upon further reflection

in dealing with the tragic events surrounding hurricane katrina, i have come to realize that my insensitivity has gotten the best of me...again.

in truth, i am not a big fan of the city of new orleans. i've spent some time there and it is just hard for me to be positive about a culture that seemingly revolves around varying degrees of drunkeness and debauchery. the thing i do realize, however, is that most of this takes place in area heavily populated by tourists, and NOT the locals. i say this because for years, i have falsely accused the big easy of being every bit as shady and dirty, in its entirety, as any barroom floor along bourbon street. and i was wrong to do so.

i tend to over-simplify situations for the comedic value. it's something i'm not necessarily proud of, but it's true. so when the possibility of a storm this size wiping out new orleans came up, i made jokes. that's how my brain works.

since the reports started coming in yesterday, i have slowly begun to see that i have discarded, if only in my own heart and mind, the devastating human drama for the sake of my own amusement.

i will no doubt continue to point my ire toward those in hollywood and the like who will throw on the face and ask for our money. pardon me if i doubt intentions. but i want to be very clear to myself and to those around me that i do not take this situation lightly. i am saddened by it. i really am. i wish i was more affected by it, but it's hard for me to see beyond my own circumstances.

and that's something i'm learning to deal with.

virtual paper: take II

front page:

Hundreds feared dead, waters still rising in Katrina's wake

no jokes here...

'Our tsunami,' Mississippi hurricane survivors say

...well, not so fast. i guess that katrina came without warning just like the tsunami. no wait, you had THREE days to prepare. i'm not downplaying the destruction, just stop making that comparison.

oh, and i can't wait to see the "tribute" that hollywood hastily throws together in the wake of this tragedy.

alright, moving forward,

*rustle rustle rustle...*

Garfunkel Faces Another Pot Charge in NY

that's awesome! ahem..."like a briiiidge over trou-u-u-bled water...<trails off>...oh man, i'm so high"

let's see here...sports:

Roddick Ousted In First Round of U.S. Open

at least he won't lose to federer this time.

*rustle...*

Ostrich Stretches Legs on the Golden Gate

man, i miss san francisco.

Man Has Girl Present Hold-Up Note at Bank

it was a pracical joke gone wrong. now THAT's parenting. congratulations...5 years in prison.

*rustle, rustle...*

ah, the want ads:

1997 Lumina For Sale. New brakes. Excellent value. Must Go.

wow, that sounds like a great car! somebody would be CRAZY not to buy it.

and, in world events:

Ex-CIA operative denies Castro assassination plot

boring...

U.S. praises Libya, wags finger at Iran, North Korea

...boring...

Jellyfish Cause Reactor Shutdown in Sweden

...there it is.

and now, for the real reas...oh man! the dang crossword is already half filled out. oh, they put down DEPP for 1 across, i wonder what the clue was...let's see: "peter pan pirate." *shakes head* idiot.

i'm done with this.

*lights paper on fire. it's waffle time!*

one more non-sports post

because i have a feeling there is a big one on the horizon.

for now, i offer up an update to the cadeland galleries. it's not much but it's something. enjoy.

-mgmnt

at least i got tennis

i was all set to do this post about a few things that are actually FUN about sports right now. as some of you may recall, i follow teams that suck. even if they don't necessarily suck, they find ways to do really, really sucky things.

but, like the optimist i am, i was going to write about two good things about the sports i like.

i WAS going to.

i WAS going to say that i was enjoying the royals right now, because after their 19-game losing streak, every win is like a playoff victory. and they have been winning (4-2) since the streak ended. i WAS going to talk about how they had taken 2 of 3 from two of the best teams in the AL and were on their way to that same possibility against the yankees. that is, until they decided to piss all over the 4-run lead they had in the 9th inning! again!

they gave up 5 runs on a walk, an error (that should have ended the game, of course), 5 singles and a double.

i seriously cannot wait until this God-forsaken season is over. if anyone catches me getting even the slightest bit excited about the royals again until next march. make me stop. I AM NOT JOKING. i hate baseball right now.

*****

the other thing i was going to mention is that monday begins the 2005 u.s. open of tennis in flushing, ny. so far, this is still a good thing.

tennis is the one spectator sport that i have failed, to this point, to mention amongst my favorite. here is the actual list:

1) college basketball
2) baseball
3) tennis
4) the chiefs (not a sport, i know, but i don't really care about the NFL outside of KC.)
5) other (NBA playoffs, soccer, etc)

anyway, i love watching the grand slam tournaments. i've been to two (u.s. open, autralian open) and am working on going to a third (french open) next year.

if i can't see them live, i love to watch them on tv. what i love even more than watching them, is not having a job while they're on. i can literally watch 14 days of tennis...straight. it's the best.

so if you need me, i will be on the futon from 11 am monday until september 11th (with the exception of a few excursions to the airport and such) mindlessly watching a yellow ball bounce back and forth, all the while fighting off any urges to have a bonfire of merhcandise from a certain midwestern baseball "team" whose name escapes me at the moment.

out and about in boston

after a lovely lunch with ms. jones today, i walked around boston to take some pictures of this beautiful city in all it's summer glory. there are many pictures that i might share later, but for now...

i give this to those of you who get it.


