Images needed

Does anyone have images from Senorita Kelli's 30 B-day party? I would love to see my lovely crown in all it's glory!

Thanks again for coming. You guys are great freinds and I had a really great time. I hope everyone enjoyed their heart to hearts as much as I did!

kelli

Thanks for Friday...sorry for Saturday

Thanks for the awesome party on Friday. It was perfect. Perfect I say. Thanks for being such good, good time pals.


Sorry I couldn't make it on Saturday.

29 and 32 aren't really a big deal...

...but thank you all for coming out last night and making it a big deal. We hope you all had as great a time as we did. i think the final tally was 28 guests entertained, 23 1/4 bottles of wine imbibed, 3 bottles remaining for future enjoyment, pounds and pounds of cheese consumed, 80 squares of chocolate indulged, 3 apples and 2 pears cored, sliced and eaten and 2 hosts extremely grateful for friends the likes of you. let's do it again next year!

Raising the bar

Check out one of favorite places on the West Side is "raising the bar"

http://cinweekly.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/ENT0109/711140339/1047/ENT0104

kl

confirmed

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jYtawjcu7PDu4DWIIQEfYQ7tBBYgD8SS5IH80

URSOVAIN: Va. Tops Nation in Vanity Tags

By DENA POTTER – 1 day ago

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A state-by-state survey of the popularity of vanity license plates has found that car and truck owners in Virginia are the vainest of them all.

Not far behind are New Hampshire, Illinois, Nevada and Montana.

Out of the 9.3 million personalized plates on the roads of America, about one in 10 are in Virginia, according to rankings provided to The Associated Press by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

That's 16 percent of the plates issued by Virginia. New Hampshire came in second with nearly 14 percent. Illinois had about 13.4 percent, but that amounted to nearly 1.3 million plates, the most of any state.

"If you've got 9.3 million people across the U.S. sporting vanity plates, you've got a cultural phenomenon," AAMVA spokesman Jason King said.

Texas had the fewest, with only about a half percent of drivers personalizing their plates.

Kathy Carmichael drives around with the plate COFENUT, although she is down from eight to 10 cups of java a day to just three.

"It's a personality thing," said Carmichael, 58, a real state agent in Mechanicsville. "You get to know something about the person in front of you or who passes you."

Stefan Lonce calls it "minimalist poetry in motion" — telling a story in eight or fewer characters.

Lonce — author of the upcoming book "LCNS2ROM-License to Roam: Vanity Plates and the Stories they Tell" — worked with AAMVA to survey vehicle licensing agencies in each state.

"I think a lot of people have stories to tell and they really want pieces of those stories out there," said Lonce, who admits he initially thought it was silly for people to spend extra money to personalize their license plates.

Ion Bogdan Vasi, an assistant sociology professor at Columbia University, calls people who personalize their plates "the narcissistic-materialist poets of the iGeneration."

"Most people buy personalized plates simply because they want to tell the world they are special," Vasi said in an e-mail. "They wrote an ode to themselves and they want to share it with everybody on the highway."

Some plates are cryptic, like Brittany Diaz' EN PWANT. It's a reminder of the summer when she studied ballet in New York and her French teacher pronounced the "en pointe" style of dance as "en pwant."

"Most ballerinas get it, and those who don't dance I figured would be entertained because pwant is just a funny thing to say," said Diaz, 17, of Midlothian.

Others are personal, like those of Ally and Rudy Masry of Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. She donated a kidney to her husband in 2003, so her car has the tag DONOR and his reads DONEE.

Some offer quirky takes on professions, like EYEMAN and 2THDR. BYTE1 reflects the computer science degree held by Vonn Campbell of Greenville, S.C., but he also chose it "to provide a somewhat abrasive message to those individuals who follow too closely."

But why does Virginia have so many personalized plates?

"It's only $10. You can do it online with little effort. You can get a new one every month if you wanted to," said Benjamin Mace, a Virginia Beach Web designer who started CoolPl8z.com, where people post pictures of their vanity plates.

However, some other states are just as cheap. And Illinois has the largest total even though it charges $78 per year.

Had to share...

Thanks to all the GTP who made it to 1921 Bigelow for the UFC PPV on Saturday. I found this little tidbit in the enquirer this morning...

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071021/SPT/710210485/1062/SPT02

"The Enquirer reported that Saturday night's Ultimate Fighting Championship event at U.S. Bank Arena sold out more than a week in advance. Those blood-thirsty fans unable to get a ticket but still interested in seeing shirtless white guys pummel one another were believed to be organizing a Cheviot pub crawl."

Oh man...no love for the Westside. BS stereotyping. I spent Friday night at a lovely birthday party for our guy Doug and not a punch was thrown...the paunch on that dancer however was a TKO!!!

REVISED GTP Dinners

I tried. I give up. There are too many Oct-Dec conflicts, so here is a proposed GENERAL GTP calendar for the end of the year. We will get back on a schedule in January, and we will realign on what works then. Below is hopefully planned so people can make their own dinners.

