Chicago + friends = awesome

Simple equation. More to come later. Too tired to move now.

The down side to owning a website is that you feel obligated to post something to it on a semi-regular basis. If it goes unattended for too many days in a row, I run the risk of alienating anyone who reads it. However, at these points, I am forced to write about something inane and unfunny, and then I run the risk of alienating anyone who reads it. It's a double-edged knife, my friends. What I am saying, essentially, is that my life is pretty boring, and I need more excitement. Anyone want to help me with this?

This article is one of the most interesting things I've read in a while. Lincoln was as equally criticized in his time as Bush is now, but over the course of history, that has been virtually erased from the history books, and now we see him as the champion of democracy. Hopefully, 140 years from now, Bush is not portrayed the same way, and the first step towards preventing this is to stay informed.

Here, in all of it's splendor, is the bedtime story I told Christina tonight. Enjoy!

Me (10:50:25 PM): Okay, story time.
Christina (10:50:42 PM): okay go!
Me (10:50:47 PM): Once, there was this mystical pony named Rufus.
Me (10:51:06 PM): Rufus wore a necklace made out of silver and gold and copper and one strand of a dragon's mustache.
Me (10:51:48 PM): He had shaved the mustache as a favor to the dragon, who's long slender fingernails prevented him from using the razor properly.
Me (10:53:48 PM): Rufus was on a magical adventure one day with his companion, the robot CD900.
Christina (10:53:56 PM): haha
Me (10:53:59 PM): Who's only real function was to hold signs that said palindromes.
Christina (10:54:05 PM): hahaha
Me (10:54:27 PM): He had a "yay" sign, and a "boob" sign, and one that said "No lemons, no melon." for special occasions.
Me (10:55:02 PM): CD900 would ride Rufus using his specially tailored robot saddle that had stirrups with flashing lights on them.
Me (10:55:15 PM): Oh yeah, and Rufus could fly with the magic from the dragon hair.
Me (10:55:39 PM): So Rufus was flying, and CD900 was on back, and suddenly, there was a frying pan with two eggs and a side of bacon in front of them.
Christina (10:55:46 PM): haha
Christina (10:55:51 PM): this story kicks ass!
Me (10:55:54 PM): And the frying pan began to talk, because the eggs were also magically from a dragon.
Me (10:56:03 PM): And it asked Rufus and CD900 to go on a quest for it.
Me (10:56:18 PM): They didn't have anything better to do, so they said yes.
Me (10:56:33 PM): And then, the frying pan asked "don't you want to know what the quest is?" and they said "no,. we'll figure it out eventually"
Christina (10:56:42 PM): haha
Me (10:56:44 PM): So Rufus and CD900 flew off, leaving behind the bewildered frying pan.
Me (10:56:55 PM): They came to a cave, and immediately realized that it was part of their quest.
Me (10:57:02 PM): So they went in, and inside they found...
Christina (10:57:27 PM): the suspense is killing me!
Me (10:57:30 PM): A PILE OF SOCKS!!!
Christina (10:57:40 PM): hahah
Christina (10:57:42 PM): what?!
Me (10:57:44 PM): The crazy part is, none of the socks matched!
Christina (10:57:50 PM): that IS crazy!
Me (10:57:51 PM): Rufus and CD900 were puzzled.
Me (10:57:59 PM): And tried to make sense of the pile.
Christina (10:58:01 PM): haha
Me (10:58:08 PM): When a three-eyed sloth came in.
Me (10:58:17 PM): This sloth had a regular amount of toes, but one extra eye.
Christina (10:58:24 PM): hahaha
Me (10:58:32 PM): And it said "what are you doing near my sock pile?!"
Me (10:58:47 PM): And Rufus and CD900 panicked, because they don't like third eyes.
Christina (10:58:58 PM): was it a shifty third eye?
Me (10:59:02 PM): CD900 held up a sign that said "Mom" to no avail.
Me (10:59:05 PM): Of course it was.
Christina (10:59:10 PM): hahhaha
Me (10:59:12 PM): Most third eyes are shifty.
Christina (10:59:20 PM): the mom sign didn't work??
Me (10:59:24 PM): No!
Me (10:59:28 PM): Can you believe it?!
Christina (10:59:32 PM): i cannot!!
Me (10:59:49 PM): The only thing left to do was to pull out the handy copy of Monopoly that Rufus always carried in his back pocket.
Me (11:00:00 PM): Also, he always carried a pair of jeans so he could have a back pocket.
Christina (11:00:11 PM): hahaa
