Adieu, Libby Lu (and other stuff before I go)

Because I just feel like I've blogged about nothing other than American Idol and 2008's Coolest Stuff, I thought I'd leave you a real blog this time around... when I say "leave you", I mean that on Friday, I'm taking The Lovely Steph Leann to The Happiest Place on Earth for an 8 day adventure...

If you are wanting Wednesday night's Idol in Hollyweird, then scroll down to the same post as Tuesday night, where I continue the fun. If you missed the Super Bowl, the running diary blog is here.

So I figure I'd send some random thoughts your way...

The Super Bowl was A Number 1 awesome. I mean, it was just incredible... one of the best Super Bowls I've ever seen--much better than last year, by the way, only because last year was so disappointing. I really wanted the Patriots to win the game, not only because I wanted to see an undefeated season in my lifetime, but also because they truly were the better team--just not that one night.

The Steelers should have won the game, but Arizona made them earn it. Yes, I think that last play might have been an incomplete pass and not a fumble, but at the same time, the Cardinals made some really stupid penalties that cost them mucho. Anyway, excellent game.

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Random Kellie Pickler music video. Its from her second CD, "Kellie Pickler", which I have listened to several times in the last few weeks, and really like.



I love me some Pickles. Totally Ashley Judd Club.

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Made mention of my friend Erin the Marine Wife, and she finally has her website up and running. Its called "Many Kind Regards", and I wanted to give her a plug for it. Go check it out, her perspective from the military family side, especially with a husband who's frequently at war, is great. I'll be adding the link on "d$'s Recommended Blogs" on the right side, so you can check it out.

Other blogs I frequent and enjoy? Hannah Pruitt, the absolute coolest person I know, usually posts pictures on her blog, while Jess Hawbaker (coincidentally, one of the receipts of the Pruitt Cool Award) loves to write about cooking and such, at least lately. Scotty Latta has his Kangaroo Song, while McQ has her Struggle Strength going on too.

Another chick I ran into at The Happiest Place in the Mall a week or so ago, Melissa Hall, has a blog which makes me smile. Its kinda random, and amusing too. I knew her as Melissa Hogue, this funky, feisty chick who had this attitude and this "ain't no man gonna bring me down" air about her... well, she went and got herself a man who didn't bring her down, kept the feist and had a baby, Anna Charlotte, who is just about the cutest thing I ever did see. Seriously. Love me some Melissa Hogue.

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So, Libby Lu closed.

Libby Lu was across the hall from The Happiest Place in the Mall, and while I appreciated the niche they provided, I have to be honest. They were obnoxious.

I had only been in the store once, when I was spending the afternoon with my niece Madeleine. She drug me in there, and I kinda hung back while she toured the racks of lip gloss, High School Musical make up, Hannah Montana hair extensions, way too tight clothes and such. I dared not go in there by myself for any reason, lest I be greeted by Dateline's Chris Hansen, asking me to have a seat on the makeup stool, and inquiring what I was doing here, while holding pages of text transcripts in his hand.

From an article in The Washington Post, columnist Stacy Garfinkle writes:
The problem was that the club's version of dress-up involved hooking girls as young as 3 on glittery tube tops, tight pants, boas, nail polish, lip gloss, tiaras and runway modeling. Princesses and pop stars -- hence sex -- were in. So, dress-up was cool and fun, if it was sexy. No pilots or doctors or astronauts or firefighters to dress as in this place.

I learned all about The Lu, though, when I joined The Happiest Place in the Mall... they liked to play "The Cha Cha Slide" alot. A lot. A whole, whole lot. Like every few hours, I was treated to "two steps this time... two steps this time... now slide to the front... now slide to the back... now Criss-Cross! Criss Cross!" and they played it really, really loud--to the point that we could hear it across the mall's hall and all the way in the back of our own store, drowning out our videos of whatever live action talking animal disaster was making its way to theaters soon.


Shutting their doors

But, last week, Libby Lu had its final Cha Cha. They got to the point where they were just selling stuff for a buck... bracelets, trinkets, doo-dads, crap, whatever... and by mid-afternoon, I guess they were out of stuff to sell, because they pulled the gates down. The employees started slowly trickling into the empty store, and after a while, they were throwing one last party. I saw cake being brought out, they did some sort of team huddle, there were tears and then, finally, wouldn't you know it, they did that freakin' "Cha Cha Slide" one last time, and they did it loud.

The song is like, six minutes long, but finally, it ended. The Libby Chicks opened the gate, one by one drifted away, the gate was pulled down, and darkness set upon the Tween Paradise. "To Catch a Predator" finally pulled its cameras up, and they left too. Libby Lu was gone.

Bye.

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You'll never guess who sent me a comment on my blog post on Facebook? None other than Jennifer Herndon. Yes, the one from "Pretty in a Jennifer Herndon sort of way" fame. She told me she enjoys reading what she's read so far, and might dive into the blog. Glad to see you here, Jennifer. Enjoy.

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President B. Hussein Obama's stimulus package is a terrible, terrible plan. Absolutely terrible.

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Here's a funny link to a list of 18 really bad music CD and movie DVD packaging gimmicks... I have #8 and #11, and agree, and totally have over 150 of #12

I will warn you that there is some language in the article.

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YAY! Lorelei Gilmore is getting another series! I'm a guy... and I really, really enjoyed "The Gilmore Girls". Mostly because Lauren Graham is hhhhhhhhot. No joke.