• TUESDAY, October 30th for Doug's Birthday (10/23)
• WEDNESDAY, November 14 for AG's (11/14) and Ralph's (11/15) birthdays - if they aren't busy that night
• TUESDAY, November 20 for Amy and Doc's birthdays (11/21) - if they aren't busy that night
• MONDAY, DEC 3rd for Elizabeth's (12/2) and Kelli's (12/3) birthdays - if they aren't busy that night
• SUNDAY, December 16th, Proposed date for the Secret Santa Gift Exchange???
• WEDNESDAY, December 19 for Cathleen's Birthday (12/19) - if she isn't busy that night
• MONDAY, December 31 for Fancy Eve 2008

PLEASE let me know if these dates work, especially if it is a celebration for you! :) I hope this works. Sorry it is so confusing.

MONDAY NIGHT DINNERS

Are back on schedule - THAT IS, if Mondays still work for everyone. Please reply to this blog to let me know if it works for everyone - and if you will make it on Monday.

The First and Third Mondays @ 6p.m. Locations to change each time, as usual.

Remaining '07 dinners (assuming 1st and 3rd Mondays) will be:

October 15 - (next Monday. I suggest Dewey's - either Newport or Oakley - because it's been a while.)
November 5
November 19
December 3 (Kelli's Birthday...)
December 17 (Potentially Sunday gift swap instead?)

Thanks Everyone!

SURPRISE! SURPRISE! SURPRISE!

Hey Gang!

Here's a link to the pictures from the party Friday night. Feel free to pass this along to friends and family...especially those who were unable to be there.

old man river

Ireland this winter anyone?

http://www.aerlingusvacationstore.com/vacations/luxury-castle-package

Holy Cheap! $499 per person includes air and 6 nights in a sweet CASTLE and breakfast. (with 4 person booking)

Oh and by the way, I was reading a blog yesterday and heard that Matthew knocked up his bosses 15 yr old daughter and is moving into her hippie commune... is that true?

little brother

hello gtp,

if you have any interest in following Travis and Kristen's exciting west coast adventure, you can do so here.

http://lifeontheleftcoast.wordpress.com/

my hope is that he will keep it as updated as possible (fingers crossed) but the more people that check it out might encourage him to post more often...so help me out, ok? :-)

i hope you are all well!

What happened to you people?

Is nothing new happening? Do u all want to hide stuff from me???

It's so quiet in here...

Thanks yo!

THANK YOU ALL for coming out to hang out with me. I had a great time, and hope you did too! WOOHOO. :) Sorry I missed some of you...

See you at the 9/10 tailgate???

~Tina

HABITS, 8/6, 7:30

YEA! One week away, and I get to come home and see everyone. I feel like it has been like 14 years. UGH! I hope everyone can make it. 7:30 ish on 8/6.

Life here is good, I guess. Just kinda boring. My classmates would love Fiona, but I am sooo not staying out until 3 on a Friday night when we have class all weekend at 9 or 10. Call me old... but it's not my style. Speaking of old... there's a good story about that on my blog. If you are interested. Anywho.

Love ya'll. And catch you next week! :)

Tina

HP fans unite!

Show times are not currently posted for this weekend, but they should be up by tomorrow. (Thursdays were typically the day we changed movies at the Esquire, so I'm assuming the same is true for the big movie houses.)

Anyway, Demko and I were thinking about trying to get an early morning Sat. show for the cheap ticket rate. Any takers? Would Sunday morning be better?

Opa!

It's time for one of our favorite GTP standards. Greek wine! Baklava! Gyros! Greek dancing! Opa!!!

Who's in? And when? Looking at the forecast for the weekend, the weather doesn't look good. There is slightly less chance for thunderstorms on Friday than on Saturday. (I also have a bridal shower in Columbus that I won't get back from until probably 8-9:00ish.) For these reasons I propose Friday night.

The weather does look real good for Sunday, if we want to consider that as an option. But, I don't know how that would go over on a school night.

Well, what does everyone think? Who's interested?

The Newest Aunt

She's here - Molly Alma Cecelia Dotson.

She is 7lbs and 20" long. Born at 12:57pm - less than 12 hours in labor! I am sure that it was soothing words of encouragement from me that really helped everything along.

We are drinking to celebrate tonight!

Oceans 13 anyone?

Anyone interested in catching Oceans 13 on Monday or Tuesday night? We could grab dinner at Dewey's at 5:45ish and then hit the 7:45 show... Who is in? Which day?

Thanks yo.

Thanks for a nice trip guys. I am so glad we are all "okay."

Ralph, sorry about the car.
Matthew, thanks for handling the logistics, hospital and my mom.
Everyone, THANKS for everything and I am sorry I was such a bummer all week.

I love my tan though - and you guys. GTP, as always, ARE the greatest.


This is the best of my "which camera are we looking at" group pics (sans Fi and Tex and those who couldn't make the trip.)