Me (11:00:14 PM): They were huge jeans, so that they could fit his game of Monopoly in them.
Christina (11:00:24 PM): okay good, i was wondering
Me (11:00:40 PM): Slaadrag, which turned out to be the sloth's name, Rufus, and CD900 played a game of Monopoly for the next four hours.
Me (11:00:55 PM): And over the course of the game, they became the best of friends.
Christina (11:01:09 PM): what about them socks?
Me (11:01:15 PM): Slaadrag was the fastest of the sloths, and won the shifty third eye in a speed competition in the fourth grade.
Me (11:01:17 PM): I'm getting to them!
Christina (11:01:39 PM): wait that last part didn't make sense
Me (11:01:51 PM): Slaadrag decided to come on the quest, but in order to do that he had to fake his own death.
Christina (11:01:52 PM): he won the shifty third eye?
Me (11:01:54 PM): Yes.
Me (11:02:01 PM): Sloths are wonderful opticians.
Christina (11:02:03 PM): haha
Me (11:02:17 PM): They reward their champions with ocular surgery.
Christina (11:02:21 PM): hahaha
Christina (11:02:28 PM): wait i thought the quest was to the socks
Me (11:02:33 PM): No!
Me (11:02:39 PM): That's what you would think, though, isn't it?
Me (11:02:52 PM): In his will, Slaadrag gave the socks to charity.
Christina (11:02:56 PM): haha
Me (11:03:01 PM): Because deep down, he was not shifty after all.
Me (11:03:23 PM): CD900 was so happy, he held up a sign that said "Ana".
Christina (11:03:30 PM): hahahhahahaha
Me (11:03:49 PM): The three left the cave, and resumed their celestial journey.
Me (11:03:53 PM): Because all of this is in space!
Me (11:04:14 PM): Rufus is a space pony!
Christina (11:04:38 PM): whoa!
Me (11:04:41 PM): The three compatriots entered a passing meteor shower and caught a ride on Halley's comet.
Christina (11:04:47 PM): i secretly knew it was in space
Me (11:04:54 PM): Which took them to a waterfall in the middle of nowhere.
Christina (11:05:05 PM): i love that place!
Me (11:05:27 PM): CD900 wanted to say "This is where the quest is, I know it!" but all he could say was "Yo, bang a salami, I'm a lasagna boy" which made no sense in the current context.
Me (11:05:33 PM): Rufus hates it when CD900 makes no sense.
Christina (11:05:36 PM): hahahahaha
Christina (11:05:45 PM): this is the best story ever!
Me (11:06:04 PM): Rufus, Slaadrag, and CD900 went behind the waterfall and found a sparkling bottle of root beer.
Christina (11:06:12 PM): eww
Christina (11:06:15 PM): root beer is gross
Me (11:06:41 PM): I know!
Me (11:06:46 PM): No one wanted to touch it.
Me (11:07:12 PM): What were they going to do?!
Christina (11:07:27 PM): i don't know!!
Me (11:07:29 PM): Luckily, Slaadrag had one last sock that got stuck to his fur thanks to the high levels of static electricity in space.
Christina (11:07:29 PM): i'm scared!
Christina (11:07:35 PM): haha
Me (11:07:42 PM): So they picked up the root beer with the sock.
Christina (11:07:56 PM): good call
Me (11:07:59 PM): And suddenly, a giant rocket ship shot out of a nearby hole in a nearby curtain.
Christina (11:08:08 PM): haha
Me (11:08:11 PM): And everyone was shocked that they missed the curtain earlier.
Christina (11:08:17 PM): haha
Me (11:08:21 PM): The rocket was headed straight towards them!
Christina (11:08:25 PM): what>
Christina (11:08:29 PM): oh no!?
Christina (11:08:43 PM): where did the rocket come from?
Me (11:08:51 PM): Time-space vortex.
Me (11:08:57 PM): Behind the curtain, that's what it was covering.
Christina (11:09:11 PM): ohh, duh
Me (11:09:14 PM): Suddenly, the rocket stopped, and a giant nose popped out of it.
Me (11:09:18 PM): And started to sneeze.
Me (11:09:22 PM): Because it was allergic to dragon fur.
Christina (11:10:18 PM): ewww
Christina (11:10:23 PM): rockets have noses?
Me (11:10:23 PM): The nose introduced itself as Orbex, dastardly ruler of the third kingdom of Galacticon 9.
Christina (11:10:37 PM): wait isn't that the name of dan's cold medicine?
Me (11:10:51 PM): No, that's Ornex.
Me (11:10:58 PM): Who actually sent Orbex through the vortex.
Christina (11:10:59 PM): ooohh
Christina (11:11:01 PM): haha
Christina (11:11:05 PM): what next?
Me (11:11:20 PM): See, Ornex is a janitor who has a special mop that allows him to pose as ruler's noses, and therefore take over their kingdoms.
Christina (11:11:25 PM): i'm falling over here can this story end soon?
