Good Old Mae

Upgrading to Digital with Mae Laborde



Digital Conversion Update PSA

Tom Graduation Pix

2008 Photos Now Online

I've put my photos from 2008 online at Picasa Web Albums.
Here's the links:

2008 Photos Pt.1

2008 Photos Pt.2

2008 Photos Pt.3

New Family Member

Javier Oscar Torres

Stacey and Oscar's baby - born July 19th, 11:52 AM. He weighed 6lbs, 13oz and was 21 inches long. Stacey was in labor for 34 hours.

Artscape 2009

Natalie and I went to Artscape on Saturday and Sunday this year.

Saturday we got there around 12 and saw the band "Fall Back Plan" on the Main Stage. They're a talented band but a little generic for my taste. The lead singer was really good. She reminded me of somebody, Gwen Stefani maybe. The parade of Art Cars came by around 12:30, always a high point. We wondered up Mount Royal Avenue, checking out some of the artists booths along the way.

There was an exhibition of Sondheim prize semi-finalists at MICA. That was really interesting. Natalie liked the art that was made up of all these little pictures from the newspaper transferred to the canvas with clear tape and masking tape. There were marble statues of Mario, Kermit the frog and the lego man, and this installation type thing that was kind of creepy. There was a bed or futon in it and all these strands of plastic bags blowing around while a spotlight at the top slowly changed colors.

From there, we headed up past the Art Cars to the Midway on Charles Street. It was packed by then, single file, shoulder to shoulder. Natalie got a little freaked out by the crowd. We did make it up to the Charles Theater area and picked up some stuff from the Free Store in the parking garage. That's when the kids called and told us they had managed to lock themselves out of the house. So that was that.

Sunday we got down there around the same time - noon. That's the best time to be there. We heard an organ concert at Corpus Christi Church that was great. We also tried to go to the Lyric but that was a fiasco. We went right in but instead of Irish dancers there were African dancers on stage. So we left and that was our mistake. When we tried to go back, the place was full. Nobody was leaving and they weren't letting anybody in. After waiting about 20 minutes, I saw the Irish dancers on a monitor in the lobby. So that was a waste. They are going to have to open up the balcony next year.

We wondered around a little longer then went to the Owl bar for a couple of beers. We would have liked to have gone to Brewer's Art but they don't open till 5:00 on Sunday.

Souvenir Bat Night

WASHINGTON—Attendance may be down, but the fans at last week's game didn't care—they were too busy enjoying the stadium's new Fuck-Cam.

"We've been really surprised and delighted by the crowd reaction," said Washington Nationals public relations director Janine Perry, who started the Fuck-Cam program that has since been emulated by every other ballpark in the major leagues, except Miller Park in Milwaukee. "Apparently, people who like watching baseball games also really enjoy watching other people have sex. And not just between innings, either. If the action on the screen is still going when the play on the field resumes, they'll still watch. The Fuck-Cam has been quite a phenomenon."

Major League Baseball estimates that more than 700 people have had been featured on the Fuck-Cam since its introduction. The first Fuck-Cam couple, Gary Kochalk and Kim Dahle, have been guests on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. And a montage of legendary Fuck-Cam performances is one of the most viewed clips on YouTube, featuring such great Fuck-Cam moments as the man who hasn't realized his partner has fallen asleep; a would-be suitor who goes down on one knee, produces a ring, and is flatly denied; an overweight couple who is booed off the JumboTron by the crowd; and a good-natured if somewhat clumsy performance by the Fox Sports broadcast team of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

"It's at the point where some people come to the ballpark with the idea of getting themselves on the Fuck-Cam," Perry said. "They dress up for it, wave signs, even start fucking with two outs at the bottom of an inning in the hope they'll get noticed, the whole thing. The buzz has been awesome. Of course, we'd rather people come to see our beloved Nats, but our attitude is, if people having sex in the seats gets people to come to the park, it's good for baseball."

Perry refuses to take credit for the concept, although she did make it official by adding the subtitles and frames now associated with JumboTron displays of crowd sex. Instead, she credits the Washington fans themselves—"the greatest and most sexual fans in the world," she said gratefully—with the spontaneous invention of the Fuck-Cam.

"The Nats were getting blown out by the Dodgers in an early May game, and the camera guy went to the kiss-cam early and often," Perry said. "Well, he lingered a while on the same couple, and they just got into the spirit of the thing and started fucking like you wouldn't believe. It was great, but I really didn't think much about it until the next morning when someone told me it had been mentioned in the news, and later that day it was No. 3 on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays."