I figured some of you may want to share the car pics with people - and you may not want to give access to our GTP site - because we are so "dirty." A few of mine can be found at: http://picsbytina.blogspot.com/ Feel free to share this site with whoever.

Happy Trails!

Demo and I just wanted to wish the group safe and happy travels! Hope nobody needs to pee on anyone else's leg.

Also, don't forget: beach sand always makes a great gift.
;)

See you in June!
xo

Amy and Doc

Directions

Can someone hook me up with the address so I can get some directions?
That would be awesome and stuff.

Leave it to Tina...

to just NOW realize we all basically have not only our own beds, but our own bathrooms - - - which means AG and his IBS get one bathroom allllll to himself.

WOOHOO.

Ya know, it's the little things. ;)

5 days ya'll. can't wait.

Getting There

So to figure out the driving. Fiona and Tex are going to be going down to DC on the Fri before vacation and AG is heading down on Mon. The rest of us are leaving Sat morning, I am proposing that we pack up the cars the Fri night before vacation (at FRCH?) so we can leave bright and early the next morning (at 5am?). I was wondering if anyone would be interested in trying to fit into 2 cars? As we pack the night before we can see if we fit - if we don't, then we take 3 cars. We can send some of our bigger items (like liquor, sand chairs, pool rafts, games, etc.) down with Fi, we just need to get them to her earlier in the week. The benefits that I see in taking the 2 cars is it will be more fun having more people in the car plus then someone can sleep while the other(s) keep the driver entertained/awake. AG will be coming home with us so we can spread out a little more then. Oh and less gas money and saving the environment!

Short recap:
- pack Fri night at FRCH at 7pm?
- possibly try 2 cars?
- Erin's car: Josh, Erin and Kelli
- Ralph's car; Ralph, Matthew, Tina and A
- leave Sat morning at 5am?

11 days... WOOHOO.

I am bringing:

• Clothes, towels, etc.
• Pool floats (3-4 of the flippy ones like last time)
• Books (like 5)
• A Thermos/water bottle thingy
• My laptop and ipod
• Butter, Baby Oil, etc. for the melatonin-off
• Chapstick, because untanned lips are hot!
• Cards (poker chips)
• Finlandia and Grey Goose and Rum and more vodka and rum
• If desired, poker table for good Sues and Sacs bounce without table markage and cards
• My pillow
• Some weapon to protect me from the drunk-bathroom-floor-lovin' AG
• Foreign languages on tape (to practice for Sacs and Sues)
• Bug spray / Pee in a bottle for biting flies and Jellyfish stings

That is all I can think of. What am I missing? ;) hee hee.

Dang! Ben is such a little bastard...Fo real.

Seriously. I didn't see it coming. Ben shooting John Locke??? Whaaaa???

And what was that whole "Jacob the ghost" business? I am seriously confused.
Mark thought it was interesting to note that Ben shot John *after* learning that John could actually hear Jacob bc perhaps it would have been beneficial to actually hear what the dude has to say...but my guess is that he did not want to be revealed as the fraud he is.

He's a weasely little bastard for sure. His back story was pretty sweet though and filled in a lot about the Dharma initiative...

So will John live? Is he a goner? Also, what ever became of Micheal and Walt? Anyone else thinking that they may reappear in these last few episodes???

I posted

see me post

3 more seasons

that's 20 more episodes than they planned. a whole season worth of crap.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/07/television.lost.reut/index.html

This is gonna be AWESOME!!!!

I know that Josh and I will be seeing this ASAP. I was thinking that I would see if anyone else was in. If I can get a head count, I could even get tickets in advance this afternoon. There are shows at the Levee and at Kenwood Mall in the 9:30, 10:00, 10:30, 11:00 range for this evening.

I would prefer to go tonight, but we could hit a matinee on Sat instead. We would have to go fairly early though as it's a long movie and we've got a fiesta to attend that evening. There are ample 12:00, 12:30, 1:00 options to choose from.

Anyone interested?

That Damn Show

...is so freaking good.

LOST.
Boom!
Sure we kind of already knew about the connection between Sawyer and Locke - but seeing it played out was pretty eff'n sweet.

Jack...still a putz. But, what's his secret? Locke, what will he learn about the island?
It's going to be a long off season.

totally certified...commence choking

As of yesterday afternoon I am officially a Red Cross certified professional rescuer. Now I am not only certified to "wipe ass", but you can also feel free to choke in my presence. Seriously though, the course was long (7hrs!) but with the updates they've made to some old info., I feel much better prepared to act in an emergency than the last time I was certified. AND since this was the "professional" course, they gave me my own RES-CUE mask. Sweeeeeeet.

Paper Pilot

http://www.solidworkspilot.com/


47.4 meters - try and beat it.

that was a pretty sweet episode, Brother

AG- I know you were lovin' last night's episode. Desmond, a monk?! What hasn't that guy done? Either way it was fun to see where he picked up "brother".

