TV: Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Well i just finished watching the very last episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. This show first aired in 1993 after David Letterman left for his own show in a new time slot and new channel. Over the last 16 years i would tune into Conan because i was always ensured a laugh or two or three. For years i have said between him, Jay Leno and David Letterman, Conan was the best on tv. I still believe that. He will now replace Jay Leno on the Tonight Show, following in the footsteps of the great Johnny Carson.

I'm glad to know that this isn't really good bye, but just a see you later. Sure the show wont be the same, Conan cant get away with a lot of the things he said or did in his new time slot but its still Conan and he really made the program. He used to write for SNL, when it was good, and he wrote for the Simpsons. He was an unknown that was given a shot and for 16 years he did a better job than a lot of more qualified people who tried to do the same thing.

A lot of shows have come and gone in the past 16 years. In fact what other show has been on for as long? The Simpsons, probably my favorite show of all time. Both wonderful shows and Late Night never got the recognition it deserved. The famous Chuck Norris jokes started on Conan's show, did you know that? Triumph the insult comic dog was also from that show along with many more pop culture type things that go unknown.

Any fan of the show knows this is the end of an era. When i would watch Conan it would take me back to the early 90's with the same jokes and characters that i loved back then. All of the great shows of the past have come and gone, they are all there now but one. The Simpsons. Once that show goes off the air ill probably stop watching TV altogether really. Its sad for me in a lot of ways.

I just want to say, Thank you Conan for making me laugh and smile night in and night out for the last 16 years, and although you'll have a new show you will always have my support. Conan O'Brien is clearly the best host of a talk show on tv right now and he has been for 16 years, but thats just my two cents.

LIFE: the little toe

I just want to rant a bit on the little toe, or the PIGGY toe if you will.

I don't like you very much. Its true, and i wont lie to you, i think you're pretty USELESS. What are you for? I mean, honestly. Is it just me or is the little toe always the one you hit off of a corner? It hurts so bad, how can something so small hurt so much when hit? Its also hidden when wearing most types of sandals making it look as if you only have 4 toes, thats just embarrassing. I can remember staring trying to see if a person has all of their toes, turns out the piggy toe was just hiding like a pansy ass loser. Even in that stupid, "This little Piggy," poem it has the worst part, CRYING wee,wee,wee all the way home. Also whats up with that toe nail, if you can call it that. Its hardly even there, its all misshaped and deformed and some times it doesn't even need to be cut, HOW does that happen? Someone tell me how it doesn't grow like the others? Then when you actually try to clip it, its almost impossible. Little toe, you SUCK. You are by far the worst of the toes and the thing that really gets me is....I HAVE TWO!!! We would all be better off if that toe was off of our foot but thats just my two cents.

PETS: my female SHTCT leopard gecko

I realized i never made a post about my first leopard gecko! My female Super Hypo Tangerine Carrot tail!

She doesnt have a name, i got her as a hatchling from the Altoona Petco in June of 07. I didnt know if she was a boy or girl at the time because it takes a while before you can tell, so i never decided on a name and since then i still cant! I hate not having a name for a pet of mine, naming my pets has always been a problem. Its such a big deal i can never deal with it. I thought about Slyth, Mondo, Slater, all cool names but more boy names than girl names. When i finally knew she was a she, it was too hard to come up with a name. I threw around the idea of Allura.

I didnt handle her for the first 6 months that i had her. I didnt want her to drop her tail, as they will do when frightened. Babies are really skittish too. So, not stressing her out, i left her alone for much of her teenage life. One day i moved her into the 20 gallon long tank my turtle had been in. (she ran away from home) Then, on Christmas of 07 she was standing trying to climb the sides of the tank, she cant because leopard geckos cant climb vertical surfaces, but nobody ever told her that. So i reached my hand in and she crawled right onto it! Ever since then i have taken her out to hold, she will climb on my arms and hands and even shirt if you let her. She couldnt be a friendlier gecko. She doesnt like to be touched on her back though, that is one thing she doesnt like. Im going to try to breed her to Flare in the spring time, she slows down in the winter time.

PETS: Flare, my newest leopard gecko

I thought I'd write an update on Flare, my newest leopard gecko.

