The Dog (Ep. 303)

Jerry's seatmate on a plane starts having medical problems and asks Jerry to watch his dog (who is on the plane) until he gets out of the hospital. Jerry reluctantly agrees and it ends up ruining his night out at the movies with George and Elaine. He convinces George and Elaine to go see the movie without him and they do, only to realize they have nothing to talk about except for Jerry. Kramer breaks up with his girlfriend Ellen, who has personality issues, only to get back together with her, and then break up again. The guy from the plane doesn't come to pick up his dog, Farfel until almost a week later.

Interesting quote: "Well, if you don't come and get your dog tonight, he's humped his last leg! - Elaine

Grade: D- (Seriously, this has long been in my bottom 5 of Seinfeld episodes. I didn't laugh out loud until Jerry's stand-up routine that closed the show out.)

The Truth (Ep. 302)

Jerry is being audited because of a fraudulent organization (Krakatoan volcano relief fund) that he donated money to a few years before. George decides to tell the truth in breaking up with his girlfriend. Unfortunately, his girlfriend was helping Jerry with his tax papers and she threw them away before she checked into a mental institution.

Kramer is dating Elaine's roommate Tina and it's getting on Elaine's nerves. They like to makeout on the couch and do wild dances to native music. Kramer finds a windshield on the side of the road and turns it into a coffee table. Then, him and Tina inadvertantly crash into when they don't see it in front of the couch.

Interesting facts: George alludes to the fact that he's driven women to lesbianism, but never the mental institution. Oddly, enough the next season of the show he drives former girlfriend, Susan Ross, to lesbianism.

Interesting quote: "Have you ever been audited before? It's the financial equivalent of a thorough rectal examination." - Jerry

Grade: B+ (Simplistic plot, but very funny anyway.)

Baseball blasphemy!

Apparently, baseball rules are being changed for the Olympics. As if I wasn't disappointed enough that they are removing baseball from Olympic competition after this year, they are now changing some long held baseball rules.

After a game reaches the 11th inning, the batting team will start with runners on 1st and 2nd and will also be able to choose which batter will start the inning. I wonder how many times the pitcher gets picked to lead off the inning? I know my wife probably loves this idea and wishes they would incorporate it into all levels of baseball, but I think it's lousy. They are just trying to appeal to the IOC in hopes of getting reinstated for the 2016 games.

The Note (Ep. 301)

While Jerry is getting a massage he mentions off-handedly about a 5 year old that was kidnapped and about how you can't trust people anymore because it could be anybody that would do that. The masseuse has a 5 year old son and begins to be frightened of Jerry. George and Elaine go to get massages when they learn from Jerry that you can get your health insurance to cover them if you get a doctor's note saying it's for Physical Therapy.

Elaine gets a female massage therapist and George gets a male, Raymond. George is very unsure about this and begins to have doubts, but goes through with it. At some point in the massage, he asks George to remove his pants so he can massage his hamstrings. This sends George over the edge and begins to feel very uncomfortable. He tells Jerry later that he thinks it moved when the guy was massaging and worries that he has an attraction to males. Jerry tells him that it's only if the guy touched it, so George is fine.

Kramer tells the gang that he saw Joe Dimaggio at Dinky Donuts and that not only was he there, but he dunks his donuts. He swears that it was him because Kramer was banging on his table and yelping, but Joltin' Joe was unphased. Only a professional baseball player has that level of concentration. Obviously the gang doesn't believe him, until they spot him at Monk's Cafe dunking his donut in his coffee.

Jerry and George get his doctor to write them doctor's notes for the massages and then later on discover he's being investigated for insurance fraud. Jerry tries to go to his masseuse to get her to agree that it was physical therapy, but she won't see him and calls the police on him.

Interesting facts: This is Kramer's first appearance in Monk's Cafe. The music for this episode was different than all the other episodes.

Interesting quote: "He got about...two inches from...there. I think IT moved!" - George on his massage from a male

Grade: A (Just for George's uncomfortableness and Kramer's yelping at The Yankee Clipper)

I Can't Get No...

So, I watched a movie last night with Kimberly called, Hannah Takes the Stairs. I don't think I would recommend it because it had excessive nudity (although not in a sexual manner, just "I'm standing around with no top on" nudity), and was filmed very strangely (mostly improvised and shot in a documentary style). However, I did find it interesting for the things going on beneath the surface in the movie.

It starts off with Hannah, the main character, dating this guy and in a seemingly good relationship, but then things fall apart quickly and she realizes she's not happy with him because they don't seem to connect. Plus, she likes this guy at her new job. So, she breaks up with boyfriend #1 and very quickly starts dating the guy at work, boyfriend #2. Things are great with boyfriend #2 at first, but then she realizes that he's never around and never spends any quality time with her. So, she breaks up with him. To end the movie she starts dating another guy at work, boyfriend #3 and seems happy with him, but considering how the other 2 went, you kind of wonder when that one is going to fall apart too.

