2008-12-31
2008-12-30
Come Crawling Back, Bitches!
It's amazing what a well-placed news leak or two can accomplish. When word broke over the past couple of days that the Dodgers had reached out to the reps for both Adam Dunn and Bobby Abreu, I was more than a little surprised and wondered if there was another motive.
And now, we know what it was.
The LA Times reported today that Scott Boras FINALLY reached out to the Dodgers to talk Manny. Apparently even the slightest rumor that Dunn or Abreu might be signed made Boras realize that Manny would be a man without a country in the event that that went down.
You've gotta love leverage.
Now, let's just hope the Dodgers allow Manny to sign with some dignity so we don't get three seasons of cranky Manny instead of happy, productive Manny.
And now, we know what it was.
The LA Times reported today that Scott Boras FINALLY reached out to the Dodgers to talk Manny. Apparently even the slightest rumor that Dunn or Abreu might be signed made Boras realize that Manny would be a man without a country in the event that that went down.
You've gotta love leverage.
Now, let's just hope the Dodgers allow Manny to sign with some dignity so we don't get three seasons of cranky Manny instead of happy, productive Manny.
2008-12-29
VHS Is Dead
I have to say, I was a little surprised to even find out that someone was still making VHS tapes but alas, very recently, the final company still making and distributing VHS tapes has given up the goose.
I can't remember the first VHS tape I saw - nor the last. Oddly, I can remember the first Beta movie I saw. My aunts had bought a top-loading Beta player from (what I recall) a Broadway parking lot sale. They had gone to a generic "Video rental" store to pick something up - in this case, the player was to be broken in with Star Wars (duh - what else would it be?) Unfortunately, the rental store screwed the pooch and supplied a copy of First Blood instead. We watched about five minutes before I was sent out of the room. I suppose I got to watch Star Wars later in the day but I don't really remember that either.
I still have boxes and boxes of VHS tapes - mostly old wrestling shows I recorded over the past 20 years. I always think that someday I'll get the time, energy, and motivation to transfer all of those over to DVD but... well, how realistic is that?
It's odd to talk about the death of the VHS format when we seem to be inching ever closer to the death of the DVD format as well. The only question is if Blu-Ray will deliver the death blow or will it become another laser disc as all forms of physical media get passed by by the digital download. I know I'm a lot more tempted by an Apple TV than I am by a Blu-Ray player at the moment.
Farewell VHS - you served us well!
I can't remember the first VHS tape I saw - nor the last. Oddly, I can remember the first Beta movie I saw. My aunts had bought a top-loading Beta player from (what I recall) a Broadway parking lot sale. They had gone to a generic "Video rental" store to pick something up - in this case, the player was to be broken in with Star Wars (duh - what else would it be?) Unfortunately, the rental store screwed the pooch and supplied a copy of First Blood instead. We watched about five minutes before I was sent out of the room. I suppose I got to watch Star Wars later in the day but I don't really remember that either.
I still have boxes and boxes of VHS tapes - mostly old wrestling shows I recorded over the past 20 years. I always think that someday I'll get the time, energy, and motivation to transfer all of those over to DVD but... well, how realistic is that?
It's odd to talk about the death of the VHS format when we seem to be inching ever closer to the death of the DVD format as well. The only question is if Blu-Ray will deliver the death blow or will it become another laser disc as all forms of physical media get passed by by the digital download. I know I'm a lot more tempted by an Apple TV than I am by a Blu-Ray player at the moment.
Farewell VHS - you served us well!
2008-12-28
2008-12-27
Just One Of Those Days
Yup, it was just one of those days where I just couldn't shake the bad mood. I didn't want to go anywhere, I didn't want to do anything. I just wanted to sit here and alternate between staring at the TV and the computer. I really felt kinda depressed for some reason.
I always feel a little down after Christmas but I don't know if that was it today. Add that to a couple of other things going on and it just didn't click today. And damn it, today was my day off. I had plans for stuff but once the day came around, those plans just didn't work anymore.
Oh well... tomorrow is another day, right?
But I'm working on my birthday which is always crappy. Ah well.
I always feel a little down after Christmas but I don't know if that was it today. Add that to a couple of other things going on and it just didn't click today. And damn it, today was my day off. I had plans for stuff but once the day came around, those plans just didn't work anymore.
Oh well... tomorrow is another day, right?
But I'm working on my birthday which is always crappy. Ah well.
2008-12-26
Like The Back Of A Volkswagon?
Best. Running. Joke. Ever.
Thank God for HBO for making me rediscover my love of Mallrats.
Thank God for HBO for making me rediscover my love of Mallrats.
2008-12-25
2008-12-24
2008-12-23
The Rich Get Richer
The baseball fandom world is all up in arms tonight over the Yankees big signing today. Yes, it is another example of the Yankees trying to buy a World Championship. Yes, it really is a horrible thing for baseball. Yes, it really does point out the inequalities of the free agent market as it stands.
And yes, we've heard it all before.
At some point, don't you just have to shrug your shoulders and chalk it up to being a part of the status quo? How many times can you cry and moan and wail and tear out your hair over the need for a salary cap in baseball? It's just not likely to ever happen. The owners had their shot during the strike. They had already lost the World Series so it wasn't like they could make things worse in the eyes of the fans. They had their shot to finally make the union cave and they didn't do it.
Unless you're hungry for another work stoppage, don't expect your tears to pave the road to a salary capped system.
On the other hand, if you're a Manny-To-Dodgers fan, this has to be actually good news. There were a few ways that situation could have worked itself out and from what I can tell, this is the best possible result for the Boys In Blue.
We could've seen:
a] Tex re-signs with the Angels. This leaves the Yankees hungry to make an offensive splash to go with their pitching buffet and in this market, there would really only be one splashy bat left to sign. As seen today, when in a bidding war, the Yankees win every time - and even if they lost, no one wanted to see them drive up the price for the McCourts.
b] Tex signs with the Sox. See above with the potential of the Angels getting in on the action as well.
c] Tex signs with Cue bidding war frenzy.
But instead, we saw Tex sign with the Yankees as the Angels revealed they have no interest in Manny. With the Sox not about to go back down that road, does that leave any other options? The Nationals with a huge offer but no chance of winning? The Orioles trying to appease an angry fanbase?
From my seat down the left field line, it looks like the Dodgers are in the driver's seat here and could potentially even get the two year with a third year option deal they were looking for orginally.
And yes, we've heard it all before.
At some point, don't you just have to shrug your shoulders and chalk it up to being a part of the status quo? How many times can you cry and moan and wail and tear out your hair over the need for a salary cap in baseball? It's just not likely to ever happen. The owners had their shot during the strike. They had already lost the World Series so it wasn't like they could make things worse in the eyes of the fans. They had their shot to finally make the union cave and they didn't do it.
Unless you're hungry for another work stoppage, don't expect your tears to pave the road to a salary capped system.
On the other hand, if you're a Manny-To-Dodgers fan, this has to be actually good news. There were a few ways that situation could have worked itself out and from what I can tell, this is the best possible result for the Boys In Blue.
We could've seen:
a] Tex re-signs with the Angels. This leaves the Yankees hungry to make an offensive splash to go with their pitching buffet and in this market, there would really only be one splashy bat left to sign. As seen today, when in a bidding war, the Yankees win every time - and even if they lost, no one wanted to see them drive up the price for the McCourts.
b] Tex signs with the Sox. See above with the potential of the Angels getting in on the action as well.
c] Tex signs with
But instead, we saw Tex sign with the Yankees as the Angels revealed they have no interest in Manny. With the Sox not about to go back down that road, does that leave any other options? The Nationals with a huge offer but no chance of winning? The Orioles trying to appease an angry fanbase?
From my seat down the left field line, it looks like the Dodgers are in the driver's seat here and could potentially even get the two year with a third year option deal they were looking for orginally.
2008-12-22
This IS Christmas Music!
In honor of my attempts to play this in the store today and in sadness at being shut down every single time...
2008-12-21
EEEEKS!
Do you trust newspapers in the Dominican Republic?
Apparently Impacto Deportivo, a newspaper in the DR with a somewhat spotty record when it comes to sports scoops, is claiming that the Yanks have presented a three year, 75 mil offer to Manny and that negotiations are advanced with a potential announcement of a deal coming Monday or Tuesday.
Couple that with the Texeira news today that the Angels were pulling out of the race for him and it's been an interesting day on the Hot Stove.
So, is it true?
My gut still tells me no. I'm going to stick to my guns and believe the Dodgers end up with Manny at a similar deal. 3 years, 75 mil with a mutual option for a fourth.
Until I see otherwise, I'm holding onto that hope that Santa McCourt drops Mr. Ramirez under the tree this week.
Apparently Impacto Deportivo, a newspaper in the DR with a somewhat spotty record when it comes to sports scoops, is claiming that the Yanks have presented a three year, 75 mil offer to Manny and that negotiations are advanced with a potential announcement of a deal coming Monday or Tuesday.
Couple that with the Texeira news today that the Angels were pulling out of the race for him and it's been an interesting day on the Hot Stove.
So, is it true?
My gut still tells me no. I'm going to stick to my guns and believe the Dodgers end up with Manny at a similar deal. 3 years, 75 mil with a mutual option for a fourth.
Until I see otherwise, I'm holding onto that hope that Santa McCourt drops Mr. Ramirez under the tree this week.
2008-12-20
A Weird Yet Fun Evening
Tonight, the Missus and I presented our second annual Holiday Party so I'm very late in posting and with work mere hours away, I'm not overly eager to wax on and off for very long about my thoughts for the day.
But I will say this...
Over the years, I've seen many types of personalities emerge when alcohol is involved. Angry, sad, emotional, those that cry, those who get into fights, those who pass out in a corner, those who fall asleep and then vomit all over themselves, those who urinate freely wherever they feel the need... and many, many more.
Tonight, you can add one more to the list. The philosophical drunk.
I'll leave it at that to avoid offending anyone - for now at least. Enjoy your Sundays, folks.
But I will say this...
Over the years, I've seen many types of personalities emerge when alcohol is involved. Angry, sad, emotional, those that cry, those who get into fights, those who pass out in a corner, those who fall asleep and then vomit all over themselves, those who urinate freely wherever they feel the need... and many, many more.
Tonight, you can add one more to the list. The philosophical drunk.
I'll leave it at that to avoid offending anyone - for now at least. Enjoy your Sundays, folks.
2008-12-19
The Rose Parade
I just wanted to drop in a quick note to praise the Powers That Be at
KTLA for their decision to put Stephanie Edwards back in the announce
booth on New Years Day. It was a rough couple of years without her
and even rougher when they had her streetside in the rain.
KTLA for their decision to put Stephanie Edwards back in the announce
booth on New Years Day. It was a rough couple of years without her
and even rougher when they had her streetside in the rain.
Kudos for the long overdue but still classy move.
Sent from my iPhone
2008-12-18
Random Thoughts
-- After the relative failure of Crystal Skull, is anyone either a] looking forward to a fifth Indy movie or b] willing to even give it a shot? Personally, I kinda enjoyed some parts of Crystal Skull and would be willing to go in with lowered expectations to see what happens.
-- Jurassic Park 4? Anyone? Bueller?
-- I was listening to an interview recently about The King of Kong being made into an actual scripted movie. That just sounds like an awful idea to me. The doc was so spot-on fantastic, I don't think I have the slightest desire to see it dramatized.
-- Anyone see Appaloosa? What's the last great Western to hit the big screen? Unforgiven? The 3:10 To Yuma remake? What makes it so hard to make a good Western? Years of bad ones? Cliches that most of them fall into?
-- As a rabid TV viewer, man, am I looking forward to January. Return of 24. Return of Lost. That's really all I'd need but it seems like there's something else I'm forgetting.
Alright. My head hurts. Back tomorrow.
-- Jurassic Park 4? Anyone? Bueller?
-- I was listening to an interview recently about The King of Kong being made into an actual scripted movie. That just sounds like an awful idea to me. The doc was so spot-on fantastic, I don't think I have the slightest desire to see it dramatized.
-- Anyone see Appaloosa? What's the last great Western to hit the big screen? Unforgiven? The 3:10 To Yuma remake? What makes it so hard to make a good Western? Years of bad ones? Cliches that most of them fall into?
-- As a rabid TV viewer, man, am I looking forward to January. Return of 24. Return of Lost. That's really all I'd need but it seems like there's something else I'm forgetting.
Alright. My head hurts. Back tomorrow.
2008-12-17
Another Year!
I just renewed my domain name for another year which means you can look forward to another 365 days of www.youremyboyblue.net existing!
I've got an early day tomorrow so... that's all I've got. Sorry!
I've got an early day tomorrow so... that's all I've got. Sorry!
2008-12-16
Hot Stove Report
So, I kinda got interrupted during my Winter Meeting reports. I decided tonight would be a good time for a follow-up.
Starting pitching...
Still no movement here. A few options have been taken off the market but a lot of the (presumably) lower-priced options are still out there. There hasn't been much talk on this front lately which concerns me a little bit. With only three certain starters, I'd expect at least one decent signing to bolster the rotation.
Bullpen...
They non-tendered Saito after they couldn't reach a deal with him. It sounds like they're still hopeful to bring him back on a new contract but nothing seems close. The Hoffman rumors have cooled off a bit but I still think they should keep checking in with him to see how the price shakes out.
Infield...
This is where most of the news has been. A couple days ago, Rafael Furcal's agent said he expected to sign by Tuesday. This morning when I woke up, he seemed a lock to go to Atlanta for three guaranteed years and a vesting option for a fourth - a contract the Dodgers seemed unlikely to match. Sources inside the Braves organization seemed to think it was a done deal but sometime this afternoon, it leaked out that the agents were still talking to the Dodgers which appears to be Raffy's preferred destination. How will it all shake out? Furcal seems to be doing everything he can to give the Dodgers a chance to bring him back so he must really want to be here. Of course, some would argue if he really wants to be here, he'd take the lesser deal but we all know that's not going down. I would think the Dodgers would still resist the length of the deal and he'll end up a Brave but they ponied up the years for Casey Blake after I thought they wouldn't so who knows?
Outfield...
I saw somewhere today a post that said, "Tell Santa Frank that we want Manny for X-Mas!" That's the big name that everyone keeps waiting to see movement on. Personally, I don't expect Manny to sign until Texiera does with Boras pulling the strings. He really needs Tex in Boston so that the Yanks and Angels jump into the Manny chase. If the Angels land Tex, that puts the Dodgers and Yanks head-to-head but the Yanks are volatile and you never know when they'll pull out of a fight.
It's still a long winter to come but I expect when Tex signs, you'll see quite a few dominoes fall right after him.
Starting pitching...
Still no movement here. A few options have been taken off the market but a lot of the (presumably) lower-priced options are still out there. There hasn't been much talk on this front lately which concerns me a little bit. With only three certain starters, I'd expect at least one decent signing to bolster the rotation.
Bullpen...
They non-tendered Saito after they couldn't reach a deal with him. It sounds like they're still hopeful to bring him back on a new contract but nothing seems close. The Hoffman rumors have cooled off a bit but I still think they should keep checking in with him to see how the price shakes out.
Infield...
This is where most of the news has been. A couple days ago, Rafael Furcal's agent said he expected to sign by Tuesday. This morning when I woke up, he seemed a lock to go to Atlanta for three guaranteed years and a vesting option for a fourth - a contract the Dodgers seemed unlikely to match. Sources inside the Braves organization seemed to think it was a done deal but sometime this afternoon, it leaked out that the agents were still talking to the Dodgers which appears to be Raffy's preferred destination. How will it all shake out? Furcal seems to be doing everything he can to give the Dodgers a chance to bring him back so he must really want to be here. Of course, some would argue if he really wants to be here, he'd take the lesser deal but we all know that's not going down. I would think the Dodgers would still resist the length of the deal and he'll end up a Brave but they ponied up the years for Casey Blake after I thought they wouldn't so who knows?
Outfield...
I saw somewhere today a post that said, "Tell Santa Frank that we want Manny for X-Mas!" That's the big name that everyone keeps waiting to see movement on. Personally, I don't expect Manny to sign until Texiera does with Boras pulling the strings. He really needs Tex in Boston so that the Yanks and Angels jump into the Manny chase. If the Angels land Tex, that puts the Dodgers and Yanks head-to-head but the Yanks are volatile and you never know when they'll pull out of a fight.
It's still a long winter to come but I expect when Tex signs, you'll see quite a few dominoes fall right after him.
2008-12-15
Woo Hoo! Heroes Didn't Suck!
And in honor of that occurrence, I declare a battle of two supercool geektastic videos. You make the call!
2008-12-14
2008-12-13
2008-12-12
10 Things iPod About You
It returns! I'm tired and can't think so once again, random commentary on the first ten tracks to come up on Party Shuffle on iTunes! Hopefully there will be something insightful or at minimum, witty, but I make no promises!
