Wise Guys Over at Soccernet

Ok, since I'm a huge sports dork, I usually like to check sports stories before I go to bed. You know, just to make sure I don't miss anything. My go to source for soccer stories is ESPN's Soccernet despite the frequent sensationalist articles and Arsenal bashing.

Tonight when I checked it, I noticed the story links below. I'll let you draw your own conclusions...

Soccernet is clearly being run by 12 year olds. Or at lease people as mature as me. To top it off they gave the sack article an ambiguous title as well.

Stay classy Soccernet...

My Batch of Fail is Ready

Quick! What do Martha Stewart and I have in common?

That's right, absolutely nothing.

Which is why I must have been crazy to agree to join in the christmas um holiday winter cookie potluck at work. In classic Luther fashion, I decided to wait until the last minute.

I decided to bake peanut butter kiss cookies becauase I love them (donations currently being accepted) and the recipe sounded really easy. The one I found consisted of just peanut butter, vanilla extract, sure, and egg and the hershey kisses. The website claimed they would come out looking like this:

This whole baking thing is easier than Ithought. I don't know what everyone complains about. BOOM! roll up some peanut butter. BOOM! put it in the oven. BOOM! Eat up! I think I could replace Martha Stewart with this whole thing.

Maybe they should have given me her show during her... um... extended vacation.

Then the first batch came out.

I guess i flattened out the peanut butter balls too much and then placed them too close together which resulted in one giant cookie instead of 12 different ones. My bad.

While extremely cool. It wasn't exactly what I was going for. I may have to remember this for the future though. A man with a cookie this large could do many things. Mwahaha.

Anyway, on to the second batch.

I've learned from my mistakes this time nothing can go wrong. I made the balls smaller and spaced them out a bit more. I even put some flour on the foil so they wouldn't stick (Baller). I pulled these out of the oven and the result was even worse!

Ugh! I burned them! At least the first batch was edible. These tasted bad and made my apartment stink. At this point I decided to give up. I was tired and defeated plus Living Single was coming on BET or whatever station that was, so I had to be free for that.

Moral of the story? Don't f*** with the Martha.

Turkish Delights: Hagia Sofia

So our first day we decided to get the most touristy stuff out of the way, so of course Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque were first on our list. I've got photos from the Blue Mosque too, but I like Hagia Sophia better, so they come first :)

Some of the images have writing on them. I was fooling around with fonts because I'm thinking about making a book of the photos. Coming Soon!!

For those that don't know, Hagia Sofia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its dedication in 360 until 1453, it served as the Greek Patriarchal cathedral of Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Patriarch of Constantinople of the Western Crusader established Latin Empire. The building was a mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931, when it was secularized. It was opened as a museum on 1 February 1935. That was stolen from Wikipedia.

View from the second level. I love this photo. I took one from the other side that should look the same because the space is symmetrical, but it just didn't look the same.

I put the camera on the ground and set the timer. Not to call myself an innovator, but I caught other tourists copying this idea.

Probably should have put this one first. This was the view when you first walk in. The two kids on the left must have either thought that I was a celebrity or someone important or, they just don't see that many black people. They nervously asked if they could take a picture with me. They seemed nice, so I said yes. Its not every day people meet someone as awesome as me...

There were mosaics everywhere. We didn't do the audio tour so we just stumbled upon them. This one depicts Mary sitting on a throne with Jesus on her lap.

These giant wooden disks were all over the place inside. We didn't know what they meant at the time, but after an "exhaustive" wikipedia search, I discovered that they are " gigantic circular-framed disks or medallions hung on columns. They were inscribed with the names of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad, the first four caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and the two grandchildren of Mohammed: Hassan and Hussain, by the calligrapher Kazasker İzzed Effendi."

The apse.

The Comnenus Mosaic. The Virgin Mary is standing in the middle, holding the Child Christ on her lap. He gives His blessing with His right hand while holding a scroll in His left hand. On her right side stands emperor John II Comnenus, represented in a garb embellished with precious stones. He holds a purse, symbol of an imperial donation to the church. Empress Irene stands on the left side of the Virgin, wearing ceremonial garments and offering a document.

One cool thing we heard while we eavesdropped on another tour group was that when the monarchs changed. they just changed the heads on the mosaics and kept the bodies the same. So, laziness prevailed, even back then!

Also, I must point out that anyone can take a picture of something, but it takes real skill to take a picture of someone taking a picture of something. Baller.

