Burger King: Is this too much to ask?

I ordered the following at Burger King (confirmed on the Drive-thru LCD)

Chicken sandwich, no mayo
Onion Rings
Diet Coke


I received:
Chicken sandwich WITH mayo
French fries
Sprite
and bonus attitude when I pointed out that everything was wrong

At least I got a bonus?

Jets vs Ravens

This blog post by Tim Graham at ESPN.com pretty much sums up my opinion of last night's game, so why rewrite what has already been written?

http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/2164/a-few-thoughts-on-sanchez-clemens-etc

Craziness at Citi Field

The Mets, who have been going through an agonizing season, lost with a game ending unassisted triple play today. ESPN keeps saying how this is the "second time ever for a game ending triple play." But what I find even more remarkable is that this is _not_ the first time a game has featured a triple play AND an inside-the-park home run! This is what makes baseball so crazy - it's almost impossible to do something that's never been done before.

Sexism in Comics

Check out this discussion about a sexist remark made in a recent comic - was it really necessary to say that Green Lantern was involved in a three-some?

From Comics Should Be Good at CBR

Clinton Goes to North Korea

Psychologists must have some sort of field day whenever they think about North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. The way he has his country practice diplomacy is so odd and appears childish and he always seems to relish any sort of gesture that appears to elevate his status. Case in point - Bill Clinton's surprise, "private" visit to N. Korea to help free two imprisoned journalists. I'm glad the two young women get to go home, despite the fact that I'm sure some will criticize the journey as placating North Korea. Nobody must be buying the assertion that this was a "private" trip - who meets with Kim Jong-il and not talk to the President? Especially when your wife is the Secretary of State! But regardless, North Korea's press agency released this photo of the two leaders, what do you think was going through Bill Clinton's mind when they took this? This type of thing has to be somewhat awkward for any politician.

Shorter Names

I recently heard that Pizza Hut was changing its name to "The Hut" because they wanted to try and show that they were more diverse. Now I'm reading that Radio Shack is planning on changing their name to "The Shack." www.theshack.com redirects to Radio Shack, but www.thehut.com is an electronics store.

Will this be a trend? These new names sort of sound like some sort of 21st Century marketing scheme that will seem really dated in about 10 years.

Self-Love

No, not that kind!

It took me 4 years, but I just noticed this blog got a mention on news.com. I don't think it's been mentioned in the 4 years since.

The post that got mentioned was part of the "blog community response" to a story about daylight savings time.

At least they credited me, unlike one of the Yankee blogs that relayed my story of searching for Yankee tickets but didn't credit me!

I may not post here often but I still have an ego.

Moving and Chia Obama

It's been a while since I've posted in this space, mainly due to a relocation in early July to Miami. Miami is quite a different place from NY, and I've been wondering if I could do something fun on the blog about the transition but so far, I haven't really had the time to even work on the blog.

But I just saw a commercial for Chia Obama... It comes in two forms - "Happy" and "Determined!" I guess everybody is trying to cash in. What better way to honor the President?

NYT Spoils SVU

I didn't think it was possible, but the NY Times spoiled tonight's episode of Law and Order SVU for me by featuring a story about a character's demise on their front page, only 30 minutes after the episode completed airing here on the east coast. This is about as bad as the NY Times movie reviews that give away the entire plot of the movie.

Obama's Honorary Degrees

People associated with Notre Dame are upset that the school honored Barack Obama with an honorary degree because of his views on stem cell research and abortion. Similarly, the Daily Show recently featured a story where Arizona State University students also were upset about conferring an honorary degree to the President.

Aren't honorary degrees sort of a silly formality anyway? It's not like it changes anything about the honoree. Do we call someone "doctor" if they get an honorary doctorate? Ultimately who cares?

Furthermore, aren't there going to be pro-choice students getting actual degrees at Notre Dame this year? Based on this logic, they should be prevented from getting their actual degrees?

Finally, I saw an article where the President was referred to as "the worst baby killer in the nation." Do we really need all the exaggeration? Last I checked, the President does not perform abortions, have the power to make laws about abortion or have the power to overturn abortion legislation.

Lakers / Houston Game 7

If the Rockets beat the Lakers in game 7 today to advance to the Western Conference Finals, I think we can look at the series as one of the all-time upsets in the NBA. But let's not get ahead of ourselves -- the Rockets need to win first.

Madden 2005 Super Bowl

It's Year 12 of my Madden 2005 franchise (roughly 2016-2017) and the Super Bowl features the NY Jets vs the NY Giants. If only such a Super Bowl would actually happen!

Yet Another Law and Order Cameo (or two)

Hillary Duff on SVU, Jason Jones from The Daily Show briefly shows up in Law and Order: Mothership as a real reporter. Always entertained by the impressive cast this show manages to put together.

Odd Day

I fully awoke at 3pm - much much later than I ever have. At some point, I had a dream where I beat up someone who had been trying to rob my neighbor across the hall. Also unusual - I never remember dreams or have dreams about fights. Then I went outside to the near 90 degree April day in NYC (record high) and came home to find the Yankees in an 8-8 tie with the Red Sox in the 6th inning (aces Burnett and Beckett were pitching) and that Mark Sanchez was now a Jet after they traded up for the 5th pick (I don't agree with this one). Maybe I should stay home tonight.

Booing Cody Ransom?

Is it really necessary to boo temporary 3B Cody Ransom in the bottom of the 7th inning of the 14th game of the year after he makes an out while the Yankees are up 5-2?