Christina (11:11:34 PM): i really love your story though
Christina (11:11:38 PM): its the best EVER
Christina (11:11:52 PM): and i want to hear it all but i'm too tired to look at the screen
Me (11:11:53 PM): So, Rufus and the crew flew through the vortex and spilled the root beer all over the floor.
Christina (11:12:00 PM): oh no!
Me (11:12:09 PM): While Ornex was busy mopping up the mess, they pushed him, and he dropped the mop.
Christina (11:12:18 PM): what?
Me (11:12:33 PM): And was exposed to the throngs of noses as the traitor that he was.
Christina (11:13:00 PM): that doesn't make sense
Me (11:13:07 PM): Of course it does!
Me (11:13:12 PM): The mop was the source of his power!
Christina (11:13:14 PM): nu uh
Christina (11:13:20 PM): okay fine
Me (11:13:25 PM): He's a janitor!
Me (11:13:27 PM): He cleans floors!
Me (11:13:34 PM): They took advantage of this fact.
Christina (11:13:41 PM): whatever this story was the best ever.....
Me (11:13:46 PM): The end.
Christina (11:13:52 PM): haha just kidding :-)
Me (11:13:57 PM): You don't deserve an ending.
Christina (11:14:00 PM): aww come on!
Me (11:14:07 PM): What do I get out of it?
Me (11:14:10 PM): More scorn?
Christina (11:14:16 PM): my undying affection!
Me (11:14:21 PM): I already have that!
Christina (11:14:26 PM): damn
Christina (11:14:30 PM): okay hmm....mono?
Me (11:14:35 PM): Not a good reward.
Christina (11:14:44 PM): you probably already have that too....
Me (11:15:00 PM): Anyway, back to the story.
Christina (11:15:01 PM): hmm... kisses? a beautiful barbie coloring materpiece?
Me (11:15:22 PM): After they exposed Ornex, Orbex thanked them, and pulled off his mask.
Me (11:15:29 PM): It turns out he was never a nose after all!
Christina (11:15:33 PM): oh good!
Me (11:15:51 PM): He was the frying pan's evil twin brother!
Christina (11:16:03 PM): haha
Me (11:16:07 PM): You could tell because he had a side of evil-looking toast.
Christina (11:16:13 PM): hahaha
Me (11:16:20 PM): That was burnt and charred, like his heart.
Christina (11:16:29 PM): yeah, i hear that
Me (11:16:42 PM): He said "Mwa ha ha ha, thank you for taking this mop back for me, with it, I will be able to rule the world!!!"
Christina (11:16:53 PM): oh no!!!!!!!
Me (11:17:00 PM): Exactly!
Me (11:17:06 PM): Everyone was scared.
Christina (11:17:08 PM): THEN what happened?
Me (11:17:25 PM): CD900 thought he came down with a sleeping sickness, so he held up a sign that said "O no! Mono!"
Christina (11:17:39 PM): hahha
Me (11:17:53 PM): Because the frying pan had the power to give people any sickness in the world.
Me (11:18:11 PM): He pointed the mop at Rufus, who suddenly came down with Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Me (11:18:24 PM): Rufus began to lament the sunny days back on Horsetopia, his home planet.
Christina (11:18:29 PM): hahaha
Christina (11:18:32 PM): that's great
Me (11:18:53 PM): And then, he pointed the mop at Slaadrag, who came down with shingles and developed a very severe rash around his waist.
Me (11:19:08 PM): At this point, Rufus' necklace began to glow.
Me (11:19:19 PM): And a healing bubble encircled the group!
Me (11:19:58 PM): And they were all healed, except CD900, who responded with a sign that said "Poop!"
Christina (11:20:20 PM): haha
Christina (11:20:21 PM): oh no
Christina (11:20:27 PM): i didn't think robots could get sick
Me (11:20:39 PM): But newly rejuvenated, Slaadrag, who like I said, was really fast, took the mop from the frying pan.
Me (11:20:48 PM): And pointed it at the frying pan.
Christina (11:20:49 PM): yay!
Me (11:21:01 PM): Who suddenly came down with a cold, and his eggs stopped cooking, and his toast turned back into bread.
Me (11:21:13 PM): And he melted into a pile of breakfast goop.
Christina (11:21:20 PM): eww breakfast goop
Me (11:21:28 PM): Yeah, that's what I said.
Christina (11:21:36 PM): yeah i'm just ewwwing
Me (11:21:56 PM): So, anyway, there was a "vwoomp" noise behind them, and the real frying pan was there.
Me (11:22:14 PM): He said "you have defeated my evil brother, you truly deserve this" and gave them a hearty breakfast.
Christina (11:22:31 PM): hearty breakfasts are the best!
Me (11:22:34 PM): And then, Rufus and his friends rode off into the sunset of the third galaxy from the left.
Me (11:22:38 PM): The end.