Before she starts dating boyfriend #3 she confesses to him that she suffers from chronic dissatisfaction. Basically, she's happy for a time, but then she is disappointed in whatever it is she's doing at the time. This is the part of the movie that I found most interesting because it is so true of everyone in real life. Most people won't admit it, but we do so many things hoping that this will make us happy, but most of the time nothing works. We think if we get that job we'll be happy, or if we date that person we'll be happy, or if we weigh this much we'll be happy, or if we drive this car we'll be happy...but like I said none of it works.

We think it's something we're doing wrong, but in reality there is nothing we can do to make ourselves happy. Only God can provide true happiness for us. Because it's when we realize that he is in control of things that we understand that we are exactly as God intended us to be and we become satisfied with what we have and who we are.

Challenges

A few weeks ago, I asked Kim what her biggest fear and challenge was for when we go to the Peace Corp. I won't post what her response was because it's not her blog, but my biggest fear and challenge is the same thing.

My fear is that I won't be able to get the language because it's going to be so different from anything I've ever heard. My challenge is that I'll dive right in and try harder at it than anything I've ever done. Please pray that I can accomplish my goals as I go into new, uncharted territory.

The Deal (Ep. 213)

Jerry and Elaine want to sleep together, but want to stay friends. So they lay out ground rules to keep the relationship good. 1. No phone calls the next day, 2. Spending the night is optional, 3. No kiss goodnight. They do this thinking it's a genius idea, but George points out Jerry's mistake...women always want to spend the night. Sure enough, Jerry opts to not spend the night and Elaine gets upset. Later, Jerry has to decide what to get Elaine for her birthday, but is having a hard time. He wants to get something nice, but not too nice, because he doesn't want her to get the wrong idea. He ends up giving her $182 cash and a card in which he calls her his "pal...and more." Upset, she decides she want it all or no friendship. They decide to date again.

Interesting fact: Elaine and Jerry had an entire long conversation about sex without ever using the word "sex."

Interesting quote:
"What are you two going to do today?" (Kramer)
"Oh, this...and that." (Elaine)
"And the other." (Jerry)
"I liked it better when you two weren't a couple" (Kramer)

Grade: B (Not incredibly complex, but the writing for the one scene between Jerry and Elaine was genius!)

The Revenge (Ep. 212)

Jerry and George are both seeking out revenge of their own, each with the help of Kramer and Elaine respectively. George gets mad at his boss because he refuses to let him use his personal bathroom anymore and so he quits. Afterwords he realizes it was a bad idea and decides to go back on Monday pretending that it was just a joke. His boss calls him on it and fires him. In order to get him back, him and Elaine plot to slip his boss a Mickey during the company's 10th anniversary celebration.

Jerry lost $1500 that was in his laundry bag and he believes the owner of the laundromat took it. So, Kramer suggests dumping a bag of quick drying cement into one of the washing machines. They do this, only to later find the envelope of money in Kramer's bag of laundry instead. Jerry ends up giving the owner of the laundromat $1200 to pay for the washing machine.

Interesting fact: First mention of Newman, although you never see him. He threatens to commit suicide in the episode, because he has nothing to live for. In the original, Larry David voices Newman, but later Wayne Knight rerecords the scene with his voice for syndication.

Interesting quote:
"Maybe I could be, like, an announcer, like a color man. You know how I always make interesting comments during the game?" (George)
"Yeah, you make good comments." (Jerry)
"So what about that?" (George)
"Well, they tend to give those jobs to ex-ballplayers and people in broadcasting." (Jerry)
"Well, that's not really fair." (George)

Grade: B+ (Pretty funny episode, especially loved Kramer's scene of dumping concrete in the washing machine)

The Heart Attack (Ep. 211)

George believes he is having a heart attack and has Jerry and Elaine rush him to the hospital. He later discovers that he was not having a heart attack, but his tonsils did grow back (yes, this is possible) and were inflamed. Kramer convinces him to go see his friend Tor Eckman, the holistic healer, instead of letting the hospital cut on him. He goes, only to have a severe reaction to the herbal tea that he was given and have to be rushed back to the hospital. On the way to the hospital in the ambulance, the driver and EMT get into a fight and then the driver, not paying attention, gets into a wreck. George ends up in a neck brace and still has to get his tonsils removed by the doctor.

Jerry tries the entire episode to figure out a line he had written down in the middle of the night for a new bit for his act. He finally, after asking many people to try to read it, realizes it was a line from a movie that said, "Like flaming globes of Zigmund." He's excited to figure it out, but then doesn't know why he wrote it down.