Forty is a good age. Some of the hottest chicks I know are over 30, and many of them are 40 or older. Which means The Lovely Steph Leann is only going to get better with age. Like Lorelei Gilmore has.

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A great little bit on how the old Soundwave is much better than the new Soundwave. Check out the Super Bowl diary for the new Transformers preview.

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We watched "Slumdog Millionaire" this past weekend... ya know, I was actually pleased with it. My initial reaction right after the film was "it was pretty good", but as the days have gone by, I can say that "Slumdog" is a very good film.

Its hard to have an immediate reaction sometimes to a movie, though The Lovely Steph Leann usually will say as the credits are rolling "What did you think?" about any movie, and if I don't instantly say something positive, she thinks I'm stalling because I didn't like it.

"Slumdog" has a simple premise, for those of you who don't really know much about it... I knew about the guy who was on the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", but to give you a little more detail without spoiling it for you, the main guy, Jamal, has been arrested at the beginning of the movie, because the authorities feel like a guy from the slums cannot possibly know all the information he knows.

The police play back the video of the show, question by question, and Jamal tells the story of each question, giving us a flashback into his life of how he found out the answers to these questions. Now, for whatever reason, I thought it was more of a comedy, but it is not at all. Its got some funny moments, but it definately falls into the drama catagory... and its a good film.

That being said, I don't want it to win Best Picture.

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Alright, another blog ramble comes to a close, as my eyelids will come to a close in a few. This will probably be the last blog before we head to The Happiest Place on Earth, and hopefully, I will be able to post and blog at least once from there. We're staying at Pop Century, which doesn't have free interweb, though we'll pay for it just to check email and stuff, and upload pics into Facebook.

Before I go...

A pic for The Lovely Steph Leann...



I only post that for equal time, as I was planning on posting my own random The Goddess pic...


Cause there's never a bad time for a The Goddess pic...

The Super Bowl XLIII Running Diary

926p... AAAAANNNNDDD that's all we're going to say about Super Bowl XLIII... thanks for joining us for the 4th Annual Super Bowl Blog. Our next running diary will definately be at Oscar Night, February 22nd. Night!

925p... Santonio Holmes won the Super Bowl MVP. He gets his hardware, The Lovely Steph Leann laments that Larry Fitzgerald should have gotten it.

922p... NFL Commish Dan Goodell is handing Steelers owner Dan Rooney the trophy. Dan Rooney is about 128 years old. We make the obligatory "oops, I crapped my pants" joke.

920p... Here's the trophy presentation, given by a very rough looking Joe Willie Namath. I hear "He's probably drunk", "Is he even sober?" and "I wanna kiss you..."

916p... Awaiting the MVP award announcement, plus the handing off of the Lombardi Super Bowl trophy.

909p... And it was a fumble. Pittsburgh Steelers 27. Arizona Cardinals 23. Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowl XLIII Champions. Pittsburgh Steelers, winner of 6 Super Bowls now.

908p... Warner takes several seconds, goes to throw, loses the ball, its a fumble. Pittsburgh gets the ball back. And... it might just be over.

906p... Final timeout. Arizona is at the 50 yard line, :15 seconds left in the game.

905p... 22 seconds, Fitzgerald the Inhuman just caught a missle from Kurt Warner. Arizona timeout.

904p... 29 seconds remain. Oy.

9p... Homeslice catches the ball for the Steelers, both feet in, right at the corner of the end zone. The question is, did he catch it? And yes, he did. Pittsburgh 26, Arizona 23, extra point pending. So, now, Kurt Warner has about 35 seconds to go the length of the field.

855p... This game has become so fun that even The Lovely Steph Leann is cheering loudly, for Arizona. She never does this unless its Alabama football. Maybe its the red jerseys that are inspiring her.

853p... Another exchange:
Jill J: Three point spread!
Yours Truly: You have no idea what you're talking about
Jill J: I just repeated whatever I heard

850p... Matt Leinart gives Larry Fitz some love. I can only imagine this exchange:
Matt Leinart: Hey, we're gonna win this!
Fitzgerald: You've done nothing. Shut up.

847p... Here's our scene. Tom J, Jenn Adams, or should I say The Quiet Hotness Jenn Adams, John, Mikey, Holloway and Mr. Ken are absorbed in this game. Andy and Kristi are also watching. Lil Sister Ashley and Stephanie are talking in another room, Amy McL is doing something in the kitchen and Jill J and Jenn Powell are chatting about cross stitching.

And Kurt Warner just tossed a line drive to Fitzgerald (there is no reason this guy should ever, ever be open), who broke wide open and scored... Arizona Cardinals 23, Pittsburgh Steelers 20.

844p... HUGE PENALTY. Ben Rottenburger tossed it out, completed the pass, looked great... and a holdingin-the-end-zone penalty on the Steelers gives Arizona a safety... and the ball back.

839p... And in three plays, we just watched Kurt Warner collapse. Whether it was his fault or his O-line, it was pretty bad. Do they punt and pin them deep? They do. They punt, the ball is down at the 2 yard line, another flag is thrown, and another flag is thrown... and its another personal foul, this time on Pittsburgh, which puts the ball on like, the 4 inch line.

And suddenly, this game gets reeeeeealy interesting.

835p... Arizona is back on offense, gets the ball, throws for a gain and... flag. Seriously? Wait? Wait? Its on Pittsburgh! Seriously?

833p... "McGruber" commercial. Fresh from Saturday Night Live, its a Pepsi commercial, and actually has Richard Dean Anderson in it. Classic.

