For Your Convenience, We are Putting You on Hold

Ever want to get help with your ipod and have to wait 15 plus minutes. Not anymore. Just dial 000 at the prompts and say "Operator". For T-Mobil, just say the word "Representative" at any time and it immediatly directs you to a person.

On NPR this week, Paul English was featured in one of their episodes of Morning Edition. Paul English is a blogger that has a page listing many major corporations and how to bypass their customer service pergatory.

In many ways this might be unfair to skip the deligently patient people waiting before you, but it is even more unfair to be putting your customer around in circles for 20 plus minutes. I know with my last tussle with Cingular I waited 20 minutes just to find out that I had to call a different Cingular number. They offered to forward me, but in the end they accidentally hung up on me.

I also want to mention that Paul English also has many other great articles on "great" customer service. Defineatly worth checking out and having it bookmarked for your next Customer Service Two-Step.

Do you like Madison and Funny things?

So I was looking on the internet for more information on the soon to be erected Barry Alveraz bronze statue, (By the way, that is practically the most dirty, erotic thing I ever typed.) when I came across this Blog site.

It is presitge brillance to the level of the Onion, the down home flavor of Madison, and the incepid hatred for posers, tools and jags alike that made me bookmark this quality blog. Not since the meandering rants of Goggins, have I read a home grown musing that amused me as much. Granted it is very Onion-esque, but there is nothing wrong with that. As long as they keep it real.

This blog writes about news and events of our fair Mad City in the style of the Onion. Luckily for this person the town is full of posers, tools and jags of all colors and styles so the well wont run dry on these new ideas.

I'm going to keep tabs on it. I think you should too.

Fine, you win!

Alright, I'm a big man, I can admit when I'm wrong. I like Itunes. It is a quality product.

I have gone several years denying the quality media program that is Itunes. I've installed it 5 times and uninstalled it 4 times. The most recent Itune installation was due to the ipod shuffle I was given. Now that I have the Ipod working (another post in itself) and have begun to utilize Itunes I'm very happy thus far with it.

Many of you at this point are saying, "duh". But all I'm saying, is you are right. I am wrong, I have seen the light and it comes from Cupertinon, CA.

Although Itunes is awesome, I don't belive it whips the llamas ass. But it gives a bruising.

Too Bad for T. O.

In a world that cares more about results then effort and appearance more then discipline, it amazes me what happened to Terrell Owens. And when it comes to the Imperial realm of the National Football Leauge, I honestly believed that Terrell would have to kill someone in the endzone, dance on his body and then drag the body to a press conference before someone would say more then "Thats T.O. for you. What a showboat."

To have the Eagles say, "your done" to All - Star Reciever Terrell Owens, for exteneded confrontations on and off the field is one step in getting things right with sports. We have always learned to dismiss ones actions off their field for their actions on the field. This could possibly send a message to players to not go shoot off their mouth in a microphone, or disrespect their coach on the practice field. I'm talking to you Mr. Sheffield.

Im sure when push comes to shove T.O. will get his way, and his money. But for now I know, somewhere, there is a battle worn veterans of the playing field who remember the glory days of football, when men were men and the game was not just a check, but everything. Sitting in his tattered recliner watching the local news because his pension needs to cover his medication and not cable tv and saying to the T.O. news, "Its about &%$@# time! Martha! Get me a beer." God bless america and God bless the NFL.

Aardman Studios

On October 10th the Aardman Studios storage warehouse burned to the ground. All of the original Wallace and Gromit puppets and Chicken Run figures and sets were destroyed.


"Even though it is a precious and nostalgic collection and valuable to the company, in light of other tragedies, today isn't a big deal."

-Nick Parks
creator of Wallace and Gromit

wait'll they get a load of this

For Batman fans out there (who like the first Burton Batman film), they are finally releasing a version on DVD that isn't first generation WB style disc. Pretty cool.

That movie looks delightful

This trailer is by far one of the funnier things I've seen in a long time.

A movie for all ages.

Submitted for your approval: "The Mighty Orc"

I believe that a good nic name should have four qualifications. 1. Social Ramifications, it can't be insulting to the person. 2. Physical Correct, this can also be ironic. A 300 pound man can be called "tiny". 3. Chant, you have to chant the name. 4. recognize by his peers. You can't name yourself something and others outside of your circle can't go giving out nic names.

DERRICK TURNBOW (P) MILWAUKEE BREWERS

All season, fans and experts have tried to name Derrick Turnbow, the Milwaukee Brewers closing pitcher. Darron Sutton leans to compare him to Napoleon Dynamite, due to his love of the cult movie. Where as Bob Uecker refers to him as the "Bowhunter". These are very good and stir a sense of accomplishment.

I submit for your approval.

