New Will.I.Am - Obama Video

Not as cool as the "Yes We Can!" video but it's pretty cool. They certainly could have done without Tyrese though. Someone from Fast & the Furious Tokyo drift should not feature in any political commercial. Check it out!

Meat Invades San Diego

On February 1st, I decided to give up drinking for the month of February. With a few weddings, bachelor parties and the general onset of spring/ summer I thought it would be wise to take a little break before the debauchery that ensues over the next several months. I've given up boozing before and successfully completed the objective so I wasn't too concerned about my ability to do so for a second time. Two weeks ago however, two of my best buddies from Wesleyan, Chris and Nick, drove down from Salt Lake City, Utah to hang out for a weekend. Any previous ability to prevent alcohol consumption immediately became moot. The boys were in town and it was destined to get ugly.

The initial plan was for the two of them to get in late Thursday night...Valentine's Day. On their way out the door I was informed by the two fine gentlemen that they would be making a "pit stop" in Vegas before getting down to SD. Not surprisingly they didn't make it, instead ending up in L.A. They get some credit for making it to the correct state, just a few hundred miles of course. (In full disclosure, Nick went to see his girlfriend in L.A. and I would never fault him for that but when you say you're making a quick stop in Vegas, the odds of getting to your destination exponentially decrease.) They made it to PB around 7:30 pm on Friday and after grabbing a quick Gatorade to hydrate, we hit "PB Shore Club" for some dinner and more importantly, several cervezas. While walking to the bar, Nick proclaimed that his head-butting days were a thing of the past and he would not be head-butting anybody over the course of the night, no matter how drunk he got. For those of you who know Nick intimately, you understand the significance of this very important step in the young man's personal development and we are all thrilled for him.

The special at PB Shore Club every day is $3 Dos Equis or Bud Heavy so as you can imagine, we got after it. I've never been a fan of Dos Equis until I got out here, but it's amazing what $3 schooners can do to your taste buds. After a few hours, we headed over to this bar called "Longboards" where we met up with my buddy Jake and this girl Diana who came into town to surprise Anne and go to this Maceo Parker concert we all got tickets for on Saturday night. Jake and Di who we affectionately call "Dirty" were already hammered after putting back several Jack & Diet's to chase shots of Jack. They like to party. Nick, Chris and I decided it was a good time to switch to the good stuff, and by good stuff I mean Vodka Red Bulls for Chris and myself, while Nick plowed through several Gin & Tonics. After about 4 of those, I felt like I was on Speed and decided we'd bounce all the way back across PB and hit up this place called the Firehouse I have described in past editions of the blog.

Everything from this point on is pretty hazy. I ran into a few buddies at the bar but I can't really remember anything about our conversations and I nearly sat on a fire pit at the back of the bar for some reason. We got out of dodge when the bar closed and on the walk home made a pit stop at this 24 hour Taco shop called Ramiro's. Somehow between leaving the bar and attempting to order his burrito, Nick head-butted something. He claims it was one of those newspaper stands you see on street corners but I cannot confirm that it was in fact a newspaper stand. For all I know, it was a 75 year old senior citizen crossing the street but I'll give Nick the benefit of the doubt.

Let's rewind about 6 hours in the night. Nick proclaimed, and Chris can back me up on this, before he started drinking that he was over head-butting. Sure enough, around 1 am, the bridge of his nose was bleeding. I love my friends. Watching Nick go through ordering his burrito was a thing for America's Funniest Home Video's. Picture, a 5'11" white guy, with no neck, bleeding from the bridge of his nose, completely cocked ordering a Carne Asada burrito from a woman who spoke zero English. Despite placing his order and getting a ticket with an order number, he lost it within 30 seconds. I wish I could make this stuff up, but this is Nick. After Chris got his Taco's and I got my burrito we waited for a few minutes but they never called Nick's number. I went back to the window for his order and they looked at me like I had three heads. I asked Nick for his order number or receipt and he shot me the exact same look as the woman behind the counter before saying that he didn't have a number. We re-ordered his burrito which they popped out in about 2.5 seconds and off we were on our journey back to home base. Chris, Nick and I didn't make it 100 feet before Nick threw his burrito into the middle of Mission Boulevard for no reason. Again, I wish I could make this stuff up but it actually happened. I immediately wished I didn't just spend several minutes trying to convince the woman behind the counter that Nick had, in fact, ordered a Carne Asada burrito, only for him to throw it into the street at 1:30 in the morning.

