Hometown Pride, Super Bowl Edition

I always confuse Northeasterners when I reveal that I grew up in Phoenix. Why would anyone leave Phoenix for a place like Philadelphia? Well, I had plenty of reasons. Multiple seasons being one of them (although thanks to the enemies of Al Gore and Mother Earth, that's not really true anymore). This has been my home since I left home at 17 for the excitement of college.

My actual hometown is the suburb of Glendale. Used to be that the most exciting thing about Glendale was the annual Glendale Glitters light show in downtown. The Glitter came from draping millions of lights over the city's municipal office building, so Rockefeller Center was never in any danger of losing status. Over the past year though, Glendale has been getting good press.

First came cute Jordin Sparks, the adorable and talented American Idol winner from last season. Sure, Melinda Doolittle was probably better. But Jordin was from Glendale! She rocked out at Arrowhead Center, considered Cold Stone Creamery and Panda Express indie food joints, and had a sunny disposition, just like the rest of us poor saps. What's more American Idol than that?

And now on Sunday, America once again turns its eyes to the place where I grew up. The Super Bowl will be played at the gigantic UFO thingy in the middle of a big desert lot we call a stadium. Univ. of Phoenix Stadium is a fantastic place - I've even taken the tour. So even though I don't know who to support (probably the Patriots because I consider Eli Manning to be a total douche; then again Bill Belichick drives me insane with those cut-off sleeves), I'll be pleased that my hometown is in the glorious national spotlight it kinda deserves.

Plus, nachos!

A Study by the Department of DUH

BREAKING NEWS: Clowns are universally disliked by children because they SCARE THE BEJEEZUS OUT OF THEM. I know! How shocking are those results?!? I think that's gotta be one of the most pointless surveys of the past few decades (at least).

LONDON - Bad news for Coco and Blinko — children don't like clowns, and even older kids are scared of them.

That's the finding of a poll of youngsters by researchers from the University of Sheffield who were examining how to improve the decor of hospital children's wards.

The study, reported in the Nursing Standard magazine, found all the 250 patients aged between 4 and 16 they quizzed disliked the use of clowns, with even the older ones finding them scary.

"As adults we make assumptions about what works for children," said Penny Curtis, a senior lecturer in research at the university.

"We found that clowns are universally disliked by children. Some found them quite frightening and unknowable."

I for one have always been scared of them, which made me quite the skeptical/terrified circus attendee as a child. They still creep me out to this day. As do most sports mascots, but that's another matter. There's just something sinister about someone who wants to put grotesque makeup on to obliterate their features, dress like a hobo, wear outrageous shoes, honk horns at random intervals, and squirt you in the eye with a fake flowers. Don't even get me started on the clown cars!

The most realistic depiction of a clown in popular culture, or at least the one that most corresponds to my conception of them, has to be Pennywise in Stephen King's IT. The gnashing choppers, the sinister twelve-packs a day voice, the balloons and murder stuff, it all makes sense. Purists may argue that the quesoriffic TV adaptation wasn't even that frightening, but it was scary enough for this 14-year-old to never be interested in reading the undoubtedly terrifying source material.

Does anyone out there in the interwebs like clowns?

J.J. Abrams and the Mystery Box

J.J. Abrams is awesome; probably the only writer/producer I would mention in the same breath as Joss Whedon. A person so possessed of vision and wit and heart that I will gladly give any project he comes up with a chance. And I haven't been disappointed yet. Anyway, I'm so pumped about the upcoming season of LOST - view the trailer and other material here. My friend Vik sent this to me, a great talk given by J.J. Abrams about his Mystery Box, and how it relates to storytelling. It's long, but well worth it. Particularly for the long-suffering LOST fans out there.



P.S. Cloverfield is out on Friday. Check out that trailer here.

If you liked that last one...

Visit Wonkette to vote on the dance-off between Barack Obama and David Gregory. It's compelling stuff.

Maybe there should be a talent competition as part of the campaign process - I know I'd be a lot more political.

Illadelph Newlife

All hail new Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, the last great hope for our scarred metropolitan area. I have always held this adorably dorky reformer in the highest regard. I can't wait to see what he can do for our fallen city. And now I can rest assured that we're going to have a good time cleaning this place up. He's quite simply a legend:

Giving new meaning to the phrase "Eat Me"

I am actually going to blog about my wedding at some point with photos, but I think my vendors would agree that I was never this crazy with my requests. Check out this wedding cake. Perfect for the bride who thinks she's simply delicious!