825p... Larry Fitzgerald gets a touchdown catch in the Super Bowl! We're waiting for the flag... and nothing! Pittsburgh 20, Arizona 14.

821p... Another flag on the play--but this time on Pittsburgh. We've spent the last few minutes coming up with the ridculous penalties that we feel that the refs have been calling--"Harsh language at the line on the offense!" and "Touching the quarterback" and "Intention to tackle!"

812p... Random question... "Wasn't it Lavar Burton who was the main guy in 'Roots'?" The answer? Yes. He was Kunte Kinte.

808p... Okay, so if Arizona loses this game, I'm thinking part of it will be because of the really stupid penalties they've accrued in the last few minutes. Running over the holder, personal fouls like crazy... its terrible...

802p... I'm wondering what would happen if I met Tim Tebow and then met Kurt Warner... who would change my life more, according to the announcers? If I met them both at the same time, I might just ascend into Heaven automatically. Just sayin'.

801p... Lil Sister Ashley just arrived. Yay!

8p... We just saw the new Transformers trailer. The entire room went nuts.



757p... My brilliant observation... Arizona can still win this, but they have to score more points.

754p... Penalty on Arizona on the field goal attempt... "running over the holder". And in the replay, the poor Steeler holding the football got steamrolled. And Pittsburgh is close to scoring again.

744p... They show Cuba Gooding Jr in the press box. Is it sad that for the Arizona Cardinals, the greatest football moment really was when Rod Tidwell scored the go-ahead touchdown against the Cowboys in 1996... in the movie "Jerry Maguire".

741p... Here's the preview for "Race to Witch Mountain", from Disney, but more importantly, starring THE ROCK. Caaaaaaaaan you smeeeellllllll what the Rock is cooking?

Any excuse to show a The Rock WWE clip:



737p... Denny's is giving away a Free Grand Slam breakfast on Tuesday. I miss Denny's. I used to go there all the time back in the early decade, because there use to be one across town. I miss Denny's and Steak-n-Shake, two greasy dives that I miss intensely.

Arizona turned the ball over, but it seems like a incomplete pass and not a fumble. The call is overturned, Arizona gets the ball back. Pittsburgh still leads 17-7.

733p... The Lovely Steph Leann, while discussing the "GI Joe" movie with Andy, middle school pastor at Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship) says she's excited because it has Dennis Quaid in it. Then she turns around and solidly informs me, "Dennis Quaid? Totally Colin Firth Club."

727p... Its the beginning of the 2nd half and the room has cleared. Some have gone home, some are Rock Banding it upstairs... but being a trooper down here is Jenn Adams, John, Mikey, The Lovely Steph Leann, Daniel & Jenn Powell, Kristi Murry, Mr. Nipp and Yours Truly.

Of course, The Lovely Steph Leann, holding the spawn of Amy McL and Tommy Mac and feeding her Fritos, is discussing scrapbooking with Jenn Powell, who is cross stitching a pattern for their new nursery for the upcoming baby.

720p... While Bruce sings, Daniel took a room shot:


There's Mr. Nipp's legs in the front, with Jenn Powell talking to The Lovely Steph Leann on the couch, Yours Truly, Mikey on the next couch, his pop-in-law John, Jenn Adams (always forget how good lookin' she is), Shawn, Jill, and Tom J on the floor. Photo by Daniel Powell.

713p... He's singing "Born to Run", which is pretty cool. Early Bruce is great, late Bruce is too political.

And if he has a wardrobe malfunction, I might throw up in my mouth.

711p... Just had plate of queso dip and it was roody poo awesome, let me tell ya. We're now watching Bruce Springsteen perform here on the halftime show. He did a knee slide across the stage and almost took out a cameraman.

Glad that wasn't in 3D

7p... Going to eat some more. back in a few

656p... The magic of 3D brings everyone together. Halftime Pittsburgh 17, Arizona 7

652p... Turnover, Pittsburgh gets the ball, runs it back and Arizona misses about 382 tackles as the guy runs the entire length of the field, and then falls hard on his head right on the goal line.

650p... We're all downstairs now, even breaking from Rock Band, to see the new trailer for "Monsters vs Aliens", as its going to be in 3D. We've all got the glasses, we're all ready to see the aliens and monsters leap off the screen. Then a lame commercial staring the Sobe Lizards from last year, then a preview of "Chuck", in 3D--a 3D triple play.

And... its a guarantee that we'll have a bajillion people coming into The Happiest Place in the Mall asking for "Monsters vs Aliens" merchandise. Cause if they still ask for "Kung Fu Panda" stuff, I know they'll ask for this.

646p... Ah, a good night. People, friends gathered around, the game is actually really good thus far, the party is alive as everybody over here, everybody over there. The crowd is live enough as I pursue this groove, party people in the house move (next in line) groove (watch me all night... the music hits my mind...)

642p... And who shows up but Andy & Kristi Murry. Andy is the middle school pastor at Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship)

640p... Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen is performing at halftime. Personally, I think Bruce is past his best days, and is kinda overrated... but like U2, he's so universally loved, he could sing the IRS list of people who is over 180 days past the tax payment deadline, and win accolades and awards. Well, that is unless he became a Republican. Then he'd be washed up.

636p... So far, best commercial of the night... E*Trade kid is back, this time with a friend who busts out a version of "Broken Wings" by Mr. Mister. Hiiiiiiiilarious.

