Sorry I'm Not Home Right Now...

As I think I mentioned a few days ago, we recently bought tickets for the "reunion" show for No Doubt. I'm pretty stoked about this since they're apparently not touring in support of an album but rather hoping to get inspired by being on the road. To me, this represents a much higher possibility that they'll play older songs. I hope. I really, really hope.

In honor of that (and the fact that I think at last count, we had totaled seeing them about a dozen times), I dug through Gigposters.com to look for some No Doubt shows that I've actually attended. I only found one...



However... if my memory and dates are right, this is the show I attended with my friend Brian during midterms when I had a sinus infection. Awesome, huh? I had a pounding headache the entire time but had a blast. Of course, the next morning when I had to take a Sociology midterm, I wasn't so happy but as a former boss of mine once opined, "That's the price you pay to the party gods."

The other memorable moment of that show was... well, let's preface this by saying I'm a pretty big guy and "back in the day" when I used to go to a lot of shows, I kinda shoved my way around to get to the front of crowds. On this particular night, in a tiny venue, I was determined to be on the barricade when No Doubt hit the stage.

I was very close to that goal by the time they came on... but the damndest thing about No Doubt shows was that you always had to deal with pint-sized girls who had no qualms about stomping feet and throwing elbows in strategic soft targets to get their way. So, I was a few feet from the barricade but a sharpshootin' child kept drilling me in the twig and berries with her razor-sharp elbow. It was quite maddening not to mention painful. I can't for the life of me remember how I got past her but I did somehow manage it.

On this night, that wasn't a good decision for me though as I was constantly being rained down on by crowdsurfers trying to get over the railing but falling short... right on my head... repeatedly. With my brain pounding on the sides of my skull trying to be released from its anguish, I was in a lot of pain and growing short on patience.

So, after one too many little girls landed on the back of my head, I reached over my head backwards with both hands and did my very best Ultimate Warrior impression as I gorilla pressed her high in the sky and threw her in the direction of the stage. She managed to clear the railing as well as the security guards right past it. A guard who should've been playing center field somewhere managed to basket catch her moments before she crashed down on the stage. And to top it off, she got a high five from Gwen before being dragged away.

That high five is how I rationalize that I nearly caused physical distress on a likely waaaay underage child... but she was okay by it in the end.

I don't really have a point to this story. But if you've been reading this page for more than a week, you probably already guessed that. If this is your first time...

Welcome! Enjoy your stay!

Hey! Check that out! The back side of water!

Another One Bites The Dust

I guess that's a pretty flippant post title for writing about someone dying but really, when you've been a pro wrestling fan as long as I have, there are very few deaths in that industry that surprise you anymore. Sure, the Eddie one was a surprise and the Benoit thing was the ultimate of gut punches but moments ago when I read the below, all I could think was, "Here we go again."

FORMER WWE STAR ANDREW 'TEST' MARTIN FOUND DEAD AT AGE 33

PWInsider.com is sad to report that former WWE star Andrew "Test" Martin was found dead in his apartment in Tampa, Florida at the age of 33, just four days shy of his 34th birthday. We don't have much in the way of details at this time. Tampa area authorities have declined to officially confirm it is Martin they found but word within the industry has been widespread the last few hours.

It's a shame. He was out of the business and had made a lot of internet postings about how he was happy to be out due to all the pounding his body had taken. He had also talked a lot about the drug use in the past and present in the major promotions and seemed to be one of few "active" guys willing to discuss it.

At 33, I'd be a little surprised if this was your typical drug-battered heart giving out. Maybe an OD? Maybe a suicide? The above article goes on to state that he recently broke up with Kelly Kelly so maybe there was some depression. Who knows. I'm sure the details will come out in the days ahead.

I still remember his debut on Raw as a "bodyguard" for Motley Crue. He had quite the roller coaster career with highlights being the T&A team with Albert and Trish Stratus, the run as Steph's fiancee [a role that really should have cemented him in the upper echelon for years but instead got undercut], the Un-Americans... even his last run in ECW was interesting. I always kinda dug Test in the ring and thought he had a lot more potential than ever really got shown to the masses.

Another one gone too soon. R.I.P. Andrew Martin.

Movie Added: Burn After Reading

In my quest to watch more movies in 2009, I finally got around to watching Burn After Reading tonight. It was a solo watch as the Missus fell asleep right away and missed most of it.

