know what else is funny is how stupid our president thinks we all are. I hope nobody really believes that Iraq is a terribly serious military threat to the United States, directly or indirectly. I mean, really. This thing is all about revenge, oil and most importantly - the struggling U.S. economy. It doesn't seem to have much to do with weapons of mass destruction, if anything. Bush is throwing toilet paper on the ceiling to see what sticks to try and get our economy going again so he can win another election. No matter what Iraq agrees to do regarding inspections, Bush will find a way around it. We could fax Saddam a list of demands and he could respond within ten minutes and agree to it, and as soon as he does Bush, Inc will find a way to get around it. Maybe the blog IS better with just baseball screenshots, ay?
posted by Jeff Copetas

10.15.2002

Okay, this is the last High Heat screenshot I'll post, but it's a good one. Rick Reed of the Twins throws the last pitch, a fly-out to centerfield, in a 5-0 victory for the Twins over the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. I love this game. My record is 57-53 and I am 3.5 games ahead of Cleveland in first place in the A.L. Central. I am also a big-ass nerd. Click here for a bigger, way cooler version of the picture.


posted by Jeff Copetas

10.14.2002

There is a town in Massachusetts called Leominster. It's pronounced "Lemon-ster" and it's located right next to the town I grew up in, called Lancaster. The two towns couldn't be any more different - Lancaster is filled with farm-land and quiet backstreets, while Leominster has malls, movie theatres, restaurants and a bustling downtown. It's kind of a dump, but it's starting to come around because everyone is being priced out of Boston and Leominster is one of the last bastions for fair house pricing. Leominster is also where I played all of my youth hockey.

Anyway, one of my old roommates from Somerville a few years back moved out to Leominster with his wife and they bought a house. Ever since then, he's been clamoring for me to come visit him and see the house, but I never go out there so I haven't been able to see it yet. Well, this past weekend I knew I was going out that way for dinner on Saturday with my girlfriend's parents, so hurrah! A trrip to Leominster! And just as I have it in my mind to write my friend, I get an email from him telling me he's going to be in Boston on Saturday. Weird huh? Dumb story, but whatever. When I got back from Leominster, I caught up with him at Tir Na Nog, a great little Irish bar in Somerville.

The Anaheim Angels continue to impress me - I was rooting for the Twins, hoping with all my hope that Bud Selig would have to give the World Series trophy to the team he tried to eliminate last season, but alas, it won't happen. I'm hoping for a Cardinals/Angles World Series, but it doesn't look like that will happen. Benito Santiago's home run last night was a great NLCS moment.....
posted by Jeff Copetas

10.11.2002

This is quite hysterical.

Apparantly, in a twist of almost unbelieveable proportions, Pat Boone lived next door to The Osbornes (Sharon and Ozzy) for a period of three years. Here's a clip from an AP story I pulled in which Boone commented on his time in proximity to America's most beloved family:

"In recalling his three years as their neighbor, Boone said "his fondest memory ... was riding bikes with Sharon through Beverly Hills on the sidewalks, and she's towing Ozzy behind her in a wagon because (of his) balance problem."

I would seriously give a lot of money to see Pat Boone and Sharon Osborne riding bikes together with Ozzy in tow. Just step back and picture that in your mind for a second.....
posted by Jeff Copetas

10.10.2002

I'm pretty excited to report that I'll be attending author David Sedaris's talk at Symphony Hall (Boston) tomorrow night. The thing is, when an author appears live, is it a "concert," a "talk" or a "lecture?" What is it? Concert seems like it would involve music. Whatever. Anyway, Sedaris is one of the most entertaining authors around, and his book "Me Talk Pretty One Day" still stands as one of my most memorable moments on an airplane, because it was early on a Sunday morning last year sometime and I was flying from San Francisco to Boston, coming home from a work trip - and I was just laughing for like an hour straight. And I was quite loud and people were looking at me - I couldn't help it, the book is that funny.

I've really, really been digging an album by a band called Sunday's Best. It's called The Californian and if you like great pop/rock songs, than this is for you - it's a lot like a very polished Built To Spill if they played 3 minute songs instead of 6. Highly recommended and a great singer.

High Heat, baby. Luis Rivas of the Twins goes airborne while turning the double play against the White Sox.



posted by Jeff Copetas

10.8.2002

Nom-ah turns the double play on a cloudy day at Fenway......yee haw.


posted by Jeff Copetas

10.7.2002

Some kids are just brats. Once a month on the weekends, I volunteer at a local school, where myself and several others spend a few hours tutoring some learning-challenged kids who are behind in school. Admittedly, our teaching methods are a little different - we actually spend an entire 45 minute period of time doing nothing but screaming at them, right in their faces. It's a form of "teaching by utter humiliation and intimidation." Don't curse me - it really works! Usually they get the message and do their work, or cry or whatever, but the end result is a better kid. Some kids, however, just don't get it, like this little evil being below. I hate it when they just laugh in your face like that. Here, you see my co-volunteer William Driskill, attempting to help a developmentally challenged kid, but all she does is laugh, the little witch. Some kids just don't appreciate what we do.



