soapbox

Seems that the roller derby never went away, just faded from public consciousness - and tonight “Rollergirls” debuts on A&E (sadly not available on DarTV, I think). I’m not really sure about what to make of the endorsement ” ‘Rollergirls’ boasts a bit of a pedigree - it was created and produced by Gary Auerbach and Julie Auerbach, the makers of the hit MTV reality show ‘Laguna Beach’ ,” but oh well.

Episode one features the clash of the old and the new, when veteran Lux and the Rhinestone Cowgirls square off against rookie sensation Venis Envy and the PDFs. Lux, the cocky star who’s presented as the league’s Raquel Welch (remember “Kansas City Bomber”?), learns she shouldn’t skate braless.

here’s the Times’ take on the matter.

I’m not sure if this is cleverness or desperation, but you can also win a “Rock & Rollergirls” vacation or other prizes. hmm.

just for fun, here are a couple other pics, here and here and here.

I missed my window this morning to travel while it was still warm enough to only be rain. I hadn’t expected to stay for New Year’s Eve, but it turned out my friend Jen from gburg was holding a party, so I stayed. I drove down to her place in Waynesboro, PA (about 2.5 hours) on Thursday for a previously-planned reunion with her and our friend Emily, drove back that night, then drove down again for New Year’s on Saturday. On the drive back on Thursday and the drive down on Saturday, I had a horrible time staying awake. In fact, I should never have been on the road Thursday evening. On the drive back yesterday, I had only four hours of sleep, so I was disinclined to try driving back 7 hours today on a similar amount of sleep.

As I figured would happen, my advisor emailed about the upcoming observing run, wanting to (finally) meet tomorrow to go over details. I leave on the 8th, and I think Chris is leaving the 5th. This last minute communication is really starting to get to me.

So, one of the things I needed to take care of for my buddy’s wedding in March where I’m supposed to be best man is getting myself measured for a properly fitting tuxedo. Fortunately, I just needed to cover the nominal fee (approx. $5) for a fitting; the bride’s family is picking up the cost of my tux rental. (Sidenote: I found out over the holidays that they’re also covering my hotel room, which means I’ve only got to pick up the tab on my flight and rental car, so my trip is way more affordable. Many thanks to my gracious hosts, the Beatty family!)

Anyways, I figure it’s best not to delay getting the info to the wedding planner types (translation: the bride and her mother), lest they bug my buddy (the weary husband-to-be) any more than necessary about my measurements. So, while downtown this afternoon to grab a bite to eat after getting back into town, I stopped in at the Essentials For Men store at their new location on Lebanon Street.

I figured they could at least hook me up with the info on a tailor who could give me a proper set of measurments, but, as luck would have it, the friendly older gentleman working the sales floor was happy to oblige and was able to send me on my way with measurements in hand inside of 5 minutes. Fully expecting to pay for the service, I was pleasantly surprised when he told me there was no charge. I was further impressed when, after properly thanking him and saying my farewells to the other salesman and customer, who had been discussing the bowl games with us, that no one was expecting me to do anything more than thank them and be on my merry way.

So, in the future, I will at the very least be inclined to comparsion shop Essentials For Men when I get around to replacing some of my more well-seasoned dress shirts and such. My suspicion is that their prices will be high, but if they are only marginally higher than other places I’m looking, I’ll probably make my purchases there, on account of the wonderful experience I had today.

It’s a shame so many businesses no longer adhere to this very old-school approach to customer service.

Okay, so this might have something to do with being awake since 3 AM CST in order to catch my early morning flight outta Mobile, AL, but Hedonistica has been really funny today. Just a sampling, for those too lazy to hunt around for the good stuff themselves:

Conan O’Brien’s Year in Review segment for 2005. Trust me: it’s funny, even if you’re not a dedicated Conan fan like me.

An animated video for the novelty classic “I’m My Own Grandpa”, done up all Sims-style. Those of you unfamiliar with the rural Deep South should give a good listen to the lyrics while enjoying the silly cartoon; folks where I’m from tend to find this song highly amusing, and this fact should give you some insight into our particular brand of “culture”.

Also, semi-funny magician guy does “The Aristocrats” joke while working some really sweet close-magic card tricks.

Finally, given the long day of travel and re-acclimatization (is that a real word? - it should be, if’n it ain’t), y’all will have to overlook any unintended offensiveness or incoherence in any comments and posts from me today.

Now that South Carolina bartenders will have to figure out how to actually pour drinks, life gets a little less interesting.

Bartenders in the state are scrambling to learn how to make “free pour” drinks — how to use a jigger to add the right quantity of liquor and mixes in drink orders. The mini-bottle law has been in effect since 1973, and bartenders who’ve worked only in the Palmetto State have never had to measure liquor. They just grabbed a 1.7-ounce mini-bottle and dumped in the contents.