Saturday, May 29, 2010

Meet my buddy, Johnnie Walker. He's from Scotland.

Okay, so this is the first, um 'potentially drunk' post I've ever written. However, I've also wanted to, you know, perhaps do that. With that said, let's get real...

Just watched the ending of St. Elmo's Fire. Remember Andrew McCarthy? I gotta be honest, the music from that movie makes my heartache. It's like, I don't know, a reminder of how old I'm getting. 80's music always does that to me. It's just scary how time flies by.



Getting older is such a surreal experience, and I really don't know how to explain it. I've spent my life dealing with people that are older then me, but now, that's not the case. Professionals such as doctors, lawyers, athletes, you name it - all younger than me. I tell myself that 30 was the new 21, but hell, that was five years ago.

But wait, I do have a silver lining. Not sure if that's the right term, actually.

Anyway, my 30's so far has kicked my 20's ass, and my 20's were pretty awesome too. At this point I'm comfortable with who I am and that's pretty damn liberating. I often wish that 20's Brad could have been more like 30's Brad, but then you'd have time/space continuum issues.

I've always been a late bloomer, I mean damn, it takes me 4 months to grow a beard like this. But, I do feel sad about the fact that the years go by so quickly now. Relationships really mean so much to me now, and connecting the dots of my life bring me some sort of peace.

With that, I'm going to bed. Woo!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Counting sheep...

So, it's over.

I've used my blog to talk 24 before, and now it seems as relevant as ever before. As the clock ended on the series last night, I went to bed counting sheep by trying to list my top ten favorite 24 moments of all time.

What I couldn't do is list them in numerical order, so instead they're listed in order of season. I've included my honorable mentions at the bottom. 

(I apologize that I couldn't find clips of these moments, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless. The whole series can now be streamed on Netflix.)


  •  That bitch!
After spending the first day so close to Nina, you'd have considered her a main character that was the Tonto to Jack's Lone Ranger. Sure, she had her shady qualities, but they all did.

In the final hours, the sound of her voice speaking Serbian, or whatever the hell that was made me shit my pants. Seriously, poo everywhere. Well played, 24.

  • Hacksaw Jim Duggin
In the first season, Jack's family was at risk, and while we knew that he was crazy, at least we knew why. Or, at least we thought we did. 

They made a huge statement in the first hour of the second season, and let us know without a doubt that shit was 'bout' to get crazy.



    •    Jack and Nina, sitting in a tree.

After that bitch killed Jack's wife, there were many awesome moments in the following seasons. It's hard to narrow them down, but here's my three favorites

    ⁃   Is Wayne Brady going to have to choke a bitch?
First contact since the end of season 1. Nina is trying to not look scared as shit, but she's scared as shit. Also, Jack knows she's scared as shit, so let the mind fucking begin. Nothing like a good throat grab, drag, and slam to get things started.

    ⁃    Lost in translation.
Lost In Translation has got nothing on this. Oh if we could only know what Jack whispered to Nina in the desert after a thwarted attempt to kill him. The look in her eye gave you an idea.

    ⁃    I don't care.
Season 3 - on the plane back from Mexico. Nina thinks she's crippled CTU and will soon be set free. By threatening the pilot, Jack gives Chloe enough time to stop the computer virus. Nina didn't believe him, but Jack responded with 'I don't care what you believe'. However, it was Jack's smile that followed that made it a million times more awesome.


  • Death of George Mason
In didn't take long into the 2nd day for 24 to show us how crazy the real time scenarios could get. CTU's resident asshole took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and got a heaping helping of radiation poison.

With less than 24 hours to live, Mason bucked up and went back to work.  This work ethic would lead him to hide in the back of a plane carrying a nuclear weapon, and giving Jack a reason to live.

It was the moment that Jack got ready to bail out that left a mark. The final grasp from Mason, then Jack was gone, leaving nothing but a scared, lonesome Mason and his eminent fate.


  •  Death of Ryan Chappelle
Whew, what can you say about this. It was the first moment where both Jack and President Palmer let me down. It was also a point where the series strapped Fonzie in some skis and had the boat on standby.

I guess in the end, you can say it was the definitive moment where the series dropped it's elephant sized balls on the viewer. Like with Mason, it was the moments leading up to the final shot that fucked me up. Jack had to help him out of the helicopter because his legs were shaky - I mean, that's some cold-blooded shit.


