It hasn't been a long time since they Rock & Rolled

Yes, last night in London, England, the legendary Led Zeppelin "reunited" for their first show since 1980, five years before I was born. The band broke up in 1980 when their drummer, John Bonham, died in his sleep. 27 years later, they're considered rock gods...I love listening to them and I wasn't even alive when they were together!

When artists are together for a long time, or some kind of show or event lasts for a long time, I normally think that they/it should end if something goes wrong. The Price is Right, for example, should have died when Bob Barker retired...but don't get me started on that one! In Led Zeppelin's case, however, John Bonham's own son, Jason, took over on drums for their show last night...which I think is perfect.

All of the reviews are raving about how they sounded awesome last night. Prior to the show, interviews pointed to the show as being a "test" for whether or not they should set out on a full tour. Well, if that is the case, it seems like a tour should be set in motion...and I'd try my very best to get my hands on tickets if they come around here. I wouldn't get my hopes up though - you never know what will happen. At the very least, I'll pick up the DVD that surely will be released from last night's show.

My Weekend

Since I'm sure everyone was wondering, I did have a nice weekend...thank you for asking. I went up to Fairfield University, my alma mater (that was the first time I referred to it as my alma mater) to see my girlfriend Hilary. Once I arrived on campus Friday night, I had the pleasure of picking up Hilary after her few hours of fun at another Senior Mug Night (an occassional event held at The Levee, the on-campus bar, which promotes $1 beers to seniors). We decided to grab a bite at The Circle Diner, and head to a party at the apartments, where Hilary resides.

On Saturday, we did what most college kids do on Saturday afternoons - nothing. We eventually decided to experience sunlight as we got ready to go down to Norwalk to catch The Polar Express at the IMAX theater in the Maritime Aquarium. I realized that The Polar Express, which I had previously seen on DVD, is meant to be seen in IMAX...but then again, what isn't? IMAX rocks! We grabbed dinner at a restaurant across from the aquarium called Papaya Thai, which was fantastic. In case any of you were wondering how wild boar tastes, it's delicious.

Sunday was another "bumming around" day, which in my opinion, are the best kinds of days. We had the pleasure of watching the Eagles blow another game, which was 'a lot of fun!' (...he said sarcastically). In other football news, Michael Vick got a sentence of 23 months in prison for his dogfighting charges...personally, I think he deserves it...don't mess with dogs!

Everyone Loves Ninjas

As mentioned when I brought up the revival of American Gladiators, there is a Japanese competition show that would put Nitro, Gemini, Zap, Blaze, and without a doubt Malibu to shame. I'm talking about Sasuke, or, as televised in the U.S. on G4, Ninja Warrior.

The competition has no "gladiators," or any human obstacles. It consists of 4 stages, each stage having a different obstacle course, which progressively become more difficult. The first two stages have timed courses and they both have some tough obstacles. The third stage, if a competitor even makes it that far, is very difficult. It pretty much tests your upper body strength to the limit of what is humanly possible. From watching the show multiple times, the obstacle that a lot of contestants fail at is a very skinny ledge, which only has enough room for you to grab with your fingertips and scale across it, not to mention the middle section which is raised about a foot.

The very few who make it to the 4th stage have 30 seconds to get up the "spider climb" and then climb up a long rope, and the total height of both reaches about 74 feet. You can imagine the limited number of people who complete that. Here is a compilation of the 4 stages, all of which were completed by Makoto Nagano, a Japanese fisherman (and my hero). Long video but well worth the view...

The Attraction to the Inaccessible

In this country, businessmen and women often look at the demand of their product and produce enough to easily meet that demand, in order to gain as much revenue as they can (I know, the first sentences of all of my other blog posts usually head in completely different directions - i.e., television, gladiators, soy sauce, etc.) That business model seems logical in terms of seeking profits, but look at some examples of businesses that have headed in different directions...

