Utterly fucking ridiculous...

Link: WWF | Newsroom.

Chiang Khong, Thailand - Fishermen in northern Thailand have netted a fish as big as a grizzly bear, a 646-pound Mekong giant catfish

I went to go see Batman Begins last night and I absolutely loved it.  I had high expectations going in, because I love the Batman character--he's my favorite superhero by far.  I think its mostly because he has no special powers.  It kind of gives me hope for my own future superhero potential.  I don't need to concern myself with getting dropped in a vat of toxic waste or something to become a superhero.  All I need is about $5 billion dollars.  Perhaps I should leave a podcast pitch for Fred, although I think our fund is too small to make me Batman. 

Well, the movie by far surpassed my expectations.

Batman Begins really rescues the franchise from the awful campiness that George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, and the worst villians ever--the sexy but ridiculous Uma Thurman and played out Ahh-nold, left us off with.  Liam Neeson, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Katie Holmes all represent serious upgrades over previous supporting casts, with the exception being Jack Nicolson's portrayal of the Joker.  I loved the original Batman--the lone, mysterious Dark Knight.  Michael Keaton was by far the best one and Tim Burton's original really captured the mood perfectly.  The whole idea of Robin is just annoying and I never figured out why the story needed him, but whatever. 

This movie is way different.  Its not a "superhero" movie.  Its an actual movie that explores real charactors.  We don't even see Batman until the second half of the movie.  The story has a lot of depth to it, and halfway through it, I thought to myself, "Wow, there really covering a lot of bases here, but it doesn't seem like its overly long or complicated."  Chris Nolan has done this twice before--telling a complicated story where you sort of know where its going, while maintaining great pace and viewer interest--in Momento and Insomnia.  To have these three movies under his belt at 35 its really impressive.

Definate candidate for my top 50 list...  we'll see when we get closer to the end.  I might have even liked it better than the original. 

Link: CNN.com - Actress Anne Bancroft dies - Jun 8, 2005.

This makes me sad, because The Graduate is one of my favorite movies, and on top of that, Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks just seem like such a great couple...  call me a hopeless romantic.

Whenever an older celebrity dies, it makes me wonder what its going to be like when the celebrities of our generation die.  One day, we'll see the headlines:

Material Girl Madonna dies at 81.
Former Pop Idol Britney Spears dies at 72.

And, just because I know he'll stick around as long as irratatingly possible...

Pauly Shore dies at 98.

So the young man formally known as Jeff the Intern turned Jeff the Analyst turned Jeff the about to be Grad Student has started a little web business.  Its called Peculiar Poker.  He's been bugging me to send some traffic his way.  Frankly, I told him that he should start a poker blog to generate a buzz around his t-shirts, but, he'd rather mooch of my audience first.  So, if you like poker and your friends won't allow your fuzzy self to play barechested, maybe you should buy one of his t-shirts.

Link: 7Online.com: Big Collapse Sends Rubble Tumbling onto Henry Hudson Parkway.

So I'm applying for my mortgage and I need my last three months of bank statements.  Now, I keep everything online and shred all of my paper records.  I figure, if I really need any information, I can logon to get it or request it over the phone.  So, I call up TD Waterhouse, where I have a checking account, and ask for copies of my last three bank statements.  No problem, except for the fact that they were going to charge me $10 a statement!   What a ripoff!!

Well, goes to show them...  I'm emptying that account when I put down my down payment.  Haven't they noticed they haven't been getting my direct deposit anymore?  Did they think I lost my job?  Sorry TD Waterhouse, I'm blowing this popsicle stand.

I just saw VH1's "I Love the 90's - 1997".  Michael Ian Black had the best comment on American interest in soccer:

"If it wasn't for the Spice Girls, we might never have known who David Beckham was."

Pure brilliance.

So I got the letter below attached to a LinkedIn invite.  This is the kind of thing that gives LinkedIn a bad name. 

1)  I have no idea who this person is.  They identified themselves as having worked for General Motors before and invited me as "a former colleague."

2)  I don't even know what a Names Sourcer is.  I have a name.  I certainly don't need another one, although Pastore and I have briefly considered switching last names, because he looks more Irish than I do and I look Italian.