    •    You, me, and an axe.

Okay, so there was plenty of shock in season 3, but it was the conversation that Jack and Chase had with their eyes. No words were needed, just a tourniquet.



    •    Don't fight it.

My favorite ending of any season, and probably the most fitting. After a day of doing some hanis in my anus shit, Jack sits in his CTU mobile and has one hell of a sob fest.

It's a moment where we realize that he was indeed affected by his actions. It's a moment of awareness where Jack realizes that his actions that day have changed him forever. Yep, he's going to hell.


    •    What's your primary objective?

Imagine if Superman had lived for a few years as only Clark Kent, then in a shining moment, bypassed the phone booth and just stripped down to the outfit. Well, that's what happened at the end of season 4's first hour, and it was glorious.


    •    Nobody puts baby in a corner

Not much good about season 6. In fact, I try to forget about it. However, it's rare that we get a moment with Jack where he can express his feelings, and the final scene between him and Secretary Heller is one of my favorites of the whole series.


    •    Soul Patch Zombie

It still doesn't make sense, but damn, it was great to see Soul Patch Jesus again. The year off due to the writers strike actually helped. I had some time away from the series and I didn't feel as inclined to care.

Be honest, when Tony showed us his scarred face in season 7 it felt like a friend coming home. Let's not get caught up on the fact that he died and they really couldn't explain that away. I wanted it and so did you . Is he bad, good, good, bad? Who cares? Hell, we were all upset that they killed that hot ass Michelle Dessler. 


Honorable mentions:
  • I think I love you.
After her work in season 3, Michelle Dessler could have taken over the series. Remember when she shot that dude for trying to leave the hotel? Damn.
  • Jack calls Kim
Season 2 - 'Hey Kim, going to die now saving the world.' Should have been cheeseball and maybe it was, but man, it's getting a little dusty in here. (sniff, sniff)
  • Death of a hobbit
So much death in season 5, however, it was Sean Astin's final breath that was the most horrific. Holding his breath knowing that when he finally did breathe he would die an excruciating death from poison gas. WTF?
  • Tony saves Jack 
Oh man, when Jack called the 'only person he could trust' in season 4, I really didn't know that Tony was coming in shooting. Beer belly and all.
  • Paul dies
This would have been Audrey's ex husband Paul gets his nipples shocked with a lamp cord. However, after taking a bullet for Jack, he's left to die by Jack's orders so that they can save the terrorist and get the pertinent info.
  • Jack on Heroin  
Need I say more?

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

The house that Jack built.


So, the house has finally been painted. However, it didn't happen without controversy.

Deciding on colors can be overwhelming, especially if you want something unique. I knew that I wanted something that looked clean and modern, something that stood out, without being too flashy. Brighter colors can be risky, and our paint guy, who was excellent by the way, steered me clear of the brightness. However, I didn't want neutral colors, I needed something a little more bold.

We did lots of driving around trying to find houses that we liked. Finally, we settled on about three houses that we liked. I wasn't sure when we had to decide, but I figured I'd just take our guy around and show him the houses and let him go to work.

The one thing I didn't anticipate, is that they'd come for our decision at 7 am on a morning after, well, a get together with a plethora of spirits. At that point, I was left alone in what Jack Bauer would call a 'flank 2 position'. As the paint ninja put some colors on the house, I thought, yeah - I should take him to those houses, but I couldn't.

No coffee to help, no time for food. Just me and the painters and one decision to make. A big one.

Let me just say this. I told everyone that we'd decided on a 'dark, charcoal gray'. So, when I walked out to see the first painted side of the house, I was taken back with the brown-ness of it all. Compounded with that, one the crew looked at me and said, 'is this really the color you want to paint it?'. I nodded, and he just replied 'oookaay'. As the paint started to dry, it did start to look better, and it did look more like what I pictured it looking like… somewhat.

What I didn't anticipate is that my neighbors actually expressed concerns to paint ninja (Oscar) that these weren't good colors.

I guess it's just me, but I don't give a fuck what color my neighbors paint their house.  I don't know who the culprits were, but honestly, I do live on an awesome street. So, I forgive you.

Once the porch was painted, well, it all came together, just as I planned. Drum roll please…