The Nintendo Wii. Almost impossible to find one right now. From reports, Nintendo execs insist that failing to meet the demand for the system is not something that they want to do (suuuuure). However, look at the buzz surrounding the Wii. The fact that it is hard to find one available definitely contributes to the attractiveness of it. You can easily find a PS3 anywhere, but do you want to shell out twice as much money for something that you can find without effort? The PS3's are sitting on shelves, while the Wii's are barely touching the shelves before someone buys one.

With Christmastime around the corner, it makes me think of the classic holiday toy madness. Remember Furby? Tickle-me-Elmo? How about that awesome Schwarzenegger movie Jingle All The Way? Granted, the demand for some of these products was triggered by the puppy-dog eyes of begging children, but sometimes parents just follow the buzz of what the popular Christmas toy is for that year, regardless of what their children ask for.

The reason that this idea sparked into my mind is because of an article about a Belgian brewery (ahhh, now you all realize where I was headed with this one). As part of the several Trappist beers, Westvleteren beer is brewed by a monastery of monks. Never heard of it? You would think you would have since it rolls off the tongue...but you almost definitely have not heard of it and that's no accident. In order to get your hands on this beer, you have to travel to the gates of their monastery. But it's not even that simple. You have to call "the beer phone" in order to know when it is that you can get whichever beer that they have available. You are then instructed to call back at another time. Finally, you make a reservation day for when you are to go to the monastery to pick up the beer...you even have to give them the license plate number of the car that will be picking it up. THEN you go to the monastery to pick it up. It almost seems illegal how the process works. And the beer phone is ringing off the hook! They put traditional business models to shame.

It's all for good reason though. The monks are not looking to make any profit from their brewing. They definitely do not advertise...they don't even put labels on their bottles (if they did advertise, I'd go with the slogan, "You'll be swearin'...unless you get some Westvleteren!") Obviously, people have tried to go through the lengthy process and then resell the beer at astronomical prices. However, the monks not only mildly discourage reselling...they seek out people who do it and try to get them to stop! Despite the tiresome process that is involved with getting Westvleteren beer, people are claiming that it is some of, if not the, best beer in the world. Again, an attraction to what's inaccessible. There is no doubt in my mind that the beer is fantastic, but other Belgian beers are readily accessible around the world (Delirium, Chimay, and Leffe to name a few), and my guess is that Westvleteren would be rated among those (all of which are excellent) if it were distributed widely. Hell, years ago, Coors wasn't distributed to the East Coast so it was "cool" to drink it because it was different than the norm. I admit I love to tap the Rockies once in a while but I'm not bragging when I pick up a case of it at one of the millions of places of where it's sold. The process of getting Westvleteren adds to its excellence. It's like the Mount Everest summit to beer-lovers...and I'll have to organize an expedition someday...

I'm not "Ha Ha Ha"ing

Apparently Santas in the land down under were recently instructed not to say "Ho Ho Ho" anymore. Why in the hell would they do that, you ask? It's because "Ho" is American slang for a prostitute. [News to me...I don't know anyone immature enough to make that connection] Personally, I think this is all ridiculous. As Peter Griffin would say, it really "grinds my gears." The suggestion that Santas should say, "Ha Ha Ha" instead of "Ho Ho Ho" is just bizarre. The triple "Ho" conveys the jolliness and tubby-old-white-bearded goodness that Santa is all about.

Changing the "Ho" to "Ha"?...imagine it in your head right now...creepy, right? It turns the jolliness into questionable looniness. The additional excuse that the Aussies are making is that the laughing scares children. Are we talking about the land that Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin (RIP) came from? And Gladiator badass Russell Crowe? Man up Australian kids!

In other Christmas news, Google Earth is once again tracking Santa on Christmas Eve. They've teamed up with Norad this year to do it, and you can play games, etc. on their site until the games begin in 20 days. Personally, I'll be tracking Santa down, and once he hits the Lehigh Valley, I'm listening closely. If I hear "Ha Ha Ha," I'm chuckin' snowballs.