I wisely devoured my burrito in a matter of minutes and then spent the rest of the walk home wrestling with Nick. He sucker punched me in the stomach and I tried to punch him back but caught his forearm and seriously hurt the knuckle on my right index finger. I walked in the door, convinced I broke my hand, grabbed an ice pack and got in bed with a not-so-happy girlfriend who had already passed out. Shortly thereafter I was making out with the Porcelain gods and admiring the different colors that make up a Carne Asada burrito with sour cream and cheese. Despite how disgusting that actually is, it was probably the best thing that happened to me that night.

Saturday morning didn't get off to a great start. The onset of a migraine was cured by a marvelous breakfast sandwich from this outstanding restaurant called Cantina a few blocks away from the apartment and about 4 Advil. I will devote a full blog post to this croissant breakfast sandwich at a later date...it is that good. After watching North Carolina dismantle Virgina Tech, Chris and I decided to try and catch a few waves at the beach. Actually, Chris decided he would try and catch a few waves and I decided I'd just try and not kill myself. The waves were pretty major and I got worked several times. Most notably, was the time I tried to paddle out past the break and reenacted the last scene from "The Perfect Storm." Chris got past the wave and later remarked that he said to himself "Ohh man, Hodge is in trouble." When I realized this could get interesting, I started paddling for my life. Right hand in, left hand in, right hand, left hand, right, left....Ohhh shit. I got just to the top of the wave as it crashed and threw me backwards. I ditched the board, curled into the fetal positions, covered my face and just hoped I didn't get break anything. It was definitely one of the scarier experiences I've ever been through because I didn't know what the hell I was doing and I was in probably the most exposed position one could probably be in. Fortunately I came out of it with all my limbs, teeth and man parts in tact. I tried a couple more times to get past the break but it was just not my day. I suck at surfing and don't know how many more times I'm going to try.

Saturday Night we went up to Solana Beach where Maceo Parker, a great Jazz/Blues Funk artist was playing at "The Belly Up". Jake "Shake & Bake" Simmons turned me on to Maceo Parker and I've been jamming out to his stuff for the last few months. We got into the Belly Up and hit the bar immediately. There was a woman on stage performing some sort of Slam poetry with a guy on the drunks and another on Piano. It was different but I must say pretty cool. We forced our way towards the stage and secured a quality spot to the right side of the stage. Maceo and the band came on stage and proceeding to KILL IT for about three hours. They played a bunch of his hits and slipped in a few covers that were tremendous. My favorite was a slow and subtle shift from one of his songs to "Hey Jude" from the Beatles. A guy behind us started humming the chorus, but I couldn't really make it out. After a few more seconds, it started to get clearer...and clearer until the entire crowd was singing the chorus: "Na, Na, Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Jude!" It was one of the cooler things I've seen live in my entire life. His encore lasted just under an hour before he brought the house down with one of his greatest hits "Shake Everything You Got."

Sunday morning, we got breakfast from the little coffee shop on the corner near our apartment before Chris surfed again and I made a fool out of myself. The waves were smaller and I almost caught a couple waves. Shortly afterward, we went back to PB Shore Club around 3 o'clock in the afternoon for some "lunch" except lunch included several Dos Equis and a round of Patron shots. We headed back to Longboards before making our last stop at a place called Typhoon. Why we stopped there, I have no idea. I was hammered drunk at 7 p.m. and I think the boys weren't that far behind me. Rounds of Tequila shots were consumed and the girls quickly left us up to our own Shenanigans. I got home at 1 am on Monday morning, but not before making another stop at Ramiro's. Despite arguing with two jackasses over the quarterback of the Oakland Raiders in the 1970, we each had our burrito in hand and stumbled home. Halfway home, I channeled my inner Nick and threw my burrito in disgust at what, I'm not sure. I woke up Sunday morning with a terrible headache and a sore throat, coughing profusely. I intended to go to work but took some Nyquil by "accident" bid the boys adieu and slept all morning and afternoon. Waking up hungover and sick at the same time has to be one of god's best kept punishment secrets and man it's awful. I fully deserved it after the weekend that ensued. I haven't touched an alcoholic beverage since and I can't say i will again for a few more weeks.