Intersting fact: Tor tells Jerry that he has too much dairy in his diet, but just a few episodes before Jerry states that he is lactose intolerant.

Intersting quote: "Routine surgery? My friend Bob Sacamano, he came in here for a hernia operation. Now he's sitting around in a chair going, [high pitched voice]"my name is Bob!"

Grade: A (Hilarious story line and great acting, especially by George)

The Statue (Ep. 210)

Jerry finds a box of junk that was given to him by his grandfather. Kramer keeps the clothes that were in it, while George keeps a statue that is an exact duplicate of one he broke when he was 10 years old with the intentions of giving it to his parents. Jerry also has someone coming over to clean his apartment. It's Ray, the husband of the lady whose book Elaine is editing. After having his apartment cleaned, Jerry goes with Elaine to Ray and Rava's to thank Ray for the job. While he's there, he spots the exact same statue that was in his apartment that he gave to George. He confronts Ray, but of course he denies it. Kramer then dons a hat and trenchcoat to look like a detective and goes to Ray's house and retrieves the statue. In the end though, George breaks the statue again.

Interesting quote: "I'd like for once for a sweepstakes company to have some guts. Send out envelopes: YOU HAVE DEFINITELY LOST. NOT EVEN CLOSE! EVEN WE CANNOT BELIEVE HOW BADLY YOU HAVE DONE IN THIS CONTEST." - Jerry

Grade: D (Not funny)

The Stranded (Ep. 209)

George invites Jerry and Elaine out to this party on Long Island and then leaves with woman from his work, leaving Jerry and Elaine stranded. They call Kramer, but sit uncomfortably long at these people's houses before Kramer finally shows up. As a sign of thanks for letting him and Elaine wait at his house Jerry gives the host his address in case he's ever in NYC. Strangely enough, he takes Jerry up on his offer and shows up at his door later. Jerry is headed out though and leaves him in his apartment. Kramer stops by Jerry's place and starts having drinks with the host and they end up hiring a prostitute. The host ends up leaving right before Jerry returns and doesn't pay the prostitute. Jerry is then left trying to pay the prostitute to leave and gets busted by a cop.

Interesting quote: (Probably my favorite of all time) "Maybe the dingo ate your baby!" "What?" "I said, the dingo ate your baby!" - Elaine talking to a woman at the party who can't find her fiance.

Grade: C- (The whole bit about the host of the party showing up at Jerry's just takes this one downhill).

The Apartment (Ep. 208)

Jerry finds out the lady above him died and arranges for Elaine to be able to take the apartment, then quickly realizes what a bad idea that would be. He spends the entire episode trying to figure out a way out of it. Meanwhile, George decides to do a social experiment by wearing a wedding band to see if it attracts more women to him. It does, but realizes that he can't actually get any of the women who are now attracted to him. In the end, someone offers the landlord too much money for the apartment and Elaine can't afford to pay and has to back out.

Interesting fact: First of Elaine's "Get Out!" shoves.

Intersting quote:
"Remember who you're talking to. No one's a bigger idiot than me." (George)
"Did you ever invite your ex-girlfriend to live in your building?" (Jerry)
"Did you ever go to a singles weekend in the Poconos?" (George)

Grade: B- While it has some very funny lines (I actually debated over which line to use for my quote), the episode itself wasn't all that great.

"Picture it: Sicily 1933"

Estelle Getty, the lady who played Sophia on The Golden Girls has died at the age of 85. That's right, even though she looked to be about 100 on the show, she was only 62 when it first aired. This is one of my guilty pleasure shows, good clean, old lady humor.

Bad Taste

I was not going to orginally do a post about this today, I had something else in mind, but I can only post one rant per day and this one is most important to me right now. Five things I hate right now.

1. People saying things like "the Republicans..." or "the Democrats..." It's stereotyping and if I must say so pretty demeaning to my intelligence. It's like I'm being told, you're not smart enough to figure out who to support so we're just going to tell you that all Democrats are evil and mean and all Republicans are holy or vice versa.

2. Little underhanded elementary school-level insults such as calling the Democratic Presidential nominee B. Hussein Obama. Making a comment like that serves no purpose other than to feed into people's fears that not only are they running the risk of electing a guy with a Muslim name, but one who shares the name of the evil dictator from Iraq that we spent a decade trying to take down. It happens on both sides, but this is the only one that's fresh in my mind because I've heard it so much lately.

3. People from one political party assuming that their idea is absolutely right especially when it comes to the debate over oil. I see nothing wrong with drilling, so long as you understand that it's not the final solution to all of our problems. And since when was conserving a bad idea? I think the title of Jim Wallis' book pretty much sums up my sentiments, "Why the Right gets it wrong, and the Left doesn't get it."