(on a park bench on the esplanade, boston)

something that's NOT so horrible

i just went and saw bill murray in broken flowers. it was excellent, but i will not recommend it to anyone i know that likes tidy little stories that wrap themselves up in a nice bow. if you don't want to think about how a story ultimately turns out, don't see it.

but better than the movie was one of the two (yes, only two, i love hollywood hits) trailers before the movie.

the trailer:

-a sweeping, 4 second arial shot of new york city, glowing in the sun.
-quick fade to black
-then the piano kicks in

i literally dropped my m&ms.

i've known the movie was coming for quite a while now, but this was the first thing i have seen for it...





i cannot tell you how excited i am about this. i can, however, tell you how worried i am that it will not be good. a cheesy version of RENT? it could happen. director, chris columbus (that's right, THAT chris columbus) has promised, though, that it will be every bit as gritty and vulnerable as the stage version, if not more. i will breathe easy when i've seen it for myself.

and although, the movie has all but two of the original broadway cast members (who knew lt. green could sing?) i'm still not completely comfortable. rosario dawson as 'mimi' has a world of livin' up to - to do. and the cast is now 9 years older. so forgive me if i'm still a little cautious.

but, when all is said and done, i will still be among the first in line to see it.

television is horrible

i know, i know. "dead horse" and such. but, it’s too easy.

(this post contains no content regarding reality shows, that's just a waste of my time.)

6 minutes of stupid

an email from becky last night threw up a major "WTF?" flag for me. so, at her request, i checked out my kind of town on ABC. i only caught the last 4 minutes of this...uh...game show? a woman had to match the names of her neighbors with pictures on a giant board. complete with smarmy host and forced faux-suspense. anyway, she got them all right and everyone in the audience was really happy. also, there was apparently some sort of "appliance catapult" earlier in the show. i'm sorry i missed that.

i flipped immediately from town to xtreme fakeovers on PAX. the annoying host, seemingly non-existent point and grating "X-T-R-E-M-E...FAKE-OVERS!" theme song were enough. i turned the tv off.

new this fall

has anyone seen ads for kitchen confidential? this "funny" new show on FOX takes place in a restaurant kitchen. it looks so fantastic that i can hardly wait to get the "complete series" dvd and watch all 6 episodes after it gets cancelled in 2 months. (apologies to dan's actress friend's friend who was in the wedding crashers and also stars in this pile.)

CBS's the apprentice...oops, i mean, the cut is sure to...wait this is a reality show. never mind.

and i won't even get into FOX's the war at home. michael rappaport, say it ain't so.

you guys remember NBC?

aside from perennial cadeland faves scrubs and the office, the peacock offers only one show this fall that i can even think of getting excited about. my name is earl stars jason lee as a disheveled lotto winner/jerk. could be funny, but i'm being realistic and saying it won't be.

some shows i might be interested in

ABC is trying to get my attention with emily's reasons why not. this nearly impossible-to-say-outloud show stars heather graham. ms. graham tops my list of "actresses that i think are hot but can't act their way out of a traffic ticket." this means that i'll watch one or two episodes and then get bored. still, with alias' integrity nearly gone and desperate housewives' narrator continuing to possess the most intolerable voice i've ever heard, that's probably the only ABC i will watch.

network television's ugly stepchild, UPN, weighed in for a while with the shannen doherty vehicle, love, inc. then they fired her for unknown reasons and i forgot once again that UPN was even a channel.

then there's reunion (also on FOX.) admittedly, i dig the premise of this 24 NOT-knock-off. 6 friends. 20 years. each episode is one year in time. culminating with a murder at the end of the 20 years (aka: season.) intriguing? sure. but, if it's a hit, i just can't wait to see what cockamamie scheme the execs come up with to force a 2nd season.

there are, of course, many other things wrong with television (cable networks, law and order/CSI: des moines, etc.) but given my inherent lack of caring for most everything else outside of cartoon network's [adult swim], i'll stop here.

ten things i hate: tired of fighting edition

1) blogger-spam.

2) baseball. (it's technically a love-hate thing right now, but it counts.)