Derrick Turnbow "The Mighty Orc!!!!!"

I put this on record that "The Mighty Orc" is not only a proper name, but the best nic name for Turnbow. Not only does it roll off the tongue well (Just saying "Napoleon" sounds nasally) it conjures up imagery of a vicious creature that strikes fear in the enemy.

Social Ramification:

Many consider this nic name an insult. People see an Orc as a common creature whose manners and actions are subhuman. This is why I put the word "Mighty" before the word, "Orc". This making him not only an orc (an already feared creature) but he is mightier then the average Orc. Make him superior to the creature whose manners and actions that are subhuman.

Physical:

Physically, he is not exactly the same as an Orc. Exhibit A.

Note, the eyes, ears and upper front teeth.

Compare to exhibit B:

Now granted the eye to nose ring is more of a Red Sox thing, but still acceptable for this example.

Now just too make sure people are aware, Example A is Turnbows team photo, and Example B is an run-of-the-mill Orc.

Crowd Chant:

Final test of a good nic name. Silently chant the name either in a long cheer or in an repetitious beat. Example:

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOverrrrrrrrBAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

(I came up with that one too, however people cut off the "verbay" part, I approve.

Now try the beat test with Ueckers name:

BOW HUNTER BOW HUNTER BOW HUNTER

I'm out of breath already.

Now we test mine:

mighty ORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRC!!!!

though it has striking similarities to Lyles, it is still good.

Second test:

ORC ORC ORC ORC ORC ORC

Christ, I could do that all day, no sweat.

Peers:

Well, this last one is up to you. Tell me what you think. Or just start chanting it next time he saves another one for the crew.

Quote of the Moment

"I don’t advocate downloading songs illegally, but do it.
Then cut your hair, you hippy."

-Jason, writer for chrisdiclerico.com

Six Feet Under Finale

If there is anything that 6 Feet Under taught us is that life is short and the people around us give us the meaning of our life. Many, if not all, of the clients that came through Fischer and Sons were flat 2 dimensional characters whose deaths were often funny if not ironic. It wasn’t until the Fischer family interacted with the living did we begin to be emotionally tied into their actions.

Since the beginning I found the series to be interesting and well written. These characters were often morbid, socially unacceptable and most of all pretencious. I stuck around to watch the pieces of humanity to come out, often in emotion or moral lessons. On occasion I would be disappointed with cliché antics or worn visual aids for the slow minded viewer, but most of the time the cast and crew was aware of these clichés and redefined them to their own ways. That is what kept me watching and kept me plugging along until the end (a symbol of life in many ways).

The series finale was on HBO last night and as I watched I thought about all the episodes I saw in the past and the night I watched the first episode (kind of ironic). In the end the tear I shed was the tear of disappointment.

The first hour plus was very good and played out in the same quality that was held up through the entire series run. However the last montage was a ridiculous portrayal of everything that the series didn’t stand for. The series ends with a Claire starting her new life on her way to New York and we see a future montage of how each main character of SFU dies.

I felt almost no attachment to these people’s deaths, mostly because you were too preoccupied with their bad makeup and giggled at the drawn out deaths. You wondered, what twist will kill this family member. During the whole montage I kept thinking of the episode only two weeks prior, on the death of Nate, had more emotion and intrigue then any episode too date. On the other hadn the finales ending scene felt more like some cheap rip off written by the same group of writers that did the Very Brady Christmas. It seemed more of the actions of closure then the actual closure itself. Its sad that a show that had such a strong story line to end with something so flat and lifeless.

How about that HBO’s Rome!

Say What!?

I do not usually repost what others have posted, but on chrisdiclerico.com, a site a frequent often, posted a link to Gizoogle. A website that translates any website into Snoop Dogg ebonics. And again, I usually don't find it very funny, but out of boredom, I tried it out on my blog. It was mildly amusing until I got down to my Rock Bottom entry (which by the way, please go to the site and get the wings back)

This is what I wrote:

Dear Rock Bottom,

Why hasn't the Thursday night all you can eat Wings and Beer returned to the Milwaukee Location. I found this to be an wonderful experience and enjoyed going at least _______ a month. Is there a reason why you haven't continued this?

This is what Gizoogle wrote:

Dear Rock Bottom,

Why hasn't tha Thursday night all you can eat Wings n Beer returned ta tha Milwaukee Location . I thought i told ya, nigga I'm a soldier. I found this ta be an wonderful experience n enjoyed going at least _______ a miznonth . Ill slap tha taste out yo mouf. Is there a reason why you haven't continued this . Throw yo guns in the motherfuckin air.


Juvenile, but funny

The time wasn't right

The Marathon was more of a brisk walk in the history of cinema. I will try again, but right now between work and all, I just can't get a film a day in. But I will be triumphant again.