Demko and I thought Charlie was done for last night, but alas, he squeeked by again...one of these days (perhaps season finale) he'll be a goner.

Not too sure what to make of the lady falling from the sky...I'm guessing she works for Penny...other thoughts?

Monday dinner night

Ok , who is in for dinner on Monday night?

And any suggestions for places?

LOST

another great one.
the next 5 should be unreal.

Josh Kelley? Any Interest?

On my day break from the madness, Josh Kelley is playing at 20th Century. Tickets are 12 bucks, and it's a Sunday night - next weekend the 15th.

Anyone want to go?

Not sure who he is? He is his WEBPAGE and MYSPACE PAGE. And he was, maybe still is, dating Izzy from Grey's Anatomy. so that's cool. ;)

Let me know!

So... this is the easiest way to tell everyone my crazy life stories...

3rd Monday of the Month Dinner - I am putting Kelli and Josh in charge, because I will be in White Plains, NY and one of the two of you will make sure it happens if people actually want to do it!

I love you all, even if I never see anyone - Have a great April! My CRAZY ASS schedule for is as follows:

12-14th in Miami for Vodka Research - And to satisfy my itch, I am staying an extra day and scuba diving on Friday the 13th! Does that sound like a bad idea?
16-17th in White Plains NY for Vodka Research - ye-haw!
17th - 21st in Poland for Vodka Research -Burrrr!
Back on the 22nd.

Josh, Erin, Doug, Adam, Mark, and Fiona all now "officially" owe me 5 bucks for winning the bracket! YEA BABY! ;)

Work is literally making my head explode. I have a concentrated cluster of popped capillaries in my forehead and no idea how they got there... Someone said i need to relax that my blood pressure got too high yesterday. Amy???

That is all for now! Have a good April!

Spring was here

As it gets cold again - here are some pics from Sunday in Spring Grove.

Vote For a Man Like You and Me

...well...almost anyway.

http://kissing4prez.org/

VACATION $$$

Howdy All. The final total cost of the house rental, including deposit, insurance, reservation fee (local OBX thing), security deposit waiver fee, tax, title, dealer prep and destination charges is...

$2560. That means with the 8 of us on the ticket we each owe josh 320$ total. You can pay it all now or 1/2 of it...but I need at least half of it by Tuesday, March 27...that is next week. For those of you not in some way or another close to FRCH or Bigelow, I will be happy to drive to your home this weekend or Monday to pick it up from you. Call me on my cell.

I have still not heard from Fiona or Doug...I will track them down and get their answers. If they can attend we will work the money out but plan on getting me (matthew) at least $160 from you by tuesday evening when I drop it off to Josh that evening.

Don't make me harass you...you know how abrasive I am on a regular basis...and you are my friends...making me angry only makes this trait worse!

John Locke is a big jerk.

Am I wrong? Weren't you ready to kick him in the head when he looked up at Jack and said, "Forgive me"??? Bah! Them not being able to get off the island added a very "Gilligan's Island" dimension to last night's episode. Which for me then begs the question: Whatever happened to Michael and Walt? Did *they* ever get off the island? Or are they strapped to chairs in some dark room somewhere?

Wouldn't it be hilarious if they did show Michael and Walt at the end of the episode and Walt was like 24?! Ya know, soap opera style?? But I digress...I guess last night's episode was pretty sweet, but it just left a nagging feeling in my stomach.

And what about John's dad being "in the closet"?! By that point in the episode I saw it coming, although another submarine would have been sweeter. Ah well, John acted like a total DB, so I guess it's fitting that his penance will be dealing with that DB dad of his.

Thoughts, comments, concerns???

ps. John Locke "looking down the submarine" shot 'a la "looking down the hatch" shot: priceless.

Funny Little Tony

LITTLE TONY ON MATH 

A  teacher asks her class, "If there are 5 birds sitting on a fence and you shoot one of them, how many will be left?" She calls on little TONY. 
 
He replies, "None, they will all fly away with the first gunshot." 
 
The teacher replies, "The correct answer is 4, but I like your thinking." 
 
Then little TONY says, "I have a question for YOU. 
 
There are 3 women sitting on a bench having ice cream: One is delicately licking the sides of the triple scoop of ice cream. The second is gobbling down the top and sucking the cone. The third is biting off the top of the ice ream. Which one is married?" 
 
The teacher, blushing a great deal, replied, "Well, I suppose the one that's gobbled down the top and sucked the cone." 
 
To which Little TONY replied, "The correct answer is 'the one with the wedding ring on," but I like your thinking." 
 
 
 
LITTLE TONY ON MATH (Part 2) 
 
Little TONY returns from school and says he got an F in arithmetic. 
 
"Why?" asks the father? 
 
"The teacher asked 'How much is 2x3,'" I said "6", replies TONY. 
 
"But that's right!" says his dad. 
 
"Yeah, but then she asked me "How much is 3x2?'" 
 