More 24

I was disappointed in Season 7, Episode 18. I thought the season was going well until then.

Things On 24 That I Just Noticed

Watching 24 today, a pair of quick observations. One non-spoiler, the other minor spoiler.


First, non-spoiler: I never really thought of this but it seems way too easy to knock a guy out in an action movie by smashing him on the back of the head. Not that I've ever tried to smash people on the back of the head to knock them out, but I would think the force necessary to do so is more than is typically represented.


Second, minor spoiler:


In the last few episodes, Jack Bauer has been relegated to the sidelines of the action. I wonder if Kiefer Sutherland sustained some sort of injury that prevented him from performing some more of the physical actions required from the show and his usual role.

Mercy Rule

Poor Chien Ming Wang. The guy has been great the last 2-3 years for the Yankees but has been horrible this year. He seems pretty nice but I think because he doesn't speak much English and isn't a big personality in interviews or in general, the fans don't recognize him as much as some of the other players. But today, wow, he got destroyed by the Indians. Games like today's 22-4 loss where the Indians put up 14 in the 2nd inning make you wish there was a baseball mercy rule.

Couples

Every so often, I see couples where the man and the woman look like they could be related. But they clearly aren't (ie they're making out or holding hands). I have to wonder if the members of such couples are aware of the resemblance they have to each other. Also, I wonder if this suggests anything about their personalities, such as some weird narcissism or something.

Packaging

I've always found marketing interesting. Consider this - the redesign of Tropicana's packaging in January also happens to correlate with a 20% drop in Tropicana sales. The juice itself hasn't changed. The packaging is the only difference. But now Tropicana is going to turn back. I wonder if the change is because people couldn't find Tropicana or because they saw the package and they chose not to drink it. Pretty wild!

via Freakonomics Blog

Easter 2009

Happy Easter

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Leaked

As has been widely reported, a preliminary version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine has been leaked to the Internet. Fox is understandably concerned that this will cut into their box office; there is precedence for this as Ang Lee's Hulk suffered after a copy was leaked and bad buzz surrounded it.

But from what I can tell, Fox has a feeling that this movie is not going to be very good. Besides the fact that the advertisements and trailers don't look so hot, here are some other predictors I've seen. First, they're advertising this film a lot. I think the only commercial I've seen recently is for Wolverine, and they sponsored the entire Yankees game last night. It sponsored the entire episode of something else I was watching the other day as well (Heroes? Family Guy?). So either they're targeting really well (young men) or advertising a ton.

Besides heavy marketing as a predictor that the studio knows it's not going to be very good, from what I've seen, there are a ton of comic book related characters appearing in this film. This seems to be another poor prognostic indicator - that is, the quality of the film is inversely proportional to the number of costumed characters in it. I guess marketing pressures force filmmakers to put more and more costumed characters into each subsequent release of a movie like this? It nearly always affects the story for the worse.

I'm curious to see where Fox / Marvel is going with the whole X-Men Origins concept. Will there be future "X-Men Origins" films? A quick google search reveals a possible "X-Men Origins: Magneto." In my opinion, origin stories are generally the most boring of films in the comic book genre, so I find it curious that they would want to launch a film franchise focusing specifically on origins. Another question is of source material. Are there even any other X-Men related characters that are interesting enough to make a film about?

Addendum: If this film is successful (and I'm sure it will win it's opening weekend box office), will there be a sequel? X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2? That's an unwieldy title!

New Yankee Stadium

From what I've seen on tv, New Yankee Stadium looks pretty nice. So what if there are $2000 seats still available? The place looks pretty and I bet it'll be even better in person (I'm going in a few weeks, and secured a ticket for a tour in May).

But based on the two exhibition games against the Cubs, the Yankees may hit a ton of home runs (and possibly allow a lot too). The balls seem to be flying out of the stadium and it's not even warm yet. Strangely enough, the field dimensions are identical to the old stadium. Could the wind be playing that much of a difference?

Jay Cutler Trade Complete...

...to the Bears. Whew.

Interesting note from a Redskins blog via NY Times:


Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell said he plans to move forward and “to do everything I can do to help us get to where we want to be as a team” after the team failed to acquire quarterback Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos and trade Campbell.

Campbell acknowledged that he was disappointed in having his name involved in the trade speculation, “but you can’t let that get to you. You really just have to understand what it is. That’s the business side of it and you have to go do your job still.”

Addendum 4/3/09, 5:55pm
Great piece on NY Times 5th Down blog about Cutler.

Google Goes All Out for 4/1

Google, well known for their April Fool's jokes in the past really went all-out today.

There's CADIE, their odd little artificial intelligence system with a weird blog page reminiscent of the worst of MySpace. Then they added 3D to their Chrome browser, inverted YouTube, brought us Gmail Autopilot, mobile Brain search and have a Red Eye Adder for Picasa.

While they've had some clever jokes in the past, I don't remember there being so many of these little jokes at the same time. There's a maps joke too regarding the CADIE system.

Yankees 2009

Each year, I feel like I start out the beginning of each baseball season saying how I'm less enthusiastic about the Yankees than I was the year before. This year will be no different.