me (4:48:17 PM): Are you going to church, too?
roommate (4:48:21 PM): yes
me (4:48:26 PM): Suckah!

This brief online exchange between my roommate and I basically sums up my feelings on religion.

Carbon Leaf ROCKS!!!

Tonight's show was incredible. Chalk another one up to my top ten list. Here's the set list.

First off, let me just say that Jump Little Children was WAY better than last time I saw them. I think I might just have to go download some of their songs.

I don't know all of the Carbon Leaf songs, so I'll only comment on one's that stood out in my mind.

American Tale

A Life Less Ordinary An awesome new song. If all the tracks on the new CD are like this and Raise the Roof (coming up later), I'm pumped.

Wandrin' Around Who doesn't like this song?

Shine Barry is awesome. That comment goes for all of these songs. Also, so is the rest of the band.

For Your Violin The more instruments, the better.

Torn and Tattered A great song to interpretive dance to, apparently.

On Any Given Day One of my favorites. So good, it defies logic.

Seven Brides for Seven Sinners My new favorite. This is everything that is good about the band summed up in one song.

The Boxer I have to admit, I like this song better with the bells, but it still rocks.

Mari Mac Better than sex.

Gloryland I really like a cappella spiritual music. This song had a nice O Brother, Where Art Thou? feel to it.

Raise the Roof Man, this next CD is going to kick so much ass.

Desperation Song The last CD kicked ass, too. In case I haven't gotten the point across, Carbon Leaf kicks ass.

Galway Girl I liked this one a lot, but I'd never heard it before.

Sloop John B/Home Sloop John B is probably my least favorite Beach Boys song ever, but Home is one of my favorite Carbon Leaf songs ever. This made for a horrible paradox in my head which inevitably led to massive neural bleeding and eventual loss of motor functions. It was very entertaining to those around me.

What About Everything? Another new one (correct me if I'm wrong...). Like I said, this new CD will be the best ever.

ENCORE:

Reunion Monticello An old song. I'd never heard it.

Paloma

Crazy Train An awesome closer.

Man, this show was like God's own jukebox. Go see Carbon Leaf, for the love of all things good.

BEN FOLDS!

Tonight's show was amazing. After seeing Ben twice now, I think he is now my favorite musician ever. Here's a rundown of tonight's show.

8-ish - Tegan and Sara opened up. They were a pretty good sister duo, but their music was kind of mellow. Not really what I was in the mood for as an opening act.

9-ish - Ben walks on stage, sits at the piano, and begins to play. Here's the set list.

Don't Change Your Plans I really like this song a lot. I've never heard him play it live before. A bit slow for an opener, but not bad.

