My New Favorite Video -

This is pure insanity…and it’s hilarious…it’s from a 1970s Russian TV show…his name is Eduard Hil or something like that…this song has no words…it makes no sense…and he’s lip-synching it…badly…and it’s AWESOME!

 American Idol -

What happened America? Did we all go dumb at the same time? Did we start celebrating St. Patty’s Day a week early? What the heck was America thinking voting off Katelyn Epperly? That’s absolutely ridiculous…and borders on insane.

I’ll entertain the argument that maybe Tuesday night wasn’t her best performance…but overall, the body of work is stronger than almost every other female contestant. She was great. Also, keeping Paige over her? That’s ridiculous. Paige hasn’t sung good once! Even the judges have said that he’s been awful.

It’s a shame…Katelyn deserved better. I really thought that she had a shot at the Final Four.

Also…Lily getting voted off too? She was a strong singer too…and she, much like Katelyn, had a fun personality to go with it…unlike Lacey. Ugh. I dread the rest of the season…I don’t think there is anyone worth rooting for…ridiculous.

Seriously…America…we did poorly here.

Best Cameos Ever in Movie History -

Oh, I’ll go even more random lists….here are my favorite cameos in movie history…(oh, this idea spawned because The Wedding Singer was on the other day, and the Billy Idol appearance at the end is AWESOME).

Wedding Singer - Billy Idol - Nobody saw that coming…most people didn’t even know Billy Idol was still alive. It’s good to see that Botox has been kind to Billy…either that, or he doesn’t age. “See, Billy Idol gets it, why doesn’t that guy?”

Cabin Boy - David Letterman - Cabin Boy is an awful movie…but it’s hilarious, and David Letterman’s appearance as a “Stuffed-monkey seller” is Oscar-worthy…”Hey, wanna buy a monkey?”

Happy Gilmore - Bob Barker - One of the best movie fights ever.

Muppet Movie - Steve Martin - This was great because it was Steve Martin at the height of his popularity.

Something About Mary - Brett Favre - No one saw this coming…I remember sitting in the theater, laughing my butt off…thinking “this movie can’t get any better”…then…BOOM! Brett Favre shows up. I nearly lost it. UPDATE: Obviously, things have changed…so as long as he’s wearing the evil colors, Something About Mary is one of the worst movies ever…when he comes to his senses, it will regain it’s title of one of my Top 5 Comedies of All-Time!

Austin Powers 3 - Danny Devito - Dressed as Mini-Me? Hilarious. You may ask, what about the others like Tom Cruise, Gwyneth, and Kevin Spacey? They just weren’t as funny as Devito wearing a bald cap.

Dodgeball - Chuck Norris…and Lance Armstrong - Both work…but I like Chuck Norris more than Lance Armstrong. Thank you Chuck Norris.

Half-Baked - Bob Saget - One of the most random cameos…he plays a recovering addict at a drug counseling program…and his one line is hilarious. Due to FCC rules and regulations, I can not repeat his line.

Tropic Thunder - Tom Cruise - I’m including this on the list only because someone will call me on it for forgetting about it. I’m not forgetting about it, I just didn’t think it was very funny. It was Tom Cruise “trying” to be funny…and he isn’t funny. It didn’t work for me.

Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle - Neil Patrick Harris - Now, THIS worked for me. Doogie Howser, a womanizing, drug-bingeing party boy? AWESOME. When Harold & Kumar get back to the car, and he’s just in the back seat licking the seats…hilarious.

And…my favorite cameo:

Eurotrip - Matt Damon - As the lead singer of a rock group at the graduation party…singing the classic hit “Scotty Doesn’t Know”. Absolutely hilarious! Behold the smash song…

House News -

Our house passed inspection last week, whoo hoo! Also, I went to our “future” house…and took pictures…so those will finally be coming on Monday! Woot woot!

Quiznos -

For no reason…I just want to say that the “Steakhouse Beef Dip” at Quiznos is one of the best sandwiches around. It’s the Au Jus sauce…the cheese…the steak…it’s allllll good.

An Answer -

From Tom: “The 125 club is for being 125 pins over your average for a 3 game set. Hey maybe I’ll get one after Monday and I average 225. I’m glad I could join your club!!!” ANSWER: This is from super bowler Tom…he does average 225…and this past Monday…he rolled an 826 (if I’m off by a pin or so, sorry about that Tom). That’s AWESOME. Thank you for the answer as well…I figured it was prank that my friends pulled on me for bowling a 125 or higher, ha!

Comment -

From Beth: “If you go to the game that day, can I be your friend and sit with you and Jennifer? I don’t think my friends can put up with my excitement for going to as many ICubs games as possible. I know fans will have to go super early, and my usual I-Cubs friends aren’t very punctual. I’d go to the game by myself, but they are so much more fun with other people to high-five and alternate beer runs.  You can bring Ryan from the bowling team too” ANSWER: I think Jennifer and I are going to go to the game that day…we’ll have to see where we are in packing up the house for the move. Even Ryno can’t top house-moving…but we will plan ahead. It could be a fun Blog-together outing. Will keep you posted!

Pearl Jam -

Umm…they’re coming to Kansas City, May 3rd…that’s a Monday.

In future news…Kurt will not be at work Tuesday, May 4th.

Weekend -

I think this might actually be a less eventful weekend than the past couple…we don’t have a house to sell…or a house to buy. That’s all taken care of. Maybe we’ll go see Alice In Wonderland or something.

AWESOME is as AWESOME does!

What Does AWESOME Smell Like?

So, yesterday, we did “What color is AWESOME”? The comments are towards the end of this post.

How about a new one…”What does AWESOME smell like?” I think it smells like a combination of Febreze, Lemon, Raspberry, Buffalo Wings, and Victory! (Victory, really? For a Cubs fan? That’s a stretch).

What say you?

Corey Haim -

He lived…he died…he did a lot of drugs in-between…and did the great movie “License to Drive“. Easily, one of the best “car” movies of all-time…oh, you know what’s coming…a random list…of My Top “Car” Movies…wow, that was a stretch.

NOTE: I know nothing of cars. If I was asked by police to describe the getaway vehicle, I would reply “blue”. I might be able to tell if it’s a 4-door or a 2-door, but it wouldn’t be 100%  accurate.

Top Car Movies Ever -

Blues Brothers - The police car with the giant megaphone on top is iconic…and it was an indestructible force. Also, the police car pile-up at the end is movie magic.

Smokey & The Bandit - Burt Reynolds can not be beat. My friend Sully will be very happy to see this high on the list…he loves this movie…and has an unhealthy mancrush on Burt Reynolds…I mean, it’s really unhealthy).

Fast and the Furious - Only the first one though…you’ll see what happens to the sequels later. The first one actually had a good story line…and it was Vin Diesel at his very best. Well, the “best” in Vin Diesel terms.

Speed - Okay, I know it’s a bus…but that’s like a car…and this may still be in my Top 10 movies of all-time. I remember that it was the first movie I ever saw more than once in the theater. I saw it 3 1/2 times (yes, I snuck in one time in the middle after going to another movie…I know, I’m such a juvenile delinquent). One of the best action movies ever…sequel, not so much.