3) the fact that, despite being immune for my whole life, i think i am now starting to lose my hair.

4) that a movie as terrible as "my date with drew" is actually making money.

5) fear of the unknown.

6) fear of failure.

7) credit cards.

8) comedy central. first they "roast" pamela anderson (the obvious person to send up after you exhaust no-talents such as dennis leary and rob reiner,) and then they replay it a million times. i tell you, if they stop playing an episode or two of "upright citizens brigade" once every 4 1/2 months, they may join MTV in the "graveyard of former networks."

9) blogger-spam. seriously? and there is probably NO way to stop it!

10) laziness.

"chiefs quarterbacks involved in disturbance"

article

-this marks the third time in less than a week that chiefs players have either been arrested or involved in some altercation in or near their training camp in river falls. they need to ban alcohol from the clubhouse, stat! apparently, they can't handle responsible drinking.

-the royals are an embarassment and pathetic. (check with the march to infamy on my sidebar.) and i can all but guarantee that mike sweeney will clear waivers and be traded for the seemingly ubiquitous "prospects."

-the jayhawks continue to lose recruits and are slowly trying to climb out of the worst off-season in school history. on a cautiously up note, our all freshman and sophomore team might be fun to watch this year.


right now, i am finding it very, very, very, very, VERY hard to care about any of the sports teams (or sports at all) that i normally adore. maybe i should take up macrame or bingo or something.

the end of the sporting world

i am a big fan of pardon the interuption or "PTI" on ESPN. i love the lightning pace format and the mock-angry yelling of hosts tony kornheiser and michael wilbon.

today, i only caught the last 3 minutes, and i am still in shock at what i saw.

occassionally, one of the two (both columnists for the washington post)is off on assignment or vacation or whatever and some other columnist from another paper sits in. today's guest host: jason whitlock from the kansas city star. a man who's opinions are so biased and inane that they make hunter s. thompson read like john grisham.

not only is this guy the biggest idiot to ever get paid for writing nonsense, but he is completely unintelligable in person. there is a reason he is only a columnist...he can't talk! and he's on PTI? unleashed on an unknowing, national audience? what kind of reward for mediocrity is that?

maybe i should try to get on that show. i have limited sports knowledge, but at least i can form a sentence.

bad news bears and car carousels

i know i keep saying to many people that i no longer care about the royals this season. i must ammend this statement. i DO care. i want very badly for them to BREAK THIS RECORD and lose at least 5 (AL record; 7 more for MLB record) more games before they win one. that would mean that, at the very least, they would make it into the record books and have something to show for this stretch of the worst baseball ever played by any team in any league at any age group on any planet...ever.

today's game is an afternoon futile attempt to stop the 17-game losing streak in seattle. i decided to gamecast it and promptly turned it off after the 1st inning beltre grand slam gave the mariners a 4 run lead. that's all they need to sweep the hapless, and frankly embarassing, kansas city bears...er, royals.

i think GM, allard "but i got you guys jose lima" baird should be hit in the shin with a bat after every loss the royals experience next season. because, that's what this is about...next season. "we're rebuilding." unacceptable. "the team is young." inexcusable. we better be the best damn team in the AL next year after this national humiliation. if not, firing AND a syphillitc death are too good for that prick. get us some f--king talent, no excuses!

on to better things.

the unexpected break down of my much-tolerated car on sunday has led to a quite amazing turn of events. let's just say that i will be driving and new, yet familiar car in the very near future and looking for someone to give the "most boring car on the planet" a nice home. should be interesting.

and for those keeping track, the lumina is fine and, as an added bonus, getting her a/c fixed as we speak.

that is all.

flipping through the virtual paper

let's see...oh, here's something:

Jennings news reports headed to DVD

couldn't have released this 3 months ago? good to know that no one is trying to profit off of a beloved newsman's death.

*rustling*
page 2:

Husband of 'Peace Mom' Files for Divorce

cindy sheehan is, of course, the 'peace mom.' this woman's life sucks. i'm still not changing my view on her protest, though.

*more rustling*
dum de dum dum..."life and stye":

Atlanta Has Become Mecca for Black Gays

i could have told you that 3 years ago.

hmmm... what's next? ah, here we go:

Police seek diaper-clad man who pesters women

now THAT'S more like it. more of this please?

*vague whistling*
and...oh! it's the comics page:


yeah, cathy is still not funny.

