Phil's Fury

Bob Ross

2010-04-12T13:59:00.001-07:00

I contacted Bobross.com about acquiring an authentic Bob Ross painting. Here was their response:

"Hello James,

Thank you for your interest in Bob Ross and the Joy of Painting.

Most Bob Ross paintings had many years ago been donated to PBS and educational television stations and numerous charities for fund-raising events, while others are currently in a private collection in the Bob Ross Art Workshop and Gallery in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

While our company does not offer any original paintings or prints for sale, there are occasional Bob Ross paintings offered on e-bay, some of which, unfortunately, are of questionable authenticity.

We have so many other wonderful Bob Ross items available -- be sure to visit www.bobross.com to see all the paint kits, t-shirts and more.

Bob had put together a series of his favorite paintings which will be aired on public television as The Best of the Joy of Painting. Watch for this series to appear on the PBS educational channel in your area. If you take a few moments to call or write your local PBS stations requesting this series, through the magic of television, Bob will be with us for many years to come.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to write.

Happy Painting,

Joan Kowalski
Bob Ross Co."

Good Gravy

2009-12-15T21:06:00.000-08:00

Fury Fans,

I started smoking within the last two years, because I'm dumb. I have tried to quit a few times.

I started to quit again after Sunday night. I usually choose to quit at 'the wrong time', like before we start a production, or before partying with people who smoke too. This latest attempt is no exception. However, I'll probably always rationalize it being the wrong time, and pick it up again, so sayeth THAT string of logic.

I'd like to stay quit this time, and earn the right to consider myself less dumb. As I sit in my room tonight I very much want to buy a pack to kill some time and this headache. Instead I put on my fancy new record player(thank you, Navarro), The Beatles, and logged into this thing for the first time in 11 months.

Hello goodbye for now.

Royally Rumbled

2009-01-25T15:30:00.000-08:00

Fury Fans,

Tonight is the 22nd annual Royal Rumble PPV event, which I will be skipping due to budgeting concerns, not a lack of interest. I love the Royal Rumble as it's always a fun match and the PPV itself is always used to set up the main event(s) for the following Wrestlemania, which is THE best show of the year(most years, anyway). With the Rumble tonight, it got me thinking about the live events I've been to. I have NOT attended a Royal Rumble event yet in my years as a wrestling fan, and it's priority #1 as next year it will be taking place at the Staples Center, right here, in Los Angeles, CA(thumbs up, smile, cheap pop).
The train of thought drifted to matches I've seen live, and which I would consider to be the best that I've witnessed with my own two eyes and two ears. So I present my Top 5, and a little bit about each.

1. The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan - Wrestlemania X8, March 17th, 2002, Toronto
-- This match was between arguably the two most popular main stream wrestling stars of all time, and the crowd went absolutely nuts for the entire match, myself and Wakal included. The Rock came in as the 'Face' with Hulk as the 'Heel', but the crowd was 90-10 in favor of the Hulkster. This was Hulk Hogan's first Wrestlemania appearance since Wrestlemania IX before he jumped to WCW, and the crowd wanted nothing more than to see the big boot, leg drop, and pose down. Storyline wise, The Rock HAD to win as it was a 'passing of the torch' moment for the biz and even though the crowd wanted to see Hogan win, we all respectfully went crazy when The Rock eventually scored the 1-2-3. The Rock was incredible in this match playing off of the crowd which had turned against him. He reverted to 'heel' Rock mode, which only made the crowd intensify. I remember with vivid detail the moment Hogan stepped out onto the ramp, and the energy in the crowd just exploded and didn't let up. One for the ages, I say.

2. John Cena vs. Triple H - Wrestlemania 22, April 2, 2006, Chicago
-- My top 2 matches have a similar theme, they feature the most popular face wrestler in the WWE at the time, facing a heel at the biggest show of the year, and the crowd was decidedly in favor of the heel in each match. John Cena was despised by the vast majority of the Chicago crowd, myself, Wakal, and Lisa included. While the match itself was by no means a technical masterpiece, it featured a heel HHH completely working the crowd as a face Cena was beaten back for almost the entire match. The 'Cena Sucks' vs.'Let's go Cena' chants were off the charts, and the crowd stayed hot through the whole match, there was never a lull. When the finish came, and Cena won, there was no respectful eruption by the entire crowd like there was for The Rock when he beat Hogan. In this instance, there was booing and stunned silence mixed the with cheers of the kids who compromise the majority of the John Cena fan base. It was awesome to be a part of as it marked one of the first times in history the babyface won the main event match at Wrestlemania and the crowd didn't go absolutely bonkers. That's quite a shift in the relationship between the wrestling business and its fan base. We also heard a little kid, a Cena fan, scream out "The Game got played!" as most of the fans around him in our section were dejected by the HHH loss. Kudos to that kid. We deserved the trash talk.

3. Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle, Wrestlemania 21, April 3, 2005, Los Angeles
-- A match that most people would call a classic and was hands down the professional wrestling 'Match of the Year' in 2005. I remember the Los Angeles crowd not knowing what to make of the match in the early goings, these are two of the best professional wrestlers of all time, and one of the best amateur wrestlers of all time in Kurt Angle, so a lot of the back and forth mat wrestling was a little lost on the crowd. By the end of the match however, the crowd was hot as the matched built and built towards the finish. It was an even split between Angle and Michaels fans as the chants kicked in. I was for Angle, Lisa was for Michaels and in their first match up, Angle got the better of Michaels in one of the most intense finishes to a match that I've ever seen. This match is a technical wrestling masterpiece and is recommended for anyone who may wonder 'what can make one wrestling match better than another?'

4. The Rock vs. Kurt Angle, No Mercy, October 22nd, 2000, Albany
-- This match featured The Rock as he was ascending into the upper stratosphere of popularity defending his WWF Championship against Kurt Angle, who had quickly risen the ranks as one of the best heel workers in the company. No-one expected Angle to win this match and walk away with the belt, but that's what happened. At this point, I was rooting against The Rock(wow, am I really THAT much of a jerk?) as I preferred him to be a heel character, his face run was getting tired. In addition, I had been enjoying Kurt Angle with his 'all American' heel act since day 1, and it was a lot of fun to root against The Rock in a decidedly pro-Rock crowd. Much to my pleasant surprise, Angle took home the gold in what has to be the most surprising finish to a match that I have seen live, and the crowd as a whole was shocked. I remember walking out of the arena with a huge grin after that one. This is one of the few PPV events I've been to that I do not own on DVD. This was just before WWE started putting their none Wrestlemania events onto DVD. Punks.

5. John Cena vs. Chris Jericho, in a Cage, House Show, December 28th, 2008, NY
-- Some will scoff at this choice, but this match was awesome. I am shocked that my Top 5 list features two John Cena matches, but I can't hide from the truth. The MSG crowd helped this match go from good to great as it was once again the type of crowd that wasn't totally behind Cena, and as the false finishes piled up toward the end, the fans were going crazy for every move. The turning point of the match from a fan perspective was when Jericho kicked out of Cena's finisher, the FU. Everyone had assumed the match was over after that move, and as soon as Jericho kicked out, the crowd reached a new level of buzz and interest as they went move for move and Jericho ALMOST escaped the cage to win, only to get an FU off the top rope for his trouble and the 1-2-3. I didn't even mind the Cena win, as it was a given going into the match that he'd retain his title. That's the beauty of a good wrestling match. We all know it's pre-determined and I've heard all that hooey before. When you know who's going to win, but the guys in the match are good enough to make you hang on every move, it's an art form.

Some honorable mentions go to: The 'Money in the Bank' ladder matches from WM21 and 22. Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero from WM21, Undertaker vs. Ric Flair from WM18, Mick Foley vs. Edge from WM22, HHH vs. RVD from Unforgiven 2002, John Cena & Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker & Batista from No Way Out 2007, Chris Jericho vs. Ric Flair from Unforgiven 2002.

Feel free to click on any of the Top 5 match listings to jump over to YouTube and see clips from each match.

I Always Make Fun of CNN

2009-01-25T12:45:00.000-08:00

But then they go and post a story on their main page about a show I worked on.

An olive branch, which I accept. Keep 'em coming though, you aren't getting off the hook that easy, CNN.

Doh Johan.

2009-01-14T10:37:00.001-08:00

Here is a snippit from a Q&A done with Met ace Johan Santana for Newsday:

"Q: Are you behind in your preparation for the season?

JS: No. I’ve been doing everything the way I’ve done it in the past. This year I’ve done a little bit more than I’ve done in the past because now I have to worry about my knee. I have to make sure everything is in place – not do anything crazy."

I hate how dumb he sounds here.

The Best and Worst of 3200 Solo Miles

2009-01-10T11:28:00.001-08:00

Fury Fans,

Since returning to Los Angeles, I have been facing the obvious question "How was that drive?" When asked, my brain automatically goes into "It was great, except this that or the other thing" mode. I don't like this mode, and I don't do it consciously. It just seems to be the natural pattern that a question like that induces. I really do want to describe the trip as best I can, but fear I'm just not eloquent enough to do it justice. I'll try though.

I left Manhattan via the Lincoln Tunnel at around 6:30AM Monday morning. I left NY feeling uneasy. Not because of the drive ahead, it just didn't feel completely real that I was leaving. While I was in NY, beyond getting word that I'd landed my next job, Los Angeles was in the back of my mind. After spending nearly a month in NYC, with a little time upstate mixed in I was having a lot of trouble accepting that it was time to go back. Oddly, it's not that I didn't want to return, and get back to work, I certainly DO want to do both of those things. I just didn't feel ready, and that the NY portion of my 'Winter Jobless Break' felt incomplete. Regardless, I had to leave(though I later come to find, didn't really need to after all) so I started the drive.

From NY to parts of southwestern PA I was able to listen to 'Boomer and Carton' on WFAN. This helped my transition greatly, as I was able to stay distracted by Carton's annoying and almost meatheadish style of broadcast journalism juxtaposed to Boomer Esiason's straight laced and professional demeanor. When I need to be distracted, NY sports talk does the trick every time. This leg of the trip was mostly familiar territory for me as I had done many NY to PA trips with the family as a kid. I passed 'Roadside America' and almost stopped in for old time's sake, but my mission wasn't to lolly gag across America, oh no, it was to get the f home.

Day 1 came and went without incident. My goal was to reach Nashville, TN, but I fell about 100 miles short due to rain and fog. This was most upsetting to the ol'Jamser. When Tart and I had done our initial drive to California in 2002, Tennessee was one of the favorite states to drive through. The terrain changes in TN, from the Appalachian mountains ending near Nashville into the more flat plains near Memphis. This change is impressive and beautiful, if I may be so cheesy. Once you pass through Memphis, and over the Mississippi river into Arkansas, you better enjoy the flat lands!

Day 2 was plagued by rain and fog, all through Tennessee and into Arkansas. My desire to enjoy the scenery of TN had been ignored by Mother Nature. Due to the conditions, I made the commitment to just drive as far and fast as possible to get away from that weather pattern. According to The Weather Channel, after that storm, I would have clear skies all the way to Los Angeles, and they were right. This was the toughest stretch of the trip, so thankfully that was out of the way on Day 2. I felt the strain of this leg of the trip in the morning, especially after the night I would have.

I wanted to make it to Oklahoma City on Day 2, but after the rain and two days of driving for 10+ hours, I started getting heavy eyed in a rural section of Oklahoma, 130 miles outside of OKC. I found I had to stop about 50 miles from the next area that had the potential for civilization. I saw a sign for a 'Budget Inn' and pulled off. It looked decent enough from the outside, but it had a noticeable lack of cars in the parking lot, and the 'office' where you book a room was the same desk where you pay for gas and buy hot dogs. I got my key, some pepperoni pizza Combos, a water, and go to the door for room 128.

I realized this may be a bad idea when I got to the door. It looked flimsy, loose, and as if it had been broken into previously. I step inside the room, and it's shaped like a barn. High ceilings that meet at an angle, and I realize it's cold, and musty. To my left is a mostly wide open space, with a small table and two chairs with fabric cushions. I note the stains immediately on the chairs and say to myself 'remember to not sit on those.' I go to the bed and it looks fine, when it's made. I move the pillows and notice the fitted sheet isn't really fitted. Just a regular sheet tucked in. I pull it back underneath where the pillows were, and see a large, brownish/reddish stain in the mattress. I look at the comforter which I had pulled back with the sheet and see cigarette burns, and various off color stains here and there. I wonder, "C'mon...really? This is a little cliche, no?" Sadly, it was real. Thoughts of the 'Dusty Star' from our BVR trip to Yosemite come to mind, and I start to think "Maybe I can make it another 50 miles tonight." I enter the bathroom and the tub is filthy. "I guess no shower tomorrow."

I turn on the heater, which thankfully worked. I am exhausted, and the money had already been spent on this room and I'm certain they won't be giving me a refund if I bail out. I remake the bed, put my hoodie on, put my hood up, and attempt to sleep, fully dressed on top of the covers. I feel gross instantly. I look at the door a lot as there are various noises inside the room from the creaking, old walls and plumbing that startle me awake. I also hear trucks pull in and out of the parking lot through the night, every time wondering when that axe is going to come chopping through the door. It was at this point that many of you almost got a phone call, but it was late and I was trying desperately to fall asleep. I manage to get 3-4 hours of on and off napping before the sun comes up, and I get out of there as fast as possible. I did take a shower since I felt disgusting, but did so with a towel covering the bottom of the tub.

As I hand in my key, and leave for the morning I grab a cup of coffee from the gas station/convenient store/motel office. About 10 miles down the road I take a sip and something small, soft, and gooey is detected on my tongue that had just exited my coffee cup. I roll down the window, take whatever it is out of my mouth, don't look at it, toss it out the window, and curse the shit out that hellhole, bullshit fucking motel. I don't know what it was, and don't ever want to know.

After Day and Night 2, the trip took a dramatic upswing. The sun was shining, the skies were clear, and there's nothing like cruising through the middle states at 85-90MPH with the radio on and barely anyone else on the road. Additionally, music played a huge part of the final two days of this trip. On the way East with Wakal, we took note of some of the songs we heard on the radio across the country, and found America loves the following: Rihanna, Kid Rock, Lil' Wayne, Beyonce, and Estelle featuring Kanye West. There were others mixed in, but those were the heavy hitters. Alot of these artists have since become guilty pleasures for me. I love me some Rihanna, 'Single Ladies', and Kanye's new singles are superb in my book. Before I left, I made a mix CD of some of these songs so I could satiate my inevitable cravings. This proved a good idea. As I drove through Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico on Day 3 I had different songs on repeat, whatever I was feeling at the time, and they became the soundtrack to my daydreams and thoughts as I zoned out and drove I40 like the dickens. If people were to ask me 'How did you do it?' I'd have to say 'daydreaming', 'Rihanna', or 'Daydreaming about Rihanna.'

Mind you, it's not so much the cheesy, pop-love lyrics that many of these songs employ but instead the music that struck me as a I drove. I'm amazed at how so much can be done with so little on 'Single Ladies' with what I affectionately refer to as 'beeps and boops.' I certainly can't engineer a tune like that, but kind of wish I could.

With the daydreaming and thinking came different ups and downs, but I got through just fine. There were calls and texts with Train, Wakal, Kusens, Dr., the Family and others that helped break up the pattern. I thank you all very much.

When I hit Albuquerque, NM I splurged on a Holiday Inn Express after the 'Great Budget Inn Debacle of '09.' This was an excellent idea as well. I rolled in, eyes bloodshot, legs literally shaky as I walked, and noticed an Applebees across the street. Yes, I was actually excited to see an Applebees considering the amount of 'Subway' I had been eating across the country. After checking in, and almost crying when I saw how nice and comfortable the room was, I walked over to the 'Bees and had myself a steak, potatoes, and 2 tall Sam Adams as I watched the Heat-Nuggets game on TV. Dwayne Wade hit a ridiculous fall way, turn around 23-foot jumper. Thank you, Bill Walton.

I treated myself nicely in ABQ knowing full well that Day 4 needed to not end up being a Night 4. I had to get back to LA by Thursday night as I knew it would take at least 3 days to recover from this trip, and work starts on Monday. After the 2 beers, I fell asleep almost instantly when I got back to the room.

The next morning, I set off deliberately later than normal to avoid Los Angeles rush hour traffic. I left at 10AM, and my Trip Meter was at exactly 1000 miles(this was actually the 2300 mile point, but I had accidentally reset the mileage for this trip while trying to reset my oil change light...poop). The final leg was more of the same good driving from Day 3. The land you cover between Texas, New Mexico and Arizona is incredible between the mountains, colors, and even the livestock. I tried to take good pictures of Texas(seen on my Facebook profile) but the phone on my camera can't do it justice. Next time, I need to take a real camera and the trip will include many stops to take as many pictures as the heart desires. I can't emphasize enough that if you have a chance to do a cross country trip in your life, just take it. I find the opportunity doesn't present itself often.

Day 4 was great up until about 170 miles outside of Los Angeles. This was when I started to feel impatient for the first time on the trip. Anxiety and fatigue were settling in, and I needed food but didn't want to stop anymore. I just wanted to be home. I need to thank again Train, Kusens, and Drunk Wakal for their time on the phone on Day 4. It got me through a potentially horrendous mood. Finally, I hit the 10Freeway and 40 miles down the road started seeing familiar sites, and signs telling me '30 minutes to downtown.' The heart and spirit were lifted mightily at that point. I finished the day of driving at 830 miles and was greeted by a smiling Scotty Fallis, and congratulatory texts.

I felt damn good.

And Who Do I See...

2009-01-09T08:33:00.000-08:00

The night at Jon's Tavern didn't stop with Mary Jane. After some drinking, and the arrival of more locals, The Brother and I joined a select few to the apartment above the bar to escape the noise and hubbub. There was much conversation and drinking and soon a new Stamford resident joined the frey, we'll call her Stacy for the sake of anonymity.

Stacy sat down and commenced talking. Within a few minutes, we learned she had moved upstate from Manhattan 2 years ago(this is unlikely to be true, she didn't seem to have an ounce of NYC in her) and that she recently had to leave her 'baby's daddy' because he started cheating on her with the babysitter from down the street.

We come to learn soon after that the man she was talking about is actually 'baby daddy #2'. 'Baby Daddy #1' was her man down in 'Manhattan.' He had left Stacy after the birth of their son, she couldn't afford to raise the son, so she put him up for adoption. She's keeping her second son though, he is, in fact, the most important thing in her life.

We also come to learn that Stacy rarely hangs out in town, this being only the second time she has gone out in the last 6 months because she doesn't like the reputation she has, as a whore. She explains:

"Before I moved here I only been with two men, and those were the father of my children. And they call me a whore? Fuck that. I moved up here two years ago, and since then, I've only been with 11 people. Fuck that shit!"

Soon after, Stacy heads back downstairs. After another round in the apartment, we all decide to head back down to the bar to see what's shakin'.

I go to the new bartender(Mary Jane had gone home), and as I hit the stool, I see Stacy shouting at the gentlemen next to me.

"Who the fuck are you to call me a whore? You don't fucking know me, etc etc."

The man, middle aged, mullet, mustache is sitting there, slowly swigging his beer, staring straight ahead as Stacy lays into his left ear.

Stacy finally stops screaming, and the gentleman has his turn.

Turning his head just a touch in Stacy's direction without moving his eyes, he calmly states the following:

"You're not a whore, huh? Well, one night I walk out that very door. I get outside, and who do I see, bent over by her car, fucking a n*****."

Spiderman loves Mary Jane

2009-01-05T19:22:00.001-08:00

Last year, my parents decided Florida was boring and too hot, so they picked up and moved back to New York. During my almost month long trip to NY, I spent 5 days up in the Agiesta's new hood, a small town called Stamford, NY. This beauty of a berg is a mere hour and a half away from Albany, in rural...rural, NY.

As it pertains to my parents, the town isn't all THAT bad for them in terms of townsfolk, as I doubt they will do much drinking at the local pub in their retirement years. The winters up there are another story. But this particular tale involves a night out with my Brother Rob, who lives a town over from the folks.

Rob has always preferred the more rural lifestyle, and I had met a few of his friends from upstate once while I attended Syracuse. On the night in question, I visited a place called Jon's Tavern. I need only discuss the first 3 minutes of my time there in this particular post.

I enter with Brother Rob and make the rounds saying hi, being introduced to all the locals as Rob's little brother. I am in fact, almost 30 years old, but it still seems appropriate to call me his little brother. It just so happens Rob is 6'3" and has long red hair. The resemblance, is uncanny. We get past the main room, and head to the billiards area where a woman in her mid-40's approaches. She has what I discovered is a very typical for middle aged women in small town upstate NY look: weathered, with makeup caked on, and a few noticeably gnarled teeth. Once she gets within a foot, I can sense she's been drinking. She smothers Brother Rob for an extra long, extra tight hug and whispers in his ear as he cringes and looks for an out. He finds it.

"Mary Jane, this is my little brother James..."

I am met with a wide...incomplete grin, and she says, "Ohhhhhh, the good loooooking one!"

The hug begins, and it's a doozy. I smell liquor and perfume, and proceed to get more than a few kisses along my neck and ear, complete with some heavy breathing. I break the hold, but she stays close and slurs out, "Spiderman loooooves Mary Jane..."

The brothers laugh nervously. She continues:

"It's the body..." and she...shimmies a little, while rubbing her hands down her body to her hips.

She literally stumbled away after telling us to get to drinking. Did I mention she was the bartender and this was at 7:30PM at a Christmas party?

Mary Jane, I'll never forget you.

Zaxby's Girl

2009-01-05T18:53:00.000-08:00

As most Fury Fans know, I recently drove cross country, from Los Angeles to New York in order to enjoy an extended stay with family and friends. It's been nearly a month since I left with co-pilot Joe Wakal on a 6 day journey that spanned 3,200+ miles and saw us touch 12 U.S. states. I'm currently on the way back to Los Angeles as a solo artist, having just completed the first 800 miles by stopping in Tennessee.

During the Eastern swing, we were in Arkansas, looking for food one afternoon when we happened upon a southern fast food chain called Zaxby's. This chain fancies itself 'Indescribably Good' and it has a classier feel than your average fast food chain. I did in fact enjoy their chicken tenders.

We drove up to the window, and asked for a moment to decide on what to eat, which was met with a polite greeting in the affirmative. The accent was one of the heaviest southern twangs I've ever encountered. A glance was exchanged with Wakal. After a few moments, we decided, and placed the order.

Joe was concerned however, he did not know if the meal he ordered included a soda. He asked for clarification.

Wakal, in his deep, somewhat slow NY cadence: "Wait, Uhhh, does that meal come with a soda?"

Zaxby's Girl, in her thick southern drawl: "Noweit downt."

Another glace, and some stifled laughter ensued. Call us jerks if you will, but it couldn't have been a more perfect response in the middle of nowhere Arkansas.

As we got our food, the Zaxby's girl made some intense eye contact with yours truly.

Arkansas Zaxby's girl, I'll never forget you.

A Small Tale From NY #1

2009-01-05T18:38:00.000-08:00

I was walking along St. John's Place in the Prospect Park section of Brooklyn the other day, old school clam shell suitcase in hand.

The thing is, I sometimes will walk or talk in an idiotic fashion in order to embarrass friends that I may be walking with while in public. I decided it would be a great idea to walk bowlegged while swinging my suitcase about in my right hand while Lee and Tanya followed close behind.

Suddenly, my suitcase burst open as I walked and swung like a dummy, spilling my clothes out onto the sidewalk. All three of us were laughing our asses off as I begin to pick up my clothes.

Through the laughter, Tanya points and manages to exclaim:

"Ohhh, there's poop right there!"

Yep, sure enough, dog poop was in the area all around where my clothes had just spilled out.

A monumental moment in the history of PhilSelway.

Anderson Cooper and the Angry James Factory

2008-08-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

Fury Fans,

I know I tend to rail on announcers and pundits on this here Blog, so I'll go quick and easy on Anderson. Last night I watched CNN's coverage of the DNC. I could've chosen C-SPAN, but I went the HD route because they just added CNNHD to our cable service. I'm kind of an HD 'homer'. This was a poor choice by me. I'm already falling deep into a pit of cynicism when it comes to politics, and watching CNN only makes my fall seem longer, slower and that there will be sharp spikes at the bottom. Anderson Cooper sharpens those spikes. At the conclusion of Barack Obama's speech, of course the CNN crew offers their feedback on live TV. Paul Begala, former 'Crossfire' co-host offered his assessment, which was glowing. Anderson Cooper's response was the following line, in deadpan Cooper tone:

"Obviously Paul is drinking the Kool-Aid."

