Sunday, November 27, 2005

Punt Hangtime

While watching the exciting overtime between the Giants and Seahawks this afternoon, I couldn't help but wonder if the "punt hangtime" timer is useful at all. It's not a statistic that's measured and in general it depends on the situation. I think it may be an excessive graphic.

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Blue Jays Close to Signing BJ Ryan

Perhaps it's karma when the Toronto BJ's sign BJ Ryan, but doesn't $47M / 5 yrs sound like overpaying for a reliever? Mariano Rivera last year signed a $21M / 2 yr deal.

Subway Performers

I don't mind most subway performers. Often one can see a number of people playing music or dancing inside a subway car in order to try and entertain the crowd. I've even heard of subway stand-up comedy, which has to be very difficult to pull off. But there are some times when a performer strikes a nerve and I don't appreciate their attempts while I'm riding on the subway.

1) Subway Drummer w/ Poetry - This is one of the most annoying performers I've ever seen on the subway. This is a person who has a snare drum around their waist, and plays a beat on it. Then at strategic moments, the performer will intersperse a scat-like poem or rap into the act. I know it's an attempt to do something different, but all it accomplishes is attacking my ears. The subway is loud enough and the drums don't help.

2) Horn Players - For a similar reason that I don't like the drum. By the way, both types of performers don't bother me in the station or on the platform, but when you're in this tight subway car, the horn has to point at someone, and if it's a little crowded, it sure gets loud if the horn is pointed at you. Talented performers but subway cars are not a good venue for them.

3) Subway Magician - This is the strangest guy I've ever seen on the subway. He pushes a little cart around full of magic tricks. What bugs me about this guy is that the tricks involve animals! He has at least a bird and a rabbit in this little cart he pushes around. It can't be good for the animals or very clean. I particularly didn't like it when he made the bird appear out of nowhere and it was free to fly wherever it wanted. If I was the bird I'd try to fly away! I suppose the tricks are neat but I couldn't stop worrying about this random bird flying around the subway car. Another person reported to me that they saw him along with an accomplice who pretended that all the tricks were amazing. I didn't see this accomplice.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloons

The balloons are inflated near Central Park, so I thought it would be fun to go and see them. Here are some photos from the experience, taken with the handy LG VX9800.


Scooby Doo


Big Bird


Barney


Pikachu, Ronald McDonald


Unknown fish-like character

U2 Concert

U2 played the Garden last night, and I was there. Here's the set list and some photos. The show was excellent! The seats were closer than they appear in the photos.

City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
The Electric Co. / Send In The Clowns / See Me, Feel Me
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / In A Little While
Beautiful Day / The One I Love
Original Of The Species
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own / The Black Hills of Dakota
Love And Peace Or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday / Rock The Casbah
Bullet The Blue Sky / The Hands That Built America / When Johnny Comes Marching Home
Miss Sarajevo
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Where The Streets Have No Name
One
MLK

encores:
Until The End Of The World
Mysterious Ways
With Or Without You
Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
Instant Karma!




Ocean's Twelve

This movie is not very good and not very interesting. It's sort of like a bunch of celebrities just having fun with each other but not really making a good film. There is some nice stylistic stuff with the way the film is shot and edited but the story leaves a lot to be desired.

The Dreaded Vote of Confidence

For Herm Edwards, from owner Woody Johnson.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Bad Boys 2

This isn't a bad film but it's not a great film. It's actually probably a bit bigger and, dare I say, "badder" than the first one. Throw plot out on the window in this one but there are some nice action scenes, although the final scene is a bit disappointing. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the leads ham it up a little more than in the last film. It's slightly amusing but nothing that special. One thing that was a little frustrating was the blatant corporate sponsorships that popped up throughout the film.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Crappy Sequels Month

There's some days where I feel like I should tell you things you already know. This is one of those days.

