Repeat after me: Buy socks at Costco. . .Buy socks at Costco. . .Buy socks at Costco. . .

Here's a rare picture of Vicky under the influence of the mysterious "Costco Trance." Does she really need three dozen pairs of socks? Probably not, but she has no control over her actions. Notice the blur of her fast-moving feet as she frantically moves to grab more socks to cram in her shopping basket. I'll fully examine this bizarre phenomena in a later post, but right now I must get my wife out of here before she starts grabbing lawn mowers, inflatable boats, and patio heaters. This could get ugly.

Congratulations, Bulldogs!

Let's get one thing straight: I am NOT a Rah-Rah, Red Wave kind of guy. In fact, I have little in common with those wine-sipping, red sweater-wearing "fans," many of whom know nothing about the sport they're watching. For them, attending FSU sporting events is more about socializing than watching the game.

Having said that, I must admit that I, along with thousands (maybe millions) of others, got caught up in Fresno State's improbable success at the College World Series in Omaha. Yep, I watched every televised game, and loudly, proudly rooted for the boys from Fresno. In fact, I'm pretty sure that my loud, proud rooting was the reason they played so well, Several times I yelled loud enough for them to hear me all the way from Madera to Omaha.

But seriously, what an amazing ending to an incredible season. Congratulations to the College World Series Champs--The Fresno State Baseball Bulldogs. Well done, guys.

Big Brown Goes Down

If you paid any attention to the hoopla leading up to yesterday's Belmont Stakes, you know that a horse named Big Brown was supposed to win. In fact, the horse's trainer, Rick Dutrow Jr., guaranteed that Big Brown would be horse racing's first Triple Crown winner in 30 years. He said it was a "foregone conclusion."

Well, guess what. Big Brown did NOT win. In fact, he finished in 9th place. Now I'm not an expert on horse racing, but I'm pretty sure that ninth place isn't quite as good as first place. The winning horse, Da' Tara, was a 38-1 long shot. I think there are two morals to this story: (1.) It's okay to be quietly confident, but bragging about winning a race that hasn't even happened is pretty stupid. (2.) Although the odds may be against you, try anyway. You might just surprise everybody. Just ask Da' Tara.

For more of my thoughts about horses, read "Who Needs Horses Anyway?"

HATARI!

Okay, here's a real random post. ("Random" is one of my daughter's favorite words, and if you've ever seen her blog, you already know that "random" perfectly describes her writing style and her choice of topics. If you've never visited her blog, go ahead and check it out, but before you do, let me issue this disclaimer right now: Dominique had a normal childhood. Her mother and I were very good parents. We never beat her with rusty chains. We never abandoned her in the middle of a dark, cold forest. We never locked her in a basement with rabid rodents. And we never allowed her to watch MTV. In other words, we do not know why she developed such a bizarre, twisted, "random" outlook on life. Okay, now you can check out her blog. WAIT! Before, you check out HER blog, you should read the rest of MY post because it's really, really random.)

Hatari!, a 1962 movie with John Wayne, Hardy Kruger, Elsa Martinelli, Red Buttons and Gerard Blain, is LONG. I watched bits and pieces of it today on AMC, and I could swear that it started around 9 a.m. and finally ended about 4 p.m. Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but it seemed to go on forever. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the parts I watched. I actually did. The movie, which was filmed in Arusha National Park, Tanzania, is about a group of men who capture wild animals in Africa and sell them to zoos. Parts of the movie are corny and unbelievable, but that's why I enjoyed it. I like corny old movies, and I truly believe that today's so-called movie stars can't hold a candle to guys like John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart, Robert Mitchum, etc.

So that concludes my random post for today. Until next time, Hatari!

Read one of Mark's all-time favorite movie reviews:
If You Like Naked Space Aliens, You'll Love "Signs"