Uncool Music Playlist - Chilliwack "My Girl"

The Uncool hits keep on rolling... Live, from Jeff's iPod is #16 on his most played list "My Gir" by Chilliwack.

This is another song of time and place more than any kind of merit. I listened to it in high school during football sophomore year. The fact that the two match up is good enough for me I suppose.

Jack Purcell - Shoe Pics

I know, I know, this is kind of goofy. But I stumbled across a video somebody edited together of a bunch of Jack Purcell shoes. I suppose I should say enjoy!

Yet Another Broken Chair in the Rhodes Household

Four large boys, two nephews and a large father can certainly spell doom for a chair. In the Rhodes household, we go through chairs like paper towels. Currently, we are five chairs deep in the repair shop for the dining room set. I've got specific instructions on how to fix those things but still haven't done them all.

The latest casualty is a living room rocker. Two steel bolts sheered right off... Back to Home Depot...

Uncool Birthday Haul!

In a bid to manage expectations and to set myself up for supreme success, I managed to get absolutely everything I asked for (and more)!

1. Not one but TWO gallon containers of goldfish crackers.
2. Not one but SIX 2-liters of diet Coke.
3. Additionally, not one but TWO packets of white socks.
4. Bonus: a new packet of underwear.
5. Double bonus: a block of extra sharp cheddar cheese.

Monopoly Game Collection - Commemorative Edition

Being the Uncoolest Dude in Hollywood, means I have the Uncoolest taste in what to collect. My infamous Monopoly game collection is no different. This commemorative edition was given to me back in the mid 80's during my college days. It was my first real Monopoly collector item. I had gotten some other special editions prior to this, but I always played with those versions and they got messed up. This was the first one I tried to keep nice.

First off, this comes in a small square tin. No old versions ever came in a tin like this, but it gives in a retro look. Inside are a lot of extras. First off, is a one sheet that sits on top of everything with Mr. Monopoly aka Rich Uncle Pennybags explaining ins-and-outs of this edition. The paper underneath is a loose sales piece that was originally on the outside of the tin when it was encased in plastic wrap. It provided a place for the usual stuff that they didn't want on the actual tin (for example, the UPC bar coding).

Inside, there is an extra large booklet with a (sanitized) history of the game from the early days to its overseas versions to the present. In the back of the book is a standard list of rules. On the back page is an interesting FAQ page dispelling common myths and explaining that certain 'house rules' like getting money for landing on Free Parking aren't official.

Below is the actual game board folded-up into an uncommon four-way configuration. In a nod to some older versions of the game, there is a logo sticker on the board that is an exact replica in size and shape of the early game box covers. The board itself is standard.


Insides, there is a nifty plastic insert that serves as a holder for all of the game pieces. Most importantly, there are slots for all of the denominations of money so it doubles as the bank. The dice are not white but an ivory bone color. Money and property cards are standard.

The big difference inside are the houses/hotels and the token. Above are the ten tokens. Some are very recognizable (the shoe, the car, the battleship, the thimble, the top hat, the cannon and the iron). Some are different version of the standard (a hobbyhorse instead of the man on the horse) and a couple I never saw before (a purse and a lantern). But even the standard stuff are different. They are all a golden/bronze tone as opposed to the pewter/silver in a standard set. The car and the cannon are nothing like the standard sets. Then lantern is markedly larger than any other token I've seen in any set.

The houses/hotels are made of wood like the old sets but also have designs stenciled on the hotels.

Uncool Oscar Predictions - 2010

I live in Hollywood, this is a movie town. I get it. I love the movies! I love going to the movies and renting movies and buying DVD's and watching all kinds of movies in all kinds of genres in many different eras. That doesn't mean I have to spend six hours in front of a television bored out of my skull. Of course, that does not stop me from making "informed" predictions. I've been amazingly accurate the past few years on these things so I'd be sure to take a close look:

Best Supporting Actress
This is one of those east coast/west coast things that my east coast friends find strange, but live events like this come on at 5:00pm. It's still light out. It's a Sunday. I have a life to lead with four boys and a couple of nephews who like to play games. Usually this award is given right at the top of the show.
Prediction: I predict I'll be playing driveway hockey during this award.

Best Supporting Actor
By the time they get around to this award, the ovens will be ablaze, filled with baking breads & pies, potatoes will be well mashed, the roast beast will be resting prior to carving, and the whole family will be joined hand-in-hand for our dinner prayer.
Prediction: I predict I'll be eating dinner during this award.

Best Actor
Every Sunday is the same. A flurry of showers, whining, last minute homework, screaming, crying and chaos. And just as I'm getting ready to perhaps crack a beer and calm my nerves, my wife will take a quick peek in the cupboard and say something along the lines of, "You know, we're out of _________".
Prediction: I predict I'll be at Vons buying milk, bread and lunch meat during this award.

Best Actress
I expect that we will have everyone corralled well enough to catch our favorite Sunday activity, watching TV. What family would be complete without a Sunday night around the tube, bonding, learning about each other, and generally being "one"? It is at this point that we may find ourselves wondering what the heck that awards show is on ABC.
Prediction: I predict I'll be watching The Amazing Race during this award.

Best Director
Once that family bonding time known as watching TV has ended, it becomes necessary to get four boys and an nephew to go to bed. They are boys. They are genetically predestined to agitate each other beyond belief. Even if I tell them, "don't agitate each other or you are ALL punished", they still agitate and fight and shove and tease and annoy each other. Feelings are hurt, tempers flare. It's as regular as clockwork.
Prediction: I predict I'll be screaming at my boys at the top of my lungs during this award.

Best Picture
Growing up as a kid, you were lucky to catch the best picture award. It was always after midnight or 1am and really, really, late. Now that I'm on the west coast and I'm much older, the award still comes on late. It could be 9:00 or 9:30 before they announce that thing. This is the easiest prediction of them all.
Prediction: I predict I'll be fast asleep when this award is announced.

I look forward to looking at all the pictures and reading about all the winners on Monday morning on the internet.

TV is Superior to Movies - Battlestar Galactica

TV is superior to movies example of the month: Battlestar Galactica

There are those of you who feel like the outer space thing is too goofy and silly. Shame on you. Battlestar Galactica is one of the best examples of using a foreign setting to tell a story that would be nearly impossible to tell if it were done straight.

Back in the day, the way you told a story you weren't allowed to tell was to make it a western. You wanted to talk about racism during the fifties... you made a western about a cowboy falling in love with an indian. You wanted to talk about communism or discrimination or drug use or anything taboo, you made it a western. One of the reasons the western died was that there was no longer a need to have this fictional backdrop to tell a compelling story.

But even today, there are taboo topics that in and of themselves invoke emotional responses that would make it difficult to tell an honest story without the baggage of today getting in the way. Today, it is no longer the western that serves this purpose, it is science fiction. Enter Battlestar Galactica.

On the surface, this is show taking place 'a long time ago in a galaxy far, far way' but it is anything but. The whole arc about the occupation of New Caprica can really screw with your brain when you realize which characters represent the US and which character represent the Iraqi's.

How can you have a show where religion is a central theme and not have preconceived notions about Christianity or Judaism or Islam? Simple... make up whole new religions and invert who you feel you should be rooting for.

How do you have characters curse like sailors without saying real curse words? Frakkin' watch the show and you'll see.

Program: Battlestar Galactica
Episodes: 78 episodes (Pilot miniseries, four seasons, post series episode) and a series of webisodes that aired between seasons.
Status: Series concluded

There is a prequel series called Caprica that looks very, very promising as well.