Batman and Robin is a bad movie. There's really no way one can justify this movie as good. Even the director has trouble in his DVD commentary. Since I last saw this film (in the theater!) I'd like to report it hasn't changed a bit and is still awful. The director's commentary is awful as well, with Joel Schumacher alternating between taking the blame for the film and passing the buck to the movie studio. The existance of the commentary makes me glad, as at least they punished him one more time for this awful film. I don't think the 60's tv show could have been re-made any better. What grates me the most is how Schumacher keeps describing the stupid plot elements as "comic book." Certainly there are ridiculous comic books but that doesn't mean you need to emulate them, or exaggerate them!

You know, even the animated series has created a better Batman than this film and that was a cartoon!

Okay, enough venting here. Coming soon, I'll pair the same sort of witty comments and in-depth analysis and look at Bad Boys 2 and Ocean's 12.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Bad Idea #3,294,027


Here's a bad idea courtesy of today's NY Daily News.

Oddly enough the headline is paired with this article, which has nothing to do with the Jets.

Gary Myers of the News should have his head checked. This would not be the first time the Jets were involved in a bad idea, a recent example is #3,292,073 - trade a first round draft pick for TE Doug Jolley.

Sunday, November 06, 2005

One More Sports Post

Remember how in the last few years the Yankees have tried to have "an All-Star at every position?"

Well, that philosophy seems to have extended to their coaching staff. With some new hires in the fold, here is their coaching staff, full of ex-Yankee stars or former managers:

Joe Torre - Manager (1996 / 1998 AL Manager of the Year with NYY)
Lee Mazzilli - Bench Coach (Baltimore Orioles manager 2004-2005, former Yankee 1B / OF coach)
Larry Bowa - 3B coach (2001 NL Manager of the Year with PHI)
Tony Pena - 1B coach (2003 AL Manager of the Year with KC)
Don Mattingly - Hitting Coach (retired #23 with Yankees)
Ron Guidry - Pitching Coach (retired #49 with Yankees)
Joe Kerrigan - Bullpen Coach (Red Sox Manager 2001 - between Williams and Little)

Side Note: Too bad Mazzilli couldn't stay on with the Orioles to join Sam Perlazzo and Leo Mazzone to fulfill a quest of having a "ZZ" in every coach's name.

Yet Another Pessimistic Comment About the Jets

They won the toss today, and that's probably the only thing they'll win.

Side note: I have a pretty bad feeling about this game. Herm Edwards has a traditionally great November record, but the Chargers aren't a bad team and the Jets are reeling. You know the Chargers have to be out for revenge on last year's playoff loss. Hopefully if K Mike Nugent gets put in a big spot this game, he will be able to convert, it would be ironic if he didn't since the man he replaced, Doug Bryant, was able to convert vs San Diego.

Strange stat of this week: Ladanian Tomlinson, RB on SD, has more TD passes (3) than Vinny Testaverde this year (0).

Basketball Has Started...

...and I already don't care. Wake me when we get to the playoffs.

The one subplot I will be following: how long will it be before Isaiah Thomas makes his next Knicks trade? He has been with the team under two years and already, no player remains from the team he inherited. Examples: Tim Thomas and Nazr Mohammad, acquired February 16, 2004 by Isaiah. Mohammad exited on February 24, 2005, nearly a year later. Thomas soon followed, with the trade on October 4, 2005. When will the Knicks revolving door spin again and who will be moving through it? There must be an over/under for this event (two weeks?)!

My advice to Thomas (who is an avid reader of the KFB, I'm sure): Trade Stephon Marbury. I know he's one of the best point guards in the NBA, but look what happened to Minnesota, New Jersey and Phoenix after he left -- instant success!

Thursday, November 03, 2005

T3: Rise of the Machines



I just watched Terminator 3 (in from Netflix). The verdict: not as awful as I had expected it to be but not a great film. They pretty much were able to take a formula that worked in T2 and diluted it down to a bunch of good action scenes. There are some decent chases. The story is pretty awful but don't pay attention to it and you'll enjoy. Also, the new Terminator is pretty lame. I preferred the T1000 from Terminator 2 as a more menacing villain.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Advice to the President

Oh look! CNN.com has a section where readers can give advice to the President.

I know what you're thinking: "Blogman, what advice would you give to the President?"

My advice: Quit surfing the Internet for advice and get back to work!

