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12.27.2004
Two Feet High and Climbing
So I walked into the living room to check on Carl - who was supposed to be watching Sesame Street - and this is what I saw. In his defense, he was being very quiet.
12.23.2004
1st snow.jpeg
12.20.2004
Santa nightmares
Continuing with dahlbercentral holiday greetings, enjoy these hilarious photos from a Chicago Tribune photo contest. I especially love photos number 2 (shown), 7, and 11. Link thanks to planet dan. 12.19.2004
Holiday cheer
 Each year, one of my neighbors completely covers their house in Christmas spirit. Trust me, the photo does not do justice to the amount of work/thought that goes into their decorations--there is so much more here you can't see (like a Pooh Santa or the Grinch on a sleigh).
Happy holidays, all! 12.17.2004
Gross
In a revolting story from Mexico, a man killed his lover and then spent the next three days making meals out of his body before authorities discovered the grisly scene.
Seriously, how crazy/high do you have to be to do something like that?? 12.16.2004
Baseball, buh-bye
Linda Cropp is an idiot.
I say this in full belief that what she's actually saying--that she's looking out for the good of the citizens of DC--is not misguided. As a councilwoman, that is her job. Unfortunately, her approach to that job (last minute shenanigans, misrepresentation of her own opinions, and grandstanding) are jeopardizing a new opportunity for DC that will bring revenue and revitalization to a part of the city that truly needs it. I'm not saying the deal that baseball and Tony Williams made was ideal for Washington. Certainly the Mayor has made a few missteps. But Cropp's absolute refusal to play by the rules reeks of political opportunism. Did I mention she's running for Mayor next year? Ms. Cropp, are you serving your constituents or conducting a campaign? Please choose one and stick with it. 12.13.2004
Kitties!
I'm not really sure where The Poor Man's obession with kittens comes from (or where he seems to get an endless supply of the furry fluffballs), but I must admit that these are some of the cutest damn photos I've ever seen.
Meow. 12.10.2004
tree.jpeg
Good news for comics!
For my comic-lovin' brother, I offer this lovely article from the Orlando Sentinel:
Comic books arrive in school as learning tool'Tis good news for those of you in the industry, and good news for those of us in literacy as well. I can speak firsthand of how much more attractive a graphic novel is over a book to an adolescent boy. Or a soon-to-be-30-year-old one. 12.09.2004
Weird
 COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Police released the name of the gunman who allegedly went on a shooting rampage at a Columbus nightclub Wednesday night, killing four people before a police officer shot him dead.
Nathan Gale, 25, of Marysville, reportedly jumped onto a concert stage and open fire, NBC 4 reported. The shooting took place shortly after 10 p.m. at Alrosa Villa, located at 5055 Sinclair Rd. A crowd of about 250 people was inside for a concert by Damageplan, a heavy metal band. Two former members of the band Pantera formed the group. The band took the stage shortly after 10 p.m., and minutes later, a man, who was wearing a hockey jersey and hooded sweatshirt, began firing at point-blank range at least four times at guitarist Dimebag Darrell, NBC 4's Kyle Anderson reported. ...Gale reportedly shot and killed another member of the band before firing shots into the crowd. Columbus police were flooded with 911 calls from concertgoers right after the shooting. Some witnesses said Gale took a person hostage. Minutes later, a Columbus police Officer James D. Niggemeyer entered the nightclub and shot and killed Gale, police said. ### Added to note that the band in which Donny, my boss's legal assistant's significant other, is a member, was apparently scheduled as a backup band, but didn't end up being there last night. Lucky. EDIT TO ADD: Forgot that the NBC4 story only has four dead. Most recent updates are putting it at five, now, though you wouldn't know it from this AP story, which declares "four" in the hed but mentions "the fifth person killed" and that the person's family had not yet been notified. Also, the AP story goes out of its way to mention John Lennon (read all the way to the bottom). The Street Where I Live
Found and sympathized: Jeff Parker has fallen prey to the glory that is the 3-disc SESAME STREET boxed set.
Batty batty batty batty batty batty batty BAT. Truly Wonderful Holiday Advice
I received this from my very wise cousin today and it was so true, I had to post it before everyone went to their holiday parties this weekend and squandered this precious time of the year!
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls. 2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas! 3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat. 4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission. 5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello? 6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog. 7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again. 8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day? 9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards. 10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by: Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!" 12.08.2004
A cultural debate for the ages
OK, now I'm serious about this one, should it be "pop" or "soda"?