I got Flare at the Cheswick Reptile Show in Pittsburgh back in January. So i've had him for about a month now. Flare is a, "sunglow" male leopard gecko. Sunglow, or hybino as its sometimes called, is the albino version of the Super Hypo Tangerine Carrot Tail leopard gecko. (Hypo meaning very few spots, Super meaning no spots, Tangerine being the orange color and carrot tail is when orange starts at the base of the tail and goes out onto the tail.)

I was told he was about 3-4 months old, i dont know how you dont know which, but either way hes around 5 months old now and he is huge for his age, there is good reason for this though. I was told he has the genes to be a giant. (Giant leopard geckos are 100-150 grams in weight.) His mother was huge and his father was big as well so i hope he is a giant because i did want one. His colors, as you can see, are amazing. I love the white underside and orange body. He has cute little white feet and i think the pink on his tail is such a cool color too. Believe it or not his brother was at the show and he cost more and was even more colorful than Flare is, but he was also older. The breeder told me Flare was going to only get brighter as he grows up.

I plan to breed Flare to my unnamed female Super Hypo Tangerine Carrot tail later in the spring. Did i mention Flare is het RAPTOR? (RAPTOR is Red eyed, Albino, Patternless, Tangerine, ORange.) So together they can produce some pretty cool babies, and IF Flare turns out to be giant then the babies will carry the giant genes as well. So i will keep you all updated on this new leo of mine!

LIFE: THE SUPER BOWL

Well looking back on my predictions for the NFL season, i was wrong in a few places, and spot on in others. I did get the Super Bowl wrong, but come on, this season was a very crazy season that was probably the most unpredictable season the NFL has had in recent memory.

Im happy to say that Pittsburgh Steelers have made it to the SUPER BOWL. This Sunday they will face the Arizona Cardinals, yes i said Arizona. Who would have thought it? NOT THIS GUY! In fact, i thought Detroit had a better shot than Arizona. Oh well, i suppose they earned, even if they are a 9-7 team that had 3 of the 5 worst teams in the entire NFL in its division, and so what if they next closest team in its division had 4 wins? The point is, you make it to the playoffs and ANYTHING can happen! And it did...

So finally the Steelers have gone back to the Super Bowl, i know, they were there 3 years ago but the Seahawks are my second favorite team and that was just no fun to watch, it really was a bitter sweet win for me, very tough to enjoy. BUT THIS YEAR...oh i wont hold back, finally i can enjoy a Super Bowl since, well ever! 95 was a great Super Bowl but the Steelers lost so it wasnt that great in the end, this year i expect a lot.

So in closing, congrats to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals, they both are winners and AFC and NFC champs and nothing can take that away. I just know i will really enjoy this super Sunday but thats just my two cents.

LIFE: The Last of the Blogs for 2008

Well the year 2008 has come to an end and i thought id post my last blog of the year.

I've been through a lot this year, but i can't remember much of it. I got my two crested geckos back in Feb. They are both fine and still alive. I also got my second dumpy tree frog this year, he is fine as well. I found my other tree frog dried up and dead. My leopard gecko is getting close to full grown, she is 15 months right now. I did lose the rescue gecko i tried to save from petco, i bought it last December and in several months it hadn't gained any weight. Let that be a lesson to me for trying to save an animal. Our cat Peaches died this year, she had to be put down because the cancer was so bad that she couldn't swallow any more and wasn't eating. Tux missed all of the shows this year because he went into his summer shedding right when the fairs were going on, but thats ok because 2009 will be a new year. I lost my snake, he didn't die i still haven't found the little guy yet and i do expect the worst.

My cousins Adam and Michael got engaged this year, (not to eachother) and i guess im the last. My little sister got married back in May, it doesn't seem so long ago.

I started my bonsai obsession last winter and had a good growing season. I plan to do a lot more this year now that i am prepared. I will make a lot of advances in my art and continue down the road of being a bonsai master. If ANYONE is the least bit interested in bonsai, i suggest going to youtube and watching the videos of Lindsay Farr's world of bonsai. He in a man who traveled through Japan and China showing different masters and styles and techniques, as well as bonsai farms, pots, gardens and historical places of interest.

The Pens almost won the cup this year, just a few games shy so we will all be looking forward to their progress this year. The seahawks had 12 starters out this year and did horrible. First time they lost the division in 5 years. It was a shame because i had them picked to go far this year and i really believe they would have been able to. Poor Detroit lost every single game, the first time that has ever happened since the league went to a 16 game schedule. I do feel bad for them and their fans, but that city won the cup so its not all bad. The steelers have the second seed and a first round bye in the playoffs and their defense has been outstanding so we are all waiting to see what happens in a few weeks. I'm sure something happened in baseball but who cares?

