Post #31: Meet the Mets...

On Friday Guy offered me an extra ticket to today's Mets game. I gladly accepted the invitation. It's the beginning of baseball season, and spring is in the air. How could I say no! So when in Rome, do as the Romans. I put down $20, and got myself a sweet Mr. Met baseball cap. I'll wear it proudly until I'm in the company of those who know I'm a true Yankees fan. I had a blast watching the Brew Crew beat down the Mets 8-2!:> All that needs to happen now is for the Mets to come back down to earth, and the Yankees rise to greatness.

Post #30: House of Cosbys Episode 1

These episodes are very funny. That is if you have a weird sense of humor like I do. It also has a great theme song to go with it. Be careful if you're watching this at work. There are one or two F bombs, and a glimpse of nudity.

Post #29: Quick Hits

Well my ebay auctions ended last Saturday, and I made out great. In total I made $140 on two auctions. I was hoping to make $50, so I am really really happy at the outcome. Of course I now have the ebay bug, and I've already planned out what is going up next.

The last two days I've been sick. I left work early on Wednesday, and stayed home today. My guess is I'm suffering from a light flu, or a bad cold. I seem to be getting over it today, but I still have a sore throat.

I can't believe how much mainstream media coverage The Return of Chef from South Park has gotten. Today I've seen at least two stories done on the episode by reputable news shows. I missed the show last night, but I was able to download a Real Media version of the show using Bittorrent. Over lunch, Xia and I watched it on the computer, and had some big laughs. After being mauled by a bear and mountain lion, Chef is brought back from the brink of death. I don't know, but I think I've seen this outfit before. South Park never seems to miss a beat, and this episode is no exception. There is one thing I haven't heard on the news, that has crossed my mind. Could all this be one big prank? If it is, that would be very cool.

Barry Bonds cracks me up. So he is not suing the writers of Game of Shadows for their claims he used steroids. He's suing them over some of the information they obtained to write their book. It's a good way of getting to sue the writers without ever having to go to court and under oath dispute the findings.

Xia and I saw V for Vendetta last week, and it's easily one of best movies we've seen lately. We saw it at a IMAX theater and were really pleased with the experience. It was the first time for the both of us seeing a motion picture in IMAX. Like any good movie, V can be view on different levels. On the surface you can watch V, and simply see a well made action movie. On the other hand, V can take on a more abstract form. The movie can be read as literal allegory for everything going on today, or insight into a possible future under a despotic government. Either way you want to see it V is a good movie. But if you let it creep in, V will affect you in ways I can't express.

Alright, till next time...

Post #28: eBay is God!

Last Saturday I was rifling through boxes, and found diamonds in the rough. I've been holding on to these magazines for years, and completely forgot about them. Check out these auctions, and then start going through your closet for your hidden diamonds.

Post #27: Movies, Movies, Movies!!!

Tuesday night was really fun. I went with two friends from work and saw Raiders of the Lost Ark at the Ziegfeld Theater.

The theater is a throwback to the days of old movie palaces. The lobby looks and feels like it should be on Broadway. The screen is huge and the seating is ample. The screen is hidden by a curtain, and the wall are covered in red velvet. At first glance I thought there was a balcony, but there wasn't. The seats rise up to the back wall like in many modern theaters. My best guess is that the Ziegfeld hold at least twice as many moviegoers as most theaters.

As for the movie, it was very good. I haven't seen Raiders in 10 years, and I was pleasantly surprised. The movie still holds up after all this time. If if came out today, it would make a ton of money.

Finally, the crowd at the theater was interesting. They applauded and cheered at every opportunity. It was kind of cool, yet somewhat awkward. I've never been to a movie where the audience participation was positive. People clapped, cheered, and laughed a bunch of time, but a few stick out in my mind.

1) When the title of the film appears on screen
2) When Indy caps the sword welding assassin
3) Right before the last scene where Dr. Rene Belloq and the Nazis open the ark there is an unintentionally funny part of the movie. Indy left with no options threatens to destroy the ark. There is a close up of Belloqs face during an argument with Indy. In that scene a fly lands on his face, and goes into his mouth. Paul Freeman, the actor who plays Balloq, didn't miss a beat and keep on going. That is what you call getting into character, and the crowed loved it.

There's nothing left to say. This movie rocks, and seeing it on the big screen only makes it better.
Raiders of the Lost Ark gets 5 out of 5 Bullwhips.

Yesterday I went to go see 16 Blocks and by far it's the best Richard Donner film in ages. Mos Def is the man in this film. I first heard of him as an actor in Something the Lord Made. He was great in that part, but in this movie he owns the part of Eddie Bunker. To my surprise a quick IMDB search revealed that Mos has 31 acting credits to his name dating back to 1988. 16 Blocks is nicely paced, and gives you some unexpected twists, that fit the situation perfectly.
16 Blocks gets 3 out of 5 birthday cakes. (You'll only understand the cake reference if you watch the movie)

Finally, about a week or two ago I saw Confederate States of America. It's in limited release so check your local box offices. CSA is a film that presents itself as documentary examining the history of the United States. But in this documentary the South won the Civil War.

