My g/f sent me a text saying she wants to go out and do something tonight, and I agree. We typically just crash on the couch watching sub-par television. So I set out to scour the local entertainment scenes to see what we can do.

Movie's are out . . . I very much dislike going out to movies. That's why I bought a giant flat-screen. Besides, how is planting myself in a dirty theater chair any different than planting myself on a couch?

Well, after scouring the local entertainment wires, I've come to the conclusion that there's only four things to do in Central Ohio this time of year:

1) Go to a movie
2) Go to a bar to see some local band I've never heard of or some comedian I've never heard of.
3) Go to a night club
4) Go to an art exhibit of some artsy-fartsy artist I've never heard of

I already ruled out option one. Neither me or my g/f are into the bar/club scene, which rules out 2&3. And neither of us have any interest in looking at a bunch of paintings on par with my 5 year old niece's, but for some reason are considered good because they were done by an adult.

Oh, I didn't count "going out to eat" because I don't consider that as entertainment.

Now, when we lived in Pittsburgh, the 2-4 options were a little different because A) those scenes were better in P-Town, and B) we lived downtown, so it was all close and within walking distance. If you went somewhere and it sucked, you just walked back home. And the bar scene is a little more tolerable (though more expensive) when you can actually have some drinks. Columbus is a 30-40 minute drive, which means, well, that you have to drive. Which means no drinking. Which transforms a bar into nothing more than a crowded, loud room where one can buy $5 Pepsi.

Blah. I think I'll choose option 5--go into a deep sleep, and hibernate until spring. Having some actual daylight for a few hours after work opens up a whole bunch of other options.

. . . and yes, I'm being overly pessimistic; I've been in a bad mood all day anyway. But I was sure I'd be able to find at least one thing that sounds fun rather than just tolerable.

(One thing I didn't list is that the Columbus Zoo has their 'Holiday Lights' display open now, but the way I've been feeling today, I'm kinda worried the lights would give me a migraine. Maybe that can be an option for tomorrow night . . . though I may not be in a better condition, as tomorrow is the OSU/Michigan game).

[/rant]

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.
"Facts are meaningless! You can use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!"
"Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything! 14% of people know that!"

Just out of curiosity Fazor, how does that list change in the summer time? What things can you do (and want to do) then, that you can't do now?

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At night the stars put on a show for free (Carole King)

One Earth, One Sky - IYA 2009
All moderation in purple

Take the dogs to the park, or just walk them. Go fishing. Picnic. Bonfires after dark. Cookouts. Watch the girls go by dressed in their summer clothes (sorry, that song just popped into my head ).

Plus I just have overall more energy and am in a better mood. A lot of little things; for instance, driving at night gives me a headache. Meaning going anywhere this time of year will result in having to put up with night driving (man, just wait 'til I get old. Blah!) And for some reason, traffic this time of year gets ridiculous (and that's before the shopping season hits next week!).

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.
"Facts are meaningless! You can use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!"
"Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything! 14% of people know that!"

Off the top of my head? You stand in line to get a ticket. You can't lie down. You can't pause for bathroom breaks. You're surrounded by noisy people. You can't enjoy a beer during the movie. You can't enjoy a T-bone steak during the movie. The popcorn is criminally expensive. Crowded parking lot when the movie is over. I'm sure I could come up with more...

As you can tell I'm not a big fan of the theater experience, either. Truth be told, I think I get a better picture from my 50" plasma, and in a small room, my modest sound system compares very well to what you find at the theaters.

But in the end, the one thing that even the biggest fans of the "big screen experience" can never argue with is the pause button.

Exactly! ...except the beer thing. There's a theater in Columbus that sells beer. But I don't see why you'd want that in a theater, as that would mean more frequent trips to go get more beer, or relieve yourself of "beer byproduct".

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.
"Facts are meaningless! You can use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!"
"Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything! 14% of people know that!"

But in the end, the one thing that even the biggest fans of the "big screen experience" can never argue with is the pause button.

My home theater setup is almost ideal. It has comfortable leather reclining seats, a wet bar, and a bathroom just steps away. I can make my own popcorn or eat whatever I like without paying a fortune. My current HDTV is about 8 years old - I may upgrade next year.

My biggest problem is finding a movie I want to watch. I'm 52, not 15. It seems most movies are made for 15 year olds and are of little or no interest to me. I have over 200 titles in my DVD collection but have not bought a new one in a couple years. There just hasn't been much worth watching.

See? That's why the pause button is so important!

How about pool, there has to be a place to play pool.

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If it's just us, it seems like an awful waste of space.
Contact Carl Sagan
He who shall win loses, he who loses wins.
-the five doctors
http://davidsuniverse.wordpress.com/

I'm not much of a pool player, and the g/f even less so. Besides, I live in Redneck'ville Ohio. . . pool hall is too cliché.

We're just ordering carryout from the local authentic'ish Mexican place (more authentic than most, but still not totally like the real thing), making a pitcher of Margaritas, and watching a movie.

Funny aside; I'm still expanding my Spanish language skills in my free time. I had taken it in highschool, and about a year ago (?) started re-learning it. I'm pretty good with it now, but the second I start to talk to the people at the resturante, the "I'm an American who thinks he can speak Spanish but can't pronounce things" gene must kick in, and I sound like an aloof tourist. Blah!


So no big plans for tonight, but when I wake up it's a new morning. The sun is shining it's a new morning. And we're going, we're going [to take the dogs to the park] (sorry, been learning to play 'Baker Street').

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.
"Facts are meaningless! You can use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!"
"Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything! 14% of people know that!"

Central Ohio?

I guess you could go somewhere and watch paint dry.

Or go to a park, lie down on the grass, and watch all the contrails of the airplanes flying to the exciting places.