631p... This exchange
Mikey: I don't think Matt Leinart should get a ring if Arizona wins
Me: I wondered about that. Maybe he'll do the honorable thing and give it back
Mikey: He'll probably give it to Paris Hilton
The Lovely Steph Leann: Who's that?
Mikey: Exactly.

630p... The appeal of Rock Band upstairs has caused the group to splinter. Mikey's woman Ashleia has already gone upstairs with a few people, and we figure Drewski is heading that way. Huge punt return by Shawn Breaston for Arizona.

628p... The Enchanting Nikki Brown will be proud. Somehow, Mikey and I end up singing a rousing version of "To all the girls Drew (morris) has loved before...."

621p... God loves Kurt Warner. He stumbles, fumbles, bumbles, and still gets the ball tossed up and its caught by Ben Patrick, the appropriate reciever for Arizona. Pittsburgh leads 10 to 7.

618p... Tom J recommends The Fire and Ice restaurant, as he and Jill went there for their 5th anniversary a few days ago. Also celebrating their 5th, Hannah Pruitt Cool Award Winners James & Jessica Hawbaker. Congrats!

611p... One of the first times in recent memory, EVERYONE is actually watching the game, or at least in the same room as the television. Usually, only a few of us stay the whole time in front of the tv, some come in and out, and others are around the house playing Wii, cards, games, etc.

609p... Pittsburgh into the end zone! Touchdown Steelers! Okay, so I might think of revising my pick of an Arizona win, though Denver went up 10-0 in Super Bowl 1988, and Washington won, like, 50 to 10. Here's a commercial with guys being hit in the head with various objects, and another starring wild animals, encouraging us to adopt pets.

608p... Two commercials (Doritos and GoDaddy.com) and two chicks in various states of undress. One of them was Danica Patrick. Um. Bad! Bad! Yeah, its bad!

603p... Also saw a preview for the show "Medium". Heard there will be a spin-off, shortened version called "Small". And a movie version, called "Large". Ha!

602p... Just saw a great car commercial with Potato Heads, then we see an until now unemployed Vin Diesel in the preview for "Fast and Furious".

555p... The arrival of Tom & Jill Johnson stirs the crowd, but not nearly as much as Tommy Mac and Amy McL, who trump the Johnsons by bringing in their daughter, Sophie.

552p... Score is still 3-0 Pittsburgh. We now have our 3D glasses, and we just saw the hysterical trailer for "Year One", starring Jack Black & Michael Cera.



550p... This exchange:
Jenn Powell: Mrs. Lynn, what are you doing?
Mrs. Lynn (tearing apart 3D glasses): I'm separating 3D glasses for the upcoming 3D commercials
Someone in the room: How do we know when to put them on?
The Rev'rn Ty Coffey: When the tv gets blurry.

548p... Here's the trailer for GI Joe:



544p... Who all just showed up? Daniel & Jennifer Powell are here, Sybil & Dan just came in, The Holloways have been here all day apparently.

543p... In the commercial front, "Angels & Demons" trailer just came on, with Tom Hanks weird hair making a triumphant return. Jason Statham appears in an Audi commercial... I think its always a good decision to have Jason Statham in a cool commercial.

541p... Okay, just loaded up on chicken wings, a taco, a big fat roll with slightly melted butter, sausage balls and several pigs-n-a-blanket. In the game, Pittsburgh apparently scored but Big Ben (Pittsburgh's QB) fell short of the line, via a coach's challenge. The Steelers got a field goal.

528p... Eating. Back in a few.

522p... Its the trailer for "GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra," and stars Dennis Quaid. It comes out in August and the entire room went silent for it.

521p... Mikey is rooting Kurt Warner all the way, because "Ben is a professed athiest. Can't be having that."

519p... Jennifer Hudson is now singing "The Star Spangled Banner".

516p... Our picks tonight? Mikey goes all Arizona... Rev'rn Ty says, "Who's playing? Seriously..." Shawn's pick? Faith Hill, currently singing "America the Beautiful". Jennifer Adams picks? "Who's playing? Steelers? I'll go Steelers."

514p... We are here! We are blogging live from the Nipp Household, that being Ken & Lynn Nipp, parents of the infamous Mikey, good buddy from Deuce Days. Here right now is The Lovely Steph Leann, Mikey and Shawn Sharp. In the kitchen, brewing up some good eats for us all is Ken & Lynn. In comes is The Rev'rn Ty Coffey and entering the home is Jennifer Adams (I never get to see her, so I always forget how hot she is...)

318pm.... Well, it hasn't begun just yet. I am on my way to WalkAbout (middle school drama team) practice. Then back to The Cabana to pick up The Lovely Steph Leann, then off to the Super Bowl...

My early prediction? Arizona 31, Pittsburgh 26. I called it right here.

The Super Bowl XLII Running Diary (ie, the boring blog)

As we were riding home tonight, I told my dear Steph Leann that I was considering not posting the running diary from tonight's Super Bowl party at The Nipps house. However, since its tradition... (I had to write it on Word then post it later, as there was no network connection)...

Here we are, blogging live from the upstairs loft of the Nipps home for our annual Super Bowl Running Diary. So far, we got the Mackey Clan, Big Wookiee, Little Wookette, The Lovely Steph Leann, The Honorable Revr’n Ty, Tommy Mc, Amy Mac, and Eli has the Giants on the board with 3-0.

542p… Bud Light has a great commercial featuring fire breathing efforts.

545p… Anytime you can get “What is Love” involved in a commercial, plus LL Cool J, its comedy gold.