Yes, yes, I know, in Ohio, it's "pop." I grew up drinking it and called it that until I was persuaded in late adolescence by my East Coast-hailing cousin that "soda" just sounded so much cooler. It stuck. Now whenever I hear someone utter the word "pop," it sounds foreign and strange. In the South, it's neither--it's "Coke," even when it's Pepsi, Sprite, Mountain Dew, or even Fresca. So which is it, really? And why, you may ask, is this debate plaguing me this morning? Today I came across a literacy-related arcticle from the dahlbergcentral hometown rag, "The News Journal." It's all about a parent-student day at a local school (Woodland Elementary, if you must know). I read the article--I always love reading stuff from home--and there it was: "Pizza and pop fueled group conversation in the gym afterward."Such a small sentence. And yet so powerful. I had to think hard. When was the last time I had seen someone refer to "pop" in a newspaper article? A quick consultation to my handy AP stylebook found no helpful guidelines to the correct use of words for fizzy beverages. I hit up Webster himself and found that, yes, one definition for "pop" is indeed a carbonated drink. But why the difference in what we call it depending on where we live in the country? And are there other newspapers that use the word "pop"? Is this a common practice? Where are the cultural pop/soda/coke boundaries? I'm on a mission. I'm going to uncover as many examples as I can. I'll give you all a full report on what I find. And in the meantime, I'm going to go drink my morning soda. UPDATE!!! Quick search has turned up this gem of information!!! It's a color-coded map of who uses which term in what part of the country. 12.06.2004
Downtown
Of interest: ColumbusRetroMetro, a blog devoted to the Columbus urban real estate market -- mainly geared towards urban residential and historic neighborhoods, but it's interesting for its redevelopment of downtown perspective.
[via people have the power] 12.05.2004
Future Power Broker
It was just a conversation with his Meme and Grandude this time, but this kid's showing some serious potential!
Just a little off the top...
After his Aunt Megan accused him of sporting a mullet this afternoon, his Grandma Pope promptly rescued him by giving him a much needed trim.
He did remarkably well, and so did his grandma! 
 12.04.2004
xmaslites.jpeg
12.03.2004
Quiz Show Follies
 So I've been a little fascinated by Ken Jennings over the last couple of months. You know Ken. He's the guy who rose to a little Charles Van Doren-ish pseudofame by winning a little over two and a half million dollars in an amazing winning streak on Jeopardy! over most of this year -- a winning streak which, sadly, came to an end this week in his 75th appearance, when Ken was beaten on a question about H&R Block in Final Jeopardy. (Yes, I watched. Taped it, actually. Yes, I was a little sad -- and then even more amused the next night, when Nancy Zerg, the woman who beat KenJen on Tuesday, only managed a third-place finish the next night. Sic transit gloria.)
I had learned about KenJen's inevitable loss when they taped it back in September -- word leaked out on to the internet, courtesy of uberblogger Jason Kottke, who's been the go-to guy for all your KenJen info. So this week, before the show aired, Jason posted a small audioclip of Ken's final Jeopardy! appearance. And that's where the trouble started. Sony, the corporate megagiant who own Jeopardy!, contacted Jason and demanded that he take down the audioclip of KenJen's loss. Jason did so, but posted a partial transcript of the clip for the curious. (Remember, this is still prior to the show's Tuesday November 30 airdate.) Sony's lawyers again contacted Jason and now demanded that he delete the transcript, which he did, fearing legal action. But the Washington Post must not have been deterred by the legal giant that is Sony, because they printed the same damn transcript in Lisa de Moraes's TV column on November 29. Better: November 30 wasn't even the first time that KenJen's final game aired on television! End result: for being excited about a Jeopardy superstar and directing folks to Ken's rise and fall on Tuesday night (presumably, Sony's desired result: increased ratings and attention paid to Jeopardy!), Jason is threatened with legal action that might dissuade him from continuing his personal blog in the future. Yup, sounds like all is right with the world. Hooray. 12.02.2004
What color are your brands?
An interesting little gadget helps you determine which party major corporations tend to support. Check out all the categories that skew red--department stores, auto manufacturers, dairy products, household products, package shipping, general food... Actually, I was hard pressed to find a single category that had more "blue" companies than "red" ones. Can you??
Via The Poor Man. 12.01.2004
Ne'er again, Riffington
 Apparently, putting on a giant, furry, blue mascot head makes one actually quite claustrophobic. I have a newfound respect for mascots.
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