I'm very concerned about the team's prospects this year. Their starting rotation is quite good, and should be pretty durable. CC Sabathia and Chien-Ming Wang will be a nice 1-2 but there are still some questions. I don't think Sabathia will be as strong an ace as say, Johan Santana but given the money he's getting he will be expected to be. AJ Burnett should be decent, Andy Pettitte should suffice as a #4 and Joba Chamberlain belongs in the rotation. The minors seem to have enough pitching depth in case Joba runs out of gas or there is an injury. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy had nice springs, Kei Igawa and Brett Tomko were both also amazing during the spring time. This staff should be a nice upgrade over last year, but the Red Sox have a very formidable pitching staff out there and I'm not sure the Yankees are as good.

The bullpen is very strong. Mariano Rivera appears well after his shoulder surgery. Again, the minor leagues seem well stocked enough to fill in if any of the bullpen arms go down.

As for the lineup, this is where things are a little tricky. While Giambi and Abreu didn't have great seasons last year, the only acquisition the Yankees have made is Mark Teixeira, who will not be able to make up the production of both these players. Add in the loss of A-Rod, the unpredictable returns of Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui (who can't play DH at the same time) and the increased age of Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon, there has to be some concern on the run scoring side. Nick Swisher should be starting over Xavier Nady, but this probably won't make a huge difference for now. Brett Gardner brings an extra dimension to the game that will be fun to watch, but again the production improvement over Melky Cabrera probably is not going to be huge. So the projected lineup is something like: Jeter SS, Damon CF, Teixeira 1B, Matsui DH, Nady RF, Posada C, Cano 2B, Ransom 3B, Gardner CF. Melky Cabrera, Nick Swisher, and Jose Molina will also likely see a lot of time in the lineup. If Matsui and Posada do not perform as they had in the past (and it would be difficult as they are coming off surgery and one year older).

Finally, long term, the Yankees are going to have a huge dilemma when it comes to Derek Jeter. This is probably the most depressing decision they'll have to face in the future. Jeter has been getting a lot of flack lately for his defense, especially during the WBC when he was playing ahead of Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies. His contract will expire after the 2010 season, and it's not clear what the Yankees will do with him after that. He can't move to 3B or 1B as those positions are locked up for years to come. The only other options would be for him to go to the outfield or stay at SS. If his play is truly deteriorating, and few shortstops ever finish their careers at the position, then he would need to go to the OF. If between Cabrera or Gardner, one is the CF of the future, then that position is locked up. That would leave RF or LF remaining. At least one of these is traditionally a power position. In essence, Jeter will stay at SS, convert to the OF in a position he has never played or no longer be a Yankee. Given his salary and superstar status, it's hard to think that the Yankees wouldn't re-sign him but where will he play?

Jay Cutler Part 2

Well, that didn't take long.

One week after saying that Jay Cutler wouldn't be traded, the Denver Broncos have announced that their QB is on the block.

There need to be some real questions about Jay Cutler's maturity and attitude. I can't stress this enough. He is not the first player who has been subject to trade rumors or even the first player to have been traded. His reaction to the non-trade is remarkable. Refusing to even talk with the team after they tried to make amends can only hurt his trade value anyway. If he really wanted out it would have been better to at least not look like such a crybaby.

As for the Jets, they really have to avoid any of the media and populist fan pressure to get Cutler and just stick to their plan. They have a first year head coach and need to avoid the temptation for a big arm. We know Cutler can throw, and he is certainly more talented than the current QB's, but does he really fit into the system the Jets are trying to build? The Jets currently have dispensed with last year's #1 receiver and their top RB is holding out from voluntary workouts due to unhappiness with his contract. Cutler is also going to come at a big price. I'd rather they concentrate on keeping Jones around, keeping their draft picks and adding at a number of positions. After all, TO is more talented than the Jets WR's and they didn't pursue him. The same principle should apply with Cutler.

I hope they learn from last year when they abandoned their off-season plan and added a talented but risk-taking QB. Things didn't mesh well. Let's not forget that Kerry Rhodes has said on numerous occasions he doesn't like Cutler. There are good vibes for the Rex Ryan era right now, let's not ruin it.

Correlation vs Causation

Better to just let this speak for itself...


Found on xkcd.com

Via: Freakonomics blog

Yankees Tickets Part 2

I received an email stating that tickets for Yankee Stadium's opening week were still available. I entered a search for 2 tickets, best available on 4/18. The result? You guessed it, two tickets at $2625 each - "Legends level." The next level up, Field level, at $375 a pop also had 2 tickets available. But there was nothing to be found for Main Level or less (tickets under $150). So we get it - the Yankees aren't able to sell their premium tickets. If this continues they should just auction off the $2625 tickets off. There must be some demand, the price must just be too high.

Update: How can the Yankees expect to sell these "Legends" seats if seats on Stubhub in these sections are available from $500-$1000 a seat?

Pearl Jam: Ten Reissue

Pearl Jam has re-issued their debut album, "Ten" today with a huge set of unreleased tracks and a new, harsher mix. This brings it back to the old days - check this video out about 3 minutes into the song when Eddie Vedder takes a dive into the crowd. Remarkably there are a lot of YouTube videos of him climbing equipment and jumping around from the early 90's. Back then, weren't video cameras a lot bigger and harder to sneak into arenas? This particular clip looks like it's from a tv show but there are a lot of bootleg videos on YouTube. It's definitely pre-camera phone era stuff, I wonder how all this video exists!

Yankees Tickets

I just did a search for 4 tickets via TICKETMASTER for a Yankees game vs the A's on 4/20, "Best Available"

Here's my result:

Section 19, Row 1, $2625.00 per ticket with $59.70 service charge.

That's $2625 PER TICKET! Besides not having the money (and probably not the credit limit) I don't really feel comfortable making that purchase online!

