Here’s how Rockford says “Lost” is going to end: NotLocke and Jack, sitting on the beach having the Jacob/ManInBlack conversation.
Category Archives: Diversions
The stuff that didn’t fit elsewhere.
In which I may be too old for live music
6/52
Wilco tickets! Babysitters!
Our date night this weekend was actually an out of the house date! After we dropped the kids off at my brother’s house, we drove a few hours* to meet some friends for dinner before the show. (At a real restaurant! Where we didn’t have to ask for a high chair or crayons or a kids menu!) After dinner, we walked over to the show venue. The concert was terrific, despite the people sitting in front of me who spent most of the show leaning over talking to each other and thus blocking my view.
(Attention: People who go to concerts just to drink beer and/or make small talk all night! Take it to the lobby! Sheesh. I think I’ve gotten old and grouchy enough to need to pony up more money for better seats, so there are fewer irritating people in front of me. Either that or just stay home and listen to my record albums on the Victrola.)
After the show, we drove about half way back to my brother’s and checked into our 3-star-according-to-Hotwire hotel.** The hotel was just around the corner from an exotic car wash — which I assume means it had a tropical theme or something — and it was attached to a “sports bar” from which poured a steady stream of ladies dressed in various configurations of spandex. The room itself wasn’t terrible, so long as you didn’t look very closely. In other words: Wow, Hotwire, you and I? Our stars do not align.
Fortunately, I was too tired to care all that much about the noise levels or the big rip in the curtain. It was a terrific date.
*There aren’t many bands that I’d go to that much trouble to see, but Wilco is one of them. In fact, Wilco is probably the only one.
**The conversation that was had when booking said hotel:
Me: “It isn’t telling me what hotel it is.”
Rockford: “But it’s a 3-star hotel! It’ll be fine.”
Me: “Three star according to?”
Rockford: “Zagat! It’s Zagat-rated.”
Me: “It is not. But fine.” Click
He immediately rejected ‘The Nice Marmots’
Have I ever told you about my sister-in-law’s bowling skillz? Well let me tell you: She has ’em. She bowled for Michigan State’s bowling team. I believe she’s bowled very, very close to a 300. Her dad has ten 300s and is 
in their local bowling hall of fame. Her family gave my brother a bowling ball and bowling shoes for Christmas one of the first years he and Carrie were together.
So it’s not terribly surprising that my brother and sister-in-law are in a bowling league. What is surprising is that they don’t already have a totally awesome name for their team. A quick Googling tells us that the world of bowling team names is rife with puns. Which means, of course, that I was thrilled when my brother asked me to help him come up with a new team name and a T-shirt design for his bowling team.
Sadly, he didn’t know what I was talking about when I suggested “The Nice Marmots,” and there are already a few great T-shirts with the “Little Lebowski Urban Achievers” theme. But here’s what I came up with:
A. The Bowlers.
Simple, elegant and would require the wearing of a hat to every match.B. Catan: Anchors and Crankers.
These kids loved “Settlers of Catan.” The game has a bunch of “Catan: This and That” variations, so I looked up some bowling terms and added them. So that’s what that’s all about.C. Strike-o-saurus! This one makes me laugh. It’s currently my desktop.
My brother can’t decide which one he likes best, so I’m bringing it to you, Internet. Please find the poll over in the sidebar and vote!