*rustling*
well, here's some good news at least:

Experimental Hybrid Cars Get Up to 250 Mpg

oh wait:

Guatemalan Prison Riots Leave 31 Dead
Colombian airline says all 160 die in Venezuela crash
Israeli forces, protesters clash in Gaza settlement
Kathie Lee Gifford Returning to TV
July Inflation Jumps on Higher Gas Prices

oh well, at least there's this:

Hotels dumb down alarm clocks for weary guests

*tosses paper in trash (er..recycling bin of course,) puts on kill bill soundtrack, makes some toast.*

it's never going to stop

i just got an email that informed me that my dear (if not estranged) friend, danielle (danni) will be appearing on the next season of survivor.



holy crap. now i have to watch this thing...again!

add her to the list of people i know who cash it in for fleeting fame and a shot at money/love.

2002: cousin, gabe, on survivor: marquesas - watched until he got voted off in the 5th episode. too late to draw myself away from the evil-addicting phenomenon that is "survivor," i ended up watching the rest of the season.

2003: friend, melana, begins the cringe-fest, average joe - admittedly, i really just wanted to see her squirm when faced with superficial beauty's D-students. the comedy wore off quickly and then they introduced the "hunks" and i knew how it would end. fortunately, it was only 7 episodes long. melana, call me.

2004: ANOTHER friend, larissa, continues the madness with average joe: hawaii - rinse and repeat. although i fell for the thought that larissa might actually pick one of the dorks. she's got that way about her. alas, another 9 weeks wasted.

and i won't even COUNT the number of friends who have showed up on that other waste of television, soap operas.

why can't any of my friends get on to the amazing race? that would make far too much sense, i guess. oh well.

best of luck, danni. and if you win, can i borrow $100?

observations - a 600 word rant

***READER ADVISORY: this post is insensitive as hell. so is life. get over it.***

tonight, i sat in new york's laguardia airport (for only 45 minutes! yay!) awaiting my flight home after a harrowing week abroad...ie: kentucky.

as is usual in aiports these days, CNN was playing and i was forced to listen to anderson cooper stroke is ego and call it a news program. the two topics that stood out to me and almost got me in serious trouble (had i said aloud what i was thinking) were these:

first, the story of cindy sheehan and her little army of protesters who are hanging out outside president bush's ranch in texas. sheehan says she is staying put until the prez meets with her. her son died in iraq after only five days of service in 2004. she said she just wants to ask him "why her son died?" an obvious passive aggressive protest of the war and our presence in iraq.

let me stop here for a second. for those of you who don't know me, i am the political equivalent of something...else that...doesn't...care. i will not discuss, in this forum, whether or not we should be in this war or my views on the current administration. (although, i am sure if you looked really hard, you could find a couple blogs that do. *wink*) i'm just expressing my distaste for sensationalized "news." and i know i'm not alone in that.

anyway, ms. sheehan's son died in the war. okay. is this a sad thing? of course. do i support what she is doing? no. the last time i checked, our military was still a voluntary service. which means, he went over there with a sense of duty and to help others...REGARDLESS of "why" we were there in the first place. (incidentally, why don't we ever hear about the fallen soldiers who barely passed high school or beat up other kids when they were little? it's only the altar boys and eagle scouts.) i have a good feeling that the soldiers know the risk when they sign up. that said, it doesn't make any sense to me to live out your grieving process in the national spotlight just to hear one man say something he is never going to say. call me crazy, but i don't think it's worth what she is putting herself through. honestly, it makes me question her motives, whether sub-conscious or not. but, maybe i'm just an ass.

the second thing is this: natalee holloway. again, a tragic story. and this gripe has nothing to do with her, her family or anyone ACTUALLY involved. but rather with, of course, the media.

anderson cooper and his infinite smugness gleefully narrated a montage of what "our competitors are talking about today." citing that there were no new developments in the case, yet "the others" were still prattling on about it. well, good for C-N-N. aren't they great? this just made me realize that even though they weren't "reporting" about the case, they still used it to stoop to the level of sewage that is cable news.

what got me though, was in the montage, some dick from MSNBCBN..HF..N..C..or whatever, actually said, "this is the most agonizing disappearance case i have ever seen." or something like that. nice one. i can't think of a thousand case just like it that you vipers have jumped all over for about 32,000% of it's relevancy period. i really can't.

oh well, maybe except for that chadra levy case from way back in 2001. remember her?

i guess the world just needs another september 11th to be able to move on.

damn, i hate these people.

because i know you love it...

it's "fun with cade in airports: 3 nights in 3 cities" edition

upon completion of booking my flight for a week of work in lovely "you can NEVER really get enough of it" louisville, kentucky, i felt a little uneasy about its proximity to my return flight from colorado. but, what could be the harm, right?

my itineraries as they were booked:

sunday, august 07 2005:

-depart colorado springs 3:12 pm
-change planes in dallas/ft worth, depart for boston 6:30 pm
-arrive boston logan 11:19 pm
-home by midnight

monday, august 08 2005:

-depart boston logan 1:20 pm
-change planes in pittsburgh, depart for louisville 4:05 pm
-arrive louisville 6:32 pm
-watch "miss teen usa" 9 pm (if you don't know me OR my affiliation with the miss universe pageant system, then by all means, cast stones, just be prepared for retaliation)

simple right?

how it has played out so far:

sunday, august 07 2005:

-board plane, colorado springs 3:12 pm
-depart colorado springs 5:55 pm
-arrive dallas/ft worth 6:30 pm (local time, of course)
-board plane, dallas 8:05 pm
-depart dallas ft worth 9:10 pm


monday, august 08 2005:

-arrive boston logan 1:45 am
-baggage claimed and home by 2:45 am
-arrive boston logan's economy lot, park in same space vacated 8 hours earlier 10:00 am
-flight 3577 to pittsburgh, cancelled. no explanation offered
-board plane, boston logan 1:00 pm
-depart for new york/laguardia 2:30pm
-flight 3132 to louisville, departs new york/lga 2:30pm
-arrive new york/lga 3:30 pm
-rebook (standby) flight 3262 to louisville leaving 6:05 pm
-flight 3262 to louisville cancelled. no explanation offered
-rebook (standby) flight 3285 to louisville leaving 9:45 pm
-??????
-sit down and document yet another 24 hours of fun in the glamorous life of cade 4:22 pm. contemplate the possibility of "4 nights in 4 cities"

updates to follow, i'm sure.

and if anyone wants to tape "miss teen usa" for me (NBC 9et/8ct,) you would be my hero.

cheers.

tonight

tonight, i will be going to this place:



with this guy:



to see these two teams play:



i will not be wearing this:



i WILL be wearing this:



my prediction for the game is a leisurely 14-2 win by the red sox after KC's 12-year-old pitcher, kyle snyder gets lit up in his 2.1 innings of work. hopefully, i am wrong.

though i am sure that nothing bad will happen between me and the fenway faithful, i just pray that the beer that might be spilled on my head will, at the very least, NOT be this:

on my mind

this weekend, i'm heading to colorado for a friend's wedding. background story available here.

as i prepare myself for the things that will undoubtedly permeate this weekend's events (friday's golfing adventure aside,) i can't help but be comtemplative. this weekend, i am prepared...

-to see people i haven't seen in more than 10 years.
-for that to be awkward.
-to have overwhelming feelings of jealousy grip me throughout the ceremony.
-to see true joy in spite of all that.
-to think about the past too much.
-to have fun.
-to grow up.

all of this leads me to my point. i have a fear of this wedding. one that goes beyond any form of petty jealousy or self-induced-depression. it's a fear that this will be the last time that i will ever see my friend.

you see, i have both enjoyed and/or suffered through about 3 million weddings since i graduated from high school. most of these were my guy friends getting married, and there's usually little pain that goes with that. but, i have always had difficulty when it comes to my female friends walking the aisle. it's not what you're thinking. (well. at least, not in every instance.) this difficulty comes well after the ceremony. after a few months have past and i realize that i haven't seen or talked to her since the wedding...or begin to doubt i ever will again. i can say, with few exceptions, that with almost every female friend i have that has gotten married, our relationship has all but dissappeared shortly thereafter.

what causes this? there is the question.

is it an indication of the shallowness of the relationship to begin with? in some cases, maybe. is it because they now have found everything that they need in a male companion, thus negating (or at least miniaturizing) the need for other male friends? in some cases, it's possible. or, is it just me? is there something inside me that subconsciously closes off once they are effectively "off the market?" again, in some cases...you know, i could go off on a whole when harry met sally-esque diatribe about men only being friends with women they are interested in, but i won't.

the point is, whatever the reason for it, i hate it. and it terrifies me that it could be happening again. no. i won't let it this time. i can't. there are certain people that you just NEED to have in your life. even if they are in the smallest corner and you have to fight your way back to find them.

but are the others salvagable too? or is it too late? i don't have to like the fact that there's someone that i spent every waking hour with for what seemed like an eternity, who i haven't so much as said "hi" to in over 3 years. or, with others, why can't i be okay with a light conversation once every few years?

becasue that's not the way it was, that's why. and damnit, i hold on to the past like it was the only oxygen left in the known universe.

i'm not happy about it. but, i certainly can't figure it out either. i'd like to say that i'm okay with friends moving in and out of my life. that's it's a natural progression and i can accept it. but, that would be a horrible lie.

okay, that's enough for now. sorry about all this.