Ten Truisms

1. No matter how much cabinet space you have, spatulas are difficult to hide away.
2. Every time your mom says, "I'm cutting back on Christmas this year," be prepared to haul twice as much stuff back home with you after the holidays.
3. Marriage sucks sometimes. This, obviously, I cannot say first-hand. But my 16-year-old future cousin-in-law offered that as a toast during our engagement/Christmas party thrown by her family last weekend. However, as all things do, on occasion, suck, I must say that's a broad enough statement to stick by. To wit: Rolling over on Sunday morning after dreaming of flying to a magical castle made of prime numbers, you are faced with a wall of stench billowing from your betrothed's open maw, only to have your eyebrows and eyelashes curled at the reek as you rouse yourself. Now THAT sucks.
4. Everything is better with cheese. Likewise, every recipe, no matter how botched, can in some way be saved by cheese.
5. Cats can get comfortable anywhere.
6. Mathematicians are a dime a dozen. Writers are diamonds in the rough. And tax accountants are the square root of beige.
7. When asked, a person would rather not know what's in his/her hot dog.
8. A man's salary is directly proportional to the amount of shame he is willing to bury.
9. Television re-enactments of crimes are always better lit than the actual crimes committed.
10. A person who laughs is always rich. A person who is rich rarely laughs.

Heaven on earth?

A trip to the vaunted Burlington Mall yielded a couple treasures for the fam, yadda yadda. But perhaps the greatest discovery was this: The LEGO STORE!!??!!

Oh, to be 7 again. I still drooled at the 3,500-piece Star Destroyer, complete with rebel ship. They're probably still mopping the floor there.

All your base are belong to Bryan

In his book, "The Universe in a Single Atom," the Dalai Lama offers this insight into language barriers as they relate to the subjects of "conciousness" and "the mind":

"The problem of describing the subjective experiences is complex indeed. For we risk objectivizing what is essentially a set of internal experiences and excluding the necessary presence of the experiencer. ... Although we tend to relate to the mental world as if it were homogenous - a somewhat monolithic entity called 'The mind' - when we probe more deeply, we come to recognize that this approach is too simplistic." - His Holiness the Dalai Lama, The Universe in a Single Atom, p. 122, Morgan Road Books, copyright 2005 by the Dalai Lama.

Ok. I get that. Then what the hell is this:

Best. Cartoon intros. Ever.

This song is a colossal earworm. But I love pausing it and looking at all the out-of-work animators toward the end. I can relate. Now where did i put my barrell?



Or if you're like me, and I KNOW you are, you'll enjoy this lovely bit o anime fun. Of course, you haven't lived until you've seen Marcy's choregraphy. Really puts it in a new perspective.

BigTime Sports

By Dan Lutman

Buffalo Beat


The Buffalo Bills improved their record to 6-7 with an impressive 31-13 victory over the New York Jets, avenging a loss to them earlier in the season.
The Bills took the lead for good on a second-quarter, 77-yard touchdown pass from J.P. Losman to Lee Evans. It was one of three first-half touchdowns for the Bills that were over 50 yards.
Willis McGahee had a 57-yard touchdown run (a career long for him), and Nate Clements had a 58-yard interception return for a touchdown off a Chad Pennington catch.
Willis McGahee compiled 125 yards rushing and Aaron Schobel had three sacks for the Bills.
Though unlikely, the Bills still remain alive for a playoff spot. They trail the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars by two games with three to go for the two wild card spots.
I don’t see the Bills getting into the playoffs, but crazier things have happened, especially in the NFL. The Bills do seem to be improving each week and appear to be heading in the right direction under head coach Dick Jauron. This could not be said during the Mike Mularkey/Tom Donahoe era.
The Bills return home to face the rival Miami Dolphins next week.

The Sabres took two of three more games this week to improve their record to 22-5-2.
This past Tuesday they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning on the road 4-1. Daniel Briere recorded a hat trick in this one.
On Thursday, their trip to Florida ended on a sour note with a 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. Ryan Miller made 35 saves in a game where it seemed like he was the only one playing.
On Saturday night though, the Sabres bounced back by defeating the division-rival Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in a shootout.
The Sabres look to conclude their road trip with a winning record on Tuesday when they travel to New Jersey to face the Devils. The return home on Thursday to face the Florida Panthers and conclude the week at home against the Ottawa Senators - the only team with a winning record against the Sabres this year.