By June, Fuck-Cams were in use at Baltimore's Camden Yards, Detroit's Comerica Park, Yankee Stadium, and countless other major- and minor-league ballparks. The promotion has been a hit at every stadium in which it has been introduced, although the process has not always been smooth.

"You want to be careful," said Wrigley Field cameraman Greg Somerset, who noted that he "gets" an average of four couples a night on his Fuck-Cam. "Sometimes you can have good luck with a guy and a girl who are just sitting next to each other, but other times it doesn't work at all. A couple who's fighting may or may not have great makeup sex while you're watching. Getting two guys on the Fuck-Cam, well, it may work or it may not, and the crowd may or may not like it. The time with two guys and a girl, that was a mixed reaction."

"Also, I just want to forget about souvenir bat night," Somerset added. "You just can't tell with some people."

"The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla"

Earl Weaver Tirade

Mike sent me this link an audio clip of Earl Weaver going nuts on "The Manager's Corner" radio show. I can't tell if Weaver's serious or not but it's funny.

Click on Earl's picture to go to the website and hear the audio.

First Orioles Game of 2009

My Mother, Mike, Tommy, Matthew, Jocelyn and I went to our first Orioles game of the year tonight and - surprise, surprise - we won, beating the Seattle Mariners 3 to 1 and breaking a five game loosing streak. The Orioles pitcher, Bergesen, went eight scoreless innings and Nolan Reimold had two rbi's, including a homer. It was a fun game - Matt Wieters popped up to the right of the pitchers mound and with four players watching it, it dropped in for a hit. Unfortunately, he tried to stretch it out into a double and was thrown out at second. It was Melvin Mora tee-shirt night and he hit a ball in the first inning that almost went out of the park. In fact, it was initially scored a homer but after instant replay, it was changed to an out. That's the first time I've ever seen instant replay used in a game and it took forever. There was a picture on the front page of the Sun's sports section the next day and it was obviously fan interference. Some drunken moron, wearing a Melvin Mora tee-shirt, stuck his hat right into the Seattle outfielder's glove. Nitwit.

Me and the little darlings

Bergesen delivers.

It poured right before the game and the sky was extremely nasty looking.

First Trip To The Bengies in 2009 - Memorial Day Dusk To Dawn Show

Matthew and I went to the Bengies for the first time this year for the annual Memorial day all-night show. We both made it through until the sun came up and D. played the national anthem to end the show. We evening stayed awake through "Obsessed".

The Line-Up:

Coraline - Really good and the best movie of the night. In the vein of "Nightmare Before Christmas" and "The Corpse Bride" but better. And weirder. 4 Timmyheads.


Star Trek - Not your father's Star Trek my ass. A steaming pile of lameness. The only cutting edge thing about it was Eric Bana as the Bad Ass and his summary execution (not shown) of the captain of the Kelvin. Matthew liked it though.


Obsessed - Another winner from Beyonce (remember "Goldmember"). Only lots, and lots of T&A could have saved this one.


Knowing - Pretty good but kind of weak towards the end. Reading up about this one is what convinced me to go to the all-night show. Real Sci-Fi, not "Gossip Girl" in space.

Tradition! Dusk 'til Dawn ALL NITE Show

Original email message from the Bengies Drive-In

Dear GREAT Patrons of the Bengies Drive-In Theatre,

We are NOW OPEN on FRIDAY, SATURDAY & SUNDAY!  

DUSK   'til   DAWN    

THIS weekend is Memorial Day weekend, and our 53rd* ANNUAL all night shows in the drive-in tradition! 
We WILL be open all 3 nights BUT the Dusk to Dawn shows will ONLY play on Saturday and Sunday.

(53rd*Ken noted, this is actually the 53rd, BECAUSE the Bengies did not open until JUNE of 1956, so there was no Memorial day show. The Labor Day weekend D to D will be the 54th in this 53rd Anniversary Year of the Bengies.) 

3 of the 4 titles ARE in W I D E  S C R E E N, showing  EDGE TO EDGE on the biggest theatre screen in the *USA!*  Saturday and Sunday is the traditional...

DUSK   'til   DAWN  

"STAR TREK" rated PG13, is HOLDING, because it is way too much fun, but mostly because we have seen an increase in interest both from fans who wish to see it again, BUT AMAZINGLY, from the folks who were never Star Trek Fans.  It is important to note here, that you do not have to be a fan or even ever had an interest in "Star Trek" to enjoy this fine feature.