549p… The price of a commercial this year? Around 2.7 million. The cost of a Super Bowl ticket? Up to $5,000 or more. Hanging out with Wook Fu, Mikey and Tommy with a chance of the Patriots to go undefeated in an NFL season? Priceless.

555p… New England is driving. Honestly, though, there is no reason that New York should been in this game. Amy is putting her baby down. Don’t ask.

556p… The Good Doctor Earl and Army John just came in to a shower of “Ey!s” and “Yo!s”

558p… I think the over/under of “Don’t throw it to Stonehands” being thrown out there is around 33. Its up to 4 already.

6pm… Ah, Barack Obama! He’s suave… he’s charming… he’s a good speaker… he’s eloquent. So’s the antichrist.

601p… The Pats Score!!

606p… A commercial with a talking stain. Classic. Various shots of Gisele (Tom Brady’s chick), Pam Anderson (to which Wook-Fu says “I’m thinking of a garden tool now) and a hot, hot, hot Jenny McCarthy. One of my favorite bad girls.

610p… Nothing clears a room like the words “Spinach Artichoke Dip”

611p… Peyton in the stands looking like Venus, watching Serena in the Wimbledon finals. Bitter. Very bitter.

612p… This exchange:
Mikey: Why’s he taking so long to snap the stupid ball?
Me: He’s Eli Manning. You can give reasons, but really it boils down to the fact that its Eli Manning.
Wookiee: That’s what Mannings do
Me: Of course, you know Manning hasn’t had an interception in what, three games?
(Manning throws an interception…)
Wookiee: Dave!!! (smacks me on the leg)

618p… This exchange:
Lynn Nipp: Is Tom coming?
Mikey: Probably not. I hadn’t heard from him
(phone rings)
Ken Nipp: Hello? (pause) Hi Tom

624p… Lifewater commercial: Lizards dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. Good stuff.

627p… Wow… Tom Brady gets sacked like, twice in a row—this is no way to win a Super Bowl… You know, its always a party when Amy Mac brings up STDs

630p… Though I should know this, clapping at your wife and saying “Hey woman, go get me some food… NOW!” never works.

633p… Daniel & Jennifer walk in, wearing Patriots shirts.
Wookiee (pointing at me): Hey, join the bandwagon here
Me: Hey… I’ve been rooting for the Pats since they were what, 15-0?

640p… I’ve been sampling the goodies downstairs… Jenn Powell made a great chocolate cheesecake dip, and someone had chilled shrimp, and I’m sitting with a big bottle o’Ginger Ale. And we were able to see the Justin Timberlake commercial, though I missed the first few seconds. We also got to see Harry Potter & the Prince of Caspian… or Narnia 2, as we call it.

650p… Random quote from Michael: “Someone get me some E-Z-Cheez!”

654p… At halftime, we’re 7 to 3. It’s a pretty terrible game at this point.

725p… So, Steph had the computer to show the house off to everyone, via pictures. Big Tom just came in, as did Jill and her friend Shannon. Jill makes the 4th person in two days to cross my path that I haven’t seen in like, five years. Yesterday, Chad from my 2002 Shades Mountain New York Trip came in, then a while later, Diane Vogel from my old job in Parisian came into Starbucks. Who knew.

727p… Tommy Mac has picked up the first quarter prize that the Nipps always offer, while The Good Doctor Earl got the second quarter prize. I’m hoping for a lot of New England scores to get me up to speed for the next prize.

729p… And… New England is finally making some plays

730p… Random lines tossed out during the Tom Petty halftime extravaganza:
“Hi I’m Tom Petty… when did New England get a team?”
(Some colorful images on the screen) “Look! That’s what Tom Petty’s fans see!”
“This is like, Tom Petty’s Greatest Hits!”

731p… Salesgenie.com has now paid almost five million dollars to show two commercials, advertising a website no one has ever heard of. And next is Shaq as a jockey, which is hysterical. Earlier, there was a chick with a uni-brow who attracted men by rubbing Planters peanuts all over herself. At the end, she picked a wedge. That might be the best two seconds, yet the most disturbing two seconds, of the entire night.

743p… 4th and 13, the Patriots go for it. And they miss it. Could the Patriots undefeated season really go down on an insufficient game such as this.

745p… Johnny 5 is alive… as in, Wall*E, the new Pixar movie coming up. Steph Leann loves it, and chuckles and laughs loudly at the funner movie coming out.

746p… Jenn Powell says “I’d much rather talk house than football!”

757p… Posts are fewer and more far between because really… this game is kinda boring. I mean, its 7 to 3, almost 4th quarter. We’re all yawning.

759p… This game might be Gisele Bundchuck’s fault. This is what happened to Romo when Jessica Simpson showed up… I think they should just start showing more Jenny McCarthy.

804p… The Mackey domination continues. Paula Mackey wins a prize for the second year in a row, this time for the third quarter.

805p… Stewie vs. Underdog for a bottle of Coke. And who gets it? Charlie Brown! That commercial was excellent!

810p… The New York Giants has just scored a touchdown… they’re up 9 to 7, with the extra point pending. Kick is good, and 10 to 7.

816p… The Good Doctor Earl just made a Lou Ferrigno reference. This is the kind of night its been.

823p… If the New York Giants win this, the 2008 NYGiants will be the Mira Sorvino of the Super Bowl lore… winning a big prize they really shouldn’t have been in the running for, they shouldn’t have won and beating a much bigger opponent that should have taken it in a runaway.