The sweating column. We didn't know what this was at first, but we saw the line for it and jumped in. Apparently if you put your thumb in it, rotate your hand and make a wish it will come true if your thumb come out wet. I wished for kittens.

0 For October & Turkish Delights

Hello everyone. My name is Luther. you ma not remember me because I've been gone so long.

If you are reading this you are no doubt a die hard follower (Derek, Haley?) that I have managed to not annoy too much with my lack of posting, so you know its been awhile. Like all of October. So, what happened this October?

1.) Cardinals win the World Series in epic fashion.

What can I type that hasn't already been written? I'll just say that I was in tears during/after Game 6. If anyone wants to get me the dvd when it comes out. I would accept it...

The only negative about the World Series was that I wasn't able watch all of game 7 because I was on my way to...

2) Turkey!!!

Way back in the summer travelzoo had a massive sale on flights to Turkey, so the gf and I decided to go. I guess Turkish Airlines is making a major push to become a global leader, so they went out and sponsored Manchester United and FC Barcelona.

Kobe Bryant is now their spokesman, but he wasn't on the flight with us :(

So we finally landed in Istanbul on Saturday night. Our hotel was in a touristy part of the city near the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia. The first night was so crazy. We took the Metro from the airport to the Sultanahmet stop where our hotel was and there were so many people out and we couldn't find our hotel partly because of the jetlag and partly because of the language barrier.

We turned a corner and Hagia Sofia was right there. It was amazing to see it after studying it since my first year of architecture school.

After getting directions from a really nice guy who was selling maps (I know very fitting) we found our place. After we put our bags down we decided to go out and see some of the city, and of course take jumping pictures.

There are way too many pictures and stories of me being loved and feared in Turkey, so I will break this post into at least a few parts.

to be continued...

DJ Lance...

So, a few weeks ago my friend Derek asked me if I could dress up as this character DJ Lance from the show Yo Gabba Gabba for his daughter's birthday. They live in Illinois so I would record the message and email it to them. I said yes, how hard could it be? I looked DJ Lance up on two of my favorite and most trusted reference websites, wikipedia and youtube. I came up with this gem:

Ok, this may be a little more difficult than I thought. It seems like they're all really good dancers and there the whole issue of the costume. I decided to get the costume off amazon.com first and worry about the dancing and music later.

When I was looking for the costume, it was kinda tough because I didn't want to get something too loose. The images on the packages just had photos of DJ Lance.

Like it would really fit like that... All my years trick or treating taught me that costumes never fit like the real thing. I didn't want to look like I was wearing DJ Lance's sweatsuit. When it came in, It was a decent enough fit and I just wore a pair of sambas for the shoes. Close enough.

For the video I just tried to do what he did in the youtube video. My gf filmed it with her iphone and we played the youtube video in the background to get some music. This was the first take. i would have done another, but the polyester was getting way too hot and no one want to see DJ Lance sweat. So, i'm typing too much. Here's the video :)

Derek said that she loved the whole thing and kept replaying it. Mission Accomplished. Happy Birthday :)

*Note I cannot take credit for that awesome wood paneling. That's my gf's place, not mine...

Stuff the Earthquake "Reginold" Did

As everyone knows there was an earthquake in Virginia (another reason not to live there) Tuesday afternoon. I was scarred. The building shook, the lights swayed and my supervisor ran out of his office quicker than I thought he could run.

I've been thinking, why don't they name these things. Hurricanes get names, it only seems natural for earthquakes to get names. I start the tradition and name this one Reginold. Afterwards everything eventually got back to normal. When I got home, I was eager to see what the damage to my apartment was. It was serious. My lego robot had fallen off the shelf.

With time, I think we can rebuild him. In related news, Reginold failed to make up my bed and wash my dishes. After looking at the photo above, I also noticed that he got my rug dirty. Next thing you know, he's gonna be asking for money. Some people... Sheesh!

Why Aren't There Adult Lunchables?

Wednesday, I brought a lunchable to work to eat for lunch (of course...) Anyway, my coworkers tried to persuade to leave the lunchable in the refrigerator and get Baja Fresh. A supposedly "grown up" place to eat. Like any financially responsible adult that's comfortable with himself, I ate the lunchable at Baja Fresh. I was made fun of. These angry facebook rants below are just a sample:

It's a good thing I'm so mature. Did you see how I handled these haters? Haters aside, this begs the question: Why aren't there adult lunchables? The normal ones are way to small. We decided that the crackers need to be deli meat sized and instead of the fun sized candy bars, Oscar Mayer should man up and put in full sized ones.