Emaline I have to admit, I like the Ben Folds Five version better, but the Ben solo version is good too.

Zak and Sara A crowd pleaser, and the first really upbeat song of the show. The audience, which was disappointingly unresponsive to Ben's playful nature, started to get into this song.

Annie Waits This song has a much bigger following than you'd imagine, apparently. The place went nuts when he started this.

Philosophy Another good one. A few voices could be heard in the crowd during the chorus.

Chopsticks This is a cover of a Liz Phair song, apparently. A love song sung to a man about having sex backwards "so we can fuck and watch tv" is not the way to convince a slightly unwilling audience that you are straight.

Golden Slumbers Beatles cover. Very good.

Mess Good song. Nothing special about it.

At this point, people began heckling Ben as he was telling a story. First off, the stories between songs are the best part. That's why you come see someone live instead of listening to a CD. Second, who pays to come to a show just to be a dick to the musician? One guy was screaming "this guy is an asshole!" to the stage. Ben started joking around about hecklers, and played it off, saying "You guys provide entertainment, and YOU'RE not even getting paid." I thought that was funny.

One Down This is the song that his story, which was rudely interrupted, was about. I'd never really listened to the lyrics before. This song is funny!

Girl I've heard this song before, I think on Ben's site. He told a story about how this is the ".6 of a song" that he talks about in the previous song.

Careless Whispers A WHAM song that he covered at the last show up in D.C. I felt kind of cheap, knowing that he didn't learn that song special for the last show I was at.

Kate Another crowd pleaser.

Where's Summer B? So much fun. This is the first song of the night where he had the audience sing the other parts in this song, which is always fun.

Fred Jones, Pt. 2 The coolest waltz ever.

Army Seriously, this might just be the coolest song ever. I'm ALWAYS in the mood to listen to it. I sang the saxophone part tonight.

One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces Again, a solid crowd pleaser. Also, Bill's favorite of the night, I do believe.

Steven's Last Night in Town Very very good. Even though no one else in the audience sang, I was loud and proud on the chorus.

As this song was ending, Ben began to pound on the piano. A stagehand came out with a drum and some sticks, and Ben played the drum as he walked over to the other side of the stage with the stagehand. They brought out a stool and a kickdrum, and Ben continued to play, adding in the kickdrum. Slowly, the stagehands built up a drum set around Ben as he sat there, and Ben did a drum solo followed by a call and response. It was really REALLY cool.

Rockin' the Suburbs I hate to say it, but this song needs a full band. As cool as the Ben solo version is, it needs the other instruments to round it out.

The Luckiest When I first got this CD, I didn't like this song. However, it's slowly become one of my favorites. It really is a beautiful message.

Not the Same The best song about an acid trip ever. Or at least the best one I've heard. Another singing one. Woo hoo!

That's it for the main set. Here's the encore.

Evaporated Man, I love this song so much.

Brick The crowd went nuts, because it was the only song most of them had heard (going back a little bit, at one point in the show, a heckler asked about the band; Ben said, simply, "there is no band"). One thing that really bothered me was that a lot of couples were nuzzling and kissing during this song, which isn't the sweetest song in the world. However, there was no kissing at all during The Luckiest, which is beautiful. Go figure. College kids are pretty stupid.

Song for the Dumped He started playing "Dream On" by Aerosmith first, which was pretty funny. He played this song in the minor key, as he has been doing all tour. It sounds awesome either way.

That's about it. The show was amazing. I just wish the crowd had been a little more responsive and less obnoxious. It's a shame to let a bad crowd ruin a great show.

"Liberal Media" my ass

I posted this on Dan's site yesterday, but I feel so strongly about it, I figured it needed a voice here, too.

There are about seven reasons I can think of just off the top of my head as to why the "liberal media" is a bullshit term. If the media is so liberal, why is it that six companies own well over half of the media holdings in the United States, if not the world. That doesn't seem very democratic to me. If the media is so liberal, how come labor strikes are reported in terms of how much they will cost the rich white shareholders who own the company, as opposed to how many rights are being violated of the union workers? I don't understand how someone can believe that the media is liberal when so many issues that are key to liberals (such as welfare and healthcare) are mentioned in the news in brief blips, but there are full networks devoted to financial news that, maybe, pertains to the richest five percent of the country. It might be true that the journalists in this country have a liberal bias, but do not, under any circumstances, believe that they are the ones really shaping what is seen on media. they can report until their faces turn blue on liberal issues, but since those stories don't draw in the lucrative viewers, they will most likely get canned within a week. They are merely puppets and scapegoats that the conservative media owners can use to draw attention away from their conglomerate media empires. Buying into the myth of liberal media is exactly what they want you to do.