835p… Well, 3 minutes left, 10-7 NYGiants. Its down to the wire. We’ve actually spent time discussing Ambre Lake on Rock of Love 2.

839p…. TOUCHDOWN TO NEW ENGLAND!!! I want to see Randy Moss get a ring. He’s had such a hard life.

842p… I’m currently depending on Manning to choke. Just cause it happens.

850p… “Don’t throw it to Stone Hands!” jus tossed out. Manning almost down, tossed the ball, caught downfield. The room erupts.

856p… New York just takes the lead. After this entire game sucked, the last four minutes have actually been pretty doggone good… of course, you want to see New England go 19-0, but still… its pretty great.

859p… Stephen Gostowski. No one knows who the kicker is, until you need him. Twenty five seconds left, down 3, New England is looking at failure. Had they lost a few times in the season, it wouldn’t be as big a deal, finishing 14-2, then losing in the Super Bowl… but 18-1? Its unacceptable.

902p… Somewhere, the 72 Dolphins has a big bottle of champagne, waiting to pop.

903p… The New York Giants have just beaten the New England Patriots. How ridiculous. And another Mackey wins. And I’m done.

The Super Bowl XL Diary

Note: Even though what you read was typed pretty much as it happened, I have gone back and added various links from this site. Nothing else has been edited.

Oh, and real quick... The Sports Guy's own running Super Bowl Diary is right here. Yes, its funnier than mine, but hey, I think I have my moments. Mos Def aside, that is.

2:06pm... Just got home from lunch with The Lovely Steph Leann, plus two others in our Sunday School class, Brian & Jessica Mays. We ate at Formosa. Turned on ABC, it reminded me of the Rolling Stones performing at halftime tonight. Excuse me while I poke out my eyes with a sharp turkey baster.

5:11pm... Got here at the Nipps a little while ago... just saw the procession of Super Bowl MVPs... they were missing some.

5:12pm... Aaron Neville is singing the Star Spangled Banner. I watched "Philadelphia" yesterday. I think Aaron has Tom Hanks' leisions on his face. Now Aretha Franklin is singing. Wookiee said "It looks like someone is baking loaves of bread in her dress."

5:13pm... Aretha just ate the microphone. Mikey just said "this is the worst opening of any Super Bowl." Wookiee added "how many chincillas died to make that coat?"

5:19pm... Harrison Ford is doing "Oh the Places You Go" with a football theme. I can barely hear it over the noise in the room, yet I have the urge to set my hair on fire with a stick and some flint, a la Survivor.

5:29pm... Typing in scores that everyone is picking, so I missed not only the coin toss (why the heck was Tom Brady there??), I missed the kickoff. Most people here are rooting for Seattle, mostly because of Shaun Alexander. I hope he stays with Seattle next year, and doesnt take the paycheck.

5:33... Bud Light does another hilarious commercial--the Bud Light around the office. The Whopperettes? Not so much. That King creeps me out. And Brooke Burke is standing IN a hamburger.

5:35... Okay... Seattle punted, Pittsburgh has the ball. Ben Roethoelesothis Burger behind center. And we have our first Tautaupauapu sighting (dad Mosi). Wookiee says the best thing about Jerome Bettis--"When its 3rd and 3, he gets you 3 yards. When its 3rd and 15... he gets you 3 yards."

5:40... Magic Fridge. Magic Fridge. Good stuff.

5:40... Bruce Willis' new movie... DieHard 4: 16 Blocked Hostage, Deep Rising with the Last Boy Jackel. My Sixth Sense is telling me I've seen this before. Sean Hall just walked in with a shirt that says "Big Daddy". I think I will laugh at him now.

5:48... Josh is keeping a running tab on Bud Light's bill. At 2.4 a pop, we're up to 9 million dollars. FedEx may be my favorite so far. Only cause he kicked the dinosaur. Thats funny.

5:55... Hasselback just tossed a TD... called back. Come on Blue... let them play!! The same guy reffed the Vandy/Florida game. Seattle got a field goal. 3-0 Seattle. According to Josh, Bud Light is up to 11.5 million. Paula Mackey won the first quarter prize in our score game.

6:10... Suzy Kolber has something coming out of her head. Its weird. Joe Jurevicius is rocking tonight too. Bud Light just went up to $14.0. In a Brokeback Animals commercial, of all things.
6:17pm... When monkeys and Quiet Riot are in an ad together... comedy gold. And Cadillac has an Escalade commercial with a bunch of models in it. Mikey yelled "Blue Steel!". I replied "Magnum!". In a related story, Ben just tossed it for it all... and Seattle's Boulware caught it. Seattle is going to win this game.

6:21pm... MI-3. I am all about seeing Philip Seymour Hoffman as a bad guy. P.S.Hoff rocks. Sybil and Dan just came in. Did you know that Dove now has the Dove Self Esteem Fund? Orlando Jones Sighting!! We have just had an Orlando Jones sighting!! ABC's "The Evidence", with Orlando and the guy from Silk Stockings.

6:28pm... Antwan Randle-El just got hurt. And Berman is narrating a Shaggy Dog commercial. Do you think he likes doing that, or his bosses make him? When does he have enough clout to not do crap like this? If Berman isn't exempt, none of them have it... and Kermit is in a Ford commercial. One about global warming and hybrids. Kermit has been sucked into the liberal view. I will now play in traffic.

