My wife bought Guitar Hero. I was skeptical.
24 hours later. I'm touring England, have shot a rock video, have been sponsored, and have purchased new guitars and outfits from the "store".
Our friends came over and played it...and by 8AM the next morning...were waiting in line to buy a Wii at BestBuy along with Guitar Hero.
Wii...would like to play.
Steph and I are freshening our Salsa/Merengue/Rumba skills in a great class over in Waukee. Another 6 week class will being in March. If interested, let me know.
Either way, we'd like to head out soon to one of the salsa dancing locations in town. I think that Warehouse on 100th in Urbandale holds regular Salsa nights on Tuesday...at about 9PM. They start with lessons and dancing starts at 9:30PM.
If interested...let me know. You can find out all of the dates and times here on SalsaIowa.com
76 year old William Shatner recently stated that he has never watched any of the original series episodes or movies.
He said he hated watching himself perform on screen, saying “I suck”.
I'm grateful that he never watched his overacted, pregnant pause ridden, space adventures...because he may have stopped doing them! I am a huge Trekkie and have been since my dad introduced me to the series in the early 80's (reruns of course).
So the dream of seeing David Lee Roth with Van Halen is about to come true on Feb. 6 if they hold together. Chances seem good now. But I'd like to meet the band somehow. So here's the deal. They're in Omaha on the 4th.
I need to figure out where they're dining on the evening of the 5th. Any ideas? Any insiders with secret info? How about 801 Grand? Any place nicer downtown?
Anyway, if you can help me obsess like a school girl, please help.
I decided about a month ago that the Wii was the gift that would give our family some fun time together without the TV (so to speak). I can't believe how brilliantly the Wii has captured such a wide demographic swath. I would NEVER consider the XBOX or Playstation because honestly, I'm just not a gamer and I don't want to waste time "getting to level 28 and achieving GodMode" or whatever you call it these days.
However, my belief about the Wii is that my entire family including 2 sub-5 year olds will be able to go bowling together , play golf together, and generally just have fun together on less complicated "short term" games. I find this so fascinating...that the other game boxes probably have simple games, etc...yet I have no intent on getting them whatsoever.
The Nintendo folks have done a marvelous job positioning this game box and the complete sell out all over the globe is a testament to that. It seems that I and the rest of the world want one this XMAS. I'm on the hunt and will probably end up lining up outside a store somewhere in the next few weeks.
Some local outlets got inventory today but it did require staking out a spot to get one. Oh well, I'll stay on the hunt and stay in awe of the Wii-Licious job of branding/marketing/positioning that Nintendo has done.
Bravo!
For our recently passed 10th wedding anniversary...Steph got us tickets to An Evening with Colin Mocherie & Brad Sherwood at the Civic Center. If you're a fan of Who's Line Is It Anyway? with Drew Carrie, Wayne Brady, et all..you know who I'm talking about here.
If laughter is good medicine...then I've O.D.'d. We were almost in tears from the moment the guys walked on stage. The art of improvisation is truly amazing. In one sketch, the most obscure references are put together into a story line by linking audience suggestions. Tonight's was a crime investigation. Colin was interrogating Brad (who was taken away and had his ears plugged securely and with an audience member on guard). Brad had committed a heinous crime...unknown to him. The crime was:
Transplanting a parakeet heart into Marie Antoinette and smuggling smurfs to teach English with a totem pole in air balanced building in Macoata using a banana.
Totally obscure. You can tell that these guys spend A LOT of time together because even their vague clues are often picked up on immediately.
It's well worth seeing this show..if for no other reason than to see the mouse trap mine field improvisation at the end.
OK, I watch it. I love it in fact. I've always been a fan of ball room dancing and this show had me hooked day 1 season 1. This year, there's another interesting and eclectic mix of people, including Mark Cuban, my favorite funder of toilet technology. He's pimping for votes on his blog today (I'd do it to)...and did pretty well I must say. Tall big guys look wooden and awkward when they start out (Jerry Rice).
I'll try and keep up week to week without DVR'ing all of them so I can provide my readers with the (cue the impressive music) DWTS update 2007!
Latest dad/son advice quote saved up for the future: "Son, if you love dancing, follow the passion. You'll catch a lot of grief from your buddies...but trust me, you'll never be wondering what to do on a Saturday night."