Death Race - I think this was Sylvester Stallone’s first movie…and it’s confirmed, he was never a good actor. Also, a younger, but still weird-looking David Carradine plays a Darth Vader-type character. The premise of the movie? You have a huge race…and it’s televised…and the more people you kill, the better the score…and because people love this TV show all the time, they line the streets hoping that their “idol” will run them down. It’s absolutely awful…but brilliant.

Cars - For the kids of course. If I have a “cars” list…I should probably include “Cars”. If I have a “Nemo” list, it will contain “Finding Nemo”.

Bullitt - Was there anything Steve McQueen couldn’t do?

The Road Warrior - Mel Gibson…probably drunk…but ready to kill. Just great, nonsensical violence. Woot woot!

Herbie - The original Herbie movies are funny…and witty…you’ll see what happens in a little bit.

Plane, Trains, and Automobiles - I get to include this AWESOME movie based on title alone. John Candy and Steve Martin should have won Oscars, and if John Candy was still alive…he and Steve would have done a much better job hosting the Oscars than Steve and Alec Baldwin.

The Worst Car Movies -

Driven - Starring Sylvester Stallone…one of the worst movies ever. Why did I see it? It was on TNT…I can only thank TNT for “editing to fit the time format”…thank you for giving me those precious seconds back in my life.

Any Sequel - 2 Fast 2 Furious, Smokey and the Bandit 2 & 3, Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift, Cannon Ball Run 2, Death Race 2000, Blues Brothers 2000…ugh. All horrible. Horrrrrrible!

Herbie Rides Again - Hey, everyone loves Herbie…how do we ruin it? Put Lindsay Lohan in it…done! By the way, I know that somewhere, Herbie Hancock is suing the Herbie franchise for using his namesake.

Speed Racer - I didn’t see it…and I don’t want to see it. It’s rare that I’ll even flip the channel when a preview comes on….it looked awful. I heard kids even hated it. Not good.

Hmm…this list was a tremendous stretch, and even I wasn’t fully entertained by it. Sorry about that. How about I go even more random and do “Best Movie Cameos” tomorrow. It’ll be even more ridiculous.

Big Ken and Colleen Celebrate the End of Winter -

Friday, March 19th…starting at 6:30 in the morning…bring in your snow shovel…we will give you a one-day pass to Adventureland in return (to celebrate spring)…and then to celebrate the end of the winter…we will take all the shovels, and using a steamroller, courtesy of Star Equipment, we will steamroll all the shovels.  We will put an end to this miserable winter!

So, if you have a shovel that you’re sick of using…or has broken…we want it….we can only accept the first 100 shovels…but it will be fun, and this winter will finally get what it deserves.

Get the full details here! http://www.star1025.com/pages/6549871.php

Papa Johns -

Yesterday, for the first time in a couple of years…I picked up some pizza from Papa Johns. I forgot how good it was….and man, I missed that garlic butter sauce. If I was challenged, I could probably do a shot of it. NOTE: If you challenge me, I will decline…I am trying to mature as a future father, ha ha.

As a single man, I used to stop at Papa Johns every Friday night on my way home from work, and would pick up two pizzas. It would be dinner…breakfast…dinner…and breakfast again. By the way, their buffalo wings are very good as well.

Taxes -

We dropped off our taxes last night…I hate knowing that bad news is looming.

Facebook Addiction -

Addict: Colleen. Colleen is in Mexico this week…yet, Ken has seen that her Facebook status has been updated the past few days. Seriously? You leave for sunny beaches and unlimited drinks and you’re still Facebooking? C’mon Coll! When you’re partying in Mexico, there’s only one Facebook Status needed : “Drunk, tan, and lovin’ life!”

The Color of AWESOME -

Some of your votes:

From Eric/Captain Awesome : “ I do not have an account to comment on your blog but the color of Awesome has to be Cubbie Blue.  The reason for this is because this whole “Awesome” thing came from our Chicago trip after the Cubs game.  The Band Awesomeness was discovered and we were just plain Awesome sticking out 13 innings in 100 degree weather.I don’t think there should be a vote, Cubbie Blue it is.”

From Nathan: “I vote Cubbie Blue too, but just becasue it is blue… I actually bought my car when I was in London on the internet and just said ‘blue’ I got to Toyota of DSM filled out the paperwork and drove away, never even a test drive. I like blue, and it had the iPod jack, a must-have. Ad far as everyone loving Gold, incorrect. I hate gold, i think that is why I still don’t have my engagement ring picked out… I’m too picky.”

From Michelle: “my vote is for Gold and Black, both are very powerful colors and who doesn’t like Gold!”

Unfortunately, we can not do blue & gold…that’s too close to the University of Michigan colors…and they suck….Cubbie Blue for sure though…maybe Cubbie blue & black & gold? Interesting.

Other Random Comments -

From Sully: “I believe that the 125 patch is if you bowl 125 pins over your average score in a single game. I think your co-bowler Benny could get a patch for 200+ since his average is so low.” ANSWER: This could all factually be correct.

From Denise:”Speaking of awesomeness and Cubbies, what are Kurt’s predictions for the Cubs this year? And how high will attendance be at the I-Cubs with Ryne Sandburg managing this year? Can’t wait! Gonna be a great year!” ANSWER: I will have a full blog posting on the Cubs on Opening Day…because I’m pretty undecided right now on how the Cubbies will do. My heart…and soul…say we’re winning it all…my brain though worries about the bullpen…and Alfonso Soriano continuing his journey to suckville. That said…it’s going to be fun. 

For the I-Cubs…I think the crowds will be great. Not only will all eyes be on the AWESOME Ryno…but I can’t wait to see Brett Jackson, Starlin Castro, Andrew Cashner, Tyler Colvin, Josh Vitter…(Some of these guys might break camp with the Cubs)…but we could be watching the finishing pieces to the puzzle!

Speaking of I-Cubs…April 11th (which is my birthday)…the I-Cubs are having Ryne Sandberg jersey shirt day…that, my friends, is AWESOME!

AWESOME is as AWESOME does!

American Idol -

If there is any justice in the world…Katie and Paige are gone after ruining our ears for too long.  They were awful.

Katelyn was good…not as great as she normally is…but she’ll be fine to make it into the Top 12…good luck Katelyn! I’ll get more into the judges later…but last week, they criticized Katelyn for “playing to the cameras”…and then this week, they verbally praised Lacey for “being so aware of the camera”. The judges really don’t really have anything to say, do they?

Crystal and Didi were really good…I agree that Crystal is a great singer, just not my favorite…I thought Didi was excellent.

I’ve been very disappointed with Ellen though…where’s the funny? She needs to be funny…that’s what we expect from Ellen. This is so far from what we know of her…on her show, she’s fun, happy-go-lucky…now she’s serious? It’s Kara’s job to bore us to pieces…not you Ellen…bring the funny back! Also, if Randy could offer a critique more substantial than “awww man…it’s just wasn’t…you know…ohhhh…just….psssssshh….I don’t know man”. What? You’ve been reduced to sound effects dawg!

