greatest. show. ever.

In anxious anticipation of the forthcoming Arrested Development movie, I leave you with this classic clip.



And for good measure, I posted another a clip in which Will Arnett appears on Sesame Street. The magician he plays will seem quite familiar to those loyal fans of Arrested Development.

Little 500 Qualifcations weekend

Bloomington twice in a one month? Not too shabby. Rather than give a narrative review of the entire weekend, I'll just highlight some key points:

1) In stark contrast to the glorious conditions experienced over SB2k9, the weather during quals weekend showered us with all kinds of awesome. Thunder, rain, snow, cold...yep, that pretty much sums it up. Thankfully, I was not showered by the golden variety.

2) In an attempted short-cut down to Sasha's place (my residence for the weekend), Kate and I somehow ended up 30 miles southeast of Terre Haute. I must have been distracted by my female co-pilot.

3) We pulled into Sasha's place near Spencer only to find him waiting anxiously with a 50cc dirt-bike parked in the driveway. It couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes after our arrival before he was off-roading around his property. As expected, he wrecked moments later and tumbled across his lawn.

4) Feske now has a bunch of saltwater aquariums...neat.

5) While waiting for Sasha to quench his insatiable coffee thirst, I heard what was quite possibly the worst music performance of my life. On the bright side, I'm one step closer to publishing my latest theorum:

[(Guitar + Bongos) x The Hipster Constant]/Tone Deaf = Zero Talent.

Kudos to the audience for being so polite. Fortunately, the live jazz at the Root Cellar cleansed my auditory palate.

6) Irish Lion is the new Nick's. Nick's is the new Kilroy's. Kilroy's is the new daycare...the clientele just keeps getting younger and younger---I never knew that a finger-painted self-portrait could pass as a valid form of identification.

7) Woj ate a receipt at the Irish Lion. We laughed shamelessly.

8) Sasha can drive very fast, especially when it comes to narrow, sandy, dark, hilly, curvy roads at 4am in the middle of nowhere. I never knew a Yaris could reach such speeds.

9) Rain = no mountain biking on Saturday morning.

10) Cutters qualified 3rd.

11) In an eating contest at the Laughing Planet, Woj ate a mondo burrito and a regular burrito faster than Zach and I could finish a single mondo. Somehow he managed to polish-off those bad boyz in 2 minutes and 15 seconds. Not to mention, three minutes after the contest, he went up and ordered an additional regular burrito and scarfed that puppy down in less than a minute. When asked if she had ever seen someone eat burritos that quickly, the cashier replied: "I don't think so, but I do know that you're going to have to shit like crazy in a couple of hours." Oh, Laughing Planet...

12) Kate and I watched the documentary "Man on Wire"...good stuff.


Until next time...

The Holidays are upon us

That's right, SB2K9 is just around the corner. If everything comes to fruition, in just a few short days, I'll be jet-setting down to Bloomington for a tropical spring break getaway. With temps in the mid-50's and sun in the forecast, I might even show off a little bit of ankle...hello knee warmers. Better yet, maybe I'll peel off the gloves and give my digits the freedom and mobility that they deserve.

So here's the plan: Carpool down to Btown on Saturday morning with Fowler. Ride with the Cutters for an easy two hours. On the way back to town, split off with Fowler and the Tattooed One . Head out 446. Turn at the flashers. Pay homage to the Damon Bailey shrine in Heltonville. Finish the 100k. Gorge ourselves on some mondo burritos at the LP. And finally, polish everything off with some of those delectable chocolate chip vegan cookies. It's going to be like camping...in tents (read: intense).

As for the rest of break, anything goes. Maybe I'll make a yacht dissappear...or better yet, sink it. It's the final countdown. Let the Holidays begin!

Lunatic Ninjas

This morning I discovered this little dandy on cnn.com:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/03/09/kangaroo.australia.wrestles/index.html

Okay, I have to admit that I would be pretty surprised to see a 6-foot-tall kangaroo flying through my bedroom window. However, I'm not so sure that I would jump to the same conclusion as these two eyewitnesses/victims:

"At first, he (my husband) thought it was a lunatic ninja," said Ettlin's wife, Verity Beman. "It leaped through the window, this martial-arts kind of figure. It was very Jackie Chan."

Seriously? Lunatic ninja? That was your husband's initial impression? Native Australian Paddy Kilmurray assured me that these folks must be "damn westies". In any event, it sounds like some individuals may have seen the flick Warriors of Virtue one too many times.

Back in the MWCCC

After a three year hiatus from collegiate racing , I stepped back into the ring this past Saturday...except this time donning the colors of the hideous IUPUI Jag kit (and by kit, I mean a team jersey and old Little 5 bibs). Having traveled to the Depauw University Road Race once before, I was fairly familiar with the 8-mile loop around Heritage Lake. With only a few small undulations throughout the course, it was easy to sit in and get the legs warmed-up for the approaching season. The most challenging section of the course came in the form of crosswinds just past the start/finish line. Naturally, the pace tended to rev-up each lap as we approached this area...I mean, who doesn't want a little bit of face time in front of the finish line spectators? Or maybe it was because some brosefs wanted to flex their muscle in the crosswinds. Either way, it provided some much-needed entertainment during a relatively straightforward and predictable race.

All in all, it was nice start to the season. The total length was just shy of 48 miles and we finished in just under two hours.