Updates! Updates!

I really shouldn't take vacations, as I can't really find a whole lot to talk about once they're done. I'm finding myself in a bit of a quandry here. I'm down to two dedicated sections on this blog, Current Favorites and NFL Picks. I'd like to add more, and I have a few ideas...

One would be a running story, kind of like a soap opera or Tales From Lake Wobegone or something like that. The problem is that sort of thing would take lots of preparation, and I can't seem to get up the initiative to do it. But I would like to see something like that on a consistent basis.

Another good idea Ann had is where I ask a question to myself and answer it, sort of in the manner that Carrie Bradshaw would do on "Sex and the City". Ann is a little too into that show, but I like the concept, and I'd like to try and adapt it. But it also requires quite a bit of preparation...but seems like it might be a little bit easier than the other one.

Also, it being election time, I would like to start addressing some current events. Here in Wisconsin, there's a referendum up to reinstate the death penalty, make the state constitution forbid civil unions, and there's a school referendum in Stevens Point. I'd like to start addressing these ideas in the coming weeks. So I plan to make on of the days each week a current events type column, hopefully with a snappy and interesting name.

Finally, I'd like to revive the Top Ten Albums section, but instead count down different things. Some thoughts I have are "Top Ten Movies", "Top Ten Hip-Hop albums", and "Top Ten Songs". Of course, that means I'd have to figure out what all of those are.

Feel free to suggest things, but as of right now, that's what I'm working on.

ZT in WI

Well, my vacation is over and I'm back in Wisconsin. I had lots of fun, but I'm happy to be back in the Upper Midwest once again (and just in time to see the leaves change). And while I apologize for the lack of posting lately I enjoyed the vacation a bit too much to be really sorry. Anyways, for today, there's going to be an NFL Picks (just in time for the games to start). Enjoy...

On the Road Again

Well, I missed a couple of things there, didn’t I hey? Well, I’m on vacation now don’t cha know and I’m heading back to Wisconsin. So I had lots of things to pack, but now I’m in a car with not much to do, so I figure I ought to get caught up. So stay tuned for some Current Favorites and the regularly scheduled Krogman 25.

In addition, I’m looking for something to replace the old Top Ten Albums feature. I think I’ll do something like Top Ten Movies or maybe do some other sort of list like that, so there’s something to look forward to. But look for that to be live and coming at you October 8^th.

Till then, happy livin’.

Down With the Beta

Well, I'm now using the Blogger Beta version or whatever it's called, so now I'm spending time trying to spruce the place up a bit. So bear with me while I make some changes...some good, some bad I suppose. It'll be a better place than I left it, I promise!

Hola! Internet is Spotty...

My internet has been quite spotty these days, but it appears to be working this morning, and in an exciting development, I have the day off. So I'm going to use the opportunity to address a few issues:

1) I went and saw the best team in baseball (Detroit Tigers) play, well, not the worst team in baseball, but close (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) at Tropicana Field. The Tigers played pretty bad however. I think Dmitri Young, the Tiger first baseman had 3, maybe 4 errors in the game (2 on the same play). The poor guy still was able to hit a home run in the ninth, so I was happy for him. Ann said, "You wouldn't know they were the best team in baseball the way they played". Zing! Yes the Devil Rays won 7-3 (though with two 9th inning home runs and a couple runners aboard, the Tigers made it interesting at the end). Also, Casey Fossum, the Ray's starter, struck out ten in seven innings en route to a win. He was a bit wild though, bouncing a few pitches, hit two batters at the plate, and one in the head while trying to pick him off at second. Ann and I were joking that he had been drinking. I theorized he had agreed to do a shot for every strikeout, and he didn't come out for the eighth inning because he had passed out. All in all, this was an impoved experience at Tropicana Field, simply due to the better attendance numbers than past games.

I also spent some time thinking about how I would improve the Devil Rays organization if I owned them and cotrolled unlimited resources. First and foremost, I would level the Trop and build a brand new stadium. A nice 35,000-40,000 seater. It would have to be retractable roof just because of the weather, but at least give the people some outdoor baseball whenever possible. The second fix I'd make would be a bit easier. I would rename the team (I hate the Devil Rays moniker) to reflect the Tampa areas two most important resources. Yes, it would be called the "Aquagenarians". Logo? An elderly person wearing a snorkle. Mascot? Just hire an elderly person to put on some scuba gear.

2) I just signed up for Netflix, which is incredibly exciting. Screw gunpowder, Netflix is a way better invention.