Nobu 57

Nobu opened their third location in New York City over the summer, so I figured to give it a try. I went last night and had to make the reservation about a month in advance! I've been to Nobu Next Door once before but never to the main Nobu. Here are some photos of the dinner. These photos came from my cell phone camera - the snazzy but big LG VX9800, which I also plan on reviewing in this space soon. The photos are a little blurry but hopefully give a sense of what we had.

Overall the service was friendly and great, the atmosphere was nice but pretty plain and not as amazing as I had read in some reviews and it was a little pricey. The food was very fresh and tasted great. I sat in the back area which looked like it could be shut off for a private party.

I have to admit, I thought it was a little awkward to take photos of my dinner.


Yellowtail sashimi
Yellowtail sashimi with jalepeno - a Nobu standard.



Lobster ceviche - quite good - lobster marinated in a lime-type sauce and served on lettuce. Eaten with hands.



King Crab Tempura "Amazu" Sweet Ponzu - my favorite dish of the night. We started eating it before I took the photo.



Squid "Pasta" with light garlic sauce - not actually pasta, but squid supposed to be shaped like pasta.


Artic char with some sort of peppery (hot peppers) sauce. Artic char is a little like salmon. This dish was a special but I think we should have gone with the miso cod instead.



Dessert - the Meyer Lemon Semifreddo (with pine nuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds and caramelized cinnamon ice cream). The black things are caramelized sesame seeds.



Dessert Bento Box (warm chocolate fondant cake, goma tuille and green tea ice cream). I don't know what the "goma tuille" is.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

One Trick Pony?

Ben Mezrich, writer of "Bringing Down the House" has another book out, "Busting Vegas." This new book sure sounds a lot like the old one!

Compare for yourself:


Bringing Down the House

The amazing inside story about a gambling ring of M.I.T.

students who beat the system in Vegas -- and lived to tell how.

Robin Hood meets the Rat Pack when the best and the brightest of M.I.T.'s math students and engineers take up blackjack under the guidance of an eccentric mastermind. Their small blackjack club develops from an experiment in counting cards on M.I.T.'s campus into a ring of card savants with a system for playing large and winning big. In less than two years they take some of the world's most sophisticated casinos for more than three million dollars. But their success also brings with it the formidable ire of casino owners and launches them into the seedy underworld of corporate Vegas with its private investigators and other violent heavies.

Filled with tense action, high stakes, and incredibly close calls, Bringing Down the House is a nail-biting read that chronicles a real-life Ocean's Eleven. It's one story that Vegas does not want you to read.

Busting Vegas
He played in casinos around the world with a plan to make himself richer than anyone could possibly imagine -- but it would nearly cost him his life.

Semyon Dukach was known as the Darling of Las Vegas. A legend at age twenty-one, this cocky hotshot was the biggest high roller to appear in Sin City in decades, a mathematical genius with a system the casinos had never seen before and couldn't stop -- a system that has never been revealed until now; that has nothing to do with card counting, wasn't illegal, and was more powerful than anything that had been tried before.

Las Vegas. Atlantic City. Aruba. Barcelona. London. And the jewel of the gambling crown -- Monte Carlo.

Dukach and his fellow MIT students hit them all and made millions. They came in hard, with stacks of cash; big, seemingly insane bets; women hanging on their arms; and fake identities. Although they were taking classes and studying for exams during the week, over the weekends they stormed the blackjack tables only to be harassed, banned from casinos, threatened at gunpoint, and beaten in Vegas's notorious back rooms.

The stakes were high, the dangers very real, but the players were up to the challenges, consequences be damned. There was Semyon Dukach himself, bored with school and broke; Victor Cassius, the slick, brilliant MIT grad student who galvanized the team; Owen Keller, with stunning ability but a dark past that would catch up to him; and Allie Simpson, bright, clever, and a feast for the eyes.

In the classroom, they were geeks. On the casino floor, they were unstoppable.

Busting Vega$ is Dukach's unbelievably true story; a riveting account of monumental greed, excess, hubris, sex, love, violence, fear, and statistics that is high-stakes entertainment at its best.