"What's the fucking difference?" asks the father. 
 
"That's what I said!" 
 

 
LITTLE TONY ON ENGLISH 
 
Little TONY goes to school, and the teacher says, "Today we are going to learn multi-syllable words, class. Does anybody have an example of a multi-syllable word?" 
 
TONY says "Mas-tur-bate." 
 
Miss Rogers smiles and says, "Wow, little TONY, that's a mouthful." 
 
Little TONY says, "No, Miss Rogers, you're thinking of a blowjob." 
 
 
 
LITTLE TONY ON GRAMMAR 
 
Little TONY was sitting in class one day. All of a sudden, he needed to go to the bathroom. He yelled out, "Miss Jones, I need to take a piss!!" 
 
The teacher replied, 'Now, TONY, that is NOT the proper word to use in this situation. The correct word you want to use is 'urinate.' Please use the word 'ur-i-nate' in a sentence correctly, and I will allow you to go." 
 
Little TONY, thinks for a bit, and then says, "You're an eight, but if you had bigger tits, you'd be a TEN!" 
 
 
 
LITTLE  TONY ON GRAMMAR (Part  2) 
 
One  day, during lessons on proper grammar, the teacher asked for a show of hands from those who could use the word "beautiful" in the same sentence 
twice. 
 
First, she called on little Suzie, who responded with, "My father bought my mother a beautiful dress and she looked beautiful in it." 
 
"Very good, Suzie," replied the teacher. She then called on little Michael. 
 
"My mommy planned a beautiful banquet and it turned out beautifully." 
 
She said, "Excellent, Michael!" Then the teacher reluctantly called on little TONY. 
 
"Last night at the dinner table, my sister told my father that she was pregnant, and he said 'Beautiful, just fucking  beautiful!'" 
 


LITTLE TONY ON GETTING OLDER 
 
Little TONY was sitting on a park bench munching on one candy bar after another. After the 6th one a man on the bench across from him said, "Son, you know eating all that candy isn't good for you. It will give you acne, rot your teeth, and make  you fat." 
 
Little TONY replied, "My grandfather lived to be 107 years old." 
 
The man asked, "Did your grandfather eat 6 candy bars at a time?" Little TONY answered, "No, he minded his own fucking business."
 



I  LOVE Little Tony 
 
 

Rookery is Reserved - Woo HOO vacation!

OK - so I took care of it this morning. Confirmed and paid. I haven't gotten the contract, or the "SO, tell me about your group..." email yet, but stage 1 is complete. The total damage is $2408.21. I put down half now, and have to pay half later. Matthew will now commence to twist arms, and get final headcounts.

WOO HOOOO VACATION!

LOST is freakin sweeeeeet

Okay, I have to run to Stats. in a minute, so just some quick thoughts:
1. What is up with John Locke? I can't wait till next week to see what happens in his back story. My initial thought is that he somehow had an invitation to join the others (like Juliette) but declined and ended up in the wheelchair. We'll see...but he def. seems to know more than he's been letting on.
2. Jack and Claire are siblings! ACK! This is where the back story overlap just kills me bc it kind of seems like they'll never know that they're related!
3. Blood spurting from dude's ears while he's foaming at the mouth?! Totally gratuitous, but we loved it. It was kind of like, wtf? But still awesome, so I'll just accept it.

Let me know what your thoughts were fellow LOST fans!

Selection Round 2

I'm sure everyone has heard by now that our original choice for vacation has refused to rent to us. That's OK! We don't need their stinking house anyway!

So, we begin anew. I've spent the last 2 days researching locations and finding agencies that will rent to us. The following properties have met most or all of our criteria. All are in the Outer Banks, $2000 or under, and available the week of 5/26-6/2. Links to the properties follow and I will be emailing each of you a comparison chart to help in the decision. Please take a moment and weigh in on your favorites, if you have them. If you don't have an opinion (Adam) then just stay tuned to this space for updates.

I'd like to get a general consensus on one or two favorites by Friday. Hope you all like the new selections!

1. Reminiscent
2. The Rookery
3. Dream Weaver
4. Pebble Beach
5. A Dream Deferred
6. Coconuts
7. Pelican Watch
8. White Marlin
(I can't get this last link to stick to the listing page. It will take you back to the search function. Just enter property #745)

First and Third Restaurant Ideas...

I figured that we always think of restaurant ideas at the wrong time, and then end up going to some old standby... So I wanted to start a list of potentials for us to refer to when we are looking for ideas... Please add to the post of the comments!

• Latitudes (Beechmont; New Tapas Place)
• Ferrari's Little Italy (Madeira; Italian)
• Maggianos (Kenwood; Family Style Italian)
• Green Papaya (Hyde Park/Oakley; Thai)
• The Hideaway (Northside)

Boom Goes the Dynamite

LOST is back.
And I like what they are showing me.
YES!