Jena Persico, are you a turtle?
Lauren Underwood, are you a turtle?

Alright Dan, you talked me into it:

100 Things About Steve

1.) I was born on September 1st, 1981 at 12:18 a.m.
2.) I was born at John F. Kennedy Hospital in Stafford, NJ.
3.) My mom saved the blanket from the hospital, as well as the newspaper from the day I was born.
4.) I grew up in Cherry Hill, NJ, in the southern part of the state.
5.) There was a diner in Cherry Hill named "Olga's Diner" that I always wanted to eat at, for some reason.
6.) My middle name is Edward.
7.) If I ever get famous, I think a cool stage name would be Jake Stevens.
8.) We had a black and white dog named Mandy when I was growing up.
9.) My sister was born on April 10th, 1984.
10.) I have a hard time choosing what my favorite food is, but I think right now that it is anything Mexican.
11.) I believe that there should be a chicken in every pot, unless you are vegetarian, in which case you should get a soy chicken.
12.) I started kindergarten early.
13.) I was in the gifted and talented program starting in first grade up until I graduated from high school.
14.) Jobs I have wanted over the course of my life, in no particular order: lawyer, mountain climber, cartoonist, stand up comedian, taxi driver, improv comedian, screenwriter, taste tester, director, stage technician, cameraman
15.) Jobs I have had over the course of my life, in no particular order: office assistant, restaurant host, warehouse odd job guy, stage technician (I got one!), fast food worker, police cadet, camp counselor, moon bounce operator (seriously)
16.) My favorite store in the world is Best Buy.
17.) I've been to the Gesundheit! Institute in West Virginia twice, and would like to go back for a third time.
18.) When I was in high school, I used to sneak into my dad's closet and steal any of his shirts that looked cool (I still have most of them).
19.) My best friend in elementary school was Matt Powell, who moved to Georgia right before eighth grade.
20.) I have a scar on my right leg from falling out of a tree and catching my leg on a sharp branch (it went through to the bone).
21.) I feel naked without a watch on.
22.) I used to have a calculator watch, and I was really jealous of the people who had watches with remote controls on them.
23.) Pirates never fail to make me laugh.
24.) I'm allergic to poison ivy.
25.) I'm highly allergic to cats.
26.) As far as I know, those are my only two allergies.
27.) I wish I had chosen a more useful major in college, SMAD is total bullshit.
28.) I own 60-something DVDs.
29.) My favorite comic strip is a tie between Calvin and Hobbes and Far Side, as far as I'm concerned nothing even comes close to these two.
30.) I was in the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization in high school (BBYO).
31.) I was, in order, my chapter's secretary, vice president, northern Virginia vice president, and northern Virginia president.
32.) I skip class way more often than I should.
33.) I have a weird tendency to wake up about fifteen minuts before my alarm clock.
34.) My first kiss was sophomore year of high school at a youth group retreat, and the sad thing is that I don't even remember her name.
35.) I like South of the Border, in SC, even though it's a massive tourist trap.
36.) I will ride any ride at an amusement park, and roller coasters are far and away my favorite.
37.) I wanted to transfer schools for my entire freshman year of college.
38.) I am a member of Alpha Phi Omega, a nation-wide co-educational community service fraternity.
39.) I was vice president of said fraternity last year.
40.) For two summers, I was in an improv group in northern Virginia called the Foggy Bottom Boys.
41.) I have yet to actually visit Foggy Bottom, the metro stop where we got the name.
42.) Sophomore year, I hid Caitie Meehan's stuffed bear in her room, and I don't think I ever apologized (sorry, pup!).
43.) Caitie and I call each other "puppa" (I forget how that came to be).
44.) I don't really like acting because I'm horrible at memorizing lines.
45.) The funniest book I've ever read was Naked Pictures of Famous People by Jon Stewart.
46.) I don't understand why some people feel that the question "what is your favorite color?" signifies anything about your personality.
47.) My favorite band is Guster.
48.) My favorite individual artist is Ben Folds.
49.) I just got an e-mail confirming that I have a summer job at the synagogue I worked at last summer.
50.) Speaking of synagogues, I'm Jewish.