Message In A Bottle - The Police
Nowhere near my favorite Police song but it's cool. It's the kind of song that I probably wouldn't skip over if it came up. Oddly though, the song [right now anyways] reminded me of the punk cover of the song by a band called 22 Jacks. 22 Jacks always makes me giggle a bit because I highly offended their agent back in my glory days as Director of Concerts in college. At the time, 22 Jacks was getting a lot of pub since the band was made up of several members of more famous punk bands. When their agent suggested booking them, I made a remark something like, "Oh, the self-proclaimed punk supergroup" to which he replied, "I don't know about self-proclaimed but they're pretty fucking good, I'll tell you that!" I actually had a really bad habit of offending agents and managers in that job. It's probably a good thing I didn't pursue that field as a career. This would probably be a good time to tell the story about Slightly Stoopid threatening to kick my ass once but... well, that'd just be blatant namedropping since they're apparently becoming somewhat biggish now and I wouldn't want to do that! I'll save that story for another time, I guess.
Simple Man - Graham Nash
I stumbled upon this on an mp3 blog a few months back. I don't really have a lot to say about it since I may have listened to it once or twice since then. But I kinda dig the song really. If I was a pretentious piece of shit music reviewer, I'd talk about the harmony in the backup vocals and some kind of glowing praise about the haunting sound of his voice. But that's not me. My reviews typically consist of saying things are "cool" or "awesome." I just can't muster much more than that. It's one of the reasons I hate most album reviews. People tend to masturbate with their own words in that kind of writing. If it's cool, say it's cool. If it sucks donkey balls, say it sucks donkey balls. How hard is it?
Holiday - Madonna
Now we're talkin'! Holiday actually always reminds me of the Truth Or Dare documentary they did for Madonna back in the day - one of my favorite musician docs actually. Throughout the movie, there's a running theme of her calling together her backup dancers before the show and doing a prayer. At one point, as they're walking to the stage after the prayer, they cut loose on this a cappella version of Holiday that is a ton of fun. Madonna is one of those acts that I would love to see live if I thought she wouldn't be an "artist" and decide that she was too good for her old stuff. Fucking artists. They always want to ruin it for the fans. This may be the first time that I ever noticed the crazy percussion in the background on Holiday. What's up with that?
Waiting Room - No Doubt
Fuck me. I have to listen to this whole song? This is off the Rocksteady album that had a few bright spots and a lot of stuff that I was just kinda "okay" about. Rocksteady's a weird album because they worked with so many different artists and producers on it, it turned out a little mish mashy at points. This particular track is a collaboration with Prince which sounds really fucking amazing on paper but just turns out kinda "eh" once it's done. There are parts of the song that I really dig the hell out of but I can't stand the chorus which kills things a bit for me. The main riff sucks too. But it's Gwen and Prince so it can't be all that bad, right? I bet Prince and Britney could have a hell of a collaboration. I wonder what Prince thinks of Britney as an artist - not The Artist - just an artist. Okay... I can't take it anymore. I must skip.
Happy Days Theme!
Hell yes! Now that's how you clean your musical palate! Of course, it makes me a little sad because it reminds me of how fucked up modern television has become in their disrespect for opening theme songs. After fifty years of television, we're losing that great art and it'll never return as the networks look for more and more ways to get more ad time into 30 or 60 minutes.
Beautiful People - Marilyn Manson
Ahhhh, my Manson phase. I actually own a Manson album although I haven't listened to it in years. I used to really dig that album and a few things he did after it. Now? Not so much. Even this song which I still think is pretty well done, I don't really enjoy it anymore. I guess I also have to admit here to owning the Marilyn Manson autobio book that I believe I never read because I was so stunned when he talked about his grandfather having vaseline encrusted suction cup mounted dildos in a workbench in the basement in the first chapter - which of course was the whole purpose of him writing it. Shock and awe, baby - shock and awe.
Tennessee - Arrested Development
I love this song. I even loved it years later when they did that One Hit Wonders TV show a few years ago and AD won it by performing this song. They still had it. I used to own this song as a cassette single. Most of my "urban music" was only cassette single actually. If you were to dig through that drawer of tapes right now, you'd find fine selections like this right alongside En Vogue, Father MC, The Cover Girls, Stereo MCs, and so, so, so many more. But this one actually holds up very well unlike a lot of others. It's kind of odd though that they never really had more than this song and Everyday People make it big. I guess Mr. Wendal sort of did but not to the same level of success. Mental note: Check iTunes to see how good the rest of their stuff is.
Diamonds On The Inside - Ben Harper
I was late on the Ben Harper bandwagon and I still don't really have a good seat on it. I own a few songs by him that I dig muchly but I've never taken the time to dig deeper to find more stuff that I like. I'm sure there's quite a bit of it because the stuff that I like I REALLY, REALLY like. Sadly, that's about all I can say.
Take It On The Run - REO Speedwagon
You can blame my aunts for this one. Speedwagon is definitely a remnant of me being exposed to their musical tastes in the 80s. This is probably actually my least favorite of the big Speedwagon hits but it's still amazingly awesome. It's cheesy, of course, but that doesn't take away from being amazingly awesome.
Anyone able to tell I'm running out of steam yet? Yeah, I thought so.
Nightswimming - Dashboard Confessional w/Michael Stipe
This is from that super cool Dashboard live album where they work with Michael Stipe doing both Dashboard and R.E.M. tunes. If you haven't checked that out and are a fan of either band, you're doing yourself a great disservice. Get your shit together!
Message In A Bottle - The Police
Nowhere near my favorite Police song but it's cool. It's the kind of song that I probably wouldn't skip over if it came up. Oddly though, the song [right now anyways] reminded me of the punk cover of the song by a band called 22 Jacks. 22 Jacks always makes me giggle a bit because I highly offended their agent back in my glory days as Director of Concerts in college. At the time, 22 Jacks was getting a lot of pub since the band was made up of several members of more famous punk bands. When their agent suggested booking them, I made a remark something like, "Oh, the self-proclaimed punk supergroup" to which he replied, "I don't know about self-proclaimed but they're pretty fucking good, I'll tell you that!" I actually had a really bad habit of offending agents and managers in that job. It's probably a good thing I didn't pursue that field as a career. This would probably be a good time to tell the story about Slightly Stoopid threatening to kick my ass once but... well, that'd just be blatant namedropping since they're apparently becoming somewhat biggish now and I wouldn't want to do that! I'll save that story for another time, I guess.
Simple Man - Graham Nash
I stumbled upon this on an mp3 blog a few months back. I don't really have a lot to say about it since I may have listened to it once or twice since then. But I kinda dig the song really. If I was a pretentious piece of shit music reviewer, I'd talk about the harmony in the backup vocals and some kind of glowing praise about the haunting sound of his voice. But that's not me. My reviews typically consist of saying things are "cool" or "awesome." I just can't muster much more than that. It's one of the reasons I hate most album reviews. People tend to masturbate with their own words in that kind of writing. If it's cool, say it's cool. If it sucks donkey balls, say it sucks donkey balls. How hard is it?
Holiday - Madonna
Now we're talkin'! Holiday actually always reminds me of the Truth Or Dare documentary they did for Madonna back in the day - one of my favorite musician docs actually. Throughout the movie, there's a running theme of her calling together her backup dancers before the show and doing a prayer. At one point, as they're walking to the stage after the prayer, they cut loose on this a cappella version of Holiday that is a ton of fun. Madonna is one of those acts that I would love to see live if I thought she wouldn't be an "artist" and decide that she was too good for her old stuff. Fucking artists. They always want to ruin it for the fans. This may be the first time that I ever noticed the crazy percussion in the background on Holiday. What's up with that?
Waiting Room - No Doubt
Fuck me. I have to listen to this whole song? This is off the Rocksteady album that had a few bright spots and a lot of stuff that I was just kinda "okay" about. Rocksteady's a weird album because they worked with so many different artists and producers on it, it turned out a little mish mashy at points. This particular track is a collaboration with Prince which sounds really fucking amazing on paper but just turns out kinda "eh" once it's done. There are parts of the song that I really dig the hell out of but I can't stand the chorus which kills things a bit for me. The main riff sucks too. But it's Gwen and Prince so it can't be all that bad, right? I bet Prince and Britney could have a hell of a collaboration. I wonder what Prince thinks of Britney as an artist - not The Artist - just an artist. Okay... I can't take it anymore. I must skip.
Happy Days Theme!
Hell yes! Now that's how you clean your musical palate! Of course, it makes me a little sad because it reminds me of how fucked up modern television has become in their disrespect for opening theme songs. After fifty years of television, we're losing that great art and it'll never return as the networks look for more and more ways to get more ad time into 30 or 60 minutes.
Beautiful People - Marilyn Manson
Ahhhh, my Manson phase. I actually own a Manson album although I haven't listened to it in years. I used to really dig that album and a few things he did after it. Now? Not so much. Even this song which I still think is pretty well done, I don't really enjoy it anymore. I guess I also have to admit here to owning the Marilyn Manson autobio book that I believe I never read because I was so stunned when he talked about his grandfather having vaseline encrusted suction cup mounted dildos in a workbench in the basement in the first chapter - which of course was the whole purpose of him writing it. Shock and awe, baby - shock and awe.
Tennessee - Arrested Development
I love this song. I even loved it years later when they did that One Hit Wonders TV show a few years ago and AD won it by performing this song. They still had it. I used to own this song as a cassette single. Most of my "urban music" was only cassette single actually. If you were to dig through that drawer of tapes right now, you'd find fine selections like this right alongside En Vogue, Father MC, The Cover Girls, Stereo MCs, and so, so, so many more. But this one actually holds up very well unlike a lot of others. It's kind of odd though that they never really had more than this song and Everyday People make it big. I guess Mr. Wendal sort of did but not to the same level of success. Mental note: Check iTunes to see how good the rest of their stuff is.
Diamonds On The Inside - Ben Harper
I was late on the Ben Harper bandwagon and I still don't really have a good seat on it. I own a few songs by him that I dig muchly but I've never taken the time to dig deeper to find more stuff that I like. I'm sure there's quite a bit of it because the stuff that I like I REALLY, REALLY like. Sadly, that's about all I can say.
Take It On The Run - REO Speedwagon
You can blame my aunts for this one. Speedwagon is definitely a remnant of me being exposed to their musical tastes in the 80s. This is probably actually my least favorite of the big Speedwagon hits but it's still amazingly awesome. It's cheesy, of course, but that doesn't take away from being amazingly awesome.
Anyone able to tell I'm running out of steam yet? Yeah, I thought so.
Nightswimming - Dashboard Confessional w/Michael Stipe
This is from that super cool Dashboard live album where they work with Michael Stipe doing both Dashboard and R.E.M. tunes. If you haven't checked that out and are a fan of either band, you're doing yourself a great disservice. Get your shit together!
2008-12-11
Random Thoughts
The wife said that she was disappointed by my constant blogging about the Dodgers this week and we just can't have that, right? So, in the interest of marital tranquility, I will consult with the trustworthy Google Reader to provide a few topics of discussion.
Golden Globes
Well, that was shocking. After all the buzz last week about The Dark Knight possibly becoming a favorite to get an Oscar Best Picture nod, the film basically gets snubbed by the Hollywood Foreign Press [that's who does the GGs, right?] Heath Ledger got a Best Supporting Actor nod but nary a glance for anything else. I'm disappointed and now more than a little bit nervous that the Academy voters will follow suit. From my quick glance earlier, I believe The Wrestler was also snubbed with the exception of Mickey Rourke. I haven't seen it yet but the positive buzz leading in made me think it might stand a chance as well.
The World With Good Taste In Television's Loss Is Heroes Gain
After one of the best episodes of the season for Pushing Daisies aired this week as a reminder of just what a fantastic show we're losing [how did anyone not adore Kristin Chenowith singing "Eternal Flame?"] we do get some relative good news that Bryan Fuller is heading back to Heroes to save it. Pardon me for not giving a flying fuck about Heroes right now. As a comic book geek, I'm about to commit sacrilege but I'd gladly trade a Heroes cancellation for a saving of Pushing Daisies - oh, and if you can revive Wonderfalls too, I can trade a couple other shows I'm half-heartedly watching.
Globes On TV
Holy shit! I hadn't even seen the TV nominations for the Globes until now. What the fuck is going on here? No Lost, no Housewives, no Daisies? I appreciate the need for telling network television that their product is often times shit warmed over but come on... at least give credit where it's due. And nominations for Weeds and Entourage? I'm sorry but as much as I love both of those shows, both of them were pretty bad this season - Weeds was downright unwatchable IMO for most of the year.
I planned on doing more but my Google Reader just went fucky. I'm done. Blue out.
Golden Globes
Well, that was shocking. After all the buzz last week about The Dark Knight possibly becoming a favorite to get an Oscar Best Picture nod, the film basically gets snubbed by the Hollywood Foreign Press [that's who does the GGs, right?] Heath Ledger got a Best Supporting Actor nod but nary a glance for anything else. I'm disappointed and now more than a little bit nervous that the Academy voters will follow suit. From my quick glance earlier, I believe The Wrestler was also snubbed with the exception of Mickey Rourke. I haven't seen it yet but the positive buzz leading in made me think it might stand a chance as well.
The World With Good Taste In Television's Loss Is Heroes Gain
After one of the best episodes of the season for Pushing Daisies aired this week as a reminder of just what a fantastic show we're losing [how did anyone not adore Kristin Chenowith singing "Eternal Flame?"] we do get some relative good news that Bryan Fuller is heading back to Heroes to save it. Pardon me for not giving a flying fuck about Heroes right now. As a comic book geek, I'm about to commit sacrilege but I'd gladly trade a Heroes cancellation for a saving of Pushing Daisies - oh, and if you can revive Wonderfalls too, I can trade a couple other shows I'm half-heartedly watching.
Globes On TV
Holy shit! I hadn't even seen the TV nominations for the Globes until now. What the fuck is going on here? No Lost, no Housewives, no Daisies? I appreciate the need for telling network television that their product is often times shit warmed over but come on... at least give credit where it's due. And nominations for Weeds and Entourage? I'm sorry but as much as I love both of those shows, both of them were pretty bad this season - Weeds was downright unwatchable IMO for most of the year.
I planned on doing more but my Google Reader just went fucky. I'm done. Blue out.
2008-12-10
Winter Meetings: Day Three
Well, there goes that pipe dream. The lure of New York money once again proves too hard to resist and CC Sabathia has apparently signed with the Yankees. Oh, and in case you were thinking the Yanks were done there, they are apparently also getting close to a deal with Derek Lowe. Sabathia and Lowe side by side would seemingly lock the Yanks as the favorites in the division.
But what does this mean for everyone else?
The Angels now have no Plan B. If Texeira goes elsewhere, they may get desperate to make a splash in the free agency pool and yes, we just might see them make a run at Manny. By the way, this morning's rumors have the Red Sox leading in the hunt for Tex - should be interesting.
It also cranks up the price of all remaining FA pitchers. If Sabathia and Lowe are off the market, keep an eye on AJ Burnett among others. Even the pitchers a little further down the chain - RJ, Moyer, Benson, etc. The price goes up and so does the competition to land those guys. That one will affect the Dodgers directly.
However, with Sabathia off the market, you would expect a flood of people to sign quickly. Anyone who was holding out hope for the big fish should move on to their next choice and their next and the ones after that.
There's a rumor also being floated that the Yanks are mulling a run at Manny because Hank Steinbrenner wants to sign him. No word on whether or not this comes AFTER the Sabathia signing because you would think even the Yankees would have trouble with signing both of those guys. But even the rumor of that is enough to give Scott Boras morning wood. The Dodgers, the Angels, and the Yankees in a potential bidding war for Manny - the last big name FA left on the market after he engineers Tex to Boston? Yeah, he'd enjoy that.
One last thought - the last time Boras pulled one of those plays, sending JD Drew to Boston out from under the Dodgers' noses, we ended up signing Juan Pierre in desperation.
I'd hate to see what happens if the Dodgers get shut out on Manny.
But what does this mean for everyone else?
The Angels now have no Plan B. If Texeira goes elsewhere, they may get desperate to make a splash in the free agency pool and yes, we just might see them make a run at Manny. By the way, this morning's rumors have the Red Sox leading in the hunt for Tex - should be interesting.
It also cranks up the price of all remaining FA pitchers. If Sabathia and Lowe are off the market, keep an eye on AJ Burnett among others. Even the pitchers a little further down the chain - RJ, Moyer, Benson, etc. The price goes up and so does the competition to land those guys. That one will affect the Dodgers directly.
However, with Sabathia off the market, you would expect a flood of people to sign quickly. Anyone who was holding out hope for the big fish should move on to their next choice and their next and the ones after that.
There's a rumor also being floated that the Yanks are mulling a run at Manny because Hank Steinbrenner wants to sign him. No word on whether or not this comes AFTER the Sabathia signing because you would think even the Yankees would have trouble with signing both of those guys. But even the rumor of that is enough to give Scott Boras morning wood. The Dodgers, the Angels, and the Yankees in a potential bidding war for Manny - the last big name FA left on the market after he engineers Tex to Boston? Yeah, he'd enjoy that.