Also, did Simon really compliment Katelyn’s hair last night? The spirt of Paula Abdul still flows through him apparently.

What was with Lily’s earrings last night? What are those? Pot holders? (sorry, this is a video…but it shows her earrings)

Lost -

I led with American Idol…but that was draw in the “mainstream”…time to talk Lost.

Last night was one of my favorite episodes ever. I nearly started crying last night when Hurley & Jack reunited with Sun, Ben, Miles, and Lepidus on the beach…finally, back to the beach! Let the war begin!

Ben is one of the best characters in TV history…ever…and last night, he finally achieved redemption for Alex’s death. At first, I agreed with Ken about being disappointed that Alex was no longer Ben’s daughter, but just one of his students. Then Jennifer pointed out that he wasn’t Alex’s biological dad…he took Alex from Rousseau…I totally forgot about that, good catch Jennifer!

Although I will miss manipulative Ben…becoming less obssessed with the island will save him. Also, wait a second…did his dad just say that they did go the island? What? What is this alternative timeline?

I feel like I finally got answers last night, but I’m not sure what they were….but anytime Richard is on screen, I feel like we get infinitely closer to the final truth. The scene between Jack & Richard was great….especially Hurley’s line of “Dude, if you need me, I will be like a mile away”. Hilarious. 

Also, Miles did dig up Nikki & Paulo’s grave to get the diamonds? Well done!

Widmore coming back to the island? AWESOME. I was wondering where he was…and I’m assuming with coming, Desmond will soon be following. Desmond will finally get Widmore…he has to. Also, remember, when Widmore visited Locke, he told Locke that if Locke doesn’t return to the island, the wrong side will win the war. Does this mean that Widmore will team with Man in Locke now? Above anything, Widmore wants the island…and I think now that Man in Locke has lost Ben to be the “new island’s keeper”, he’ll promise Widmore the island in return for service.

It was an AWESOME episode.

I Belong To a Club…I Don’t Know What It is? - 

On Monday at bowling…there were two “awards” waiting for me at our table…one was a luggage tag that had to be made in 1975 that says “8 Strikes In A Row”…that’s going on my luggage for sure…the other was a black towel that said “Greater Des Moines Bowling Association 125 Club”. I don’t know what the 125 Club is. I’ve googled it…no results.

It came with a paper saying “Congratulations! This award is presented in recognition of an oustanding performance achieved by you in the game of American Ten Pins. It was won in competition certified by the United States Bowling Congress through the Greater Des Moines Bowling Association BA. Please accept this awards with our compliments and display it proudly.”

I will display it proudly, but I don’t know what it means. That’s never stopped me before!

ITunes Day -

Even with my Ludacris love from yesterday, I passed on the album yesterday…the only thing I bought was…

“Search and Destroy” - Iggy Pop & The Stooges - Yes, it was because Sawyer was blaring it in a previous episode of Lost. Also, we have some furniture that won’t make it back up the stairs when we move…and Jennifer has given me permission to smash it. I will video that for sure…Search & Destroy will be my soundtrack.

Lindsay Lohan -

Here’s the video of the E*Trade commercial that Lindsay Lohan says is about her…

Ridiculous. She’s delusional…but then Jennifer said that she made the connection as well. She thought they used “Lindsay” as an extra joke. I stared dumbfounded at Jennifer. She can’t be right, can she? I will never live this one down.

Seriously though, it’s not a reference to Lohan (I will refuse to ever shorten her name to Lindsay). She’s obviously broke, and desperately needs money. A caller this morning brought up something interesting…is she upset about the “milkaholic” reference or that she’s a boyfriend stealer…but as the caller added, wasn’t she dating Samantha Ronson? Can’t be a reference to Lindsay if she’s dating girls, right? Hmmm….

Home Inspection - 

Today is our home inspection….I’m sort of stressed about it….there’s nothing wrong with the house, at least as far as we know. That’s the stress of it…I don’t know what’s going on behind the walls. We’ve never had any problems…but still, the stress is there, which is probably normal.

Our Agent -

By the way, got a couple of emails asking about who we went through to sell & buy a house in the course of 5 days….his name is Jon Sieck from Iowa Realty. He’s a really nice guy, and he’s done a great job for us. He’s been very available, and very helpful.

Random Question  -

This came from Nathan in an email yesterday: ”What is the official color of AWESOME? I voted blue, but I’m sure you will vote for gold & black.”

Interesting question…there’s two ways we can go…as an episode of The Office revealed…Dwight: “What is the most dominant color”. Andy: “White…it includes every color.” Dwight: “Wrong! Black, it consumes all other colors”.

What is the color of AWESOME? I await your responses.

My reponse…Cubbie Blue.

 
AWESOME is as AWESOME does!

The Mustache Verdict -

Due to many requests, I will not ever post any pictures of me with a mustache…ever…again…ever. The verdict was loud and clear…the mustache is not a good look for me. Ranging from a series of comments including “It’s frightening me”, “You look like you should be in prison”, “Ugliest…thing…ever”, and “You shouldn’t be allowed out of the house with that thing”.

So, what are you saying is…you don’t like it…good…neither did Jennifer…and neither did I. Verdict: No mustache…ever.

Home Buying Paperwork -

If someone asked me “In the past 48 hours, how many times have you signed your name and written your initials on paper?” The answer would be 75. I suppose buying a house is a big enough deal that a lot of paperwork is required, but I’m amazed at how much paperwork there actually is. Luckily, Jennifer knows this stuff a whole lot better than I do, so we don’t have to take too much time on it…Jennifer tells me where to sign, and I do it. Good husband…I get a treat!

Props to Ryan -

My buddy, and bowling teammate, Ryan, bowled a 299 last night….and ended with a 750 series. Well done Ryan! He’s single ladies.

The Disappearance of the Belly Button -

While a bowling last night, Jennifer sends me a text that says “I have something funny to show you when you get home”. I’m figuring it’s a video on Facebook or something…but no, it was MUCH better than that.

I get home, and Jennifer raises her shirt exposing her belly button, and says “Put your finger in there” (that’s what she said, oh snap, but let’s focus here)…her belly button has sunk! I guess that happens before it gets ready to pop out? Jennifer was laughing pretty hard, but I think she was crying a little too. Oh, the emotions of pregnancy!

The Trailer for IronMan 2 -

AWESOME…

Lost -

So, tonight’s Lost episode is titled “Dr. Linus”. Finally…an episode with Ben! Ken and I talk about this all the time (well, this season at least). Ben was such a huge character the past seasons…one filled with so many mysteries, unanswered questions…but so far, in this final season, he’s been nearly non-existent, and almost a throwaway character. Ben ruled the island…he has to have answers…or at least questions that Man in Locke can answer.

So many people are saying that Man in Locke and Jacob are the same person…just split personalities of each other. I don’t buy that…but maybe because I don’t want that to be the case.