You know, the more I think about it, at $2600 a pop, couldn't they waive the service charge?

Domino's Bailout

I just saw an ad for the Domino's bailout promotion. With this deal you have the choice of any three medium one-topping pizzas or sandwiches (any combination) for $15.

For some reason I find it both amazing and frightening that the cost of labor and ingredients for Domino's to produce a medium, one-topping pizza is less than $5. I guess flour is cheap.

Along with my Star Trek chair...

Maybe a little Tiberius cologne? I like the "Red Shirt, because tomorrow may never come."

Via Crave

Kirk's Chair

I would never think to get Kirk's chair for my living room (independent of living in a small apartment in New York) but it's very popular among Star Trek fans. For some reason I found this article quite funny. I'm also shocked the first place I'm reading about this fad is in the NY Times, which is generally behind on trends and nerdy-type things.

More on SVU

Last night's SVU with guest stars Carol Burnett and Matthew Lillard as guest stars. They played some characters with really quirky personalities too. This year's SVU has had an amazing track record of guest stars in general. A strong episode just in time for sweeps.

Battlestar Galactica at the UN

I like Battlestar Galactica, but I can't decide if this is silly or cool.

Via Newsarama

Forrest Gump?

Am I the only one who thinks of Forrest Gump every time I see a movie that takes place through multiple eras? Cases in point: Benjamin Button definitely had the feeling of Forrest Gump as Brad Pitt grew young through the ages. Watchmen has a little of that flavor too, with the songs from multiple eras and flashbacks from the 50's through the 70's (and the opening credits). Now here comes the Wolverine film, with shots in the trailer of Wolverine fighting in the Civil War and WWII. All I can think of is Gump when I see the trailer. Granted, I didn't feel this way about Dewey Cox, which also took place over multiple decades, so maybe it's only a thing I'm noticing.

Jay Cutler

To the Jets:

Please don't acquire Jay Cutler. Sure, he has a great throwing arm, and he's probably better than anyone that the team currently has. But the way he's reacting lately to the situation with the Broncos is extremely out of proportion compared to what has actually happened. And remember when he had a mini-feud with Philip Rivers? I believe Kerry Rhodes also said "I don't like him" after the team lost to the Broncos last year. It's tempting but don't do it!

Netflix: 1 month and 4 days later

So I've made some headway on my Netflix queue of "long wait" and "very long wait." I have a one disc per month plan that more or less ends up being 1-2 discs per week.

At last glance, nearly a month ago, on the queue under "long wait" and "very long wait" were:
Wall-E
Pineapple Express
Hulk Vs
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

As of this post, I have received and seen Wall-E, Hulk Vs and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Pretty good progress. But I've also added Wonder Woman (animated) and Role Models to my queue, both of which are now added to the "very long wait" category. I guess I'm just picking the most popular movies?

Iron Man: Iron Popper

It's like Snood only with Iron Man. Wow, did I ever kill tons of hours at work with Snood! Very fun.

Iron Popper

Via The Beat

Nerdgasm - Star Trek iPhone

This thing is awesome.



From Gizmodo

Jeopardy - Music

This singer has released albums with Eddie Vedder and Justin Timberlake.

Who is Chris Cornell?

Orange Listerine is Sort of Gross

I just picked up some Orange Listerine instead of the Blue Listerine I usually use. This orange flavor is gross. It is sort of like a strange mint-orange wth alcohol that tastes even worse after you brush your teeth with mint tooth[aste. Listerine in general tastes strange and this flavor certainly wins the prize!

Jets Release Coles

Or let him become a free agent, or whatever. He's not back next year. I hope this doesn't mean he joins his very good friend Chad Pennington. I'm not optimistic for next year even with a new coach.

Another Season of Smallville?

Smallville has been extended for its ninth season. I think it's time to let this one rest, CW Network!

Mac Crashed

For the first time in 7 months my Mac crashed. I don't know why. I guess that's not too shabby but I hope it's not the sign of things to come.

Guitar Hero: World Tour

Have you seen the Guitar Hero ads with Michael Phelps, A-Rod, Kobe Bryant and Tony Hawk? Sort of a controversial bunch of stars now that A-Rod has admitted to steroids, Phelps recently suspended for marijuana and Kobe with that dismissed rape charge from a few years back. Makes me wonder if Ray Lewis would have been a better substitution for Tony Hawk...

Netflix! Argh!

At the top of my Netflix queue are five movies that all say "Long Wait" or "Very Long Wait." This means that I'm getting my #6 movies in my queue. It's pretty frustrating - the films in question are Wall-E, Pineapple Express, Hulk Vs, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist and Zack and Miri Make a Porno. I blame Netflix for underestimating the demand for these films and forcing me to wait. My Netflix experience has been pretty positive overall but the wait for these films has been really frustrating.

A-Rod and Steroids

Pinstriped Bible pretty much sums up my reactions to this with "Eleven Reactions to the A-Rod / Steroids Story."

I have a 12th reaction, which is, I'm just annoyed at having to deal with other teams' fans taking joy at finding out that Yankee players used steroids in the past. If we found out David Ortiz used steroids it would still be sad, even though I can't root for the guy at all. My 13th reaction is that as more players are found to have used steroids, it on the one hand, numbs me to the revelation and on the other hand makes it harder for me to follow baseball in general.

Google - Autofill

I was disturbed to do a google search that started out "best method..." and the first autofill suggestion from google (presumably the most popular) was "best method of suicide." That was followed by the more benign options "best method man songs," "best method of birth control," and "best method to quit smoking."