Top Story


There was no sports blog last week because of my trip to Durham, North Carolina to go to my first-ever Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
I’ve seen Duke play a couple of times before, but this is the first time I got to see them play on the Duke campus. As a longtime, die-hard Duke fan this was definitely a huge deal for me. Duke took on the Holy Cross Crusaders of the Patriot League.
As I toured inside Cameroon Indoor Stadium, I was able to see up close all of the Duke Player of the Year trophies from past winners which included J.J. Redick, Shane Battier, Jay Williams, Elton Brand, Christian Laettner, and Johnny Dawkins, among others.
I also got to stand right next to the three National Championship trophies that Duke had won.
As for the actual gymnasium, it’s not what most people would expect. Watching it on television, most would think that it holds a lot of people. In reality, it only holds somewhere in the range of 4,000-5,000 people. It looks like a big high school gym. But being so close to the court and having the “Cameron Crazies” is what has given Duke such a decisive home court advantage and prestige it has earned over the years.
As for the actual game, Holy Cross had taken a 28-22 lead at the half. I thought I could possibly be bringing bad luck to the Blue Devils and they would never let me come back again. What a tragedy that would be!!!
But Duke ended up going on a 20-4 run in the second half and DeMarcus Nelson and Josh McRoberts chipped in with 13 points apiece as Duke pulled away and hung on for a 57-45 victory. So, good news for me, I can now come back.
Overall, it was an awesome experience going to the game and soaking in the atmosphere. The “Cameron Crazies” were absolutely entertaining (way better than seeing on TV), the gymnasium was beautiful, and Duke won the game. If anyone ever has the chance to go to a game, which is extremely difficult to get tickets to, don’t pass up the opportunity. It’s one of the best atmospheres, if not the best, in all of sports.

Dan's three cents
Each week, I throw in my three opinions on anything going on in the sports world that I haven’t discussed or significant stories outside of sports.

1. I realize that San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson will most likely be the NFL MVP this year and deservingly so. He just broke the record for touchdowns with his 29th of the year in only 13 games and the Chargers lead the AFC with an 11-2 record. But a case should be made for quarterback Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints. He has joined a team that went 3-13 last season and has thrown for 4,033 yards with 25 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions while leading his team to a 9-4 record good for first place in the NFC South and an apparent playoff berth. He probably won’t overtake former teammate Tomlinson for MVP, but his play should be appreciated.

2. The New Jersey Nets are off to a slow start this season at 7-12. Where does that leave them? First place in the Atlantic Division?!?!?!? This can possibly happen? This would be a big story if the NFL, NCAA Basketball, and NCAA Football weren’t going on. No one else cares, and you know what? I don’t either, but I just thought I would point it out.

3. I really wish I were a major league baseball pitcher right now because these guys are getting paid big bucks right now. Andy Pettite, Ted Lilly, and Vincente Padilla are names you may or may not have heard of before. Whether you have or not, I think it’s safe to say that we don’t have to worry about holding their place in Cooperstown the first time they’re on the Hall of Fame ballot. Regardless, Pettite has just signed a one-year, $16 million contract. Lilly has just signed a four-year, $40 million contract, and Padilla has just signed a three-year, $33.75 million contract. If your not a math major, that’s $10 million or more each year for these pitchers that aren’t even the best pitchers on their own team. They most likely won’t even be All-Stars either. Not a bad deal for your average pitcher.

4. I’m going to add a fourth point this week only because it deserves one. I just want to congratulate Bryan Mahoney and Marcy Dewey for their engagement this past weekend. I’ve never met two people better suited to spend the rest of their lives together. I’d say good luck, but you don’t need it, so I’ll just say congratulations!

She said YES!!!!!!!!!!

Calling everyone we know took us most of the 10-hour car trip yesterday, but I'm pretty sure there are people out here who still don't know:

Marcy and I are getting married.

And now, a visual tour of the best weekend ever:

This is the living room at Cecile's House, our favorite Bed and Breakfast at Niagara on the Lake. It was in front of this fireplace that I proposed Friday night.

Here's a better look at the art above the fireplace:

Shortly after, the nice folks that stayed there with us walked in from dinner. They were nice enough to take this picture:

Note the look of shock still plastered on the beautiful face of my bride. I, meanwhile, looked like that for the rest of the weekend, as you can see here (complete with my cool new hat):

We took the above photo Saturday, when the rest of the world was oblivious to the news. My mom, dad, and sister knew I was going to do this way back in August. Thanks, guys, for keeping the secret.
As a special treat, I made a phone call to the North Pole and had a friend join us. But he couldn't resist upstaging my entrance:

Actually he was just part of the parade down the main street of Niagara on the Lake. Here's what the town looks like at night:

Thanks, everyone, for your support and blessings. But enough for now - we gots work to do!!!

Me, Famous.

A few months ago, I embarked on what could one day be a second career: That of television journalist.

Don't believe me? Then lay out the placemat for this visual feast:



And eat THIS, Dan Rather (or drink it, rather. Um ... yeah.):

BigTime Sports delayed

Hi there sports fans -

BigTime Sports will return next week. Dan's on assignment this week covering a Duke game. Tune in to find out whether it's men's or women's, when the game actually takes place, and what sport is being played!