4. Talking heads, because they are purveyors every single one of these things I complain about. Not to mention most of the time they are pretty obnoxious and pompous.

5. Politics

I am proud to have grown up in this country, and I know how blessed we are to have the right to vote. I take pride in that right, but it's hard to take pride in the politics of this country. This year, more than ever I'm dreading the decision I'm going to have to make in November. I pray that God will reveal to my heart what person I'm supposed to vote for, but as it's looking right now, I don't think he wants me to vote for either of the popular candidates.

The Phone Message (Ep. 207)

George asks a woman out on a date, then at the end of the date, she invites him up for coffee. To which he replies, "no I can't drink coffee late at night, it keeps me up." The next day he realizes that she wasn't really asking him up for coffee and he assumes he blew it. He then calls her up, but the answering machine picks up instead and he leaves a rambling message for her. After he doesn't hear anything from her he calls again leaving increasingly crazy messages for the next 3 days. He then gets a call from her saying she was out of town and didn't know if he had been trying to reach her.
He devises an elaborate scheme to meet her at her apartment and then go up with her and switch out the tapes on her machine so that she never hears it. After they make it up to her apartment she tells him that she heard his messages and thinking they were a joke, says they were hilarious.

Interesting facts: Jerry admits to having never seen an episode of I Love Lucy and also to being lactose intolerant.

Interesting quote: "For me to ask a woman out I have to be in a state of mind like karate guys when they break the bricks." - George

Grade: B (Solid episode, very funny, but not legendary)

The Dark Knight

I saw the Dark Knight yesterday afternoon with my dad and brother. My best assessment of the movie would have to be absolutely freaking ridiculous! The best movie I've seen since WALL*E and possibly better than it. Kind of long, but definitely action packed and actually had a little bit of a good message to it.

The Joker was trying to prove throughout the movie that people "when the chips are down" are evil just like him. The truth is, sadly, he's right. Maybe we're not evil like the Joker, but humans are self-preservationalists. We will do anything to protect our own interests when it comes down to it. We typically only do what is right when we know someone notices.

That's where only God can help. Only he can change our focus off of ourselves and on to others first. I know my heart and it's evil, I think bad stuff all of the time. Thankfully, I have a Savior who has stepped in to transform my heart.

I know I turned this small entry about a fantastic movie into a sermonette, but I really couldn't get over the spiritual aspects of the movie...even if it wasn't intentional.

Collecting History

I'm not a big coin collector, actually I'm not a coin collector at all, but I have been collecting some coins for the past 9 or 10 years. Obviously, you can guess that I've been collecting the state quarters that have been in circulation since January 1999. I just find them so fascinating to look at and I'm also the type of person who likes to get complete sets of stuff. As I type this, I have 46 of the 48 released quarters (Alaska and Hawaii have yet to be released).

Now, not only am I able to enjoy the designs on the coins, but I'm also able to learn the history of what the coins depict. On Saturday, Kimberly picked up a book titled Pocket Full of History for me from the library. The author tells how the designs were decided on for each state and then gives the background and history of each design.

For instance, I learned about Ceasar Rodney's famous ride 80 miles while sick to ensure that Delaware voted on independence. I learned why Pennsylvania and Maryland are called the Keystone State and the Old Line State respectively. I learned that peaches are very important to Georgia even though they grow more Vadalia Onions. I learned why South Carolina obsesses over that stupid Palmetto and gained a respect for it. I learned that the depiction of "Washington Crossing the Delaware" is inaccurate, but famous nonetheless especially in New Jersey. I learned of New Hampshire's Man in the Mountain, that now has crumbled and fallen apart.

I learned about why The Charter Oak of Connecticut is actually called the Charter Oak. I learned a little bit more about the history of The Statue of Liberty, the Battle of Lexington & Concord, the Jamestown Colony, and Orville and Wilbur's first flight from the states of New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, and North Carolina. Lastly, I've learned why a 100 year old recreational sail boat is so important to the state of Rhode Island.

I have only read about the first 13 states, but I've had quite the lesson thus far and I look forward to learning more. Check it out if you ever get the chance.

The Chinese Restaurant (Ep. 206)

Jerry, George, and Elaine wait in a Chinese Restaurant before going to see the classic B-movie, Plan 9 From Outer Space. Jerry lies to his uncle to get out of meeting with him and then runs into a lady from his uncle's office. George gets mad trying to get to the pay phone to call his girlfriend, Tatiana. Elaine is getting frustrated at the wait because she is apparently very, very hungry. To top it all off, they keep getting jumped by various people who come in after them. In the end they decide to skip the movie because they won't make it in time. By the time they leave the restaurant, the host calls out, "Seinfeld party of four."