Frak Pack

The first night that Battlestar Galactica returned to tv recently, KFC was advertising a "Frak Pack" sweepstakes. I haven't heard much about that since. Maybe the KFC marketing team found out what "frak" means.

Super Bowl Halftime Show

I'm catching up with the second half of the Super Bowl as well as the halftime show.

For my money, the MVP was LB James Harrison, who ran back that 100 yd interception. That caused a nearly 10 point swing and ended up being a huge play in terms of the final score. Maybe I'll change my mind if the 2nd half has some impressive plays.

During the halftime show - did Bruce Springsteen slide crotch first into a camera? Is that the Max Weinberg 7 from Conan O'Brien? I knew Max was in the E Street Band, but to see the rest of the gang there was something new. The bald guy on keyboards looks like David Letterman's sidekick Paul Schaffer!

2nd Half
-Denny's gave away free breakfast this AM? There's a Denny's in Manhattan? Wish I had heard this sooner, although I wonder what the crowd was like there.

-I find the Budweiser clydesdales this year completely unfunny and uninteresting. Are there going to be more commercials with them?

-In the game, Arizona can't get out of their own way in the 3rd quarter. I'm counting 3 personal fouls on the first Pittsburgh drive. Luckily they still hold Pittsburgh to only 3 on the drive with two good goal line stands.

-Kurt Warner's wife has long blonde hair? What happened to the 1999 version of Brenda Warner?


-Briefly annoyed by Chuck ad that claims "flattened" versions of the characters are 1 dimensional because it should be two dimensions.

-Cash4gold.com is a real website? I thought it was a joke!

-Arizona's passing game picking up in the 4th. It looks like what they're able to do is send 2-3 receivers down the same side at different depths, force the Steelers defensive players to commit to showing how they'll cover them and hope that Warner has enough time to spot the open receiver.

-Wow, a safety! Yet I still can't get the 5's I need. Also a rule I never knew: holding in the end zone is a safety. Is that the only penalty that leads to points?

-That the Cardinals kept it close was a huge shock to me. That they even ever got a lead in the 4th quarter even more impressive. I think in order to be successful in today's NFL, a team absolutely needs a huge receiver like Larry Fitzgerald. Just look at the differences that Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and Plaxico Burress have made for their teams.

-After the catch to put the Steelers ahead, I'll change my mind. Santonnio Holmes is the MVP. Great catch and he had 9 catches overall. When the Cardinals were winning, I guess the candidate would have been Warner, or maybe Fitzgerald.

-On the final play of the game, Kurt Warner's play is an incomplete pass in my opinion. Al Michaels called it a fumble because "his arm is not coming forward" but it sure looks like it's coming forward to me. He also cocked his arm back in a throwing position to release the ball.

-2004 looks like it was a great draft year for quarterbacks. Consider quarterbacks drafted in the first round of
2003: Carson Palmer, Byron Leftwich, Kyle Boller, Rex Grossman
2004: Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, JP Losman
2005: Alex Smith, Aaron Rodgers, Jason Campbell
2006: Vince Young, Matt Leinart, Jay Cutler

-Pretty exciting game. I definitely didn't expect it to be this close, but a really strong finish. Why does Joe Namath present the Lombardi trophy? I shudder every time I see him on national television and remember his interview with Suzy Kolber on ESPN a few years back. Oh well, let the 2009 season begin!

Super Bowl Commercials

I have to admit, because I can't see much of the Super Bowl live this year due to work, I haven't been as excited about the game or the commercials. But thanks to the Internet, I don't even need to watch the game! It appears that in this down economy, the movie studios can still afford to put in Super Bowl commercials, so keep an eye out for Star Trek, Transformers and GI Joe. I'm sure there will be some others but those are enough to get my inner geek going. Who knows if the movies will be any good but something to look forward to this summer.

Watchmen: The Movie

I just re-read the comic series, Watchmen, and am becoming increasingly excited about the movie. The trailers look pretty darn good and there's are some fairly interesting marketing and other media surrounding the movie. First, there's the New Frontiersman website (based on a conservative magazine in the movie). A nice little piece of viral marketing there. Second, there's the "Tales of the Black Freighter" animated DVD that is supposed to accompany the movie and be the story of the pirate comics featured in the books. That DVD is also supposed to include some excerpts or reenactments of "Under the Hood" (a book featured within Watchmen). Finally there's the Watchmen motion comics, which will also be released on DVD. I've watched the first installment of this series and am pretty impressed with how close to the book it is.

My main concerns with the film - 1) It's a hard book to turn into a film, 2) Zak Snyder doesn't have my complete faith. I thought "300" was okay, and there were some parts that seemed a little strange. As it turned out, the "strange" parts were not in Frank Miller's original book, they were added in by Snyder. That goes to concern #3 - the rumors that the ending has been modified. Hopefully not too much. I realize that many books to movies have parts changed, excised and modified, but I'm hoping that Watchmen is more "Sin City" and "Harry Potter" than most other book adaptations.

Super Bowl Boxes

I entered a Super Bowl box pool at work and picked two boxes. Here are the numbers assigned to my boxes:

Cardinals 5, Steelers 9
Cardinals 3, Steelers 5

So if at the end of any quarter the ones-digit of the score are the digits above, I win. The problem is, I think 5 is one of the poorer numbers to have in this kind of game, and somehow I ended up with 5 in both boxes, one from either team. I don't have any proof to say this is the case, but a score of 5, 15 or 25 seems fairly unusual. 9 and 3 seem like a nice numbers if the team that has it ends up with a fairly low score (3, 13 or 9), but somewhat more difficult to attain at the higher levels (29, 33 ?). We'll find out on Sunday.