300

Those interested in seeing the movie 300 this weekend; I propose saturday morning at the Levee. There is a 10:30 AM showing. I figure the earlier, the better...but there are later times.

If you are up for seeing what has been labled: "a chest thumping, dirty, writhing mass of violence", than put your name in the comments and we'll see you no later than 10:15 at the ticket counter...ticket in hand. If you are later than that we'll see you in the theater.

And here's a positive review for Dutch...so he can begin to decide this is worth leaving the house for ;-)

http://www.moviesonline.ca/movie_review_detail.php?id=4354

see you there.
mrg

12 on 12...totally reserved!

Hey Kids, Adrianne got a reply back from the house's owner and we have the week of (DATA DELETED). A and I will let you know when we need monies from the GTP. Those of you in limbo about the trip, we'll need your answer to determine the cash layout for everyone involved.

Thanks GTP. I'm very excited to be heading to the (DATA DELETED) for vacation this year with you all.

thank-you microbiology

For THIS!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinea_manuum

All I can say is antifungal cream? Seriously???
I just can't wait for clinicals.

*note: the above pic. is not my actual hand...just a very similar pic. I found on the inter-web

The New Arcade Fire

The new Arcade Fire is insanely good. You should run out and get it today. If you like that kind of thing. Love it. You might of seen them on SNL a few weeks ago. This was the band with the REALLY intense lead singer who looks a lot like Wil Forte, and smashed his guitar that had a Haitian expression written on it in tape. I would link to youtube - but SNL is ridic. about pulling down content.

http://www.arcadefire.com/flash.html

Also amazing: new Shins, Bloc Party, Of Montreal. Good stuff. What are you listening to these days that everyone should hear?

how cool is LOST?

I loved last night's episode. Admittedly I'm not much of a critic when it comes to this show, but I really enjoyed watching Hurley, Jin, Charlie and Sawyer riding around in that van. It was nice to see the characters experience a little joy.

The casting on Hurley as a kid was pretty suspect. Anyone who's ever been chubby in their life can tell you that chubby people don't look like that as kids. There's always a little chubs around the face or a little pot belly or something. But otherwise, I found Hurley and his back story endearing as always.

So did I miss any Easter eggs? I'm definitely not good at catching those...

vacation accommodations and dates

GTP,

I have assembled the following list of houses that were the result of our Monday night search. I have numbered them. I would encourage you to keep searching on your own and add anything you find to this list via comments and noting them with the next sequential number so that things will be easier when it comes time to vote.

The date of this trip will of course depend on several factors but please try to nail down when you and/or your sig+ot can attend. The dates currently in play are the week of May 6-12, May 13-19, 20-26 (memorial day weekend at the end) or dates at the end of the summer. I would really like it if we could decide on a date that works the best for the most GTP members.

(LIST DELETED)

Again, first we need your preferred dates. Then, please add links if you find other places to stay , number them accordingly and then I will ask for your top 3 picks in 3-5 days. We'll just cross reference everyone's preferred dates, tallied votes on houses and their availability and hopefully a few choices will rise to the top. Pure madness I tell you...madness.

Please keep your comments to a minimum on this post as it could get messy. -Happy Vacation!

I love this...

February 16, 2007
Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.

— Abraham Lincoln

Oh no they didn't...

holy sucky gag me with a spoon Grey's Anatomy! horrible!

I can't believe it has come to this: Meredith Grey on the operating table, hanging by a thread. Lame. Either she'll die or she won't, and either way, it's gonna suck. You can't kill the leading lady, right? But how cute will it be if she miraculously comes back to life next week.

Boo.

and boy is Izzy a crappy friend! I believe that being a great friend means realizing that sometimes your friends feelings are more important than saying every ridiculous thought that comes to mind. esp. those that include the sentiment "I think you made a huge mistake marrying your wife!" uh!

I'm so done.


(until next week)

HOLY Huge LOST episode!

So last night's LOST episode. Wow. Were you guys lovin' it? I have to say, I was really glad to be back on the big island with some of the old characters. (But a bit more John Locke and Sayid next time would be good.) Anyway, I thought the Desmond back story was awesome. Is he friggin crazy? Was it just a concussion? Or has he been mysteriously transported in time??? Ooooo!!!

Whatever the case may be, I'm just not convinced they're going to kill off Charlie. I mean, Charlie is super annoying and everything, but he's a main character. But Demo's convinced. He says that since the show has a definite ending (either next season or season five) these characters aren't designed to live forever.

Thoughts? Observations? Did I miss anything???

Best wine under 6 bucks...

Hey ya'll...

Thought someone, or at least our wine connoisseur Amy, might enjoy this...

Best wine under 6 bucks

Frigon's is Famous. And I now have a SAG card.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070213/BIZ01/702130328/1001/BIZ

Grammy's Anyone?

Did anyone watch the Grammy's? They're my least favorite award show of the year (well, except for any MTV award show, natch), but they still count as part of "awards season".