Anderson Copper dropped a morbid cult reference at the conclusion of a Presidential candidates speech. I know 'drinking the Kool-Aid' has become an acceptable term over the last few years, but it should be used in a more casual, less professional setting. Not on live TV in regards to a speech that a major political party leader just gave. Sure, it's an innocent line, and very few people will even bat an eye at it. Except for me of course. The use of language, the meaning behind it, the inflection, can have a huge impact on the viewers at home whether they realize it or not. To draw a parallel from my Matt Leinart 'bust' blog, 'drinking the Kool-Aid' is going to get used by people out there, in regards to Democrats and their passion for Obama. That's not good, people! Talking points, and canned, vapid insults all help slowly, and subtly dumb the country down. What bothers me more about this particular incident, is that Cooper knows it. He knows that what he says has influence. After all, CNN has anointed him the savior of network news anchors. I don't think I'd ever hear Brokaw, Jennings, or Rather say 'drinking the Kool-Aid' during 'serious' political coverage.

As for Barack Obama's speech, it was beautiful and inspiring and a 'Home Run!' But I really only say that as it pertains to critiquing a speech. Part of my distaste for how politics work is that these speeches, and soon the 'debates' will offer nothing that makes me really 'believe' in any one candidate. Barack says he will institute a plan to end our dependence on foreign oil within '10 years.' That's all fine and dandy, but how will it be done? Show me step by step how this is possible. Will the Senate and House go along with the plan? What will it cost? How will it be paid for? And how do we make health care more affordable? How? How? How? No-one ever answers those questions. I don't mean to pick on Barack here, if the RNC had happened first, I'd be saying(and let's face it, will be saying) the same thing about Little Wooden-Man(McCain).

I remember when Ross Perot spent his own money to get national TV time, and came out with charts and graphs and facts and specifics about how he would try to improve our economy. He was laughed out of the race while the other candidates relied on rhetoric to move on with their campaigns(and win). That confuses, and angers me.

Joe Buck Ain't the Only One...

2008-08-07T17:25:00.001-07:00

Fury Fans,

I'm furious. That might be an exaggeration, but I'm at least flabbergasted. I'm watching the Cardinals/Saints pre-season game on a 'Special Thursday Night Edition of Monday Night Football'...yes, they actually take the time to call it that instead of just 'Pre-Season Football on ESPN.'

Anyway, the talk of the broadcast is the state of both Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart's NFL career so far. I knew I was in for some eye rolls, groans, and tsk's when in the opening segment Tony Kornheiser responded to Mike Tirico's mentioning of the word 'bust' like this:

"Well, I wouldn't shout the word yet, but it can certainly be whispered."

I used like Tony K. when he was limited to just PTI. Since joining the MNF booth, I'm growing to hate him as an announcer. I'm at 'serious dislike' currently.

Anyway, the examples don't stop there. Tony goes on to talk about Leinart, who will start just his 17th NFL game(that will be his 18th played) in Week 1, as if the guy has volumes worth of experience in the NFL. Both Tony and Jaws point out that Leinart hasn't shown the consistency an NFL QB needs to succeed. As they're talking I'm just shaking my head, waiting for Tirico to chime in as the voice of reason. No Tirico and it gets worse. Let me repeat, Matt Leinart is going to start his 17th NFL game in Week 1. And these dunderheads are talking about how he might be a bust! This is the same Matt Leinart who broke his throwing arm collar bone last year, causing him to miss significant time. This is his first start in 10 months. Cut the kid some friggin' slack!

I have to draw a comparison here to Eli Manning. This same announce team, over the last 15 months, talked early and often about how the true measure of a young NFL starting QB is year 4. Year 4 is the 'make or break' year if you recall some of my previous posts dedicated to the topic of Eli and the Giants. These three men all talked about this year 4 theory like it was gospel. And it wasn't just them it was ALL NFL analysts and journalists. By my math, these poop-for-brains are about 3 years too early on the Matt Leinart watch. He is basically starting his second full year as a starter this season. I wonder if I can ask Tony K. what happened to the 'Make or Break' theory?

But what REALLY set me off was when Tony brought up the pictures of Matt Leinart that came out months ago of him partying at a kegger. He said: "Someone has to tell him, this isn't 'Entourage,' Ok dude?"

Hey Tony, go fuck yourself. Ok, dude?

Then I had to pause the broadcast and start writing this entry. Jaws chimes in on the subject:

"Yeah, and you know, when you're teammates see stuff like that, they can lose confidence in you."

WOW. What Jaws just astutely pointed out, is that if you're "caught" partying in the off-season, your teammates might decide you lack the ability to play pro-football...because none of your teammates party in the off-season(or during it!)

This is amazing to me. Did the NFL lay down a secret agenda to 'bury' Matt Leinart?

These comments and judgements aimed at Leinart are unwarranted and way out of line so far.

These same announcers that talk religiously about how NFL QB's need to find their rhythm, and sometimes that can take weeks into a season to find, aren't even giving one of the top QB prospects in the last decade a single full season as a starter before they start saying the 'B' word.

That's bad announcing, and even worse journalism.

Willie

2008-06-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

In the New York Times article featuring comments from Willie Randolph on how his firing was handled by the Mets, there is a quote that stands out to me:

{“Getting close, ‘06,when Beltran didn’t get the bat off his shoulder,” Randolph said, referring to the last out of Game 7, when Carlos Beltran took a called third strike with the Mets down two runs with the bases loaded.}

Sadly, I think if Willie had taken the blunt approach that this quote exemplifies throughout his tenure with the Mets, he may still be the manager. It was this kind of accountability that his Met team lacked, at least in the public eye, which lead to Willie's managerial style to come into question in both the Press and throughout the fan base.

It's too bad. I feel bad for Willie.

Remember These?

2008-06-03T16:35:00.001-07:00

I used to collect these Desert Storm trading cards. I thought about them today as I pondered the questions being asked of Scott McClellan on 'Meet the Press.'

I find myself frustrated with folks asking McClellan 'If you had these feelings during your time in the White House, why didn't you resign, or ask the President why he was misleading the people?'

Are we serious here people? We the people of the United States and that includes YOU the PRESS, are going to cop an attitude and try to make Scott McClellan look like a spineless dickhead after he comes out and admits in as much as he can, with details, to the world, that he along with the rest of the Bush administration mislead the country on such topics as: The War in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, and the CIA Leak? I'm stunned. F'ing stunned. I'm glad he didn't resign under protest or question the President at the time when he decided he didn't like how things were going. He let it play out, he played his role, and when he decided he had enough he left his position. Now he's in a new position where he can, as an insider, with DETAILS, confirm some of the issues that we as Americans most voraciously debated about...and now that we have that info, we as a people are asking him why he didn't just quit and question his integrity.

Hey Scott Mclellan, nice try, but it's a lost cause. Your desire to expose the lies of the Bush administration, and admit your own guilt in the process, will be passed off as just a way to pad your bank account and people on all sides of the political spectrum will talking-head to death all the wrong messages about this book on 24-hour news TV.

I'm not applauding the guy as a hero here folks, I HATED Scott Mclellan as the Press Secretary because he was a master at dodging questions and spewing out all the standard talking points that a Press Secretary is supposed to. I hated him just like I hated Ari Fleischer and even George Steponpoopulous. All of the press secretaries do what he did, he's just the only one to decide he doesn't like how that feels, so he's coming clean.

I genuinely believe he's trying to get the message out that people were right to question this Presidency and for the first time it's actually coming from someone who worked WITH THE PRESIDENT ON A DAILY BASIS and yet every interview this guy is on, he's getting grilled as to why he didn't resign or argue with the president.

If he had done as Bob Dole has said, this info would never have gotten out to the public. He either would've been fired, forced out, or at the very least kept from the info that he was privy to when he was 'one of the boys.' And if anyone thinks for a second that the administration wouldn't have tried to smear him after the fact if he had decided to resign and reveal even just the first bit of scandalous info, you're just not smart. Now he has a body of evidence, not just one scandal that can be pushed under the rug. Think we'll get a book like this from Tony Snow? I think not.

A small rant, I know. But the fact that McClellan's machismo is being questioned by the likes of Viagra lovin' Bob Dole, instead of people saying 'Wow, the President really did lie about the CIA leak and Iraq' is astounding to me.

I'll end with my second favorite Carl Sagan quote which you'll find on my MySpace profile:

"Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of confusion and bamboozle requires intelligence, vigilance, dedication and courage. But if we don't practice these tough habits of thought, we cannot hope to solve the truly serious problems that face us -- and we risk becoming a nation of suckers, up for grabs by the next charlatan who comes along."--Carl Sagan

Memorial Day Poll

2008-05-26T15:02:00.001-07:00

Fury Fans,

Another nugget of gold from CNN.com today. Here is a copy-paste of their Memorial Day poll!

On Memorial Day, you:
Honor dead troops
Relax and grill
Take advantage of sales

This is not only worded without a hint of sensitivity for those who have lost loved ones to war, but it puts honoring those who have fallen in battle right up there with grillin' and shoppin'.

I love life.

Holy Shit

2008-05-12T15:28:00.000-07:00

Fury Fans,

I'm damn near in stitches. You may remember a while back, I had a post that made fun of some of the ridiculous 'newsworthy' headlines from CNN.com. I posted those headlines because CNN was once the preeminent name in television and Internet news reporting and to see the crap they put up these days to attract ratings and hits via trash-reporting is both sad and hilarious. We all wonder what our future holds.

CNN gives us yet another glimpse into our hope filled future with the CNN branded IRONIC NEWS STORY TITLE T-SHIRTS! Don't believe me? Click the 'Holy Shit.'

I saw a story that caught my eye on CNN.com today entitled 'Skimpy Prom Dress Lands Teen in Cuffs.' Before you brand me a perv, I never clicked on the article itself, it simply caught my eye. I don't fall for CNN's tricks THAT easily. However, if they had added a 'Busty' to that title, I may have been intrigued enough...

Anyway, next to the title I saw two icons. One was a 'video camera' which I knew meant this wasn't some text based tale, this was a full on broadcast story from one of CNN's news magazine programs or a local affiliate story that got picked up nationally. Again, I did not click on the icon, I won't let CNN win!

But, next to that video camera icon lay something that thoroughly confused me. It was a 't-shirt' icon. When I scrolled over the icon, it said 'T-Shirt.' This made my CONFUSION grow, much to the chagrin of CNN.com's editorial staff.

I had to click it. And when I did, I laughed that sad, lonely howl that can only be brought forth from witnessing yet another step forward in the decline of our culture. If you haven't clicked the title of this post yet, go ahead and do it now.

I need say nothing more.

It's Official: I'm Excited to be a Knick Fan Again

2008-04-18T15:12:00.001-07:00

I just ventured to Newsday.com to find an article that serves as the impetus for what will now be my NEXT entry, and I saw 'the' news.

Isiah Thomas has been removed from his position as the head coach of the New York Knicks, and will be re-assigned within the organization. Which means he'll either resign and seek employment elsewhere or quietly collect his paycheck and work as a draft scout or GM aid.

The Isiah Thomas era is officially over! My God, I am actually smiling as I type this. When I first saw the article, confirming that he was finally, officially, completely gone it actually felt like a weight was lifted off of MY shoulders. Strange yes, but true none the less. If you could take a stress test of every tried and true Knick fan at the moment they all heard the news today, you'd have a world record for 'massive instant stress relief across millions of people.' In terms of a replacement, the two top candidates are Mark Jackson, Scott Skiles, and a dark horse rumor of Jeff Van Gundy. I'd welcome Jackson or Van Gundy(or both of them with JVG as head, and Jackson as his assistant). But Skiles I hope they pass on. He was always too abrasive and angry as the Bulls coach, and he wore out his welcome after 2 seasons in Chicago which is not a good sign.

Donnie Walsh, thank you. This is his first step of many that will need to be taken in order to restore the dignity, integrity and winning ways of the Knicks. And it marks the second move under James Dolan's watch which will help in this process of healing for us Knick fans. And yes, that's as close to a compliment as I'll pay Dolan in terms of his handling of the Knicks until more good things happen. But as I breathe in this Isiah-less air, I can't help but keep smiling as I think about how now Walsh will be able to look at the Knicks roster from a fresh perspective and start clearing that cap space for Lebron. Ahhhh yes, there will be excitement in the Garden again! I can't wait!

McCaaaaaaaaaaaain!

2008-04-10T10:35:00.001-07:00

Now I know and accept that the New York Times is a southpaw paper and all, but the picture they are currently using to entice readers to their 'politics' section is a bit over the top. The 'Regal' Obama, the 'Elegant' Hillary, and the 'I'll eat your face off!' McCain just isn't fair for the old codger.

Net Cutting in the NCAA's

2008-04-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

A few days ago a friend asked me how the tradition where the NCAA division one men's basketball champion cuts down the nets at the end of the final game began. That's a good question, I replied! In all my years of loving sports, I never learned where it all began. Admittedly, I'm not a big college sports fan unless it involves Syracuse from 1998 on so it's not a complete surprise that I never discovered the origins of this tradition. That being said, here it is:

"It all started in 1947 when North Carolina State, led by coach Everett Case, celebrated its Southern Conference championship by cutting down the nets.

Case decided to take the nets as a souvenir of his team's victory.

"He wanted it to show as a sign of winning the championship," says Frank Weedon, senior associate athletics director at N.C. State and a historian of sorts.

Since then, the practice has caught on, and teams trim the twine throughout March.

The first nets of the NCAA Tournament will be cut Saturday in Albuquerque and Chicago when regional titles are clinched and spots in the Final Four secured. On Sunday N.C. State, the school that started it all, could be doing it again if it survives two tests in Syracuse.

The procedure is quite familiar. The coach generally starts the process, snipping a few strands then passing the scissors to the players. This is an opportunity for all the players to be in the spotlight and take home a part of their championship run. Once the players are done, the coach scales the ladder again and takes the remainder of the net.

When Case, who had a .739 winning percentage with the Wolfpack, began this, there was no ladder set up to make it easy as there is now. Instead, players had to lift Case on their shoulders.

During the 1964-65 season Case was diagnosed with cancer and resigned in midseason. When N.C. State advanced to the ACC tournament final and upset Duke, the players hoisted Case on their shoulders to cut the nets one final time. He died April 30, 1966

"He said it was one of the happiest days of his life," Weedon says."

The link to this USAToday article is embedded in the title.

Bingo America

2008-04-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

Fury Fans,

During my own personal 'off season' if you will, I ended up a contestant on a game show. That shows name is 'Bingo America' and it's hosted by Patrick Duffy(see above).

This baby airs Mon-Fri on GSN at 7PM and 11PM(EST). If you happen to tune in April 25th, 2008 you will see me. Yep, I'm already embarrassed.

Enjoy!

Holy Cow!

2008-04-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

Fury Fans,

After a lengthy sabbatical from the Fury, I now return. I must confess, the pressures of the job search combined with the euphoria of the Giants Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots made it easy to neglect The Fury these last couple months. In terms of the job search, a certain feeling of guilt would come over me when I thought about writing. And in terms of the Giants championship season, I found I didn't need that emotional outlet from writing the blog as a lot of my posts are directly related to the angst that comes along with being a Mets, Giants, Knicks, and Rangers fan. The Super Bowl 42 victory just felt so damn sweet for so long. Don't get me wrong, it still does. But now the 2008 baseball season is upon us, Donnie Walsh is the new head honcho in Knickland, and the Rangers kick off their NHL playoff run against the New Jersey Devils this week! Not to mention the new season of BSG has begun, and this Thursday '30 Rock' comes back. This means the juices are flowing again, and the angst has returned...riding single file and in greater number of course.

Oh, but what of the guilt coupled with the job search you may ask? That's still there, but seeing as though it hasn't made a difference so far it probably won't make much difference going forward if I take a few minutes to write now and then. Perhaps it will be therapeutic!

On to the nuts and bolts:

1. The Mets have begun their 2008 campaign looking to erase the embarrassment of lats years historic collapse. A lot of off season activity has gone down since last we spoke, and I had a few blog posts in the works on such subjects but they are long gone by now. You all know the Mets acquired Johan Santana, got Pedro back(briefly) and still have Slick Willie Randolph at the helm. Today, was the final opening day at Shea Stadium and it showcased what I'll call bad omens for the future...
a) Bad Omen Number One - They lost. 5-2 to the hated Phillies. On a day when you'd have to think this team would rally together and do everything they could to put a hurtin' on the Phillies, the Mets looked soft and scared, just like they did against the Braves over the weekend. This was the last time the New York Mets would open their home schedule at the beloved Shea Stadium and they stunk up the joint(except for Carlos Delgado and Ollie Perez). That's a bad sign. So far, this 2008 edition of the Mets has looked timid and confused at the plate(I'm pointing emphatically at you Jose Reyes, Louis Castillo, and sometimes even Wright and Beltran!)
b) Bad Omen Number Two - Louis Castillo left the game in the 3rd inning due to 'knee stiffness.' In case you hadn't heard, Castillo had surgery over the winter to, and I quote the Mets announcers, 'clean out his knees.' The implication being scar tissue from PREVIOUS surgeries needed to be removed so he wasn't in constant pain. Lovely! The reason given for Louis exiting the game today was that it was the first 'cold weather' game Louis was involved in this year, and his knees tightened up. It was 55 degrees and sunny today in NY. This goes to show that all those pundits who claimed the Mets weakness will be their aged, frail veterans just might be 100% correct. Pedro and Alou already went down with injuries for at least a month and a half a piece, and everybody assumes Delgado's hip will end up keeping him out here and there as well. Now Castillo has to leave a game in April because of his surgically repaired knees. This doesn't bode well for him come September and October where 55 and sunny will seem like the dog days of summer. This situation also sounds suspiciously like my Grandmother complaining about going food shopping during the winter, the difference being that she's 87 and walks with a cane.
c) Bad Omen Number Three - Aaron Heilman is a basket case. It seems Met fans aren't the only ones who will never forget the Yadier Molina HR that killed the 2006 Mets championship-esque season. Aaron himself seems to remember it every time he pitches in a pressure situation. Willie - "Hey Aaron, go out there and hold a 4 run lead for us." "Sure thing, boss." 1-2-3 inning, done deal. But make it a close game, or let's say the Mets are trailing by 1 or 2 and Willie asks the same thing? "Uhhhh, , Iuhhhh, Yadi....Yes! Yes, n-no problem..." And then as that crippling home run clears the wall, Aaron breathes a sigh of relief and thinks "It's over, thank God, it's over..." I am now eyeing that exit sign for "Trade Aaron Heilman Before It's Too Late Blvd." I have no doubt if he's in another uniform, he'll be a fine setup man and possibly even a closer. But in the Mets uniform, he is scared to be out there in pressure situations. Go find footage of the Chipper Jones and Mark Texieria at-bats from Sunday's game and you'll see what I mean.
d) Willie took Perez out of the game in the 6th inning, even though Ollie hadn't given up a run yet. Oliver had just walked two batters, but this is the type of situation where you want to see if a young, talented pitcher might be able to find enough gas to get out of a jam. In fact, last year Perez showed the ability to get out of situations like this on his own and that's part of the reason why most people believe, if* they stay healthy, the Mets will win the division easily. But, Willie has shown so far he has an itchy trigger finger with the bullpen and it's bitten him in the ass already. Today was a huge example. The Mets were winning 2-0 with Ollie in the game. He walks two batters, gets lifted, and the wheels fall off with Schoenweis, Sosa, and Heilman blowing the game in a unified front. The result is a Met loss by the score of 5-2 when their offense completely craps out over the final two innings of the LAST HOME OPENER AT SHEA STADIUM EVER. Did I mention that fact already? GOOD! Anyway, Willie just can't seem to get it right. He used 5 pitchers in the season opening win against the Marlins, including 3 in one inning to protect a 4 run lead. He then uses Jorge Sosa, the long reliever in the bullpen 2 straight days right before Mike Pelfrey was to make his debut as the number 5 starter. Pelfrey of anyone on the staff would NEED that safety net of Sosa in the 'pen seeing as though he was less than 'good' last year as a starter. Luckily for Willie, Pelfrey's start got rained out but not before Met fans performed their first official collective headscratch of 2008. I can already hear Sosa and Heilman's elbows creaking from overuse. I'm not sure that anything will be able to help solve Willie's problem of mismanaging the bullpen. I'm also eyeing the 'Fire Willie Randolph Before It's Too Late Ave." exit...

So, if I've managed to make the Mets home opener look like the sign of a dismal season to come you're getting my point. I'm officially concerned that this squad has 'tank job' written all over it. If I were Omar, I'd have a quick hook with Willie if I want to keep my job, Johan trade and all.

Well, I've gone on long here and will close for a bit. Expect regular updates once again as there are more and more things rattling around the ol' Duders head these days.

So long!

*They won't

Anything else need to be said?

2008-02-03T19:45:00.001-08:00

Farewell, Tommy G

2008-01-29T19:13:00.000-08:00

A few words from Mr. Glavine on his final game as a Met. The game where he had the worst statistical start of his career, and the historic Mets collapse of 2007 was made complete:

"Looking at it from a baseball standpoint, there haven't been too many, if any, lower or more upsetting moments in my career," Glavine said earlier this month. "I was angry how it went, extremely disappointed ... upset, embarrassed. You name it."

But he wouldn't allow for "devastation." Not in the world he knows.

"My parents always taught me to have perspective, to recognize where parts of your life really fit in the overall picture," Glavine said. "When you become a parent, you see things differently. The health and welfare of your family comes first. Maybe I wasn't prepared to hear that word -- devastated. As disappointed as I was, I didn't think about devastation, not because of a baseball game.

"My son is 11, he has a friend who's going to lose his leg to cancer. That is devastation. That was an awful game, a terrible outcome for us. But it wasn't life and death. What I said -- how I answered that question after the game -- was a reflection of how I was raised, that the game is fun and important and sometimes disappointing. But there is a point where your disappointment ends.

"We lost that game, and I wish we'd won. I know a lot of people were disappointed by how it turned out. I'm not happy they're disappointed. But anyone who thinks I took it lightly or questioned my desire to win knows nothing about me."

--
This was taken from a Newsday article.

I always liked Tom Glavine, and still do. It stinks that he had such a terrible game in the most important start of his Mets career, but so be it.

I dig what Tommy G has to say here. That's all.

Job Searching in this Day and Age

2008-01-25T13:18:00.000-08:00

I'm sure other people before me have commented on what I'm about to say, but it's a train of thought I haven't been able to shake today.

I'm currently on the lam from the long arm of employment. I'm doing the song and dance with unemployment insurance while I look for a new job. It's not much dough, but as soon as I actually get through to a person at the unemployment office, I should be OK for the time being. So that's not the problem.

The problem is finding a new job. There are available positions out there that I am qualified for, and in some cases, more than qualified for. I have submitted cover letters and resumes since early December 2007, all at companies that I have selected as establishments I'd like to work for, I'm not just throwing resumes out there left and right. They are in most cases large corporations, TV networks, film studios, and video game companies. I have yet to receive even one call back.

That fact is discouraging and on some days absolutely kills the confidence. I often wonder what it takes to get just an interview anymore I more often than not get this response when I talk to people about this very subject:

You have to know somebody where you're applying. Most likely, you're resume isn't even being looked at.

This leads me to wax poetic about the olden days. When I was growing up, as in 'pre-the internet is my lifeline' days, people would follow a pretty straight forward method to finding a job -

Grab the newspaper, check the classifieds, mail out resumes and cover letters, call the companies and touch base with their HR persons, wait for the interview calls.

There is a pivotal step that the internet has eliminated in the job search sequence. Call and touch base with the HR person. Everywhere in my job search so far requires an on-line, pre-set resume application process where whether you're looking at Monster, Craigslist, or individual company websites there are words that almost certainly spell 'good luck ever getting an interview, kid'-

No calls, no drop offs. On-line submission only.

How much more impersonal can you get? When I consider how paramount it is in the work environment to have solid interpersonal communication with your peers, and you can't make your own first impression to establish what you can bring to the table, I get frustrated. Think about it, when you're making those HR calls, you're ready, focused, and are in a position to read and react to the conversation you're having with the person who will decide whether you get an interview or not. As it stands today, I never know if or when I'll get a call. I can't wait to be washing the dishes, or be stepping out of the shower without having had coffee or a meal yet and get a call from an HR person I submitted a resume to a month ago. That will go REAL well. The reliance on the internet as a tool to find employment has weakened the position for the individual looking for a job. All of the chips are in the hands of the would be employer now, and that has fostered some cynical feelings in ol' Phil's gut.

Going back to what folks say about how 'your resume probably isn't even being looked at', I believe it. How do I know that someone isn't looking at my cover letter and saying 'This sounds too BS'y' or 'too standard' and off it goes into the to be 'filed for corporate regulations' folder. I don't, and that really fries my ass.

It's an old cliche, but in this process so far I sometimes find myself thinking I actually AM just a number. And I have to wait for resume number XJ6795 to be looked at by the right person at the right time.

Joe Buck, Chapter 1

2008-01-23T13:56:00.000-08:00

This is the first in what will be a series of Blog posts about why I dislike Joe Buck so much. Below is a response I wrote on a friend's blog: www.thestabbingpen.com

"I know a lot of people dig Joe Buck, but I’ve never been a big fan. When I talk with people about why I hate Mr. Buck as an announcer, I always blank on specific reasons and usually revert to lame insults like ‘he’s not good’ or ‘he sounds like an asshole half the time.’

I do remember an instance from these 2007 NFL playoffs that can be used as an example as to why I dislike Joe Buck so much.