3) You don't need to be on LinkedIn to do business with me.  If you know my e-mail address, then send me what you're offering and I'll look at it.  I certainly don't need/want to be connected to you forever.

So, here's the letter.   As Steve Rubel says, never e-mail a blogger unless you'd like that e-mail stamped on your forehead for the rest of your life.

"Hi. My name is Maureen Sharib and I’m a Names Sourcer for TechTrak.com. I'd like to link with you on this wonderful networking system of LinkedIn and maybe do some business with you sometime in the future! I source passive candidates holding specific titles in specific companies. Our goal is to save you time (and money!) and help you succeed.

Maureen Sharib
Names Sourcer
www.techtrak.com
Our fee structure can save your project an average of 85% to 95% in hiring fees.
513 899 9628
Maureen@techtrak.com
Invite me to your LinkedIn and ERE networks!"

Check out the link below.  They've divided all their reviews into places that you want to 1) cheat on someone, 2) dump someone, 3) take someone that you want to f*ck, or 4) make a scene.

Now, I wouldn't advocate any of this and believe people should have the purest of intentions when choosing a venue.  HOWEVER, if you do find yourself being asked to one of these places, now you know why.  If I were you, I'd certainly keep the dump list handy.

"Wait a second...  oh no... we're going to Caffe Taci?  But I thought things were going so well!"

Link: Bar & Restaurant Reviews.

Finally — useful bar and restaurant reviews, divided into four convenient categories that address the common situations that confront us every day.

Today was Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's.  Kerri and I hit up the location on 23rd Street between 7th and 8th.  You still have time, but as you can see from our pictures, the lines are long.  They're also giving out coupons for a free extra scoop on your next purchase (while supplies last).  The offer ends at 8PM tonight, so go out and get what's coming to you.   Feel free to post your own Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day pics using the "freeconeday" tag, like I did.  (PS...  Flickr really needs a better way to post multiple photos at a time to my post.   I already have today's pictures on Flickr, but now I'm reuploading them to Typepad.  That's a real pain in the ass.  Otherwise, I love the service.)

Link: FreeNYC: We All Scream For Ice Cream.

April 19th...  Free Cone Day from 12PM - 8PM at Ben & Jerry's.  I will be waiting outside the one on 23rd between 7th and 8th at least 15 min ahead of time at 11:45 AM.  Cherry Garcia is my poison.  Who's with me??  What's your flavor?

Link: OnlyOnce: Go Ahead...Make My Day.

After his fascination with the word "sketchball", Fred and I talked once about evaluating character based on some kind of a "sketchball scale".  I can't tell you who we'd put on the bad end of that scale, but Fred suggested that, at the very tip of the other end, on the good side, we'd put Matt Blumberg, CEO of Return Path.  I met him at the Union Square Ventures Christmas party and I'd have to say I'd agree.

So, it was very fitting when I read Matt's post from today about his attempt to be nicer to fellow joggers in Hudson River Park by waving at them.  Only 2 of the 30 even acknowledged him, but, undaunted, he still suggests, "go ahead -- be 10% more friendly or smiley today.  See what effect it has on people around you.  Make someone's day!"

Please wave to Matt if you see him tomorrow morning.  Fred and I will vouch for the fact that he's not nuts.  He's just a really nice guy.

I just got off the phone with the GM Benefits center regarding my retirement and savings plans.  I had called them with an issue when I left and hadn't received the form they said there were going to send me.  So, I called their hotline and got Ray Beck.  Ray was, by far, the most helpful customer service person I've ever dealt with... and he couldn't even solve my problem directly, but he said exactly the kind of things he needed to say to make me feel like someone was on it.  I hate when I call customer service people and I feel like they have no interest in helping me outside of their scripted little workflow process. 

Ray asked me to hold on while checked on my issue and then came back and said that they had my request and that there was a backlog.  He told me he'd put a memo on my request that helps it get to the top of the pile.  Now, maybe that's a BS line, but then he took my number and said he'd look into the matter in a couple of days to see if there was any progress, and then he'd call me with a status update.  He was incredibly polite and he told me he'd keep an eye on it to make sure it went through.  He then told me to write down his name so that he knew who was working on it and who to reference if I called back.  So now, I know that Ray Beck's going to "keep an eye" on my request and let me know how its going.  That makes me feel better.  Ray made me believe.  Ray's going to call up the people that the request goes to and say, "Hey.. what's going on with Charlie's request... he's waiting for it."   He's lookin' out for me.  He's got my back.   Ray Beck...  my man in Detroit... takin' care of business.