The executives at NBC didn't like this script when they first read it because it was one long scene and didn't supposedly have a plot. Because of that, they didn't actually air it until the end of the second season. It went on to become one of the favorite episodes of the show.

Interesting facts: James Hong who plays Bruce, the host/owner, has had a total of 331 acting roles since his acting debut in 1955. One of only 2 episodes not starring Michael Richards as Kramer.

Interesting quotes: "For fifty bucks? I'd put my face in their soup and blow!" - George

Grade: A+ (Great story line and amazing writing to contain one episode in one scene)

Happy Monthiversary!

Sunday is mine and Kim's 50th Monthiversary, and as I stated in an earlier entry, we don't exactly celebrate the number of months we have been together. However, it was a reason for me to do something extra nice for Kimberly and bring out my creative side, which usually only makes an appearance once every other year. So, with it being the golden anniversary, I made Kimberly a bouquet of Reese's Mini's flowers. See pic below for the results. I must say, I am pretty impressed with myself.
I also got Kim a couple of cds...Heima and Hvarf-Heim by Sigur Ros and 19 by Adele.

The Jacket (Ep. 205)

Jerry is convinced to buy a suede jacket that is too expensive because it raises his confidence and makes him look really good. Jerry and George agree to eat dinner with Elaine and her dad, a famous author. Elaine's father is a very intimidating man and Jerry and George end up waiting for Elaine with him and being terrified by his mere presence. Elaine is held up waiting in a car that's double parked for Kramer.
Elaine finally shows up and they leave to walk from the hotel to the restaraunt, but it's snowing and Jerry is wearing his new suede jacket. He gets the idea to turn it inside out so as to not mess up the suede, but lining has pink and white stripes. Elaine's father refuses to walk down the street with Jerry because he looks like a "damn fool." In the end, the jacket gets ruined and he ends up giving it to Kramer.

Interesting fact: This is the one and only appearance of Alton Benes, Elaine's father. Her father was played by Lawrence Tierny, a man known for playing mobster roles. The cast said they were actually scared by him and he didn't understand why people were laughing at the lines he was delivering. It's the only comedy role he ever had.

Interesting quote: "We had a funny guy with us in Korea; a tail gunner. They blew his brains out all over the Pacific. There's nothing funny about that." - Alton Benes

Grade: C- (Actually not very funny except for the scene with Jerry, George, and Alton Benes. Not much of a story line.)

The Baby Shower (Ep. 204)

Jerry is having problems with his television picture and Kramer convinces him to get illegal cable installed in his apartment. Elaine's friend, Leslie, asks her to throw her a baby shower and since Jerry's going to be out of town she throws it at his apartment. George also once dated Leslie and was "unequivocally the worst date of his life" and so therefore wants a chance to confront her. The Russians who are installing the illegal cable show up during the baby shower and then Jerry's shows in Buffalo are cancelled because of a blizzard. This sets up everyone to be in the apartment at one time and a really big scene.

Interesting quote: "She has [Lyme disease] in addition to Epstein-Barr. It's like Epstein-Barr with a twist of Lyme disease." - Elaine

Grade: D (A very boring episode. Probably the saving grace was the dream sequence Jerry had of being gunned down by police for having illegal cable.)

All-Star

Did you watch the All-Star game last night? Of course you did. Did you watch the entire All-Star game last night? Probably not.

I watched until the 11th inning was through and then I went to bed (probably because I half expected Bud to call the game and declare the NL the winners because that's the league that Milwaukee plays in).

Thoughts about the All-Star game. Most of my complaints are about Fox and not the All-Star game, but here goes. I found Joe Buck especially irritating last night. I'm not sure what it was, maybe it was because he spent most of his time not talking about baseball and it was very distracting. The whole interview with Yogi was strange because it took place right in the middle of the inning and most of the time the camera was on Yogi, Tim McCarver, and Joe Buck and not the game (I don't think we even saw every batter that inning).

The way Fox kept hyping this as the greatest assembly of baseball talent on one field, what about Fenway Park All-Star in 99? It was awesome to see, don't get me wrong, but I hate the way television hypes stuff up, it gets old really fast. Why was Wade Boggs wearing a Yankees hat? He playes first 11 years of his great career with the Red Sox and a measley 4 1/2 years with the Yanks and he chose to wear a Yankees hat. And (the last thing about Fox, I promise) all the commercial breaks. "When we come back the game gets started" and then they come back, talk for 5 minutes and go right back to commercial break without starting the game yet.

The players played a great game, and it truly looked like they were giving it their best shot. The pick-off of Milton Bradley was awesome and the tag at the plate by Russell Martin was great. Miguel Tejada made up for a lot of distaste I have for him by really, really hussling on the field (offensively and defensively).