The film is presented like any documentary you would see on the History Channel. There is a show open, archival footage, interview with historians, and commercial breaks. CSA begins during the Civil War and ends in the present.

I was genuinely excited to see it. I read somewhere that Kevin Willmott the writer and director was quoted as saying, "This is not a what-if story, but a what-is". While I do like the premise of the film, I feel Willmott didn't go far enough exploring the "what-is".

In the end of the film he reveals that somethings we would think were fake, in fact once existed. For example during a commercial break a restaurant called "Coon Chicken Inn" was featured. Yes it did exist. No lie. He also points to Uncle Ben Rice and Aunt Jemima Syrup as symbols of slavery / racism that have creeped into present day acceptance.

My main problem with the film is that I didn't think Willmott showed enough present day evidence to justify the "what-is" statement he made. Many of the products and places he revealed to be real, ceased to exist 40 or more years ago. I can only think of 2 or 3 things that reached into the 1970's and beyond. He makes a solid case for "what-was", but his "what-is" premise I found laking. If he would have explored social and institutionalized constructs that affects blacks today, that steam from that era, CSA would have made a stronger point.
Confederate States of America gets 2 out of 5 Confederate flags.

Post #26: This is Method Air

Yesterday at work I was able to get a screen capture of Lindsey Jacobellis now infamous tweak. Two seconds later she was on her back, and on her way into the history books. According to some NBC commentators, there is no other fuck up like this in recorded sports history.


I'm paraphrasing of course :>.




The closest thing to this was Leon Lett of the Cowboys a few Super Bowls back. Just before crossing the goal line he began to showboat. Don Bebe of the Bills caught up to Lett, caused him to fumble, and loss the ball. The difference was the Cowboys were winning by 35 points.

Do I feel sorry for Lindsey? No! If it was me, I think after the disappointment of falling set it, I would enjoy the fact that I lost the gold tweaking a method air for the crowd.

Post #25: How much does a method air cost?

Well it costs Olympic Gold for Lindsey Jacobellis. On the second to last jump, with a 3 second lead in Women's Snowboard-Cross, Lindsey goes for the cherry topping by tweaking a method air. She wipes out on the landing and the second place snowboarder streaks past her for the gold. This article gives a great recap. She first claimed that she was trying to stabilize herself in the air. Later she came clean and said she got caught up in the moment. Too bad I couldn't find a picture of her doing the infamous method air. F#&%*@& Americans!

Post #24: Blizzard of '06

Louie's face says it all. It was cold and windy! You couldn't see farther than a block away. The asphalt was so cold, it bothered his little feet. We had to carry him a few times in the days following the storm. Even though this picture is from my camera phone, you see the snow on his snout.

This picture taken at 7:45am. We woke up and decided to walk the dog since our landlord Bill just plowed. As you can see the clean sidewalk didn't last for long. Shortly after this, I had to walk into the wind toward Fine Fare, to pick up groceries. That 2 minute walk took me 10 in knee deep snow in some parts. I ended up walking on the Concourse since no one was on the road. Now flash forward to today, and almost all the snow is gone. This is by far the weirdest winter yet.

Post #23: ROAD TRIP!

Yesterday was by far the nicest day of 2006. Early morning it was in the high 30's and by mid-day 60 was almost within reach. Xia had a meeting at work so we were up by 8am. While she was doing that, I took the car to a Paramus Jiffy Lube.

Once she was done we hit the road!

From Paramus we jumped on 202 and headed toward the mountains on the NJ/NY border. It's really beautiful up there. All that was missing was the foliage, but beautiful nonetheless. We snaked are way up to 287 north and into a favorite stop of ours, Harriman State Park in Sloatsburg, NY. Through the magic of Google Maps, you too can virtually go on our trip. Follow this link to the entrence of the park, and zoom in to follow Seven Lakes Drive.

We veered off to the right and took Gate Hill Road. Its at that point you can switch over the satellite images to get some detail of our route. After driving through some small towns, we eventually meet up with the Hudson River and took 9W North. We made it up to the Bear Mountain Bridge, before deciding to head back home. At the end of the day we'd racked up 130+ miles on the trip. Well worth it even if gas is at $2.29 a gallon.

Hopefully it won't be too long before we go back.

Check out NYNJTC if you're interested in hiking trails in our area. Click on the overview map link at the top of the page, and when redirected you can see trails listed on the left. They have over 30 trails listed.

Post #22: If you have to see one movie this year....

For the love of God don't let it be Underworld Evolution! While it was somewhat (and I stress somewhat) entertaining, it is by far the worst money I've spent for a film since Tomb Raider a few years back. The over the top violence was almost on par with the debacle of films called Kill Bill Volume 1 & 2. The sex scene was more awkward than the one in Matrix 2. And don't even let me get started about the final fight scene. This is a rental if I ever saw one. That is if you're into horrible films.

Post #21: Parting shot for 2005

Nice to know ya!