I was reading this article on BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6347969.stm
and it seems like some good folks won (namely, Mary J. Blige won 3 R&B honors and Carrie Underwood received 3 country awards).

My question is, has anyone heard the Dixie Chicks album? They got album of the year and sadly, I think they were banned from the radio in this part of the country. Poor Natalie Maines, she was so ahead of the times...

Anyway, let me know your thoughts!

and this is why I love 94.9 Josh Joseph

Because on the way home from the store I heard "So alive" by Love and Rockets. I had totally forgotten about that song and it was so fun singing, "I don't know what color your eyes are baby, but your hair is long and brown". Who knew I still remembered all the words?

I was totally transported back to 1989. Catherine Rossi and I were totally rocking out in the back seat of her mom's station wagon (remember that backwards facing seat?) complete with dance moves and everything. Le sigh...the 80's.

seriously? a ferry boat?

So while watching Grey's last night a few thoughts came to mind. First, I totally love this show. I love Thursday nights because I can totally escape into this show. Second, a ferry boat??? What the F?

As you may or may not know, last night's episode was part 1 of a 3 part series. Not 2 , but 3. So if you thought Meredith getting kicked into the ocean was intenese, just wait till next week. Izzy drilling a hole in that guy's head??? Ridiculous. But I don't care. Bring on the ridiculousness.

Anyway, here are the rest of my reactions to the show:

1. I love the ferry boat incident. It seems highly unlikely (as Derek said) that a ferry boat would be involved in such a tragic accident, but seeing the interns involved in a "level 1" trauma was WAY exciting.
2. The heat between Alex and Addison is fantastic! I love it. I also love how the shoe is somewhat on the other foot now. Before Alex seemed to be like the smitten kitten and now it seems as though Addison is all starry-eyed. I love the idea of these two hooking up, and hopefully this story line will continue to progress.
3. I love how Izzy ate everything in the fridge last night "even the tub of butter". That was a great line. As was Addison's line to Derek in the elevator about how he is dating the "perfect 12-yr old girl". Zing!

Anyway, let's hear what you thought!
Happy Friday!

Table for four?

It's official. As off 3.15pm this afternoon, I am the newest hostess at Arthur's resturant in Hyde Park square! Also, I passed the CLEP Human Growth and Development test this morning which means I will not have to endure another 9 weeks of psychotic psychology professors. Woo!

Psychotic psychology professors: are they psychotic bc they teach psychology or do they teach psychology bc they are pscyhotic? Discuss. ~_~

Anyway, I look forward to seeing you all as you visit me *regularly* at my new place of employment. AND I hope to see you all this weekend as I celebrate one last week of unemployed bliss. (Has it really been 3 mos?!?)



ps. Don't forget to tune in for Grey's Anatomy tonight, and check back tomorrow for my thoughts on the show!

To spite AG, I am sharing photos... ENJOY!

'Da Bears...

Happy Burfday to Erin!

Tired from playing the Wii, or something...

GTP Calendar

Please note that I have added a calendar to the site. (Yea Tina!) It has the GTP dinner dates on them, and will at some point have everyone's birthdays and other key dates on it as well. So, please send your birthdays and key dates to me, or you will be publicly humiliated.

The calendar can be found in the links over there

------------------------------->

Have a great Monday! :-P

Superbowl

Apparenlty, we were all wrong... Halftime sucked (was there something we missed?) ;) And who knew people'd be all pissed about the "violence" in the ads. Funny...

AND I QUOTE:

BARB 41 minutes ago
THE CRABS GOT MY VOTE. IT WAS A GREAT COMMERCIAL. AS FOR THE HALF-TIME, IT WAS HORRIBLE. I WALKED OUT OF THE ROOM AND DID SOMETHING ELSE UNTIL IT WAS OVER. WHO ARE THESE HALF-TIME SHOWS FOR, YOUNGSTERS OR ADULTS??? THINK ABOUT IT FOR NEXT YEAR.

Juliet 11 minutes ago
Amen Barb- Halftime was terrible- I can think of so many more singers that would have wowed the crowd.

Pat 12 minutes ago
Loved this ad and the other animal ones....done with TASTE......Hated the "slapping" one....Don't you think kids will pick-up on this one and think "slapping" is IN ? DUMB !!

Sue 3 minutes ago
Half time was the worse I've ever seen,Yuck! The crabs comericals were the best and the worse were the caree builders, too much violence

Ananina 11 minutes ago
Crabs commercial and Dalmatian were exceptionals. They did not show violence. Great!

http://sports.aol.com/nfl/superbowlads

Superbowl Mumble???

It's come to my attention that there won't be a lot of Bears fans in the house on Superbowl Sunday. After conversing with Josh and Erin, I have a pretty good handle as to why not many people are in their camp...but alas, a girl can never turn her back on her hometown team. Anyway, I thought you would all find it humerous to note that even Chicago magazine thinks this year's team is a bit bizzare, and a few months ago came up with the "Superbowl Mumble".