I am starting to believe though that maybe Man in Locke is good…and Jacob is evil. Jacob told Dogan that “his son would live, but Dogan could never see him ever again.” That sounds like a deal with the devil to me.  Then again…Man in Locke always seems to be offering a choice too…great…I’ve already confused myself.

Hey…umm…wasn’t there a character named Desmond on this show?

American Idol -

The girls are tonight…unless Crystal fakes an illness again, ha ha. Good luck Katelyn! Oh, best news of this whole thing? It’s only 1 hour tonight!! WOOT WOOT!

Ludacris -

I’m a big Ludacris fan…well normally I am, not when he’s rapping with the evil-incarnate Justin Bieber, and I’m stoked that he’s opening for the Black Eyed Peas when they come to town. Plus, his new album “Battle of the Sexes” comes out today. So, now, for no real good reason, my Top 10 Ludacris songs…

10 - Money Maker - My wife loves this song.

9 - Cry Babies

8 - Saturday (ooh ooh)

7 - Pass Out

6 - Southern Hospitality

5 - Area Codes - But 515 isn’t mentioned? If it was mentioned, it would be #1.

4 - What’s Your Fantasy?

3 - Roll Out

2 - Welcome to Atlanta - Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo…AWESOME.

1 - Get Back - The rap song alone is AWESOME, but it triples with the rock remix with Sum 41.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 -

I won’t spend too much time on a video game…but I got my PS3 copy of Bad Company 2 yesterday…graphics are great…not sure if I like the gameplay yet. I really like the first Battlefield…probably with some more time, I will like this one just as much.

AWESOME is as AWESOME does!

I Buy Jennifer An Island… -

…And a house to go with it! Woot woot! That’s right, we found our house…we put an offer in…and after some counter-offering (all thanks to Jennifer, she’s the only one with guts in our relationship apparently, ha ha), we have found a new house in Urbandale! 3 bedrooms…1.5 baths (but that’s fine with us…two showers wasn’t a neccessity for us…but two toilets were, snap!)…dining room…kitchen (with a built-in wall oven…also, an AWESOME kitchen island (hence I bought it for Jennifer)…and the basement is one of the finest basements I have ever seen.

The basement is completely finished…and it has three rooms coming off of it…no, 4 rooms? I can’t remember now…they had a storage room…the utility room…and then they had this kids room which had a fantastic multi-colored square carpeting…and then they had a workout room as well, complete with that rubber ground that you find in gyms. It’s AWESOME.
Jennifer and I loved the house from the moment we walked in…and then when we saw the basement, it totally sealed the deal. We love it….and it was within our budget, perfect.

The other thing I love about the house is that they have so many drawers/cabinets/shelves built into the walls…there’s so much room for storing things, and it looks like it completely blends into the wall. AWESOME!

The garage is a 2 car garage…and there’s a nice cement patio area between the house and the garage…perfect for grilling and entertaining. The backyard is huge, and it ends with a biking/running trail. We may end our gym membership and just start running more.

I will keep you posted on the move. I know everyone wants to help! ha ha.

Oh, another plus? I’m like 3 minutes away from my buddy Eric’s house….I’m sure Jennifer and Sarah (Eric’s wife) are just thrilled about that, ha ha!

It’s a been a whirlwind of events…in the past 72 hours, we have sold our house…and bought a new one…oh, and got a new washer & dryer.

The Mustache -

So I shaved….and I’m ready to release my findings…

1) Man with mustache - normal…yet, be wary. (I look 47 years old in this photo)

2) Man with mustache and a hood? Creepy…stay away

3) Man with mustache and pointing a finger at you? Red alert! Sketchiness at a whole new level.

Shutter Island -

Jennifer and I went to go see Shutter Island on Sunday afternoon. Movie was great…it was like watching a 2 hour episode of Lost. I had no idea where the movie was heading…but I loved the ride…and I liked the end too (hopefully the same will be said about Lost). 

Someone was telling us that they didn’t want to see it because they don’t like scary movies…this wasn’t scary at all…maybe a little unsettling at times, but never once was there really a scary part…just stressful parts.

Leo’s excellent in it…and Ben Kingsley is really really good as well. Sorry, SIR Ben Kingsley.

Like I said…movie was great…the people though…weren’t. The theater was maybe 2/5 full…but the guy in front of us was the loudest exhaler ever…and it wasn’t like a health condition…it was like he was annoyed with the movie, and he was letting out deep, overexaggerated sighs. It got annoying quick. And the guy behind us? Let’s just call him “Mr. Sound Effects”. He would try and anticipate the next upcoming sound….like if there was an explosion set to happen…he would make a “boom” sound effect seconds before it happened.

Why can’t we just be quiet at the movies?

Oh, saw the Iron Man 2 trailer before the movie started…that looks so incredibly good. Jennifer said the same.

Oscars -

As of 5:41am this  morning…it still might be going. I know all the critics are so happy that it was the “quickest Oscars ever!”, but still, I think they could have cut this into 1 hour…tops.

Really, 2 hours in, and we’ve given out only 2 awards to actual actors? Ugh.

There isn’t really much to comment on…it seemed like all the favorites won. I’ve seen a lot of comments about people complaining that Avatar got screwed…but it didn’t really…from what I’ve heard, the Hurt Locker is tremendous…and as a story, Avatar isn’t very good…graphically, it’s AWESOME, but the dialogue/story isn’t great.

Hollywood needs more of that Gabrielle from “Precious”. She’s AWESOME…and her interviews are great.

I thought Alec Baldwin & Steve Martin did an alright job…they were fine, nothing too memorable though.

Perhaps the most memorable thing from the night? It was Kathy Ireland converting into a robot during the pre-Oscars show. Jennifer pointed this out immediately…”She’s horrible, she’s just reading off the teleprompter”. Honestly, the producers could have pulled a Ron Burgundy and changed some of the words, and she would have read it, no questions asked. She was awful…and I hate having to say that about Kathy Ireland. I wish I could find a longer clip…sorry.

Jordan Creek During the State Basketball Tournaments -

Two words…freak show. Seriously, is every male age 16-19 trying to dress like an ultimate fighter wanna-be? Ridiculous. Even though it didn’t apply completely, all I could think of was the quote by Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore … “Where did you people come from? Go back to your shanties”. Ha ha. Lot of kids wearing hoods in side…I must be getting older.

A Fun Colleen Story -

Colleen is in Mexico this week…but I thought I’d share this fun story from Thursday night.

Colleen went to the John Mayer concert, and went backstage to meet him…with her, she brought along a giant bra that we’re going to auction off for “Bras For a Cause” later. Right before Colleen left at work, Ken told Colleen that she should ask John Mayer to sign it “Ken and Colleen are radio napalm”. A reference to John’s comments about Jessica Simpson being “Sexual Napalm”.

Did Colleen actually do this? Yes. Colleen is gutsy…she did…here is the text message that Ken, Mr. Allen, and I received at 9:08pm Thursday night…

“Colleen: Hi John, would you sign this “Ken&Colleen r radio naplam?” John: “I will not, but I will sign it”. Oh well.