6:30pm... Big Ben tossed one of those "you make it, you look cool, you miss it, you look like a 'tard" passes to Hines Ward. Ken Nipp pointed out, "Where's Bettis?" Guess they don't need three yards just yet. Benny tossed another long pass, they are taking it down the field. Don't you know that he's so happy he's not with the Jets? Can you imagine the Elton John jokes he'd get, like, all the freakin' time?

6:34... Ben just had approximately 32 minutes to throw the ball--but he got the ball to the five. Mikey just predicted they'd put the Bus in for the TD... and here's a Go Daddy ad. Back to the game, the Seahawks are holding the Steelers from scoring. Who knew they could play ball? Earl asked a great question... "Do we need another "Poseidon?"

6:41pm... Got a TD in. Controversial play, but the ball did in fact break the plane. Just went downstairs and had a piece of Sybil's frozen icebox lemon pie. It rocked my face off.

6:50pm... Hass tossed a TD... but the guy was out of bounds. The refs are going to review it. Came back. Seattle is moving this ball... for Pittsburgh, defense schmefense. This game is moving fast too... Earl says "Dont they know they have Grey's Anatomy coming on? Lets go with this!"

6:53pm... Seattle's FG kicker just pulled a Scott Norwood and shanked the ball wide. Pittsburgh kneels for the second quarter's end. Tommy takes the $20 Best Buy card. They just had Cower in an interview... you know he had three daughters? Man, I hope they take after their mom, whoever she is. And Holmgren is pretty ticked off at the refs... he just gave Suzy Kolber the shaft. And here comes the Rolling Stones during halftime. Whoopee. I don't know that I could be any more excited.

Now that its halftime, let me just say this about the ads... there is an awful lot of violence in these commercials.. I've seen dinosaurs being kicked, women being tackled, punches, kicks, and just now, a cell phone tossed twice at a guys face. Very violent. Funny as crap, but violent.

Desperate Housewives commercials are all over the screen too. Oh, here's another one with some guy getting nailed by his son in a swing.

7:01pm... The Stones are setting up--Jimmy just said "I hope Mick Jaggar doesn't have a wardrobe malfunction." Michael Irvin is doing game review on halftime... which leads to a great room discussion on Irvin's drug bust and DUI a few months ago, and how ESPN suspended him for one whole week. Almost ruined his career, that did.

7:06pm... Oh, so this commercial for "Lost" just came on. When Eko and Locke started the film about Dharma, instead you see Robert Palmer singing "Addicted to Love", though they changed the "Love" part to "Lost". Naturally.

The Stones are playing now... Sybil says "I'm not so sure Jaggar doesnt look better now than he did a few years ago." He sounds awful. Jimmy says "Take all their ages, combine them... you get more than the total age of Europe". Earl just sang along... "you stop me up..." I'm not convinced Keith Richards isn't actually dead, and they are doing a Weekend at Bernies and propping him up. Earl called for Driveshaft.

Michael pointed out the proverbial roof-dropping stuff when the sashes dropped from the ceiling. I never thought I'd think this, but I miss Britney and Aerosmith. Jason said he thought he just saw some woman throwing their depends on the stage.

Makes me wonder if Carly Simon and Mick Jaggar just pass their lips back and forth. Earl said that they've never been seen together. Its plausible. I think he's scanning the crowd to see how many of the audience are his own kids.

We are now all discussing the best ways to kill ourselves with a hot metal spatula.

Jimmy: Keith Richards should have died at 41.
Earl: He embalmed himself.
Michael: Is that Michael McDonald on keyboards?

Man... its over.... thank goodness thats over. The chick on the Belk commercial is pretty hot. And for some reason, I'm strangely attracted to Sandra Oh... maybe I should like Lucy Liu as my favorite Asian chick, but Sandra just has something going on. And we've just had a Sean Hall Big Daddy sighting upstairs.

7:30pm...
Michael: I think Jerome Bettis gets bigger everytime they show him.
Ken Nipp: He had lunch.

7:32pm... Willie Parker just busted WIDE open for a TD. Earl said "are they going to review this?" Someone asked if that was Bettis, to which Jason replied "He'd have an asthma attack before he got there."

7:35pm... ABC keeps showing Lost promos, which makes Earl and Jimmy wince--they have only seen Season One. And we just found out that Willie Parker made the longest running play--75 yards--in Super Bowl History.

7:37pm... Random room discussion on Mos Def, the pronunciation of his name and his recent movies.

7:38pm... This just in... Shaun Alexander IS actually in the game. Jonathan Marbutt just pointed out that the dead guy on the ice in "Fargo" is Prince. And the Seahawks just missed another field goal. Score: Pittsburgh 14, Seattle 3

7:43... Holy crap. Fabio. We just saw Fabio in a Super Bowl XL commercial. Very funny junk.

7:47pm... Michael observed the obvious. Seattle is falling apart. Pittsburgh is getting the ball down the field, with Hines Ward and now the Bus have gained some major yardage.

7:50pm... That Hummer commercial. Its good to see Aretha Franklin and the Iron Giant still have careers.

7:52pm... SEATTLE GOT THE INT!! Herndon took it down the field, but ran out of steam towards the end. The awesome block on Big Ben was the best though... classic. Now they are trying to get the ball in the end zone. And...

7:53pm... Seattle score. Wookiee just went Wookiee Berserker. Pittsburgh 14, Seattle 10. And in ads, when you add Spandau Ballet, Taco Bell and a hot chick, you get a great commercial.

8:07pm... Pittsburgh just punted the ball down to the four yard line. Seattle is going to have it work cut out for them.