In the first quarter of the Tampa Bay-New York Giants game, after the Giants failed to move the ball on their first two drives he said this:

“The Giants have got to establish the running game or they have zero chance at winning this football game.”

Again, this was in the first quarter, after 2 drives by the Giants offense. What happened after this statement by Mr. Buck? Eli Manning played one of the most efficient games of his career, with 2 TD passes and the Giants dominated the game.

Everybody knows the importance of establishing the run in the NFL, but to make the statement like Joe Buck did so early in the contest, and to claim that the Giants had ‘zero’ chance of winning the game if they didn’t get the run going early, shows ignorance of the ebb and flow of an NFL game(especially a do-or-die playoff game) and his inability to consider the placement of his statements within the context of the game he’s watching. It’s way too early in the game to jump to that kind of conclusion. He does things like this during baseball games all the time.

Thank you."

There will be more Joe Buck related posts as the months go by, and hopefully I will be able to put to rest why I hate him so much as an announcer. When all is said and done, maybe it will turn out I've been too hard on the man, or maybe it'll turn out that he really is a worthless piece of crap. We shall see, and I look forward to the journey.

Happy Painting, and God Bless.

sermotion:excited

Eastern Promises

2008-01-17T16:57:00.000-08:00

Eastern Promises is the latest David Cronenberg film starring Viggo Mortensen. This director/actor combo teamed up previously on 'A History of Violence' and there are many parallels between the two films.

For starters, each movie received very little ad support and media hype before their theatrical release, but did garner excellent critical reviews across the board. Both films received Golden Globe nominations in the Best Movie - Drama category in 2005 and 2008 respectively. Viggo Mortensen received widespread critical acclaim for his work in A History of Violence, but did not receive a Golden Globe or Oscar nomination that year. In 2008, he has received the same acclaim for his role in Eastern Promises, and was finally rewarded with a Golden Globe nomination for the Best Actor - Drama category, however he lost out to Daniel Day-Lewis who seems poised to take home an Oscar as well. I became a fan of Viggo Mortensen of course after he played Aragorn in the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy. He has become one of my favorite actors, and I do look forward to checking out whatever films he ends up playing a role in.

So we have two films with the same lead actor and director at the helm, which receive overwhelming critical acclaim and award nominations while flying under the radar of your typical big budget, Hollywood Oscar-hyped drama. They are also both mafia movies. This equation looks great on paper, but in application both films missed the mark for me. In A History of Violence, you had great potential with a storyline focusing on an ex-mafia hit man finding peace and a family life away from the city, only to be discovered by his still corrupt brother and his old stable-mates. Sure, it has the makings of a soap opera story, but it doesn't need to play out like one. In the case of 'Violence, it did unfortunately seem like Agnes Nixon came up with the third act. Though I did not hate 'Violence, it failed to pull a positive emotional response from me due to the unrealistic decisions some characters make, and the role the son plays in the climax of the movie. I found myself mildly frustrated at the end as opposed to satisfied with my movie watching experience.

In Eastern Promises, we have more of the same, though they did get closer to the mark than in 'Violence. The whole cast did very well, and once again, the first 2/3 of this movie are very well done. I must say though, the violence in this film is brutal. They pull no punches, and it's not for the squeamish. I can't help but think about when 'Kill Bill' was first in theaters that people cried foul over how 'gory' it was. When I saw Kill Bill, I in turn could not believe that people actually found the obviously over-the-top, cartoonish violence to be 'gory' when in reality it was just silly. Think back if you need to, the scene where The Bride chops off Sofie's arm, and Sofie is left flailing around on the floor while a tube of fake blood is spewed out from her stump. That's hilarious. In Eastern Promises, there are scenes that I had to turn away from involving necks, eyes and knives. It was uncomfortable to watch at times. This movie would be listed as having 'realistic gore' if I were on the ratings committee. It in fact made me not want to look at the knives on the kitchen counter, and I now scrunch my face up as I type and think about it. Cronenberg you bastard!

In terms of the story I won't reveal much for those who wish to see it, but I will set it up for you. The movie starts with a gruesome barber shop murder(yes, it starts with some gore) and follows that right up with a bleeding, pregnant, 14-year old girl passing out in a pharmacy looking for help. I was pretty shocked from the start, I squirmed in my seat twice within the first 4 minutes. That's rare for me. We then see the girl being wheeled on a gurney in the hospital where Naomi Watts' character is a nurse in the labor ward. The baby is born, but the mother dies and Naomi finds a diary in the mother's purse. In the diary, she finds a card for a restaurant where she goes to see if she can find someone to identify the dead mother(she had no ID and was passed out the whole time). The restaurant is run by a kindly old Ukrainian man who offers to translate the diary for her, and the story unfolds from there. Like in 'Violence, Viggo is a part of a mafia family and he is forced to choose between being a cold hearted killer or be a nice guy stuck in the middle of a violent, twisted situation. That's all I'll say about the story.

The plot is uneven unfortunately. Just like in 'Violence, there are plot devices that are a bit of a stretch for me to suspend my disbelief for. And again, main characters make questionable decisions, and one of the final scenes just makes me shake my head and say 'Why?' Just like 'Violence had its bit of 'cheese' at the end, so to does Eastern Promises.

For both films, I've settled on a 3 out of 5 star rating on Netflix. It seems weird to write this based on what I've written so far, but I do recommend these movies if you're looking to see them. They are worth watching. They just didn't click for me as much as I wanted and expected them to.

Maybe a third team-up for Cronenberg and Mortensen will net a better result as there was improvement in Eastern Promises.

The Primary Season

2008-01-15T17:57:00.000-08:00

Hiya Folks,

With the 2008 Presidential Primaries in full swing, and a wee bit of free time on my hands, I decided to look deeper into the 3 candidates I find myself most drawn to in the upcoming election. I will not address my thoughts on each candidate, this is merely an investigation as to what kind of answers they have given over their political careers. Enjoy?

Barack Obama -

2002 - "I don’t oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne. What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income, to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression. That’s what I’m opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics."

2004 - "The [Bush] Administration's failure to be consistently involved in helping Israel achieve peace with the Palestinians has been both wrong for our friendship with Israel, as well as badly damaging to our standing in the Arab world. I do not pretend to have all the answers to this vexing problem, and untangling the issues involved is an appropriate topic for a separate speech. What I can say is this: not only must we be consistent, but we will not succeed unless we have the cooperation of the European Union and the Arab States in pressing for reforms within the Palestinian community."

2004 - "In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope? I'm not talking about blind optimism here... No, I'm talking about something more substantial. It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker's son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. The audacity of hope!"

2004 - "That is the true genius of America, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe or hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted-or at least, most of the time."

2007 - " We've been told that our crises are somebody else's fault. We are distracted from our real failures and told to blame the other party, or gay people, or immigrants, and as people have looked away in frustration and disillusionment, we know who has filled the void. The cynics, the lobbyists, the special interests, who've turned government into only a game they can afford to play. They write the checks while you get stuck with the bill. They get access while you get to write a letter."

Ron Paul -

2004 - "America was founded by men who understood that the threat of domestic tyranny is as great as any threat from abroad. If we want to be worthy of their legacy, we must resist the rush toward ever-increasing state control of our society. Otherwise, our own government will become a greater threat to our freedoms than any foreign terrorist."

2007 - "Liberty once again must become more important to us than the desire for security and material comfort. Personal safety and economic prosperity can only come as the consequence of liberty. They cannot be provided by an authoritarian government... The foundation for a police state has been put in place, and it's urgent we mobilize resistance before it's too late... Central planning is intellectually bankrupt – and it has bankrupted our country and undermined our moral principles. Respect for individual liberty and dignity is the only answer to government force, force that serves the politically and economically powerful. Our planners and rulers are not geniuses, but rather demagogues and would-be dictators -- always performing their tasks with a cover of humanitarian rhetoric... The collapse of the Soviet system came swiftly and dramatically, without a bloody conflict... It came as no surprise, however, to the devotees of freedom who have understood for decades that socialism was doomed to fail... And so too will the welfare/warfare state fail... A free society is based on the key principle that the government, the president, the Congress, the courts, and the bureaucrats are incapable of knowing what is best for each and every one of us... A government as a referee is proper, but a government that uses arbitrary force to direct every aspect of society threatens freedom... The time has come for a modern approach to achieving those values that all civilized societies seek. Only in a free society do individuals have the best chance to seek virtue, strive for excellence, improve their economic well-being, and achieve personal happiness... The worthy goals of civilization can only be achieved by freedom loving individuals. When government uses force, liberty is sacrificed and the goals are lost. It is freedom that is the source of all creative energy. If I am to be your president, these are the goals I would seek. I reject the notion that we need a president to run our lives, plan the economy, or police the world... It is much more important to protect individual liberty and privacy than to make government even more secretive and powerful."

1987 - "The moral and constitutional obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no-win wars, while bringing bankruptcy and economic turmoil to our people."

1987 - "It's a mistake to think that poor people get the benefit from the welfare system. It's a total fraud. Most welfare go to the rich of this country: the military-industrial complex, the bankers, the foreign dictators, it's totally out of control. [...] This idea that the government has services or goods that they can pass on is a complete farce. Governments have nothing. They can't create anything, they never have. All they can do is steal from one group and give it to another at the destruction of the principles of freedom, and we ought to challenge that concept."

2007 - "One day I walked into an operating room, to just be an observant, which we would do generally, as a medical resident. They were performing this hysterectomy, which was a caesarean section. And they lifted out a fetus that weighted approximately 2 pounds, and it was breathing and crying. And it was put in a bucket and set in the corner of the room, and everybody in the room just pretended that they didn't hear it. And the baby died. And I walked out of that room a different person... Roe v. Wade is a reflection of the moral climate of the country, because the law was being defied, and then the law was changed, the law sort of caught up with the culture. So even though we work in the legal area, and work politically, ultimately I believe it's an issue of personal morality, and is a reflection of the country, more so than just the lack of laws. Just changing the laws won't be enough, we will ultimately have to have a society that's moral enough, where the fetus deserves legal protection."

Hillary Clinton -

2006 - "The lost opportunities of the years since September 11 are the stuff of tragedy. Remember the people rallying in sympathy on the streets of Teheran, the famous headline — "we are all Americans now." Five years later much of the world wonders what America is now. As we face this landscape of failure and disorder, nothing is more urgent than for us to begin again to rebuild a bipartisan consensus to ensure our interests, increase our security and advance our values. It could well start with what our founders had in mind when they pledged "a decent respect for the opinions of mankind" in the Declaration of Independence. I think it's fair to say we are now all internationalists and we are all realists. This Administration's choices were false choices. Internationalism versus unilateralism. Realism versus idealism. Is there really any argument that America must remain a preeminent leader for peace and freedom, and yet we must be more willing to work in concert with other nations and international institutions to reach common goals? The American character is both idealistic and realistic: why can't our government reflect both?"

2007 - "...freedom is never granted. It is earned by each generation... in the face of tyranny, cruelty, oppression, extremism, sometimes there is only one choice. When the world looks to America, America looks to you, and you never let her down... I have never lost faith in America's essential goodness and greatness... I have 35 years of experience, fighting for real change... the American people and our American military cannot want freedom and stability for the Iraqis more than they want it for themselves... we should have stayed focused on wiping out the Taliban and finding, killing, capturing bin Laden and his chief lieutenants... I also made a full commitment to martial American power, resources and values in the global fight against these terrorists. That begins with ensuring that America does have the world's strongest and smartest military force. We've begun to change tactics in Iraq, and in some areas, particularly in Al Anbar province, it's working... We can't be fighting the last war. We have to be preparing to fight the new war... We've got to be prepared to maintain the best fighting force in the world. I propose increasing the size of our Army by 80,000 soldiers, balancing the legacy systems with newer programs to help us keep our technological edge... I'm fighting for a Cold War medal for everyone who served our country during the Cold War, because you were on the front lines of battling communism. Well, now we're on the front lines of battling terrorism, extremism, and we have to win. Our commitment to freedom, to tolerance, to economic opportunity has inspired people around the world... American values are not just about America, but they speak to the human dignity, the God-given spark that resides in each and every person across the world... We are a good and great nation."

1997 - "We are here to advance the cause of women and to advance the cause of democracy and to make it absolutely clear that the two are inseparable. There cannot be true democracy unless women's voices are heard. There cannot be true democracy unless women are given the opportunity to take responsibility for their own lives."

Believe it or not, I'm having the most trouble finding actual quotes from Hillary. Obama and Paul have numerous quotes listed on wikiquote.org, but Hillary's section is scant at best. Google searches for Hillary quotes went poorly. I did not expect that.

The New York Football Giants

2008-01-08T13:38:00.001-08:00

Since the Giants picked apart the NFC South Champion Tampa Bay Bucs, there have been rumblings that these Giants are "peaking at the right time" and "it's not absurd to think they can make it to the Super Bowl."

Bite your foolish tounges, sports pundits! Do you know what this will do to Antonio Pierce's ego, and the subsequent garbage that may flow from Mr. Pierce's mouth heading into Sunday's bunkhouse brawl with the Cowpokes?

Oh sure, Antonio as recently as Sunday after the Giants impressive win spoke about how these Giants learned their lesson last year about running their mouth...

Silly Antonio, then why did you run your own mouth on the Friday before the last meeting between the Giants and Cowboys while at a Knicks game? Antonio at that time basically said Tony Romo should be scared. It worked Antonio! Romo was so scared, he torched the Giants secondary and made you guys look like chumps.

This is a plea. Sports pundits, stop the knee jerk reactions! Please provide meaningful, analytic, professional feedback after these games. If you keep jumping on bandwagon after bandwagon, players like Antonio Pierce can't help but say 'Hey, you're right, see you in Glendale!' Then Romo and the 'Boys lay a hurtin' on Big Blue, and I cry.

Having watched the Giants every year, almost every game, for the last 7 seasons I can say with honesty that no-one can predict what will happen in the game Sunday. No-one! Not Sean Salsbury, not Mark Schlereth, not Chris Collinsworth, not 'Asshead' Joe Buck, nobody can! And nobody can say with certainty which Giants team will show up to play either.

So all this Superbowl talk needs to stop, pronto. If I have to squirm through another Anotnio Pierce soundbite, I'll be very upset. Who wants that?

Pulling an Andy Dufresne

2007-12-17T13:37:00.000-08:00

Fury Fans,

In true Phil form, I ventured to cnn.com today and saw another top story headline that caught my eye:

"Pinups of bikini-clad women hid jailbreak route, officials say"

Read this puppy here: www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/17/jail.escape.ap/index.html

As soon as I saw that title, I thought for sure the references to 'Shawshank Redemption' would dominate the opening paragraph. I clicked, and read with delight at what would suredly be a fun trip down memory lane, Shawshank style.

Much to my dismay, the article made no mention of Shawshank, Andy or Raquel...

I would normally shame the author, but this particualr story is from the AP. I'll let them off the hook this one time, but the next time anybody overlooks the efforts of Andy Dufresne, your ass is gonna get saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacked......

sermotion:holla

News/Oprah

2007-12-14T13:17:00.000-08:00

Hello Fury Fans,

Look at this! Two posts in one day after none since August! It's your birthday, and I provide gifts.

Down to business, one of my daily web site visits(insert Internet porn joke here) is good ol' CNN.com. Every day I go there and get very little out of it. It apparently serves to make me more cynical as I get older as opposed to being a source of useful news. Take for instance some of the headlines from their main page, 'most recent news' section:

"E-mails hint at astronaut love triangle"

"Roaming, thieving monkeys sought in roundup"

"Christmas card arrives 93 years late"

"Cloned cats glow red in the dark"

"Naked men shop for Skittles"

THE most trusted name in news ladies and gents! I feel enlightened, and ready to face the world.

Now, the Oprah part of this entry title is a separate idea. I had an idea when I spotted an Oprah billboard a few years back out here in LA. The picture above isn't the exact show subject I saw advertised, but it fits as an example. I have wanted to take pictures of each Oprah show subject advertised on that billboard, and produce a coffee table type book. There have been some ad's that had me doubled over while stuck in traffic. Stuff that taken out of context and looked upon with an immature eye is pure comedic gold.

Lame idea or good idea? Fury Fans know better than most, so feel free to speak your mind.

sermotion:craptastic

Mitchell Report

2007-12-14T12:50:00.000-08:00

The conspiracy theorist in me is starting to kick in now that it's been 24 hours. Selig, Mitchell and Fehr are all savvy business men who it seems knew quite well how rampant the steroid use was in MLB before this 'report' went down. For example, if the Dodgers are commenting internally about Lo Duca's steroid use before trading him, I believe that's probably the MO for all the teams. At least the 'smart' ones. If notes like Lo Duca's are floating around, and copies of checks are being kept, there is more to this story than is being revealed now.

Selig, Mitchell and Fehr also knew each other on a personal and business level before Mitchell was appointed by Selig to conduct this investigation. This all smells fishy to me. I am getting the feeling that this list is just to satisfy the public bloodlust since the Barry situation boiled over. Beyond Clemens, the list has very low impact in terms of star power. Gagne, Tejada, and Pettite had their time as dominant players, but are no-where near that level anymore. Tejada just got traded to Houston where there will be very little negative backlash on him. Gagne hasn't been able to pitch well for the past 4 years, and Pettite will never inspire the public to hate him. He's too low key. Especially how his particular situation was spun in the report. "He wanted to get back to help his team as fast as he could..."

Beyond those players, the rest are/were average players. Matt Franco? David Segui? Even Lo Duca. None of those guys were headed to the hall. They are now officially the 'fall guys.' Congratulations MLB.

I saw Mitchell interviewed by Jeremy Schapp, and what Mitchell stressed made me angry, and Schapp's unwillingness to challenge Mitchell's claim made me furious. Mitchell states that the REAL victims need to be considered and 'not forgotten' in this whole situation, and those victims are the 'vast majority' of MLB players who don't use Performance Enhancing Drugs and are forced to decide: Do I stay at a competitive disadvantage or do illegal drugs to keep up?

That's right sports fans, the biggest victims in this whole situation are the other baseball players, not the fans that have been duped by big business MLB for the last 12 years into thinking Selig and his cronies actually give a crap about anything besides making craptons of money. Or how steroids trickled down into college and high school ranks in large part due to the MLB's(and other pro leagues) blind eye to steroids over that period of time. Or how the magic of 'McGwire vs. Sosa' was between two juiced up freaks being lauded as heroes. Complete with an image of President Clinton clapping from the stands.

I do agree, the players who have not used drugs are a victim of this trend, but they should not be considered the biggest victims as Mitchell and Selig and Fehr want you to believe. All of their speeches dripped with spin, and the media challenged none of it.

When I opened the report, as a Mets fan, I Control-F'ed the names of Piazza, Wright, and Reyes. Luckily none of them came up. But that relief only lasted until today. When I look at Wright's forearms, and think of Piazza's dominance during an age where the league leaders were all juiced up...how could they not be as well? I hope I'm wrong, but as many others are saying, there was no A-Rod on this list. No Piazza, no Pujols, no Josh Beckett, no John Smoltz(Sorry Neil). There is a level of protection here that I am picking up on, and it all adds up to a smoke and mirrors job by MLB and the Honorable Senator Mitchell. He brokered peace in Ireland...he wouldn't lie to us, right?

Anyway, that's my loooooong two cents. This report and subsequent coverage has made me awful angry. As a baseball fan, this is the time where honesty has to come to the forefront. But it seems they're playing a game of 'two truths and a lie.' Bud Selig stinks.

sermotion:angry

Are you User: LadiesMan217?

2007-07-07T22:10:00.000-07:00

The new Transformers movie, I am happy to report, is good. After this first viewing, I will even have it range over to 'great' status.

I am not a Michael Bay fan, I hated 'Armageddon' and 'Pearl Harbor.' Beyond my personal distaste for his work, Bay has a known reputation for being all about the 'bells and whistles' of special effects and explosions while ignoring things like story, and characters. In fact, when it was announced that Bay would be directing the new Transformers film, most Transformers fans, including myself, cried foul. In most fans' eyes it became a forgone conclusion that this movie would be a stinkfest, and the good Transformers name would be buried by a big budget, July 4th crapload. It turns out, I was worried for nothing.

In Transformers, Bay certainly showcases his flair for the dramatic, effects driven action sequences, but couples that with a solid telling of the Transformers rebirth into the world of pop culture.

As I read that back, I don't like the tone of this review so far. It's not accurate. By 'solid telling' I mean to say it was a blast to watch this movie.

The movie opens with the voice of Optimus Prime narrating the story of the Autobot and Decepticon struggle on Cybertron, and an explanation of what the All-Spark is while the camera flies through space, towards Earth. From there, it gets right into the action where a US Army base in Qatar is completely destroyed by a Decepticon. This action sequence let's you know that Bay and his team wanted to go 'balls to the wall' and they achieve it. The whole theater was instantly into this movie, you could feel the energy after that scene. When the shockwaves started getting layed down, I couldn't help but get sucked right into that. People were excited by what they were seeing.

A quick point, this is what I try to stress with friends who say things like 'I don't want to see it(any movie) on opening night, it will be too crowded' or 'I'll wait for it on DVD.' For some movies, yes, do that. 'Knocked Up' for instance is hillarious, but really, the 'big screen' aspect of it won't make or break that feeling for you. But for a movie like Transformers, get your ass in a theater seat and hope that you see it in a big crowd. For me, it's like a smaller scale version of seeing a concert or going to a wrestling show. I love getting wrapped up in the energy of a crowd, and watching Transformers was no different. Everybody cheered at the end of this one, that makes two straight movies for me, which pretty much seals the deal that this season of summer blockbusters did the trick for me.

Back to the movie, I won't give you an entire breakdown like I did for 'ROTS', but I'll speak briefly about a few things.

1. The first hour, some have complained about. I do understand that the wait for the rest of the action and characters to hit could've been cut down a little, but I enjoyed the development of Sam's character with Bumblebee and the girl. It helps explain exactly why Sam is so important to the grand scheme of things, and gets you attached to the characters. Without that slow build, I don't think Bumblebee getting captured and injured would mean as much.

2. It's awesome to see and hear Optimus Prime in this movie. He breaks out a sword and goes to town.

3. Megatron is only in it a short time, but manages to get some of the best, most fan pleasing lines in of any character. "No, it's just me, Prime." -- "You fail me yet again, Starscream."

4. The battles between the Autobots and Decepticons are awesome, plain and simple. When Starscream is going after the fighter jets, you will agree.

5. "One shall stand, one shall fall." Prime says it to Megatron, again.

I don't want to say too much else as I'd rather you see it. I enjoyed this movie a lot, which surprised me. This is yet another big budget movie with subject matter close to my heart, and it delivered more than I expected. Let me know what you all think.

Thanks for reading!

Will the Knicks Continue to Make the Right Moves?

2007-07-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

Quite possibly the answer is a not so surprising 'no.'

According to ESPN.com, the Knicks are talking with the Kings about Ron Artest, which as addressed previously, could eb a good thing.

However, they also report that David Lee could be the main player the Knicks would need to part with in order to get him. Good lord Isiah, don't do it!

I'd rather have David Lee in the Knicks lineup for the next 10 seasons than have Ron Artest for the next 3 or 4 before he wears out his welcome.

If the Knicks can get him without giving up Lee or Balkman, I'll be happy. Otherwise, let it pass, he won't be worth it.

If this happens, I'll be back to square one with the Knicks. Sure, they will probably win more games in 2008 than 2007, but what will it mean for 2009 and beyond?

Ugh. Isiah...

Are the Knicks Making the Right Moves?

