Going Through The Big D, And Don't Mean Divorce

I woke up Friday morning with a text message on my phone from my good friend, Brandon Maenius. Now, I don't care who you are or where you're from, any time you get a text that says, '*Come to Dallas and I'll feed you pancakes and wingstop' You, my friend, go to Dallas.

After consulting the wife (She was throwing a shower for her engaged sister and was happy to see me hit the road), I headed to Belton to pick up...wait for it...JIG!! After that quick stop, we headed up I-35, getting to Big D just in time for dinner.

After demolishing a pizza dinner, we proceeded to play Rock Band until about 4 in the morning, and I'm not gonna lie, Second Hand Beer Noodle is not only an awesome band name, it's a pretty fair sounding band as well. Saturday afternoon played out like Friday night, with us taking the group global, and gaining fans by the boatload.

However, Saturday night we did something that was quite honestly, nothing short of phenomenal. I'm not sure how to accurately explain it, but I will say this: If you ever get a chance to play Top Golf-DO IT!

Is it a driving range? Is it a video game? Is it a combonation of bowling, darts and golf? Yes it is, and so much more. I won't ruin it for you, but trust me, it's a worth-while experience. Also, if anyone is interested in opening up a new Top Golf in the Houston, Austin or San Antonio areas, give any of the six gentlemen in the picture below a call, we're already interested.


We may not look very smart, but overall it's not a bad group of guys to spend a weekend playing video games with. (Picture taken December 2006)

*And yes, I did eat pancakes and Wing Stop before making it back to the Sug

You Are A Winner!!

Some of you may have heard by now, but apparently Rudy G's son is suing Duke University for cutting him from the golf team. Hopefully this lawsuit will get thrown out before it comes close to court, because the precedent this type of lawsuit could set is very disturbing.

It's a sad day in America when a college student decides it's a good idea to sue his university for 'impeding his chances of making it to the PGA Tour,' even though this kid is apparently a very mediocre golfer. At least his dad is a gracious loser. At least he knew it wouldn't be a good idea to sue the American public after failing in his bid to become the Republican candidate for President of the United States. Whatever.

The Great Hambino

I was speaking with the commander-in-chief of Running Down A Dream last night and we realized something very interesting about the Bambino of Arlington, Mr. Josh Hamilton. Have you heard, he once was a drug user? Seriously, have you read anything, anywhere about his past demons? Honestly, I've tried and tried to find information about these allegations, but they're nowhere to be found.

Fortunately, that is all that the ESPN and FOX announcers talked about during his at-bats last night and his awesome performance in the Home Run Derby Monday night, so now I feel up-to speed with his story.

On a serious note, I'm very happy for Josh and wish him all the best in his battle to fully recover from the past that still haunts him today. He seems like a great Christian guy and his openness and honesty about his past is both refreshing and inspiring. Hopefully he'll perform at a high level for a long enough time that he's seen as a great person who's also a very, very good baseball player.

Get Lost

As some may know by now, me, my wife, and the in-laws are spending this summer watching the first three seasons of Lost on DVD. Of course, we're totally hooked on the show, and we usually watch at least two episodes per evening, so we're getting through the DVD's prettyquick.


As much as I love the show, however, there are a few things that bother me about some of the characters:

Jack-The fearless leader of the castaways. He absolutely drives me crazy. I understand that he's the doctor, so somehow that means that he has a solution to everything, but come on. He gets way too headstrong about being in control and making every important decision. He's also too emotional and lets those emotions get in the way of making the right decision all the time. If there was ever a doctor who needed to prescribe himself the Chill Pill, it's Jack. Plus, lately he's been spending too much time with that harlot Juliette, and I have the feeling that within about two episodes, he's really gonna regret that alliance.
Side Note-We watched episode 18 of season three last night, and I actually wanted to punch Jack at one point. It was when Kate came to talk to him on the beach about the helicopter girl that the guys found in the jungle the previous night. Anyway, Kate wanted to talk to him alone, but Jack pulled the "Anything you need to tell me, you can tell me in front of her (Juliette)" routine. That junk hacked me off. Seriously, if I were Kate, I would have kicked him in the teeth and walked away. That was such bull. I need to move on. Speaking of Kate...

Kate-The little lost puppy of the show. Drives me nuts with how she constantly insists on going along with the guys on searches through the jungle. Honestly, how many times have you heard this conversation:
Kate: "Where are you going?"
Jack: "John found a hatch, we're going to check it out."
K: "I'm going too."
J: "No, you're not."
K: "Yes, I am."
J: "No, it could be too dangerous. Kate, you're not going with us."
K: "I'm going."
Sawyer, looking tough and agitated at the same time: "Hhhmmmmpphh"
J: "Kate, we need you here...on the beach...to look after everyone else."
K: "Jack. I'm going"
J: "Fine."

Gaw-lee, it's a good thing Kate is cute, if she wasn't, she would have been Medusa spider-poisoned and buried alive by now.

Claire-Another Lost-er who's fortunate she's just as cute as a button. She actually brings nothing to the table. At least Jack and Kate do things like try to rescue their friends who are captured, pick fruit, work the hatch (at least until, you know, it imploded). Claire has a child, yes, but that's no excuse to not pitch in a little here and there. Plus, for a native Australian, her accent sounds brutal, not at all like the locals on Real World: Sydney. It pains my ears when she says things like "Chaaa-leee! Thae stole mayy bay-beee! May bay-bee! Cha-lee, it's gone!"

I guess that's pretty much it for the characters who annoy me. I'm getting close to adding Locke to the list, though. I liked him at first because he had such a cruddy life before the island, and because he reminded me of a teacher I worked with this past year, but recently, he's made some very questionable choices. I've got my eye on you, John Locke, your getting close to my bad side, Sir.

On the other hand, I'm a big fan of Sawyer (even though he's clearly crazy and one of the seediest characters in TV history), Saiyd, Desmond, and Hurley, so hopefully they stay on my good side.

-Twig

The Things I'm Doing Today

Since it's been a while, my current reading:



And listenings:


"Tranquilize" by the Killers, from the mysterious Sawdust Album