Link: Muppet Central News - Fact or Fiction: The Muppet Show DVD season sets.

This is the most fantastic news I've heard all day...    Stadler and Waldorf are my favorite Muppets.  Least favorite Muppet?   Pauly Shore.

For the most part, I eat pretty healthy...   lots of chicken, fish, candy.  Ice cream/desert only once in a while.  However, when I do get something I probably shouldn't be eating a lot of, like pizza, I'll try and make it as healthy as possible.  Right now, I'm eating a stuffed veggie slice.  I figure, if I'm going to be eating all this dough, oil, and riccota cheese, I might as well get what broccoli and spinach have to offer as well.

Maybe they'll cancel each other out.

Who am I kidding?

This morning, I overslept, so I took a cab in.  I think without question, cab drivers are the most appreciative of tips.   No one must be tipping these guys more than just rounding up to the next dollar.  They're driving around for hours and hours all day, and I'm sure cabdriver economics aren't too good...   so I like tipping them.  You know who doesn't really appreciate tips and it drives me nuts?  Coat check people.  I hate coat check.  I hate checking anything.  If I wanna lug around all my crap, that's my business.  Blocks the aisles?  I'm notoriously underdressed for winter and I'm sure I usually have the thinnest coat in the room... not to worry there.  Valet is ridiculous, too.  With both the coat check and the valet, if my item is in plain sight, you're not providing a service.  So many times I'm in coat check and I can just reach over and take my coat b/c the booth is so small, but still, they have to hand it to me and its going to cost me a buck or two.  Coat tax.  That's what it is.  I'm being charged for dressing appropriately for the weather, which I barely accomplish anyway.  And coat check people for the most part treat it like its normal.  Its not even a tip anymore.  Its a charge. 
Tipping in restaurants is a broken system, too.  I will definately tip well for great service...  20-25%... but I'll be the first one to admit that it really doesn't have the desired effect unless you're a repeat customer.  It works in Gino's, because we're there all the time, but if you're a one shot deal, that's never going to do anything but show appreciation, and I sort of think there should be some kind of feedback loop there that improves my service.  Maybe we can do some kind of loyalty card service for all restaurants where, when I check in, the waiter or waitress gets my average tip and the variance in it.  He or she would see that my average is solid, but my variability is above normal--meaning that if you take care of me, I'll take care of you, but if you're rude to me, its going to cost you.  Otherwise, most times the server doesn't even see what you gave them while you're still there anyway, so it doesn't really have the desired effect. 
What really has to stop are the bathroom attendents.  I haven't seen to many, but if I do, I turn right around and decide I don't really need to go that badly.  I refuse to legitimize that scam.  I've been using the bathroom by myself my whole life... I don't need any help now.  I'm a New Yorker.  Just leave me alone and let me do my thing.  Don't help me unless I ask and don't hold my coat for $2 ransom. 

Ok, so this one is doctored, but its getting really hard to keep the letters small in the snow, so I'm kind of limited as to how much I can write.  Anyway...  I also took some normal pictures as well.   Last night's snowfall was a very photogenic snow.  It was wet enough to stick everywhere, but fluffy enough to build up to some size.  However, it wasn't too much that it just covers everything, and there wasn't so much wind that it knocked the snow off the trees. 

Well, this is just getting out of hand now...    Weatherbug is reporting a tie-die blob headed straight for the city. 

We could have 6-10 inches of love-ins, Country Joe and the Fish, and pot starting as early as this afternoon.   And you thought snow was going to be an inconvenience...

Link: The Door Gates.

I haven't posted about The Gates yet, but this link is inspiring.   

In all honesty, I suppose The Gates because it is bringing in lots of revenue to the city.  I know someone in the hotel business and she told me that her hotel was packed on what would otherwise be a slow week when this thing opened.  So, since it didn't cost the city anything, and it brings in tourists, I'm a fan, even if I don't really see its artistic value.  To me, it just kind of looks like an orange obstacle course for oversized dogs at Westminster.

When I woke up this morning, the snow was pretty deep, and too wet to get much writing done in it...

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