Some words of wisdom I suggest you pass on to your children. There is a Nick inside all of us ladies and gentlemen just waiting to be sprung loose. Do whatever you can to get rid of it at an early age. A friend of your child's at some point in the future will wish you had and society (including a few newspaper stands) in general will be happy you did so.

Animal Kingdom

Now that I've been out here for a few months and have settled down, it's about time I check out something other than the multiple types of Tequila shots and how best to drink down a sunset. I came up with a bunch of activities I want to get through in my time in San Diego and so two weekends ago, Anne and I hit up the San Diego Zoo. I was a bit skeptical that it would live up to it's billing at first. The way Ron Burgundy hyped it up, I was expecting the best and to my surprise, it absolutely lived up to billing.

A huge pool of flamingo's awaits your gaze as you enter and plot your course for the afternoon. It was a gorgeous day (high of 73) and despite our early start, the zoo was packed. We got started in "Tiger river" because Anne had a huge desire to see the "Big Cats" but "Tiger River" was so much more than a giant flesh-eating tiger. It started off with a couple of these weird animals with phenomenal beards whose name actually was "_____ bearded_____" and originate from southeast Asia. The didn't really move around that much or do anything cool, but I was fascinated with their facial hair. This isn't terribly surprising because the closest I can get to growing a beard is a ridiculous half-assed neck beard. Further down the path we came upon some Tapir's and a HUGE Python, who clearly had eaten something rather large recently. Quickly moving on, we meandered through Tiger River until we got to the Tiger's lair where of course, we couldn't see the Tiger. This Malayan Tiger was hanging out in the top corner of the pen pacing back and forth like something was seriously bothering him (maybe being trapped in a faux 'natural' habitat, but I wouldn't know, I'm not a Tiger.)

After Tiger River, we proceeded through the Ituri river and came upon the Hippo's! They didn't appear to be very Hungry opting instead two lay on top of each other, adjusting every few minutes. For the record, they are ENORMOUS, and do not respond to crowds urging them to jump in the water. We hung out for a little while hoping against hope that the Hippo's would oblige and go for a dip but after it appeared that they would not, we moved on to the rest of the forest. After checking out a few cool monkeys we hiked up to the Polar Bears. With the temperatures in the mid 70's I expected the Polar Bears either be in the water or in some sort of air conditioned area but they were just hanging out in the sun which got me to thinking. I'm a full believer in Global Warming but the image you always hear about are "How are the Polar Bears going to survive in a warmer climate?" Well, I can tell you they seemed to be doing just fine in the San Diego Zoo... but then again, they also are fed by humans and live in a contained area 4.4 acres in size.

To wrap it up, we decided to check out the Lions, some napping Brown Bears, the Hyena's
and these monkeys who went absolutely nuts when we a bunch of people showed up in their area. One Monkey in the first cage started hooting and then all of a sudden, they all started jumping around their cages making a ton of noise. Something must have happened because one of the zoo keepers showed up and checked on the cages but the monkeys continued on, jumping and screaming at a very high pitch. We got out of dodge and headed to my favorite exhibit...the Elephants. First, they are the largest land mammals on the planet but most importantly, they eat for 18 hours a day. Now that's an animal I can hang with. The San Diego Zoo has three elephants in the pen and literally they didn't stop eating for a moment. It's a pretty fucking awesome life. Eating 18 hours throughout the day and sleeping for the other 6. Sign me up! Unfortunately we missed the Panda's and any Ron Burgandy sightings but I can't wait to go back and check out the Panda's, Koala's and most importantly, the Gorilla's. I hear they throw shit at little kids which, let's be honest, is hilarious. With my luck however, they'll probably throw it at me and I'll be the asshole. This is my life friends.