Okay, I made the whole thing up. So what? Did you know what happens to meat if it hasn't been sold by the "sell by" date in supermarkets? Well, besides the supermarket re-labeling it, it's actually used for a couple of purposes, one of them is that it's rendered into animal foods. But here's the interesting part: it's also used as a base product for automobile tires, cosmetics, soaps, candles, detergents and plastic. Almost everything we use daily has meat as a base. Yuck!
posted by Jeff Copetas

10.5.2002

I may eventually post a whole page of screenshots from High Heat Baseball 2003, but here's a nice little shot (from Cleveland's Jacobs Field) of me whiffing Einar Diaz to close out the Indians during one of my recent games.



Pretty cool, ay? Speaking of baseball, another barn-burner in that Anaheim-New York series last night. Jesus, I was sitting on the edge of the couch all night, a riveting comeback by the Angels - now the Yankees are on the ropes!
posted by Jeff Copetas

10.4.2002

You've gotta try this. Made me laugh pretty good.

My appreciation for gum drops (some people call them spice drops) dates all the way back to the 1970s, when we used to go to my grandmother's house every Sunday for dinner. That, and my dad usually having some at the house I grew up in. He used to have the big green ones, and my grandmother had the multi-colored/flavored smaller ones. Great snacking. Every week after Sunday dinner at my grandparents, it was a comfort to know that gum drops would always be there - second drawer down, left-hand side of the cabinet. I think it was actually a dresser, converted to a cabinet, that was used to store food. I mention this because - lo and behold - someone decided to put Chuckles candy in the vending machine downstairs here at work. Bless their soul. Now, Chuckles aren't exactly spice drops, but they're suitable enough a replacement and easy to access. Damn, I do love me the spice drops. Fun jelly candy, and usually fat free, so they're good for me. Right? Right?



Scrubs is starting to take over Ed as my favorite show on television. Excellent writing, insanely funny characters and great backing music. They even had Built To Spill one night. How about that? Last night's episode had me rolling, especially the four doctors who were an a capella group that only sang TV Theme Songs. They sang "Charles In Charge" - twice. That show is genius.
posted by Jeff Copetas

10.3.2002

Down there on the bottom right hand of my site is a list of blogs that I like to read. Normally, I just let those links sit there, but I have to give serious props to Rebecca St. Amand, who writes some of the funniest, honest and sometimes brutal stuff I've seen on the web - or anywhere for that matter. I highly encourage you take a look. I suspect you'll bookmark it and check it daily like I do.

So far I've spent approximately $40 of the $50 bucks I found. How, you ask? Well, I'm happy to tell you! I spent about $6.50 of it yesterday at Au Bon Pan picking up a salad and fruit cup. Then last night I saw The Strokes and Sloan, and spent $2 on subway tokens, $6 on a cab and about $15 on dinner. I also picked up a gift for someone for $6.99. So there you go.

I know I always wax poetic about the sport of baseball, and the last two nights of playoff-ball at Yankee Stadium just confirm my opinion that baseball is the most exciting, throught provoking, graceful and comforting sport one could ever watch. Both of these games have been just packed with intrigue, great plays, clutch home runs, questionable moves and genuine edge-of-your-seat games. One of the reasons why October is my favorite month of the year. The baseball playoffs never fail to disappoint.
posted by Jeff Copetas

10.1.2002

Three things today:


1. I found $50 cash on the street this morning when I went out to my car. Score!

2. Start off your morning with a light meal.

3. I've been on a CD buying spree lately:

Doug Martsch - Now You Know - lead singer for Built to Spill puts out a solo album, and it's really just great. That same voice, and in some cases, the same great sound. In other cases, his songs sound like tributes to the old country and blues greats. Well worth having.

The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots - still digesting this one, but it's much of the same thing they've been up to on their last couple of albums, although this one does have guitars. A solid mix of experimental/synth rock and catchy rock guitar songs.

Ryan Adams - Demolition - yawn. I've almost given up on Adams. Two straight albums that put me to sleep. It'll take a miracle to get me to buy another one. I miss Whiskeytown.

Sunday's Best - The Californian - a mix between Built to Spill and Sloan, and that's saying a lot. One of those deals when you know all the songs by heart after like 3 listens. I hope they stick around, because this album is a great listen and is highly recommended.

Bruce Springsteen - The Rising what a great surprise! This album (I've listened to the first 10 tracks so far) is really, really strong. The E-Street Band sounds like they always do - tight, perfect and....large.

Spoon - KIll The Moonlight this is a young Austin, TX band and I don't have the foggiest idea how to describe them. A cross between Guided By Voices and British pop-rock? Maybe. Either way, their songs have a way of sticking in your brain randomly - like five hours after you listened you're sitting on the train, and suddenly you've got that Spoon song in your head. Whatever.
posted by Jeff Copetas

posted by Jeff Copetas