I had a good Christmas, a good Thanksgiving, a good Easter, Mitch Day was disappointing, ill admit that. I plan to have a good New Years. I'm never sure if thats the last holiday of the old year or the first holiday of the new year? Either way 2008 is over, can you believe it has been 20 years since Batman came out? Good bye 2008, you have been a pretty good year and like every year that has come before you, ill miss you. So for the last time this year you just heard my two cents.

LIFE: People we have lost in 2008

These are a few famous people who died in 2008 that i believe need to be remembered. Sir Edmund Hilary died, he was the first to climb mount Everest. Suzanne Pleshette, the actress from the Bob Newhart Show and was in The Birds, i met her on a cruise and she was a wonderful person. Tom Poston, who was married to Suzanne Pleshette also died, he was also awesome and im so glad i got to stalk him on that cruise. Although i was too star struck to say anything to him, we had many special moments together that i will always treasure. Heath Ledger died right before the new Batman came out, i still think his best role was in Ten Things I Hate About You. Roy Scheider died, he was Chief Brody in Jaws, great movie and a great actor, ill never forget his delivery of my favorite line from Jaws, "SMILE YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Myron Cope, the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers, on the radio he made us all smile as he broad casted every Steeler game and many people do not know this but he also invented the Terrible Towel, before him NO ONE ever waved a towel at a professional sporting event. Myron Cope is responsible for that, any time i see a towel being waved at any game it makes me think of him. Charlton Heston also died, they say he was gay but i don't care. He was a GREAT actor and the Planet of the Apes is one of the best movies ever made. Who can forget what is known as the greatest twist endings to any movie ever? Harvey Korman died, he was on the Carol Burnett show but he was my favorite character in Blazing Saddles. Everything he did or said in that movie makes me laugh. Paul Newman also died, he has so many great movies but for me he will always be Cool Hand Luke. In the movie when he bluffed in a poker game because he had nothing it was remarked about him, "sometimes no hand is the coolest hand of all." The movie is great because its about a loser that tries to make it, and doesn't, if you haven't seen it i suggest you do.

Everybody has to die at some point or another and there were many more who died this year that i didn't add but as long as we took something from their lives then they are never truly gone, i guess a person doesnt have to be famous for us to do that either....

LIFE: Turkey Bowl 15, part 2

This is how the game went. The teams were Me, Uncle Tony, Uncle Carl, Nicki, and Erica. The other team was Adam, Michael, Larissa, Katie, and the other Katie. Rachel played center for both teams due to her fractured spine. (yes, and she still played)

Our team had the ball first and we started to drive with a few passes from Uncle Tony until he threw an interception to Adam who ran it back for the game's first touch down. 7-0

They kicked off to us and i became the quarterback, i passed to Uncle Tony, Uncle Carl, Erica, anyone who was open. We gained a first down and continued to drive down the field, i saw Erica open in the end zone and i threw it, she caught it for our first touch down. 7-7

When they got the ball they tried a few short passes and then i was covering Adam and a pass i believed to be over thrown and out of his reach was caught by him and ran in for the touchdown. 14-7

We got the ball back and after a few short passes i saw Uncle Carl break free of the defenders so i threw a long bomb which he caught and ran into the endzone tying the game again. 14-14

We kicked off and Michael was able to run the kickoff back the entire way for another touchdown, the score was now in their favor. 21-14.

After a few short passes and driving steadily down the field i found Uncle Carl deep yet again for another touchdown. 21-21

The next drive failed for the other team and they went for it on 4th down, when they didn't make it we knew it was our chance but Uncle Tony was intercepted again and our drive stopped. Another interception by Erica gave us the ball back. I found Uncle Carl deep again, this time he was run down by Adam but we were very close to the End Zone. I found Uncle Carl again for my 4th touch down. 28-21

Their next drive stalled and the ball was turned over on downs, an interception gave them new life and as they were driving down the field on what was to be the last possession of the game they were driving to what seemed to be fate and a tie for the 15th Turkey Bowl. A pass to Katie Carl was bobbled and fell into my hands, the interception sealed the win for our team.

One of the highest scoring games of all times, and arguably the closest and most fun, Turkey Bowl 15 will go down in family history as one of the best.