2007-07-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

The answer to that is a surprising 'yes.' I did not expect to be saying that about the Knicks anytime soon, but I find myself surprised. The good moves really started two drafts ago, and now the amount of good moves are picking up steam. Two seasons ago, the Knicks drafted David Lee, Channing Frye, and Nate Robinson. Last year, with only one pick to their name, they took Renaldo Balkman. They also signed an undrafted free agent towards the end of the season which most feel was a steal in Randolph Morris, a F/C out of Kentucky. So, with only one pick last year, they got two first round quality players due to savvy, yes, savvy GM'ing by one Mr. I Thomas. Granted, the trade that brought Eddie Curry to NY and cost them their 2007 #9 pick in the draft, will lead most to never use the term 'savvy' in regards to Zeke's GM'ing ability, but I will. Sure, the Bulls got Joakim Noah with that pick, but I'm glad the Knicks didn't get him. He always bugged the crap out of me in college, and he would not have added much to the Knicks roster. He's an undersized forward, which the Knicks have had a steady roation of for the last 7 seasons. No need to add another one to the mix. That, and we as fans didn't really need what will surely be the 1,000+ camera shots of his father watching from the Garden crowd with his giant hat and sunglasses.
So, what do the Knicks have now, after a 2007 draft night that continued the Knicks series of good moves? They snagged forward Zach Randolph from the revamped Portland Trailblazers, who averaged 20+ PTS and 10+ Rebounds per game. The Knicks have needed a forward like that throughout these last 7 seasons with their rotation of small, underachieving fowards. Randolph could be the forward the Knicks thought they were getting when they snagged Antonio McDyess a few years back. Unfortunately, McDyess blew out his knee during pre-season that year, and he has been a bench player ever since. Barring a horrendous injury, Randolph should be able to produce as expected this year.
In addition to Randolph, the Knicks received two solid bench players in Dan Dickau and Fred Jones. These two players might just be moved again in any further deal Isiah has in the works, but at the least, the Knicks have an even deeper bench if they stay on the team. There is nothing wrong with that. Draft night did not only bring this trade to Knickland, they also drafted Wilson Chandler and Demetrius Nichols(a Syracuse alumni!) Nichols came over in yet another trade with Portland. Once again, Isiah took a draft that saw only one pick in the Knicks name and found a way to get two draft picks, and a brand new, talented power forward. Me likey.
But, at what cost did the Knicks get Randolph? They dealt away Steve Francis, who has been on the threshold, waiting to be kicked out the door since before last season started. Good riddance, I wish him luck in getting a bloated contract while having little passion, and a knee full of tendinitis. The one aspect of the trade that I winced at, but am now getting the impression it was OK to do, was packaging Channing Frye in for Randolph. I know you can't just get a talented player for some peanuts and a bucket of chicken, but I always felt Frye could develop into a solid player. However, I do agree with some of the critiques of young Channing. He has been called 'Mr. Softy' and had a very streaky year in 2006. This tells me he is getting pushed around in a league of bulky forward talent. So, for a guy who showed promise but lacked any physical game, the Knicks got a player that has BOTH. I call that a good move.
So, let's take a look at the current Roster and see what the Knicks will offer next season, so far:

Starters:
Eddie Curry, C
Zach Randolph, PF
David Lee/Jarrod Jeffries, SF
Jamal Crawford, SG
Stephon Marbury, PG

Bench:
Lee/Jeffries, F
Quentin Richardson, G
Nate Robinson, G
Malik Rose, F
Jerome James, C
Renaldo Balkman, F
Wilson Chandler, F
Mardy Collins, G
Randolph Morris, F/C
Demetrius Nichols, F
Dan Dickau, G
Fred Jones, G

Their current roster has too many players, so more than likely two or three more folks will be traded, released or placed on injured reserve with 'Foot Tendinitis.'

Granted, this squad doesn't exactly make one think the Knicks will be playing for a title in 2008, but there are a lot of talented pieces in place so far, and if Isiah is in talks with the Kings for Ron Artest as is rumored, there could be a lot more buzz shaking throughout the Garden rafters in 2008. Even if that deal never materializes, the Knicks have a solid roster of young, talented players that they can pick and choose to develop and/or deal in the next few years to bolster their lineup where holes become evident, or nab draft picks as other teams are on the verge of playoff success.
The Knicks haven't ever been in this type of position, they have a future, they have leverage, and they have the luxury of being able to make moves for the present too, if they so choose. As I've said before, the Knicks have a way of making their hardcore fans 'believe' again without really making the right moves. This time, there really is reason to hope for us lonely, scared, Knicks fans.

Isiah, please, don't ruin it by making another Jerome James or Steve Francis move.

Thank you,
Phil

Roger Waters Knocked Up

2007-06-16T19:01:00.000-07:00

The Silver Surfer wasn't the only source of entertainment for this journeyman blogger. Last week I saw Roger Waters, live at the Hollywood Bowl.

This was the first concert I have seen at the Bowl, and I would love to see more concerts there. It's set back into the Hollywood hills which is important because it's an outdoor venue. As you watch the show, you are tucked into the forest, on a hillside with a perfect view of the Hollywood sign off to the right. The weather was perfect, the crowd was very excited, and this was the first time I was seeing any Pink Floyd songs performed live, by members of the band. The atmosphere was very friendly, and inviting, which is rare. Maybe it is my cynical disposition which manages to subconsciously seek out and in some cases manifest these things mentally, but I always seem to witness so many Jackobees at live events, whether it's a concert, or baseball game, or what have you. There have been times when it became a drag to just try and sit and enjoy the event I paid for, especially at Dodger Stadium. I don't look forward to games there anymore.

Negativity put away, this concert was spectacular. I have always liked Pink Floyd, but I would never consider myself a fanatic, or 'really in to' them. I own The Wall, Pulse, and The Division Bell on CD. I break one of them out once every year or two. Going into the show, I expected to enjoy it, but not go nutso. Well, I went nutso. I put this concert in the same category as my 3 other 'Other Worldly' concert experiences which were: Radiohead at MSG, Bob Dylan in Syracuse, and U2 in Connecticut. Honorable mentions go to Iron Maiden at MSG and the Billy Joel concerts I've seen. I expended the most energy I ever have at a concert at the Maiden show, and all the Joel shows were great, but didn't send me into that special place where I just never wanted the show to end. When the last song was played at the Roger Waters show, I was genuinely sad that it was over and found myself wishing they would miraculously keep playing. I couldn't tell you why this happened at this show, but I got so wrapped up into the songs, and the atmosphere. The stage had a huge screen at the back of it that showed images and played videos for each song performed, which doesn't sound special, but they did a great job at this show. Whoever designed his show deserves accolades. There were also four giant screens, 2 to the right, and 2 to the left of the stage for all the people in the back to see Mr. Waters and his bandmates up close. We were pretty far back, but there really aren't bad seats at the Bowl as it's only about a 17,000 seat theater. Like I said, I couldn't tell you exactly why this concert grabbed me and wouldn't let go, it just did, and I love it when that happens at a concert. It's just a perfect experience that makes you glad you went. I have to thank Ryan and Crystal for taking me to that show. Thank you guys, I am very happy we went.

Here is the playlist from that night for you Floyd fans, some of these songs are off of his solo albums, which I am not familiar with, but they sounded great live:

Part 1:
In the Flesh
Mother
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
Shine on You Crazy Diamond
Have a Cigar
Wish You Were Here
Southampton Dock
The Fletcher Memorial Home
Perfect Sense part 1 & 2
Leaving Beirut
Sheep

Part 2: The Dark Side of the Moon
Speak to Me
Breathe
On the Run
Time
The Great Gig in the Sky
Money
Us and Them
Any Colour You Like
Brain Damage
Eclipse

Part 3: Encore
The Happiest Days of Our Lives
Another Brick in the Wall part 2
Vera / Bring the Boys Back Home
Comfortably Numb

In addition to this concert, and the Silver Surfer movie, I also went and saw 'Knocked Up' the other day. What a great movie. It's very funny, and surprisingly heartwarming, which I know many are saying but that doesn't make it any less true. With all these Judd Apatow movies coming out with the same cast members being involved, it seems unavoidable that people compare these films to one another. This one is most notably being compared with 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin.' I can't really say which one I prefer, I laughed my arse off at both of these movies. It's quite possible that I just like them both a whole heck of a lot without choosing which one is 'better.' I've made my up my mind. I like them both a great deal. Go see 'Knocked Up' if you haven't yet, it's worth it.

Fury Fans, I am Furied out for today. Good-night Irene!

I am not the Destroyer...

2007-06-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

Fury Fans,
After a year of buildup, and of my excitement waxing and waning moon-style, the time came for me to see the Silver Surfer, in a movie, on the big screen.

I am not dissapointed at all. In fact, I'm actually excited about the prospect of a stand alone Silver Surfer movie which now seems a forgone conclusion. Let's cut to the beans, I liked 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer', and I think most of American moviegoers will agree. Those who know me, know that I can be an awful critical asshole when it comes to movies, ESPECIALLY a movie that examines subject matter near and dear to my heart. This movie is one such 'near and dear' piece of film and I, as you can tell from my most recent posts, went into the movie unsure of what to expect. My biggest hope was that I don't hate the movie, and I had let myself start to think that might be too much to hope for. I was wrong!

Now, don't get me wrong here people, by no means do I think any of you folks reading this post will go see the movie(in fact most of the people who read this, probably won't ever see it) in the theaters, but this is a good enough movie that it will make a pretty decent box office bundle for the studio, and they will most certainly consider this movie, as well as the Fantastic Four franchise a success. As for my friends, if you want to go see a fun movie, that has some very good action sequences, humor, Jessica Alba, and ol' Chrome Dome himself, go see it. To anyone wanting to go see the next 'Shawshank Redemption', skip it.

That being said, here's why I like it, and there will be 'spoilers' in here, but really, unless you can't follow Storytelling 101, there isn't much to 'spoil' in this movie.

The writing was good enough that I had very few cringe moments. In fact, I only remember one rapid fire segement of cringe that involves Dr. Doom, who is unfortunately one of the least impressive characters in this movie. That fact is a shame, because Dr. Doom within the realm of Marvel Comics history is one of the most recognized, and successful 'heels' that ever existed. Unfortunately in both Fantastic Four films, the character just never translates well onto the screen. A big part of that is the dialogue they write for Doom, and the fact that the guy who plays him(I can't remember his name and refuse to IMDB it, he's one of the guys from Nip/Tuck) delivers his lines with the most cliched, 'arrogant bad guy' voice you can imagine. He's one step away from satirising his own roll. Not good.

Back on point, the writing was good enough that it doesn't take away from the movie. There is a lot of room for improvement for sure, but it's not bad, and it's by no means horrible as some out there suggest. One example that sticks out to me is at a point where Sue(Invisble Woman) is upset and explaining to Reed(Mr. Fantastic) that even when they manage to successfully get married, they will never have a normal life, and she was questioning how they could even dream of raising a family in that environment. This is not only straight out of the comic book storyline, but it's an uncommon theme for your typical summer blockbuster comic book movie to address. She raises a good point, and is clearly upset, whereas Reed is understanding but is so wrapped up in his work that he doesn't quite get how upset Sue really is. What bothered me is what happens at the end of that conversation. Sue is frustrated, and pulls the ol 'I'm...I'm going to go check on Johnny' routine and leaves in a huff. Reed watches her walk off, and they don't really resolve that issue until the end, when all is well and Reed just decides to say 'Fuck it' and let's Sue know they should have a family anyway, la la la, happyland. What SHOULD have happened was Sue should've gotten incensed at Reed's complete lack of understanding of just how torn up she is about it, as they would've done in the comic, and she should've left the scene teasing a break-up and sending Reed back to his lab with a sharp, 'Fuck you, dummy' type-line before she storms out(no pun intended).

That's an example, but, in the land of summer blockbuster, I can accept the fact that they want to keep the story moving and end up in la la la, happyland.

So, the writing was good, and much better than the first FF movie. Something else I liked, was the acting. Yep, I said it. We're not talking Oscar here people, but the acting was MUCH better than the first installment, and save for two characters, everybody did a fine job. Mr. Fantastic and Johhny Storm were the standouts here. Johnny Storm was again the funniest character in the movie, and what I especially liked about that fact was, and this ties into the writing as well, that it creates a very good side story for Johnny. As the plot moves along, Johnny is so wrapped up in being a celebrity, and doing his own thing that it eventually leads to Reed, Sue and Thing telling him he better do what they say or people will end up dead. It's serious, he's hurt by it, and it shows a vulnerability that was not present in the first movie. That's called character development, and when it spans over two movies, I consider that a success. At that point in the movie, you have Reed and Sue stressed over their eventual marriage and what their family life will be like. You have The Thing, who is always good for a one-liner while at the same time he struggles constantly with the fact he'll never be a standard, flesh and bone human again, and now you have Johnny feeling very isolated and admittedly sad with the prospect of being alone. Reed and Sue are considering getting out of the Superhero biz once the current threat is over so they can attempt the normal life they want, which obviously leads to some tension with Johnny and Ben. This is good stuff, and everyone in the main four plays their role well. The two characters I alluded to earlier as being 'bad' in their roles were Dr. Doom, and Alicia Masters. Doom, as I said, is played pretty horrifically, and it doesn't help that they write standard, bad guy lines for him such as 'I hate you' and an over the top, 'Let's go for a spin' when he's got a 'whirling' upperhand in a battle with the FF. It's bad. Even though I very much like the fact that Dr. Doom comes back in this film, gets the Power Cosmic at some point, and turns on the FF after he 'helps' them(which is all straight out of the comic books), the acting job, and writing for him specifically, were both bad. The other character on the acting chopping block is Alicia Masters. She is The Thing's main squeeze, and she's blind. The girl who plays her, though smoking hot, doesn't play a blind person well, and it takes away from her scenes tremendously. They either should have not made her blind, or cast a girl who was not so friggin' hot. It is hard to buy she'd date The Thing, I'll leave it at that.

Now the meat and 'taters, the reason I ever went and saw this movie in the theater in the first place. The Silver Surfer. What can I say? I loved the Surfer's place in this movie, and they did a perfect job introducing him to the audience where probably 97% of them had either never heard of him before, or had heard the name but never saw a comic book with him in it. That is a very important point as to why I think this movie successfully translated the Surfer story onto the big screen for the GENERAL audience that it is intended for. So often the world of the 'internet fanboy' who cries 'source material foul' when they see Optimus Prime has flames on his arms, or that the Surfer has eyeballs, forget that they make up about, ohhhhhh, a micro-percentage of the audience these big budget, Hollywood adaptations are meant for. ESPECIALLY Silver Surfer fans, good God, the last Surfer stand along comic was cancelled after 8 issues because no-one but hardcore Surfer fans bought it(it didn't help that story was boring and confusing, BUT it did have a sequence where the story took place in the very village where they filmed 'The Prisoner' show and you know I was in hog heaven for that). Bottom line is, Surfer fans are so few and far between these days that they don't make for enough fans anymore to keep a Surfer comic alive, let alone justify a 100% accurate film adaptation. They are the last people who should complain about this movie not staying completely true to source material, they should be happy with what they get(which will never happen but it must be said).

I am happy with what I got in this movie. The Surfer CG looks great. The dialogue they write for him, is not the brooding 'My life is sad', existential crisis-mode Surfer, but it is fine material that gets the story and his characters out to the audience. Not only that, but Lawrence Fishburne delivers said lines with an underlying current of pain and confusion that successfully channels the conflicted and tortured Norrin Radd. If I were someone who knew nothing of the Surfer, and saw this movie, I would get the feeling that 'there's something else to this guy' when listening to his dialogue and seeing what he does, which is another example of where this movie went right. The scene where Sue is talking to a then captured Surfer(at this point Doom had helped the FF seperate the Surfer from his board and had assumed control of the Power Cosmic[I'm a dweeb here]), sent chills down my spine. I'm not sure non-Surfer comic fans will experience that feeling at this point in the movie because you need to know his origin before he talks about it to really 'feel' it. But when he describes and names Galactus, I was completely attached to the story and at that moment knew even if the rest of the movie stunk up the house, I would always like it for this one scene. Again, I say that as a Surfer fan, I do not think the general audience will feel so attached to that scene.

From there, it leads to the conclusion, the FF use a trick from the comic book to get Doom off the board, and the Surfer gets his board and powers back.
The end, between Galactus and Surfer, many are complaining about. I could even see some of my best friends complaining about it too. There is no crazy battle between a power starved God and his Herald. It's a simple end, but dramatic. This ties into my earlier point that you can't have a direct translation from the comic book here. In the comics, Galactus is a giant human-like God who wears a Purple skirt/kilt, and has a huge, horned purple mask(see above pic). That is NOT going to fly in this day and age on the big screen. In this movie, they don't show you Galactus' true form, he is engulfed in a giant, swirling storm of what you can assume is galactic debris from all the planets he has devoured previously. There are hints of what Galactus looks like. As he approaches Earth, there is a shadow cast onto Jupiter that shows comic book fans the shape of the mask I mentioned ealier. To me, that's enough of a nod to the original comic book version to make me happy. I guess I'm easier to please than others. Also, when the Surfer makes his final stand and flies up into the swirling mess(which also has great CG) you can see amongst the debirs, and firey core, a faint shape of 'something' there, but it's too quick to see anything specific. You just know that there's something there.
After that , the Surfer summons up as much of his Power Cosmic that he can muster and there is a pretty gnarley implosion. The world is saved, Sue and Reed get married, and off go the FF to another crisis before the credits roll.
A minute or two into the credits, they show the Surfer floating in space, unconcious. His board starts to move and flashes towards the camera, and then the credits roll to their conclusion.
That small scene during the credits, as well as the internet buzzing with talk that they are getting a popular comic book writer to pen a Surfer stand alone movie that has already been greenlit, has me excited. This movie was a very good launch pad for a Surfer film, which was it's purpose beyond making a crap ton of money for Fox. Now, you will have millions of people who will have liked this movie, gotten to know the Surfer just enough to see he has badass powers and is unlike any of the other Superheros they've seen on the big screen to date. Fox has dangled a shiny, silver carrot and will hopefully cash in with an even better Surfer movie.

Another quick point before I close, what they did right with the Surfer, they also did right with Galactus, and depending on what happens in the Surfer movie, could be even better when you look back at this movie. They had this storyline that revolved around The Surfer and the FF. And again, you have to look at it from the perspective of the General Audience I mentioned ealier. If they don't know the Surfer, they sure as shit don't know of Galactus. It's not even until this movie is halfway over that the Surfer reveals he is 'Not the Destroyer.' The audience gets a hint of that in the first scene of the movie, but really they have no idea what the fuck he's talking about. Surfer later reveals who Galactus is and that his role as a reluctant herald is only in order to spare his planet the fate that awaits Earth. But, the audience still doesn't know what that means beyond 'There is a giant God-like character out there, strong enough to create Surfer who can beat any Superhero's ass he wants, and it can destroy planets to boot.' You never 'see' Galactus, you never hear him speak, and not once does it make a lick of difference. They save two major reveals for the Surfer movie. That is awesome.

At the end of this movie, people in the theater clapped. I never once heard anybody laugh at a scene because it was 'so bad it was funny', which definitely happened in 'Spider-Man 3'. I saw it with an audience in a half-full theater yesterday afternoon, so I didn't get to see it with a typical opening weekend crowd. But the people in the theater were a mixed bag of ages ranging from single digits with parents to couples in their 30's. If those folks liked it, young and old alike, then The Silver Surfer can certainly be back on the big screen next year or early the following year. I very much look foward to it.

Phew

2007-06-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

Well, check out these two new FF:ROSS reviews here.

I am relieved to hear that maybe this thing ain't so bad after all. I won't be reading anymore reviews going in, for my own sake.

Rise of the Silver Surfer

2007-06-11T20:08:00.000-07:00

As some of you have seen from previous posts, I have been eager to see the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer moviefilm.

We are less than a week away from the films release, and I am sad to report my enthusiasm has turned to dread. I feel it is a lock that this movie is going to be absoultey horrible. The previews range from making it look like a 'good enough' movie(the Surfer action sequences) to a 'load of crap'(Anything that has to do with the Fantastic Four characters).

I read a review here. And it basically says my fear of the sucktasticness that this film will achieve, is a reality.

Later, another review popped up that is supposed to give a ray of hope to Silver Surfer fans like me, here.

Unfortunately, I can't buy into the positive review. If one watches the first FF movie, it's pretty much crap. There were a few fun moments, but overall the writing, directing and acting were almost universally bad. The exception would be the Johnny Storm/Human Torch work, he was entertaining. I suppose Michael Chicklis did OK too. I say all this about about the first film because this sequel was written, produced, directed and acted by all the same folks. That can't be a good thing.

Maybe Lawrence Fishburne can at least bring some respect to the Surfer character. Maybe whatever dialogue they wrote for Surfer/Norrid Radd can carry a few scenes to make me happy they ever made the effort to bring the Silver Surfer, and the story to the big screen.

What a let down, I wanted to see the Silver Surfer in a movie for a very long time, but it seems it will be a very dissapointing experience.

Hopefully I'll be pleasantly suprised.

...to roll the dice, one moooore tiiiiime

2007-06-11T16:35:00.000-07:00

The Sopranos finale was last night, and I loved it. It closes the book on what I consider to be my favorite drama of all time. If you haven't seen it yet, don't read any further unless you don't care about knowing how it ends.
I expected the reaction, after witnessing it myself and letting it digest, to be split down the middle between people liking it, and hating it. It seems now after 24 hours, more people hate it than I expected!
I can understand that some people will feel 'jipped' or 'cheated.' They didn't get a 'hit you over the head' ending with death, or Tony being arrested, or anyone flipping on Tony(save for the quiet Carlo storyline). However, there was most certainly a climax to this show.
The last few minutes of that show were the most intense moments of TV watching I've ever experienced. I am sorry to say that if you did not watch it last night, or today, with your friends or family, and watch that heart pounding DINER scene(yes, a diner scene was heart pounding) and only watch it after reading reviews and hearing your friends talk about it, I sincerely doubt your heart will beat up to your throat like every body's who watched last night did. I hope I'm wrong for some of you, but it seems to me it will be hyped too much and your expectations will be too high. It can't be described well enough to make up for it. If you missed it, I'm sorry.
That scene had all the history of the show, and any other mob movie or show for that matter, running through your brain. There was a Godfather reference, there were shady characters about, a man walks into the bathroom, two thugs walk in, all the while Tony sizes each and every person who walk in up with the same look of underlying paranoia and suspicion. Even when Carmela, AJ and Meadow finally make their entrances, he is barely able to crack a smile as they approach. While all this is going on, I shit you not, Journey's 'Don't Stop Believing' is playing, Tony chose it on the jukebox and that song couldn't be more perfect for this scene. You are filled with absolute dread and joy at the same time. Appropriately still, 'Any Way You Want It' is the other Journey song available for selection, which is exactly how this show ends.
The last moment is when Meadow, after finally parking her car after a few unsuccesful attempts, gets to the door of the diner. Tony looks at a few more songs, hears the bell that the door makes when it opens, looks up, and BAM.
Nope, not a gun shot. Nothing. The screen cuts to black, the song cuts out, and there is nothing but a black screen for 10 seconds. The credits roll after those 10 seconds and in silence, the Sopranos show is over.
At the apartment, after we all took it in, we talked about it. Some said it's all so they can have a movie down the road. Some were mad that there was no resolution (IE - Tony didn't die, Tony didn't go to jail, Nobody flipped on Tony, we don't know what happens when Meadow walks in,we know nothing of what happens 'next').
Out there in the world, there are a lot of opinions too. Some out there feel it was a horrible, cop out ending. Some say the blackness and silence mean that Tony was killed at that instant, and just like Bobby Baccala once sermised - 'Maybe there's nothing when it's your time to go. You never see it coming, and it's just blackness.'
I don't believe Tony Soprano is dead, but I could be wrong, that's part of the beauty of the ending. It's open for interpretation, and there were enough teases in those few moments of the show that no-one will ever know for sure if they are right, save for David Chase telling everyone what he intended.
What I saw in that Diner was typical, miserable Tony Soprano, just trying to get through dinner with his family after the 'war' with NY was finished. In that scene we finally all felt that tension that exists within Tony as he lives his life. He provides all the comforts and pleasures for his Wife and Kids, they even made a point to show AJ driving an M3 Beemer, and Meadow was driving a brand new Lexus. All the while, he has to constantly be looking over his shoulder at who is there, around him, at all times, because as the boss, especially coming off a mob war, he could get hit at any time. Is that a fate worse than death? Is that how he ultiamtely pays for the being creepy, murdering asshole that he is?
The people in the diner are all seemingly familiar faces too. The cub scouts are like the kids that witnessed Bobby's death. The two thugs are like the two that tried to shoot Tony back in the 2nd season(or are they Hesch's friends looking for revenge?) The 'Man in the Member's Only' jacket looks like a perfect fit to be the man who whacks Tony, and ends up being the gent who heads to the bathroom, Godfather style. All these familiar faces, seemingly regular people to you and I, but to Tony Soprano, they could be the one who takes him out. That's terrifying, and we all experienced it along with Tony.
The way that scene panned out was extraordinary. The way a mundane task like parralel parking your car became such a moment of tension for the audience, it fucking kept me holding my breath. That diner scene, was more than enough payoff for me.
You'll hear people complain that they 'wasted their time' with this show. No fucking way! If any of us feel that tension and drama and fear and excitement that those last few minutes garnered again in our TV watching lifetime, we should consider ourselves lucky.
Some will say David Chase is a genious...eh, I'm not so inclined to call him a messiah. But he did definitely hit a most memorable hot streak of writing and creativity that has cemented his place in TV history, for whatever that's worth to everybody out there. So, in the end, there is no way of knowing if Tony's been shot, or if they just enjoy their dinner together and go on living their life. That life being the type we just watched 6 seasons of unfold, where we grew to love and root for abosolutely despicable examples of human beings. Maybe David Chase just wanted to give a big ol' 'Fuck You' to America with this whole show? No matter how you slice it, The Sopranos will be talked about, studied, written about, and debated over for as long as we all live.
As I said, I loved the ending, and I loved this show. Yes, seasons 4 and 5 dragged a little, and we got a few too many filler epsiodes, but the build to the end was great, and that last scene was the big payoff. Personally I got what I wanted in the finale, I had these thoughts going in:
I did not want to see Tony die.
I did not want to see Tony go to jail.
I wanted to see Phil Leotardo get killed, and that fucking scene delivered 100 times over. "Ohhhh shit" = Incredible.
I got all three of those things, so I'm pretty darn happy.
In closing, as fans of this show 'Some will win, some will lose, some are born to sing the bluuuuuuues.'
The Sopranos will be missed.