My last complaint is for Clint Hurdle (and maybe there's more there that I don't know about), but why did the best hitting catcher in the NL not hit or even play until late, late into the game? Brian McCann has much better numbers than Geovany Soto and probably should have started. However, Soto has good numbers and deserved the spot he got, but why did it take so long to get McCann in the game?

The Busboy (Ep. 203)

While having dinner at a restaraunt, Jerry, Elaine, and George witness a menu that a busboy left too close to a candle catch on fire. George and Elaine make half joking comments to the owner that they'll never eat there again. Afterwards, the busboy gets fired right in front of them, making them wonder if it was their fault. George wants to do something about it, so Elaine manages to get the busboy's address, and George and Kramer go to see him.
Elaine has a boyfriend, Ed, coming in to stay a week with her from Seattle, but by the end of the week she is dying to get rid of him. "It's not him, he's a nice guy, I just hate his guts." In the process of going to see the busboy and apologize, Kramer leaves the busboy's apartment door open and his cat, Pequita, gets out. George and Kramer then attempt to help the busboy find Pequita, but to no avail.
In the end, Elaine fails to get Ed to the airport on time and the busboy comes to see George at Jerry's apartment to thank him because his former place of business blew up in a gas fire, he found Pequita, and he got a better job. The busboy and Ed then run into each other in the hall getting into a fight and injuring themselves, causing George and Elaine to have to take care of each of them.

Interesting facts: First time that Seinfeld had storylines collide (literally) like that. First and only time that George apparently did anything to help someone other than himself. Jerry really had no storyline in his own show in this episode, something that confused and disappointed studio executives; it worked, it was a great episode.

Interesting quote: "They say no one's ever beaten the Van Wyck, but gentlemen I tell you this: I came as close as anyone has. And if it hadn't been for that five-car pileup on Rockaway Blvd. that numbskull would be on a plane for Seattle right now instead of looking for a parking space downstairs." - Elaine

Grade: A (The scene with Elaine trying to get her boyfriend, Ed, out of the apartment alone are worth the "A" grade)

The Pony Remark (Ep. 202)

Jerry and Elaine go to a dinner party for his mom's second cousin, Manya. During the party he makes the off-handed comment that he hates ponies and hated anyone that had a pony growing up. Manya then states that she had a pony growing up and that back in Poland all of her friends had ponies. "All the pictures of immigrants coming in on the boats and I never saw one of them with a pony. Who comes from a country with ponies to a non-pony country?"
The day after the party Manya dies and the funeral coincides with Jerry's rec league softball championship. He debates whether to go to the funeral or to the softball game, but eventually opts for the funeral, because he's afraid he killed her with his comment. The game rains out and the next day during the game he gets picked off to end the game. Elaine claims it's the curse of Manya.

Interesting facts: I'm making this part of the series a once in a while thing because I'm finding that once you get past the first 4 episodes of the show, it's harder to find something unique and interesting about each episode.

Interesing quote: "Yeah, I can't eat dessert either. The sugar makes my ankles swell up and I can't dance." (Jerry making an excuse for not eating dessert so he can leave the party early)

Grade: A (One of the first really funny episodes, especially since it has to do with death)

The Ex-Girlfriend (Ep. 201)

First episode of the second season and in this George struggles to break up with a girlfriend that gets on his nerves. After doing the face to face break up with her in her kitchen ("which is scary because it's so close to all the knives")he realizes that he forgot some books of his at her apartment and wants Jerry to meet her to get them back. In the process, Jerry falls for her and then can't end the relationship. In the end it's her that breaks up with him because she didn't like his act.
Elaine confronts a guy in her apartment who has stopped saying hello to her when they pass.

Interesting fact: Marlene (the "boring" Southern belle) is the only girl that both Jerry and George dated (it's stretching it, but it's really the best fact I could come up with).

Interesting quote:
"I just can't be with someone if I don't respect what they do." - Marlene
"You're a cashier!" - Jerry

Grade: A- (Very funny episode and the beginnings of all four characters getting a storyline).

The Stock Tip (Ep. 105)

Jerry and George venture into the stock market based off of a tip that George receives. The stock begins to lose and soon Jerry bails on the stock, but George decides to go down with the ship. Meanwhile, Jerry goes on a "dating marathon" with his girlfriend Vanessa to Vermont. It's a disaster and a relationship breaker. The stock rises again and George makes a killing off of it.

Interesting fact: The first ever Superman reference on the show (contrary to popular belief, there is not a Superman reference in every episode). Also, Vanessa makes her second appearance, making her the only actress to make a repeat appearance as Jerry's girlfriend.

