Daddy Needs a Drink

Gotta admit, I'm moving a little slower today. We were down in Joisey this weekend for Matt and Tricia's annual "midwinter blues" party; we shipped the kids off to Tricia's parents to spend the night. It was a good time. There was a good bunch of folks there, most of whom were enjoying the chance to socialize without their kids around. The drinks were flowing freely; I even did a shot of Goldschlager, which I hadn't had since the mid-90s. Unfortunately for us, we had to hit the road early because Hannah had a birthday party to attend in the early afternoon, so there wasn't much opportunity to sleep off the hangover. Hence the fuzziness of the brain.

Actually, I feel fine, especially now that we're home. I was able to get a 14-mile run in yesterday through the state park near Matt's house, although the hills were tough. Next week, I'm supposed to do a 17-miler.

Pockets of congestion:

• Even if you're not a hockey fan, you should check out this clip from the press conference announcing the hiring of Cliff Fletcher as the interim general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Go to the 4:45 mark and watch one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. While Fletcher is speaking, team president Richard Peddie mouths the exact same words that Fletcher is delivering. Obviously, the remarks were prepared and they went over them, but it looks like he's a ventriloquist or something. As if they needed any more help to become the laughingstock of the league.
• Here's an artifact from days gone by: Somebody uploaded three hours of video from MTV circa the fall of 1983. Not just the videos (including Night Ranger, Sammy Hagar, and Huey Lewis and the News), but VJ Mark Goodman yapping and the commercials, too. It's nothing like what you'd see on that channel today, obviously; it's kind of like the video equivalent of an AOR (that's album-oriented rock if you're unfamiliar with old radio formats) station. Very mellow, no programming other than videos and the occasional contest promo. Here's part 1 of 2 (thanks to Idolator for the tip). We didn't get cable in my podunk NH town until late 1985, so I wasn't yet able to watch MTV at this point; I occasionally saw it at a friend's house in a different town. I only saw music videos on shows like NBC's Friday Night Videos and local fare like Hot Hit Video, a daily show that ran in the afternoons on Boston's Channel 7, and V66, a Boston-based video channel that went on (and off) the air in the mid-80s. We could only get it with rabbit ears, so the picture wasn't very clear, but I remember seeing cool stuff like The Smiths' "How Soon Is Now?" and U2 videos before they were huge. Good times.
• I've been thoroughly enjoying season 5 of The Wire, which sadly will be the last. This season introduced the world of journalism into the show's incisive look at Baltimore. Some have complained that the newspaper stuff isn't as interesting as the gritty crime part of the story, but it all intertwines. Show creator David Simon, a former Baltimore crime reporter, has masterfully incorporated the struggles of the big Baltimore daily to cover the city while dealing with budget cuts and corporate interference. As a former news guy, I can relate to this stuff, but I think it's an important angle for anyone to consider. If you haven't seen this show yet, I recommend renting the first four seasons on DVD because there are so many characters and storylines that you'll be lost if you just start with season 5. It's well worth the time investment.
• Speaking of the boob tube, Lost is back this week with the first of eight new episodes. Originally, the plan was to air 16 consecutive weeks of the new season uninterrupted, but that was before the writer's strike got in the way. Eight shows have been completed; hopefully the damn strike will end so we can see the rest after this long wait. At ABC's Lost home page, there's an 8:15 (the flight that crashed was Oceanic 815, get it?) clip that recaps the show for folks who haven't seen it since last spring. Check it out.