8:09pm... Just observed Roethlisburger's name on the shirt. I mentioned that the chick that sewed those letters on his jersey probably got overtime. Michael replied that Hasselbeck is worth more in Scrabble, because of the C and K on the end.

8:11pm... We are watching the game on the fifty inch upstairs. Downstairs is the smaller tv, albeit in HD. In the basement is DDR--Dance Dance Revolution--for the people who don't care about the game. Out in the hall is Ashley, Amy, Jennifer and a few others playing Uno.

8:17pm... Toyota Tacoma commercial. Price is $15,445. As shown? $31K and some change. Jason says "What do you mean you want a steering wheel with your truck?"

8:20pm... Random exchange:
Jason: Does anyone watch The Shield?
Michael: They had Glenn Close, but they got rid of her. I heard Anthony Anderson was really good last year.
Me: I heard he got snubbed at the Golden Globes
Michael: He might have won if he didn't rape that girl.
Me: All he had to do was score 81 points in a NBA game and no one would remember it.

8:22pm... Hass just tossed an interception. Ty just left. He said "I have a long week." I understand. Mine is seven days long.

8:28pm... Big Ben just tossed the smack out of that ball. Antwan Randel-Els caught it. Pittsburgh 20-10. Someone mentioned Kordell Stewart. Thought he was dead.

8:29pm... Just saw Richard Dean Anderson in a classic MacGyver commercial for Mastercard. Could be my favorite commercial of the night... random thought. If I go see Brokeback Mountain, no matter how bad I have to go to the bathroom, I will NOT go after that movie with all those guys who are coming out of the theater. Standing at a urinal might never be as uncomfortable.

8:30pm... Hass just had a great run. AND THEN FUMBLED THE FLIPPIN' BALL!!!! Pittsburgh gets it. They are reviewing the play now... this is pretty big at this point.

8:35pm... Yosemite Sam in a borderline-porn commercial for a truck. Actually it was kinda funny.

8:36pm... Seattle gets the ball back, because Hasselbeck was down by contact. So the lesson here is, When you are in the Super Bowl, HOLD ONTO THE FREAKIN' BALL!!!!!!!!!!!! Class dismissed.

8:37pm... Madden is giving us math lessons. What the crap is he talking about? "Here's a guy that when is helmet is knocked off, he's bare headed."

8:39pm... Jennifer Adams just left. I forgot how borderline hot she is. Hasselbeck just got taken down, so Seattle gives the ball back. Six minutes and some change, Pittsburgh leads 21-10.

8:43pm... I think Bettis just called out for some fried chicken.

8:46pm... The ref just pulled a Brokeback on one of the players. Why cain't I quit you? Pittsburgh just got a "monster first down", according to Al Michaels.

8:47pm... Random discussion on "Havoc" and "Brokeback Mountain" parts with Anne Hathaway, who was Princess Mia in The Princess Diaries movies. She got naked in both. No comment.

8:49pm... Jerome Bettis, Motivational Speaker. They showed him, mic'ed up, giving the guys the rah-rah. Big Ben Rotheleistheilisberger got another first down. Looks like this might just be it. Sgt Slaught... er, Bill Cower is pretty excited. Seattle used their final timeout. Three and some change left, the only time the clock will stop now is the 2 minute warning.

8:53pm... Random Matthew Lillard sighting in the stands. Seattle has the ball back with 2:04 left. They are down 11 points. This could be a pretty good ending, provided that Hasselbeck doesn't goob it up.

8:55pm... 1:51, no time outs, Seattle has the ball on the 20. Matt Hass is tossing in the middle, which is bad, because the clock is running like a beast. And Joe Jurevicius just caught a massive pass, rolled over a guy and kept running. That rocked. 1 minute left.

8:57pm... Two crappy passes from Hass. Seattle has to try the FG, then hope the onside kick works later.

9pm... Three seconds. Game over. Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10. Jerome Bettis has come home to win the Super Bowl, in case you haven't heard that angle lately. Bill Cower, who has been coaching for 143 years, has won the gauntlet of the NFL and won the championship. Pittsburgh now joins Dallas and San Francisco as the only team with five Super Bowl wins in franchise history.

9:04pm... According to Josh, Bud Light spent 19 million on commercials this year. Paula Mackey, Tommy McLeod, The Lovely Steph Leann and Mikey Nipp walk away with the gift card prizes.

9:07pm... my blog counter was at 74 this afternoon. Don't think I haven't noticed some of you people have been looking at my blog site. Its at 95 now. You people rock.

9:11pm... Trophy presentations now. Bart Starr is presenting the Vince Lombardi Trophy to Slaughter and the Steelers. Daniel Rooney, the really old guy, looks bored. I mean, he won five now (four in the 70s) as owner of the Steelers. He doesnt care.

9:13pm... Hines Ward wins the Super Bowl MVP now. I'm shocked they dont give it to Bettis, because he's a hometown boy, he's been playing for so long, and he's such a good guy. Mackey just said "The Bus is up there. He must be getting a Bus Trophy."

9:14pm... Jerome Bettis just retired on the podium. I wonder if they call his kid The Short Bus.

9:20pm... They are showing the Sports Illustrated special Pittsburgh Championship Pack. I'd give anything for them to accidentally show the Seattle Championship Pack commercial I know they had to make (in case Seattle won).

9:22pm... So thats Super Bowl XL. I hope you enjoyed the blog, I hope you liked the updates. We'll do this running diary gimmack for The Oscars in March. See you soon!