After surviving the holiday season, here is a treat / disservice blog entry for any reader.  Before I get into my best and worst for 2009. Here was the strangest comment said to me during the holidays:

"You're cute.  You look like Spongebob"



I'll take it as a compliment. 

2009 Best and Worst:

• Best movie from 2009 - I can't pick just one: Inglorious Basterds. Avatar and of course, The Hangover
• Worst movie from 2009: The Men Who Stare at Goats.
• Most underrated movie from 2009: Pirate Radio
• Best movie streamed from Netflix: 500 Days of Summer
• Best name for a disease: Swine Flu
• Worst name for a disease: H1N1
• Best 2009 IPO Company: Open Table
• 2009 IPO Company that will be displaced in 5 years: Open Table
• Best 2009 Champions: Pittsburgh Penguins
• Most disappointing 2009 Champions: Steelers, Lakers, Yankees.  I hate them all.  But, mostly, I hate the Yankees.
• Best 2009 Cinderella story: AZ Cardinals.
• Best iPhone App: MLB app - Live streaming video and audio.  It is unbelievable
• Worst iPhone app: DirecTV / NFL - The NFL will ultimately get hurt by it's DirecTV exclusivity contract.  Internet revenue is skyrocketing for MLB.
• Best iPhone productivity App: GoDaddy.com's manage my account app. (Self serving.  But, it is good and convenient).
• Worst iPhone productivity App: Southwest - it could be and should be a lot better and quicker.  How about some geo location features in there.
• Best food I tasted in 2009: - Sweet Potato Latkes - It's like a pumpkin donut and a potato pancake had a baby (Ali Zimmerman Dec. 2009).

Have a great 2010

Zimmy21

  

So, I’m in NYC.  I’m walking around aimlessly looking clueless.  My cabby, Google maps and I could not find the Mandarin Hotel (6oth and Columbus not 64th and Columbus).  Black and grey everywhere!  I know it is February.  But, there is no color in NYC.  Maybe it’s the Madoff effect.  Maybe it’s the TARP effect.  Maybe it’s the fashion sheep effect.  Maybe it’s the A-Roid effect.  It is a sad city.

But, really NYC, somebody please wear red in February.  I’m not asking for Hampton’s white.  But, how about a little purple?  Not just in the village.  But, the upper west side can afford for a couple of women to wear pink coats.  ROYGBIV me.

I may be a West coast kid now.  Not only were there black and grays everywhere.  But, everyone is in suits.  This city is still business attire.  Now, an unshaven west coast kid walking into The Mandarin in jeans, t-shirt, and a gray/blue hoodie sticks out.  The doorman points to the “proper dress is required” to me.  The bellman refuses to pick up my bag.  The head concierge gives me a card for Barney’s.  Yet, I’m oblivious.

It gets worse.  I get in the lobby to check in.  All the black and gray stare at me.  A couple of big security guards start maneuvering around the up elevator.  The check-in people don’t acknowledge me.  I finally swindle my room key and make it upstairs.  Before security can get me, I change into my black and gray.

FYI, I went to conference in LA and wore purple and fit right in.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.

FYI, 3000 miles to Graceland is a very entertaining airplane movie.  Just cover the screen during Courtney Cox-Arquette’s sex scene(s).  It is mildly disturbing see Monica screaming in delight without Chandler.

Other movies:

• P.S I love You – It went into opening credits about 15 minutes after it started.  I thought (hoped) it was the end of the movie.  I got to check the Netflix queue after my wife has had a chance on it.
• Gone Baby Gone – Liked it a lot.  Who knew Casey Affleck can act.
• 4 Christmases – I liked it when the baby threw up on
• Don’t mess with the Zohan – I fell asleep.  To my credit, it was on New Years Eve and may have started in with the Coronitas around 4:00 mixed with a dinner of chips and dip. 
• Slumdog – I haven’t met a person who didn’t like this movie.  Although my favorite part was the goofy dance at the end.
• Gran Torino – This movie slayed me.
• The Wrestler – Pretty good.  But, depressing.
• Twilight – I thought this was horrible.  My babysitter will dis-own me for saying this.  But, the young actors were just bad especially the female lead.