Is Pepsi Using Obama's Popularity for Marketing?

I noticed at the inauguration that a number of people had bags from Pepsi, with the word "Hope" on them. The "O" on these bags was replaced with the Pepsi logo. No big deal, right? Then I saw a commercial on television for Pepsi, with the same logo and words like "Hope" and "Joy" and the Pepsi logo replacing the O. Again, not a big deal. But in that same commercial, was a "Yes You Can" with the Pepsi logo replacing the O. I realize everybody is jumping on the Obama bandwagon trying to market their products but isn't this extreme? It also seems to me that the new Pepsi logo and the Obama logo from the '08 campaign look very similar. Judge for yourself.

Inauguration

A crazy cold day, but pretty cool. Here's President Obama being sworn in from my view yesterday. He's the blurry thing next to the blurry thing in gold (Michelle Obama).

Super Bowl

I'm sure over the next two weeks there will be a lot to hear about the Super Bowl and all the interesting stories, but one wrinkle from this match-up that I hadn't noticed was that the Cardinals coaches are former Steelers coaches. With this knowledge, I wonder if the Cardinals will have any advantages going into the game, sort of the way Jon Gruden was able to expose the Oakland Raiders the year after he left them.

Cylons

Does anyone know why there isn't a Cylon model number seven? It's taken me watching nearly 3 1/2 years of Battlestar Galactica to even notice this.

Obama-Mania

Or is it Obamania?

Whichever it is, I got my Inauguration ticket today. I'm pretty excited to be there but I'm in "Silver Area" which looks REALLY far away from the ceremony. Maybe it's closer than it seems. (It is not for sale)


Today at the comic store there was a mob because the latest issue of Amazing Spider-Man featured a brief story with Barack Obama. Now, this is the first issue of Amazing Spider-Man I've purchased since the "One More Day" disaster and I'm a bit ashamed I did. I only bought it out of pure speculation. But I never thought this kind of appearance would generate such excitement. It was pretty surprising how many people wanted this issue. I don't think the same thing would have happened had George W Bush appeared in a comic. I guess this just goes to show how excited folks are for Obama. Strangely enough, Barack Obama has already appeared in Savage Dragon, and also his own comic book, but neither one generated the same excitement as Spider-Man has.

Windows 7 Beta on My Macbook Pro

Because I could...


Ubuntu Linux also. Yes, I know Mac OS X has UNIX underneath it, but again, I did it because I could. I have no idea how to use Ubuntu.

Heroes Season 3

Just started watching this season of Heroes, and Claire is more annoying than ever.

Barber

I went to the barber today and I noticed a photo on the wall I hadn't seen before. It was of Chief Tyrol from Battlestar Galactica (aka Aaron Douglas). I thought to myself, "Cool, I go to the same barber as Tyrol." But then I realized that Tyrol is bald this year.

Yo Joe!

Welcome, New England fans!

Welcome New England Patriots fans, to the misery of rooting for the Jets. That's right! You too, get to taste the joys of watching the Jets lose a game that could have sent your team to the playoffs. Join me!

By the way, towards the end of the game, I was trying to decide which I would prefer - the Jets winning and helping New England or the Jets losing and Miami going to the playoffs. I decided that there's nobody on the Patriots that I like, whereas I do still like Chad Pennington. So congrats, Dolphins!

Also, I thought it is interesting that the Jets' collapse this year was actually similar to Tampa's collapse from 9-3 also this year.

Inconvenient

Watching "An Inconvenient Truth" and all I can think is how it feels like I'm attending a lecture in college. Interesting but zzzzzzzzzz...

Same

Same ol' Jets.

I think we should have a new saying, however. How about "SJDY?" Same Jets, Different Year. Or SJDD - Same Jets, Different Day.

Extra R

Post #800:
What is the difference between hrmmm and hmmm?

Shoe Thrown at Bush

While I don't like George Bush, it made me think of Austin Powers: Who throws a shoe? Honestly!

Battlestar Galactica and Law and Order crossing over?

I've been watching both Law and Orders this season and in the last episodes of each show, have been major guest appearances by cast members of Battlestar Galactica. Katee Sckhoff (Starbuck) in Law and Order, and Michael Trucco (Anders) in SVU. Does this mean some future appearances for the Adamas, Roslin or Baltar?

Happy Jets Fan - Still an Oxymoron

Well that didn't last long, did it?

After two great wins against New England and Tennessee on the road, the Jets have now had two horrible losses against Denver and the 49ers in a row. Same ol' Jets?

11-30-2008 Denver Broncos at New York Jets

Maybe I should have entitled this, "Misery at the Meadowlands."

I got to go to the game on Sunday but the experience was horrible. The gate attendant wouldn't let me bring my umbrella in (despite the fact I wasn't going to use it as my seats were under the covering) and I had to "hide" it and hope it would be where I left it when I came out. It wasn't there. The alternative, since I took the bus, was to throw the umbrella out. Many people were throwing out perfectly good umbrellas. What a waste!