Showing all 3 nights with the VERY fast paced "STAR TREK" is the top rated thriller, "OBSESSED" rated PG13. An unhinged stalker  threatens to destroy a happy family and career.

We will begin the ALL NIGHT program (Saturday into Sunday, and Sunday into Memorial Day Monday) with the HIGHLY ACCLAIMED, one-of-a-kind animated feature "CORALINE" rated PG.

The program will also include a sci-fi thriller, "KNOWING" rated PG13.  Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times, says: "...among the best science-fiction films I've seen..."

CONNECT with us:

Twitter    Facebook   Myspace    RSS web browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari

For feature synopsis and more visit:

 http://www.bengies.com 

 http://www.giantoutdoorscreen.com

 http://www.allamericandrivein.com

 http://www.driveinnights.com

Or just click on the BENGIES banner below 

---

Bengies Drive-In Theatre

3417 Eastern Blvd. Baltimore, MD 21220 Since 1956
Feature & Show Time Information: *NEW* 410 391-1956 OR the Good 'ol Original: 410 687-5627
Box Office OPENS THIS Fri. At 7pm, Sat. & Sun. At 6:45pm.
The Show CURRENTLY Starts ALL 3 NIGHTS At Sunset, Now Occurring At 8:30pm

Slugger

From Mike Kelly

I just heard from Jocelyn's coach at Harford Community College that she was nominated for the All Conference and All region XX teams. Both teams will be announced after the region XX tournament.

Karen's 50th Birthday Party

Jean and Colleen had a surprise 50th Birthday party for Karen today. The party was at her boyfriend's Steve's house, way out York Road. We had a good time and there was a ton of food. The weather was great too, I spent most of the day outside. Jean and Judy and their gangs all came to town for the party (except Melissa - she had to work).

Link to these photos on Flickr 
(These are small, relatively poor quality copies of the original photos. If you want better quality versions, let me know)

Michael Bay Signs $50M Deal To Fuck Up 'ThunderCats'

LOS ANGELES—In the largest deal ever made to shit out a movie, Warner Bros. and director Michael Bay announced a landmark $50 million agreement this week to monumentally fuck up ThunderCats.

"I couldn't be more excited to completely fuck this up," said Bay, who plans to begin production on destroying the live-action adaptation next month. "ThunderCats has a great story, endearing characters, action, adventure, space-travel, and fantasy. It will be an honor to run it into the ground."

"I'll use every directorial tool I have to suck the very life and charm out of this beloved cartoon," added Bay, claiming that the film could turn out to be the most colossal piece of shit he's ever worked on. "I won't rest until I get every last scene exactly wrong."

According to executives, Warner Bros. settled on Bay after a 12-month search of Hollywood's most reviled directors, including Joel Schumacher, Roland Emmerich, and Brett Ratner. In the end, the studio decided only Bay could be relied upon to deliver a 220-minute cinematic clusterfuck with enough tedious performances, overblown cinematography, and CGI explosions to make even the most casual fan want to scratch their eyes out.

"No filmmaker working today has Bay's ability to somehow direct his actors to be both emotionless and melodramatic at once," Warner Bros. CEO Barry Meyer said. "And I personally can't wait to see how he needlessly overcomplicates the plot."

Bay reportedly only agreed to fuck up ThunderCats after several specific conditions were written into his contract. According to the terms of the deal, Bay must be allowed to eliminate the character Panthro entirely to focus on the asinine relationship between Snarf and Snarfer, and include nearly 22 minutes of frenetic, impossible-to-follow action sequences that he hopes will annoy the living Christ out of audiences.

"We're just getting started on the storyboards, but I've already got a lot of really contrived ideas about zooming in way too close and shooting everything at nauseating angles," said Bay, who claimed viewers won't be able to tell if the climactic final battle is between two blurry elbows or a half dozen leopard-print pillows. "I promise you'll walk out of the theater feeling like you just flushed $12 down the toilet."

"You will all fucking hate me," he continued.

Hollywood insiders agreed that Bay—who has reportedly been closely involved in each of the 45 progressively worse rewrites of the script—was a natural choice to take a steaming dump on the popular ThunderCats property.

"Michael Bay has this innate sense of how to ruin a great story," Variety reporter Todd Brick said. "His ability to create astonishing plot holes, pepper dialogue with groan-inducing clichés, and abandon storylines halfway through is unparalleled. He was born to destroy this movie."