And while we're on the subject of manning up, is that Capri Sun really filling anyone up?

A normal human can finish one of those in about 3 seconds. A few years ago, they came out with larger Capri Suns (6 seconds to finish), but they changed to flavors so those were no good. I haven't seen the larger ones in stores. It shouldn't be that difficult, although it did take them 20 years to realize that getting that straw through the top was nearly impossible.

Scientists/Oscar Mayer/Capri Sun, we're looking at you... Make the Lunchable fun again.

The "52" Project: Bed Jumping in Amish Country

In keeping with the spirit of the 52 project’s lateness, my latest update is from last month. If I could ever post these on time this would be an impressive set. Anyway, back to the picture. Last month my gf and I went to a wedding in the middle of Amish country in Ohio. When we got to the hotel, the first thing that I did (the first thing anyone should do) was to jump on the bed. Seriously, I don’t understand people that go to hotels and don’t jump on the bed. Think about it: there's a huge bed, someone else will make it up and (most important of all) your mom won't yell at you. It's more ridiculous to not jump on it. Anyway, hope you like the pics :)

Happy F***ing Birthday Amurica

I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July. This year we went to the Iwo Jima Memorial. The fireworks were awesome from there. Its across the Potomac in Virginia, but there are some really great views of the memorials.

The show starts around 9:15, so my gf and I decided to get there around 7:45 so we could get a good spot watch. We were lucky and found space on a retaining wall/bench just behind the statue. The past few years, I've noticed that a lot of people watching the fireworks are really rude. Last year we sat on the steps of the Lincoln to watch and we had to deal with people stretching/laying out over a lot of ground when others (like us) had very little space. People get out there in the heat and turn into a greedy, angry mob. This kinda explains it:

This year people were getting mad that later arriving people were sitting up front on the bench like we did. No one bothered us, but an older couple next to us started yelling at a woman who tried to sit in front of them. They said (screamed) that they had been there for4.5 hours so it was wrong for anyone to sit in front of them. The couple was so mad. I was just about ready for them to go Vancouver and flip something over and light it on fire. The whole situation was ridiculous and made me really uncomfortable. Personally I don't understand arriving nearly 5 hours early for a 20 minute show that's free and then getting angry when someone sits in front of you. If they really wanted no one to sit in front of them, they should have just sat up front at 3:00 or whatever ridiculously stupid time they got there. But thats just what i think. I hope karma teaches them a lesson.

Anyway, I took a lot of pictures. Hope you enjoy them :)

The "52" Project: Hangin' with Mr. Lemon

Hey there. I'm back with the latest installment of the 52 project. This is actually the first photo to ever capture my bathroom and front door (sort of) in the same frame. You should consider yourself lucky for being able to share this moment. I actually took this picture back in April when I first got the fisheye lens, but due lazin- I mean business I'm just posting it now.

There's really not a lot to explain about this one, just the many ways I hang out in the apartment. This picture is actually eerily similar to the first ever clone picture that I ever did (right down to the clothes I'm wearing!) way back in the winter of 2009. I was much less mature back then and my photoshopping skillz (yes the "z" was necessary) were not at refined as they are now. Anyway, I hope you like this one and it was worth the wait :)

Google Coolness

Have you seen Google today?!?! In honor of Les Paul's birthday, today's Google Doodle is a playable guitar. And get this, you can even record your 'songs'!

So, who is Les Paul?Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009)was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which "made the sound of rock and roll possible". He is credited with many recording innovations. Although he was not the first to use the technique, his early experiments with overdubbing (also known as sound on sound), delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects and multitrack recording were among the first to attract widespread attention. Thanks Wikipedia :)

Have fun recording those songs today!! And Happy birthday Les...

Sad End to a Long Journey

For you regulars out there, Haley, you may remember my ordeal with the soccer jacket. Basically I ordered a jacket I saw in a French soccer commercial from a random store in Chicago. Somehow during the blizzard they had earlier in the winter, the order details got mixed up and it was never shipped. By the time they found out the problem the jacket was already sold out.

For the full rundown read Polish Phone Tag and Chicago Needs to Man Up. Both quality reads I would say.

I kept up with them throughout the months. I kept getting the story that the jacket would be shipped in a few weeks and that I should call to check on it.

Today, after waiting 4+ months, I finally decided to give up on the store and cancel the order. I'm patient, but not so patient that I'm going to order a winter jacket in June.

What could have been... Sigh...