World's Finest Trailer

I watched the trailer for World's Finest (The Batman Superman movie I talked about earlier). All in all, not too impressed (because of Superman). But I recommend seeing it, and I still look forward to it. The Ifilm website is nice, but sometimes cumbersome to watch trailers on. However the Force.net site has many other very cool fan films and a little more user friendly.

Batman/Superman movie

The Batman franchise has been around for over 65 years now and has a long ever changing history. Monumental moments from the Golden Age of comics, to what many refer to as the Frank Miller Vision of Batman, the caped crusader has taken on many faces and many personas. Lewis Wilson, Adam West, Michael Keaton, Kevin Conroy, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale (Italics represent unapproved Batmen).

These mainstream version of Batman are all fairly well known, but few people know of "Batman: Dead End", by Sandy Corrola

Sandy Corrola is a special effect artist who got his tutilage from Stan Winston. Being a huge batman fan he created a short film entitled "Batman: Dead End". I've pretty much forced everyone I know to sit down and watch it, those who don't know what it is are usually surprised by the professionalism and the twist ending. At this point, I recommend you to go to the site. Another forwarning, do not look at the photo site, just watch the film, don't ruin the ending.

Note to Mr. Faber, the Sandy Corrola's website now has a high resolution version of his film, go there to view it.


Though I am not a fan of Superman as much as Batman, I'm very excited to know that Sandy Corrola is doing a Batman/Superman fan film. Yet again, I think Sandy Corrola did an excellent job at casting Superman, as he did with casting Clark Bartram for Batman. Compared to some of the early pictures I've seen of the "official" Superman movie, this Superman is far better.

As you know, I will be following this closely and keep everyone posted.

Now Seriously!

Ok, I posted this a couple of months ago and yet STILL, the infamous wings and beer has not returned to Rock Bottom. Come on people, united we stand!

Please go to the Rock Bottom site and send a comment.

Dear Rock Bottom,

Why hasn't the Thursday night all you can eat Wings and Beer returned to the Milwaukee Location. I found this to be an wonderful experience and enjoyed going at least _______ a month. Is there a reason why you haven't continued this.

If you don't do it for yourself, at least do it for me!

What Grinds My Gears

1. Overrated Actors and Directors (Michael Bay, Joel Shumacher, Nicole Kidman, Drew Barrymore, etc.)
2. Poor Film handling and presentation
3. Cell phone abuse
4. People who make U-turns at lit intersections
5. Drew Rosenhaus and any of his clients
6. People who drive in the emergency lane during traffic jams
7. Video game controllers chords wrapped around a controller
8. The sound of balloons and the sound of Styrofoam
9. Cubs fans
10. People who like really bad movies for the wrong reasons

A Long Time Ago....

No this isn't a photo from yet another Star Wars Episode.

These photos were shown to me a couple of years ago. They are actually photographs taken by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii in the early 1900s. And yes, they were shooting color images then.

He basically invented the three pass system of color photography before we were doing it a dozen years later. The plates were found, scanned digitally and restored. I think some of these photos are some of the most amazing photos out there. Check out the site to learn more and see the whole collection.

Quote of the Moment

"I think a lot of people would like to have Overbay.
But they're not going to get him."

- Mark Attanasio
Chairman and Principal Owner of the Milwaukee Brewers

The Eye in the Sky

Found this website in one of my many latenight web excursions.

Many people know that google maps now features satelite images. However, they are really really blury and don't get that close. In my search for quality satelite images, I found this site.

I was amazed at the quality and the accuracy of its search engine. Granted, there are those stupid company logos all over it, but still very amusing and cool (in a nerd way).

I recently found that they also have old satelite photos as well. Very cool to see how the neighborhood evolved and see historic locations come and go.

Miller Park Now

During Construction

All Star Game, an All Time Low. (but is there new life on a larger level?)

The ratings are in and the 2005 All Star Game has the lowest in Major League history to date for an All Star game. 8.1/14 is the lowest it has ever been, infact its down 8 percent from last year.

In other Major League News. Commissioner Bud Selig will not hault baseball for Olympics. He stated this at yesterdays All-Star festivities when asked if he would consider it to add favor to the Olympic committee. Earlier that day the Olympic Committee announced they would be dropping baseball from the Olympic Games in 2012 because of its scrutiny in steroid use the past few years.

Will the World Baseball Classic bring new life to the void the Olympics made?

I believe that it will catch Americas eyes and help fill out the year by giving its fans more of what they love, Baseball. Scheduled for the begining of March, this timing puts it on the heels of the biggest sporting event of the year and the finality of the most popular professional sport around, the NFL Super Bowl (yeah, Nascar is technically more popular but I don't consider it professional when a large percent of the sports requirement is money).