One last thought - the last time Boras pulled one of those plays, sending JD Drew to Boston out from under the Dodgers' noses, we ended up signing Juan Pierre in desperation.
I'd hate to see what happens if the Dodgers get shut out on Manny.
2008-12-09
Winter Meetings: Day Two
Backup infielder to replace Nomar? Mark Loretta!
Starting third baseman? Casey Blake!
Two signings down - who knows how many to go? I was a litle surprised to see the Dodgers go three years with a fourth year option for Blake. The rumor was that the Twins and Dodgers were squaring off over him with neither team wanting to give a third year. After the Twins backed out, I thought for sure they'd be able to get him for two years with a third year option. The deal looks okay right now but when Blake's about to hit 40 years old, they may regret going that long.
The Blake signing cements Dewitt going back to second base which should be a good thing for him. That means there's only one spot on the infield to be concerned about. The Dodgers are back in on Furcal but seem unwilling to give him four years - understandable, no? There's a decent-sized length list of teams in on Furcal so it's a long way from a done deal buuuuuuut... you'd have to think that a reopening of discussions with Raffy at all is a good thing. Rumors say they don't want to go over two years but three would seem almost a lock to be needed. This one is foggy and I can't really figure out which way it'll go.
There's some speculation today that the Dodgers hold all the cards in negotiations with Manny which I kinda implied last night. Coletti met with Boras and the result was the announcement that Manny is still interested in being a Dodger. Well, that's good news! But Coletti didn't really sound like he knew what was next. Nothing I've read has changed my gut feeling that he'll end up back as a Dodger but anything can happen.
The Saito thing picked up a notch as it appears that Friday is the deadline to tender contracts and the Dodgers just aren't sure if they want to make that offer apparently. If they don't, the bullpen situation gets pretty cloudy. Does Broxton get another shot to close? Is Hoffman a legit possibility? With K-Rod and Wood being snatched up, the options at closer are growing slim.
Now what about CC Sabathia?
Well, the Giants apparently think they're the odds-on favorite to land him - which makes me a little nervous. The Yankees are in full court press mode right now, visiting him yet again to try and land the big free agent fish. The Dodgers apparently remain players in this situation but only if they can fill their other holes in a financially conservative fashion. Obviously, that'd have to be pretty quick to make it happen. So far, so good. But I can't imagine if they get Manny back that they can afford CC too. And if they land CC, they definitely need to go on the cheap for the fifth starter - Stults, Kuo, Macdonald, Park. There was some Kris Benson talk this week which is a potential low-risk, high-reward move too. Continued talk on the Randy Johnson front today as well. All the California teams except for the rebuilding Padres are in on RJ.
Oh, and in a "well, that's interesting" note, apparently Kevin Towers was quoted as saying he hadn't talked to Coletti about Peavy in weeks. The pricetag must've scared our GM off - probably a good thing.
The plot thickens - stay tuned!
Starting third baseman? Casey Blake!
Two signings down - who knows how many to go? I was a litle surprised to see the Dodgers go three years with a fourth year option for Blake. The rumor was that the Twins and Dodgers were squaring off over him with neither team wanting to give a third year. After the Twins backed out, I thought for sure they'd be able to get him for two years with a third year option. The deal looks okay right now but when Blake's about to hit 40 years old, they may regret going that long.
The Blake signing cements Dewitt going back to second base which should be a good thing for him. That means there's only one spot on the infield to be concerned about. The Dodgers are back in on Furcal but seem unwilling to give him four years - understandable, no? There's a decent-sized length list of teams in on Furcal so it's a long way from a done deal buuuuuuut... you'd have to think that a reopening of discussions with Raffy at all is a good thing. Rumors say they don't want to go over two years but three would seem almost a lock to be needed. This one is foggy and I can't really figure out which way it'll go.
There's some speculation today that the Dodgers hold all the cards in negotiations with Manny which I kinda implied last night. Coletti met with Boras and the result was the announcement that Manny is still interested in being a Dodger. Well, that's good news! But Coletti didn't really sound like he knew what was next. Nothing I've read has changed my gut feeling that he'll end up back as a Dodger but anything can happen.
The Saito thing picked up a notch as it appears that Friday is the deadline to tender contracts and the Dodgers just aren't sure if they want to make that offer apparently. If they don't, the bullpen situation gets pretty cloudy. Does Broxton get another shot to close? Is Hoffman a legit possibility? With K-Rod and Wood being snatched up, the options at closer are growing slim.
Now what about CC Sabathia?
Well, the Giants apparently think they're the odds-on favorite to land him - which makes me a little nervous. The Yankees are in full court press mode right now, visiting him yet again to try and land the big free agent fish. The Dodgers apparently remain players in this situation but only if they can fill their other holes in a financially conservative fashion. Obviously, that'd have to be pretty quick to make it happen. So far, so good. But I can't imagine if they get Manny back that they can afford CC too. And if they land CC, they definitely need to go on the cheap for the fifth starter - Stults, Kuo, Macdonald, Park. There was some Kris Benson talk this week which is a potential low-risk, high-reward move too. Continued talk on the Randy Johnson front today as well. All the California teams except for the rebuilding Padres are in on RJ.
Oh, and in a "well, that's interesting" note, apparently Kevin Towers was quoted as saying he hadn't talked to Coletti about Peavy in weeks. The pricetag must've scared our GM off - probably a good thing.
The plot thickens - stay tuned!
2008-12-08
MLB Winter Meetings: Day One
The MLB Winter Meetings opened in Vegas today. This is a week usually filled with crazy rumors that never come anywhere close to going down but there's always a few grains of truth in there. The Dodgers obviously have a lot of holes to address in the roster so let's take a look all the way around the horn to see what rumors are out there today.
Catcher - Thankfully, all the Russell Martin trade rumors are gone. Of course, the Dodgers do need to find a reliable backup catcher still - preferably someone you can use at least once every five games to give Martin a breather. He remains one of the most overworked players in baseball so that needs to change in a hurry. There were still some rumblings that Ned Coletti might go after a starting catcher and slide Martin to 3B to solve that problem but those have seemed to die down. The word today is that the Dodgers aren't interested in Jason Varitek so I'm guessing Martin's safe behind the plate for now.
First Base - James Loney doesn't have to worry about his starting job after the fantastic season he had in 2008. There's still no word on if Nomar is retiring or not. If he's not, I'm open to bringing him back in a supersub role so he can spell Loney at 1B now and again.
Second Base - Everyone assumes that Blake Dewitt mostly likely will get to start here but there is a possibility that they'll go after a second baseman if they can't find a third baseman and move Dewitt to the third sack. The signing of Mark Loretta tonight muddies this situation a little bit but I'm guessing the Dodgers know something we don't and are using Loretta to replace Nomar.
Shortstop - A week ago, it seems obvious that the Dodgers were not going to be able to bring back Rafael Furcal. But Furcal's rejection of the A's offer this week and the news that we've reopened discussions with Raffy tonight provides a glimmer of hope. The Jack Wilson rumors continue to persist too as well as some talk today about Miguel Tejada. My vote is that if you can't re-sign Raffy at a decent deal - let Hu take his shot and see what happens.
Third Base - The Twins dropping out of the Casey Blake race seemed to set up the Dodgers in perfect position to bring back Blake which would be fine by me. Blake seemed like a hard worker and proved to be pretty popular with the players. He was a solid contributor so if he can be had at the right price, he's my top choice. Ken Gurnick reported tonight that the Dodgers "are close" to re-signing Blake.
Outfield - The Dodgers have a surplus of outfielders already (Pierre, Jones, Ethier, Kemp) but one big name still hangs out there. Manny. Coletti expressed disappointment today at how the Manny negotiations have gone so far. I still don't see a major competitor for Manny so I've gotta think eventually, they'll bring him back for an undetermined time period. I still think three years with a mutual option for a fourth would get it done. If they can't sign Manny, there's been some buzz about Adam Dunn, Raul Ibanez, and a couple others. Personally, I might go with the horses in the stable if you can't sign Manny unless you can move Pierre or Jones which is unlikely.
Bullpen - The big news today was that while Takashi Saito's winter rehab is going well, he may not be ready for Opening Day. That obviously makes it decision time. How much do you trust Broxton? How effective do you think Saito will be when/if he comes back? If you answer in the negative to both, Trevor Hoffman seems to be a valid option. There has been a little buzz in that direction today. With Beimel seemingly gone, you have to expect some middle relief to be signed as well.
Starting Rotation - The Dodgers need a minimum of one starter - probably two unless McDonald is ready to take a spot. Obviously, the big prize is CC Sabathia, who Coletti made headlines talking about today when he claimed that Sabathia told him that he wants to be a Dodger. I really don't see the Dodgers dropping the dollars to make that happen. Derek Lowe is probably the next best option but most people assumed he'd be moving on. He made some news today saying that he wanted to stay. I suppose that's not entirely out of the question yet. Randy Johnson and Jamie Moyer are also on the radar it seems. The Pettite stuff seems to have already faded away.
And that's that! I may go ahead and do these until the Meetings are over to keep everyone up to date.
Catcher - Thankfully, all the Russell Martin trade rumors are gone. Of course, the Dodgers do need to find a reliable backup catcher still - preferably someone you can use at least once every five games to give Martin a breather. He remains one of the most overworked players in baseball so that needs to change in a hurry. There were still some rumblings that Ned Coletti might go after a starting catcher and slide Martin to 3B to solve that problem but those have seemed to die down. The word today is that the Dodgers aren't interested in Jason Varitek so I'm guessing Martin's safe behind the plate for now.
First Base - James Loney doesn't have to worry about his starting job after the fantastic season he had in 2008. There's still no word on if Nomar is retiring or not. If he's not, I'm open to bringing him back in a supersub role so he can spell Loney at 1B now and again.
Second Base - Everyone assumes that Blake Dewitt mostly likely will get to start here but there is a possibility that they'll go after a second baseman if they can't find a third baseman and move Dewitt to the third sack. The signing of Mark Loretta tonight muddies this situation a little bit but I'm guessing the Dodgers know something we don't and are using Loretta to replace Nomar.
Shortstop - A week ago, it seems obvious that the Dodgers were not going to be able to bring back Rafael Furcal. But Furcal's rejection of the A's offer this week and the news that we've reopened discussions with Raffy tonight provides a glimmer of hope. The Jack Wilson rumors continue to persist too as well as some talk today about Miguel Tejada. My vote is that if you can't re-sign Raffy at a decent deal - let Hu take his shot and see what happens.
Third Base - The Twins dropping out of the Casey Blake race seemed to set up the Dodgers in perfect position to bring back Blake which would be fine by me. Blake seemed like a hard worker and proved to be pretty popular with the players. He was a solid contributor so if he can be had at the right price, he's my top choice. Ken Gurnick reported tonight that the Dodgers "are close" to re-signing Blake.
Outfield - The Dodgers have a surplus of outfielders already (Pierre, Jones, Ethier, Kemp) but one big name still hangs out there. Manny. Coletti expressed disappointment today at how the Manny negotiations have gone so far. I still don't see a major competitor for Manny so I've gotta think eventually, they'll bring him back for an undetermined time period. I still think three years with a mutual option for a fourth would get it done. If they can't sign Manny, there's been some buzz about Adam Dunn, Raul Ibanez, and a couple others. Personally, I might go with the horses in the stable if you can't sign Manny unless you can move Pierre or Jones which is unlikely.
Bullpen - The big news today was that while Takashi Saito's winter rehab is going well, he may not be ready for Opening Day. That obviously makes it decision time. How much do you trust Broxton? How effective do you think Saito will be when/if he comes back? If you answer in the negative to both, Trevor Hoffman seems to be a valid option. There has been a little buzz in that direction today. With Beimel seemingly gone, you have to expect some middle relief to be signed as well.
Starting Rotation - The Dodgers need a minimum of one starter - probably two unless McDonald is ready to take a spot. Obviously, the big prize is CC Sabathia, who Coletti made headlines talking about today when he claimed that Sabathia told him that he wants to be a Dodger. I really don't see the Dodgers dropping the dollars to make that happen. Derek Lowe is probably the next best option but most people assumed he'd be moving on. He made some news today saying that he wanted to stay. I suppose that's not entirely out of the question yet. Randy Johnson and Jamie Moyer are also on the radar it seems. The Pettite stuff seems to have already faded away.
And that's that! I may go ahead and do these until the Meetings are over to keep everyone up to date.
2008-12-07
Apartment Living
Our neighbors below us just hit the floor with some type of object in a primitive attempt to let us know we were apparently walking too loudly in the living room for their liking. This is the first such warning since we've moved into this building unlike our last apartment where it was basically a nightly occurrence.
It bugs me tremendously - infuriates might be a better word. And I have several reasons why that seem like good bloggin' fodder for this late Sunday night.
1] If the noise is too much because they're trying to sleep, then why are they hitting the floor in the living room? You're trying to tell me that footsteps from multiple rooms away is keeping them up at night? Fuck that noise. They just want to be bitchy.
2] These particular neighbors are a running joke with us because they are constantly fighting, screaming, slamming doors and what have you. Every once in a while, we hear a loud bang downstairs and I nearly always quip that sooner or later, it's going to be a gunshot from them. Yet, through all their apparent lovers quarrels, I've never done a Mexican hat dance [and I've got the sombrero to do it!] in complaint. A little common courtesy might be appropriate here.
3] It's walking, dammit. It's not like we're up here rockin' the casbah at 3 AM. If we were running music or the TV as loud as possible on a weeknight, I might see a little more merit in their complaint. But I'm walking here! I should be allowed to walk, right? It's still not quite as bad as our old apartment where they'd hit the floor in the middle of the night if I rolled over in bed too loudly.
4] I love the savagery of the floor pound. It's like mankind as a society has given up all forms of verbal communications and we're slowly drifting to the point where we'll just mime everything. But until then, let's just slam a bodypart or object against another object repeatedly until someone gets the message. Of course, if they were the type to come up to complain, I'd probably not open the door to hear it because you never know if they'll be packing heat - gunshots, you know?
Annnnnyways... I'm going to go roll over now [hopefully not too loudly] and get some sleep. Hopefully the loving couple downstairs can sleep off the invasive feeling of whatever crawled up their ass and died by morning.
I'd better keep a broken bottle at the hip for our Christmas party in a couple weeks because as Cypress Hill once wisely and eloquently stated...
"When the shit goes down, ya better be ready."
It bugs me tremendously - infuriates might be a better word. And I have several reasons why that seem like good bloggin' fodder for this late Sunday night.
1] If the noise is too much because they're trying to sleep, then why are they hitting the floor in the living room? You're trying to tell me that footsteps from multiple rooms away is keeping them up at night? Fuck that noise. They just want to be bitchy.
2] These particular neighbors are a running joke with us because they are constantly fighting, screaming, slamming doors and what have you. Every once in a while, we hear a loud bang downstairs and I nearly always quip that sooner or later, it's going to be a gunshot from them. Yet, through all their apparent lovers quarrels, I've never done a Mexican hat dance [and I've got the sombrero to do it!] in complaint. A little common courtesy might be appropriate here.
3] It's walking, dammit. It's not like we're up here rockin' the casbah at 3 AM. If we were running music or the TV as loud as possible on a weeknight, I might see a little more merit in their complaint. But I'm walking here! I should be allowed to walk, right? It's still not quite as bad as our old apartment where they'd hit the floor in the middle of the night if I rolled over in bed too loudly.
4] I love the savagery of the floor pound. It's like mankind as a society has given up all forms of verbal communications and we're slowly drifting to the point where we'll just mime everything. But until then, let's just slam a bodypart or object against another object repeatedly until someone gets the message. Of course, if they were the type to come up to complain, I'd probably not open the door to hear it because you never know if they'll be packing heat - gunshots, you know?
Annnnnyways... I'm going to go roll over now [hopefully not too loudly] and get some sleep. Hopefully the loving couple downstairs can sleep off the invasive feeling of whatever crawled up their ass and died by morning.
I'd better keep a broken bottle at the hip for our Christmas party in a couple weeks because as Cypress Hill once wisely and eloquently stated...
"When the shit goes down, ya better be ready."
2008-12-06
Well, That Certainly Made Me Feel Old
One of the problems with working in retail is the amount of young 'uns you find yourself surrounded by every day. One of my best friends at the store (who actually transferred to a new store this week) is all of 18 years old. The Missus mocks me because I've always seemed to find a way to end up being friends with the youngest people at every place I've ever worked.
I thought it was bad enough at my last job when I was the one over 25 who could get the under 25 year olds into Dave and Busters but had to "be responsible for them." Talk about an impossible situation.
But today - today topped it all.
Fans of this space know that I'm a pro wrestling fan and have been so for 23 years or so. Earlier today, myself and another guy were giving one of our co-workers a hard time jokingly. In response, he said, "Did you guys watch wrestling when you were little kids?" Usually that comment precedes something about Hulk Hogan or Andre The Giant or the like.
And therein lies the problem.
His next sentence, "Remember that old tag team Degeneration X who used to run around and yell "Suck it!"?"
Right.