Mucho props to Colleen for asking him this…and I assume John found some amusement in the comment.

AWESOME is as AWESOME does!

Q&A With Me -

Okay, so the Des Moines Register is doing their “Vote For Your Favorite Morning Show” contest right now…if you haved voted, I hope you voted for us…if you haven’t voted…you can vote here….  http://desmoinesregister.upickem.net/engine/Welcome.aspx?contestid=14734

Anyways, I must have missed photo day…and question & answer day…like I said, my wife/manager/agent/fight finisher Jennifer is none-too-pleased…she thinks Ken and Colleen did it on purpose to try and get me further away from the spotlight…so I thought I would take it upon myself to do my own Q&A (with the questions that were asked of Ken and Colleen), and put up my own photo.

Apparently, the last time I had my picture taken in the Star Studio (with no celebs in it) was in 2000…right after I graduated. I was only an intern there, and hadn’t even met Ken and Colleen yet. Behold…2000 Kurt…with hair…a ring for no reason at all except to look “poserish”…a necklace, I suppose to increase the poserish look, and I’m not sure, but I’m willing to bet that I’m wearing a cargo khakis as well. AWESOME!

(Kurt…in the year 2000 (sing it like they do on Conan’s late late show)

Q&A Time -

Name: Kurt

Age : 31

Hometown: Vernon Hills, Illinois

Radio Station: Star 102.5

Show: Big Ken and Colleen in the Morning

Favorite Bands: Pearl Jam…right now, though, I’m also listening to a lot of One Republic.

Favorite Song: Pearl Jam’s “Alive”…it’s been my favorite since 1992. Favorite movies change weekly for me…but band & song has always been Pearl Jam and “Alive”

Most Embarrassing On-Air Moment - Any of the What Will Kurt Do Wednesdays really. Probably, the one that’s most embarrassing was the one where I was in the bat cave at the zoo…and they were flying around my neck…and apparently one landed on my shoulder…which led to the infamous line “There’s a bat on my shoulder! There’s a bat on my shoulder” said in such a high-pitched, girlish voice…a voice that I could never ever sufficiently duplicate. It was the sound of pure terror.

Best Celebrity Encounter - I have two…when we found out from Shawn Johnson’s mom that Shawn was a big fan of mine, and how they listened every Wednesday to the WWKDW bit…the next time I saw her, I gave her and autographed photo of the two of us…plus, then she helped with the very special “Dog Food” WWKDW. That was pretty cool. Also, the Barry Williams story has to go down as one of the best celebrity encounters. It may not have been a positive one…but seriously, I can tell my friends that the three of us got into a strongly-worded argument with the former Greg Brady, Barry Williams.

Favorite Des Moines Hangout - Probably Third Base…or Buffalo Wild Wings…most frequent place? Chipotle.

Why Are You In Radio?  Well, on the first day of registration at Drake…I found out that journalism majors don’t need to take math. Ding ding, ding a ling! Then I realized that I don’t like writing…and TV cameras were tougher to operate than I though…radio fit me perfectly.

The Secret To Being A Good Jock: Respecting your showmates…listening to each other…listening to the listeners…and being funny. Having a lot of useless information stuck in my head has led to a lot of good comedy. Oh, and being able to laugh at yourself is very important. Ken, Colleen, and I have no problem making fun of each other, or ourselves. I would argue that that’s the key to our success.

Why Vote For Us: I have a baby on the way…oh, I’ll play that card.

Favorite Part of Working With Ken & Colleen: Them. They’re AWESOME. I go to work with two of my best friends…and we talk about our lives…and talk about what’s going on…and our listeners chime in…it’s 5 hours of having a conversation between three friends…then that conversation is joined in by dozens and dozens more (see, a self-centered person would have said “tens of thousands”…I don’t like to overestimate like that, ha ha)

 Home…SOLD!! -

Yes, it’s true…after just a week or so on the market…our house has sold! Woot woot! That’s AWESOME. We got an offer very close to what we were asking for…and we took it. Now, we really have to find a place to move into…that’s the plan for the weekend.

As excited as I am (and Jennifer too) to be moving…I will really miss the house. It served us more than well…I will miss the deck…the deck that I helped build…and I will miss all the little secrets to the house that I know, such as: It only takes me two big strides to make it up the basement steps.

I know Jennifer really wants to go get something fun to eat to celebrate, but with my still dicey stomach…all celebration plans have been put on hold.

The Office -

I am quickly becoming disillusioned with this show…where’s the funny? I had high hopes for last night…but an hour was way too long. They could have done a 1/2 hour episode with no problem. The whole Erin-Kevin thing was just mean…and it had no point, except to make all of us Kevin fans feel really bad for Kevin. Also, the wrong baby? That was just unsettling.

Can we please get this show back to the office? That’s when they’re at their best…not when they’re all separated with four plots going on at once. Jim & Pam based episodes have just become tiresome….they aren’t funny anymore. Pam isn’t funny anymore…and that’s a big bummer.

I will still watch it every week…but both Jennifer and I don’t look forward to it as much as we used to….it doesn’t hold the same draw as it once did.

The Marriage Ref -

Ugh…verdict…sucks. Apparently, the Seinfeld curse will live on. We got through 15 minutes of the show last night, and had to turn it off…it was unwatchable. The couples seemed way too scripted….and for as funny as Tina Fey and Jerry Seinfeld are…they seemed to have written scripted jokes beforehand, and then got to nervous to say them on the stage.

ItunesDay -

Godsmack - “Crying Like a *****” - Catchy title…great rock song. It’s good see Godsmack back rockin’.

Taio Cruz w/Ludacris - “Break Your Heart” - A good beat song to kick off spring.

Jason DeRulo - Jason DeRulo - Bought the whole album…”Ridin’ Solo” is a great song too…add that with “Whatcha Say”, and “In My Head”, and you’ve got a great album. Again…more positive listening to get ready for spring.

Black Order -

Another book in the bank…this time it’s James Rollins’ “Black Order”. I liked it…I liked the historical allusions to the fall of World War II, Heinrich Himmler, and the stupidness of being a Nazi. There was a lot to like in this book….a secret animal reservation owned by ex-Nazis that were conducting another way to make their “superior race”…and a lot of good European city descriptions as well. The only problem is that again…the explanation of everything was too scientific for me. Figuring out physics problems is not my skill…I was a bit lost on that. Overall, though, again, another solid book from James Rollins. I’m now continuing on with his book, “Map of Bones”.

Weekend -

Well, apparently, our weekend plans will include trying to find ourselves a new house! Woot…woot! Have a great weekend everyone!  By the way, the beard came off yesterday…but not before I tried out the mustache for awhile…not a good look at all. AT ALL! That’ll be on Monday.

AWESOME is as AWESOME does!