Zim

  

OK.  I'm talking about politics and I said I would not.  My wife is making me watch the debate.  Blinky McCain versus Smilin BO.  Blah Blah Blah you suck.  Blah Blah Blah your a terrorist.  Blah Blah Blah your old.  Blah Blah Blah ACORN.  Blah Blah Blah Palin is a nut job.  Blah Blah Blah your right Palin is a nut job.  I wanted to choose Lieberman, but the republican right wouldn't let me. Blah Blah Blah

More importantly, I was rooting for the Phillies.  Why? A nice FU to Manny (even though he has been a monster for the last 2.5 months).  Plus, I've always had a soft spot for the Phils since I went to school in PA during the Krukster years.  Now, the Red Sox have the Rays right where they want them.  Or not.  When does basketball season start?

Movie Review
Tropic Thunder - Check your brain at the door and enjoy the ride.  I thought it was funny.  It was the best Tom Cruise role since Vanilla Sky or the Minority Report (were they different?).
Across the Universe - I was not looking forward to it.  But, I liked the movie.  It has a lot of Beatles music and a cool late 60s vibe going on.
I am Legend - I am a big wimp.  Scary.  The problem with this movie is that the dialog is at low volume, but the action scenes are really really loud.  So, I'm waking my kids up every 15 minutes. 
Mr. Brooks - Kevin Costner delivers his typical crappy acting job in a very watchable movie.  I just don't get it.  How is he so bad, but his movies so watchable.
The Kingdom - I liked the movie.  Does it feel like Jennifer Garner just disappeared from our world.  It's like she was an A list and now she's just Bennifer. 

Anybody else have a thought on these movies?

Zim

  

It has been a couple months.  Kids birthday has come and gone.  A couple of hurricanes and conventions.  But, most importantly football season has started and baseball playoffs have been established (for the most part).  What is the best thing about the baseball playoffs?  Is it the Red Sox making the playoffs or for the first time in 13 years I don't have to worry about the Yankees (aka MFY - thank you Sons of Sam Horn) winning the world series.  All I can say is thank goodness for the midges last year and Joba's meltdown.  Goodbye MFY.  Goodbye MFY stadium may the new stadium be as busy in October as the old stadium is in 2008.

Couple of quick tidbits:

• Hayden Panettiere - AKA the cheerleader on Heroes shares the same birthday as my daughters and is 19.  I'm just saying.
• What is a better invention wireless internet or the DVR? 
• Yes, I'm mildly depressed with Matt Cassell at the helm.  Where's Scott Zolak when you need him?  Many people have compared the Brady injury to Varsity Blues with Sarah Palin playing the teacher by day and stripper by night.  I don't disagree.
• I'm rooting for the Brewers and Phillies to make it.  Did you know Bob Eucker still does Brewer games.  I thought he was placed on the miller lite commercial retirement island (all of those guys just disappear).

So, Go Red Sox. 

I will leave you with this passing thought.  
    "I may play ball next season.  But, I'm never going to sign your contract!"

Zim

  

The traditional "my first blog entry" entry.  This sounds like my college application memo which was about writing about my college application memo.  No wonder I was wait-listed at 5 schools.  I was the high school equivalent of Alex Gonzales or Pokey Reese.  No bat; all glove.  No English; all math.  (Certainly not Julio Lugo. no bat; hole in glove.)

But, I digress.   The purpose of this blog is to fulfill my uncle's comical realization that I was a rambling man.  Basically, I ramble on and on without any much of a point.  Plus, If you can follow my stream of consciousness, I may have something funny in there.  There will be a lot of baseball references.  Some football like Randy should have jumped.  Very few and far between literary references.  Maybe an occasional Latin.  But, most certainly a number of vague and not so vague movie references.  Basically, the blog is demented and sad, but social.

I rarely point out things that I don't like.  I'm to positive and easy going.  Also, I can't believe my father has more hair than I do (he gets social security for a frame of reference.  Curses to my mother's side.

Oh yes, I work at GoDaddy.com.  But, the thoughts and ideas noted here are my own and are no way endorsed or a reflection of GoDaddy.com.  With that said, I'm voting for John Obama.

That's about it.

Zim