I didn't really think about it until I was sitting in the drive-thru tonight but then it really sunk in as to what he had said. I had to ponder it a bit but... well, DX started in late '07 - eleven years ago. That means that for some of these guys I work with, they WERE little kids! They were all of seven or eight or nine years old.
I was already legally able to drink and they were little kids sitting on the living room floor watching HHH and HBK crotch chop.
I think that made me feel older than anything ever has before.
I thought it was bad enough at my last job when I was the one over 25 who could get the under 25 year olds into Dave and Busters but had to "be responsible for them." Talk about an impossible situation.
But today - today topped it all.
Fans of this space know that I'm a pro wrestling fan and have been so for 23 years or so. Earlier today, myself and another guy were giving one of our co-workers a hard time jokingly. In response, he said, "Did you guys watch wrestling when you were little kids?" Usually that comment precedes something about Hulk Hogan or Andre The Giant or the like.
And therein lies the problem.
His next sentence, "Remember that old tag team Degeneration X who used to run around and yell "Suck it!"?"
Right.
I didn't really think about it until I was sitting in the drive-thru tonight but then it really sunk in as to what he had said. I had to ponder it a bit but... well, DX started in late '07 - eleven years ago. That means that for some of these guys I work with, they WERE little kids! They were all of seven or eight or nine years old.
I was already legally able to drink and they were little kids sitting on the living room floor watching HHH and HBK crotch chop.
I think that made me feel older than anything ever has before.
2008-12-05
Beat The Clock
What do you write about when you were about to fall asleep and the
Missus says, "What did you blog about today?"
Missus says, "What did you blog about today?"
Damn.
I had this idea the other day for a "where are they now?" post about
bands I listened to 10-15 years ago. There were so many fly by night
punk and ska bands that I used to dig that there's bound to be some
interesting stories there.
I can do one off something I stumbled upon a week or two back. I used
to listen to a ska band called Save Ferris - clever, huh? They had a
female lead singer that seemed to put them in line for superstardom
after No Doubt exploded but aside from an alt rock radio single or
two, they simply faded away. A few years later, I recall reading that
the band had split and Momique, the lead singer, was suing to prevent
the band from performing shows without her under the Save Ferris name.
Fast forward to now and I was looking at a bill for an upcoming local
show that had a band listed as "featuring Monique from Save Ferris.".
Turns out it's a soul/R&B act she fronts with a great sound.
It's a bit of a sad story because truth be told, she had/has a better
voice than Gwen but just never matched the charisma or songwriting.
Ah well. One mystery solved in the ongoing chase to discover "where
are they now?"
Sent from my iPhone
2008-12-04
2008-12-03
MyPhonies?! Brilliant!
Man, I haven't watched an episode of the Simpsons in years but judging from this amusing clip, they haven't lost much.
2008-12-02
I Feel So Dirty
I mentioned it in my QoS review but... well, I kinda dug the Star Trek trailer. It's awkward for me because I grew up with the mindset that you only get to be a fan of either Star Wars or Star Trek - not both. So, you can imagine my discomfort at enjoying Deep Space Nine.
But... well... you be the judge.
But... well... you be the judge.
2008-12-01
Blue's Review: Quantum Of Solace
I was listening to the aforementioned /filmcast this morning for their review of Quantum Of Solace - a review that reminded me that I never actually did my review of the movie.
So, here goes.
It sucks.
Honestly, I could probably pretty much leave it at that and be happy with my analysis. But for your benefit, I'll say some more.
It really sucks.
Better?
The plot? Sucks. The acting? Sucks. The editing? Sucks. The action? Well, okay, the action's alright. So, if you're the kind of person who goes to a movie just for the action and effects, you should go see it.
But everything else blew and was majorly disappointing after the awesomeness that was Casino Royale.
I'm not going to give the "Oh, it doesn't feel like a Bond movie" argument because as a non-Bond fan, I really don't give a shit if he says, "Bond, James Bond" or order a martini "shaken not stirred" or if there's crazy gadgets that he uses. That's not what I care about as a non-Bond fan. It's much like I don't give a fuck if the bridge of the Enterprise in the new Star Trek movie looks like an Apple Store like so many people are bitching about. I'm not a Trekkie so I don't care.
What I do care about in Quantum of Solace is a plot that is at least mildly interesting and easy to follow. QoS fails on both accounts. It's complicated and has all the depth of Ridley Scott's Monopoly Thimble. There's no emotional investment in the plot and somehow they manage to piss away the emotional investment in the characters as well. The acting is... well, shoddy at best. Daniel Craig does an adequate job as Bond. Judi Dench is cool as M again - probably the only one I don't have a complaint with. But all the other characters are forgettable at best.
My biggest complaint though is the editing. I hate jumpcut editing. I hate the desire to make the action "feel fast." I blame the Bourne movies - which I really didn't like either. But it's one of the things that I really disliked about the Transformers movie too. There's just too many action sequences where you feel like you can't figure out what the fuck is going on and who is who and who is driving what vehicle and what have you. QoS just had too many action sequences where I had to struggle to understand who was doing what for me to enjoy it.
In the end, the worst thing about QoS is that it's completely forgettable. The day after we saw it, I could barely remember a thing about it. And even now, I can basically remember the big action sequence at the end and that's about it. There were a few moments they discussed in the /filmcast review that I had no recollection of at all honestly.
And if you can't remember a film a day [or week] after seeing it, you really can't say anything worse about it, can you?
It's a pass, guys. Catch it on DVD, maybe... HBO someday, sure... but don't waste your ten bucks to see it on the big screen.
So, here goes.
It sucks.
Honestly, I could probably pretty much leave it at that and be happy with my analysis. But for your benefit, I'll say some more.
It really sucks.
Better?
The plot? Sucks. The acting? Sucks. The editing? Sucks. The action? Well, okay, the action's alright. So, if you're the kind of person who goes to a movie just for the action and effects, you should go see it.
But everything else blew and was majorly disappointing after the awesomeness that was Casino Royale.
I'm not going to give the "Oh, it doesn't feel like a Bond movie" argument because as a non-Bond fan, I really don't give a shit if he says, "Bond, James Bond" or order a martini "shaken not stirred" or if there's crazy gadgets that he uses. That's not what I care about as a non-Bond fan. It's much like I don't give a fuck if the bridge of the Enterprise in the new Star Trek movie looks like an Apple Store like so many people are bitching about. I'm not a Trekkie so I don't care.
What I do care about in Quantum of Solace is a plot that is at least mildly interesting and easy to follow. QoS fails on both accounts. It's complicated and has all the depth of Ridley Scott's Monopoly Thimble. There's no emotional investment in the plot and somehow they manage to piss away the emotional investment in the characters as well. The acting is... well, shoddy at best. Daniel Craig does an adequate job as Bond. Judi Dench is cool as M again - probably the only one I don't have a complaint with. But all the other characters are forgettable at best.
My biggest complaint though is the editing. I hate jumpcut editing. I hate the desire to make the action "feel fast." I blame the Bourne movies - which I really didn't like either. But it's one of the things that I really disliked about the Transformers movie too. There's just too many action sequences where you feel like you can't figure out what the fuck is going on and who is who and who is driving what vehicle and what have you. QoS just had too many action sequences where I had to struggle to understand who was doing what for me to enjoy it.
In the end, the worst thing about QoS is that it's completely forgettable. The day after we saw it, I could barely remember a thing about it. And even now, I can basically remember the big action sequence at the end and that's about it. There were a few moments they discussed in the /filmcast review that I had no recollection of at all honestly.
And if you can't remember a film a day [or week] after seeing it, you really can't say anything worse about it, can you?
It's a pass, guys. Catch it on DVD, maybe... HBO someday, sure... but don't waste your ten bucks to see it on the big screen.
2008-11-30
Blade Runner. Gladiator. Monopoly?
Much thanks to a colleague at work who got me turned on to the /filmcast recently. I've only been able to listen to a couple of them so far but it's exactly what I look for in a film review - non-pretentious "normal" guys shooting the shit about a movie or TV show.
And yes, I do think I could probably do such a podcast as well. If only I had the cast to make it a group effort. A relaunch of the "You're My Boy, Blue!" podcast? Perhaps.
While listening to said podcast at lunch today, I heard something that managed to disturb and fascinate me - all at the same time.
A while back, I had heard that some board games had been optioned by a movie studio. The story made me roll my eyes and utter some diatribes about the pathetic state of Hollywood and their dependency on existing properties to save their collective financial asses.
But the plot thickened today when I heard that Ridley Scott had been inked to direct a Monopoly movie.
I'll let that sink in for a second.
Still with me?
Okay, so apparently Mr. Scott thinks there's something to be said for a story of someone going from nothing to riches and changing because of it. Some kind of humorous quality apparently.
Me? I'm just curious how many fucking dump trucks filled with cash it took to get him to sign on for this garbage.
I can see no value in a Monopoly movie. None. Zero. Zilch.
In fact, if this atrocity ever gets made (and that's a big if), I'd be willing to suggest that it probably should go straight to DVD. It should not pass go. It should not collect two hundred dollars.
But I am curious as to who they'll cast as the thimble.
And yes, I do think I could probably do such a podcast as well. If only I had the cast to make it a group effort. A relaunch of the "You're My Boy, Blue!" podcast? Perhaps.
While listening to said podcast at lunch today, I heard something that managed to disturb and fascinate me - all at the same time.
A while back, I had heard that some board games had been optioned by a movie studio. The story made me roll my eyes and utter some diatribes about the pathetic state of Hollywood and their dependency on existing properties to save their collective financial asses.
But the plot thickened today when I heard that Ridley Scott had been inked to direct a Monopoly movie.
I'll let that sink in for a second.
Still with me?
Okay, so apparently Mr. Scott thinks there's something to be said for a story of someone going from nothing to riches and changing because of it. Some kind of humorous quality apparently.
Me? I'm just curious how many fucking dump trucks filled with cash it took to get him to sign on for this garbage.
I can see no value in a Monopoly movie. None. Zero. Zilch.
In fact, if this atrocity ever gets made (and that's a big if), I'd be willing to suggest that it probably should go straight to DVD. It should not pass go. It should not collect two hundred dollars.
But I am curious as to who they'll cast as the thimble.
2008-11-29
2008-11-28
Black Friday Recap
Black Friday is the day of terror for people who work in retail, right? The day the footsoldiers dread because of all the chaos and carnage?
So, would it surprise you to know that it was one of my favorite days working at the store?
Surprised the hell out of me.
It was just too much fun for words. The entire staff was there, working throughout the day. The manager was in the back, making breakfast and lunch for everyone. It was just really chill and a whole lot of goodness.
The customers weren't too bad either. Most of them seemed happy to be out Christmas shopping and getting into the holiday spirit. I ran across very few who were rude or cranky or all that jazz.
I'm really tired and I think I'm coming down with a cold - but that's another story. For now, I'm just going to remember how much fun I had today and hope it carries on throughout the season.
So, would it surprise you to know that it was one of my favorite days working at the store?
Surprised the hell out of me.
It was just too much fun for words. The entire staff was there, working throughout the day. The manager was in the back, making breakfast and lunch for everyone. It was just really chill and a whole lot of goodness.
The customers weren't too bad either. Most of them seemed happy to be out Christmas shopping and getting into the holiday spirit. I ran across very few who were rude or cranky or all that jazz.
I'm really tired and I think I'm coming down with a cold - but that's another story. For now, I'm just going to remember how much fun I had today and hope it carries on throughout the season.
2008-11-27
Happy Thanksgiving!
What? Like you really expected something more today.
I'm off to nice happy turkey sleep.
I'm off to nice happy turkey sleep.
2008-11-26
Fanboys Is Coming... Finally
At long last, it looks like Fanboys is going to finally hit the big screen in February of '09. I've been following this movie since they debuted footage of it a few years ago back at Comic-Con, dropping super awesome "I Brake For Wookies" bumperstickers on the masses.
The plot was simple. Back in the day, a group of friends set out to Skywalker Ranch in hopes that they can steal The Phantom Menace before it came out. But the key to the whole movie is that they're not just doing this because they want to see it first but rather because one of the friends is dying and they want to make sure he sees it before he dies.
Yeah, I can relate to that a little too much, I think. That's why it was absolutely heartbreaking to hear that they had taken the cancer storyline out of some of the cuts of the movie trying to "lighten it." Fucking Hollywood.
Anyways, I think they put it back in but you can't really tell from this trailer.
What you can tell is that it's going to soooooo rock our Galactic asses.
The plot was simple. Back in the day, a group of friends set out to Skywalker Ranch in hopes that they can steal The Phantom Menace before it came out. But the key to the whole movie is that they're not just doing this because they want to see it first but rather because one of the friends is dying and they want to make sure he sees it before he dies.
Yeah, I can relate to that a little too much, I think. That's why it was absolutely heartbreaking to hear that they had taken the cancer storyline out of some of the cuts of the movie trying to "lighten it." Fucking Hollywood.
Anyways, I think they put it back in but you can't really tell from this trailer.
What you can tell is that it's going to soooooo rock our Galactic asses.
2008-11-25
Dodger Day
I noticed a surplus of Dodgers news today so I thought it was worth checking out...
It started this morning with Ken Rosenthal's report on Fox Sports' website.
-- He spends some time discussing how Trevor Hoffman to the Dodgers would make sense - an idea I've been on board with since the negotiations with the Padres' broke down. With Saito old and injured and Broxton not quite there yet, I'd be perfectly happy with Hoffman taking closing duties for a year. Plus, he knows the NL West very well. I have no problem with this idea if the price is right.
-- Some chatter about the Sox trading Mike Lowell if they're able to land Tex. Rosenthal speculates that the Dodgers might be in on that. I can't see that one. Too much money for too little potential good.
-- The Times reports the Dodgers are in a bit of a holding pattern with no recent talks for Manny and no "movement" on Sabathia. I'd expect both of those situations to change in the next couple of weeks.
-- With each day, it looks less and less like the Dodgers will be players for Furcal. The 4 year deal is scaring them off and I can't really blame them for that. It's a ridiculous deal to put in place for someone who basically just missed an entire season due to injury. Would Dodger fans be happy with Hu at SS to see what happens? This one would. A dollar saved on Furcal is a dollar to spend on Manny or CC.
-- Speaking of Hu, apparently he [and others] were the asking price for Jack Wilson from the Pirates. This shows me that they're preparing for life without Rafael Furcal. It's a shame but... well, that's the baseball world we live in.
-- Finally, apparently Andy Pettite has reached out to Joe Torre to discuss the possibility of coming to LA to pitch next season. With Kuroda and Kershaw the only healthy members of the Dodgers' rotation at the moment, I'm very open to this idea as well.
It started this morning with Ken Rosenthal's report on Fox Sports' website.
-- He spends some time discussing how Trevor Hoffman to the Dodgers would make sense - an idea I've been on board with since the negotiations with the Padres' broke down. With Saito old and injured and Broxton not quite there yet, I'd be perfectly happy with Hoffman taking closing duties for a year. Plus, he knows the NL West very well. I have no problem with this idea if the price is right.
-- Some chatter about the Sox trading Mike Lowell if they're able to land Tex. Rosenthal speculates that the Dodgers might be in on that. I can't see that one. Too much money for too little potential good.
-- The Times reports the Dodgers are in a bit of a holding pattern with no recent talks for Manny and no "movement" on Sabathia. I'd expect both of those situations to change in the next couple of weeks.
-- With each day, it looks less and less like the Dodgers will be players for Furcal. The 4 year deal is scaring them off and I can't really blame them for that. It's a ridiculous deal to put in place for someone who basically just missed an entire season due to injury. Would Dodger fans be happy with Hu at SS to see what happens? This one would. A dollar saved on Furcal is a dollar to spend on Manny or CC.
-- Speaking of Hu, apparently he [and others] were the asking price for Jack Wilson from the Pirates. This shows me that they're preparing for life without Rafael Furcal. It's a shame but... well, that's the baseball world we live in.
-- Finally, apparently Andy Pettite has reached out to Joe Torre to discuss the possibility of coming to LA to pitch next season. With Kuroda and Kershaw the only healthy members of the Dodgers' rotation at the moment, I'm very open to this idea as well.
2008-11-24
SAG To Strike?
I really don't get it.
With an entertainment industry still trying to recover from the last labor dispute to hit it and with a global economy in tatters sending disposable income through the floor, how can anyone think it's a good time to strike again?
Sure, it's not a one-sided street and it could just be trying to establish leverage but if the situation actually devolves to that point, you have to figure there's something inherently wrong with the industry as a whole. Like people don't have a negative enough view about the spoiled, pampered celebrities who can't relate to the masses... let's go on strike and make everyone realize just how out of touch they are.
Of course, they've positioned this announcement right before awards season in hopes that someone will cave so that they don't lose the Oscars, the Golden Globes, and all the rest. It's just really ridiculous.
As someone who stuck with TV even after the Strike shortened seasons and has even lost shows I really liked almost directly because of the Strike [Daisies anyone?], I just can't imagine going through all that again. When does the line finally get crossed? Will the industry finally shoot themselves in the foot by being so completely blind and apathetic towards the fans that make them relevant?