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Credis in alienos extraterrenos terram visitantes? Credis in celeritam super lucem?
Credis in viam inter tempores? O tu stulte, aquire vitam.

Our mall has a huge games room where people can play ball-toss and other carnival-like games, foosball, air hockey, pinball and of course "video" games, etc. Is there something similar in your area?

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My beautiful city (the view from my front window).

Columbus, yes. But it's ungodly expensive. Our mall had one, but it went out of business a few years ago

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.
"Facts are meaningless! You can use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!"
"Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything! 14% of people know that!"

Well I can't play pool but always had a good time with friends playing it.

About the movie thing. I live as I mentioned a few times before in a border town. Some things are on ourside and some on the otherside. The only movie theatre is on the american side and the theatre would only take american funds so the added burden of changing currency meant I only went once to the movies as a kid. Now unlike the past you need a passport to enter the states which has a fee of $80. Which is high for only a couple of trips across the border a year.* So when I went to universty I went several times to watch the latest sci-fi movies and is one of the few things a miss from time to time. This past spring I did go twice to a nearby city and watched The Watchmen and Star Trek .
I myself can not stand most crowded spaces so most clubs are not enjoyable to me at all.

Tonight I am trying to organize my PC with Vista acting up.

*This July when I lost my job it was only about 10 days before the rest of my family went on trip to Ontario. They took a route through the States so I had to stay home because it takes about 14 days to get a passport.

Sorry for my rant in your rant.

__________________
If it's just us, it seems like an awful waste of space.
Contact Carl Sagan
He who shall win loses, he who loses wins.
-the five doctors
http://davidsuniverse.wordpress.com/

Fazor,

Last night my wife and I played a rousing game of Scrabble.

As I mentioned in another thread, I'm in Iowa. I feel your pain. If you come up with any good ideas, pass them my way.

Yep. Everyone in Ohio lives on a farm.

Try RummieCube, the game of numbers and opportunity !
We play with a knife stuck in the table.

Quite often, we get together with friends and play musical instruments.

How about indoor golf? We have an indoor golf dome..(inflatable and big ).
Public facility.

Or... you could force your girlfriend to go shopping ! No?

There's always Parchesi.

Dan

Guessing you're not "Twilight" fans! ("New Moon" opens tonight)

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*

Fazor, you have my sympathies. I lived in Columbus '73-'83 (and grew up in metro Cleveland 1950-68).

Columbus could outsuck an interstellar vacuum then. I doubt it's any better now. Never lived in a more nothing place in my life. And Woody Hayes was still alive.

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If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers.

I'm a former Iowan. Actually it seems the Midwest has more to offer than this small desert city I live in. Want to go next town over to shop or dine out? Be prepared to drive at least 50 miles -- one way. The nearest "cute" tourist trap where my mother-in-law's nursing home is? 75 miles -- one way. Sure the mountains/desert are beautiful but...there's nothing there besides them. And 3 types of rattlesnakes, scorpions, tarantulas. This city is growing though, and improving (thankfully; it was incredibly backwards in the early 90s and if I hadn't married a local already, I'd have packed up and gone back home in early '94). The one positive is this fertile valley with crops, horses, pecan groves, rural "backroads." At least one can take small scenic drives in something other than the high desert (which is beautiful, but you've got to stay on the road).

I dunno. Unless one lives in a big metropolitan area there are always limitations. I do miss the Midwest insofar as there are REAL towns (municipal building, library, a grocery or two, a park, restaurants) all around, even as near as 5 miles away. Everything's more connected there, unlike the vaaaaast distances out here.

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My beautiful city (the view from my front window).

They're trying to build it back up. The Arena District can be fun, but the Blue Jackets didn't have a game last night (not home, anyway), and baseball season is obviously over, so no games at Clippers' stadium.

We (Ohio) just passed the casino issue, and Columbus is the first planned location, but that's not suppose to be built until 2012 or later. I'm not much of a gambler, but maybe there'll be other entertainment to go with it. Of course, if you listened to the anti-casino push, there'll the "other" entertainment brought in to the seedy casinos... but that's not really what we're looking for either.

Last night was nice. It's sunny right now, but my gf sleeps in. If she gets up anytime soon we'll go out to a park or something. But that OSU game is at noon so she better hurry!

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.
"Facts are meaningless! You can use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!"
"Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything! 14% of people know that!"

Just ask anytime. Glad to oblige.

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Credis in alienos extraterrenos terram visitantes? Credis in celeritam super lucem?
Credis in viam inter tempores? O tu stulte, aquire vitam.

As someone who grew up in the Hilliard-Dublin area, now you can see why I moved out of the state nearly 30 years ago....

(Wait till the area is a solid block of -30degree ice for a month like it was during the blizzard of '78 and see how little 'entertaining' things there are to do!)

Dude.
Buy a Wii.
Be sure to pick up an extra Wii Remote and Nunchuk, if the Wii you buy doesn't come with a second set.
Rent some multi-player games at your local video store.

It's all the fun of going out and doing stuff together with your girlfriend, only without having to deal with those Other People who inhabit the Earth.

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If your nose runs and your feet smell, you could be upside down! O_o
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There was a man who entered a local paper's pun contest. He sent in
ten different puns, in the hope that at least one of the puns would win.
Unfortunately, no pun in ten did.

We have a Wii. And it is fun. But it's nice to get out of the house once in a while.

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.
"Facts are meaningless! You can use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!"
"Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything! 14% of people know that!"

I understand you can buy the boxed set of Mystery Science Theater 3000
on DVD now. Just think of how much fun you can have revisiting Joel and the bots who are in much the same situation as yourselves.
Hey, the satelite of love has merit!!!
Good luck you guys. Were all counting on you.

Best regards,
Dan