51.) I was raised in a conservative temple, but I work at a reform synagogue, and I like reform Judaism much better.
52.) I could care less if I marry a Jewish girl, but it would be nice.
53.) I'm pretty liberal in my political beliefs.
54.) I really don't understand why some people are so close minded when it comes to things like religion and politics, since we are taught from an early age that open discussion and democracy are what this country is founded on.
55.) My favorite thing to eat on campus is the chicken wrap at PC Dukes.
56.) My favorite place to eat off campus is Spanky's.
57.) I've eaten an entire pizza in one sitting before.
58.) I like hot and spicy food.
59.) I live with my mom (Laura), my sister (Erica), and our dog (Ginger).
60.) We moved to Alexandria the year I graduated from HS, before that we lived in Springfield, VA, one town over.
61.) I went to West Springfield High School.
62.) I was suspended twice, but I won't go into the details on my website.
63.) I was also on probation for a year, but again, no details.
64.) I was a techie in high school, and I actually got paid $10 an hour for working theater activities on the weekends.
65.) I used to climb around in the ceilings and walls of our theater instead of doing work during class.
66.) A few friends and I set up an altar complete with chicken bones, fake blood, and weird writing underneath the stage, to see if we could scare anyone.
67.) One time I slipped while climbing in the rafters over the auditorium, and almost stepped through a ceiling tile 40 feet over a live show.
68.) I haven't got a single favorite movie, but I have a long list of my favorites.
69.) Like Dan, the first CD I ever bought was Big Ones, by Aerosmith, but I also got Weezer and the Wayne's World 2 soundtrack at the same time.
70.) I got my first CD player at my bar mitzvah.
71.) My bar mitzvah was on September 10, 1994, at the Springfield Hilton.
72.) All but maybe four of my friends from high school went on to join fraternities and sororities in college.
73.) My friends and I used to steal silverware from every restaurant we went to.
74.) Those same friends and I stole a soddering iron from the theater and made a giant bent silverware sculpture.
75.) One time, and I'm not very proud of this, I stole the bell from a Salvation Army worker who was using the bathroom (I'm a horrible person).
76.) I'm pretty callous about most things, I don't get emotional.
77.) However, I'm a sucker for tearjerker endings of movies, I have no idea why (it's embarrassing, but I get a lump in my throat any time I watch the last scene of Little Giants).
78.) I don't think we should be at war right now.
79.) I started this website over winter break because I was really really bored.
80.) I think that the singular most evil thing that the human race has done was to invent icebreakers. I HATE them. You don't really meet anyone that way.
81.) I tried out for all the a cappella groups on campus my freshman and sophomore years, but I only made it to callbacks.
82.) I auditioned for New and Improv'd my freshman year, but only made it to callbacks.
83.) I got into N+I last year.
84.) I'm the director of the group now, which means I'm in charge of notes and set lists and whatnot.
85.) When I was a kid, my favorite glass to drink out of was one that had a lot of Smurfs on it.
86.) My favorite cartoon as a child was a toss up between the Shirt Tales and the Justice League.
87.) I carry around five little Snorks in my backpack that I got from McDonald's happy meals back in the 80s.
88.) I liked the California Raisins claymation specials a lot.
89.) I've always wanted to be in a band.
90.) I've played the guitar since eighth grade, when I gave up French horn lessons.
91.) I used to take tae kwon do lessons, but I gave up after getting my yellow belt.
92.) I think classical guitar music is really cool (music played with a classical guitar, not classical music).
93.) Art has never fascinated me, I just don't appreciate it.
94.) I play way too many video games for a guy my age.
95.) I read the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy over winter break.
96.) I started shaving in the sixth grade.
97.) I have an above average IQ, according to four separate IQ tests that I have taken.
98.) My nickname in my youth group was Pinto, which I got from the movie Animal House.
99.) I used to be a safety patrol in elementary school.
100.) I typed this entire list in just over an hour.

There we go!