Jason Brzoska: 2005-11-06

Jason Brzoska

Saturday, November 12, 2005

Toronto, ON -- Exterior Shots

Spent some time out and about in Toronto today. The hotel is nice in the daylight:

Renaissance Toronto

One thing I really like about this area is the prevalence of blue-tinted glass windows:

Toronto, ON -- Trey "Shine"s

About a week ago, I picked up Trey Anastasio's latest solo release, "Shine." After several listens, it holds up very well against his Phish catalog, especially the title track and the repeat-until-you-drop-catchy "Spin." Highly recommended.

Toronto, ON -- Farewell, Bluth Family

After an excellent 2+ season run, Fox is pulling the plug on the brilliant "Arrested Development." Meanwhile, the writers at the Simpsons keep churning out episodes, despite its mediocrity for about the last eight seasons. I'd gladly trade the Simpsons for Arrested these days.

TV.com has a tribute to AD and several other shows who died too soon, including my favorite show, Upright Citizens Brigade.

Toronto, ON -- Great Hotel, Except...

I'm staying at the Renaissance Hotel in Toronto. It's a beautiful hotel, with a great view into the Skydome from the bar.

Skydome

Only one problem. I was hoping to get in some major PS2 action during my week here, and found that it's "against policy" at the hotel for guests to play their own video game systems, as that would compete with their "on-demand" gaming. I hope that's not the case when I get to Ottawa, or I'll have nothing to do there!

Toronto, ON -- Much-Needed Rest

11 1/2 solid hours of sleep... excellent.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Toronto, ON -- NPR Bias?

My first stop on my way to Canada was a familiar place, Nirchi’s Pizza, just outside of Binghamton, for a bit of lunch. I drove about 75 miles on NY-17, the “Future I-86.”

Scanning through looking for NPR in the Catskills, I found an independent radio station where the broadcasters appeared to be bashing NPR, but I couldn’t make out some of what they were saying because of the static. When the signal got a bit clearer, I heard a folk song disparaging NPR, and realized that they were, in fact, accusing NPR of being too conservative! I can see it, a bit… for one thing, 20 years ago, there’s probably no way NPR would’ve had a show called Marketplace! Later on, around Buffalo, I heard an actual NPR story recounting stories of persecution of scientists who promote intelligent design. Maybe there's something to it...

I made it to Toronto after a 12 hour drive last night. More later... I'm still exhausted!

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Albany, NY -- On the Road Again

I'm off to Canada for about ten days tomorrow -- about a week in Toronto at the UJC General Assembly, and then a couple of days off in Ottawa.

I'm taking the long way; starting off going south to go north...

NY Route 17 all the way across the Southern Tier, then up north around Niagara Falls. Why? Why not?!

I'm weird like that. Live with it.

Albany, NY -- This Guy Can Drink

60 seconds, 24 ounces, 20 bucks

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Albany, NY -- Election Results

Democrats did pretty nicely today in local and state elections around the country, especially in Virginia and New Jersey's gubernatorial elections.

For the record, "NO" on Prop 1 and "YES" on Prop 2.

Albany, NY -- Karaoke Friday!

From last Friday night in Boston -- I got up and drunkenly sang Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" to a packed bar... well, like 20 people.

When I got off the stage, the DJ said, "Well, you're certainly passionate," which is, of course, karaoke DJ code for, "You suck, but you certainly sucked enthusiatically!" See for yourself:

Jason doing karaoke in Boston

Me doing karaoke!

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Albany, NY -- Cheerleaders Gone Wild!

This is the staff teenage fantasies are made of... Two Carolina Panthers cheerleaders were arrested after allegedly having sex in a bathroom stall at a bar (thanks to Ari).

And then the aftermath: The Panthers' website was overloaded yesterday by horny men trying to look at images of said cheerleaders. I wonder what I have to do for that sort of traffic... stay tuned! ;)

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Albany, NY -- Quick Criticism

Well, it was really good to see a "real" presidential debate, and it was very well done... on the other hand, the live aspect was really just a gimmick, and they could've filmed it and it would've been just as good, if not better.