Though he admitted there was still "a lot of fucking up to do" before the script attains his trademark shit-slicked sheen, Bay has recruited hack writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to punch-up the screenplay with hollow characters and by-the-numbers jokes about kitty litter boxes and hair balls.

But all the time and effort, Bay claimed, is worth it to ensure that he fucks ThunderCats up as badly as he knows he can.

"Ever since I failed to ruin Scarlett Johansson's career with The Island, I've been looking for a challenge like this," Bay said. "Who knows? With Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and ThunderCats coming out in the same year, I may finally reach my goal of making all of America hate cinema forever." 

Things Just Taste Better Out Of A Skull by Munkarth the Lesser

I'm a man who knows what he likes. I like the hot spray of fresh blood against my face, I like the cold clasp of wrought-iron chain mail around my thighs, and, of course, I like the taste of almost anything consumed from the skull of a beheaded enemy. For me, nothing beats a crisp beverage or hearty entrée served in the bony remains of a human head. Whether I'm swilling down breakfast mush or nibbling on a light dinner salad, a skull turns any dining experience into a special event.

I don't know what it is, but food served in a hollowed-out brain pan is always delicious. My wife says it's a psychological thing, and there's definitely some truth to that. Eating from a skull stirs up memories of standing victorious upon a smoldering battlefield, the piercing shriek of a slain foe's death cry still ringing in one's ears and that little bit of magic can really make fresh-picked strawberries lightly brushed with a balsamic vinegar reduction jump to life.

I'll never forget the first time I ate from the still-warm skull of an enemy. Barely 19 and returning home from a decisive victory over a sworn nemesis, I chose to celebrate with a feast of truffled lobster risotto in a shiitake mushroom garnish. My uncle Duvan the Middle suggested that, instead of eating it from a pasta bowl, I fashion a crude serving receptacle from the skull of a warrior chieftain I had slaughtered that day. A couple of bites and I was hooked. What a gastronomic revelation!

No matter what my wife says, though, I've eaten from enough skulls to know my gustatory reaction is about more than cherished reminiscences of horrifying carnage. Stews and pot roasts in particular have a way of seeping into the nooks and crannies of the bones, infusing every bite with flavor. And the lingering hint of dense connective tissue and cerebrospinal fluid can spice up any dish. Once you've tried skulls, I guarantee you won't return to traditional dinnerware.

Most folks have a little trepidation their first time, but that's only natural if you stop to consider that the object you're eating from used to contain a mind bent on hacking you to pieces with a broadsword. You're bound to think, 'If my blade had been a fraction of a second slower, if my shield had failed to repel just one blow, then someone would be eating food out of my skull right now.' And, I suppose, my archrival Gundemar the Visigoth could one day be guzzling from my head that dish his wife so generously calls baked ziti. But no skull in the world is going to make that edible.

If I've piqued your interest, allow me to offer a few cranial-culinary tips: First, it's very important that each skull come from a vanquished mortal adversary. Simply killing that neighbor with the yapping dog isn't going to cut it. Second, when you step into the kitchen, keep in mind that your only limits are the number of heads you've lopped off and your own creativity.

I like to throw dinner parties for my friends, each with a different theme. For example, after a successful ambush of invading Gauls, we might prepare a sumptuous bouillabaisse that we've let simmer for hours in our enemies' severed heads. And another time we might have Taco Night.

Believe me, the 22 bones of the skull aren't the only ones rife with gourmet possibilities. Back in college, we used to make beer bongs with spines we ripped from the chests of our rivals. More recently, my family has begun starting each day with a fruit smoothie spooned from a hollowed-out femur—a healthy treat that is an absolute delight after you've sucked down a few mouthfuls of marrow.

Before you start trying out your own recipes, though, I must issue a stern warning: Remember to observe the difference between the freshly decapitated skull of a long-despised opponent and that of a person you hate out of mere narrow-minded prejudice. To sup from the first is to be a warrior born, one beholden to sacred traditions and values. To sup from the latter is plain bigotry. Do not dishonor the customs of our people, or one day you might find your own skull being used to serve hummus to my in-laws! I will use your eye sockets to hold the chips! I will use the gaps between your teeth to hold the crudités! By Odin, I will lick your skull clean when we're though snacking!

Please excuse my outburst.