Hmm, I feel like my life is slightly more exciting than that. Oh well...ta ta for now!

Some highlights of movies I saw since you last heard from me...

The last movie I saw was "You, Me & Dupree" what with the Owen Wilson, Matt Dillon and Kate Hudson. Good movie, plenty of laughs for everyone involved. Didn't have the non-stop comedy of say..."Wedding Crashers", but still made for an entertaining matinee. 7/10

Whilst on vacation, I was travelling with Ann's 11 year old nephew Michael. He very much wanted to see the movie "RV" at the dollar theatre. I was not terribly excited about the prospect, but since he was the only one with a strong desire to see anything the dollar theatre had to offer, we deferred to him. Good call. The only thing I could say afterwards was, "That went 100 times better than I could have possibly hoped". So if any younguns in your life want to go see "RV", enthusiasticly take them (or suggest it to them). It's really pretty darn funny, if a little cliched and obvious. High 6/1o

Ann kept wanting me to see "Bend it Like Beckham" as she'd seen it awhile back. We saw it in the 99 cent section of the local Hollywood Video (which by the way, is the nicest video rental place on the planet. The people that work there are very nice and really care about movies. If your looking for a quickie review of a movie, they can give you one with a smile on their face. I wish every video store was like the Stevens Point Hollywood Video). Anyway, back to the movie. This is defiantely a winner as well. I may have directly influenced my subsequent catching of World Cup fever, and was just a well done. Plenty of feel good to go around. 7/10

I forget if I mentioned this before, but awhile back I discovered the Sundance Channel on the digital cable. I started watching this late at night, sometimes until 2 or 3 am. Sundance Channel puts some interesting stuff on television this late at night. There are theories as to why I watched these movies. One is that there was nudity (partially true). Another is that once in awhile, something really cool came on. Anyways, heres some movies I saw late at night:

Sympathy for Mr. Vengence: A Korean film (I think by the guy who did Oldboy which was supposed to be my last Netflix pick, but I never got it before I moved out) all about vengence. The plots a bit...um contrived, and it's real bloody. Overall, it kept my interest, but didn't really affect me all that much. 5/10

Videodrome: Overall, I liked the concept. It had something to say about media and society, but Cronenburg's execution was a bit lacking. Or it was 2 am...who knows. 6/10

There was also a film about a grafitti artist that was okay, a short film about a gay teenager that was weird but not with much substance, and a short film that had naked people walking around an empty apartment complex (as well as some of them having sex) and the ending line "The ants are attacking". It defined the term "wtf?!"

Lastly, there is one great regret I have. I missed the end of a movie that really caught my intrerest. It was a take on the silent movie, but with really interesting imagery, about a hockey player from Winnipeg who gets caught up with some unsavory characters. It's set up at the start of the 20th Century. It was incredibly weird, but if the thing would have held up through the end, it had a shot at 9/10. Now I want to find it and finish the darn thing. Argh, if this movie sounds familiar to you, please send me the name!!!

I'm sure I'm forgetting some movies, so there might be more to come.

Oh where oh where could my ZT be?

Has it really been over a month since I’ve been here? Dust and cobwebs everywhere? An unfinished Top 10 Albums? No Current Favorites? No Krogman 25? Where’s the insightful analysis and sharp witticisms we’ve grown to count on ZT? Have ye wandered into the desert?

Last night, whilst bowling, “We Are Family” pumped through the speakers as I pumped my fist after a killer strike. But the victory felt hallow. Ghosts of Fidel Castro, the Beastie Boys, and Beck tickled the hairs on the back of my neck. Movies I’d seen but left without giving an opinion on haunted my conscience.

Then I went and looked at the old blogs I used to enjoy and love. Look how others had kept posting away, performing an important public service. Why couldn’t I stay on the bandwagon? Well what else could ZT do now ‘cept run to his blogger account and sign right in! Unencumbered Enthusiasm is back!

A Quick One, While He's Away...

As I'm off and on vaction, I won't be posting a Top Ten Albums today, nor will I make up for missing Current Favorites yesterday. I'd apologize, but I doubt this inconviences you in any noticable way. Aw shucks, I love y'all...sorry...I'll become less flakey next week. I promise.

I'm Back!