Getting Old is Going to Suck

Monday night after work, I went to the gym for my usual workout which consists of a half hour run on the treadmill followed by some weight lifting. About 5 minutes into my run on the treadmill, I realized that the toes in my right foot had gone numb. This seemed a bit odd so I stopped (faking like I had a knee injury so I wouldn't look like a jackass, obviously) walked around a little bit before coming to the conclusion that it wasn't a big deal. Clearly I'm the expert and I know a lot about medicine and physical training. I decided I'd jump straight to lifting and cut the cardio out for the day. After doing a little bench press, incline press, and incline fly's I felt pretty good and moved on to my shoulder exercise. This consists of lifting two dumbbells over my head and pushing them upwards and back down, 3 sets of 8 reps. Usually I pump these out at 35 lbs but I was feeling good after maxing out on my previous sets. The first two sets of the shoulder exercise went smoothly, only struggling a little bit to get the last rep up. I rested for about two minutes and then started with the last set. Around the 5th rep I started to struggle getting the dumbbell back up and arched my back like an idiot to get more leverage. It felt a bit odd in my lower back but nothing too serious. I did a quick tricep lift and headed home. By the time I got home, I felt my back starting to tighten up so I stretched a bit, had dinner and went to bed.

When I woke up Tuesday morning, I couldn't really get out of bed comfortably. Walking straight was a bit of an issue and I couldn't really bend at the waist. Uh ohh. Back in college I was diagnosed with two herniated disks in my L4 and L5. All those years of swinging a golf club and being awesome were starting to catch up to me at the ripe old age of 21. Tuesday morning felt just like those days in college. I couldn't really put on my boxers without grunting and moaning. The battle that raged between me and my socks and shoes was akin to the War of 1812. Rather quick, some burning, screaming and terrorizing before I emerged victorious much worse for the wear. Driving to work was seriously difficult. You don't realize that you use your back for virtually every body movement until it's injured.

I've been popping Tylenol and Advil like Skittles since Tuesday morning. I'm wearing those Thermacare heat wraps every day that looks like the top of an adult diaper and I can't dress myself. This is what life is going to be like when I'm 80 yrs. old. Popping pain pills, wearing diaper like things and lacking the ability to dress myself. The only good thing about being that old will be that I can say whatever the fuck I want to and nobody can get mad at me because I'm old. "Your daughter looks like a Hippopotamus" See, that's something I could never get away with saying to someone at 25, even if it's true. But, when I'm 80, everybody will laugh and muffle under their breath how bat shit crazy/funny Grandpa Adam is. Sadly, I'll still lack the ability to put on my underwear much less do anything under my own power except fart.

So here I am, staring bleakly at my future (should I be fortunate to make it that far) with a debilitating back injury because I was an idiot and tried to be a hero in the gym. Nice Life.

Carolina -Dook

This is one of the most exciting weeks of my year. Not because of Super Tuesday, not even because of the Super Bowl. No folks, this week is exciting because of a great game between two rivals, with two different shades of blue, separated by only 8 miles of Tobacco road. This is CAROLINA-DOOK* week.

Arguably the greatest rivalry in all of sports, these two teams represent what's best about college basketball. Passionate fans, unparalleled talent and a rich tradition of excellence makes every game a classic. Every Carolina and Dook fan has their favorite game. My personal favorite would be the clash in Chapel Hill in 1998. It was a back and forth affair until the final minutes when Carolina broke the game open with a 26-2 run, capped off by the greatest missed dunk ever.

A few numbers point out just how great the rivalry is. UNC and Dook have played37 games when both teams are ranked in the top 10 and 25 times when either team is ranked No.1 in the country. They have also played 5 times when both teams are ranked in the Top 5 with Carolina leading 3-2. I can't think of another contest between two teams who hate each other so intensly and who play so many memorable games.

