What I'm Thankful For....

Aaahhh, Thanksgiving. We're just one day away from Turkey Day, and I can't hardly wait that long. I've got great memories of Thanksgiving floating around my head. Waking up to the smell of a turkey in the oven... Watching the Macy's parade for about ten minutes before realizing it was fairly lame... Watching the Detroit Lions lose... Eating twice my body weight in stuffing and mashed potatoes. Good times.

Hopefully the true meaning of the holiday isn't lost on people between the binge eating and football-- stepping back and reflecting on the good things in one's life, and giving thanks. What am I thankful for, you ask? (Just pretend you did.) Well....I am thankful for:

He ain't not no bad guy.

Portland Trail Blazers' Criminal Woes

Very little entertains me more than reading about what these yahoos do. Drugs, domestic abuse, sexual assault... you name it, these guys did it. Oh, except for winning. Lucky athletes aren't role models, huh? At least Ruben Patterson proclaims his innocence by saying "I'm not no bad guy."

Saturday Programming on MPR

Playing my nerd card a bit early, I guess. With all of the crap that's billed as "news" these days, I've begun to embrace public radio. They have a noticeable liberal bias as well, but at least they don't act as shamefully as network news. Anyway, Saturday offers fun stuff like Car Talk, This American Life and Prairie Home Companion. TAL offers archives of their shows back to '97 here. Entertaining stuff while at work.

Jesse Ventura Leaving Office

My greatest pet-peeve in life is people who think that they are more deserving of benefits than others. Jesse is the poster boy for these SUV-driving, right-lane-passing line-cutters. It was nice having you Jesse. Good luck on that talk show-- apparently having a grasp of the English language isn't a requirement.

I'm not sure all these people understand.

Michael Stipe

It's been many years since R.E.M. held the top spot on Wade's Favorite Bands List. However, from 1991 to 1996 you rarely found me listening to anyone else. In 1997 their music started to get crappy and my tastes changed, so I rarely give them a listen now. However, whenever I hear Stipe's voice on a song like "Nightswimming" or even his cameo on the Indigo Girls' "Kid Fears," I get transported to a comfortable, well-known, warm place.

Woke up this morning.. got yourself a gun...

The Sopranos

One of the few watchable shows on TV. It's hard to say why Tony Soprano is a protagonist-- why do I care about what he feels? Great acting, great script, great imagery. And this is coming from someone who decries the amount of violence on TV. Sopranos is worth the price of HBO each month. I'm guessing as the cold and dreary months continue we'll get more into the other original programming.

Stoli Vanilla & Diet Coke

Thanks to Chelle for turning me on to this beverage at Nye's a few months ago. Good stuff-- pleasant flavor, not too potent. My new drink of choice in situations that dictate I can order a "girly" drink. Mmmmmm.

John Buccigross / Tim Keown columns

With the Sports Guy moving on to greener pastures (waaah!), I realized I need to find other sports columnists to entertain me. Alex turned me on to Buccigross, a hockey columnist for espn.com. He's got a very fun-to-read style and seems keeps me interested in following hockey even though I don't get a chance to watch games much. However, he hasn't written since early November. (Like I should talk.) Keown does a weekly piece for ESPN the Magazine that usually makes me crack up-- check out his "lists" of items at the end of each column. Speaking of, ESPN the Mag generally has some surprisingly good in-depth articles.

Alright, brain. It's all up to you.

The Simpsons

They're not dead yet! Although I don't watch the show twice a day anymore, I see it enough to make me realize that this is the only show that can make me slap my knee and laugh so hard that I scare the cat. (And, no, that's not a euphemism.) I'll argue with anyone that this is one of the most intellectual shows, despite the animation.

Fridays at 4:30 p.m.

Is there a better feeling than leaving work on a Friday afternoon? Of course there is. But not much.

IMDB and Baseball Reference.com

If you know me well, you're likely aware that I have a head for useless trivia. If you know me really well, you know that not being able to think of a particular trivia nugget drives me COMPLETELY batty. Enter the Intrnet Movie Database and Baseball Reference. These sites have saved me from bashing my head through a wall innumerable times. Want to know how many years Ted McGinley played Roger Phillips on Happy Days? Four ('80-'84). Want to know what team Tony Pena ended his career with? Chicago White Sox. The Internet is grand.

This next song is all about my love of hardcore, barely-legal pornography.

SNL Reruns on Comedy Central

When there's nothing good on ESPN Classic, I usually drift over to Comedy Central and (more often than not) a classic SNL episode is on. Thankfully they're still showing the "good" years (meaning the Will Ferrell years.) Actually, Will Ferrell makes me laugh as hard as The Simpsons. Did it get any better than Ferrell as the cowbell player of Blue Oyster Cult? As George W. Bush playing with a ball of yarn? Alex Trebek? Marty Culp? Screaming at his family that they should fear him because he drives a Dodge Stratus?

Chevy Chase

OK, not everything he touches turns to comic gold. (See Funny Farm, Cops and Robbersons, The Chevy Chase Show.) But when I list my favorite comedies, Chevy is involved in all of them. Caddyshack may be my favorite-- it's just such a strange yet witty flick. Chevy combines well with Ted Knight ("How 'bout a Fresca"), Rodney Dangerfield ("Hey Wang, get a load of this") and, briefly, Bill Murray ("CANNONBALL") to make a movie chock full of great one-liners. In a similar vein, I watched Fletch enough when I was younger to be able to recite the whole thing by heart. I swear that 14.5% of everything I say can be traced back to that movie. Christmas Vacation is a solid holiday tradition, and I've even got a soft spot in my heart for Three Amigos. I'm looking forward to watching his roast on Comedy Central on 12/1.

That's my list. Hope you have as much to be thankful for as well. Hope you eat enough turkey to get the meat sweats!

-WA