Interesting quote: "I think Superman probably has a very good sense of humor. It's common sense. He's got super strength, super speed, I'm sure he's got super humor." - Jerry

Grade: C+ (Not very funny and the show is still working to incorporate the other characters more)

By the streams

"He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." - Psalms 1:3

If you remember back to the drought last year, you remember the grass being brown and crunchy, the crops were small and malnourished, the air was especially hot and dry...it was just a miserable time. That's how it is with me when I'm away from the presence of God, away from his word. It's not God that's moving away either, it's me. It's more like I'm living by the stream and things are great and I decide to take a vacation. I get comfortable on my vacation and don't come back until it's too late. It's a viscious cycle that I would love to stop.

The Robbery (Ep. 104)

Jerry leaves town for a weekend to do some acts and leaves Elaine to stay at the apartment so she can escape her roommate. When he returns, the apartment has been robbed because Kramer left the door standing open. George tries to convince him to take a better apartment on the other side of town. Elaine wants him to take the apartment so she can have his apartment. He agrees to it, but then finds out that George wants the apartment too. They argue back and forth and then decide that neither one of them is going to take it.

Intersting facts: Jerry's apartment doesn't have a bedroom in the first season of the show. Somehow magically in the second season a bedroom is added on to the bathroom.

Interesting quote: "Because I spent my money on the Clapco D-29. It's the most impenetrable lock on the market today. It has only one design flaw: the door...must be closed!" - Jerry

Grade: C (Not much back and forth between the characters that makes the show so good).

The Stakeout (Ep. 103)

Jerry meets a woman he likes at a birthday party that he attended with Elaine. He failed to get her name, but doesn't want to ask Elaine because of the awkwardness of asking a former girlfriend about another girl. On the advice of his dad, he stakes out her place of business (Sagman, Bennett, Robbins, Oppenheim, and Taff) and hopes to bump into her.

Interesting facts: This is actually the second episode to air, but the third to be filmed. It aired second because it gave a better introduction to Elaine's character than the one that was filmed second. Also, we see the evolution of George's fascination with architecture and the creation of the character of Art Vandalay.

Interesting quote:
"So, do you date immature men?" - Jerry
"Almost exclusively." - Vanessa

Grade: B (Good episode, still working out the kinks of chemistry)

Male - Unbonding (Ep. 102)

Jerry has a friend from his childhood that he doesn't like very much, but doesn't know how to end the relationship. He makes an attempt to end it just like a relationship with a girlfriend, but this leads to the guy bursting into tears in the middle of Monks' Cafe.

Interesting facts: First appearance of the famous Monks' Cafe, first mention of Kramer's "Make Your Own Pizza Pie" restaurant idea, and first appearance of Elaine Benes. This is also the only episode in the entire show whose title does not begin with "The." Jerry wanted all the episodes to start with "the" for uniformity and also to keep the show titles simple so the writers didn't spend all their time trying to come up with creative names.

Interesting quote:
Jerry - You don't think it might have had anything to do with that? (talking about George's fanny pack)
George - What, you don't like this?
Jerry - It looks like your belt is digesting a small animal.

Grade: B (Some good laughs, George is starting to become his neurotic self, but the friend was very, very irritating).

The Seinfeld Chronicles (Ep. 101)

Just to clear up confusion, I selected The Seinfeld Chronicles as the title of my project because that was the original title of the television show when it debuted in July of 1989. It also the title of the first episode and therefore the title of this post about this episode. Oddly, the first episode is not called "The Pilot" because they had an episode in the 4th season called "The Pilot" about a television pilot that Jerry had put together based on the life of a stand up comedian and his friends (a show within a show of sorts).

Now on to the actually television pilot. In this initial episode, Jerry has a female visitor staying at his apartment and is trying to interpret what her intentions are by staying there. In the end he finds out that she has a fiance and was just looking for a cheap place to stay. That's pretty much it.

Interesting quote: "You see that button? The second button literally makes or breaks the shirt. Look at it! It's too high, it's in no-man's land. You look like you live with your mother." The now infamous opening (and closing) monologue of the show.

Interesting facts: Kramer was originally called Kessler in this episode because of copywrite laws. This first episode was the only one that aired that summer of 1989. It was shelved and then brought back out again as part of a five episode 1st season in 1990. It's the shortest sitcom season ever ordered in television history.

Grade: B- (Not particularly interesting or complex, but did set the stage for what was to come.)

The reason...

In small group the other day we were reading out of 1 Peter and picking out a verse that meant something to us and talking about it. I picked out 1 Peter 3:15 which says (and I'm doing this completely from memory, so it's a serious paraphrase) always be prepared to give people a reason for the hope that you have. Basically, when people see that there's a difference in your life and ask you about the difference, be ready to explain to them about the reason for the difference.