The video is a bit long, but funny.
In the spirit of good sportsmanship, enjoy.
:)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPBDlCiVkJ0

Top Songs of 2006? (pt. 3)

So I'm finally live (as evidenced by my FIRST comment to the bad rap post)! Anyway, I'm always about a year behind with music...so my top songs are the ones that are currently on the top of my itunes "play count". I can't really remember what I listened to at the beginning of the year, so this is more reflective of the past month or so. Cool???

Here's the list (in no particular order):
10. Happy (Brandi Carlisle)
9. Suddenly I See (KT Tunstall)
8. The Heart of Life (John Mayer)
7. Would you go with me (Josh Turner)
6. Girl and the Sea (The Presets)
5. Crazy (Gnarls Barkley)
4. Sexy Back (Justin Timberlake)
3. Hide and Seek (Imogen Heap)
2. Say it Right (Nelly Furtado)
1. Bold As Love (John Mayer)*

*I know it's a cover, but it kicks ass.

Vacation

We missed out on a group vacation last year, not this year people!

Who's in?

Any suggestions on the location? Vegas seemed to be out. Hilton Head again (fight the waves! and the flies?)

I am throwing out early September as a time to go - but if that doesn't work for everyone we can pick another time.

Worst Rap Interludes EVER

Ok - here is a post that I know some of our folks have some passion for. Lets discuss the worst rap interludes of all time. You remember, those breaks in pop songs where some tool starts dropping some corny rhymes and typically ends with them name calling the star attraction on the track. As an example, here is a ditty by MC Skat Kat from the 1989's smash Paula Abdul hit " Opposites Attract":

"I'm M.C. Kat on the rap so mic it
Here's a little story and you're sure to like it
Swift and sly and I'm playing it cool
With my homegirl, Paula Abdul"

So far, I have three that come to mind:

1) Blondie - "Rapture" - I don't care if Fab Five Freddy himself approved this track - that rap is so bad it makes me cringe. If Julia Child served you a White Castle burger, it would still be a slider.
2) Snow - "Informer" As if the song that gets the phrase "a licky boom boom down" stuck in your head isn't bad enough, there is a terrible rap in the middle.
3) Paula Abdul "Opposites Attract" - See example above.

So, what else have you got?

David George : Dropping Some Knowledge

Sure I have no idea what my big bro is talking about but, the guy is on TV.
Why is this newsworthy? He's a GTP by association.


http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=169222171

Secondhand Smoke

Saw these today and though they were cool. Good thing I don't smoke anymore.

My Top 5 Albums of 2006

I realize my music tastes to not transcend to all members of the GTP but...I'm still doing this post anyway. Get off me.

Camera Obscura . Let's Get Out of This Country
Dream Theater . Score: 20th Anniversary World Tour
Guster . Ganging Up On the Sun
KT Tunstall . Eye to the Telescope
Mute Math . Muth Math

Cousin Johnathan Arrested

As you all probably know, Johnathan Joseph was the 9th Bengal arrested in the last ninth months. As George put it, 9 arrests - 8 wins. I am considering disowning him, as I suspect Marvin is as well. Also - Fiona knows all about football. I owe her a beer with the Super Bowl being Bears/Colts and not Saints/Pats as I predicted. Lets all root Peyton on to victory (sorry Amy, but bears are godless killing machines and Grossman stinks.) We shall host a Super Bowl party as our last shindig in the ghetto.

Top Songs of 2006 - II

I can't narrow it down so...it's 11.
Sadly, Josh Turner did not make my list. But that dood can
hit the bass like none other.


Badly Drawn Boy . "Born in the Uk"
Carmera Obscurea . "Let's Get Out of This Country"
Glen Phillips . "Waiting"
Guster . "The Captain"
Jack Johnson . "Upside Down"
John Mayer . "Stop This Train"
The Killers . "Bones"
Mason Jennings . "Things Change"
Mute Math . "Chaos"
Pete Yorn . "Maybe I'm Right"
Universal Hall Pass . "Sally's Song"

Top Songs of 2006

Ok - so what were your top songs from last year. Josh's Top 10 (alphabetical by artist)


Band of Horses - "The Funeral"
Be Your Own Pet - "Bicycle, Bicycle, You Are My Bicycle"
Belle and Sebastian - "White Colar Boy"
Clearlake - "It's Getting Light Outside"
Decemberists - "O Valencia"
Eagles of Death Metal - "I Want You So Hard"
Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy"
Regina Spektor - "Apres Moi"
TV on the Radio "Wolf Like Me"
We Are Scientist - "The Great Escape"

So lets hear what Josh Turner song was so awesome you couldn't stop listening to 105.9 or 105.1

Fancy Eve 2006

Here are some pictures to get this blog kicked off right. I cropped 'em and resized them, but I did not correct the red eye, nor do I intend to. No formatting - no fancy design. Gimme a break I am the chemist of the group. If you would like some of the 100 pics I have, let me know. Here are some highlights.