Sadly, signs point to them doing whatever they want and us coming back time after time to take it.
With an entertainment industry still trying to recover from the last labor dispute to hit it and with a global economy in tatters sending disposable income through the floor, how can anyone think it's a good time to strike again?
Sure, it's not a one-sided street and it could just be trying to establish leverage but if the situation actually devolves to that point, you have to figure there's something inherently wrong with the industry as a whole. Like people don't have a negative enough view about the spoiled, pampered celebrities who can't relate to the masses... let's go on strike and make everyone realize just how out of touch they are.
Of course, they've positioned this announcement right before awards season in hopes that someone will cave so that they don't lose the Oscars, the Golden Globes, and all the rest. It's just really ridiculous.
As someone who stuck with TV even after the Strike shortened seasons and has even lost shows I really liked almost directly because of the Strike [Daisies anyone?], I just can't imagine going through all that again. When does the line finally get crossed? Will the industry finally shoot themselves in the foot by being so completely blind and apathetic towards the fans that make them relevant?
Sadly, signs point to them doing whatever they want and us coming back time after time to take it.
2008-11-23
2008-11-22
The Holiday Season Begins
I guess it's started.
Working in retail, you get exposed to the start of the Holiday season a little earlier than most. When we got back from our NoCal trip, I came back to work only to discover that the Christmas decorations were in full effect throughout the mall - and this was the last week of October. With Christmas being my favorite holiday anyways, it's not difficult to get me in the spirit usually.
I resisted a bit - stunned that Christmas decor was up before Halloween. I skipped Christmas music when it came up on random on my iPod for weeks. A week or so ago, I was on my way to work when a Christmas song came on and suddenly, I had to think about if I wanted to skip it. That's when I knew I was close.
One day at work, the same day in fact, there was a choir of kids upstairs singing carols that I could hear from inside our store. At first, I thought it was too early but the more I heard it, the merrier I felt.
Last night, there were Christmas commercials on TV - and I felt a bit giddy about it.
Today, while cleaning the apartment with the Missus, I turned the TV to the "Music of the Season" channel and left it on all day. Christmas music throughout the house before Thanksgiving... yep, I'm there.
Oh, and don't get me started at how giggly I got at the "Christmas at the Disneyland Resort" commercials. I absolutely love Christmastime at Disneyland and am greatly disappointed it's been a couple of years since we were able to go to the park this time of year. It's such a fantastic way to throw yourself headfirst into the season.
Ahhh... it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
Working in retail, you get exposed to the start of the Holiday season a little earlier than most. When we got back from our NoCal trip, I came back to work only to discover that the Christmas decorations were in full effect throughout the mall - and this was the last week of October. With Christmas being my favorite holiday anyways, it's not difficult to get me in the spirit usually.
I resisted a bit - stunned that Christmas decor was up before Halloween. I skipped Christmas music when it came up on random on my iPod for weeks. A week or so ago, I was on my way to work when a Christmas song came on and suddenly, I had to think about if I wanted to skip it. That's when I knew I was close.
One day at work, the same day in fact, there was a choir of kids upstairs singing carols that I could hear from inside our store. At first, I thought it was too early but the more I heard it, the merrier I felt.
Last night, there were Christmas commercials on TV - and I felt a bit giddy about it.
Today, while cleaning the apartment with the Missus, I turned the TV to the "Music of the Season" channel and left it on all day. Christmas music throughout the house before Thanksgiving... yep, I'm there.
Oh, and don't get me started at how giggly I got at the "Christmas at the Disneyland Resort" commercials. I absolutely love Christmastime at Disneyland and am greatly disappointed it's been a couple of years since we were able to go to the park this time of year. It's such a fantastic way to throw yourself headfirst into the season.
Ahhh... it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
2008-11-21
I've Got Nothing
I just haven't had anything to say lately. I can't write anything on my screenplay either without almost instantly hating and/or second-guessing it. I guess this is what you'd call a serious case of writers' block.
It would have been my friend Danny's 32nd birthday today. I feel bad cause I almost forgot about it. In the past two years, a few of us have gotten together to play poker and have some drinks in his memory but... well, I guess no one wanted [or could?] do it this year since no one's really mentioned it in a while. I think things have been a little weird with the group this year. After last year with two weddings and all the stuff that go with it, I feel like I haven't seen much of anyone this year... especially lately. Everyone's busy, I know... work, unemployment, babies on the way, the economy in the toilet, people fighting with each other... it's just been a weird year. It's a little sad because after Danny died, we all said the right things - how it had brought everyone closer than ever and how we wouldn't drift apart again, keep in touch, make sure we were getting together for stuff, not let the little things fuck things up... but we're human so that stuff always comes back unfortunately. After a while, it's tough not to get right back into taking things for granted.
I still think about Danny quite a bit. Not as much as I have in the past couple years - I guess it gets less and less with time. But there's always those little things that bring him to mind. He'd get a kick out of me working in retail. He probably would have driven down just to come into the store to torment me. He would've liked everyone getting together almost every month for a while - he always liked the get-togethers. He'd be thrown by Brian having a baby. I still remember the night of our friend Steve's wedding - no one thought Steve would be the first to get married. Danny and I spent the entire night just at random looking at one another and saying, "I can't believe Steve's married."
It's the little things. Always will be, I guess.
Still thinkin' of you, pal. Happy birthday.
It would have been my friend Danny's 32nd birthday today. I feel bad cause I almost forgot about it. In the past two years, a few of us have gotten together to play poker and have some drinks in his memory but... well, I guess no one wanted [or could?] do it this year since no one's really mentioned it in a while. I think things have been a little weird with the group this year. After last year with two weddings and all the stuff that go with it, I feel like I haven't seen much of anyone this year... especially lately. Everyone's busy, I know... work, unemployment, babies on the way, the economy in the toilet, people fighting with each other... it's just been a weird year. It's a little sad because after Danny died, we all said the right things - how it had brought everyone closer than ever and how we wouldn't drift apart again, keep in touch, make sure we were getting together for stuff, not let the little things fuck things up... but we're human so that stuff always comes back unfortunately. After a while, it's tough not to get right back into taking things for granted.
I still think about Danny quite a bit. Not as much as I have in the past couple years - I guess it gets less and less with time. But there's always those little things that bring him to mind. He'd get a kick out of me working in retail. He probably would have driven down just to come into the store to torment me. He would've liked everyone getting together almost every month for a while - he always liked the get-togethers. He'd be thrown by Brian having a baby. I still remember the night of our friend Steve's wedding - no one thought Steve would be the first to get married. Danny and I spent the entire night just at random looking at one another and saying, "I can't believe Steve's married."
It's the little things. Always will be, I guess.
Still thinkin' of you, pal. Happy birthday.
2008-11-20
Fucking Hollywood
As someone who aspires to break into the entertainment industry, it continues to be a sickening thing to watch how poorly creative, brilliant ideas are treated by the corporate whores.
Tonight, despite my pleadings for any and all to watch it, Pushing Daises has been canceled. If that wasn't enough, Dirty Sexy Money, which while nowhere near as brilliant, was at least entertaining, has been cut as well.
I just don't get it.
On the bright side, the deal apparently is close to closed for Arrested Development: The Movie. Now if they can get the entire cast back together for that, I'll be overjoyed.
Tonight, despite my pleadings for any and all to watch it, Pushing Daises has been canceled. If that wasn't enough, Dirty Sexy Money, which while nowhere near as brilliant, was at least entertaining, has been cut as well.
I just don't get it.
On the bright side, the deal apparently is close to closed for Arrested Development: The Movie. Now if they can get the entire cast back together for that, I'll be overjoyed.
2008-11-19
Quick Dodgers Note
Ahhh, I love the Hot Stove season.
The Manny rumors are on ice for the moment as all the buzz is about why CC Sabathia hasn't signed his HUUUUUUGE offer from the Yankees. "Word on the street" says that he doesn't want to play in New York and is hoping the Dodgers get close enough to make his decision easy.
The most interesting rumor I saw was that it'll end up with the Giants and the Dodgers fighting it out for Sabathia.
Which has one really odd side effect story...
What happens to Manny?
Is it possible that in a weird twist, Manny might find himself without a "serious suitor" at all?
Stay tuned.
The Manny rumors are on ice for the moment as all the buzz is about why CC Sabathia hasn't signed his HUUUUUUGE offer from the Yankees. "Word on the street" says that he doesn't want to play in New York and is hoping the Dodgers get close enough to make his decision easy.
The most interesting rumor I saw was that it'll end up with the Giants and the Dodgers fighting it out for Sabathia.
Which has one really odd side effect story...
What happens to Manny?
Is it possible that in a weird twist, Manny might find himself without a "serious suitor" at all?
Stay tuned.
2008-11-18
Blues' Reviews: Bridge School Benefit Night 2 (10/26/08)
No, the apostrophe is NOT in the wrong place! At long last - the joint review that we promised of the benefit show we went to almost a month ago. Better late than never, eh?
Comments from Mr. Blue will be in regular text.
Comments from Mrs. Blue will be in italics.
Get it? Got it? Good.
Wow. I can't believe it's almost been a month since we were up in Mountain View toasting in the hot late afternoon sun. Bridge School is one of the few shows where I don't mind sitting in the lawn area. What's so great about this show is the diverse group of people that are in attendance - young, old, college kids, married couple with kids, frat boys and sorority chicks, grandparents, etc. I heart Bridge School...it's for a good cause, the music is great, and it's a perfect excuse to go up to the Bay area to check out all the other wonderful nearby places.
She's right about all the things that made Bridge School so special and unique. I love the fact that everyone does an acoustic set - no matter what. There's got to be a real temptation to sway away from it like KROQ did with Acoustic Christmas as I imagine some acts are quite resistant to the idea. The diverse crowd is definitely a plus as is the kickback atmosphere. There's no worries that a mosh pit is going to break out six feet away. I don't even feel concerned that a fight is going to happen - a rarity in almost any crowded situation anymore. The lawn is very chill, very kick back with people just enjoying the music and having a good time. Sure, you get your share of people who drank a little too much but that happens. In the two shows we've been to there, I've never seen a fight or anyone throwing up and in the end, that's good enough for me.
We arrived in the lawn a few minutes before the show started. As I mentioned earlier, it was hot, so after getting situated, I went to go grab some ice cold beers. When I got back, the show had started and this part gets cloudy for me (must be the ADD) because I don't remember much about the first band, Cat Power. And that's all I have to say about that.
It MUST be the ADD - or all the secondhand pot smoke. Shows at Shoreline are odd - especially all-day shows. You get scorching hot during the day and freezing cold after dusk. I wore jeans to prepare for the cold so I did my very best Huck Finn impression by rolling my pant legs up to my knees while it was hot. We had spread out a sleeping bag to sit on [most people bring blankets or what have you to stake their claim on the lawn] and were trying to inch it close to the people in front of us so that no one would walk in front of us. It was a failed effort despite my many attempts to make a minefield by strategically placing backpacks, shoes, and other obstacles in their paths. As mentioned earlier, the lawn at Bridge School is a host of different ages and personalities. In front of us was a family [two parents, three youngish kids] - behind us a group of older folks in their 50s who apparently come quite often from the conversation we had with them. Everyone was very cool and we had conversations with them all at some point during the day.
Somewhere in here there was a stellar display of lawn etiquette as the folks behind us asked first if we minded them smoking cigarettes - then opted to go elsewhere to smoke them so not to disturb the kids in front of us. A little later, they asked if we minded them smoking weed. When we assured them we didn't, they asked if we wanted some. Now THAT'S lawn etiquette. For the record, I didn't partake. I've always been a little iffy about that particular concert activity with strangers.
The show was actually opened with some kind of traditional Native American hoop dance. Whatever. It was kinda cool but the symbolism seemed to be lost on most. One of those little charming things about Bridge School is that all the kids sit on stage behind the bands. Pegi and Neil Young always take the stage to start the show to say a few words about the school to keep everything in perspective of why we're all there. From there, Neil played a couple songs before introducing Cat Power.
Cat Power is a bit of a mystery to me. The folks behind us were very excited about Cat Power as apparently it was one of the woman's favorite bands. I've heard a few covers by them that I dug but nothing that really made me stoked to see them. Nothing I saw at the show changed much of that. They did have an awesome cover of "Fortunate Son" with Neil that I thought was the highlight of their set. That also could be because it was the only song in their set that I recognized - go figure.
The first spot on the lineup is incredibly difficult for any band. The crowd is still trickling in, the sun is bright and scorching - if a band with a slower setlist hits the stage, it gets really tough for them. For what it's worth, Cat Power was much, much better in the spot than the band [who I can't recall] who went on in that slot a couple years ago but I still didn't really enjoy the set that much.
(Sidenote: it has taken Mr. Blue about five minutes to write all of his paragraphs thus far, whereas it has taken me like an hour for my piddly blocks of text. Needless to say, I will not be giving up my day job to become a writer.) Next up was Wilco. What I remember so vividly as Wilco was playing was the father and son in front of us playing with Batman and the Hulk action figures. It was very cute. Wilco was awesome...they played "What Light" which was really cool, but I was really sad and disappointed they didn't play "Jesus, etc."
Wilco was one of the bands that I was most looking forward to seeing live. I've been slowly digging them more and more over the past couple years so I was super-stoked when they were announced on this bill. Where Cat Power failed, Wilco succeeded. They took a person who didn't know many of their songs [me!] and managed to make me entertained by their entire set. From what I've learned after the fact, they even debuted a couple of new songs that I dug nonetheless. Since then, I also bought another song of theirs that they played at the show. The musical highlight of their set was the aforementioned "What Light" but just to add some variety, I'll go with the non-musical highlight of them saying they were from the "pro-America part of America." I maintain it takes a special kind of talent to make live music that someone doesn't know a highlight of the show. Wilco was definitely one of the highlights of the show for me.
As for me, Death Cab for Cutie was one of the highlights of the show. This was the fourth time we've seen them and they definitely didn't disappoint. I didn't really care for their latest single from their new album, well,at least not as much as their last album (which I loved) or older stuff (who doesn't love Sound of Settling?). And then they played "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" which always makes me teary-eyed when I hear it live.
Death Cab has never failed to put on a solid set for me. This wasn't my favorite set by them but they did hit all the spots that everyone expected them to - all the radio friendly hits that the KROQ crowd wanting to squeal for. What a difference two years makes though. When they played two years ago, I remember them getting a really flat reaction - even for the big hits. This time, they definitely seemed to be one of the bands that a lot of people were specifically there to see. I wouldn't really call them a highlight of the show for me since it was just more of the same ol' same ol' but I thought the set was solid and they contributed a quality set to the show.
I was really jazzed when I first heard that Smashing Pumpkins was going to play Bridge School. I've loved the Pumpkins since high school. For the Sadie Hawkins dance, I remember wearing this "SP" t-shirt with a red heart on the front and a bunch of text on the back that said,
I loved that shirt. Plus, I remember listening to "Melancollie and the Infinite Sadness" on repeat my second year of college. The last time we saw them was back in 2000 in San Diego which was one of their last shows they played before they split up. Ahhh...good times! They sounded good, but I don't know what I was expecting...maybe them playing some of their old songs? Well, that didn't happen...until Josh Groban joined the Pumpkins on stage and sang "Disarm." That was cool, but then Groban left and then the Pumpkins left and I was left feeling incomplete and wanting more (of their old songs).
This was actually my biggest disappointment of the entire day. I had really high hopes for their set - in fact, they were the sole reason we picked going to Sunday's show instead of Saturday's. Right before they started their set, I said that my dream setlist would consist of "Today", "1979", "Landslide", "Drown", and "Disarm." I guess one out of five isn't bad but considering the rest of the set was all new songs, that was a problem. Unfortunately, the Pumpkins weren't able to pull off the Wilco thing of making you care about songs you didn't know. I really hate when bands decide they no longer need to play the songs that made them famous. It just comes off as incredibly arrogant to me - like their putting their "artistic integrity" above the people who made them. The "highlight", I guess, was the version of "Disarm" that they did with Josh Groban but even that, I wished they had done alone because the Groban addition did absolutely nothing for me. This was a turning point in the show for me because as I looked ahead at Groban, Norah Jones, Jack Johnson, and Neil Young closing out the show, I had little faith that it was going to be good and was starting to feel pretty bummed.
Josh Groban kind of seemed like an odd fit for the bill, but I thought it would be cool to see him after seeing him in Jimmy Kimmel Live's "I'm Fucking Ben Affleck" video. He has a fabulous voice and it was different for the crowd, but it was just okay for me, dawg. But I did find out that he wears glasses.
I'll echo that sentiment. I thought it'd be cool in the acoustic environment for Groban to bust out his crazy good vocal pipes for a set. But here's the weird thing. It's almost like he knew he was going to be an odd fit so he tried to overcompensate for it. He did a Simon & Garfunkel cover of a song called "America" that I absolutely adore but by him, it came off weird. He also did a cover of "Harvest Moon" which made the Neil fans happy but again, it came off weird because it's not the style of song that his voice is well suited for. I was hoping for a little "Mi Mancherai" but he strayed from the stuff that made him famous and ended up bombing for it. Probably the worst set of the show.