This prompted the small group leader to ask me if people can see a difference in me. I said I didn't know, he said he could see a difference. He doesn't see me at work where I don't think I act much different than anyone else. I don't encourage like I normally do, I'm sarcastic, I'm lazy. That's not Jesus' fault either, I think I've stopped allowing him to change my life. I think I got to a point where I said, I like this person and I stopped allowing him to work. As I was told by a pastor one time, "if you're not moving forward, you're probably moving backwards."

Lord, make me willing and accepting of your change in my life. I'm supposed to mature in my walk with you just like I mature in life...it's a neverending process.

The Seinfeld Chronicles

So those who have any knowledge of me know that I have a serious obsession with Seinfeld (and baseball and Kimberly). I started watching the show back in high school about halfway through it's run and was immediately hooked. After it went into reruns I began watching them 3, sometimes 4, times a day. Sometime in college I began getting frustrated because all of these ridiculous television shows were coming out on DVD, but not my favorite show (the greatest show of all-time). Finally, in 2004 Seinfeld was released to the public on DVD!

Today is 176 days from the end of the year. I have decided today that I am going to set a goal to watch all 180 episodes of Seinfeld between now and then. I have all 9 seasons on DVD so that's not an issue. Also, in an effort to encourage other people to view the show, I will be chronicling (sp?) my journey here on my blog. I will post a little overview of each episode, some interesting quotes, some interesting facts, and my grade of each episode. It's the only logical thing for a lover of something this great to do. Let the fun begin!

2008 MLB All-Losers

It's All-Star time and as usual (like the changing of the seasons) it's time to complain about the selections. My complaint this year isn't about the fan voting, although with the AL it was near atrocious, it's with the bench selections. Well, one in particular...Jason Varitek. Those who know me well, know that I'm a Red Sox fan, and obviously a Jason Varitek fan (he's a good player), and obviously a Terry Francona fan (two World Series titles after an 86 year drought says it all), but this is blind favoritism.

Joe Mauer, the starting catcher is batting .325; Dionner Navarro, a back-up catcher (hopefully the second option) is batting .318; Jason Varitek (hopefully not an option) is batting .218. One hundred points less than the other back-up catcher...that's awful!

There were several viable options for catcher other than Varitek. How about Pudge Rodriguez? The man is batting in the high .200s and is still one of the best defensive catchers in the game. Or AJ Pierzynski? I know people (fans and players alike) don't seem to like him, but he's a pretty good ballplayer and has a decent batting average.

In the end it really doesn't matter to me because I'm a fan of the NL and I'm praying that this is the year the torturously long losing streak to the AL ends.

The Golden "Month"

Last night as Kim and I were walking through the mall we started joking about how funny it is when people celebrate 1 or 2 months of dating, etc. Monthiversaries as they are called. We celebrated one or two of them ourselves, but that was years ago when we were just kids, ha ha ha. So that got me to thinking. This July will be my and Kim's 50th Monthiversary. They say the 50th is the golden anniversary, so I think I'll get Kim a Reese's peanut butter cup with a gold foil wrapper.

Fight for your right!

A couple of weeks ago about 5,000 people in Durham, or roughly 2% of the population, showed up to vote in the School Board Elections.

Last week, Zimbabwe had a one person run-off election for President of the country. The man who won, Robert Mugabe, is believed to have had his people strong-arm the people of Zimbabwe into either voting for him or not showing up to vote at all. Not to mention scaring his opponent into backing out of the race to begin with. An opponent who most believed won the first election before results were disputed to force a run-off.

I said all that to remind everyone of what we are truly celebrating tomorrow. We here in America have the freedom to vote for whoever we want and also the freedom to vote or not vote. The turnout for the School Board Elections were pretty sad, but we have that freedom of choice that we don't have to vote if we don't want to. I know we don't live in a perfect country and things don't always go smoothly and politicians can't be trusted, but we live in a free country.

Happy 232nd Birthday America!

Reconnect...

Kim and I went and saw WALL*E last night with the family for Phil's 20th. Such a good movie! In case you don't know the premise, it's about a robot named WALL*E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter * Earth Class) that is cleaning up trash left by humans who deserted Earth 700 years before and falls in love with another robot sent to Earth.

What I felt was the main message of the film was about how we all want to be connected with someone else, whether it's a spouse, or a friend, or family. That's something that was instilled in us when we were created. A desire to be loved and to give love. I think connecting with people is very important, but I think most importantly when we have an honest, loving relationship with someone we begin mimicking the love of God. It's in community with people that we truly begin to understand God's love for us.

Get in a community with people! They will probably irritate you sometimes, they will probably confound you sometimes, but in those moments where you feel truly connected to them it will blow your mind.