Gonzai Gallery

There are none. At least not when the Ravens are playing.

It was a beautiful day, absolutely perfect for an event like a charity softball game. It didn't go as well as I would have hoped - both before and after the game, I was on the wrong side of the field for autographs. The event organizer, cornerback Lardarius Webb, twice stopped signing just before getting to me, and everyone else was always on the other side. Got a whopping 5 autographs, all but one post-game. And then I missed the first half of the game because the concession stands were not prepared for a crowd. Or anyone, apparently, they ran out of cups, Coke, Diet Coke, chili, corn dogs & pretzels and that was before I got to the stand. Took 45 minutes to get a bleeping drink. Mom, meanwhile, sat in the stands having a nice chat with her seat neighbor and enjoying the heck out of the game. And it was amusing once I made it back, the batters and pitchers were all being goofs and the fielders, well, they were proving they should stick to football. So Mom had a great time, mine was okay.

But - pictures!
First up, Joe Flacco & Torrey Smith hang out in the infield.
Torrey Smith taking some cuts at the plate, but no one notices. Below, Ramon Harewood watches Lardarius Webb try to bunt.
Ray Rice was rocking the shorts 3 sizes too large look, but so was Gino Gradkowski.
Ray Rice, headed out but then he stopped to sign a few things.

From the( estimable Charles Pierce: )



And from Andrew Sullivan, expounding upon farts:


Being slowly enveloped by someone else's gas, and being immobile, well ... that's marriage, not air travel.


Or, perhaps, pet ownership...

The football game is just not holding my interest. And the commercials have been either mundane or stupid. So pooh on that, switching to 31 Days of Oscar. 'The Lavender Hill Mob', specifically. We've already watched the Puppy Bowl 1.5 times and cleared the tv shows off the DVR, plus took care of a lot of paperwork and computer stuff, experimented with food (tried to cook artichokes for the first time, they turned out decently), did some cleaning, and looked at one house that had a stunning kitchen but way too many stairs, steep ones at that. Yesterday I finally was able to go to gaming again, didn't get to play too much between being tired and a couple games taking way too long to play. But I played a bit and got a few things done so I can't fault the weekend entirely.

Only got to see the 4th quarter of the Broncos/Steelers game. Won't say I saw the overtime, all five seconds or so of it. What a buildup for not much. But then, the Steelers did lose :)

Here I sit and wait for the Dr Who special...not patiently, I assure you! It's already been a Doctor-ful weekend, as I recorded several specials from BBC America and one of my gifts was the Series 5 DVD set. Also landed Series 1 of Luther, Ticket to Ride: Asia, 7 Wonders, and Transeuropa. That part of the haul was good. Unfortunately, my sister-in-law bought a bunch of clothing for Mom and I and I'm pretty sure not a single one of them fits. And Mike bought some bathroom fixtures for us with the intent of installing them, but somehow he had managed not to notice we had the bathroom redone in August. Oops. The boys were thrilled to pieces with their huge haul of Beyblades and Legos (of which we only produced a third or so), and the dinner turned out well despite Mom's insistence that she knew better how to cook a prepared meal than whoever had prepared it in the first place. It took a lot of work but most things only got cooked once, and except for the gravy not for overlong. But it took a lot of oversight!

We just got home from Mike's house, where it's tough to walk around with all the Beyblade & Lego detritus on the floor. Not safe to walk around either, as the boys are engaging in Nerf gun battles with their other aunt and her hubby. I did manage to finally get Mike to try some games, teaching him Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride, and he really liked TTR. I know because he interrupted Jeff's piano recital later to tell me he'd figured out what his mistake in the game was and how he'd fix it next time and beat me. Yeah, admit it, you liked that game! And after a lot of too-rich food and a lot of one-handed piano playing, we're home. Just in time for Packers v Dr Who. Wait...

Home now from Euroquest, four days of games and serious humbling and social graces or not, as the case sometimes was. Besides the Can't Stop and Lost Cities wins Friday, I won exactly one game - a Stone Age match Friday afternoon. That was it for me and winning. After Thursday, I couldn't win a Wild Card game for anything and after Friday I couldn't win, period. I somehow squeaked into the Stone Age semi-final (I was ranked 16th and they took 16 players) and finished 3rd in that, for a 12th place finish overall. I didn't beat 25th or so in anything else, and that finish was in Ra, which I played solely to kill time. I was absolutely destroyed in Ticket to Ride & Dominion. Good thing there were no crows around and my ego isn't invested in winning.

Meanwhile, I met up with old friends and made many new friends, including one who came to EQ from Romania. Yes, Romania. Of course, she also wiped the walls with me at every game, but we had fun. (There was also an attendee who came from Israel to play. I'm not sure but they're crazy...) Taught a few games to people, including some of the younger set, and hopefully convinced some folks to join in with the GCOM fun. Of course, had to deal with one obnoxious yo-yo all weekend including consecutive games on Friday, which left me unsuccessfully begging the GameMaster to please put this jerk at another table, I already spent two hours trying not to strangle him. Apparently there was a lot of 'please don't make me play with Jason' going around the whole room. I behaved financially, eating economically (Subway/McDs/7-11) and buying a whopping two items, a Christmas present for Jack and one item for myself. Shouldn't have done that, but darn it, I need some level of treat.

Tomorrow I get to work on the expensive requirements the class just dropped on me (background check I have to pay them for, a tetanus shot and a copy of my high school diploma) plus an MRI on the much-pained shoulder and the class itself. But tonight, yes, it is: Sunday Night Football, Ravens at Steeler. Oh yes.

LET'S GO RAVENS!!!!!!

The game, I mean. Besides being a slow one (great, when I have work and class tomorrow) it's choppy and bizarro and both quarterbacks are scary bad. The only good thing is the Ravens are winning. I hope I didn't just jinx it...

At least I am in this instance, where realistic me picked the Steelers to win in my Pick 'Em leagues. The Ravens are absolutely humilating the Squealers right now. The Squealers started the 2nd half with the ball - after 27 seconds, the Ravens were on their second possession. The Ravens scored a two point conversion - by sending the ballholder into the end zone instead of holding for the kick. They're going for full-blown embarassment. Yes, I'm loving it!

ETA I meant wrong about this game, not all of them! I need to win tonight and both of tomorrow's games just to be at .500, and I managed to flunk out of my Survival League the first week. (I may have been precient; I named my team Gonzai's Quick Exit.)

Just dragged myself in from gaming, round one. Round two is in a shade over 12 hours. Meep. Will probably wind up passing on round three, between the long weekend and oh yeah, FOOTBALL! Ravens/Steelers really requires sitting on a comfy couch in front of a big TV without distractions, not sitting on rickety folding chairs while playing board games. There's standards, people. They may be low, but they exist.

Meanwhile, the doctor tells me I've gained 9 pounds and a lot of cholesterol and need to lose both. Thrills. The shoulder hurts all the way to the elbow. And gads, I'm tired. I need to conserve my energy for Sunday.

Less than 24 hours til Wait Wait, and I'm fairly stumped as to who the guest will be. They don't put it on the show's web site, but it's usually a local person with some national status. They've already had Mike Rowe, Cal Ripken Jr, John Waters, Laura Lippman and last week((!) they had David Simon. I can't imagine Will Smith doing something like this, probably not Jada Pinkett either. Molly thinks perhaps Ray Lewis, and the only other people I can think of would be John Astin or Ace 'Duff' Goldman. And yes, I want to know who'll be there for autograph purposes!

Less worried about the Wait Wait gang themselves, I'm sure there'll be programs or books for purchase & signing.