Up next was Norah Jones. She did an amazing job with her old songs, "Come Away With Me" and "Don't Know Why"; a Johnny Cash cover of "Cry Cry Cry;" and some new songs with her yet to be named band. A highlight of her set was when she played the piano and sang "My Dear Country" which is about election day.
The great thing about a festival-type show is that there is always an act that surprises you. Norah Jones was that act for me. When I saw her name on the announced lineup, I was really apathetic towards her playing. Even as her set was starting, I assumed it was going to be dull and sleep-inducing. But when all was said and done, the lovely Ms. Jones actually had my favorite set of the day. Between the great covers and the amazing renditions of her own work, I thought it was amazing from beginning to end. The Cash covers were amazing. There was a Hank Williams cover that was cool. Even the stuff of hers that I didn't know was the bomb. I'm prepared to make the very bold statement - Norah Jones saved the 2008 Bridge School Benefit for me.
Oh, and she also covered Wilco - doing "Jesus Etc." to a big crowd reaction.
Ah yes, I forgot about Norah Jones' cover of "Jesus, etc." which was awesome...I love that song!
Hmmm...what do I say about Jack Johnson? I like him, his songs, his melodies...I have a bunch of his cds, even the Curious George one, yet I'm not a huge fan. Does that make sense? I don't know...whatever. He had a good performance. I love "Bubble Toes" and was really happy when he played that. The family with the young children in front of us really wanted to see Jack Johnson, but didn't know that the concert was going to go on that long...in the end they stayed and the kids got to dance to Jack Johnson. Very cute!
So, I mentioned earlier that we had talked to our lawn neighbors throughout the day. Right before this set, I had stood up to stretch my legs and was chatting with the father of the family in front of us. He mentioned he had come to Bridge School years ago to see Springsteen which sounded absolutely amazing. He also mentioned that his kids wanted to come to the show to see Jack Johnson which finally explained who Jack Johnson's target demo is for me. Honestly, this was the set I was looking forward to the least. I'm not a big Jack Johnson fan - I've frequently joked about all his songs sounding the same. So, really, I can't tell you what else he played other than "Bubble Toes." There was one song that turned into a cover of the Stones' "Time Is On My Side" too. The set was okay but nothing really special to me. If I wasn't really wanting to see Neil this year, I would've probably been okay with getting the hell out of the cold weather at that point - the air was moist and our sleeping bag somehow became soaked from condensation.
The hard thing about doing a review of a show that was almost a month ago is that, well, it was almost a month ago and I don't know about all of you, but I can hardly remember what I did yesterday. So you can imagine how hard it is for me to do this review (and I even wrote notes during the show to help me write my part of the review and jump start my memory...yeah, that didn't work). So, now Neil Young is up on stage and he's the headliner. I am not afraid to admit that I am not a Neil Young fan and I really don't know his songs. I was somewhat cold, tired, a bit hungry, and our sleeping bag was soaked. I don't really remember his set and I don't even remember what songs they sang during the end of the night sing-along when the rest of the bands on the bill come out and join Neil on stage (which is usually really cool). I was just so happy that Sunday's show starts earlier than the Saturday one which means that it ends earlier too. All in all, it was an okay show with disappointments from Smashing Pumpkins and Josh Groban and highlights from Death Cab, Norah Jones and Wilco.
I, on the other hand, was really excited about Neil's set as I've grown more and more fond of his music since the last time I saw him. I've gone from really only knowing and caring about "Rockin' In The Free World" to really looking forward to a handful of songs. I can add a handful more [and have to my iPod] since then. Neil had an amazing set that the diehards who had sat through a long day to get to were very happy with. The end-of-show singalong wasn't as cool as when they did Rockin' two years ago but it was still fun to see everyone on stage having a good time. All in all, it was a damn fun show and a fun day overall. It lacked the star power of the '06 show we went to and won't measure up to it over time but I'm very happy we got the chance to see Wilco, Norah, and Neil which were the highlights of the day for me. I'm really looking forward to getting a chance to see Wilco and Norah in a smaller venue some day in the future.
In closing, I'd like to thank one and all for taking the time read through all this. I'd also like to thank my lovely wife for humoring me and putting this review together with me after nearly a month. I'm sure it's not how she wanted to spend an entire Tuesday night after work but she did it without a grumble.
Until next time!
Comments from Mr. Blue will be in regular text.
Comments from Mrs. Blue will be in italics.
Get it? Got it? Good.
Wow. I can't believe it's almost been a month since we were up in Mountain View toasting in the hot late afternoon sun. Bridge School is one of the few shows where I don't mind sitting in the lawn area. What's so great about this show is the diverse group of people that are in attendance - young, old, college kids, married couple with kids, frat boys and sorority chicks, grandparents, etc. I heart Bridge School...it's for a good cause, the music is great, and it's a perfect excuse to go up to the Bay area to check out all the other wonderful nearby places.
She's right about all the things that made Bridge School so special and unique. I love the fact that everyone does an acoustic set - no matter what. There's got to be a real temptation to sway away from it like KROQ did with Acoustic Christmas as I imagine some acts are quite resistant to the idea. The diverse crowd is definitely a plus as is the kickback atmosphere. There's no worries that a mosh pit is going to break out six feet away. I don't even feel concerned that a fight is going to happen - a rarity in almost any crowded situation anymore. The lawn is very chill, very kick back with people just enjoying the music and having a good time. Sure, you get your share of people who drank a little too much but that happens. In the two shows we've been to there, I've never seen a fight or anyone throwing up and in the end, that's good enough for me.
We arrived in the lawn a few minutes before the show started. As I mentioned earlier, it was hot, so after getting situated, I went to go grab some ice cold beers. When I got back, the show had started and this part gets cloudy for me (must be the ADD) because I don't remember much about the first band, Cat Power. And that's all I have to say about that.
It MUST be the ADD - or all the secondhand pot smoke. Shows at Shoreline are odd - especially all-day shows. You get scorching hot during the day and freezing cold after dusk. I wore jeans to prepare for the cold so I did my very best Huck Finn impression by rolling my pant legs up to my knees while it was hot. We had spread out a sleeping bag to sit on [most people bring blankets or what have you to stake their claim on the lawn] and were trying to inch it close to the people in front of us so that no one would walk in front of us. It was a failed effort despite my many attempts to make a minefield by strategically placing backpacks, shoes, and other obstacles in their paths. As mentioned earlier, the lawn at Bridge School is a host of different ages and personalities. In front of us was a family [two parents, three youngish kids] - behind us a group of older folks in their 50s who apparently come quite often from the conversation we had with them. Everyone was very cool and we had conversations with them all at some point during the day.
Somewhere in here there was a stellar display of lawn etiquette as the folks behind us asked first if we minded them smoking cigarettes - then opted to go elsewhere to smoke them so not to disturb the kids in front of us. A little later, they asked if we minded them smoking weed. When we assured them we didn't, they asked if we wanted some. Now THAT'S lawn etiquette. For the record, I didn't partake. I've always been a little iffy about that particular concert activity with strangers.
The show was actually opened with some kind of traditional Native American hoop dance. Whatever. It was kinda cool but the symbolism seemed to be lost on most. One of those little charming things about Bridge School is that all the kids sit on stage behind the bands. Pegi and Neil Young always take the stage to start the show to say a few words about the school to keep everything in perspective of why we're all there. From there, Neil played a couple songs before introducing Cat Power.
Cat Power is a bit of a mystery to me. The folks behind us were very excited about Cat Power as apparently it was one of the woman's favorite bands. I've heard a few covers by them that I dug but nothing that really made me stoked to see them. Nothing I saw at the show changed much of that. They did have an awesome cover of "Fortunate Son" with Neil that I thought was the highlight of their set. That also could be because it was the only song in their set that I recognized - go figure.
The first spot on the lineup is incredibly difficult for any band. The crowd is still trickling in, the sun is bright and scorching - if a band with a slower setlist hits the stage, it gets really tough for them. For what it's worth, Cat Power was much, much better in the spot than the band [who I can't recall] who went on in that slot a couple years ago but I still didn't really enjoy the set that much.
(Sidenote: it has taken Mr. Blue about five minutes to write all of his paragraphs thus far, whereas it has taken me like an hour for my piddly blocks of text. Needless to say, I will not be giving up my day job to become a writer.) Next up was Wilco. What I remember so vividly as Wilco was playing was the father and son in front of us playing with Batman and the Hulk action figures. It was very cute. Wilco was awesome...they played "What Light" which was really cool, but I was really sad and disappointed they didn't play "Jesus, etc."
Wilco was one of the bands that I was most looking forward to seeing live. I've been slowly digging them more and more over the past couple years so I was super-stoked when they were announced on this bill. Where Cat Power failed, Wilco succeeded. They took a person who didn't know many of their songs [me!] and managed to make me entertained by their entire set. From what I've learned after the fact, they even debuted a couple of new songs that I dug nonetheless. Since then, I also bought another song of theirs that they played at the show. The musical highlight of their set was the aforementioned "What Light" but just to add some variety, I'll go with the non-musical highlight of them saying they were from the "pro-America part of America." I maintain it takes a special kind of talent to make live music that someone doesn't know a highlight of the show. Wilco was definitely one of the highlights of the show for me.
As for me, Death Cab for Cutie was one of the highlights of the show. This was the fourth time we've seen them and they definitely didn't disappoint. I didn't really care for their latest single from their new album, well,at least not as much as their last album (which I loved) or older stuff (who doesn't love Sound of Settling?). And then they played "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" which always makes me teary-eyed when I hear it live.
Death Cab has never failed to put on a solid set for me. This wasn't my favorite set by them but they did hit all the spots that everyone expected them to - all the radio friendly hits that the KROQ crowd wanting to squeal for. What a difference two years makes though. When they played two years ago, I remember them getting a really flat reaction - even for the big hits. This time, they definitely seemed to be one of the bands that a lot of people were specifically there to see. I wouldn't really call them a highlight of the show for me since it was just more of the same ol' same ol' but I thought the set was solid and they contributed a quality set to the show.
I was really jazzed when I first heard that Smashing Pumpkins was going to play Bridge School. I've loved the Pumpkins since high school. For the Sadie Hawkins dance, I remember wearing this "SP" t-shirt with a red heart on the front and a bunch of text on the back that said,
"this is a smashing pumpkins t-shirt. rather than ask me why i'm wearing this ask yourself why am i reading this? the message is there is no message. one million souls tossing down their hard earned lettuce for a piece of the hot rock indie alternative pie. i've sold out. how about you? everybody's doing it even if they say they're not. don't ask me cause i don't know. rock saves. it's the next big thing. have you heard the next big thing? i'm part of the revolution. it's all coming down soon. hope you're there."
I loved that shirt. Plus, I remember listening to "Melancollie and the Infinite Sadness" on repeat my second year of college. The last time we saw them was back in 2000 in San Diego which was one of their last shows they played before they split up. Ahhh...good times! They sounded good, but I don't know what I was expecting...maybe them playing some of their old songs? Well, that didn't happen...until Josh Groban joined the Pumpkins on stage and sang "Disarm." That was cool, but then Groban left and then the Pumpkins left and I was left feeling incomplete and wanting more (of their old songs).
This was actually my biggest disappointment of the entire day. I had really high hopes for their set - in fact, they were the sole reason we picked going to Sunday's show instead of Saturday's. Right before they started their set, I said that my dream setlist would consist of "Today", "1979", "Landslide", "Drown", and "Disarm." I guess one out of five isn't bad but considering the rest of the set was all new songs, that was a problem. Unfortunately, the Pumpkins weren't able to pull off the Wilco thing of making you care about songs you didn't know. I really hate when bands decide they no longer need to play the songs that made them famous. It just comes off as incredibly arrogant to me - like their putting their "artistic integrity" above the people who made them. The "highlight", I guess, was the version of "Disarm" that they did with Josh Groban but even that, I wished they had done alone because the Groban addition did absolutely nothing for me. This was a turning point in the show for me because as I looked ahead at Groban, Norah Jones, Jack Johnson, and Neil Young closing out the show, I had little faith that it was going to be good and was starting to feel pretty bummed.
Josh Groban kind of seemed like an odd fit for the bill, but I thought it would be cool to see him after seeing him in Jimmy Kimmel Live's "I'm Fucking Ben Affleck" video. He has a fabulous voice and it was different for the crowd, but it was just okay for me, dawg. But I did find out that he wears glasses.
I'll echo that sentiment. I thought it'd be cool in the acoustic environment for Groban to bust out his crazy good vocal pipes for a set. But here's the weird thing. It's almost like he knew he was going to be an odd fit so he tried to overcompensate for it. He did a Simon & Garfunkel cover of a song called "America" that I absolutely adore but by him, it came off weird. He also did a cover of "Harvest Moon" which made the Neil fans happy but again, it came off weird because it's not the style of song that his voice is well suited for. I was hoping for a little "Mi Mancherai" but he strayed from the stuff that made him famous and ended up bombing for it. Probably the worst set of the show.
Up next was Norah Jones. She did an amazing job with her old songs, "Come Away With Me" and "Don't Know Why"; a Johnny Cash cover of "Cry Cry Cry;" and some new songs with her yet to be named band. A highlight of her set was when she played the piano and sang "My Dear Country" which is about election day.
The great thing about a festival-type show is that there is always an act that surprises you. Norah Jones was that act for me. When I saw her name on the announced lineup, I was really apathetic towards her playing. Even as her set was starting, I assumed it was going to be dull and sleep-inducing. But when all was said and done, the lovely Ms. Jones actually had my favorite set of the day. Between the great covers and the amazing renditions of her own work, I thought it was amazing from beginning to end. The Cash covers were amazing. There was a Hank Williams cover that was cool. Even the stuff of hers that I didn't know was the bomb. I'm prepared to make the very bold statement - Norah Jones saved the 2008 Bridge School Benefit for me.
Oh, and she also covered Wilco - doing "Jesus Etc." to a big crowd reaction.
Ah yes, I forgot about Norah Jones' cover of "Jesus, etc." which was awesome...I love that song!
Hmmm...what do I say about Jack Johnson? I like him, his songs, his melodies...I have a bunch of his cds, even the Curious George one, yet I'm not a huge fan. Does that make sense? I don't know...whatever. He had a good performance. I love "Bubble Toes" and was really happy when he played that. The family with the young children in front of us really wanted to see Jack Johnson, but didn't know that the concert was going to go on that long...in the end they stayed and the kids got to dance to Jack Johnson. Very cute!
So, I mentioned earlier that we had talked to our lawn neighbors throughout the day. Right before this set, I had stood up to stretch my legs and was chatting with the father of the family in front of us. He mentioned he had come to Bridge School years ago to see Springsteen which sounded absolutely amazing. He also mentioned that his kids wanted to come to the show to see Jack Johnson which finally explained who Jack Johnson's target demo is for me. Honestly, this was the set I was looking forward to the least. I'm not a big Jack Johnson fan - I've frequently joked about all his songs sounding the same. So, really, I can't tell you what else he played other than "Bubble Toes." There was one song that turned into a cover of the Stones' "Time Is On My Side" too. The set was okay but nothing really special to me. If I wasn't really wanting to see Neil this year, I would've probably been okay with getting the hell out of the cold weather at that point - the air was moist and our sleeping bag somehow became soaked from condensation.
The hard thing about doing a review of a show that was almost a month ago is that, well, it was almost a month ago and I don't know about all of you, but I can hardly remember what I did yesterday. So you can imagine how hard it is for me to do this review (and I even wrote notes during the show to help me write my part of the review and jump start my memory...yeah, that didn't work). So, now Neil Young is up on stage and he's the headliner. I am not afraid to admit that I am not a Neil Young fan and I really don't know his songs. I was somewhat cold, tired, a bit hungry, and our sleeping bag was soaked. I don't really remember his set and I don't even remember what songs they sang during the end of the night sing-along when the rest of the bands on the bill come out and join Neil on stage (which is usually really cool). I was just so happy that Sunday's show starts earlier than the Saturday one which means that it ends earlier too. All in all, it was an okay show with disappointments from Smashing Pumpkins and Josh Groban and highlights from Death Cab, Norah Jones and Wilco.
I, on the other hand, was really excited about Neil's set as I've grown more and more fond of his music since the last time I saw him. I've gone from really only knowing and caring about "Rockin' In The Free World" to really looking forward to a handful of songs. I can add a handful more [and have to my iPod] since then. Neil had an amazing set that the diehards who had sat through a long day to get to were very happy with. The end-of-show singalong wasn't as cool as when they did Rockin' two years ago but it was still fun to see everyone on stage having a good time. All in all, it was a damn fun show and a fun day overall. It lacked the star power of the '06 show we went to and won't measure up to it over time but I'm very happy we got the chance to see Wilco, Norah, and Neil which were the highlights of the day for me. I'm really looking forward to getting a chance to see Wilco and Norah in a smaller venue some day in the future.