On to the game itself, it was a wet and windy day, and the Jets were horrible. The game was so strange with a number of big plays in the beginning, a fumble recovery that apparently wasn't a recovery (it sure looked that way on the replay), and a huge rash of Denver injuries towards the end of the game. In the third or fourth quarter, there was this really strange series of Jets offensive plays where after every play a Denver player required a trainer to come out to them. Literally five plays in a row. It was so strange that it appeared as if they were doing it on purpose!

Meanwhile, the defense had absolutely no pass rush. So sad.

Oh well, maybe this will be a wake up call for the team. The game did make the playoff prospects rather dim, as it exposed the horrible pass defense.

Here's a nice photo from the atrocious game, followed by an interesting ad I saw in Giants Stadium. I guess they don't update the ads very often.

Quantum of Solace Review (Spoiler free)

One line: Not as good as Casino Royale.

More detail: The first thing that struck me immediately about the film was that I did not like the way the action was directed. The film opens with an action sequence that I found very difficult to follow. Other action scenes in the film suffered from similar problems.

The plot relies heavily on the previous film, Casino Royale. Fortunately, I watched that film before seeing Quantum of Solace so I was up to date with the plot. While knowing the details of Casino Royale isn't necessary, if you are the kind of film watcher who needs everything explained, you ought to see Casino Royale first. Otherwise the plot itself is pretty plain. There are attempts to humanize James Bond some more, and also to make some moral statements, but neither really resonated with me. The film retains some of the dark tone from Casino Royale, with very little levity and nearly no gadgets. A small nitpick, but I found the stylized subtitles naming each locale to be silly and somewhat distracting. Overall this film wasn't bad but it wasn't that good either. It's more of a coda to Casino Royale than its own film.

Buffy - Seventh Season

I've been watching the seventh and final season of Buffy, and it's great so far. The first few episodes have been full of great flashbacks and inside references for the show that are really full of nods to the previous six seasons. A great payoff for the longtime fans and the final season of the show. I'm looking forward to the remainder of the season!

More on the Automotive Industry

Mitt Romney wrote an Op-Ed piece for the NY Times today that states that the government should just let the auto industry in Detroit fail. Kind of an interesting opinion from the same man who said he would bring jobs back to Michigan during the primaries.

Bluetooth

Is it just me or is it hard to take people seriously when they're wearing Bluetooth headsets and talking to you? I was out at a Wendy's and saw this guy complaining to the clerk rather angrily and was on the verge of laughing. For some reason the fact that he had the Bluetooth on seemed really comical.

Old and Slow

It's halftime, the Jets are up and I'm nervous they're going to blow it.

An interesting note that I saw this morning - apparently a Jets player anonymously said that the Patriots were "old and slow" but didn't want to take credit for fear of "bulletin board material." How does saying that anonymously make it any less bulletin board material. It still can read, "Jets: Pats are old and slow."

Sabathia

The Yankees are expected to make an offer to CC Sabathia that will "blow him away." I hope not. Sabathia has had a career year last year but haven't we learned the lessons of Carl Pavano and Jared Wright? One career year a future cannot predict. Sabathia prior to the last two years has been decent but by no means an ace. Here's hoping the Yanks show some restraint - although they do need serious help with the starting 5.

Automotive Bailout?

Should we bailout the auto industry with tax dollars? What an interesting question! The automakers provide a huge number of jobs for people around the country and symbolically are important given their status but on the other hand, when a company can't keep up with innovation or proper business models, shouldn't the be able to fail? At what size company would we decide not to bailout? I find this entire scenario interesting.

SNL - election loser

The real losers of the election? SNL viewers, who will deal with the loss of Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and now only have Fred Armisen's impression of President-elect Barack Obama. In my opinion, Armisen just hasn't really been able to capture Obama. Something about the speech patterns in his imitation just aren't quite right.

Jets - It's not looking good

The Jets are facing Buffalo today but it's not looking good for this game, or even the season. The Jets need a win at Buffalo if they want to stay close in the AFC East race. The problem is, they've been playing really close games against poor opponents - including the loss at Oakland. Now ILB and leading tackler David Harris is out with an injury and being replaced by David Bowens, who never has played ILB (he is a OLB / DE). WR's Coles and Cotchery are both banged up and the third WR, Brad Smith, has 1 catch this year.

In addition, the coaching has been horribly inconsistent, especially on offense. Against the Raiders, the running game in the first half was going really well, yet they ran very few play actions or even run plays and kept passing. Only until overtime did they try to run some more. With the Chiefs, worst running defense in the league, they came out passing. What is going on?

They're teetering right now and the rest of the schedule doesn't get any easier. I think we can call the season pretty soon - probably on 11/14 after the Thursday night game against New England. I'm guessing they'll be 5-5 at best, meaning they would need 5/6 to finish the season and feel good about the playoffs.

I've Got The Scars To Prove It

John McCain often says, "I've stood against my party and I've got the scars to prove it!" What does he mean by this?

Near as I can tell, he's been affected very little by standing up to his party. Standing against other Republicans has raised his public profile and image in general. It also hasn't hurt him enough with Republicans because he's still their Presidential nominee!

It seems to me there's actually a clause missing in the middle of this statement where he means to say, "I've stood against my party, fought in a war, and I've got the scars to prove it."

World Series

Two notes about the World Series -
1) It must be hard for the Mets fans to see Scott Kazmir facing off against the Phillies.
2) How does Barack Obama get caught saying he'll root for the Rays and the Phillies? Seriously? Yet another minimal issue and yet the candidate still messes it up.
3) Oh by the way, the Daily Show points out, McCain called out Obama on the pandering, but then Palin pandered to Phillies fans, Rays fans and Red Sox fans. See below.