The weirdest thing about the phone call was that the guy acknowledged that it was weird that it had never shipped and that it had been a long time, but he then sounded surprised when I wanted my money back. He claimed he was going to call Nike, and he made it seem like there was still a chance I could get it. None of that for me.

The refund should show up on my statement in 2-3 business days. We shall see.

Lost and Found

Summer is finally here, a few weeks ago I decided to put away my winter stuff and clean up my cluttered apartment. There are three suitcases in my closet, so they were the obvious location for me to hide junk that I wasn't using, but didn't want to throw away. Inside of one of them I found a bag of stuff from when I first moved here. When I looked inside with was like a time capsule.

First of all, I found an old watch that I thought I had lost soon after I moved. When I was in high school I bought my dad a watch for Father's Day, but he never wore it, so midway through college I started wearing it. When I moved to DC, I wore it for a few weeks, then it disappeared. I though I left it on the train or someone stole it. I was devastated because as you can see below, that watch was awesome.

See what I'm talking about?!? Pure awesomeness. I'm shocked you could buy that watch in stores and that I was foolish enough to give it away in the first place. Now all you naysayers out there may say "Hey, that's not your car, that lady kissed all the tourists if you paid her a dollar and those cups are wood, you'll probably have to get three tetanus shots after drinking from them." Ok... true, true and true, but it was still a cool watch.

The other thing of note I found was a business card this random girl gave me when I was out at Buffalo Billiards watching college football one afternoon. She was a grad student at American University and she told me that she was hosting a watch party for Grey's Anatomy or some show like that. She wrote her number on the back of her card, gave it to me and said I should come by.

I wasn't a fan of the show, and for whatever reason I didn't think she was interested (I know, it's amazing I have a girlfriend now with that ninja-like intuition) so, I threw the card in a pile of junk when I got home and didn't think twice about it. Posted below, is not the actual card, but a replica that I created to protect the true identity of the girl in question:

Ok, so it's obvious possible that the card was heavily a bit exaggerated, but the facts still remain. I inadvertently spurned some poor girl's advances. Sigh.... it isn't easy being a heartbreaker... On the bright side, my apartment is now clean and ready for summer.

The "52" Project- Ocean City

So I'm pretty sure you're sick of looking at that fire post. That is if anyone still reads this. Work, my primetime to work, has been really busy lately so I haven't had a chance or a lot of motivation to post. There are a few drafts in the pipeline, so watch this space :)

Anyway on to the photo. This one was taken at Sunset Park in Ocean City this past weekend. Aside from clone pictures, I think my favorite type of photo is the mid-air jump, so it's only natural to combine the two.

There's no real story behind this one, just me thinking that it would be cool have a picture of e jump kicking myself. I must give credit to my gf for being the one to actually pull the trigger on this one, with no tripod no less.

FIRE!!!

*click* *click* BOOM!!!!!

That's what woke me up this morning. Strangely enough I didn't immediately get up after hearing that. There had been some workers out yesterday morning; I thought they were out earlier this morning. Annoying, but no reason to get up.

Then my upstairs neighbor started going crazy. It sounded like he was going back and forth between rooms making way too much noise for that early. Is anyone gonna let me sleep?

Then I heard sirens in the distance. At first I was mad. Its was just after 5:30 so I had about another hour to sleep. I'm never gonna fall back asleep. Then they go closer and I thought, "good, now someone's gonna get in trouble for all that noise..."

As the sirens got closer, it became clear there was something wrong. I decided to get up and take a look and outside my window was red. I pulled the blinds open and saw a fire bursting out of the garages across the alley. The fire truck hadn't arrived yet. At this point I was more intrigued than scared. I went to the living room to get my camera (The blog must know of this!)

I opened those blinds and the fire had grown. OH S***!!! It seemed to be only to be feet away from my building. Now I'm in panic mode. I flung into action. PUT PANTS ON!! GET YOUR SHOES!!!! GET OUT!!!! I could actually feel the heat in my own living room. I had my camera out, but the wrong lens was on and there was no way I could focus even if it was right.

At this point the calvary(firemen) show up. I swear there had to be at least 25 of them. They put the flames out in maybe 25 seconds. It was quick. After that there were a few minor fires that sprung up, but they handled those easily. They actually ended up having to cut up the room with a giant saw to get the last of it. It was a crazy morning.

On a sidenote. It's really hard to find pictures of firefighters that aren't of them undressed. I mean seriously. It's ridiculous:

So, I'm gonna post this safe dalmatian one instead and call it a day. Thanks firemen.