Turbo Lion

Still could be one. Benjamin did well enough there to get mouthy about it in the future.

I may feel that way after more exposure. I haven't been watching Smackdown regularly. For that one match he was annoying, though. Though, I do recognize that that's probably how I'm supposed to feel about him so that's saying something.

This was the first thing we saw when we landed in Atlanta from Paris. I realized, sadly, that we must indeed be back in the States. While I'm not sure that riots were the best answer, nor am I sure that excusing them is a good idea, the training and oversight of cops in general needs to be... fuck... better. I know we're not nearly as bad as some countries, but we're getting to an unnacceptable level of incopetence here.

Sadly, we didn't get to watch it on the new TV. But we did watch it. My wife is a new fan so she still has that marky innocence. It's interesting watching it with her. Kind of makes me realize how cynical being smart can make you. -- The three HHH matches were interesting. But it didn't feel like an event, you know? The graphics made it look like it was supposed to be one, but it never FELT like one. I remember how JR sounds when he's really trying to pimp something, but none of that energy was there. I expected H to go over Big Show, no doubt out of cynicism, and so was pleasantly surprised when he didn't. -- Benjamin v. Taker - pretty solid. The ending was never in doubt, but it wasn't a squash by any means. Taker made him look decent and they both came out of it looking good. I always skip the Divas. Tag match was fun, but short. Not sure THE Kendrik and that other guy are a good... team... But the big guy was fun to watch. Kendrick just annoyed me. Please tell me this dysfunction is leading to a feud or something. If there was much else match-wise, I don't remember it. Take that as you will. The Jeff/Accident stuff was... weird. They sold it like he DIED with the somber opening and stuff. Having not read any spoilers, I at first thought it was legit, but then remembered the escalator thing or whatever and figured it was a work. Meh. Prolly Christian, of course. Which I'm completely neutral about.

Since NYS is running a little behind is hD off/pushed way back for this week as well? I assume as much but I'm flying back to the States tomorrow and if I need to get hD stuff in before jet lag hits I can work on it today.

Facebook. MySpace is creepy sometimes.

Also: We used some wedding gift money to buy a new TV today. Nothing extravagant, it was nice to find a 26" HD LCD for $300.

To balance out my post in the Anger thread: The lady at the Delta station at Madrid Bajas was wonderful. She understood what had happened and just rebooked our flights through the exact same routes for the next day and printed new vouchers for us. No charge. As frustrating as having the wrong flight information was, that balanced it out really nicely.

haha, indeed. She loves it there. Unfortunately to be eligible for jobs there we'd have to renounce our citizenship as Americans. Gotta come back to keep the job and pay the bills here. But getting up at 5 AM and running around Madrid Bajas only to miss our flight and have to get someone to come get us from Camarma was... unpleasant. If you ever find yourself in Spain, hit up Toledo and Segovia. Gorgeous lands, the ability to touch the stone of an aqueduct built by the Romans (that still works), beautiful swords and the Summer Castle in Segovia is small but wonderful.

Wife and i picked up a new TV today with some of the wedding gift money. We're breaking it in with the hD broadcast of Smackdown. I'm kind of excited.

I have not. Thank you for doing so.

My job is terrible with lunches and breaks. During the Summer, we're open until 6. Shift starts at 8:45. 30 minute lunch. 2 15 minute breaks. Maybe. If it isn't busy. They get away with it often because most of the year we're open until 5, and some shifts start ending at 3 or 4 or 4:30. So it equals out to an hour with breaks. But I believe under our state law we're supposed to get a full hour for lunch if you're working past a certain number of hours (like those 8:45-6 days). But we would never ever get that hour lunch. Not in a million years. They will even dock 30 minutes for lunch whether you take it or not. They are all about the money, at any opportunity, at every possible time. It also sucks when we have to work the Garden Side. Our Zoo is huge with the Garden Half, which is connected but more or less across town. We have to ride a tram up to it. So you either have to bring lunch, or order expensive takeout from somewhere downtown. Going to the Zoo eatery where we can eat for 3 bucks isn't an option because by the time you get down there your lunch is half over - to get back in time you have to immediately go back up. In keeping with the thread: Website booking that gives you the WRONG FLIGHT INFORMATION is aggravating. My wife and I were due to fly home today from Madrid. Out first flight is to Paris, and from Paris to Atlanta. The flight to Paris is via a partner company with Delta, Air France. But the flight number they gave us was the Delta code for it, not the Air France code. So we get to the airport at 6 AM to find Delta closed and the flight number we have nowhere to be found on the departure gate screens. Though I will say that Delta was cool about it. They rebooked us for tomorrow with the same flight plan at no charge. But I would've liked to have been home tonight.