A Hard Rains a Gonna Fall Means Something's Gonna Happen

2007-04-10T21:47:00.000-07:00

That's what Bobby D has to say anyway. I've been listenting to him a lot again as I started reading 'Chronicles' the other day. It's good so far, I'll let you know how it ends up.

The other day I had about 3 blog ideas rattling around, and now they are gone like the Knicks chance to make the playoffs and make us 'believers' smile.

For now, just a quick rundown. Work is still insane, but it finally looks like the chips are going to fall one way or another within days, which is a bit of a relief, though not as much as I'd hoped for.

The baseball season has begun and THAT feels great. The Mets have an offense to be reckoned with, and I'm not writing off their pitching as some of those Profeshonal writer folk have. John Maine is hard to guage, I see him having a better career than say, a Steve Traschel, or a Jeff Suppan. That is to say, he shows skill enough to better than those career #3 starters, but I just can't say with confidence he's a bonafied #2, let alone future Ace. His stuff looks better than Stevie T though, and I'm damn glad he's in the #3 spot instead. Who am I to judge? I don't know, I'm just telling it like I see it. Oliver Perez worries me. He has shown more than flashes of brilliance in the past. He actually had an 'Ace' year previously. But his mental state seems fragile. When I watch him pitch, he seems worried every time he touches the ball. That can't be good. But if he can overcome that,which some pitchers have in the past, he just might be able to help anchor the future of the Mets rotation with Mr. Maine. I do look foward to Pelfrey's debut. Pitching Gods, shine you light upon these Mets, per favore.

Baseball is good. Know what else is good? iTunes. Yeah, I don't have an IPod, but it allows for a quick, affordable way to get my fix for certain songs, and as I type this, I am burning disc after disc for that one special day that I finally get an IPod. That will be a glorious day.

I'm losing steam so I'll close with little else. I did accomplish a few things that I haven't made time for in way too long. I beat Zelda for the Wii. That's a fun game for any video game fans who stumble upon this post. As mentioned, I started reading Bob Dylan 'Chronicles' Volume 1, that being after I flew through Micke Foley's latest Bio 'Hardcore Diaries.' Foley IS good. Even as an author. I thought I was bipolar at my job, he's right there with me. It's a good read for anyone familiar with the works of Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy.

You stay classy, Planet Earth.

Format Wars

2007-03-18T13:43:00.000-07:00

I've recently come to the conclusion that a feeling I had about the latest entertainment technology based war between formats (HD-DVD Vs. BluRay) was changing. Oh, how a change of feelings bothers me. So sure I was of my 'rightness' only a year ago, that now, coming to a new conclusion is frustrating, and annoying. But it has come to be, that I must change the way I feel. I just can't escape it, kind of like my lambasting of The Killers some 2 years ago. I now...kind of like The Killers. I know, I'm horrible.
For those who know me, and have worked with me since the first talk of HD-DVD and BluRay DVD's started bouncing about, I found it laughable. It immediately brought thoughts of Sony Mini-Discs and Digital Audio CD's. I mean that as, those were two blips on the radar of technological goodies for all us consumers to decide to buy into and subsequently re-buy our old collection of CD's for 'convenience' or 'quality' depending on which one you sunk your hard earned cash into. Those blips lasted a mili-second and never showed up again. I am glad our consumer minds didn't fall into that trap. We all saw we didn't need them, and they bottomed out quickly, never to return...unless you consider the Ipod the evolution of Mini-Disc...perhaps for another blog...
Though I also considered this, what were the previous 'Format Wars'? Well, they were VHS vs. DVD, and Cassette Tape Vs. CD. Those weren't so much wars, as they were 'squash' matches. We're talking an old fashioned jobber against Hulk Hogan. Though it did take DVD's a little longer to catch on due to some folks holding true to their VHS roots, it soon became clear that DVD's weren't just a lame attempt at getting consumers to spend money on movies they already had, they were just a superior product and looked and sounded awesome! I bought my first DVD's at the Carousel Mall in Syracuse, NY with the ol' Crazy Train. What did I buy that day? The Game(which I had never seen before, and marked the first time I ever bought a movie without seeing first) and 'LA Confidential' one of my favorite movies of all time. What did I use to buy them? A credit card.
Yes, DVD's best friend...the college freshman who just got their first credit card and were armed with a brand new PC with a DVD player built in. Absofuckinglutely brilliant.
And not just me, everybody in the dorms were doing the same thing. 'Hey, I just got Starship Troopers, come on in!' and 'Holy shit, have you seen The Matrix? AWESOME!' It was pandemonium, Jess!
They came out faster than VHS did, they were cheaper than VHS when they first hit the shelves, they were durable, they were easy to store and transport and mail(Netflix started soon after this too) and they looked and sounded great. Soon, DVDs were clearly here to stay, and VHS was no longer needed. And we all didn't care about rebuying stuff we had on tape, it was BETTER now.
CD's were the same story, no chance for cassette tapes to survive...ever had to untangle a CD out of your stereo? If you have, please tell me that story, it's probably a worthwile tale. The quality and convenience was clear, and prices were affordable for everybody to enjoy.
Those 'wars' were just evolution really.
This new war though, I thought was a lost cause. I said earlier I found it laughable. My thoughts were this: Everybody already did the new DVD dance starting in 1997 and 1998. That time is was the logical next step in home theater entertainment. We liked it, and bought it, and made it huge. People started their 'collections' and 'libraries', it wasn't just a casual thing. It was a 'It's Tuesday, I'm going to Best Buy' thing. Or a 'Amazon is having a kickass sale' thing. So here we are, 8 years later, and a new type of DVD format is coming out? Oh, I'm sorry, 2 new DVD formats are coming out?!?! WTF?
So, these years of building a library, marvelling at how much better the remastered editions of all these great movies and now TV shows look and sound, and you're telling me a new format is coming out, that is supposedly better? Puh-lease. Laughable. Not laughable in that they could look and sound even better, but just that the studios and retail chains would actually think anyone in their right mind would want to spend first hundreds of dollars on one or possibly 2 new DVD players AND THEN spend more money rebuying some, if not all of the DVDs they already owned and then someday soon be forced to buy any new DVD's under the new format(assuming standards DVD's get phased out naturally like VHS).
Yeah right, I thought. No way. No-one's going to give a shit, we're all too jaded and can see right through this. There's no way the quality could be that much better to make me want to spend all that money.
Yeah, me? I was wrong.
We have both formats set up here at the office, and I even have an HD-DVD player at the apartment(that's a tale for another blog as it doesn't work very well at the moment).
The quality difference is amazing, especially on BluRay dics. There really is a difference!
I can't explain it really as I'm not a wiz when it comes to the specs of the machines, or speed at which they spin the disc and read the data, but with my own two eyes, I can see the difference. The HD-DVD movies, and BluRay movies look and sound fantastic. There's no way around it. I, sadly, know that there will be some of my favorite movies that I will want to own in these formats. There in lies the other problem...not every movie will be on both formats. To this day, I think Superman Returns is the only movie released on both formats to far. THAT is a major league bitchslap to us consumers that I...I...well, I would normally break into a tirade, complete with cursing at how fucked up that is and how it's solely based on numbers being crunched by big wig mother fuckers who know they're going to make a shit ton of money off of all us consumer losers who have to spend money on their entertaining crap. But I won't do that this time. I pretty much have resinged myself to one day owning both formats, here's what gives me that idea and what actually prompted this blog.
Last weekend I got a call from a friend of mine who said 'You know who's gonna win this HD Vs. BluRay war? HD-DVD will because they got Porn movies and we all know that business is here to stay.' True. I added 'But BluRay will have Disney films.' An equally powerful mainstay in the world of entertainment, albeit one for adults(mostly), and one for children(mostly). So I see this scenario. As times passes, we all know the prices will go down on both sets of new players, and they will get smaller and easier to have one in every room with a TV(which is also an ever growing number per household). Size wise, if you haven't seen them, the HD-DVD players are as big and heavy as an 80's first generation VCR...they are clunky bitches. That will change and life will be merry. So in this world of dual formats, the kiddies will have their 'Disney's Robin Hood' playing for the 400th time in a row as they curl up to sleep in their room now equipped with a TV, laptop, Tivo and BluRay PS6. Meanwhile, Mommy and Daddy pop in the latest Jenna Jameson so pops can get the proper motivation to make another 'Little Consumer' with the Missus'.
Somewhat of a narrow view, but you catch my drift. In the last year, I have gone from 'neither will win, they both will fail' to 'they are both going to win, and I'm going to help them do it.'
Working in the industry I do, I see where all this is going. Everyobdy is moving towards a bigger and better house with bigger and better gadgets(and I realize that some of this has to do with living in L.A., somehow I want to believe that back on Long Island, it's not quite as extreme as it is out here, but I feel even if that's true, it's only a matter of time.) HD-DVD and BluRay are better enough quality that they will succeed, and I will be buying Lewbowski, LA Confidential, Shawshank, Transformers: The Movie, Chinatown, and all the rest on whatever format they end up coming out on. I wonder which one will get WWE DVD's...
Salut.

sermotion:content

The Silver Surfer Surfaces

2006-12-26T18:34:00.000-08:00

Check it out! I dig it.

They're 6-2...How Will They Finish?

2006-11-05T21:51:00.000-08:00

In today's equation, They = The Giants.

After narrowly dispatching the lowly Houston Texans today, the New York Giants sit atop the NFC East with a comfortable(but not cushy) 2 game lead over the Eagles and Cowboys. Being it's the half-way point of the season, I feel it neccessary to prognosticate on these coming weeks...just what will the Giants record be when the final second ticks off the regular season clock? As I look into my crystal ball...I see...I SEE...

Sun, Nov 12 - Chicago Bears - A Big L. The end of their 5 game win streak :( 6-3!
Mon, Nov 20 - @Jacksonville Jaguars - They win one for Big Jim and Judy watching in the stands! 7-3!
Sun, Nov 26 - @Tennesee Titans - A win, but by a slim margin. 8-3.
Sun, Dec 3 - Dallas Cowpokes - A win. Romo is burning. 9-3!
Sun, Dec 10 - @Carolina Panthers - Desperate Panthers will be too much in this loss. 9-4.
Sun, Dec 17 - Philadelphia Eagles - A victory, sealing the NFC East Crown? 10-4.
Sun, Dec 24 - New Orleans Saints - Brees picks them apart. Loss. 10-5.
Sat, Dec 30 - Washington Redskins - Win. They finish 6-0 in the NFC East. 11-5!

There you have it! The Giants will finish 11-5 this year. Two straight NFC East Championships!

I have forseen this...

They're 1-2

2006-11-04T20:45:00.000-08:00

Yes indeed. The Good Doctor over at 'Hear Me Say' beat me to the punch this year addressing the Knicks. For that, I will seek revenge with an unholy wrath. But I loved the nostalgia trip Walt Clyde provided, made me miss hearing his commentary too. ENOUGH!

For now, I get back to what I want to do, and that's talk about the Playoff Bound New...York...KNICKS!

I'm sorry, I thought it was 1993-1999 again.

I meant to say, 'talk about the pitiful New York Knicks.'

So they're 1-2 currently. It's still early in the season though, perhaps I am rushing to judgement? Nope, sadly, I am not.

We can all see it clear as day. Opening Night at MSG and the Knicks and their fans may as well have stayed home instead to watch the drubbing the Pacers just dispatched on all their asses. This team still doesn't play defense, and they don't have the discipline or talent to keep up with the better teams in the league. And that's paying them a compliment really. Last night they lost to the HAWKS. The Atlanta Hawks are well known as one of the most unbalanced, poorly managed, and talentless teams in the league. And they beat the Knicks by 10 points!

I, along with many Knicks fans out there, at the start of the season, somehow managed to trick myself into thinking "Maybe they aren't THAT bad after all." I, along with all those other Knicks fans, are wrong. The Knicks stink. Shame on me for ever thinking this year won't be as bad as last year.

Yes, they might manage to eek out a few more wins than last year. But in the end, they will still be a roster of overpaid, overrated, selfish, ignorant players who will never, ever gel into a squad capable of going anywhere of note in the Playoffs.

I should say though, there are a few players on the roster that are exceptions to that rule and could actually, if allowed to develop over the next few years and they avoid getting any of the current poison that flows through the halls of the Garden into their own veins, be important keys to the Knicks success 3-4 years down the line. I speak of Channing Frye, David Lee, and Nate Robinson. Each in their Sophomore year, these 3 players have a great opportunity to stand out more than they did in their rookie campaigns and with their hard work, hussle, and God willing, team attitude, could keep that small, dimming flame of hope ignited in the soul of each and every Knick fan out there. I know some would say they've lost that flame altogether, but I cry foul! Lies and deceit! We were all there in 93-94...and 99 too. We all wish for the day to come when a nationally televised Knicks-Pacers, or Knicks-Bulls game on Christmas Eve is a 'Playoff Rivalry Preview' again. When you can get excited as you look at the schedule and see a Home-and-Home series against the Heat. Or smile when the Spurs come into the Garden and you know the game is gonna come down to the last few seconds with 'The Final Countdown' blaring out over a standing-room-only MSG crowd.

I know I wish for it. I miss it. But even 3-4 years down the line seems an overly optomistic prediction. If they are lucky, Eddy Curry will be half the player they thought he was when they traded the future for him. It would be nice if Renaldo Balkman is the defensive wizard Isaih makes him out to be. And maybe, just maybe if Jamal Crawford stops taking shots as if he he has Michael Jordan's Shooting Percentage...maybe...if all these things happen, then 3-4, even 2-3 years, doesn't seem to far fetched...

Damnit, there I go again tricking myself. Stupid Phil! I never learn.

My Neck Hurts, and it Spasms(lightly) Sometimes

2006-11-04T20:34:00.000-08:00

Only when I hold my head upright and keep it that way though. Also, my jaw is tight and sometimes feels spasmy too. My pinky's twitch sometimes too.

Such is my current state. I am moving out of a period where I felt muscle fatigue in my arms and legs, and now it has moved up to my Cranial Zone apparantly.

I'm trying to push through and forget about it, but when the neck starts aching(as it does now) it's hard to ignore.

I don't mean to complain, but I did feel the need to explain why I have been on the worst Blog Posting Period of my short, fabled career.

I've been nursing lingering effects of my last Medical Malaise continually, and when you add in the stress of the job, I just ain't found the time and energy to write.

Tonight, however, I'm up for it!

ROTSS

2006-09-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

How about that?

As I wrote about a while ago, it is now official. The Silver Surfer will be a major part of the Fantastic Four Sequel. Read all of the good news here:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/news/comments/?entryid=365070

I had heard a rumor that they were going to go with a 'man in suit' to portray the Surfer, which made me cringe. However, as reported on Rotten Tomatoes, they have decided to go with Weta and a CGI character actor to bring Norrin Radd to the silver screen...mwahahahahaha!

I look forward to reading more about the progress of this movie as info starts popping up.

And you'll hear about it too!

Until next time...

Where in the Hell are my...

2006-09-05T22:31:00.000-07:00

Super Nintendo controllers and power source.

System? Check.

RCA Cables? Check.

Games? Check.

Fucking Game Genie? Check.

Other VITAL components? NEG-UH-TIVE

They should've all been in the same box. But NO, apparantly the last time I moved I made the genious move of splitting up this particular set of fun and joyous gaming.

I just got Super Baseball Simulator 1.000 off of Ebay and CAN'T FRIGGIN' PLAY IT.

I'm pissed.

News and Notes

2006-09-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

Just a few little things today, nothing really big that I felt motivated to ramble on about:

1) I will be in NY November 22-30, be on the lookout.

2) Wrestlemania 23 tickets go on sale November 11th, I have at least 3 tickets to get for folks..anyone else, speak up now. It's in Detroit.

3) I cannot wait for the NFL season to start anymore, I am considering a brief hibernation period just to get there 'faster'. I'll even deal with the Hibernation Sickness.

4) Speaking of the NFL, I am just about to start my 3rd and final Fantasy Football draft of the year. I love them, but this year I was unprepared. Wish me luck.

5) Also speaking of the NFL, Peter King can suck it. I hate him.

6) One more NFL note, the NFC East predictions I see from the 'experts' across the board are all different. Who knows how this thing will suss out? For the Giants, it relies heavily on the health of 3 players, and the progress of Eli Manning. The 3 players I speak of? Tiki, LaVarr, and Antonio. If they are hobbled, it will be hard for the G-Men to make it to the playoffs.

7) My stomach gave me a scare yesterday, but it turns out I'm just paranoid.

8) Work is very busy these days. Wish me luck.

9) The draft starts now! So long!

The Update

2006-08-24T17:05:00.000-07:00

Aaaaaaaaaalright Donnie!

Well, saw the GI and got the blood test from yesterday back, and all signs point to wellness!

Lypase and White Blood Cells are back to normal levels in the blood.

I found out the tongue goop was a side effect of the wonderous Flagyl I was on, and have been given small pills to dissolve the goop.

After the Dr. examined the gut, he deemed it may just be inflamed intenstines from Colitis. Which pretty much means I need not eat fatty foods or drink alcohol for the next 2 weeks until I see the doc again.

I'm keeping a log of all I eat and drink, and will need to submit it to the Doc when I go back. They also did an Ultra Soun today, and they said everything looked normal(Liver, Kidneys, Pancreas, Stomach, and Small and Large I's)

The final step will be September 8th AKA Manning Day Minus 2. That is when I enter the world of the 50+ Year Olds, and get a Colonoscopy.

GI Doc wants to make sure any of the inflamed areas are all healed properly.

So, as long as I eat well and lay off the sauce for a spell, I'll be good as new.

I am getting negative reaction to the news though: 'Oh man, no drinking? THAT sucks.'

Yeah, it does suck in a way, but when you have this interation with your doctor, you feel just fine:

PhilSelway - "Essentially, I just need to know if anything we've discovered here points to something life threatening."

GI Doc - He Laughs. "(Phil) you're going to live."

Thank you, come again.

sermotion:extatic

Month of Medical Malaise AKA The Story of Gizm 5(or is it 6?)

2006-08-23T19:30:00.001-07:00

Greetings Fury Fans,

I just returned to the office from Part 2 of the PhilSelway Root Canal Project.

Yes, the ol' Toofs had a rebellious member, gone and got itself infected wit'tha badness.

Said badness has been removed, through 2 sessions conducted by the father-in-law of one of my bosses. I reccomend his dentistry to anyone I know! Here's what I heard when I would tell people I was heading in for a Root Canal:

"Oh my God, really? That was one of the worst experiences of my life."

"Wow, that sucks man. It hurt real bad for days after I had it done."

"2 trips? Good luck, I barely made it through one!"

Thank you friends! Make a brotha feel real nice heading into it.

Anyway, I'm not gonna say having a Root Canal is as if I've gone to Hawaii on vacation BUT, folks, save the drama for yo momma!

It wasn't that bad at all. First session was long, yes, but the pain was minimal considering the pain I was going through BEFORE the procedure.

Then tonight, was a 45 minute jaunt with a little scraping, a little filling-of-the-root-canals-with-fake-roots, and then, the best part. Out comes a lighter, a metal tool, and the burning began!

The dentist has to burn off the ends of the fake roots before it all gets sealed up together, so the melting begins! Hot flaming metal in your mouth, and I can't feel a damn thing. I'm still numb now. In fact, my left ear is numb! THAT is some good novacaine.

Which is another dreaded Dentist moment apparantly. People can't stand the 'HUGE' needle that is used to numb you up. PLEASE people, it's a second worth of feeling a pin-prick, then voila! No pain for the next three hours.

Ain't nothin' wrong with it.

So the Root Canal is done, I just have to go back for a crown in a few weeks to really finish it off.

However, the plot thickens! As you can see by the title of this post, I've had a 'Month of Medical Malaise'. It don't take no month for a Root Canal.

Three weekends ago, I awoke on Saturday with bad, sharp pains in my stomach. I assumed it was gas. As most of you know, I have always had the gas. The gas is an extension of my being. So, I got up, did my thing, and figured it was done.

The pain kept coming back, and as I kept retreating to the bathroom, less and less of 'my thing' was going on, but the pain was still there. This was worrysome. The jolts of pain did start to slow down throughout the day, they went from happening every half-hour, to every-hour, to a two hour span where I felt it might be done. Unfortunately, it came back again. At that point, it was 4PM, and I decided to call an 'Urgent Care' center to get their opinion. They advised I go to an ER to rule out Appendicits. The Girl had already gone to work, so off I go to drive myself to the ER.

Yeah, the ride was fun. I had an attack of pain halfway through and had to awkwardly unbutton my pants while making a turn to relieve the pressure. It was also 5PM traffic in Santa Monica on a Saturday, so it was NOT smooth sailing. All the tourists and locals were too busy trying to go to all the same restaurants and shops, so PhilSelway was left to hope to heck I didn't have an episode of pain large enough to cause an accident.

Fortunately, I made it without incident and parked. I then hobbled into the ER where a nurse promptly sat me down and started taking my info. They lead me to a room and there I sat for a bit.

At this point the pain hadn't hit since the car, which had been about 20 minutes prior, and I was feeling OK. They took a blood and urine sample and went away for a bit. They came back and said my White Blood Cell count was high, and they needed to do a C(a)tscan of my stomach. Of course, the 'C' word was the first thing that crossed my mind, and on came the butterflies. I was wheeled up and prepped for the scan.

The prep is the fun part, they inject you with something (didn't catch the name) that has 2 side effects:
1) You get a metallic taste in your mouth
2) You feel like you're burning for 30 seconds

Go ahead and let that settle in for a second.

Yep, you read it right, makes you feel like you're burning. I figure this might be fun.

So they do it up, and the burn came on. To be honest, they play it up worse than it is. I was on fire for 10 seconds, tops, and I'll say this. Every orifice felt like it was on fire. Every one of them...some, more than others. That's all I'll say on that, but in the end, not as bad as it sounded like it was going to be.

The scan takes all of 15 minutes and you're done. They wheeled me into the hall, and I sat there outside the door waiting for an orderly to take me back to the ER.

As I waited, I saw a greiving family walking behind what I can only assume was their deceased relative on a covered gerney being wheeled by two hosptial employees. This was a strange image and experience.

They came to get me after about 10 minutes, and off I went back to the ER. I sat in the ER for an hour afterward and the Dr. came in, asking if I had been sent up for the scan yet. When I told her yes, about an hour ago, she was surprised and left the room, stating she needed to find out why they haven't given her the results yet.

She came back 30 minutes later and said it looks like I have diverticulitis (small pockets in your intestines develop with age, and food that is hard to digest can get stuck, and become infected). Which is strange and rare in young folks like me, but they said it can happen, so I was cleared to leave.

The pain hadn't happened for hours at that point, I was in the ER from 5PM to 12:30AM. So The Girl came and got me, I picked up my prescription of Cipro(yes, the Anthrax drug) and went home to rest. They told me to see my primary care doctore in 2 days to follow-up.

I go to my Good Doctor and she proceeds to scare the crap out of me.

She is VERY skepticle that this is Diverticulits, and she says these two sentences to me:

1) I'll be relieved when the follow-up blood tests come back and they are normal
2) I mean, we have to make sure you don't have Colon Cancer or anything(chuckle)

Yep. She dropped the 'C' bomb with a chuckle. I was left to wonder if it meant one of 2 things:

1) I just joked about Colon Cancer because I know it's a last thing it could be and I want to ease your tension
2) I just joked about Colon Cancer because it's a way to bring it up as a possibility without being grim

Yeah, you try to guess which one. F'n A man.

So, anyway, the pains were gone, I still had some gas, but it was improving, and I felt OK. They had me continue the Cipro for a few more days, and added Flagyl to the mix. When she prescribed the Flagyl she said this to me:

"This makes you feel bad, the next few days are going to be miserable for you."

Yep. She said THAT too. Now, I know she might sound like a monster, but she's really a nice doctor, I mean that. I just haven't gone to her long enough yet to figure out what the heck she's saying with sentences like that.

Anyway, the first night I took the Flagyl was the worst. I was home alone with Rocky the dog and when it kicked in, I felt really stoned for a while. But not the good stoned, it was the slightly paranoid 'did I just go crazy?!?' stoned. I was literally standing in the doorway of the bathroom for a few minutes wondering if I was about to have a panic attack with only the dog to witness. Luckily that didn't last long, and I was able to mellow out by taking a hot shower and watching some TV. From there on out, the Flagyl only made me feel bad for another day, then it settled in and I was fine for the fnal 3 days of it. I COULD NOT wait to get off the pills though, the other side effect is bad poopin'. That was not fun, and hard on the bottom. Thank you, Aloe.

A few days later, the blood test came back, and they said, all was clear! All was back to normal! I was extatic. This meant it was Diverticulitis after all, and all I had to do was watch that I don't eat too many foods with seeds in them, and I'd be OK.

But of course, it doesn't end there. Flash to Monday, 8/21. Two days ago. I had a bout with the poops again, no pain though. I knew this was to last for a bit as my intestines, and this is another quote from the doctor, "Will be angry for a bit." The bout though, came with a headache, some nausea, and my tongue had a thick coat of goop on it.