I will be sitting on pins and needles all day tomorrow up until tip-off at 6 pm and throughout the entire game. I have been a real Carolina fan for more than a decade. In fact, my first memory is their national championship victory over Michigan in 1993. I was a fan through the mid 90's of Jameson, Williams, Carter, and Cota as well as the Doherty years most fans like to forget. When they lose, it takes me a day or two just to get over it. When they lose to Duke, it's a sense of embarassment and hurting that lasts for days on end. On those glorious days when they dismember the Blue Devils, I am on cloud 9 and there isn't a thing that can bring me down off that euphoric high.

So at 6 PM, I will don my tar heel basketball shirt and square up in front of the TV to root on the Heels. It should be a good game. The two teams have strengths and weaknesses that the opponent can exploit. Certainly after the Tar Heels lost Ty Lawson on Sunday, it will be more difficult to run our offense but Quentin Thomas is a capable, quick point guard who should be effective. Our greatest advantage in the front court is clearly in the front court with Hansbrough, Thompson and Stepheson but Dook has several quick quards who could pose problems for the Carolina defense. Either way, it's gonna be awesome!

GO HEELS, BEAT DOOK!

*Gina Del Tatto deserves full credit for enlightening me on the correct spelling of that other University 8 miles down the road in Durham.

Super Bowl Rehashed

WOW! Three simple letters just about sum up the Super Bowl last night. From the opening kickoff, it was clear the game was going to be a smash mouth, knock down drag out brawl till the final whistle. The Giants first drive was certainly indicative of how the game would play out. I firmly believed that Eli would buckle under the pressure of his first Super Bowl appearance and when the Giants were faced with a long 3rd down conversion on their first possession, I would have bet a fortune that Manning wouldn't come through. To my surprise, he completed a strike, got the first down and the Giants were rolling. Even though the Giants didn't score a touchdown on the first possession, taking 10 minutes off the clock was huge for their psyche.

As expected, the Patriots responded with a methodical drive and quickly restored balance in the universe. But then, the Giants stiffened up and for the next 45 minutes, they pushed the Pats around controlling both lines of scrimmage. Eli Manning managed the game, didn't really force any bad throws into triple coverage across the middle of the field and was incredible when it counted. His 4th quarter, 9-14 2 touchdowns including the last 12 play, 83 yard drive in 2:07 will go down as one of the more memorable performances in NFL history. How he managed to avoid getting sacked by the entire Patriots D-Line, and then pulling his patented "spin around" where he turns is back to the entire play without getting killed, and then completing a 32 yard pass to David Tyree (who made one of the most miraculous catches ever) blows my mind. The Giants went on to score 4 plays later on a filthy double move by Plaxico Burress.

Despite the fact that Eli produced a game winning drive, I still thought the Patriots would find a way to come back. Part of you did as well. Tom Brady had three timeouts and needed to drive 40 yards with Randy Moss and Wes Welker as his wide receivers. He had done it before and he certainly will do it again. Unfortunately for the Pats it was not to be. What a great game though! I think I had about 17 heart attacks during the 4th quarter alone. The Giants pass rush was something to enjoy and made the difference in the game. Aikman & Buck were calling Justin Tuck, Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora's name all game long and even though the Patriots offensive line fought hard, the D-Line of the Giants was just too fast. It was a pretty clean game with few penalties, only two turnovers but lots of "Wow" plays on both sides that made the game enjoyable to watch.

The Patriots were a very good team and had a great season. I have been rooting against the Patriots to go undefeated all season, particularly after Spygate (while I recognize that every team might cheat, they got caught and I was bitter that they would still get a top 10 pick because my 49ers are terrible). However, during the lead-up to the game this week, I was almost swayed to stay neutral after talking about the potential history associated with watching a team go undefeated with my good buddy Glen Lenihan. Realistically, it's probably not going happen again for a very long time, if ever again, and the opportunity to tell my son or daughter "I saw the Pats go 19-0" would have been cool. The way they were able to dominate all season and I don't doubt that they will be back next year and could go 18-0 again next season, putting themselves in the same position to make history. While it may not be of any consolation, you still have the Sox and the Celtics. Hell, the Bruins might even make the playoffs this year.

