Wedding Video

The full 1hr 4min Shock wedding video. Enjoy!

Redskinz Finally Hire A New Head Coach

After a search that lasted 32 days, the Washington Redskins finally hired a new head coach-Jim Zorn. Who's that you ask? Well he's most recently the long tenured quarterbacks coach of the Seattle Seahawks. The Redskins originally hired Zorn two weeks ago to be the team's new offensive coordinator. Then they turn around and promote him to head coach. Zorn has never even been an OC of an NFL team and the Skins make him the HC. It's a departure from the big name HC hires the Redskins are known for since little man Danny Snyder bought the team-Gibbs 2.0, Spurrier and Schottenheimer. Whether it's a big name or a no name, the Redskins organization is screwed up. Washington Post sports columnist Sally Jenkins said it best in her Feb 7 column:

It's a bitter shame to say this, given how much it surely pains local fans, but the truth is that Redskins Park is no place for someone with a bright future. It's too dark and dysfunctional. The phrase "coach killer" comes to mind. No good one, except possibly Joe Gibbs, has had a decent experience under Snyder, not Norv Turner, Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier, Al Saunders or Gregg Williams. Which is why the only people who seem to be realistically entertaining the job now are either those desperate to get back in the game, such as Jim Fassel and Steve Mariucci, or climbers looking for their first head coaching office.

There is a consistent, central weakness in the Redskins' organization that no coach can fix. It's Snyder's tycoon mentality, his assumption that he can purchase people and make them do what he wants, and if they displease him, discard them. His paycheck players and presto coaching solutions fail every time. The franchise is based on a series of extravagant bribes, not a dime of which has ever been spent on the qualities that made the Giants into Super Bowl champions, namely good faith, loyalty, patience, unity and, above all, belief in the leadership at the top.

Something else in the NFL world saddens me as well. After 31 years, HBO is "sacking" Inside the NFL. I love that show. I didn't like any of the hosts-Bob Costas and former NFL players Dan Marino, Cris Carter and Cris Collinsworth-but it was a "deep" football highlights show, if there is such a thing. Inside The NFL was unique. I'm a traditionalist, so when I see a institution like Inside the NFL taken off the air by a dominant TV station due to competition, well all is not right in the world.

Wedding Highlight Video

Our wedding highlights video. Set to the music of Lenny Kravitz. Total running time 4m19s.



The full wedding video is over an hour long and is a bitch to upload. I've ripped it into separate chapters and will post the full length video when I get it uploaded.

The Mustache Is Making A Major Comeback

Atom II
Originally uploaded by akkleis

So says MSN's A-List. I'm partial to the beard, but as you can see from the picture, i've grown a mustache. I look really horrible in this picture, and the hair lip certainly doesn't help. But this mustache turned into the handlebar, so the effort was worth it. My wife would disagree. Is it spelled mustache or moustache? The A-List had a couple of interesting links. First, the Top 15 mustaches in Rock History. All in all a well compiled list. The one glaring omission is Lemmy from Motorhead (see pic that is not me). Second, the American Mustache Institute. My blog wouldn't be complete without the beard index's fraternal twin, the official AMI mustache guide. There are even rumors of an animated series based on John Oates' (the lesser half of Hall & Oates) mustache. I've finally found my calling-growing beards for the enjoyment of everyone, including myself. All is right with the world.

2008 Washington DC Auto Show

Originally uploaded by chronic-shock

We went to the annual DC car show. It is a showcase of all the new models from all the car manufacturers that sell automobiles in the US. There are also some concept cars and technology displays. This show pales in conparison to the Detroit and Tokyo auto shows. The auto manufacturers don't unveil anything at the DC car show. They just put on display their offerings for the masses to consume. We went on a Sunday, and the crowds were terrible. We did get to see Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches, Maseratis and the newest supercar the Nissan GT-R. See all the pics from the show here.

Beard Index

My friend sent me the beard index. Now I have reference material. I think the next beard for me is the Hulihee. My friends and family are starting to jump on the beard bandwagon. It's going to be a crazy ride...

Guitar Hero

the guitar hero
Originally uploaded by spiggycat

A pic of me playing Guitar Hero 3 on NYE. I rock. Happy New Year.