Stomach Flu Sucks -

I have survived! I think…it’s still dicey at times. The good news…Jennifer is still healthy. Oh, she wanted me to remind myself that getting a flu shot is a good idea sometimes. Thank you for all the get well comments….Sully, your “Colon Blow” reference was very funny. Also, I found out something that I didn’t know before, and it FREAKED me out…if you choose to go with Maalox, Pepto, etc. to help your stomach recover, do not be alarmed (or panicked as I was) if your “deposits” are a different color. That freaked me out…and that’s when I went to the doctor.

The Baby Bump Road Trip -

So, as suggested in earlier comments, I made Jennifer pose in front random places as we made our drive towards Chicago….at every rest stop we stopped at, I snapped a photo of Jennifer…behold…the wonders of I-80 (with a cameo from I-88)! Yes, Jennifer is wearing a shirt that says “I’m not fat…I’m knocked up”. I buy her the classiest things sometimes, ha ha)

Somehow we made it past the Mitchellville rest-stop…but here Jennifer is at the Amana Colonies one.

I don’t remember where this one was…hmmm…

Beautiful…Wilton?

Exit #300…the Ole Miss

At the Dekalb Oasis on I-88 (my favorite one…one day I will get Panda Express to go…just to try and eat Chinese food while driving)

On the way there, it was due to Jennifer that we stopped at every rest stop…on the way back though, it was all my doing. Seriously…I felt awful.

The Bachelorette Party -

The reason for our trip back to Chicago was to celebrate my sister’s bridal shower and bachelorette party.  (I was just Jennifer’s driver…I wasn’t invited to either (thankfully)).

The bridal shower was at great pancake house known as “Walker Bros.”. They have AWESOME pancakes. While Jennifer joined the party, I ate lunch with my dad and grandpa. It had been 10+ years since I had their famous apple pancake…but it was just like I had remembered…oozing cinnamon and topped with ice cream…it’s fantastic.  We even bought a frozen one to have when we got back home.

After the bridal shower, Jennifer and the girls had a couple hours to relax…but then it was bachelorette party time! My mom and had rented a limo for the party, and it’s so funny…I’ve been in a limo plenty of times, but I think the last time my mom and sister had been was when a limo took us to the airport back in 1996…suffice to say, they were excited. I wish that was still the case for me…remember when you used to see a limo, and started wondering who as in there? Now, you just assume it’s just some corporate guy.

They went off to the Kitty Kat Lounge in Chicago. It’s a female-impersonator/drag queen? place (help me with out the terms here Nathan, I’m a bit lost on this one). From what Jennifer told me, it was a great time…and they had great food, and some great-looking martinis (I’m sure Jennifer would have tried out a few if she was able to…instead it was a couple rounds of “Safe Sexes on the Beaches”. Jennifer said that she went with the eggplant paremesan for dinner…wow…fancy.

Jennifer said that everyone loved the entertainment…I can’t recall the name…Tanya Ta-Ta’s? No, that’s not right, but that’s good name!

 Jennifer and “Tanya Ta-Tas” (note: not real name, can’t remember the name)

Jennifer and my mom

What The Guys Did During the Bachelorette Party -

While the girls were out celebrating…my dad and I did some good quality bonding time. First, I figured out his wireless internet problems and solved that. Then, my dad showed me his new purchases for his model railroads. Model railroading has always been a hobby of his, but now that everyone is out of the house, he finally has more time to enjoy his hobby. He finally got a train that hadn’t run since he was a kid up and running. Well done!

Then, we did something that I don’t think I had done with my dad since 1991…we went to the mall.  That’s right…my dad and I went to the mall!! I had to…and here’s why…the mall by my parents’ house is massive, and they have a “Clark Street Sports” inside. This is hands-down my favorite store in the world…they have the greatest selection of Cubs/Bulls/Blackhawks stuff ever (I suppose they have White Sox and Bears stuff in there, but I don’t pay attention to that garbage).

I walked in, and immediately collapsed in front of all the Blackhawks shirts. Tons of them…every player t-shirt available. I was in heaven…but I didn’t go there for me…I went there for MJ and Jennifer. I found some very fun stuff for MJ (hats and socks, Cubs of course)…some maternity shirts for Jennifer (Cubs of course), and a new stocking hat for me (a mighty, mighty impressive Blackhawks one). Pictures of these will be seen later on in the week, I promise. Jennifer loved the shirts, and the stuff for MJ is wicked cute.

A HUGE Omission -

It was near the start of the Winter Olympics that I ran down my favorite all-time sports movies right? Well, that list was completely wrong…I left out my all-time favorite sports movie…ever. COOL RUNNINGS. I love that movie…it’s AWESOME! That movie has comedy…that movie has tons of heart…and the movie has John Candy…and Doug E. Doug. “Some people say you know you can’t believe…Jamaica, we have a bobsled team”. I cry at this movie…when the bobsled flips (not a spoiler alert…it’s what really happened in the ‘88 games)…and they carry it over the finish line? I lose it.

My Beard -

Today is the last day of my beard…I have been growing it for just over a month or so…It has helped keep my face warm while snowblowing. Today, though, it goes away…Jennifer will be very happy that the “brillo pad” on my face is finally being shaved off. Last night was going to be “Fun Mustache” night at basketball…but I was too sick to go…so, I missed that. I will make sure I get a photo with my ’stache though. I will assume that I will look sketchy, yet mysterious.

Good bye beard…this one was the thickest one I had ever grown…it will be missed.

Johnny Depp -

He’s an AWESOME actor…but again, here’s another example of people getting too excited. He’s starring as the Mad Hatter in the upcoming Alice in Wonderland movie…great. As some critic wrote “Depp was born to play the Mad Hatter.” I’m fine with that…except I also remember hearing “Depp was born to play a pirate”, and “Depp was born to play Willy Wonka”, and “Depp was born to play Sweeney Todd”, and “Depp was born to play the cocine dealer from ‘Blow’”…you can only be born once…we have to pick a role…I’m going with Jack Sparrow. Is it me, or does that new Alice movie look just way too weird?

Tomorrow’s Blog Tease -

The Des Moines Register is doing a “Favorite Morning Show” contest….I looked at the pictures…I’m not in them…I was never interviewed…so, tomorrow, I will put up my profile, ha ha! (apparently my manager a.k.a. wife is not happy that I missed picture day…she thinks it’s Ken trying to push me out the door, ha ha!). If you have some time, you can vote for us here.  http://desmoinesregister.upickem.net/engine/Welcome.aspx?contestid=14734

AWESOME is as AWESOME does!

Well, it’s now going on to three days of having the stomach flu. Seriously…this sucks….actually, to be more accurate…it blows.

I guess this stomach flu is going around…so if you see it, avoid it at all costs.

On the plus side, I’ve lost 6 pounds.

On the negative side…we’re running low on toilet paper…and it hurts. Yep, that’s sufficiently gross enough.

Hopefully, I’ll be better by Thursday, I have much to Blog about….including the Baby Bump Road Trip!

The Next Shrek Movie -

Did anyone see the trailer during the Olympics last night for the next Shrek movie? AWESOME! Puss N’ Boots has let himself go…hilarious. May 2010 can’t get here soon enough.