Yikes, I've been busy! I graduated, then went on a short-notice trip to Flagstaff, AZ to see Ann graduate, then had a three day marthon of a car trip back to Wisconsin, then the day after I get back, I head off to Milwaukee to catch a very exciting Brewers game (in which I got to see my first walk off throwing error! Brewers won, 3-2, all in all a good time). But all this has led to some serious lack of posting. I've missed two Krogman 25s, two Current Favorites, and one Top Ten Albums. Now there are a couple things I could do here. I could make up for lost time...but I'm nowhere near that ambitious. So, I'll do a Top Ten Album today, and then resume my normal schedule next week. Sound good? Well it better, cause that's how it's gonna be bitches!

Some Changes

As you may or may not notice, I changed the name of this blog to "Unencumbered Enthusiasm". I want to make a full disclosure...this name is slightly controversial. I am pretty certain that I came up with this phrase, though Blake seems to think he did too. But I'm 99% sure he's wrong so I'm claiming it as my own. There's a possibility that it was a collaborative effort, in which case I still feel fine keeping it, as I probably came up with the good part.

A brief history of "Unencumbered Enthusiasm" is in store. I once tried to start a blog called "Unencumbered Enthusiasm" in an attempt to make a better one or something, but it was a dismal failure and only had two posts in it's short, pathetic life. I put it out of it's misery yesterday, but transferred the name. Blogs are not the only thing to get the title of "Unencumbered Enthusiasm". There was a short film I starred in and helped write with Blake for his film class with that title. It was a mockumentary about the rise and fall of the St. Louis Tribune which had a experienced brief but unbelievable success in the mid 1920s when it, "started trying, and printing it in English." Also, they hired a fantastic copy boy. The story was told mostly through an interview with the washed up publisher of the ill-fated newspaper. The movie was never finished as we got tired and Blake decided to just use film clips off the internet to make his movie for the class. So the name "Unencumbered Enthusiasm" has a rich history of utter failure, and it is a tradition I will lacksadasically uphold.

Also, I've made logos for permenant features on this blog. This is an incredibly fun process and I would not dream of ever stopping. In fact, I'm brainstorming new permenant features right now just so I can make logos for them. Hell, I'm looking up things to make a logo for this post right now. I'm pretty sure Google Images is the greatest invention of the past 50 years.

Lastly, I tried to make a very nice pen and ink drawing my logo. However, it's kind of hard to see next my name. In case you're wondering, it's called "Moon Tree" by the German artist Otto Dix, who went on to make some rather nauseating art after getting messed up by World War I. Here's a better picture of it. I like it quite a bit.

That's about all for now folks. I'm going to start trying to make this blog a little prettier in the next few weeks...We'll see how it goes.

My 100th Post! Vacation! Current Favorites!

Well, it took over a year (if you count the long drought last summer), but I've finally reached 100 posts. Sure, it seems pathetic, but my blogging has often gone in fits and starts, and, as it's become a little more regular lately, the post count finally started reaching these great heights. Well, huzzah I say, and Merry Wednesday to all!

It might stay at 100 posts for a little while at least, due to the fact that I'm going on Spring Break to shed the cold, rainy confines of Minnesota to explore the great state of Arizona with my comrade in arms, Ann. We shall watch baseball, attend rennaissance festivals, gaze into the Grand Canyon and in general whoop it up, Southwestern style. I've already begun adorning myself with turquoise for the occasion.

Well, I can think of no better way to celebrate the dawning of a new Century than to go to an old standbye, Current Favorites. So without further ado, Current Favorites as of March 8, 2006:

Music:

The Arcade Fire Funeral: Yes, make your jokes now, this did in fact come out in 2004. And yes, I've had it for awhile, and never paid it much mind. I liked the song Rebellion (Lies) and found everything else acceptable, but never really got into it too much. And then...I listened to it, cover to cover on a nice late night when winter has begun to yield to spring. It hit me, this is an amazing album. It breathes a sad but comfortable tone, like a Tolstoy story. It cries, but knows that everything is going to be alright. It is...perfect.

*****

Tapes n' Tapes The Loon: Okay, I haven't heard the whole album yet, I'm working on that. But I really like it, and want it. So I'll live with the three songs they have on their website.

No Rating (yet)

Movies:

The Return: A Russian movie about a father who left his family for twelve years suddenly reappearing and trying to pick up where he left off. The movie is a little frustrating since it leaves so many unanswered questions, though it also ratchets up the anxiety. The movie seems to take the point of view of a child, and remains frustrated throughout by the lack of information. A well done and fascinating film.

***1/2

MASH: This movie was quite entertaining. Plenty of good lines to go around. Sections lag slightly, but overall the movie is good. "No food, I want sex."

****

Books:

I'm lazy, and don't read any fun books right now.

So there you have it, the 100th post. Hope you enjoyed it, and keep reading!