So, off I go again to the Doctor today, and here's what she tells me.

It turns out on my follow-up blood test that was 'All Clear' and 'Fine' not 2 weeks prior, was in fact, NOT fine. The lab DID NOT send my Lipase Enzyme count over to her, until YESTERDAY. That Lipase count was part of what was High during my ER visit, so, they pretty much ignored half of what was wrong with my blood until yesterday.

And yes you read that right, I saw the doctor today, got this news, gave blood again, and THEN went to get my root canal finished. Oh sweet day.

Throw in the fact that my cell phone barely works anymore, and I've had quite the month.

The saga will continue tomorrow, I see a Gastro-Intestnal Specialist at 9:15AM and he will try to figure out what the heck is wrong with me. Here is what my search on High Levels of Lipase turned out:

"A high lipase level may be caused by:
Diseases of the pancreas, such as pancreatitis or cancer of the pancreas.
Problems with the gallbladder, such as gallstones and inflammation (cholecystitis).
Chronic kidney disease.
Problems with the intestines, such as bowel blockage (obstruction) or tissue death (infarction).
Infection, inflammation, or cancer of a salivary gland.
Peptic ulcer disease.
Alcohol or drug abuse. "

Wish me luck, Fury Fans. Talk to you all soon!

sermotion:nervous

I Love This

2006-07-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

It feels so good. Sorry Atlanta. Your turn now.

sermotion:happy

World Cup Brings the Blues?

2006-07-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

I'm watching Brazil vs. France on this lazy Saturday afternoon, and while I watch, I can't help but reflect on something that has been rattling around in my brain since the World Cup started. Not sure why the World Cup did it, as I watch sports always, but it did.

Why did I ever stop playing sports? I used to play Baseball, every year, since when I could first swing a bat and throw a ball! Then, I just stopped. Junior Year of High School was the end of my Baseball endeavor. I had a shitty coach that year and he did more to kill my confidence than probably anyone ever has in my life. As I reflect back, I almost can't believe how terrible he was.

I was a good baseball player, but there comes a point where you really need to start learning the nuances of the game if you want to keep moving up the ranks. You can't just get up there and hack and make it to the big leagues unless you're Manny Ramirez and Andruw Jones, who have a Million Dollar Skill Set and a 10 Cent Brain between the two of them! Anyway, this coach had no patience to teach anyone. He took the guys who he felt were the best players he had and put them in the starting lineup, very heavy on favoritism. There was little strategy that I ever saw him use, and he didn't seem to care about anything but remaining 'cool' in the eyes of the Stars of the Team. I call that John Baeumiller Syndrome.

I was the odd man out. And when I say, the, I mean THE. I was the cast away of the team, which was a whole new world for me. I was used to starting every game, and being an important part of things(save for 9th grade when I couldn't hit anything for some reason). Yet, this coach kept me planted on the bench doing pitchcounts, scorecards, and pretty much nothing. I was lucky if I got to pinch hit in a game. Now, those who know me know that I've never been a 'Jock', and this coach lived by the code of the 'Jock.' I was doomed from day one.

Very quickly I learned this guy didn't give a hoot if I showed up to practice or games. Everybody back then would miss a practice now and again, and I had missed one a few days before a game. Not even the day before the game! That next game we won by 13 runs. I was the only person who didn't get in the game. After the game ended, I asked him what was up. He said 'You missed a practice, can't put you in, you know that's the rule' He didn't even look me in the eye when he said it! Of course, one of our starters missed practice the next day, and come game day, he sat that player for 2 innings, then put him right in after the players Dad came up to the coach and said 'Hey, c'mon, he starts everygame.' Not that it mattered, he had told the player before the game started that he was gonna sit for 4 innings, not the whole game. His Dad got him those 2 extra innings. This happened right in front of me also, and for some reason I remember I was smiling at how the Coach knew I was sitting right there and I could see the discomfort in his face that he was capitulating in front of me. He put me in the game for the last 3 innings that day. I got a hit, RBI and a stolen base. Jerk.

You'd think I remember all the details of this season based on this entry so far. I think I almost do to be honest. I feel like I may never forget some of the interactions I had that year on the baseball team. I'll try to keep this shorter than it can be though.

Though he didn't employ much in-game strategy as a Coach, he did try to advance our skills in practice, which lead me to make a choice that I'm not sure if I decided correctly on to this day. He would have us do various bunting drills, which is a great skill to have as you move up in the game. I was good at it. He also had us take curve balls and try to hit them to the opposite field, which is a great skill to have. Not everyone was good at this. I was very good at it. After that practice session, I thought for sure I had earned a spot in the starting lineup. I was wrong. Didn't get in to the next game. At this point we were halfway through the season, and it didn't matter how well I did, or how many times I would try to improve in an area where I had made mistakes before, this coach was keeping me benched. Here is the choice I spoke of. My father asked me one day how I was feeling after not playing much. I explained everything to him. Told him how I was not favored on the team, and wasn't really sure how it was going. I had even thought of quitting the team! At that point my Father asked me if I wanted him to go down there and talk to the coach. I told him no.

I told him no because I didn't like the thought that if I started getting in games after that, it was only after my father had to come down and talk to the coach. I wanted to play because I made it happen. I knew back then I would feel very embarrassed if I "had to have my Dad come down and talk to the coach" to play. That would've been humiliating. Now, I wonder if I should've not felt that way. Again, as I look back, this coach sucked, and the team did not play well as a result. Maybe my Dad would've given it to this guy straight. Those who know Big Jim, know that he doesn't beat around the bush. He gets to the point. But back then, I wasn't thinking like I do now. I was thinking as a High School kid who didn't want to look like a bigger loser than I normally did (I know, I wasn't a "loser", but I wasn't the 'hippest' dude that ever hit Pat-Med).

I ended up staying on the team all year, and played sparingly. I finsihed hitting a respectable .308, whith a hanfdul of RBI's and some SB's in my limited playing time.

At the end of the year, they do an 'Awards Night' for all the sports players where you get your 'Varsity Letters' and a certificate and the coach says nice things about you. I remember my Sister took me, which I'm thankful for! Not many players showed up, and when he got to giving me my stuff, he said 'Now here's a player that I'm happy to see stuck it out and is with us tonight.' He made some generic remarks about being a good player and gave me my Letters. As we were leaving he was giving exit greetings and asked me if I was palying baseball in a summer league. I told him no and remember thinking "What the fuck do you care?" He said that was too bad, and that he looked forward to seeing me next year. I can only imagine how hard that was for him to say, because I don't think he meant a word of it.

So I never played organized baseball again. Senior year I was solely a Techie and didn't try out for Baseball. In College I thought about joining the Syracuse Club Team (they don't have an official team) and I even went as far as to call the coach of the Club Team to get details, but he seemed so uninterested in the conversation I didn't give it further thought after that.

France beat Brazil, and it was an exciting second half. Now that I've written this, I definately wish I had kept playing. I'm a firm believer in if you keep at it, you can make it happen. And I'm such a dreamer that I feel like at 26 years old, if I practiced every day, and got into great shape, I could still be a good player. Life feels very strange sometimes.

sermotion:embarrassed

Superman Returns!

2006-07-01T18:21:00.000-07:00

I saw the movie last night with the Lady, Hilde and Luns and it was great! I reccommend the film to any of my friends, that's for sure. All of the main characters were well played, the story was cool (except for one thing, but it didn't go too far so I'm ok with it), and the music was awesome too! I liked the movie a lot. 4/5 stars! I'll not throw a big review up as I don't want to reveal too much. I am interested to hear what other folks thought of it who maybe aren't familiar with the original Superman 1 and 2 movies though. There is a lot of tie-in's to those films in 'Returns', and I thought the movie did a good job at offering some backstory WITHOUT going through a whole origin story. I was very pleased with the lack of origin time spent, they already did that in Superman 1 and it was great then. No need to rehash it. So, if you see 'Returns', and haven't seen Superman 1 and 2 either ever, or not in a while so you don't remember them well, let me know how 'Returns' floats your boat! Gracias.

sermotion:happy

Glee

2006-06-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

Oh baby. Looks like they are going ahead with the Silver Surfer/Galactus storyline after-all!

This is very exciting news for me and other 4 Silver Surfer fans that are still out there! 'There is Thought' author Phil, included.

From what folks are writing this is a 'working title' that they put together for the Promo Poster, so it will most likely just end up being Fantastic Four 2. But either way, mucho happiness from yours truly!

To me, my board.

Hey, I said 'to me'...hey.....HEY!

Ohhhhh, even my board hates me.

Heh.

sermotion:happy

X-Men:The Last Stand

2006-06-18T15:33:00.000-07:00

I ventured to the multiplex on Friday night with The Lady to see X-Men: The Last Stand.

Leading in to the film, I had read a lot about it at the popular site, www.aint-it-cool-news.com, and just your general reviews from my frequent sources like cnn.com and newsday.com. AICN.com was the biggest source of feedback though, and I read a lot about how the new director had pretty much massacred the franchise, the writing was horrendous, the acting was stale, and how the feel of the movie was flat in emotion, yet frantic in composition.

All of the above is dead on. The Lady and I left after 45 minutes.

Those of you who know me, and how much I get into a movie like X-Men, or Batman or Star Wars know that even if a movie isn't that great, I'll find a way to defend it and like it. Take for instance my reactions to Star Wars Episode 2 and 3. I actually liked them a ton after seeing them, and defended them. I do stuff like that. But with X-Men: The Last Stand, I couldn't do it. It was that bad.

Here's a snippet from the film:

Storm is walking down the hall at the X-Mansion, Professor X rolling along with her. With no set-up at all, and nothing to justify this interaction Professor X tells Storm:

'You know, one day I see you replacing me.'

Storm gives the obligatory 'What the fuck? Shut up asshole, you ain't gonna die' reaction, and then says:

'What about Scott?' (Scott = Cyclops, the leader of the X-Men, Professor X's Golden Boy, and a real dick)

Professor X replies, as if he doesn't give a crap about Scott at all, by saying:

'Scott's a changed man. He hasn't been the same since Jean died. You of all people know how fast the weather can change.'

So, we are to believe that Professor X, who throughout the first 2 X-Men films, and his entire existance in the comic books, has shown that he has nothing but love, admiration, and genuine concern for every mutant who lives, including Magneto and his minions who want to kill all of humanity and/or turn them all into mutants, suddenly decides about his long time, son-like friend: 'Fuck Scott, he's a bitch since Jean died. Storm, you're up!'

And it comes out of no-where! From reading about the film beforehand, I know what happens to Professor X and Scott in the film. This scene serves as a foreshadowing tool, but also as a way to completly shit on the character of Professor X that we've gotten to know in the first two films, and if you're a comic book fan, the last 30 years or so of X-Men books.

And they wrap it all up with a lame pun.

Speaking of lame puns; For what we saw of the movie, all Wolverine is good for is a couple sight gags and nothing but one-liners apparantly. Yes, in the first two films, Wolverine was good for a laugh at times, but it was spaced out nicely. This movie, he was a joke (or all jokes, I should say), and it didn't even seem like Hugh Jackman gave a crap either.

On that note, 99% of the cast looked like they were phoning it in. The only exception was Magneto. Ian McKellan was great as Magneto again and his scenes were the only ones where I felt like it was an X-Men movie again. Even Pyro, who hardly spoke in the movie, was more in character than Storm, Wolverine and Professor X combined.

The movie itself was rushed in production, I belive the schedule was cut by more than a month, so I expected there would have to be some drawbacks as a result. But this movie was so rushed and jumbled together that it didn't even seem like they tried for anything more than to get a good opening weekend gross to justify the Wolverine spin-off movie in the works. The preview made it look like this movie was jam pakced with action and raw emotion that would leave us wanting X-Men 4 to be in theaters tomorrow! Turns out most of those action scenes from the preview happen in a meaningless scene from the first 5 minutes of the movie.

Some may argue we didn't give it enough time. Only 45 minutes? C'mon Phil, that's not enough. Well to those of you who would say that, I say, how could you stand the dialogue? The whole premise of the movie is rediculous. Seeing Beast in a top-secret conference with the President and top-level 'Homeland Security' folks was laugh-out-loud funny in the worst way. Poor Kelsey Grammar, looking for his comeback role, playing a character where if they gave him good stuff to work with he could probably steal the show with, and they give him laughable garbage.

Yeesh. I'll stop there. I clearly didn't like the movie.

In a more general sense, I was very much looking forward to this Summer's movie season. Leading in to May, I was looking foward to seeing Mission: Impossible 3, X-Men, Da Vinci Code, The Break -Up, and Superman Returns. Here's how they stack up -

MI3 - Saw it, I liked it. Good action-packed summer blockbuster movie.
Da Vinci Code - Didn't see it after the horrendous reviews
X-Men - See Above
The Break-Up - Friends say it's worth a rental, not a thater trip
Superman Returns - My only hope to salvage the summer movie season

Future films I am excited about -
Spider-Man 3 (me and all 4,000,000,000,000 of you)
Transformers!!! Yes!
Fantastic Four 2 (if they do the Surfer storyline)
Sixty Hot Dogs 2: 61* Hot Dogs

That's all for now, I'm pooped.

Let's go Mets!

Shill Alert

2006-06-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

Fury Fans, I've missed you. It's been too long in between posts! The lack of contact is due to working a lot, and not being home a lot. That, combined with some lazyness, and you've got what I've given to this Blog. Zilch!

But I'm back for now, and am here to write!

Besides the normal busyness of my main job, I've recently started a little business venture with the Tartish One and Scotty H. Check it out at www.scoreforpedro.com!

I'd call the response to the movement 'tepid' at best, even from friends and family, but hey, you never know.

We're also on MySpace.com, here - www.myspace.com/scoreforpedro

End Shill.

Stephen Colbert

2006-05-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

Is incredible. Who caught his speech at the Correspondents Dinner?

The C-Span link is dead - rtsp://video.c-span.org/60days/wh042906_colbert.rm

And they apparantly don't want others to be showing it either - http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12693493/

Boo on them! C-Span doesn't like what he said? What did everyone expect? Whoever booked Colbert at the dinner may not have ever watched an episode of the Colbert Report if they expected anything different than what they got. He essentially made Bush, and the press corps, look like a bunch of baboons. And he did it right in front of their faces. Bravisimo!

Today we watched it at work on Salon.com, and luckily, the link lives!
http://www.salon.com/ent/video_dog/politics/2006/04/30/colbert_press/index.html

Give it a watch. I offer no in depth analysis, it speaks for itself.

Shame on C-Span for trying to have it pulled. The Copyright Line is BS, they are breaking, not bending, under pressures from Above. Lame. C-Span should be better than that.

Enough from me. Enjoy the Colbert. Here's hoping his show doesn't get yanked immediately.

Ta-Ta,
Phil

A Small Debate Goes to the Public Forum!

2006-05-08T17:01:00.000-07:00

Alright folks. During a weekend BBQ, the following question came up. I ask you, faithful readers of The Fury, what do YOU think:

Would you like a Guacadog? Or a Dogamole?

A Guacaburger? Or a Burgemole?

YOU Decide! Speak!

Remember When...

2006-03-19T18:54:00.000-08:00

Remember when the Knicks Vs. The Heat meant something?

I'm talking about the days of Zo Vs. Larry, Van Gundy Vs. Riley, Ewing, PJ Brown, Anthony Mason, Tim Hardaway, Derek Harper, and of course, Allan Houston's running jumper off the glass.

I'm talking about 9 Men, One Mission. Brawling and hard fought battles, from horn to horn. Every time they met, you knew it was going to be a good game. Throw in the fact that they would meet in the playoffs, and it meant great things for the NBA and it's fans.

Tonight I sit watching the Knicks Vs. The Heat on ESPN and it's nowhere near as great as it used to be. And I made a terrible mistake too. When I flipped past ESPN and saw that it was on, which is the only reason I knew it was on, which if you know me, speaks loudly of how much my interest in the Knicks has fallen, I got excited. That was a mistake.

It was a minute before half-time and the Knicks were in it. It was a 1 point game, and the fans were chanting 'Defense! Defense!' What's funny is, it's not even close to how loud that chant used to be. It's as if the Knicks fans have become wary of getting too into a game. It was a less than confident 'Defense' chant. How sad. But none the less, it was there, and it got my energy level up. I was excited. I settled in for the 2nd half hoping to see an exciting Knicks game again, and if they win, even better!

There is now 54.8 seconds left in the game and the score is 108-96 in favor of The Heat.

The Knicks had nothing in the 2nd half, it was all Heat. And what makes it worse is the fact that Shaq was in foul trouble the whole half, and still, the Knicks could not take advantage when he was out of the game for almost the entire 3rd quater. As the final seconds tick away, there aren't even that many 'Boos' to be heard. The Knicks fans don't even care enough anymore. And I don't blame them, I'm with them! Why expend the energy anymore? Why even try to create that electric atmosphere that used to resonate through the rafters of the Garden when the team that suits up in front of you, will give up. They quit. The Knicks players don't care.

Stephon Marbury this past week decided to proclaim the return of his alter-ego. The Hero that was supposed to come to NY, come home to NY, and lead the Knicks to glory once again. I write of course of 'Starbury', the man, the myth, the legend. Starbury, who is supposed to hail from the great otherworld of NBA lore, where the likes of Larry Legend, Wilt the Stilt, Shaq, MJ, and Magic were forged from the fires and liquid steel of NBA heart and soul. The place where champions are handed down to the surface of the earth to take a team, put them on their back, and win NBA Titles. Starbury apparantly was adversely affected by the heat and pressure of passing through earth's atmosphere. Maybe he melted a little, maybe he lost some chunks of heart and soul from his original mold by the NBA Gods above. Because Starbury, sucks. He hasn't won anything. And he can't lead the Knicks to anything better than the worst record in the league. What I saw tonight, was Starbury being outplayed by Dwayne Wade, who is most definately on his way to being known as another Legend. Not only that, but he was also outplayed by Jason Williams. Not quite a legend is he, but he played with more heart and more soul and more hussle than Starbury has shown in a long time.

Starbury. What a joke. The Knicks really are a mess, and there is no end in sight. Can KG come and be what Starbury should've been? I think he can. But he'll need a team around him that knows he's the man, and that everything goes through him. We'll see what this offseason brings. When I hear talk of James Dolan hinting at buying out a lot of these insane contracts that the Knicks are stuck with, I am happier than when Charles Smith was traded for JR Reid. If James Dolan buys out Steph, or Francis, or Crawford, or all of the above, he will win more points with me than ever I thought possible.

Remember when the Knicks Vs. The Heat meant something? Good lord I do, and I wish it was like that again. Too bad the Knicks have gone nowhere fast, and The Heat are on their way to having a good chance to win the NBA Title. That is, if Tim Duncan decides he doesn't need to win this year. Biotch.

Make it so - Update

2006-02-20T17:54:00.000-08:00

So far, the rumors of the Galactus/Silver Surfer storyline have not been classified as 'hoax' or 'bs.'

This intrigues me.

If this happens, and what AICN refers to as a 'Silver Surfer' feature does indeed spawn from the FF2 film, then conveivably we could see Thanos in movie form as well.

Somebody call my Momma!

Make it so!

2006-02-19T22:31:00.000-08:00

Recently, I had given up hope that the rumors of a Silver Surfer movie would come true.

Actually, on the very day that The Gal gave me the Coffee Machine from heaven, the topic had come up. It was after I was speaking of how bad X-Men 3 is shaping up to be(according to reports). I had stated that if X-Men 3 bombs and represents the true downfall of Marvel Comic movie translations as some believe it will, I will probably never see the Silver Surfer glide through the infinite cosmos, sad and pathetic yet all powerful, on the silver screen. The Gal responded with a snickering laugh, and stated 'You're never gonna see a Silver Surfer movie, sorry sweetie.' At least she is the realistic one.

But here, a glimmer of hope(mixed with shock):
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=22514

The hope is that they bring the Galactus storyline to film in the next Fantastic Four movie. That would be the most appropriate way for the SS to get his time in the sun, that's how it happened in the comics and would make all Silver Surfer fans(all 24 of us) fill with a great sense of satisfaction. The shock part?

Keanu Reeves as Norrin Radd/Silver Surfer. Don't get me wrong, I want to see a Silver Surfer movie, and if it means it has to be Keanu, then so be it, but there are many other actors out there that could bring substance to the Surfer that Mr. Reeves probably won't.

All I picture from Keanu is the same dead delivery of Neo from the Matrix films...and all his films really. The Silver Surfer is a broken man, forced to use his powers as a slave to Galactus, all a result of his ultimate sacrifice; accepting this life to save his world from being destroyed, included is that he had to leave his lady behind(and boy, that did not go well).

'Whoa' just ain't gonna cut it.

Norrin Radd needs to be confident and intelligent. Keanu might do the confident, but the scientist intellect? Not so much.

I have yet to see the first 'Fantastic Four' movie, but this latest news makes me want to check it out pronto, just to see what tone we're leading in with for this possible sequel.

This is the type of storyline that they should not cheapen by making it all action, no substance. This is the type of storyline that if they make 'Fantastic Four 2' a 2.5-3 hour affair, give enough time to the development of action and relationship of the characters(and hire good actors), you could see Spider-Man money by the end of its theatrical run.

I shall sleep well on this night!

I fully expect that tomorrow this story will be reported as bogus as does happen on aint-it-cool-news.com a lot. We shall see.

Nascar

2006-02-19T18:14:00.000-08:00

And around the track they go! Around and around they go, over and over again at ludicrous speed! For 500 miles, the Nascar's best and brightest show their stuff in the annual Daytona 500 race. Arguably Nascar's 'Superbowl', even though it takes place at the start of the season, the D5Hun gets more hype than the NBA and NHL finals combined! This piece of evidence tells me that all this 'nonense' that I hear about Nascar becoming the most popular sport in America might really be true, despite my heart's desire for the opposite. In the last few years, I have seen an increase in the amount of billboards, print, TV and radio adds that portray a Nascar driver, or team, shilling various brands of beer, liquor, hardware stores, and even now DLP Technology! And this is in LA! Nascar is becoming less of a 'hick' thing, which surprises me. I tried to watch the Race today, to see if maybe I have been blind, and am missing the 'Big Picture' that I often think of when folks tell me "baseball is too boring" or "football takes too long." When people say that to me, I gasp in disbelief and deem them 'Foolish!'
"Don't you get it?" I exclaim! "It's about strategy, skill, stamina, desire, and drama! Each game is a chapter from the book that is the Season!"
Those who guffaw at my disdain for racin' would probably say the same thing to me about their beloved Nascar. So I flipped on Fox and settled in to watch the Daytona 500.
After 20 minutes, I gave up.
I really tried this time. I have done this on 3 other occasions. Twice in high school, once in College, and now, as a 20 something out in the world, I did it for the 4th, and possibly final time.
Now I am a lover of sport, and that is a love of playing them, and watching them. This past year, I took another step in becoming old as I have grown a passion for watching golf. Yes, I know. But this Nascar thing still confounds me.
Some close friends of mine like Nascar. They don't seem to follow it hardcore like the NFL, but they do admitedly like it, and have an interest in it when the big races are on TV. So again, I felt like maybe I have been too stubborn about the whole thing.
Well, after those 20 minutes came and went, I don't care if it is stubborness, the race did nothing for me. I did not feel attached to anything that was happening. Being the sport lover that I am, I do know some of the racers. Tony Stewart(he won the Nascar Cup series last year?), Dale Jr., Kurt Busch, Kyle Petty, and Jimmie Johnson. And I saw their cars highlighted as they raced around the track, yet still, I couldn't find a reason to care who wins. That aspect of it would obviously change if I got into the sport and followed each race, thereby finding those in this crowded field that I would deem 'skilled' and would root for. But the 'skilled' part is what I find hardest to bite into.
I know these drivers are in adverse conditions, racing in cars that are going between 150-200 MPH at points in the race. It does take skill to keep control of the car at those speeds. They also face the literal heat of the race, often becoming dehydrated as the temperatures on the track get extremely high as the race progresses along the blacktop. That I can respect, they put their bodies(and lives) on the line for their business, bank account, and inadvertantly( I suppose) the desires of the fanbase to see a wreck. The drivers also use drafting as a way to gain an advantage, which is strategy, albeit a boring one.
That being said, it's still 40 cars, going similar speeds, around an oval, for 500 miles. Sometimes, one car goes to the pit for repair. Sometimes, one guy bumps another car purposely to 'send a message.' He'll get docked some points and get a warning flag. Sometimes, one car passes another car. Sometimes, one car gets bumped too hard and his race is ruined as he loses laps during repair. All of these things happen every few laps, then, when it's finally over, whoever crosses the finish line first, wins. It seems a combination of luck and avoiding disaster is what it takes to win.
Tony Stewart's race was ruined because some jackobee driver doesn't like him so they bumped him hard. What is this, gym class? Here's a question for Nascar drivers...how can you be mad at your opponent for cutting you off? That's how you win, isn't it? This just does not get my passion for sport going. It's boring, repetitive, and it reeks of machismo. It's like these guys never got out of high school.
All Nascar needs is that girl straight out of the 50's waving the start flag as the cars race by.

