Christopher Curmudgeon

Cheesemongers' Cheese Tattoos

2011-10-12T10:00:00.000-05:00

What I want to know is why Dave Puchta of Murray’s Cheese is not wearing sleeves behind the counter? If I am paying good money for some snobby cheese, I do not want some hipster's pit hair all over it. Health Department, anyone?

You know these cheesemongers love their job -- why else would they sport tattoos that express their love of dairy? The latest issue of Culture magazine features cheesemongers from all over the country and their cheese body art of choice. Reasons for sporting the tats include: 'they just look badass,' 'ladies love it, and men wish they had the nerve to get one of their very own” and 'without cheese my life would stink.'

Bears vs. Packers - This Is My Super Bowl

2011-01-18T21:27:00.003-06:00

This game is huge. If you are a Bears or a Packers fan (or just a fan of football), what could be more exciting?

Not much.

The rivalry between these two teams has a long, long history. Since 1921, these two teams have hated one another. As Brian Urlacher said, “they don’t like us; we don’t like them”. It’s always been that way and it will never change. I don’t think there is really any individual animosity going on. It’s just that these two teams don’t care for one another. Even the fans are pretty civil as far as rivals go. It’s the Midwest, after all. People are just nice, I guess. You have to go back to 1941 for the last time these two met in a playoff game. Heck, the Bears weren’t even called The Bears back then (and they played at Wrigley).

Let me give you an idea of how huge this is; I live in the Madison, WI area and the local media is usually all Packers (which I don’t get and is another post entirely). If ever I want to watch Bears press, I have to get it online (or via WGN when I had cable). This week, however, my local news station will be covering BOTH teams during the sports segments. I saw it last night for the first time. It was a bit odd to see, but thank you still, WISC-TV.

The Bears have something to prove. They have had something to prove all season. They didn’t get any respect this year. They weren’t taken seriously by anyone, really. I think the only people who took them seriously were the members of the Bears themselves. It is safe to say that even the fans had their doubts at times. This is a new Bears team with a new system. To learn as quickly and come as far as they have is pretty awesome.

I’ve watched them week after week -- whether it be a win or a loss -- take something away from the game played and learn from it. They didn’t look past the following week in preparation. Great focus. It was always one game at a time. With one goal in mind; being World Champions.

The Bears are up against a monster of a Green Bay team. They are on fire. Aaron Rodgers is ridiculous – as are his receivers. He completed 31 of his 36 passes for 366 yards, three touchdowns and a 136.8 passer rating in game against The Falcons. Really? Can someone actually do that?

If I were a betting man, I’d probably put my money on Green Bay. However, I am not a betting man, I am a Bears Fan. And, because of that, I believe the Bears can win this game. If the Bears can remain focused and finish, they can do it.

Yeah, the winner of this game gets to go to the Super Bowl. But around here, the winner of this game gets a lot more than that. The winner of this game gets the right to say they are the best – some serious bragging rights. Huge.

One thing is for sure; the winner of this game is going to be our World Champions.

Hi, I'm a Tea-Partier

2010-11-01T15:37:00.001-05:00

Did you know that our freedoms as Americans are under attack?

No, I had no idea. I wake up every day and don't feel my basic freedoms are threatened. But, what you are saying is troubling. Please tell me more.

Happy Number Two, Emmett

2010-11-01T10:01:00.003-05:00

And by that, I am not talking about a pleasant poop. It was two years ago today that you were born. You suffered some setbacks early on, but we all had faith. Today, you are a happy, healthy (and big) two year old who said "Bye Daddy" over and over as I was leaving the house this morning. Simple things like that will never get old with you, my man.

A Year Ago Today We Lost Someone Special

2010-10-21T20:05:00.005-05:00

Kevin Mattatall was a special person; someone who you only come across once in a lifetime – if you are lucky enough. Though, I never got to meet him IRL, there was a bond there that is not describable. He is still on my MySpace page as the person who I’d most like to meet. Not only was he a special person, but he was also one of the greatest bloggers I ever had the privilege of reading.

All who knew Kevin will agree that he liked a cold One or the occasional sip of vodka. After a few of these, he would have the propensity for deleting his blog. All of us have been known to delete a post or two, but I can recall (on numerous occasions) reading the most awesome, bizarre, tugging blog post one evening only to find the entire blog gone the following morning. Not just the single post, but the entire thing. Gone. Needless to say, I had his blog(s) on my RSS feed to ensure I didn’t fall victim.

He was part of a tight-knit online community -- the community that, luckily for me, my (then) future wife also belonged to. A group that is still held together today – thanks, in part, to social networking. Long before social networking, there was a group of people that somehow stumbled upon a lowly little webcam chat site. We were all there for a myriad of reasons, but I think we all stayed for the conversation. At the time, it was one of the last places to have a decent conversation online. It was a kind of place where you wouldn’t feel awkward with having your mother looking over your shoulder while you chatted (well, most of the time). Anyway, Kevin often liked to stir up the pot and he was good at it. This often got him booted, but he was always allowed back (thanks, Paul).

He called our house a short time before his death. It was more out of the blue than normal. He would often call after a few to profess his love, but we hadn't heard from him in a while. Anyway, I knew he was sick (or at least I knew he knew he was sick), but I didn’t ask. I didn’t want to ruin the time -- for any of us.

My friend, you will be missed. I will always be sad that you never got to experience a Midwestern summer night and a six-dollar bottle of vodka. I think we would have been great friends for a very long time.

In Kevin’s memory, I have deleted every single one of my previous posts on this thing. No biggie, it was all shtick anyway. Maybe something good will come of it?

Selah.