For hD: Lunar Phoenix vs. Hule "The Name" Bartowski - loser curtain jerks for the next month.

At the Zoo where I work, people always try to abuse their memberships. No, your membership does not cover your nephews or nieces. Your membership covers you, your husband and your bad ass kids that need to stop trying to climb up the side of my ticket booth. No one else. No, your guest pass does not say it is "good for" Lights Before Christmas. It explicitly says it is "not good for special Events like Lights Before Christmas". Anything for free shit when they're already getting an amazing deal.

No worries, there are myself and other Christians my age just as wary of the Rick Warrens and the Joel Osteens and the megachurches. There are some of us able to sort out the differences between church and state, scripture and the Constitution. Christ and America. Which isn't to say we've traded the loyalty, merely that we know that you can't make someone who hasn't placed themselves under the authority of scripture follow its tenets. Legislating scripturally specific morality is not only wrong, but it shows a stunning ignorance on the overall lesson about scripture and political power - it was a contributing factor in pretty much everything Jesus stood against. I'm glad that Obama is not an unreligious man. I like him, I voted for him, I support him. But I'm not sure Warren is the face of the next generation of believers, and I'm not sure he's the guy to put up there...

Yeah. I've not kept up consistently. I assume he didn't go out in a Benoit-like meltdown since I didn't hear about it until now. What happened? That's sad... I ate behind him and Steve Richards at a Waffle House once. After a Smackdown in Columbia, SC. They were pretty nice. Crash actually had a strip of athletic tape stuck to his shirt. My friend asked him for it and he signed it and gave it to him. I also met Big Show and... Haku, I believe, that night. They were traveling together. Show was pretty classy. We talked about his weight loss. He told me to drink like a gallon of water a day. My brother and I waited in the parking lot to see if we could get a picture. When he came out he saw us and jokingly asked if we were there for a fight. My brother was like, "hell no!". Good times.

I know this well. I have irritable bowel syndrome and I'm lactose intolerant. But you know what? I eat spicy things and cheesy things anyway. I say fuck you bowels. And they say "fuck you right back, buddy". My wife read this and shook her head, but I assure you, this kind of language is accurate for the experience.

Lame lunch. PB sandwich with what seems to be an analogue for Salt and Vinegar chips here in Spain. Dinner: Nice enchiladas courtesy of my mother-in-law. I will miss some things about Spain when we fly back tomorrow. Like the juices. My god, the juices. Or, "Dios mio!" as they say here. They have no word for "berry" so its called "fruit of the woods". Great combinations here. mmmm.... juice....

Wait... when did Crash Holly die?

"BETTER THAN" SPaghetti Fry a pound of ground turkey. Season with: Chili Powder Combine meat with: A Can of Tomato Sauce (insert lament here that we can only take back three containers of Spanish tomato sauce when we fly back tomorrow) Shredded Cheese to your liking (I really cheese the hell out of it, personally) Oregano Garlic Salt Crushed Red Pepper I don't think they're available in the states, but we have a friend who has a mix of ethiopian spices. If somehow you have that, USE IT. I have no measurements because my wife and I don't use them here. We just go at it until we like it. It's a nice little easy to make spicy spaghetti. Named not because we think we're awesome but because a friend had it and said, "This is... better than spaghetti!" and I thought it was funny. Enjoy.

I went ahead and worked up my stuff. Who is handling hD this week? I can go ahead and just send it.

Fuck beets. I wish I could like them but something about them just completely turns me off. But I will vouch for them via every other person I know on earth.

Or a relevant one.

Awesome! Thanks. And as to the possible spoiler: Also awesome.

Does anyone know if there's any kind of live stream I might be able to use while I'm in Spain? I mean, it'll be like 3 AM here but I'll probably be up.