So when's the election already? Looking at TV.com's episode guide, it's at least a month away.

Albany, NY -- NO WAR FOR OIL!

Vinick's argument about going to war for oil is as unlikely as going to war for sugar is silly... remember, we went to war for bananas several times in the late 19th century!

Albany, NY -- Bitch!

Forrest Sawyer just shut Vinick up... then punked Santos down.

Great TV moment.

Albany -- Yay Liberals!

Matt Santos just called Vinick out on his use of the term "liberal," and explained all of the great things that liberals have brought to this country. It's true!

Albany, NY -- Tax Cuts Solve Everything!

According to Arnie Vinick, Africa is poor because the country has high taxes...

Genius again.

But, further, those high taxes are our fault.

Albany, NY -- Santos on Healthcare

"Just delete the words 'over 65' from Medicare!"

Absolute genius...

Albany, NY -- YOU'RE A LIAR!

That was great... a dude just stood up in the audience and shouted, "You're a liar!" at Vinick, the Republican candidate!

Albany, NY -- Tax Rates

Is that true? People who make over $100 mil per year pay a 23% tax rate, on average?

Albany, NY -- Good Stuff, Guys

Not bad... it's too bad debates aren't really conducted like this.

Albany, NY -- DIE, MS. ELLEN!!!

Oh my, this is so ridiculous. In lieu of commercials, Ellen Degeneres is "stumping" for American Express... badly.

Albany, NY -- KILL HER

Does anybody else want to kill Ellen Degeneres right about now?

Albany, NY -- Vinick Froze

Vinick froze for 15 seconds... what's up with that? Is he Bush?

Albany, NY -- Heh

The early dialogue is dubbed... interesting.

Albany, NY -- Live West Wing!

The live debate episode of the West Wing starts now... This is probably the most exciting thing to happen, ever.

My Rounds

The Big Questions
Balloon Juice
D-Day
Daily Kos
Democracy in Albany
Digby's Hullabaloo
Edge of the West
Empty the Bench
Eschaton (Atrios)
ESPN.com
James Howard Kunstler
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Jewschool
The Loisada Times
Matthew Yglesias
Mixed Multitudes (MyJewishLearning.com)
MyDD
The New Jew
NoMaas
The Phil Nugent Experience
Roger Ailes
Sadly, No!
Silicon Investor
Spencer Ackerman
Table Hopping (Steve Barnes)
Talking Points Memo
Times Union
Whiskey Fire
Working Life
Yahoo!

Albany Blogs

Albany Eats
Albany High
Albany Media Bias
Albany Poets
Albany PTA
Albany Public Library
Albany Weblog
The Buzz
Capital Region Blogs
Capitol Confidential
The Friends of the Albany Public Library
Frum Outdoorsman
Matty N's Blog
Ramblin' With Roger
Ron's Blog
Times Union Editors

Other Blogs

Andy Bachman
Campaign for America's Future
Erin Schwartz
Godless Liberal Homo
Huffington Post
Idol Chatter
JRants.com
Philosophers' Playground
Politics1
Rob Bellinger

Other Favorites

The Atlantic Monthly
Bill Simmons
The Daily Show
IHOZ
Le Show
The New Yorker
The Onion
Ze Frank

Companies I Work for/Have Worked for

The Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel
The Curriculum Initiative
Long Dock Beacon
MyJewishLearning.com

Music

Aerosmith
Alice in Chains
Barenaked Ladies
The Beatles
Ben Folds
Elliott Smith
Fastball
Foo Fighters
Genesis
Green Day
Heatmiser
Jimmy Eat World
Led Zeppelin
No. 2
Pearl Jam
Pink Floyd
Queens of the Stone Age
Steely Dan
Stone Temple Pilots
The Who

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