The moral of this story is I can't get into Nascar and struggle to see why it's so popular. I know the cars they drive are a thing out of a Greese Monkey's dream, and there is a pit team that works to perfection changing out oil, fuel and tires, which is impressive. I have no doubt great engineering goes into these cars. But what is it all for? To drive in loops, really fast, over and over again. In the words of William Shatner, I can't get behind that.

The Best Part of Waking Up

2006-02-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

Fury Fans! It's the little things that make you happy. I just completed a delicious cup of coffee, and it feels wonderful.

"So what, Phil?" You might ask. Well, I'll tell you 'so what', jerkface!

It is a cup of coffee that was brewed IN MY APARTMENT FROM A MR.COFFEE. That's right.

Last weekend, The Gal and I went up to Ojai to visit her folks and Rocky the pug(I miss that dog). When we were leaving to treck back to LA, The Gal's folks gave her their old coffee maker and stated "You can make Phil coffee whenever he comes over!" Oh, how excited she must've been! The Gal doesn't even DRINK COFFEE, but her folks gave her a machine to make ME coffee!

Today, in a glorious turn of events, The Gal gave me the coffee maker. She knows how to make the ol' Phil happy.

So, I have just brewed my first 'pot' of coffee. Not so much a pot though, just one and a half mug's worth. But it was delicious. This is the begginning of a new era in my life, and you've all been witness to it thanks to the Blogospehere. I love you.

Pray for me.

Are you ready to begin?

2006-01-25T17:09:00.000-08:00

All smiles now, Willie. We'll see how much smiling is happening come October. Pray for these Mets. Is this the start of a new era for the Orange and Blue, or just another winter filled with wild hopes, only to be dashed in the fall? When will the pain end?

Hail Mary, full of grace
Put the Mets, in first place.

Amen.

Youth V. Experience Looms Large Come Playoff Time

2006-01-08T13:14:00.000-08:00

It is said by announcers and analysts during the games, and is printed in articles before and after the games are played, that in the Playoffs experience is key. That sentiment rang true this 'Wildcard Weekend.' NFL fans across the country saw two young QB's struggle and fall in their Playoff debuts, and may see more of the same in the games to come.
Chris Simms of the Tampa Bay Bucs played well in his first career playoff start. He even ran for a dramatic touchdown at a pivotal jucture of the game, but he threw two interceptions and couldn't hit his receivers when it mattered most. Simms' rookie teammate Cadillac Williams also struggled his his first playoff start, losing a fumble as the Bucs were driving, which didn't help Simms' effort. Eli Manning of the New York Giants played poorly in his playoff start, throwing 3 inteceptions and losing a fumble. Eli's game was as tough as any for a 2nd year quaterback to endure. His offensive line continually let Julius Peppers and Co. penetrate early and often, the Giants were playing from behind the majority of the game and he even fell victim to Plaxico Buress seemingly give up before our eyes. Those excuses aside, Eli threw the ball erratically, made terrible decisions, and looked lost for most of the game. There will no doubt be harsh criticsm of both quaterback's performances, though more so for Manning assuredly.
What all of this boils down to is that two Division winners lost home games to Wild Card teams this weekend. The most striking similarity is that each losing team had a 2nd year QB at the helm and both Wild Card teams had veteran QB's leading their squads. Mark Brunell(Was) and Jake Delhomme(Car) both have playoff experience and are far removed from their 2nd year as a starting QB in the NFL. Going in to the Redskins/Bucs game, I couldn't believe that most betting outlets had the Bucs as the favorite. Yes, they were playing at home, but they have a rookie RB and 2nd Year QB who hasn't even been their starter for a full year to lead them. In my eyes, that's an easy bet to make, I was sure the Redskins would win, because I figured there was no way the young players would handle the pressure and on the Redskins side, they have all kinds of experience. I was right, and on the inside I felt a little cocky about it. That cockyness wore off when we got to halftime of the Giants/Panthers game today. It was at that point, as the Giants were down 10-0, and my friends and I were trying to decide on what to get for lunch that I realized that what I was so right about for the Redskins game, I was so blind about for the Giants game. It's experience!
Every major American sport has a 'Trade Deadline' at some point of the season, where teams are forced to decide whether they are a 'buyer' or a 'seller'. Whatever your team decides, what's for sale is 'Veteran Talent.' Your team wants those veterans to come in and help spread the experieince to their new teammates, and help take the pressure off of the younger players. It makes complete sense. Though the NFL trade deadline does not apply to that rule since in the NFL, trades are hardly made and when they are, they are mostly for draft picks and/or a player who is holding out. In the NFL, your offseason is usually spent trying to snatch a few veteran players to add to the mix, so that come playoff time, there's some rock solid leadership and an understanding of how to win in pressure situations.
There are always exceptions to the rule, Tom Brady being the biggest example of that. He stepped in with no experieince at all and hasn't stopped winning. Kudos to him and the fucking New England fucking Patriots.
Bitterness aside, it's no surprise that the Giants and Bucs were dispatched quickly, both teams are lead by players who still have a lot to learn about playing in the NFL, and more so about playing in the NFL playoffs. It's a process, Terry Bradshaw talked about it at the end of today's Giants game, it's natural. Everyone agrees that guys like Eli Manning and Chirs Simms will be great players, they just need that 'E' word, experience.
So far, young QB's have been picked apart in the playoffs by squads lead by veterans. Manning, Simms and Leftwich are toast. It will be interesting to see how Roethlisberger, Palmer, and the Orton/Grossman connection fair. I predict the youth of the NFL QB crop will be golfing sooner than they would like.

Awesomeness

2005-12-01T12:23:00.000-08:00

This is exciting! Saturday Night's Main Event is coming back to NBC! The WWF did some cool stuff with SNME in the past, here's hoping the magic comes back too. Holla.

Feely = Heel

2005-11-28T16:04:00.000-08:00

Hey Hip Hollywood! Leave Improv Alone!

2005-11-23T21:45:00.000-08:00

Unbelievable!

Recently I've started to like television again. And just as I start to think this love affair was meant to succeed, a stumbling block lay before me suddenly, and without warning!

As I watched a recent episode of what I consider to be one of the best shows ever produced, 'Arrested Development', a character proclaimed:

"Looks like my 6 weeks of Groundlings classes paid off."

Now taken out of context, you might say, 'Yeah, so what Phil?'

But put that sucker in the context of the show and ohhhhhhhhhh friggin' baby, I grimmaced!

As some of you may know, I've taken and advanced through some of the Groundlings classes that Tobias(Toe-bye-us) Funke(Fee-yoon-kay) so thoughtlessly 'dissed.' The character is that of a bumbling, wanna-be actor who gleefully recited the above line when he was duped into an 'acting' gig. As that statment rushed into many of Hollywood's youthful wanna-be's ears, hearts began to sink. So proud I was of the work done in my classes, only to have my dreams shattered as I watched TV in the comfort of my own living room. Oh the shame.

Then we come to this weeks installment of 'The Office'(American style). The main character, Michael Scott, another bumbling, idiot, dumbass character, is seen killing his spare time by doing what? Taking Improv classes!! What is wrong with the world? It's like the creators of these shows saw my resume and collecively said 'What...he thinks improv impresses us? HA! We'll show him!"

A good friend of mine used to say 'The world is out to get me.' In reference to him, not me, that is. Well, after those two shows I felt that same way briefly.

I'm over it now, I will give TV another chance. And I've still got some Groundlings left in me!

:(

2005-11-13T11:58:00.000-08:00

http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/wo/news/headlines/default.asp?aID=14751

Loose Ends

2005-11-12T12:53:00.000-08:00

Did I spell loose right? I'm always afraid I will spell lose instead. Damn o's, eyes and brain.

Well, this post is to clear up somse loose ends from previous posts.

Back on 12/21/04, I wrote -

"So the Mets actually did sign Pedro Martinez! How about that? My prediction - 17-7, 3.15 ERA. Lot's of strikeouts. Two bench clearing brawls as a result of his beanballing. He gets thrown at a few times while at bat but avoids any serious cranial damage."

Pedro ended up with these numbers -
15-8, 2.82 ERA, 208 K's. And if the Mets bullpen hadn't blown a few games, we'd be seeing even better numbers! I'd say my prediction wasn't so far off, Kudos to me! I was off on the brawls and beanings though, Pedro never displayed his headhunting prowess. And he was never the target of ire by opponents pitchers looking for revenge on disccretions past. Perhaps Pedro is a new man.

If the Mets can land another big bat, and improve their bullpen, they will make the playoffs next year, contend for the division lead, and make some noise in the post-season. Mr.Minaya, (Manny or Konerko) and Wagner, please. Thank you.

I will make my prediction on Pedro's numbers for '06 on 12/21/05. Please set your Microsoft Outlook calendar reminder for around 7PMish PST on that day and I'll have the post up. Also try to contain your wonder and excitement as to what that prediction might be, for it won't be what you expect.

I also recently wrote about the New York Football Giants, on 10/16/05, I wrote -

"I will revisit this issue in the coming weeks after the Giants lose their next 3 games and visions of Ray Handley dance in our minds."

Well now, it's been 3 weeks and here's my revisit. I love that I was grossly mistaken in my jokingly pessimistic prediction. The Giants now sit atop the NFC East at 6-2, heading into a game with the Vikings on Sunday that they SHOULD win. Well, now I can't help but be stupidly excited about the potential the Giants are showing this year. Could this little Manning boy be leading the team to the P...ploo....pluugh....playoffs this year? I still can't say that word without cringing. It's still too early isn't it? They still have to play the Eagles twice, and have rematches against the 'Skins and 'Boys. I need to come back to reality. But after the last two seasons, to not see the Giants tanking completely is just too damn good a feeling. And it actually looks like the NFC East is the best division in the league. I apologize publicly to Peter King and all the other idiot sports journalists I claimed were wrong about that. They were right.

One last loose end. Back on 12/10/04, I wrote about the C-Span meeting I watched about the Ohio Election Scandal -

"This was an informative discussion about a topic that should smack every American right in the face. Jesse Jackson Sr. said "I hope this doesnt amount to just an academic venting session", I couldn't agree more. "

Well, that's all is was. I love feeling deflated everytime I see that mug of Bush on TV, lying and distorting.

Remember, critics are trying to re-write the history of Iraq War 2, NOT trying to investigate the truth. Nope, not at all. No truth here. Just bitterness by the Liberals. Yay, deflated feeling!

On a lighter note to close with, I'm going to Wrestlemania 22! I give a special shout-out to my special lady friend Lisa for setting that up for her, I, and certain Wakalheaded freak. Chicago will never be the same. Also set yourself up a reminder to check for my pre and post 'Mania blogs. Until next time!

Special Lebowski DVD

2005-10-21T00:28:00.000-07:00

Who has heard of this coming out? I stumbled upon it tonight at aintitcool.com. Here be some features:

8 Exclusive Photo Cards, 4 Character Coasters, Collectible Bowling Towel
Introduction by Mortimer Young
Jeff Bridges' Photography
Making of The Big Lebowski
Production Notes

Sounds stinkin' sweet.

This is a must have for any Big L fans.

CNN.com

2005-10-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

CNN.com, one of their tops tories today is about Vince Vaughan kissing Jennifer Anniston, and some poor soul had to see it AND take pictures. This is the bold face lead in the, ahem, story -

"Does Vinnifer have the same ring to it as Brangelina?"

The most trusted name in news folks, right there!

They aren't all bad though, they did post this pic of Tom Delay's mug shot(see above)...The Republican leader has turned himself in, what with the whole warrant and all. At least somebody is covering it. I wonder what Sean Hannity has to say...

Actual Conversation I Just Overheard Before Going to Bed

2005-10-20T01:26:00.000-07:00

As I poured a late-night glass of milk, I hear the door on the first floor, below my window slam shut. Startled, I stop the pouring and lean foward towards the window. I see nothing from my angle, but I can hear the voices...

Man - ... and you know, so you understand, I know you tried to run me over with your car.

Woman(with slowed, almost slurred, drunken speech pattern) - I didn't try to run over your hand, your foot, over with my car. No, I didn't.

Man - Yes, you did. I saw you, you knew I was there and you ran over me.

Woman - I didn't try to run you over. If I wanted to run over you, you would know, because you would be dead. I didn't try to run you over.

Man - You saw me next to the car, and you looked right at me and ran over my hand!

Woman - No, you were holding onto, and banging my car while I wanted to drive away. I didn't try to run over your hand, your hand ended up getting...I don't know...

Man (his voice softened, the door slammed again, and I couldn't make out what he was saying)...let's just get going, I need this to be over.

And off they went into the Venice night.

MLB Octoberfest

2005-10-19T20:36:00.000-07:00

A quick observation about the teams left in the MLB Playoff race.

The Astros just made it to World Series(which I dig, of the 8 teams that made the playoffs and since the Yanks and Sawx were eliminated, preventing us from seeing another classic showdown, I root for the 'Stros). Biggio and Bagwell have busted their asses for a long time, so if they get a ring, it's all good in my book. But it's a short book.

That means Houston and the Chicago White Sox meet in the fall classic. Funny, 4 players that will play a major role in deciding who wins this World Series are-

Roger Clemens
Orlando 'El Duque' Hernandez
Andy Pettite
Jose Contreras

George and his experts, managers, and scouts must love that. Throw in the fact that instead of trying to deal for Mark Mulder, the Yankees opted to get an aging Randy Johnson who choked in the playoffs, and one might start thinking - Maybe the Yankees magic, is done.

Here's another fun tidbit.

The Astros total team salary is: $76,779,022
The White Sox total team salary is:$75,228,000

Neither team cracks the Top 10 list in this category. I'm thinking more folks are reading 'Moneyball' then ever.

That's it. Thank you.

Big Blue

2005-10-16T20:06:00.000-07:00

Buenos Noches, Furyfans.

I was so moved by the events on that sloping, bright, heatswamp of a football field in Irving, TX that I broke out the old Blog for another go round. I'ma get right to the point.

Today's Giants v. Cowboys game was horrendous. Not just for the Giants and their fans because they lost, but for football, and the NFC East more specifically. All week the analysts called the NFC East the best division in football since they all had winning records and each team has beaten quality football teams to get to this point. The Giants/Cowboys game was looked at as 'The Game of the Week' by Fox, and it garnered the majority of the sports talk attention leading into Sunday. As a Giant fan, I love seeing the G-Men get the press, especially with Eli playing as well as he has this season(Eli haters take note, playing him last year hasn't hurt his development. A brilliant prediction by yours truly right here in The Fury) All the 'experts' predicted a shootout affair, or a defensive battle for the ages. We got neither. Yes, both defences played well(with the Cowboys playing relatively speaking, much better), and each team forced 4 turnovers which can seem impressive. But each team had 4 turnovers...good defense? Or sloptastic football? Vote for slopo.

Don't get me wrong, I lived and died with each snap, each stuffed run, each wobbly, errant pass, each wide open Cowboy receiver, each ball thrown at the feet of Shockey, each Bledsoe panic, each Coughlin anger explosion and each wry smile by The Big Gay Tuna. I was into the game, and it was fun to watch but it was a grade-A stinker. Awesome finish saw the Giants offense come alive for a total of 1:40 seconds. That's a deliberatly low estimate of the Giants final two drives of the game. The point is the Giants offense only played well in the last 4 minutes of the game. That's not the sign of a good football team or game. The Cowboys defense blew a 4th quater lead again, and if Tiki didn't flub the golden rule of 'always pick tails', they probably would've lost the game. Also not the sign of a good football team or game. This was a supposed 'Clash of the Titans' in the NFC East, but in my eyes it was a game that exposed the weakness of each team: Inconsistency. You throw either of these teams into the playoffs against the Eagles in Philly, or God forbid a Superbowl against the Colts, Patriots or Steelers and it's Good Night, Irene. I guess the critics were wrong and they will all say on Monday 'Well, looks like we jumped the gun on the NFC East being the dominant force in the NFL this year.' But they won't, just take a look at the front page story headline on ESPN.com which posted just hours after today's game. It's an article about how the Cowboys defense is sooooooo f'n cock suckin' good that they will win the division. I think Donovan, TO and Michael Westbrook will have something to say about that. And the Redskins will laugh too, thinking back to a few Monday Night Miracles ago. That's the nature of the beast though, when you look at the schedule of games from today, the NFL had no other game to heavily promote, so it makes sense that they would jump on the NFC East bandwagon. I will revisit this issue in the coming weeks after the Giants lose their next 3 games and visions of Ray Handley dance in our minds.

On the whole, the season has been great so far for The Giants. When Eli, Shockey, Tiki and Plaxico are groovin' on a Sunday afternoon, the world is a wonderful place. When they play like they did today, I'd rather have a dart thrown into my hand at a bar by some shmuck. Not really, but you catch my drift. It hurts to see a team that can play so well come up empty in a big game. This game was an example of how as Giants fan, I need to keep a level head. They are not a contender, yet. But they are damn close.

Crispin Glover

2005-06-18T15:52:00.000-07:00

And if the rumors are true, Crispin Hellion Glover being cast as the Joker in the next Batman movie could be incredible.

Batman Begins

2005-06-18T15:49:00.000-07:00

I've seen Batman Begins, it's better than '89. I love Nicholson and Keaton, you can't take anything away from them. But Batman Begins is awesome. Go see it. Pretty much everyone out here who has seen it has loved it and said it is the best Batman flick to date. I agree.

Beltran

2005-06-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

The Mets signed Carlos Beltran to a 7 year, $119 contract in the offseason. I praised this move, as did most of the baseball world, along with Pedro Martinez, the Mets signed the two premier free agents of last year's crop.

Here are Beltran's numbers:

.285 BA, .342 OBP, 7 HR, 29 RBI.

Those are the stats of a good major leaguer. Not a superstar. Here is a list of players that have at least 5 more HR's than Carlos Beltran does right now:

Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Reggie Sanders,Heep Seop Choi, Vernon Wells, Melvin Mora, Manny Ramirez, Pat Burrell, Aramis Ramirez, Richie Sexon, Cliff Floyd, Morgan Ensberg, Bobby Abreu, Andruw Jones, Adam Dunn, Albert Pujols, Carlos Lee, Troy Glaus, David Ortiz, Paul Konerko, Mark Teixeira, Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Miguel Tejada, A-Rod.

Now there are quite a few big HR hitters on that list, but some of them have no place having 5 or more HR's than Carlos Beltran does right now. And that list is a lengthy one even while excluding so many other who have more dingers than Beltran. Here are a few more names that simply have more HR's than Carlos:

Kevin Mench, Jason Bay, Ryan Klesko, Daryle Ward, Richard Hidalgo, Tino Martinez, Dimitri Young, Felipe Lopez, Chase Utley, David Wright, Jay Gibbons, David Dellucci, AJ Pierzynski, Joe Crede, Carl Everett, Pedro Feliz, Travis Haffner, and many more!

Carlos Beltran needs to catch fire if the Mets hope to contend. They have no offensive threat besides Cliff Floyd and a developing David Wright. They are on the verge of collapse once again.

Thank God for Pedro.

I break my vow of laziness

2005-05-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

Hi. Here's a new post for the people. I just saw Star Wars:Revenge of the Sith and I liked it. I agree with the critics who say that this film brings some respect back to the franchise, especially the Prequel part of it. The acting this time around was improved from all parties involved, with the effort from Ian McDiarmid standing out above the rest. His Palpatine was perfect in corrupting Anakin's mind. I won't schpiel to much here as you'll all see it anyway. Briefly I'll say that the action sequences are awesome. The Anakin/Obi-Wan duel is intense and the meaning is not outshined by the CGI(though since it takes place on a volcanic planet, there is plenty of CGI present). They save the major CGI fireworks for the Yoda/Palps fight, which is a fun affair with good banter between the two. My complaints about the film are very few currently. I wished there was a faster pace in the begginning and that the middle ground dialogue was less boring. And of course, there is Lucas dialogue abound and you always have to grin and bear it. Republicans might not like Lucas after this film. That stuff being said, I liked this movie a lot, you get the connection you want at the end. That is all. Go Mets.

Wrestlemania 21

2005-04-04T17:26:00.000-07:00

Well, the biggest day in the professional wrestling year has come and gone and I was there to see the glory that is Wrestlemania.

Wrestlemania 21 was a solid 'Mania that stands up with the better 'Mania editions from the last decade. There were a few clunkers on the card but the better matches made up for it, and the moments involving the Hall of Fame class of 2005 also added to the atmosphere.

It began with a very good match between Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio. This contest started with a deliberate slow pace which I questioned at the time and still question now. The WWE was dealing with an LA crowd, which for the most part cannot be considered a 'Hot' crowd like in NY or Chicago. So to start the show off with Eddie and Rey slowly moving through some lucha mat work wasn't exactly the best way to get the crowd going. Also surprising about this match was that the crowd wasn't behind either man nearly as much as I expected. Usually in Southern California the large hispanic audience goes nutso for guys like Eddie and Rey, but Sunday was pretty low key in that respect. Rey Myterio won the match which was a big surprise for me. Rey Mysterio never seems to win a big match and for him to beat Eddie Guerrero, a former WWE Champion, at Wrestlemania hopefully means Rey will be getting a decent push on Smackdown. Probably not, but who knows?

The next match was a Wrestlemania Classic in my book. It was a 6-Man ladder match with the winner earning a title shot that they can use any time within the next calendar year. That's a cool new stipulation that could lead to some intriguing storylines heading in to next year's Wrestlemania. Jericho, Benoit, Shelton Benjamin, Kane, Christian and Edge were the participants. Benjamin showed that he'll probably be a main event player rather soon with his ability to put on a good match. Benoit, Jericho, Christian and Kane all put in some impressive high spots with the ladders, but it didn't matter how great the other 5 wrestlers performed, Edge won the match which sucks. He stinks. Even with the lame ending, the match was awesome. So this year's Mania started with two solid matches.

Next came a nice surprise when Hulk Hogan showed up and cleared the ring of some lame-ass heels, the crowd went nuts for this which was cool to be a part of.

The next match was the women's championship match which was a waste of time. Fortunately it didn't last long.

'HBK' Sean Michaels Vs. Kurt Angle was next and it was one of the best Mania matches of all time. Yep, I said it. Since I saw it live, maybe I have a bias, but from all accounts on-line and from other people who were there, most agree it was a Four-Star match AT LEAST, and some saying it was closer to a 5 Star. This match was incredible as both guys went all out. It had a good mix of mat wrestling, power moves, high flying action, and it finished with a never ending ankle lock with Michaels tapping out! It is a rare thing to see Michaels lose a match clean, and to have Angle beat him at Wrestlmania added to the excitement of the win. It's an awesome match and if you like wrestling at all, you should see it.

The Sumo Match was another waste of time. They should've had a Tag Title match instead.

Piper's Pit with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Carlito Cool was fun. Seeing Austin and Piper, two HOF'ers, was cool to witness live and having Austin throw some stunners around was just fine.

The John Cena Vs. JBL championship match was terrible. The crow didn't care, the match lasted barely 11 minutes, and when Cena won he got a tepid, respectful "ovation." Smackdown is in terrible shape, this was supposed to be the huge blow-off match to a fued that's been building for months and it was a rushed, sloppy, snoozefest that ended out of no-where.

HHH/Batista was a solid big man championship match. Batista took the brunt of the punishment to start things off and dodged a few Pedigree attempts. Eventually, Batista took over on offense and got his power moves in, HHH bled pretty good and sold the crap out of everything Batista did. And when Batista won, the crowd gave him a good reaction, not as big as you'd like for when a babyface wins the title at Wrestlemania, but it was a clear statement that people want to see Batista do well. Hopefully he can, but most likely HHH will be champion again before you know it.

And that's that, who wants to go to Chicago next year and see WM22?

Hot Damn! Opening Day! Shit!

2005-04-04T17:13:00.000-07:00

Here's your line on Pedro Martinez' first game with the Mets:

6IN, 3 ER, 12K's, 2BB's, ND

Pedro started off shaky and then was unhittable from from the 2nd inning on. That's just fine with me, he pitched a great game.

Carlos Beltran belted a homer, a single and a double in his first game as New York Met. Not bad eh? Also, Jose Reyes had a great game, Matusi went deep, and Clifford Floyd went yard to go along with 2 singles. The Mets offense started off perfectly...if only their closer had followed their lead...

Braden Looper you are forgiven...Mets fans everywhere just hope that this doesn't hang over the team's head for too long.

I do worry about an 0-3 start to the season though. Glavine is probably going to give up some deep drives on Wed, and with Benson on the DL, that leaves Zambrano to pitch a gem on Thursday. That may be too much speculation on my part, but I've been watching he Mets for years, it sounds likely to me.

I'm still excited though, only 161 more games to go!

Mixed Bag

2005-04-03T23:45:00.000-07:00

It's been some time since last I updated. Today is April 3rd, and I shall now account for you what happened to me on April 1st.