To Glen, Ian, Rich, Brian, Knacke, Goner, Mele, Reilly, Foley, and the rest of the Giants fans I know...Congratulations on a great season. Read the following statement three times out loud: "Eli Manning, Tom Coughlin and the New York Football Giants just won the Super Bowl."

Wait...What?

Weekend Update

This past weekend was very mundane. I've decided to detox from the debauchery of the past few weeks and refrain from drinking for the month of February. I also thought it would be wise to pick the shortest month of the year. I've started spinning recently and man it's just as difficult as I thought it would be. I learned to ride a bike up on the Vineyard a long time ago, but Friday afternoon, I was certainly wishing that had never happened. Two weeks ago, I took a class for the first time, and I don't think I've sweat that much since the first time I made Whoopie. It was intense from the jump and the instructor kept looking at me and calling me out in the class. I mean, yes, ok, I'm the Fat Kid, but damnit there's no need to shine the spotlight.

On Friday after work, I thought I'd go in the spinning room and just hop on the Spinner and ride for a little while, get a good workout in. Anne was spending the weekend in L.A. visiting her sister so I didn't have a reason to get home right after work. Within the first 10 minutes I was already regretting my decision. The deep burn in my legs was intensifying and I had all but decided to call it quits when two people came into the room where I was spinning. Clearly, I had to continue riding just so I wouldn't look like a pussy...I don't think I had broken a serious sweat at that point. I did manage to ride the bike for about 45 minutes before I shut it down. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good afterwards and after a little lifting I headed home. Not surprisingly, there was still traffic at 7:35 Friday night, that's California for you.

Upon getting home, I made some dinner and watched "The Kingdom." I wasn't sure if I was getting the Jamie Foxx from Ray or the Jamie Foxx from Stealth, but if I could get something in between, I'd be satisfied. Much to my surprise, it was closer to his performance in Ray and the movie was phenomenal. I was sitting on the edge of the couch for the last half of the movie. The ending was very powerful and thought provoking. I definitely recommend that everyone should watch it if you haven't done so already.

Saturday, I got up, ran a few errands and then met up with Steffie, one of the girls in the house, and rode the Old Town Trolley around the city of San Diego. Surprisingly, it turned out to be pretty cool, and I got to see several different parts of the Whale's Vagina that I probably wouldn't have seen for a long time. Later that night, we all went out to this bar called "The Firehouse" a pretty cool spot right in Pacific Beach. The downstairs has a "loungy" atmostphere with flat screens on the walls and bartenders that are certainly skilled in their craft. Two thumbs up to the bartender who held 8 cups together like a laundry line over the shot glasses and poured 8 shots seamlessly. Usually I hate bartenders who flip bottles up in the air behind their back just to pour me a Woodford "neat" but this was pretty cool I must say. Eventually, I made my way upstairs to the rooftop portion of the bar that is pretty tight. Heat Lamps are strewn around the place and it's even got a hot coal pit at the back of the bar that spews a gas fire helping to keep the Californians warm on a "cold" night.

It was tough going the whole night without boozing but I made it, sipping on club soda w/ lime the whole night. God, this is going to be difficult. The people watching on the other hand was remarkable. A few of the patrons in attendance merit further discussion thankfully. First and foremost there was a d-bag wearing a cowboy hat who got it caught on fire briefly, standing too close to one of the heat lamps. Not surprisingly, he was kicked out later on for trying to start a fight and carrying on like he just turned 21. About an hour later, I saw the same guy get kicked out of the PB Shore Club a block away not wearing a t-shirt. Somebody's gotta be the hero. There was also a girl at the bar who looked like Dolly Parton. I'm pretty sure if one tried, you could have peeled her face off if you tried and there's no way God gave her the "Twins" she had saddled up under her neck.

Gotta Love California.

Yes We Can