So, if you're skilled with a blade, part of a family that nurses centuries-old blood feuds, or simply looking for an excuse to indulge your taste buds, eating and drinking from a human skull might be just the thing for you. You'll never go back to eating out of sheep bladders.

From the Onion

Watchmen At The Senator

Went to see "Watchmen" at the Senator tonight. It was great. I was kind of not looking forward to going because of how long it was - almost three hours, but I really didn't notice. Matt & Tom and John & Jeremy went and they all liked it too. If I had known about the Senator's future, I would have spent some time looking around the place. As it is, this was probably the last movie I'll see there during it's time as a working, commercial movie theater.

Link to Patty Boh's Watchmen Photostream

Brenda Wilson (Nock) 1949 - 2009

Natalie's sister Brenda died at home on March 1st, 2009. Carol and Natalie had driven to Indiana that same day and were with her when she died. Her husband Farris and daughter Ann were with her also. The annual Nock Sisters visit will never be the same. She will be missed.

Click the pictures below to download or view the originals.

Natalie, Brenda and Anne at Carol's House, Fall 2008

At The Movies with Tim and Matthew

Watched two movies on the new TV last night - "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" and "Wanted".

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor was OK. I missed the original actress who played Brendan Frasier's wife and there wasn't enough of the emperor himself, especially when he wasn't covered in stone. The Yetis were pretty cool. Not Oscar material but still a fun time waster.

Wanted - now that was a good one. I wanted to see this after I found out it was directed by the same Russian guy who made "Nightwatch" and "Daywatch". I saw "Daywatch" and that movie was just nuts. Wanted is based on a comic book. Lots of action.

Click on the movie pix to go to the official movie websites.


The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Wanted

Fisherpeople

Maryland couples Ray and Beverly Wall and Mike and Judy Evans spent a half day of patch reef fishing with Capt. Chris Johnson and SeaSquared Charters. Despite the intermittent bouts of heavy fog (unusual for the Keys), they caught 25 yellowtail snapper, some nice mangrove and lane snapper as well as innumerable small mutton snapper which were all released. To spice their catch, they had two big gag grouper, five large hogfish about 17 inches, Florida pompano and a nice sheepshead.

R.I.P. Uncle Ellwood

My Uncle Ellwood died on February 15th, 2008, after a long illness. He was my mother's brother. I remember he used to take my brother Mike and I places when we were little. There's one story about him taking us to a fishing tournament and we wouldn't share our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with him. When I got older, the first thing he always said to me was "When are you going to get that hair cut?" He was a good guy.

There was a memorial service for him today at Beacon Baptist Church in White Marsh. It was a nice ceremony, followed by a luncheon in the church basement. Everybody in the family who lives in town was there, plus Dennis and his gang from West Virginia. With Ellwood's death, that leaves only Mom and Bucky left from her family. Bucky was a no show and probably doesn't even know Ellwood died.

Scary Girls IV

Soprano's - Every Curse From Every Episode

the sopranos, uncensored. from victor solomon on Vimeo.

2007 Pictures Now Online

2007 Pt.1

2007 Pt.2

2007 Pt.3

2007 Pt.4

2007 Pt.5

2007 Pt.6

DVDs From Christmas, New Year's Day Sale

Diary of the Dead

I got the new George Romero movie "Diary of the Dead" for Christmas. It was good, not his best, but I liked it better than "Land of the Dead", which is just too slick. This one had great scene at the end. If he had went for "Unrated", instead of "R", and had more jaw-dropping scenes like that, it would have been a much better Dead movie.

Dr.Katz, Season 1

On New Year's Day, Record and Tape Traders had their Buy One/Get One Free sale on used CDs and DVDs. I bought this DVD, "The Fog" (the original - not that crappy remake), The Ultimate Definitive Final Extraordinarily Deluxe Edition of Monty Python & The Holy Grail and five CDs, all for 40 bucks. Not bad. Dr. Katz is great, like a sitcom wrapped around a stand-up comedy routine. This collection is a little skimpy. It's only six episodes with some special features I haven't watched yet. Ray Ramano and Dom Irrera are really funny in it.

Matthew and Tommy really went crazy at the sale. They each spent around a hundred dollars of their Christmas money. I was good and put a lot of stuff back.

Spark Of Humanity Fades From Mark Teixeira's Eyes After Signing With Yankees

Source: Onion Sports

"I took a picture of me since i got a new digital camera and ive been messing around with it since."
Matthew Kelly