In closing, I'd like to thank one and all for taking the time read through all this. I'd also like to thank my lovely wife for humoring me and putting this review together with me after nearly a month. I'm sure it's not how she wanted to spend an entire Tuesday night after work but she did it without a grumble.
Until next time!
Cash + Dylan = SONIC GOLD!
I've mentioned on here in the past how much I adore mp3 blogs. Not only are they typically on the cutting edge of the best new music hitting the world but occasionally they also dig up a long-lost treasure that you can't believe you've never heard before - and sometimes didn't even know existed.
I posted a link to the Beach Boys rehearsal stuff a few weeks ago that I thought was amazing - well, this one is right up there with it.
Back in 1968, apparently Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan went into the studios together and laid down some work that never saw the light of day. When you're done listening to it, you're going to shed a slight tear that this never came out before.
From the introduction over at Aquarium Drunkard:
You're welcome.
I posted a link to the Beach Boys rehearsal stuff a few weeks ago that I thought was amazing - well, this one is right up there with it.
Back in 1968, apparently Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan went into the studios together and laid down some work that never saw the light of day. When you're done listening to it, you're going to shed a slight tear that this never came out before.
From the introduction over at Aquarium Drunkard:
This is a true peice of Americana — two iconic masters of their craft conversing with one another via song. Recorded throughout 1969 on three separate occasions, these recordings mark an important historical collaboration between two American poets/musicians. Even a casual fans of either artist should at least give these a cursory listen. Great stuff.
You're welcome.
2008-11-17
Blah Blah Blah
On a night where I really don't have a lot to say [I know - a rarity!], I've decided to go to an old standby...
10 Things iPod About You!
One of our favorite activities where we put iTunes to work in cranking out 10 songs on Shuffle and then I discuss said songs in some sort of random, half-ass fashion. Sound like fun?
Great! Let's begin!
MP3s included where possible!
1. The Bells Of Notre Dame from The Hunchback Of Notre Dame soundtrack
Awesome! One of my favorite Disney movies kicks things off with the opening song from the movie. For those of you who haven't seen the movie, here's what to do...
Step One) Take a giant step back
Step Two) FUCK... YOUR... FACE!
Sorry, I had "a moment" there. Seriously though, Hunchback is absolutely one of the most awesome Disney flicks where they actually make an effort to be a little bit darker than most of the Disney movies tend to be. Good music, an engaging story with a hell of a message, and one of my favorite Disney villains. Oh, the song? Well, it's important too because it tells the entire "setup" to the story in a few minutes - establishing the hero, the villain, and our basic plot. From Moment One, you can tell you're going to be watching far from the usual Disney movie. It'd be like an entire movie of that goosestepping hyena scene to "Be Prepared" in The Lion King - scary stuff.
2. Sign O' The Times by Prince
Eh. Not really one of my favorite Prince songs actually. It's okay. Prince always amazes me with the way he shoehorns lyrics into verses that just don't seem like they should fit in there. Like... I would imagine a song like this would be almost impossible to karaoke. Not that I've ever done karaoke. I'd hate to kill my image of omniscient rock god by standing on a stage and poorly singing some song that I can't remember the lyrics to. Anyways, I'm listening to this entire song for the first time in ages - I usually skip right past it when it comes up - expressly for the purpose of writing about it.
3. No One - cover of the Alicia Keys song by a band called Wakey!Wakey!
Fans of this blog know what a fan of covers I am. I'm a sucker for a good one - or a weird one - or sometimes even really bad, ill-advised ones. This one could really fit into any of those categories, I think. There's nothing really remarkable about it to set it apart from the original. It's not a straight take on it because it's stripped down of all the R&B elements to a guy singing with a... I'm gonna guess an electric piano of some kind. The vocals aren't especially good either. This is just... okay.
4. Don't Call Me White - cover of the NOFX song by Rancid
A while back, there was an album released of Rancid covering NOFX songs and vice versa. With those two being two of my favorite punk bands, I was all over it. Surprisingly though, I really didn't care for much of it. The covers just didn't seem as good as the originals and since they're both punk bands, there wasn't a fresh take on the song to take it. So, not shockingly, I much prefer the NOFX version of this song. This is passable but really nothing to go out of your way to hear if you know the original. I still dig both bands but I have to admit, the album sounded much better on paper than in practice.
5. Waiting For My Real Life To Begin - Colin Hay
Colin Hay owes his resurgence on my listening plate to Scrubs - plain and simple. He did an amazing "cover" of Overkill on Scrubs a few years ago and made me set out to check out new stuff whenever it comes out from him. I call it a "cover" because Colin Hay actually was a member of Men At Work so I guess it's not really a cover but rather... a solo reimagining? Anyways, if you're only listening to him for the Men At Work covers [while awesome], you're badly missing out. This is an absolutely fantastic song that should be on everyone's iPod/iPhone/mp3 player of choice. Next time you're on the iTunes Music Store, run a search for Colin Hay and soak up some of the greatness - it always goes down smooth.
6. Sympathy For The Devil - The Rolling Stones
This is going to sound really, really bad for a diehard music fan such as myself but honestly, I think the very first time I ever heard this song was the Guns N' Roses cover of it during the closing credits of Interview With The Vampire. To be honest, I never can quite decide if I like that version of it better. The Stones' version is more iconic and is usually the one I "play" in my head if I think of the song but there's just something about Axl's wild voice tackling it that adds a little spice to it. One of the greatest songs of all time - no matter the artist. The riff, the backing vocals, the main vocal, the drum line... man, all of it is almost instantly identifiable. This is one of those songs that I would love to have on vinyl in some form so that when I finally get a record player, I can spend a sleepy Sunday afternoon lying on the couch listening to the fuzz and hissy Mick Jagger as I'm knocking back a White Russian (been craving a White Russian for days - probably has something to do with reading the book about The Big Lebowski.)
7. Bubble Pop Electric - Gwen Stefani
Hrm. Well. This is one of those songs off the first Gwen solo album that I really want to like. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. Tonight, I wasn't very overjoyed to hear it come up. I'd like to skip it. And so, since I'm in control here - I shall!
8. Gleaming Auction - Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol holds a spot on that very small list of bands that I had tickets to see that I ate the cost of because I decided I didn't really care to see them that badly. I don't much care for this song either. The verses aren't bad. The chorus annoys me. Thankfully it's short!
9. House Of Pain - Faster Pussycat
I think I stumbled upon this song when I was looking for Bret Michaels solo songs. Hey! Fuck you too! Anyways, this is a perfect example of an 80's arena rock ballad anthem. This is the perfect singalong song that you can totally envision a bunch of heavily leathered, mega hairsprayed, barely in their skintight tops rocking out to with their lighters in the air. Real lighters too. Not this cell phone bullshit that people do these days. I actually really like this song as a power ballad and think most people would have it stuck in their head after a listen or two if they give it a shot. Go ahead. Click the link above and listen. I dare ya. Come on, pussies. Do it. All the cool kids are doing it. If you don't do it, you might as well join the marching band or keep stats for the volleyball team or something. Do it! DO IT!
10. What It Feels Like - Lola Ray
As this song starts, I have a strong suspicion that the song will cut off before it's over. I'm almost positive this mp3 isn't complete which means I have no earthly idea where it came from and why since I haven't used a filesharing service in ages. This song is kinda catchy too. I'm not overly fond of it. I have a hard time imagining the moment where I'd go, "Hey, I want to hear that song by Lola Ray!" I also harbor a suspicion that Lola Ray is in some way related to Sugar Ray and I ain't havin' any of that shit, I tell you that! Ever since I saw Sugar Ray at Warped Tour years ago and realized they could have been an okay band until "Fly" came out and the shit hit the fan and then Mark McGrath [that's his name right?] was on every fucking channel on the television. That fucker was a TV whore. He'd host anything that anyone wanted him to fucking host. MTV Awards? Done. VH-1 Honors? So there. Teen Choice Awards? Where do I sign up? Jet Magazine's "I LOOOOOVE BLACK PEOPLE!" Celebrity Extravaganza? I'm soooo fucking in. Anyways, I digress - the song cut off and now some god damn Chris Issak song is on so I'm going to wrap this up before I drown the keyboard in the blood from my slit wrists.
10 Things iPod About You!
One of our favorite activities where we put iTunes to work in cranking out 10 songs on Shuffle and then I discuss said songs in some sort of random, half-ass fashion. Sound like fun?
Great! Let's begin!
MP3s included where possible!
1. The Bells Of Notre Dame from The Hunchback Of Notre Dame soundtrack
Awesome! One of my favorite Disney movies kicks things off with the opening song from the movie. For those of you who haven't seen the movie, here's what to do...
Step One) Take a giant step back
Step Two) FUCK... YOUR... FACE!
Sorry, I had "a moment" there. Seriously though, Hunchback is absolutely one of the most awesome Disney flicks where they actually make an effort to be a little bit darker than most of the Disney movies tend to be. Good music, an engaging story with a hell of a message, and one of my favorite Disney villains. Oh, the song? Well, it's important too because it tells the entire "setup" to the story in a few minutes - establishing the hero, the villain, and our basic plot. From Moment One, you can tell you're going to be watching far from the usual Disney movie. It'd be like an entire movie of that goosestepping hyena scene to "Be Prepared" in The Lion King - scary stuff.
2. Sign O' The Times by Prince
Eh. Not really one of my favorite Prince songs actually. It's okay. Prince always amazes me with the way he shoehorns lyrics into verses that just don't seem like they should fit in there. Like... I would imagine a song like this would be almost impossible to karaoke. Not that I've ever done karaoke. I'd hate to kill my image of omniscient rock god by standing on a stage and poorly singing some song that I can't remember the lyrics to. Anyways, I'm listening to this entire song for the first time in ages - I usually skip right past it when it comes up - expressly for the purpose of writing about it.
3. No One - cover of the Alicia Keys song by a band called Wakey!Wakey!
Fans of this blog know what a fan of covers I am. I'm a sucker for a good one - or a weird one - or sometimes even really bad, ill-advised ones. This one could really fit into any of those categories, I think. There's nothing really remarkable about it to set it apart from the original. It's not a straight take on it because it's stripped down of all the R&B elements to a guy singing with a... I'm gonna guess an electric piano of some kind. The vocals aren't especially good either. This is just... okay.
4. Don't Call Me White - cover of the NOFX song by Rancid
A while back, there was an album released of Rancid covering NOFX songs and vice versa. With those two being two of my favorite punk bands, I was all over it. Surprisingly though, I really didn't care for much of it. The covers just didn't seem as good as the originals and since they're both punk bands, there wasn't a fresh take on the song to take it. So, not shockingly, I much prefer the NOFX version of this song. This is passable but really nothing to go out of your way to hear if you know the original. I still dig both bands but I have to admit, the album sounded much better on paper than in practice.
5. Waiting For My Real Life To Begin - Colin Hay
Colin Hay owes his resurgence on my listening plate to Scrubs - plain and simple. He did an amazing "cover" of Overkill on Scrubs a few years ago and made me set out to check out new stuff whenever it comes out from him. I call it a "cover" because Colin Hay actually was a member of Men At Work so I guess it's not really a cover but rather... a solo reimagining? Anyways, if you're only listening to him for the Men At Work covers [while awesome], you're badly missing out. This is an absolutely fantastic song that should be on everyone's iPod/iPhone/mp3 player of choice. Next time you're on the iTunes Music Store, run a search for Colin Hay and soak up some of the greatness - it always goes down smooth.
6. Sympathy For The Devil - The Rolling Stones
This is going to sound really, really bad for a diehard music fan such as myself but honestly, I think the very first time I ever heard this song was the Guns N' Roses cover of it during the closing credits of Interview With The Vampire. To be honest, I never can quite decide if I like that version of it better. The Stones' version is more iconic and is usually the one I "play" in my head if I think of the song but there's just something about Axl's wild voice tackling it that adds a little spice to it. One of the greatest songs of all time - no matter the artist. The riff, the backing vocals, the main vocal, the drum line... man, all of it is almost instantly identifiable. This is one of those songs that I would love to have on vinyl in some form so that when I finally get a record player, I can spend a sleepy Sunday afternoon lying on the couch listening to the fuzz and hissy Mick Jagger as I'm knocking back a White Russian (been craving a White Russian for days - probably has something to do with reading the book about The Big Lebowski.)
7. Bubble Pop Electric - Gwen Stefani
Hrm. Well. This is one of those songs off the first Gwen solo album that I really want to like. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. Tonight, I wasn't very overjoyed to hear it come up. I'd like to skip it. And so, since I'm in control here - I shall!
8. Gleaming Auction - Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol holds a spot on that very small list of bands that I had tickets to see that I ate the cost of because I decided I didn't really care to see them that badly. I don't much care for this song either. The verses aren't bad. The chorus annoys me. Thankfully it's short!
9. House Of Pain - Faster Pussycat
I think I stumbled upon this song when I was looking for Bret Michaels solo songs. Hey! Fuck you too! Anyways, this is a perfect example of an 80's arena rock ballad anthem. This is the perfect singalong song that you can totally envision a bunch of heavily leathered, mega hairsprayed, barely in their skintight tops rocking out to with their lighters in the air. Real lighters too. Not this cell phone bullshit that people do these days. I actually really like this song as a power ballad and think most people would have it stuck in their head after a listen or two if they give it a shot. Go ahead. Click the link above and listen. I dare ya. Come on, pussies. Do it. All the cool kids are doing it. If you don't do it, you might as well join the marching band or keep stats for the volleyball team or something. Do it! DO IT!
10. What It Feels Like - Lola Ray
As this song starts, I have a strong suspicion that the song will cut off before it's over. I'm almost positive this mp3 isn't complete which means I have no earthly idea where it came from and why since I haven't used a filesharing service in ages. This song is kinda catchy too. I'm not overly fond of it. I have a hard time imagining the moment where I'd go, "Hey, I want to hear that song by Lola Ray!" I also harbor a suspicion that Lola Ray is in some way related to Sugar Ray and I ain't havin' any of that shit, I tell you that! Ever since I saw Sugar Ray at Warped Tour years ago and realized they could have been an okay band until "Fly" came out and the shit hit the fan and then Mark McGrath [that's his name right?] was on every fucking channel on the television. That fucker was a TV whore. He'd host anything that anyone wanted him to fucking host. MTV Awards? Done. VH-1 Honors? So there. Teen Choice Awards? Where do I sign up? Jet Magazine's "I LOOOOOVE BLACK PEOPLE!" Celebrity Extravaganza? I'm soooo fucking in. Anyways, I digress - the song cut off and now some god damn Chris Issak song is on so I'm going to wrap this up before I drown the keyboard in the blood from my slit wrists.
2008-11-16
Ocarina Rawk!
It's rare that I feel the need to gush over how utterly awesome an iPhone app is but.. well, today is that day. Today, someone tipped me off to the greatness of Ocarina, an app designed to simulate the instrument of the same name from the Legend of Zelda games. For a whopping 99 cents, you too can use the microphone and touchscreen on your iPhone or iPod Touch to rock out as only a true citizen of Hyrule totally can.
Don't believe me?
Check it out, mang!
And of course...
Simply awesome.
Don't believe me?
Check it out, mang!
And of course...
Simply awesome.
2008-11-15
Damn, I'm Good
Sometime during the year, I kinda quit the whole UFC Picks thing since I wasn't getting out to watch most of the PPVs anymore. But damn, after tonight, maybe I should've stuck with it.
Earlier today, when asked my thoughts on a winner for Brock vs Randy, my text message answer was:
"I think Randy will be suffering from cage rust, make a mistake, get caught with a big punch and then get GNPd to a stoppage."
Wow. I basically nailed that one, right?
So, what's next for both the new champion and the former champ?
Brock gets to wait for the winner of Mir and Noguiera in a unification fight. I really like Nog but part of me is rooting for Mir to see the rematch. But after that... hrm. The UFC Heavy division isn't exactly overflowing with top contenders after those four.
Randy? Well, I can't imagine he'll stay at heavy. Unless they sign Fedor, there doesn't seem to be much there for him. Light heavy? Maybe. There'd probably be money in Forrest/Randy, Silva/Randy, Rampage/Randy, maybe even another Chuck/Randy. I'd see that as more likely at this point.
Brock needs to channel that inner heel though. Now's the time. Buyrates could explode with people paying to see who can take the title off the hated champion - it's the Ric Flair Syndrome.
I didn't get to see the rest of the show since I got home from work just in time to see Ken Flo choke out Joe Daddy - a result that pleases me muchly. But the Main Event was a lot of fun and had that "big match" atmosphere.
Is Brock Lesnar once again "The Next Big Thing?"
Time will tell.
Earlier today, when asked my thoughts on a winner for Brock vs Randy, my text message answer was:
"I think Randy will be suffering from cage rust, make a mistake, get caught with a big punch and then get GNPd to a stoppage."
Wow. I basically nailed that one, right?
So, what's next for both the new champion and the former champ?
Brock gets to wait for the winner of Mir and Noguiera in a unification fight. I really like Nog but part of me is rooting for Mir to see the rematch. But after that... hrm. The UFC Heavy division isn't exactly overflowing with top contenders after those four.