My Fitness Plan…Is Not Strong -

So yesterday, our agent called to see if he could show our house from 2-3p…I said sure…and thought, hey, I’ll just go to the gym…that would be good. I should try and get back into gym mode…then on my way to the gym, I decide against it, and go to Scooters Coffeehouse and order a large 4-Berry smoothie (note: I don’t like coffee…or hot drinks)…so instead of working out, I read a book, listened to my Ipod, and had a smoothie….great, now I’m “Coffee Shop Guy”. Ugh, sometimes I despise myself, ha ha.

Iowa Will Be Big This Weekend -

With the release of “The Crazies”, Iowa will be on full display this weekend. No one outside of Iowa will realize that “Ogden Marsh” isn’t really a town…but really just a combo of Ogden and Marshalltown.

I predict that this will be the #1 movie this weekend…we love this zombie/killer stuff. If it is #1, I will also predict that the “Today Show”, “The Early Show”, etc. will have stupid stories with titles like “Are Iowans really crazy?”.

That’s what I love about early morning TV shows…no matter what the #1 movie is, they always act like it’s real life…”Could Avatar really happen?”, “Could a hangover really lead to such problems (in response to the movie “The Hangover”, and the answer is “yes”)”. Just wait ’til “Alice in Wonderland” comes out…there will be stories about “Are Jabberwockies real?” “Can I shrink by eating certain foods?” You laugh, but it’ll happen. Stupid Harry Smith on the Early Show will do an in-depth report about it.

A Story of Disappointment -

I don’t know why this popped in my head, but I thought I’d share a story of disappointment. If I had a therapist, I’m sure this would be some way of “letting go feelings of harboring”, ha ha.

This happened 3 years ago while Ken, Colleen, and I were in Las Vegas for the show. Mr. Allen was there as well, and I blame him for being part of this ruse as well.

At the time I was a full on fanatic of Criss Angel….I’m still a fan, but I don’t even catch his show anymore. Anyways, we were staying at Excalibur, and they’re part of the same group that owns the Luxor, which is where Criss Angel is based. In the course of 24 hours, I went to the Criss Angel store 5 times. That’s ridiculous…the worst part….I bought a stocking cap, and I lost it about a year ago.

Anyways, the last day of interview taping…Ken kept talking about how they had arranged a surprise for me…and wouldn’t tell me anything more about it…but he said “you’ll like it”. Immediately, I start thinking that they set up an interview with Criss Angel. All day…ALL DAY!…I think about this AWESOME interview coming up. Can’t wait…can’t freaking wait.

The interview time comes around, and we head up to this lounge where a bunch of acts play….I walk in expecting to see Criss Angel levitating in front of me.

I walk in..I see no Criss Angel…Ken looks at me, and is like “What’s a matter?” I replied, “Where’s Criss Angel”. Ken just laughed. This “suprise” interview? An interview with one of the performers from the male strip show “Thunder From Down Under”….oh, and ”I would like it” because he is going to teach me moves.

I can’t remember exactly how Ken put it…but he said that he had never seen someone look as disappointed as I did at that time. He said that I looked absolutely devastated. That, my friends, is the definition of disappointment.
NOTE: If asked a question on a quiz show “What is disappointment?” Don’t answer with my story…it won’t earn you points, and you’ll probably get asked to leave the show for being a full-blown wack-a-loon.

Kim Yu-Na -

Korean figure skater Kim Yu-Na? Yeah, she’s really really good. She’s also the biggest celebrity in Korea…apparently, she has Britney Spears-esque paparazzi following her around everywhere. Well done to her for performing under all that pressure.

Top 10 Office Episodes of All-Time -

With the Olympics still going on…and even though I’ve been somewhat disappointed with The Office lately…I really missed The Office last night…so in the midst of watching figure skating, I came up with my 10 Favorite Office Episodes of All-Time…

10 - Michael Burns His Foot on the Foreman - What makes this episode great is when Dwight goes to rescue Michael (after he burns his foot on a Foreman Grill…because why wouldn’t he…he loves to wake-up to the smell of bacon, so he puts bacon on the Foreman right next to his bed)…but Dwight crashes his car before he even leaves the parking lot…sustaining a concussion…puking on his car…and has concussion symptoms the rest of the day. Hilarious.

9 - Safety In the Workplace - When Michael is told that working in an office isn’t nearly as dangerous as working in the warehouse, Michael decides to prove them wrong…but jumping off a building. The highlights of this episode are when Michael and Dwight test the jump with a watermelon…they throw it…hits the trampoline…and bounces right onto Stanley’s car…to which Michael says “Dwight, find out if that’s a hate crime”.

One of my favorite moments in Office history happens right before Michael fake-jumps to his real death…when Daryl gets the megaphone, and tries to coax Michael down. You can see Jim & Pam actually start to lose it when Daryl says “Michael, you are so incredibly brave. It takes so much courage just to be you.  Just the fact that you can get up out of bed is amazing.”

8. Dwight Takes a Job At Staples - After Michael kicks out Dwight, Dwight goes and works at Staples…and Andy Bernard tries to strengthen his friendship with Michael, by creeping him out. Highlights include Andy “reeling in Big Tuna”, also, this is the episode where Andy has set his ringtone to him performing all 4 parts of “Rockin’ Robin”, and Jim & Pam steal the phone, and throws it into the ceiling. Andy loses it, and punches through a wall. Nothing could be more annoying than having a co-worker singing The Cranberries’ “Zombie” over and over again. Try it at work today, see who freaks out first.

7. Beach Games - The Office goes to the beach…highlights: Andy floating away while wearing a sumo suit…Dwight refusing to leave the fiery coals until Michael names him regional manager. One of the best moments though has to be when Creed just goes and catches a fish with his bare hands. When they teams are set up, they have to pick names, and Dwight wants to name his team “Team Gryffindor…no, wait, Slytherin…no, Gryffindor”, to which Jim comes back with “We’ll be team Voldemort”, and Dwight flips out “Don’t say his name, Jim, don’t say his name”.

6. Benihana Christmas - Michael breaks up with his real-estate girlfriend…and tries to recover by listening to the 30 second Itunes clip of James Blunt’s “Goodbye My Lover” over and over. When Dwight asks him why he doesn’t just buy it, Michael says “I just want to taste it.” After a trip to Benihana, Michael and Andy come back to the office with waitresses from Benihana…but Michael gets confused and can’t tell which one is which….and ends up marking one of them with a sharpie mark on her arm so he can tell. Also, with the two Xmas parties going on…one’s great, one’s boring…and when Daryl walks by the boring one, he just says “Hey, you should come join the party once you get done with your meeting.”

5. The Diversity Episode - Michael delivers one of my favorite lines ever, “It’s like what Abraham Lincoln said…if you are racist, I will attack you with the North”. Amen. Also, when Michael finds out that the African-American man teaching the diversity class is named “Mr. Brown”, Michael comments that could be stereotyping.