I really hate to review this right now because past experience shows me that Coen Bros films take repeated viewings before true appreciation is reached. I distinctly remember hating Fargo the first time I saw it in the theaters. I don't remember the first time I saw The Big Lebowski but I know I didn't think it was very good and now it's easily one of my favorite movies. And of course, we have the No Country For Old Men review disaster from January of last year. Suffice to say - it takes some time to grow to love a Coen Bros. movie.

So, with that in mind, I give this movie a very spineless - "it was okay."

I thought it had some very good moments and some very dull moments and a lot of in-between. Brad Pitt easily stole the show with a goofy, off-kilter character that made me laugh no matter what he was doing. If he'd stuck around for more of the movie, I might have liked it a whole lot more. After his exit, the movie felt a little flat to me. The majority of the humor had been sucked out of it and all that was left was a convoluted crime quasi-drama.

The Coens seem to be fans of the theory that even the most innocent moment in life can turn into a violent clusterfuck that ends in a rain of gunfire and burned bodies.

Can't blame 'em for that, can ya?

In the end, I felt I didn't waste my time in watching it but I could also see how it probably wasn't very accessible to the average movie watcher. If you're a Coen Bros fan, you'll probably enjoy it. If you're not, this probably won't change your mind.

BLUE'S REVIEW: MAYBE SEE!

Blue's Concert Calendar

Having just bought tickets over the weekend to see one of the No Doubt "reunion" shows (I have no idea if they're actually calling them that but since I can't remember seeing them since 2001 or 2002, it would seem appropriate), I thought it'd be a good time to revisit my concert calendar.

Now, again, this isn't a list of every show I want to see over the next few months but it is a spotlighting of a handful that I really think would be awesome.

I pulled this list of upcoming shows from the good folks at LosAnjealous so if you know of a show you think I might like that I'm missing, feel free to give me a shout.

March

Thursday, March 12th - Stone Gossard & Friends @ Largo
Let's face it. There's really only one reason I'd go to this show and it's not because I'm dying to see Stone Gossard as a solo artist. Yep. I'm wondering who shows up in the "& Friends." Or as I described this show earlier in the week, "If I lived in LA, I'd go to this show to see who shows up. Since I don't, there's no fucking way I drive to LA for it."

Thursday, March 26th - The Airborne Toxic Event @ Glass House
I think I wrote about this show last time so I shan't do so again.

April
Thursday, April 2nd - Lily Allen @ The Wiltern
I'm not sure I wrote about this last time but my main interest in seeing this show somehow links back to my love for Kate Nash. It's all related in some cosmic sort of intertwinement that I can't explain to mere mortals other than to say: They're both British.

Monday, April 13th - Jenny Lewis @ Glass House
I haven't been to a show at the Glass House in fucking forever but having been there, I can say with all certainty that seeing Jenny Lewis in that tiny little joint would be a religious experience. When it was over, I could quite conceivably turn Pabst into Perrier and make people want to drink my blood... or something.

Wednesday, April 15th - BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCE!

Thursday, April 23rd - Mates Of State & Black Kids @ Henry Fonda
I really think this show has potential to be the Show Of The Year for me if I can possibly manage to convince myself to go. I'm not there yet. Someone convince the Missus it's a worthy show to attend on a "school night" too. Come on!

Friday, April 24th - Bret Michaels Rock Of Love Bus Tour @ Club Nokia
I don't know that I'd really like to go to this but it's one of those shows that I kinda feel like I have no choice but to tell people I'd like to go to it. Oh, by the by, a girl at work claims it's her life's ambition to make it on Rock Of Love Bus and become Bret's "one and truly." Yep, that's what she said. I don't argue it because the man is a smooth operator.

Saturday, April 25th - The Go-Go's @ House Of Blues
Okay, I just realized this. If you could somehow attend Mates of State on Thursday, Bret Michaels on Friday, and The Go-Go's on Saturday, you would have pulled off some kind of amazing holy trinity of rock and roll that would cement you for all eternity in the annals of music fandom. You would also be named my ROCKSTAR OF THE MONTH!

And that's that. Rock on, people.

BSG vs Lost: Week 7

We're in the home stretch of this showdown as there are only two more nights of BSG to go after last week's episode. I've kinda enjoyed doing this weekly review so I may have to find a new opponent for Lost in a couple of weeks or maybe I'll switch to a Show Of The Week format! Who knows?

But for now, it's still a head-to-head showdown between Lost and BSG for Television Supremacy.

Lost was wacky this week but had some big moments. We saw what was presumably the four-toed statue we saw all those episodes ago once again - and it was dressed in Egyptian garb. We got to see Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, and Jin living the Dharma lifestyle in what is apparently the 1970s. And of course, we got to find out that Sawyer and Juliet have grown quite close in those long three years.