One of my top 5 movies of all time is Wall Street (Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, etc.). Well, the word is out, they're making Wall Street PART TWO! Maybe I'm late to the party...but this is big news. It will be fun to gather with friends and theorize how the plot might unfold.
Well, at least Cuban's HDNET is coming to Iowa Speedway to produce unbelievable HD coverage of the NASCAR Grand National series at Iowa Speedway. I find myself watching HDNET more and more since they run excellent movies, have great live concerts (they U2 a while ago...my fav), and run lots of homegrown content in the best HD quality I've seen.
Of course, I'll be at this race in person and to my knowledge, HDNET cannot produce the smell of gasoline and little rubber bits flying into the crowd.
Here's the piece in the Des Moines Register with more detail.
Spamalot, the broadway edition of my MFM (Most Favored Movie) Monty Python & Holy Grail, is coming to the Des Moines Civic Center and I've just procured my tickets and my valet parking pass. I'll have to rewatch the movie (the one that during college, I could recite fully including the credit text that whizzes by quickly) to refresh my memory.
For me, this movie represents wonderful times in my life including fraternity days, top ramen, and really cheap beer...but you know life was good. I formed many lifelong friendships during those years, many of which still flourish today. Leave it to me to have key life experiences referenced by a Python film. That says a lot about me, my sense of humor, and my outlook on life huh?
WRITERS & READERS!
You are formally invited to attend the first ever global blogging BBQ (held in Iowa...the center of the blogouniverse)! Details, RSVP form, and all the particulars can be found by clicking this link but it's being held on March 17 starting at 3PM. I encourage you to spread the word and I'll do my part by spreading the Mexican BBQ fiesta! Kids welcome, etc.
I'd like to share in fellowship with you all so please come by and grab some tacos at the very least.
I think I'm going to make one and post it on GooTube soon. I only have the title right now.
NEED FOR HEAT III: Iowa DRIFT
Bugger It's cold out there. Still sub-zero. But my glass is half full. We don't have 9 feet of snow, the sky is clear, and its forecast to go up overnight into the 20's and into the 30's (with snow) by the weekend. Should be a winter wunderland.
I just finished up class #1 (it's really class 2 but ignore that) of my voice classes at Radio Garage in Urbandale, IA. These guys are the real deal and wow...what a cool thing to be "In Studio".
We spent a good portion of the class reading a script in normal voice, and in "character voice". That character voice was different for everyone. Some sounded completely different than themselves (think Valley Girls and Brooklyners). What I found most interesting was the nervousness and tension that many of us felt "letting go" with our characters. We didn't plan for this and unless you've been practicing an alter ego for most of your life or doing impressions, you had to figure out who you wanted to be on the spot. We read in regular voice, then character, then back to regular to notice what "carried over".
Then, we went into the recording studio. This part was so COOL. There I was standing in front of a multi-thousand dollar microphone with studio quality head phones on. I could HEAR MY BRAIN WAVES! Every wrinkle of my shirt was audible and even the slightest dry mouth resonated through the mic like a cow chewing its cud. But even more magical was the transformation that I underwent. The separation from the others and the isolation of the room seemed to unleash my inner monologue voice...the one that I annoy my wife with. Until I have post-able MP3's, let me lay it out for you visually.
What do you get when you mix the following?
+ 
+ 
+ 
Don La Fontaine Bill Shatner Bill Curtis Stone Phillips
You get my alter ego and voice over king of all media:
Doug LaShatStonis!
"In a worrllllld where space and forensic evidence combine to form a truly cosmic tv show."
I'll just leave you with this and count the hours til the next class.
Inevitably, on a Saturday afternoon (Sunday's are NASCAR), if my wife is enjoying some down time in front of the TV, I'll find her flipping the channels...then in an instant, I hear "You're the one that I want....you are the one I want...wooo hooo hooo". Yes...It's Grease. I've been telling her for years that there's a certain group of movies that guys and girls will stop and watch on TV even if they own the DVD and have 7.1 surround...and commercials, who cares! Here's my choices for the top 10 lists from the home office in Des Moines, Iowa. I'm sure there are many more that can be included and I welcome your comments. Be certain that these choices show my biases.
Top 10 "Found While Flipping and I'll Always Watch" Girl Movies
Top 10 "Found While Flipping and I'll Always Watch" Dude Movies