Randy? Well, I can't imagine he'll stay at heavy. Unless they sign Fedor, there doesn't seem to be much there for him. Light heavy? Maybe. There'd probably be money in Forrest/Randy, Silva/Randy, Rampage/Randy, maybe even another Chuck/Randy. I'd see that as more likely at this point.
Brock needs to channel that inner heel though. Now's the time. Buyrates could explode with people paying to see who can take the title off the hated champion - it's the Ric Flair Syndrome.
I didn't get to see the rest of the show since I got home from work just in time to see Ken Flo choke out Joe Daddy - a result that pleases me muchly. But the Main Event was a lot of fun and had that "big match" atmosphere.
Is Brock Lesnar once again "The Next Big Thing?"
Time will tell.
2008-11-14
Liveblog: TNA Impact (11-13-08)
Some people say I don't give TNA a fair chance so I thought it might be an interesting Liveblog on my day off.
The "Turning Point" highlight reel looks pretty impressive. Except for Nash. He just looks old. Poor Joe.
Foley and Jarrett kick things off - grrrrreeeeat. I'm going to call Jarrett turning on Foley to join the Main Event Mafia at some point because it just seems like a Vince Russo thing to do. It's weird to see Foley on TNA. His promo comes across forced. He's supposed to be fired-up but it just wasn't there.
Different opening since the last time I watched. It's... okay. This is the first time I've watched since the new set too. I'm not watching in HD so I guess I don't get the full effect but... well, it's better, I think, than it was. But it still looks like a low rent WWE ripoff.
Foley on his way to the ring. PPV recap. God damn, Nash looks old. Everyone else looked okay and if I didn't know better, I might even think I really missed out on a good show. Foley in-ring time. Foley's calling out the kids to give them a peptalk. He's reading off a list. I don't know if that's a work or not. It'd be pretty funny if Foley couldn't remember their names. The TNA video wall you can seen on the hard cam shot looks pretty good.
So, since Petey's not Steiner's Mini-Me anymore, how come he still looks like Steiner? Foley just said you don't win a World Series with four strikeouts. That's... odd. He just asked Shelley if he's "playing with a booger." Wow. I really have been too hard on TNA. I guess Shelley's supposed to be the cocky youngster who doesn't respect his colleagues. Uh oh! Foley threatened to deal with him next week - and I don't care. Foley needs to stop saying "ass" if they're going to keep bleeping it. This promo blows. It's boring and has none of the fire of Foley's best work. Eric Young's getting pushed again, I guess. I like Eric Young outside the ring - not sure how I feel about him inside the ring. Joe and AJ against Beer Money for the titles. That might be fun. Sting ve Lethal... oh, sorry... Black Machismo. I can't believe he's still using that gimmmick.
Parking lot interview with Christian and the Main Event Mafia. Sting looks weird in a suit. Steiner looks like a badass always. I guess it's some kind of a sign that Sting as the World Champ has to stand in the back. Did Nash just smell the interviewer woman? Creepy. Christian threw away the suit they gave him! Ooooooh snap!
ODB is backstage. She called the interview woman "Sugartits" which made me giggle, I must admit. Apparently ODB is getting her own interview show. Pretty sure that won't make me tune in.
Awesome Kong! One of the things about TNA that I actually enjoy. But she's teaming with Steiner's former freak so I'm not happy. I'd love to see Kong in the WWE just tear through the entire women's division to build up to a big showdown with Beth Phoenix. That'd be the most fun women's division angle since the Trish/Mickie angle. Tag match with Roxxi and Taylor Wilde. I can see why the WWE got rid of Taylor. I mean, she's cute enough but she blends in with the rest of the Divas. Plus, she looks like she can actually wrestle and we just can't have that. I do give TNA credit for building a hell of a women's division though. I really enjoy the Beautiful People. Just as I say that, this match fell apart to being barely watchable. Kong wins. She's just too cool. She's wasted in TNA post-Gail feud but Vince probably wouldn't give her the time of day.
MCMGs promo. Alex Shelley is ranting. There was a "Communist Russia" reference as well as a "Ghostbusters" one. Awesome. Sabin's not as fun. He delivers the serious part of the promo and sucks at it.
Apparently whassherface is the "Commissioner" of the women's division now. That's lame. Raesha Saed says Kong is going to hurt civilians next week if she doesn't get competition - even if it means vacationers who worship "that stupid mouse." That's awesome. I wish I could pick and choose the good parts of TNA into like... a thirty minute show.
X-Division Title match with Eric Young against the former Daivari who they've turned into a terrorist gimmmick. Stay classy, Orlando. This'll sound bad but was Daivari always this dark? Do they have chairs in the Impact Zone? The ringside people always appear to be standing. I remember seeing Daivari in a dark match at a WWE show years ago when he was doing the Flying Carpet gimmick. Eric Young is pretty dull inside the ring. Not exactly the kind of wrestler I'd choose to represent the X-Division. Uh oh. It's a face ref! The ref is hulking up! That's a pretty big pop for the ref. Young wins the title when the ref beats up Daivari... and I don't care. So, the ring fills up with people to celebrate. And by "fills up" I mean Consequences Creed, Jay Lethal, Petey Williams, and ODB. Three guys who should be after that same title - and ODB. Oh, the Guns come out too and subtly golf clap. They rule.
EY gives a post-match peptalk to the others. Blah. AJ looks sorta into it. Joe just looks annoyed and the Guns seem to be mocking him. I don't know if it's too early to have infighting within the "TNA Originals" but at least the reactions of those three seem to fit their characters.
"Rough Cut" with LAX. That's kind of a cool idea. I'll give them props for that. Hernandez lifting weights - the guy is a monster. I guess it was just about Hernandez since Homicide didn't speak. Still a pretty cool segment.
Main Event Mafia promo. Kurt speaks for the group which seems weird to me with Sting holding the big gold. Petey shows up to talk to Steiner. Steiner kicks him out of the room and says he'll talk to him later. Whatever.
Jay Lethal promo. The Savage gimmick has to go. If you want to put the Originals over as taking this seriously, have Lethal give up the gimmick and say it's time to get serious? Give the guy a chance to get over on his own. If he bombs, put him back in the gimmick. Petey's buddies with him now. Weren't they just feuding? The interviewer chick warns Petey to be careful when he talks to Steiner. Petey says Steiner's got his hook-up. Yeah. He's gonna get taken out by the Mafia.
Tenay says, "There's never been a faction in the history of pro wrestling where every member has been a former World Champion." That could be true. I'd have to think about it for a while. Steiner vs Rhino. Good lord. Rhino's fallen a long way from when I used to really look forward to his matches. He's lost the in-ring intensity that really made him fun. Steiner's wrestling in a shirt now. His arms are still huge though so I don't think he's getting off the juice. Wow. Steiner has to cheat to beat Rhino. Interesting.
Interview with Sting. That wasn't a bad promo. Mr. Borden's still got a little in the tank.
Sting vs Lethal for the gold. The match isn't bad but it's nothing great so far. The MCMGs come out to ringside which interests me a little bit. Botched spot too close to the ropes. Sabin holds Sting for Lethal. Jay doesn't want to do it. He's a good guy! He throws Sabin out of the ring. And Sting takes advantage to win. If nothing else, this proves Dark Helmet was right when he said, "Evil will always beat good because good is dumb." AJ and Joe come out to yell at the Guns. If we get a Joe/AJ vs Guns feud out of this, I'm in.
The Mafia is beating up Petey. Nash should Mysterio him into a wall. But no. Just trash cans and a breakaway 2x4. Steiner's beating the crap out of him while wearing his sunglasses. That's pretty cool. Tenay says, "I've never seen anything like this from any faction at any time in wrestling history." Really? A backstage beatdown? Hasn't pretty much every faction at every time in wrestling history done something like that?
Petey's "in a pool of his own blood." The announcers should lay out in those segments. It might have more... impact... no pun intended.
Backstage promo with Beer Money. Apparently they are neither Main Event nor Original. For now anyways. Eventually it'll probably be nWo style where everyone is either in the Mafia or against them. Wow. Miss Jackie looks old. That was a nice, effective, simple promo.
Ok. So, there's a Jarrett hype piece that starts with, "I have been a World Champion everywhere I've been." Did I miss something? I'm pretty sure Vince never got that nutty when Dubba J was up in New York.
Joe's music is pretty awesome. It's quite ominous. I guess it's Main Event time. I'm gonna go out on a limb and predict this'll be a fun match until some wacky overbooking takes control and ruins it.
It's a pretty solid match but the Dudleys on commentary bugs me. Wow. There was a DQ because Bubba spit beer on someone. Fuck TNA.
Oh, so the Main Event is actually Christian joining the Mafia. Well, that's sure to have some great work in it.
THEY'RE SHOOTING, MY GOD! THEY'RE SHOOTING! So, the Main Event is the Mafia beating down Christian because he may be "jumping ship." To me, that only makes sense if Christian's staying with the company.
Anyways... show's over. It was okay but I wouldn't have been sad if I missed it.
The "Turning Point" highlight reel looks pretty impressive. Except for Nash. He just looks old. Poor Joe.
Foley and Jarrett kick things off - grrrrreeeeat. I'm going to call Jarrett turning on Foley to join the Main Event Mafia at some point because it just seems like a Vince Russo thing to do. It's weird to see Foley on TNA. His promo comes across forced. He's supposed to be fired-up but it just wasn't there.
Different opening since the last time I watched. It's... okay. This is the first time I've watched since the new set too. I'm not watching in HD so I guess I don't get the full effect but... well, it's better, I think, than it was. But it still looks like a low rent WWE ripoff.
Foley on his way to the ring. PPV recap. God damn, Nash looks old. Everyone else looked okay and if I didn't know better, I might even think I really missed out on a good show. Foley in-ring time. Foley's calling out the kids to give them a peptalk. He's reading off a list. I don't know if that's a work or not. It'd be pretty funny if Foley couldn't remember their names. The TNA video wall you can seen on the hard cam shot looks pretty good.
So, since Petey's not Steiner's Mini-Me anymore, how come he still looks like Steiner? Foley just said you don't win a World Series with four strikeouts. That's... odd. He just asked Shelley if he's "playing with a booger." Wow. I really have been too hard on TNA. I guess Shelley's supposed to be the cocky youngster who doesn't respect his colleagues. Uh oh! Foley threatened to deal with him next week - and I don't care. Foley needs to stop saying "ass" if they're going to keep bleeping it. This promo blows. It's boring and has none of the fire of Foley's best work. Eric Young's getting pushed again, I guess. I like Eric Young outside the ring - not sure how I feel about him inside the ring. Joe and AJ against Beer Money for the titles. That might be fun. Sting ve Lethal... oh, sorry... Black Machismo. I can't believe he's still using that gimmmick.
Parking lot interview with Christian and the Main Event Mafia. Sting looks weird in a suit. Steiner looks like a badass always. I guess it's some kind of a sign that Sting as the World Champ has to stand in the back. Did Nash just smell the interviewer woman? Creepy. Christian threw away the suit they gave him! Ooooooh snap!
ODB is backstage. She called the interview woman "Sugartits" which made me giggle, I must admit. Apparently ODB is getting her own interview show. Pretty sure that won't make me tune in.
Awesome Kong! One of the things about TNA that I actually enjoy. But she's teaming with Steiner's former freak so I'm not happy. I'd love to see Kong in the WWE just tear through the entire women's division to build up to a big showdown with Beth Phoenix. That'd be the most fun women's division angle since the Trish/Mickie angle. Tag match with Roxxi and Taylor Wilde. I can see why the WWE got rid of Taylor. I mean, she's cute enough but she blends in with the rest of the Divas. Plus, she looks like she can actually wrestle and we just can't have that. I do give TNA credit for building a hell of a women's division though. I really enjoy the Beautiful People. Just as I say that, this match fell apart to being barely watchable. Kong wins. She's just too cool. She's wasted in TNA post-Gail feud but Vince probably wouldn't give her the time of day.
MCMGs promo. Alex Shelley is ranting. There was a "Communist Russia" reference as well as a "Ghostbusters" one. Awesome. Sabin's not as fun. He delivers the serious part of the promo and sucks at it.
Apparently whassherface is the "Commissioner" of the women's division now. That's lame. Raesha Saed says Kong is going to hurt civilians next week if she doesn't get competition - even if it means vacationers who worship "that stupid mouse." That's awesome. I wish I could pick and choose the good parts of TNA into like... a thirty minute show.
X-Division Title match with Eric Young against the former Daivari who they've turned into a terrorist gimmmick. Stay classy, Orlando. This'll sound bad but was Daivari always this dark? Do they have chairs in the Impact Zone? The ringside people always appear to be standing. I remember seeing Daivari in a dark match at a WWE show years ago when he was doing the Flying Carpet gimmick. Eric Young is pretty dull inside the ring. Not exactly the kind of wrestler I'd choose to represent the X-Division. Uh oh. It's a face ref! The ref is hulking up! That's a pretty big pop for the ref. Young wins the title when the ref beats up Daivari... and I don't care. So, the ring fills up with people to celebrate. And by "fills up" I mean Consequences Creed, Jay Lethal, Petey Williams, and ODB. Three guys who should be after that same title - and ODB. Oh, the Guns come out too and subtly golf clap. They rule.
EY gives a post-match peptalk to the others. Blah. AJ looks sorta into it. Joe just looks annoyed and the Guns seem to be mocking him. I don't know if it's too early to have infighting within the "TNA Originals" but at least the reactions of those three seem to fit their characters.
"Rough Cut" with LAX. That's kind of a cool idea. I'll give them props for that. Hernandez lifting weights - the guy is a monster. I guess it was just about Hernandez since Homicide didn't speak. Still a pretty cool segment.
Main Event Mafia promo. Kurt speaks for the group which seems weird to me with Sting holding the big gold. Petey shows up to talk to Steiner. Steiner kicks him out of the room and says he'll talk to him later. Whatever.
Jay Lethal promo. The Savage gimmick has to go. If you want to put the Originals over as taking this seriously, have Lethal give up the gimmick and say it's time to get serious? Give the guy a chance to get over on his own. If he bombs, put him back in the gimmick. Petey's buddies with him now. Weren't they just feuding? The interviewer chick warns Petey to be careful when he talks to Steiner. Petey says Steiner's got his hook-up. Yeah. He's gonna get taken out by the Mafia.
Tenay says, "There's never been a faction in the history of pro wrestling where every member has been a former World Champion." That could be true. I'd have to think about it for a while. Steiner vs Rhino. Good lord. Rhino's fallen a long way from when I used to really look forward to his matches. He's lost the in-ring intensity that really made him fun. Steiner's wrestling in a shirt now. His arms are still huge though so I don't think he's getting off the juice. Wow. Steiner has to cheat to beat Rhino. Interesting.
Interview with Sting. That wasn't a bad promo. Mr. Borden's still got a little in the tank.
Sting vs Lethal for the gold. The match isn't bad but it's nothing great so far. The MCMGs come out to ringside which interests me a little bit. Botched spot too close to the ropes. Sabin holds Sting for Lethal. Jay doesn't want to do it. He's a good guy! He throws Sabin out of the ring. And Sting takes advantage to win. If nothing else, this proves Dark Helmet was right when he said, "Evil will always beat good because good is dumb." AJ and Joe come out to yell at the Guns. If we get a Joe/AJ vs Guns feud out of this, I'm in.
The Mafia is beating up Petey. Nash should Mysterio him into a wall. But no. Just trash cans and a breakaway 2x4. Steiner's beating the crap out of him while wearing his sunglasses. That's pretty cool. Tenay says, "I've never seen anything like this from any faction at any time in wrestling history." Really? A backstage beatdown? Hasn't pretty much every faction at every time in wrestling history done something like that?
Petey's "in a pool of his own blood." The announcers should lay out in those segments. It might have more... impact... no pun intended.
Backstage promo with Beer Money. Apparently they are neither Main Event nor Original. For now anyways. Eventually it'll probably be nWo style where everyone is either in the Mafia or against them. Wow. Miss Jackie looks old. That was a nice, effective, simple promo.
Ok. So, there's a Jarrett hype piece that starts with, "I have been a World Champion everywhere I've been." Did I miss something? I'm pretty sure Vince never got that nutty when Dubba J was up in New York.
Joe's music is pretty awesome. It's quite ominous. I guess it's Main Event time. I'm gonna go out on a limb and predict this'll be a fun match until some wacky overbooking takes control and ruins it.
It's a pretty solid match but the Dudleys on commentary bugs me. Wow. There was a DQ because Bubba spit beer on someone. Fuck TNA.
Oh, so the Main Event is actually Christian joining the Mafia. Well, that's sure to have some great work in it.
THEY'RE SHOOTING, MY GOD! THEY'RE SHOOTING! So, the Main Event is the Mafia beating down Christian because he may be "jumping ship." To me, that only makes sense if Christian's staying with the company.
Anyways... show's over. It was okay but I wouldn't have been sad if I missed it.
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