Tested? How has John McCain Been Tested?

John McCain says, "America will not have a president who needs to be tested. I’ve been tested my friends.”

How exactly has McCain been tested? He's never had to make any decisions that affect the lives of millions of people? Obama hasn't either but he's not claiming to have greater experience in this arena than his opponent, just better judgment.

Todd Palin and Alaskan Independence

If Barack Obama's meetings with Bill Ayers are concerning to voters, shouldn't Todd Palin's association with the Alaskan Independence Party also be in question? After all, isn't it Sarah Palin who is challenging that certain people in the country are not "pro-America?" What would be less pro-America than voting on leaving the Union?

Loving the Rays

Here's hoping the Rays go all the way and complete an amazing underdog / Cinderella story.

Bad Jets Loss

The Jets loss today to the Raiders was a bad one. The game was a typical "trap" game where the Jets had been winning well, and were facing off against a limping Raiders team. The entire game was sloppy with the Raiders committing too many penalties and the Jets making three huge turnovers. In the end, the Jets had gotten so many breaks just to keep the game even at 13-13 and force overtime, it was hard to imagine that they could win in overtime unless they improved their play. The Chiefs come in next week and the Jets need to win that game.

Smoking

In my apartment it smells like someone is smoking in the bathroom. It's very uncomfortable.

Roy Williams x2

I love that the Cowboys now have WR Roy Williams and SS Roy Williams. What will they put on the back of the jerseys? Roy Williams? This is something I accomplished in a Madden 2005 franchise just for the novelty. I just find it hilarious!

W (the movie)

Oliver Stone has a new movie coming out about George W Bush called "W." But I'm wondering who the audience is for this movie. Those in the 20% or so who currently still approve of the President's job will not want to see this film that will undoubtedly put the President in negative light. Do the rest of us, who are frustrated with the way the President has done things really want to re-live the last 7+ years worth of criticism? It seems unlikely to me. Maybe Stone was just hoping to put in his input for the upcoming election by timing the movie so close to the Election Day, but it seems to me that it's just a bit too soon to be making this film.

Town Hall Debate

The most disappointing thing to me about the "town hall debate" that occurred last Tuesday is the fact that it seemed no different than any of the other debates that have happened up to now. All we get are the same questions (this time, just posed by "regular people") and the same answers (that don't necessarily answer the posed question). The candidates just echo and parrot their usual schtick with no original material.

Certainly questions on the economy are important at this time, but it seemed like the same old thing - apparently both candidates will have the right tax cuts for me, while the other will not.

I was also shocked when John McCain said it would be easy to "fix" Social Security. The entitlements have been a supposed problem for years that nobody's been able to fix. If it was so easy, then why hasn't he fixed it in his 26 yrs in the Senate?

VP Debate

So far, about 50 minutes into the 90 minute debate, I want to rip off my ears. The debate is completely incoherent. Sarah Palin is just making vague comments and reiterating typical McCain talking points, and not providing any new information. Meanwhile, Joe Biden is overexplaining everything and also becoming ridiculous. I hope the next 40 minutes are better but I'm not very hopeful.

Bye bye, 401K

Thank you Congress, for getting nothing done yet again and giving my 401K a nice kick in the balls.

Song title?

What is the name of the song being used in FOX's NLCS promos? I can't find it anywhere and I find it catchy.

TV Update

Catching up with some of the tv premieres. Luke Perry's on SVU as a guest star! Ha that was unexpected. And wait... is that Sara Gilbert from Roseanne in the same episode?

ER is still on tv?

Also, I've been watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the first time. What did I think of the last half of season 5? Really heavy.

Jets vs Pats 2008

If the Jets win, I predict the following statements from NFL analysts:
1) The Jets are now the team to beat in the East
2) What a difference Brett Favre is to the team (and how Chad Pennington could not have made some throw in the game)
3) It just shows how valuable Tom Brady is

If the Pats win, I predict the following statements from NFL analysts:
1) Football is a team game
2) The road to the AFC East goes through New England
3) Defense wins championships
4) Brett Favre is still learning the system
5) That's why Bill Belichick is a hall of fame coach

I think this is going to be a close, defensively oriented game. For the Jets to win they will need their offensive line to get a good running game going against the Patriots, who are vulnerable in that area. On the flip side, they will need to stifle New England's run game with their own revamped defense. Biggest non-injury fear - Brett Favre is perplexed by the Belichick defensive schemes.

On Being Liberal

Bob Herbert had a great column in the NY Times the other day about being proud to be liberal. Frankly, hearing the word "liberal" used in a negative fashion makes me think of some old guy in a rocking chair who is complaining and it infuriates me. Obviously liberals can't be credited with everything good that's ever happened, but a lot of major important changes are the result of liberals!

Double Standards

No additional comment from me necessary.

90210

I taped the premiere of 90210 and less than 5 minutes into it, the father character says "Family first" and Jessica Walter as a grandmother comes out holding a drink. Will there be any more similarities to Arrested Development?

Sarah Palin is a Female Version of Clarence Thomas

McCain is going to try and lure women with Sarah Palin, but Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin are as similar as Clarence Thomas and Thurgood Marshall. I think the biggest impact that this will have is that conservative women will be more energized. Those women who are extreme liberal won't compromise their social causes for her and she may ultimately be too conservative for the moderate wing. It does give McCain some much needed buzz, especially after Obama's speech. I wonder if the Republican convention will be as watched as the Democrats'.