But he didn't look like he forgot what Kate looked like, did he?

I commented to the Missus that even the love triangle/quadrangle on this show has been written uniquely. Most shows tend to write their triangles in such a way that you immediately pick a favorite and root for that person while at the same time, it's easy to know which way the writers are wanting you to lean as well. Lost avoids that like the plague. We've seen great moments between Jack and Kate, Kate and Sawyer, Jack and Juliet, and now Sawyer and Juliet - all of which make you think you probably would be just fine if that's how the show ended up. There's never any sign of which way the writers are pushing the situation and quite frankly, it's pretty tough to root for one over the other.

It was an interesting episode while not the most awe-inspiring after the past several weeks of question answering.

BSG took a step up this week with some pretty dramatic shit as well. The ship is dying and now we all know it including the President, Tigh, and Adama. Boomer did indeed kidnap Hera for Cavil but seems to be having some regrets over that decision. Kara continues to have issues with who she is with Gaius providing the latest theory - she's an angel. Don't know about that one, buddy. Oh, and don't forget Anders getting plugged into the machine and becoming one of the weird Hybrid dealies.

All in all - a much more compelling episode than we've seen recently.

This week is close. Very close.

But in the end, I decided that BSG just barely squeaked this one out. So, after seven weeks of head-to-head battle...

Lost - 4
BSG - 3

With Lost taking a week off this week, there'll be no score added until the BSG finale week. One final showdown with a win by Lost or an overall tie. It's quite anti-climactic, isn't it?

Dodger Stuff

It's odd that I skipped a Good, Bad, & Ugly for the Dodgers on probably the most news-worthy week of the offseason so far. But there was so much being written about Manny everywhere else, I just couldn't figure out anything to say that wasn't being said everywhere else.

I'll go with this...

I'm happy that he signed. I'm happy that the deal is a decent one for the Dodgers - not a great one because of the lopsided second year option - but a decent one. I'm very happy that Torre, Coletti, and McCourt wanted to meet with him before they signed him - that makes me incredibly hopeful that they did their very best psychotherapy to see if he would be a good Manny or a bad Manny. He's said all the right things so far since showing up at camp - hopefully he means them.

Do I hold a grudge over how things went down? Nah, not really. It's Boras so it was expected. I wish it hadn't gotten so drawn out and ugly but... well, it's a business, I guess, so you deal with the cards you're dealt. I expect there may be a sprinkling of boos on Opening Day with some fans holding a grudge but they'll be gone in a hurry. As for me, I was the one who refused to boo Andruw Jones last season so I certainly don't intend to start booing Manny.

My favorite Manny-related story of the week though?

On Manny's first official day in camp, he was there early to run with the conditioning coach. Upon returning to the clubhouse, Matt Kemp showed up. Manny remarked [humorously, I'm sure], "I've been here since 6:30. Where have you been?" Matt Kemp's reply was "I was here three weeks ago. Where have you been?"

Awesome.

Add that to Matt Kemp's proclamation today that he might go for a 40-40 season and he's working his way into my heart early this season.

Oh, and SI's Jon Heyman says that Pedro Martinez is talking up the idea of a Dodger reunion.

I'll buy that for a dollar. Literally.

On a sadder note, it was a bad week for ex-Dodgers as both Dave Roberts and Eric Gagne were released by their teams. Those two were two of my favorite players for a couple of years there so it's a sad day to see them on the unemployment line. If Gagne would take a cheap enough deal [and I mean rock bottom], I'd let him rehab in the minors and see what he's got. If Juan Pierre can be traded for a bag of balls, I'd consider signing Dave Roberts as the late inning pinch runner.

But that's probably just me.

It's an interesting time of year but I really can't wait for the season to start.

Phil Collins Never Sounded So Good

With the smell of Wrestlemania in the air, I stumbled upon this on YouTube tonight. There's so many really crappy fan-made videos on the 'net, it always impresses me when I find one that looks like it could have been done professionally.

This is one of those.



Two things about this video that struck me while watching it...

1] Somehow, I was happy the creator chose not to ignore the Benoit/Eddie hug from several years ago. At the time, that was one of my favorite Wrestlemania moments - I can still remember screaming at the TV for HHH to tap to the Crossface. It'd be a shame to let what happened with Benoit to ruin every in-ring memory of him, I think. Just my opinion.

2] The Flair/HBK finish rarely fails to send a shiver up my spine and this time was no exception.