4. The Fun Run - Even though Michael hit Meredith with his car, he finds out that she has rabies, and that by hitting her with his car actually saved her life. He decides to organize a 5k to cure rabies, called “Michael Scott’s Dunder Mifflin Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Pro-Am Race for the Cure Fun Run”. I love the run…from the point where Michael hands an oversized check to a stripper wearing a nurse’s outfit…to Andy padding his nipples so they won’t chaff…but the best parts have to be Michael eating tons of pasta right before he runs so he can “carb load”…and then he refuses to drink water, because that’s rabies patients have an irrational fear of water.

3. The Basketball Game - Watching Michael play basketball is priceless. Michael desperately tries to get Stanley to play on the team, because he’s, well, you know…black…and then Michael’s reaction when he sees that Stanley is absolutely awful.

2. The Dundees - The awards show for Dunder Mifflin. This episode is non-stop laughs. Michael trying to emcee the event…”So Dwight, I was about to sleep with this girl from HR, but then she made me fill out all this paper work” “Was it an AIDS test?” “No, idiot, it wasn’t an AIDS test”.

1. (tie) The Gay Witch Hunt - When Michael finds out Oscar is gay, all heck breaks loose. Michael wants to preach tolerance…because he “It’s my responsibility to end 10,000 years of being weirded out”. So ridiculous. Then he decides that the best way to get over this is to kiss Oscar on the lips. It ends with Oscar saying “That’s what she said…or that’s what he said”. The best moment…Jim has convinced Dwight that their is an actual product called “Gaydar”. At the end of the episode, Dwight opens a package…it’s a Gaydar Detector (a.k.a. metal detector)…it goes off when he’s near Oscar…but then it goes off when it crosses Dwight’s belt buckle, to which he says “oh no”.

1b. The Dinner Party - Hands down, the funniest episode…ever. We see the home-life of Michael and Jan. Best moments, Michael telling everyone that he finally broke down and bought a flat-screen TV…to which he then produces a 12 inch TV mounted on the wall, and says “Sometimes, I just stand here for hours watching this”. A trip to Jan and Michael’s bedroom reveals a camera still set up near the bed…and a small cot that Michael sleeps on because of Jan’s “space issues”. Michael also likes to dip his steak in his wine.  Jim intentionally messing up the Scattegories game is fantastic. Of course, we also heard Jan’s former assistant, Hunter’s brand new music, “You took me by the hand…” I wish this clip was more than 46 seconds long.

Comments

From Jenny: “Looks like the entire blog will be at the Civic Center tomorrow night” ANSWER: Apparently, Jenny, Julie, and Nathan will all be at Osage County. Just walk around saying “AWESOME” every now and then, perhaps you will run into each other. I still think a “Blog of AWESOME Night” is still a great idea. I will get crack-a-lackin’ on this.

From Sully: “I can’t believe you videotaped Jennifer trying to do the high jump and then posted it when she fell. Maybe you are not the perfect husband.  Oh and for all of you that may be interested in Kurts house, its nice and you should look at it. Has a huge basement I think sometimes when my wife is mad at me I wished I lived there.” ANSWER: I had to include both comments…even Jennifer laughed at that comment…and its always a plus to compliment the house.

From Denise: “Can we see monthly updates of Jennifer’s baby bump? She is so cute! Of course if you could also do monthly poses at Costco, HyVee, etc. along with her (especially in the shopping carts) that would be just swell!” ANSWER: Yes…and yes. More details below.

From Nathan: “Last night at Target I almost convinced Jake into us buying all of the released seasons of LOST on DVD… but then he saw Weeds and, Heroes were on sale so we bought those. We are horrible impuse shoppers, we went to Target for Milk, I think… and came home with a boatload of DVDs”. ANSWER: At least you were able to stay away from the frames section…how can any of us resist brushed silver?  Ha ha. Hope you’re feeling better Nathan, and yes, get yourself some One Republic tickets (and by yourself, I mean, get Jake to get them)

Weekend -

This weekend, Jennifer and I are off to Chicago. My sister’s bridal shower is this weekend…and her bachelorette party as well. Jennifer is going to both.

This is in response to Denise’s comment…but this weekend will be the “Baby Bump Road Trip”. Jennifer has already admitted that we’ll be making a bunch of bathroom breaks…so I think we’ll be taking I-80 instead of I-88 once we hit the border…but I will be taking a picture of Jennifer and her bump at every rest stop we stop at….it’ll be magical.

Should be a fun weekend…I’m going to be spending a lot of it with my dad, while the girls go do their thing. Jennifer says that they’re going to a female impersonator place down in Chicago…called the “Kit Kat Lounge”. They’ll have a great time.

If you go see “The Crazies” this weekend, let me know what you think…also, if anyone is going to BaconFest, I want to know how that goes as well!

AWESOME is as AWESOME does!

Mini-Blog Today -

Sorry, mini-blog today…we just got set up in the studio with a brand new computer system…Ken, Colleen, and I are still learning the ropes. So far, so good…yep, I probably just jinxed that.  A lot more computer screens…a lot more buttons…whoo hoo!!

Short Track Speed Skating Relay -

One of the most ridiculous Olympic sports I’ve ever seen. I have to hand it the announcers…I had no idea who was winning…or even who was racing. I do love the “baton pass” just being a giant shove from behind. 

House For Sale…and The Fake House

Well, it’s official….we have a “For Sale” sign in our front yard. Craziness.

Right now, as many of you who have sold their house can relate, we live in “The Fake House”. Everything in the house is perfect right now…everything is put away. My laundry isn’t bunched up in the corner….the computer desk is well-organized…and the pillows are fluffed.

Unfortunately for me, I suck at making the bed, so my life has drastically changed. I don’t want to mess up the bed, so yesterday, I tried to take a nap in a chair (I don’t want to mess up the couch either). My neck hurts (and as you will read later…I also can sleep on the floor).

It’s all worth it though…we already saw a couple cars drive by our house last night and slow down to take a look. AWESOME!

The Worst High Jump Ever -

Hilarious…

One Republic -

The One Republic show 3/22 at Peoples will be AWESOME! Ryan Tedder is great, and puts on a fantastic show. Also, remember that bad “The Rocket Summer” that I was just talking about yesterday? I remembered that they were coming to town…and did a little search to see when…oh, they’re opening for One Republic. Double AWESOMEness! (Note: I did end up buying the whole The Rocket Summer album yesterday, I recommend it).

Basketball -

Another mighty win by Team Library Cafe last night…yes, folks, it’s a 2 game win streak. It was a day of pure triumph…men between the ages of 29-40 triumphed over a bunch of in-shape 22 year-olds. 

Props to BoneSaw for “icing” the game with his clinching free throws. Remember BoneSaw? He used to comment on the blog all the time…but then his work took away his internet privileges.

One more week to go…one more week until my legs can finally recover. Oh…I also learned last night….don’t mix Taco Bell with basketball. That should have been obvious…but I forget things.

Stayed Up Wayyyy Too Late -

So, I slept on the floor last night? Why? Because I was doing a fantasy baseball auction draft last night…it started at 9…got done around 11:20. Instead of waking up Jennifer, I just fell asleep on the floor.

AWESOME is as AWESOME does!