I was driving to the grocery store and as I pulled into the parking lot, a cop pulled me over. I knew why. I have an expired registration tag, for I need to go to the DMV and renew my registration but for various reasons, I haven't yet. I have a fix-it ticket for this problem already, so as the cop apporached I wasn't worried. I gave him my info and my Fix-It ticket and when he asked me 'Do you now why I pulled you over?' I responded accordingly by saying 'Yeah, I do, I'm sorry, I know, I have to get my registration done...'

He said 'Ok.' He then waved his partner around and they went off to talk.

'It'll be a minute' he said to me.

A few moments later the partner approaches my window...

'Did you know your license has been suspended for three months?'

'What? No! Geez, what? I haven't heard anything like that...'

'Have you had any other tickets recently or anything?'

'No! Holy, I've gotten the fix-it ticket, and one time I was driving my girlfriend's car and I didn't have my insurance card on me, but I sent in proof of that, I have no idea...'

'Well, you know I can arrest you right now and impound your car...'

'I'm sorry, I have no idea...do you know why my license is suspended?'

'Your licnse is suspended because it's April 1st...just get your registration fixed up as soon as you can, have a nice day.'

Yep...funny LAPD, always good for a laugh.

Look Out

2005-03-06T03:22:00.000-08:00

I drank at a place called 'Big Wangs' tonight in Hollywood. It was a drunken good time and when y'all ever venture out here, we shall go there. Good night.

Interesting

2005-02-22T13:00:00.000-08:00

We're on a Tornado Watch in Los Angeles. I've never heard of such a thing out here. Beautiful weather always, that's what they said! We had hail the other night! It's been raining like mad lately. Horrible this is.

Barton Ahhhh

2005-02-20T23:17:00.000-08:00

'Barton Fink' is another good Coen Brothers flick. It's the weirdest of their films, and falls in their dark comedy category. It follows the story of Barton Fink, played by John Tuturro, who is a playwrite who has a hit show in NY in 1941, which attracts the attention of Hollywood moguls. 'Capitol Pictures' offers Barton a lot of money to come write movies for them, and with persuasion from his agent, Barton agrees. So, off he goes to Hollywood, which is where the film gets weird. And if you read up to where I write 'All things considered...' you'll get some spoilers, so if you plan to watch the movie and you want to see it with a clean slate, read carefully. Once you get to the part in the movie where John Goodman's character(Charlie/Madman Munt) comes walzting down the hallway with a shotgun and blows away two cops, all the while the walls of the hallway catch fire as he walks, you realize that maybe that thought in the back of your head about this movie being a bit nutty becomes confirmed. By the end you get the sense that this Hollywood that Barton has entered in to is as close to Hell as you're gonna get here on earth. Once Goodman displays his otherworldly power, his disdain for most humans, and add in the fact that he posed as an insurance salesman you may think:
"Could it be...Satan?"
The answer is yes, maybe. He doesn't have to be Satan, he may be some sort of other horrid hellspawn demon.
All things considered, it's a good film with a weird ending that doesn't take away from the experience. After I watched it I looked up some things about it on-line and apparantly the Coen Brothers rushed through this script in 3 weeks as they were more involved in the 'Miller's Crossing' script at the time. After reading that and thinking about some of the dialogue in the film, I could see how that might have affected this script as the writing wasn't as connected as most other Coen projects. But as I said, this movie is a good one, check it out. It's dissapointing how after Lebowski the Coen's work has taken a turn for the worse. 'Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" was ok, and I haven't had the urge to watch it since I first saw it. Ditto for 'The Man Who Wasn't There." "Intolerable Cruelty" and "Ladykillers" were both 'misses' in the world of Coen. It seems their best work is behind them, but they've put out such great films that anything they do now that may be a bit 'eh', doesn't hurt their standing in my book.

Barton Wha?

2005-02-20T12:40:00.000-08:00

Has anyone seen 'Barton Fink'? I saw it last night for the first time and it leaves me a bit confused. I assume Barton is insane? I'm gonna stew on it.

I'm hungry and pissed

2005-02-19T01:23:00.000-08:00

I come home from a hard night of work and was looking forward to some pizza. Low and behold, these chump LA pizza joints all close up shop at 1AM! What happened to the days of at least 2AM, sometimes 3am!! Are they serious? This is 'one of the greatest cities in the world' and you can't get pizza delivered to your home after 1AM on a Friday?! They also start kicking you out of bars at 1:15AM since liquor sales stop at 2AM. Disgusting.

Besides that, I'm ok. It looks like 'Scrubs' has an anonymous fan. This is another critically acclaimed show that I have never watched. A possible hurdle for me to start watching the show is that Zacharia Braph(ff?) is on that show and, as stated before, 'Garden State' and he, rubbed me the wrong way. Roger Ebert thinks Braffy is a quality film-maker, but Ebert also said this about 'Gigli':

"Affleck and Lopez create lovely characters, even if they're not the ones they're allegedly playing, and the supporting performances and a lot of the dialogue is wonderful"

I found this quote in one of Ebert's movie guides and it spoke volumes to the notion that movie reviewers might get paid to talk well of a film regardless of reality.

Pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training and this is wonderful news to me. Pedromania is sweeping through Port St. Lucie which will surely excite any and all Mets fans. The guy is throwing full throttle from a mound, this is a good sign. They just need to give him the first two months of the season off and he'll be good to go.

I kid, Pedro Martinez never ate my dog, and for some reason I smile when I think about that first beanball thrown at A-Rod...oh yes...

With Wrestlemania fast approaching, I find myself watching some of my favorite matches of WM's past. Rock/Austin from WM17 is a great match, and that entire WM is pretty entertaining when compared to most of the second decade of WM's. From 11-20, I'd say the ones that stick out are 14, 17, 18, and 20. All of them involve Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and Sean Michaels in high profile matches...Triple H as well, but I bet in 20 years time no-one will be talking about HHH/Jericho like they talk about Michaels/Austin or Rock/Hogan.

I am currently skipping back and forth between two CD's as I drive around, they are:
William Shatner - Has Been
Stone Temple Pilots - Tiny Music...Songs From the Vatican Gift Shop

Farewell folks.

Wolfenstein

2005-02-17T22:07:00.000-08:00

I want to start by thanking those who congratulated me on my first viewing of 'Teen Wolf.' Should I see 'Teen Wolf 2'? Jason Bateman is back, baby. I still ain't seen 'Arrested Development' and I hear it's close to being cancelled despite it's Emmy victory last year. Will I have missed a diamond in the rough? I hate myself.

I keep hearing this 80's show called 'Sledgehammer' was also a great show that was cancelled too early, any comments on that show?

So the last two weeks of 'Lost' have been solid outings. A while back I reccomended the show to you all and the following episode was a clunker in my book(insert Jesse/Gorilla joke here) But if you happened to take a gander at the last two weeks of brand-spanking new hours of 'Lost' you would have seen what I'm excited about. There continues to be odd things happening and more questions rising. I find it heavy on the Sci-Fi end of the spectrum but it's subtle and the mystery gains momentum with each episode. Somehow all of these people will be connected from their, ahem, previous lives. The Jack's father/Sawyer relation was unexpected. Is Sawyer that much of an asshole at the end? Can Walt summon animals with his mind, damnit?
So many more questions it gives me gas.

I gotta go. More to come.

What are you looking at, dicknose?

2005-02-15T13:55:00.000-08:00

I saw 'Teen Wolf' last night for the first time. I enjoyed it a lot. I'll update again soon.

It has been said

2005-01-30T14:44:00.000-08:00

It has been said that I ain't never have talked about music on this here Blog. So I will now.
These days I rarely listen to FM radio. I am addicted to sports talk radio like Extra Sports 690/1150 in the LA area. But when Lee Hamilton or Jim Rome can't keep my interest, I take the agonizing leap to FM radio and pray for gold. Instead I mostly get crud.
I'll try not to be so negative from here on in, but it might not work out that way.
I start with 106.7 KROQ. If it's in the morning I'm treated to a show called 'Kevin and Bean' which is like listening to two 18 year olds talk about the Real World and how cool (insert lead singer of modern rock band) is. They hurt me. If it's not them, it's music. This station plays songs from the last decade by Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Sublime, and The Offspring like they are brand new bands. These bands get played hourly, and they choose only from the top 3 songs of each bands career so you hear the same old songs every day. They then mix in the new music.
New rock today for me sounds overly dramatic, whimpy, full of video game-like sounds, and overall annoying. In the words of William Shatner and Henry Rollins, 'I just can't get behind that.' I liked The White Stripes for about 20 minutes. I saw them live on SNL and I liked it. Then I downloaded some songs and they started sounding all the same to me, that's a turn off. I liked The Killers for about 5 minutes and then realized the the same fact about them. I then saw them on SNL and watched the lead singer sing a song that is supposed to be jampacked with heartwrenching emotion, and he had one hand in his pocket while lightly shaking his body and staring sparingly into the crowd. It sucked, he sucked, they sucked. And what is with these new hipster boy bands wearing pink sweaters(we all know Melondog started that craze back at SU circa 2001) and button down shirts? The ironic nature of these bands is getting old fast and this is part of the problem: new bands today seem to be all gimick, no substance.
Not that music has to bring deep meaning to the table to be good, I'm all for some good old fashioned Rock and Roll sillyness(see The Misfits, New York Dolls, old KISS, The Kinks, Warron Zevon, etc.)
Live shows tell a lotl about a band, and as I watch Conan O'Brien on a daily basis and I watch all the musical acts on SNL, I see these 'rock' bands do nothing more than play their song politely and walk away with an 'I'm shy and unagressive so I'm too cool for you' attitude. It sucks, it's not Rock and Roll, it's whimpy shit. No-one's got balls anymore. It's not grabbing me, not the music or image.
Maybe I'm just an old fart, or I'm too set in my ways, but when I think about music today and I try to compare it to anything maybe it's this generations Hair Metal. They have an image that people can duplicate, they have songs that are mostly run of the mill sap stuff and some 'party' stuff, and they will sell records for a few more years. For us in the 80's, we liked hearing about what the cat dragged in, maybe these days people like hearing about your boyfriend who looked like a girlfriend who had a boyfriend who ate with a girlfriend. Something that may seperate these two genres of music in the future might be the re-play value of it all. I can't imagine 20 years from now Jones Beach Theater being sold out for a new 'Modest Mouse' tour featuring 'Taking Back Sunday.' Then throw in the crowd of thousands in hipster gear while being overweight and cranky, and it just doesn't seem possible.
To finish on a happy note, I do enjoy listening to Indie 103.1. I know, 'Indie 103'. But it is good as they play a good mix of old rock and roll, punk, and newer lesser known rock acts that aren't so generic. They also rarely have DJ's which is a welcome break from the norm. One stretch of show that has a DJ but is quite good is 'Jones' Jukebox', I reccomend y'all East Coasters try a little on-line listening to this station, I know it can be done.
And also, NPR is always a fine FM choice.
That's all I got for now.
Please Note: Some of you out there dig some of the new music, I'm not knocking you, I just haven't been able to dig it.

Updating

2005-01-26T22:36:00.000-08:00

I'm lazy and haven't updated in a while. For the two of you who read this, God bless you.

The Mets have added Carlos Beltran, Doug Mientkiewicz, Roberto Hernandez, and some minor league talent since last I wrote of the Mighty Pedro. All of these moves are solid for the Mets. They will be competitive this year, they do not 'suck', so Yankee fans can sitck it you ignorant baboons. That's right.

Carlos Delgado is a punk, have fun in Florida you giant, rich nincompoop.

Does anyone care that our national Magic 8 Ball is telling us 'Signs point to yes' when we ask 'Are we really going to attack Iran, Syria, etc.'?

Wellington, New Zealand, get ready for an influx of immigrating American Democrats(aka:pussies or maniacs)

I'm going to Wrestlemania 21 and it looks like it's going to suck. After this years 'Grandaddy of them all' it may be time to hang up my wrestling watching tights. I got them when I was 8.

Thank you.

Millers Crossing

2005-01-26T22:12:00.000-08:00

I saw 'Millers Crossing' last night and it was excellent. This is one of the Coen Brothers finest works. I'll briefly discuss some of what I liked. The story is a noir-ish tale of a gangster who always takes the 'longest way around' to get what he needs, and always clears his own debts, played by Gabriel Byrne. The 'payoff' scene at the end is incredible, it's not a surprise ending or anything, it's just perfect execution. There is also a scene where Albert Finney's character, Lou, has to get out of bed and get to work. This scene is amazing. My last comment involves the Coen brothers film making ability. When you first see Gabriel Byrne's apartment, the way that scene is set up, it has the feel of watching a play as opposed to a movie, which I enjoy. Maybe that was the Coen's ode to 'Death of a Salesmen' as they like to reference their influences in their movies. See 'Millers Crossing', it's a great movie.

Films and such

2005-01-01T23:41:00.000-08:00

I saw 'Napolean Dynamite' the other day and I didn't like it all that much. The part where Rico throws the steak at Napolean's face was funny, and there were other moments that made me laugh a little, but it didn't live up to the hype. The tone of the movie seemed a weird mix of a Wes Anderson movie with a dash of 'Donnie Darko', just not as good as either of them. I couldn't get into the forced nature of the jokes. It seemed to be saying 'here's a guy you should laugh at if he dances, so laugh' and it didn't work for me. I thought Pedro was great. Rico was good too. The Grandmother should've been used more. The story went nowhere. And the wedding that they added at the end of the credits after the movie had become a cult hit had no laughs in it. The character Kip was bothersome. He was funnier as the dorky, lispy older brother. When he changed his style for his internet girlfriend, it was just a cheap 'dorky white guy in hip hop clothes' laugh which is too lame and overdone. On top of it all, the opening credits run way too long, and that's a bad way to start a film. I'd give it 2 of 5 Llamas. Friggin' idiot.

On the other hand, 'Anchorman' is hillarious. If you haven't given it a try, I reccomend it highly. It's an excellent "Tardcomedy."

Other movies I'd reccomend currently:
Miracle
Unbreakable(M.Night's best)
The Incredibles
American Graffiti
Bullets Over Broadway

A TV show I have to reccomend is 'Lost'. Here's a good description of it:
"This baby’s got everything: sci-fi, comedy, adventure, romance, high drama, suspense, violence, mysterious monsters, big twists and great characters."

I dig it, watch it.

Thank you, come again.

Oye

2004-12-22T01:03:00.000-08:00

Well, that 'statement' game I talked about in my previous post(Some Thoughts) for the Knicks went like this:

Dallas Mavericks - 123
New York Knicks - 94

The road to nowhere leads to Madison Square Garden...with dead end exits to:
Shea Stadium
Giants Stadium

and coming sooner than you think, the new off ramp to:
Yankee Stadium

Holla.

Some Thoughts

2004-12-21T10:27:00.000-08:00

So the Mets actually did sign Pedro Martinez! How about that? My prediction - 17-7, 3.15 ERA. Lot's of strikeouts. Two bench clearing brawls as a result of his beanballing. He gets thrown at a few times while at bat but avoids any serious cranial damage.

The Giants are 5-9, and still in the NFC playoff hunt. How horrible is that? They can finish 7-9 at best and still squeak into the postseason, they are one of many teams in that same boat however. One positive thing that can be drawn from their Saturday afternoon defeat at the hands of the Steelers was the play of Eli Manning. If not for a falling Amani Toomer, who knows how that game would've turned out. Eli played a solid game of football and a performance like that should quiet some of those sour puss critics who said things like 'this experieince will ruin him' and 'it would be nice if they(the Giants) had a quaterback.' ESPN & HBO analyst Peter King said after the game it was clear which one of these two rookie quaterbacks is headed for a more successful NFL career, referring to Eli Manning, not Ben Roethlisberger. Hopefully his prediction holds true. I get the sense he is correct in his assertion, and I'm an NFL genious.

The New York Knicks have the most losses of any first place team in the NBA and currently hold the #3 seed for the playoffs. Their play has ranged from impressive to embarrassingly bad. Currently they are on a 2 game winning streak heading into tonight's game at home against the Dallas Mavericks. If they can beat the Mavs tonight it will turn some heads. They will have beaten the Jazz, the Nuggets and the Mavs, and came within 1 point of beating the defending champion Detroit Pistons. This is a Knicks team that can beat some of the 'elite' teams in the NBA East and West, they just need to play smart every game. Watching Jamal Crawford huck up jump shots in the 4th quater against the Pistons was maddening. If only he had passed the ball around, or drove the lane to create a scoring chance/draw a foul, we'd be looking at a Knicks team that beat all four of those powerhouses leading into tonight. Which is why tonight is so important. I can remember during some of the Riley years, coming up to their Christmas Day games against either the Bulls or the Pacers, when their record would stand at .500! This was unheard of and unacceptable, the NY papers would rip the Knicks for being mediocre when they should've been dominating like their Eastern Conference rivals. That would be when talk of Riley's downfall would start, or that Ewing was too old. It was that Christmas Judgement period that instilled in me the notion that every Christmas time is a time to evaluate the Knicks season so far. Obviously the game and the team has changed a lot since then, but here we are, coming up on Christmas and the Knicks, who are usually mocked by NBA and Sports Talk folk around the nation, are in first place and have a winning record. Tonight the Mavericks game is pivotal. It's one of those games I've referred to in previous posts, it's a game they need to win. If the Knicks hope to change their fortunes and create a new energy this year at MSG, they need to win tonight. They need to show the fans that they can consistently win the statement games. With each big win, the teams confidence will grow, and they will need all the confidence in the world for when they evetually meet the Heat. I'm hoping to see a rebirth to the Knicks/Heat rivalry, then maybe next Christmas Day we can see a competitive rivalry game on TV, not a soap opera mess featuring an accused rapist.

Not Just An Academic Venting Session

2004-12-10T20:41:00.000-08:00

I have been watching on CSPAN 2 tonight a Congressional Panel Discussion about the alleged Ohio election fraud from last month's presidential election. There is a lot to this story, and it's actually footage that was shot on Wednesday Decemeber 8th, yet I have heard nothing about it until flipping to DirecTV channel 351 this evening. To describe quickly the content of this hearing, I shall list and briefly describe:

1. There are numerous lawsuits that are in motion and will be heard regarding the subject of voting fraud and voter disenfranchisment during this year's presidential election in Ohio.

2. There has just been approved by the Ohio Federal court a re-count of every vote cast in Ohio. There was a lot of dirty work involved in this re-count being stonewalled for a while. Two Independent candidates for president excersized their right to call for a re-count. The state said they could, but they needed to pay a $113,000 + Bond to have it done. So the candidates got the word out and they raised enough money. The state repeatedly rejected their right for a re-count even after the money was raised. It was only after the effort was brought in front of the Ohio Federal court that it was finally granted. But not before it was too late to get the re-count done before the Ellectoral College casts their final ballots on December 13th. Those in charge of the re-count effort expressed in this hearing that if the re-count resulted in the state being called in favor of Kerry(I paraphrase that, John Kerry was not mentioned in the hearing as I watched it), then a new Electoral College would be charged with casting their ballots based on the 'will of the people', and when the new session of Congress starts up in January of '05, they would be forced to deal with two election results.

3. There was a call for a reform on Federal Election procedures. Most expressed their opinion to make Federal Elections run in a uniform style, as outlined in a Federal law as opposed to state law, meaning the same voting machines/technology used throughout the country in Federally mandated districts(meaning no last minute juggling of district borders).

4. Jesse Jackson Jr. called for a Constitutional Amendment to give all American citizens the right to vote. He has tried to get such a motion passed through congress three times and has yet to succeed, though it is gaining steam.

As I write this, the link to the video of this meeting on CSPAN.com is down :(

This was an informative discussion about a topic that should smack every American right in the face. Jesse Jackson Sr. said "I hope this doesnt amount to just an academic venting session", I couldn't agree more.

2 Things

2004-12-08T13:56:00.000-08:00

Hello there...I changed the options so that anyone can leave comments, not just fellow Blogasses. Also, if you click on 'Rumsfeld', it links you to the article that inspired me.

Briefly, it looks like the Knicks really do still suck.

Rumsfeld

2004-12-08T13:10:00.000-08:00

I know this'll get jumped on by many, but I saw it and had to share. Donald Rumsfeld was fielding questions from troops about to head to Iraq when he was asked about why there weren't enough state of the art armored vehicles being used in combat. These quotes are part of his answer:

"Something like 400 [vehicles] a month are being done," he said. "And it's essentially a matter of physics, not a matter of money. ... It's a matter of production and the capability of doing it."

--It's funny that he used physics as a reason, and the answer essentially says 'Yeah, well, tough luck, we'll get them to you when we can' More from the article:

In April, the Pentagon said it was spending $400 million to replace the Army's thin-skinned Humvees in Iraq with the so-called "uparmored" reinforced versions.
"As you know, you have to go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want," Rumsfeld said.

--Also a funny answer, perhaps if we really needed to go to this war, we should've waited until we had enough of the best equipment and vehicles for our troops to avoid casualties and injury, that might be 'the Army you want', no?

He added, "You can have all the armor in the world on a tank, and it can [still] be blown up."

--Thanks for that Donnie, but they're more worried about the armor piercing rounds that are ripping them and their fellow soldiers to shreds, which might be avoided by having the best armored vehicles we can get. We had the technology before the war, why was it not implemented? I find it intruiging, perhaps we rushed to combat?

Pedro in Flushing?

2004-12-07T01:26:00.000-08:00

When I first heard that the New York Mets had offered Pedro Martinez a big honkin' contract I was unhappy about the matter. I thought to myself -- he's old, he can't pitch late into games anymore, he says dumbass things publicly(See: 'New York is my Daddy'), he sometimes loses focus and his pitches end up being deposited 400 feet away, and then his next pitch is aimed squarely at the batters head, he also might have a problem with his shoulder(but that seems to be said every off season).
But time passed. And I read about him, and I thought about it, and now I think, why not Pedro in Flushing?
The man's career record is: 182 wins, 76 losses. That's as a starting pitcher since 1994. His carreer ERA is 2.71! And the last 7 seasons, he's been in the American League, which is the land of 4.00 and higher ERA's for top winning pitchers annually. Just last year, when I had been under the impression Pedro was having a bad season, he finished 16-9 with a 3.90 ERA. He also helped the Red Sox come back from a 3-0 deficit in the ALCS and then he helped them win a World Series. He broke the friggin' curse of the Bambino for God's sake! This is a pitcher who knows how to win big games, and who helps his team win any way he can. Even if that means throwing Don Zimmer to the ground by his head.
By comparison, last year the Mets winningest starter was Steve Traschel. He had a 12-13 record with a 4.00 ERA. Though the ERA's are comparible, Traschel pitched in the National League, a much more pitcher friendly league. Glavine and Leiter had decent years, but Leiter will be pitching in Miami or the Bronx next year and Glavine will fall apart in the second half like he did this past year. That leaves Benson and Zambrano to bring the Mets to glory and that just doesn't sit well with me. Benson is spotty at best, and Zambrano's arm might fall off.
Pedro Martinez will bring his snotty, immature attitude and yeah, he'll cause some problems here and there with the Media and probably some teammates. But he's going to win basbeball games. He's going to strike out 15 batters in a game at Shea Stadium. He's going to throw some beanballs, probably at Yankees and Braves players. The bottom line is, he'll bring an electricity and excitement to Flushing that hasn't been seen since the coked out Doc Gooden was throwing bb's past juice-free National League sluggers. He's also only 33 years old, which means by the time his contract expires, he'll only be 37. By comparison, Leiter and Glavine, the Mets top two pitchers, are at 39 and 38 respectively.
Maybe it's a lot of talk over nothing though. He could end up back in Boston. Or if the Yanks can't land Randy Johnson, Pedro will be striking out and throwing beanballs at Red Sox players. But if he lands at Shea, I forsee it being a good thing. Mets in '06!

Eli Manning

2004-12-05T16:43:00.000-08:00

Eli Manning will be fine. I watch these Giants games, these terrible, terrible games and it's hard to watch the season slip away, but let's get serious. This team was never going to be great this year, and probably won't be next year either. The offensive line is horrible, whether it's Warner or Manning back there. The sacks are inevitable. Warner played well, but what's the point of using him when we all know he's gone next year and Eli needs to get NFL experience. For all those haters out there who are saying things like "This experience won't help him, he'll be ruined!" are forgetting that Eli Manning is a human being. And he comes from an experienced football family. His older brother Peyton, who is going to break Dan Marino's single-season TD passing record in the coming weeks, came into the NFL in 1998. The Colts were a bad team then, and Peyton threw 28 interceptions. He was sacked a lot, and he lost a lot of games. It was only in his third year that people started seeing that Peyton learned the game, adjusted, and started leading his team and dominating the league's defenses. He gets better every year. I am astounded that people ignore these facts when talking about Eli.
In these few games we've seen Eli struggle. He has thrown some INT's(None today by the way). He has under and over thrown receivers. He has taken some big hits. He has made some bad decisions. But it doesn't matter. This season is a wash. It's not about this year. It's about 3 years from now. When Eli Manning is throwing those 30-40 yard bombs with 100% accuracy to his receivers on a regular basis, not just here and there as we've seen so far. Once the line improves, and once Eli starts seeing with 'NFL Vision', the haters will have to find somthing else to complain about.