Media Update

A quick review on some of the media I've been consuming:

TV
Lost: The final season, and it's been pretty excellent. It does seem like they're stalling a little bit as they head towards the end. On the other hand a few of the episodes have dumped a ton of answers. My only complaint is they've split up the characters in such a way that you go full episodes without seeing certain characters. I wish that wasn't happening.

V: I don't find this show as intriguing as Lost, and somehow its theme of "anyone could be a V" makes me think of Battlestar Galactica (which was much better). I'll keep watching for a little bit but I'm not sure how much longer I'll stay on board.

The Office: I thought it had jumped the shark with the wedding episode but there have been a few good episodes since then. Maybe it'll be making a turnaround.

Law and Order / Law and Order SVU: The NY Times wrote about this recently. Law and Order has been getting better, and meanwhile SVU is getting worse. SVU is so contrived lately, but meanwhile the cases on the regular Law and Order are about as good as they've been.

Batman: Brave and the Bold - check it out! It's not just for kids. It's funny.

Smallville: I can't believe they want to bring this show back for another season. Yet I can't stay away.

24: I haven't seen this season yet but it's the last season according to reports. It takes place in NY, so I'll be watching.

Video Games
Last year, when I bought my PS3, I had 1-2 games I was interested. Now my library of games is 16. In that time, there were a lot of Christmas sales, but also a lot of good games. Amazingly, the best 2-3 have been very recent.

God of War 3: I just finished this game. It's better than the first two (which I also replayed recently in the HD versions). The bosses are tougher, the scale is more epic, and the story, well, it's not as straightforward but it's not anywhere near a Metal Gear Solid level of complexity.

Uncharted 2: Another amazing game. I think this, God of War 3 and MGS 4 are probably 3 of my favorite games ever. Great graphics, great gameplay and a movie level of story. While GOW 3 is more on the side of action and MGS 4 is more on the side of cinematic story, Uncharted 2 is nicely inbetween.

Batman: Arkham Asylum: This is one of the best comic adaptation games I've ever played. I had played this before Uncharted 2 and GOW 3, and thought it was great. Now that I've finished those two other games, I'd have to revise my review. Arkham Asylum is certainly fun and engaging, and makes great use of the Batman license. But it is nowhere near Uncharted 2 or GOW 3 in terms of fun, gameplay or graphics.

I haven't seen a ton of movies lately in the theater. Avatar was totally overrated, I'm glad it didn't win that many academy awards. If we gave Oscars based on groundbreaking effects, then Independence Day and Jurassic Park should have won more Oscars. On Netflix - Justice League: Crisis on 2 Earths was good, Hangover was overrated, Public Enemies was a bit boring, Funny People and I Love You, Man were better than I expected, Bruno was not as good as Borat.

ABC

With Lost winding down, it seems like ABC is really pushing shows like V and Flashforward as the heirs to Lost. But I'm not sure it's working. I think part of their thinking is that there are cast members that overlap between Lost and the other two shows. Also, the serial nature of the shows and the sci-fi themes are also similarities. But that's probably where the similarities end. As a show, Lost is pretty unique and I'm not sure that either of the other two can really capture that uniqueness. I have been watching V, but it is not nearly as interesting as Lost was in the early episodes. In fact, right now the main reason I have been watching it is that I didn't realize Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet from Lost) was a major character in V. I'm really surprised how her hairstyle and makeup changes fooled me.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a great new series on Cartoon Network. It's a bit of the complete opposite of the Batman: The Original Series, creating some really light moments that work well without seeming too silly. The most recent episode, "The Super-Batman of Planet X" was full of inside jokes. Not only does it parallel Superman in obvious ways (Batman of Zur En Arrh works at a newspaper, Batman of earth gains superpowers similar to Superman, he has a weakness to a rock), there are lots of inside jokes as well. Batman's arch nemesis on this planet is "Rohtul" or "Luthor" spelled backwards. His newspaper girlfriend has a name that's an anagram of "Vicky Vale." The voices are Kevin Conroy (Batman of Batman: TAS), Dana Delaney (Lois Lane in the Superman series) and Clancy Brown (Lex Luthor of that series). It's really a clever set-up. Earlier this year was another great episode, the "Mayhem of the Music Meister" an all musical episode. Not quite as good as Dr. Horrible or the Buffy musical episode but pretty good, and with Neil Patrick Harris as the villain, Music Meister. This show is worth catching, even for adults.

Online Dating

Why do I get the feeling that when people put "Native American" as their ethnicity in their online dating profile, they mean that they were born in the US?

Healthcare Reform

I have no idea if the healthcare reform bill is the right type of reform for the problems the system faces. I am certain that this does not mean the end of the current system, or the economy, as the Republicans would have us believe. Is this bill as important as those that established Medicare or Social Security? Probably not, but it's pretty substantial and the thing that impressed me most about this bill is that despite all the negativity (mostly misleading information) this bill was passed anyway. Congress has had such a problem getting things done despite the large Democratic majority, and yet this bill made it through.

The entire debate was pretty sad. Many would say it's a "big vs small government" debate, but I'm not sure if that can explain how emotional it was. Why did Republicans who don't want "government controlled medicine" also say they didn't want changes to Medicare? Don't people realize that Medicare / Medicaid make up nearly 45% of all healthcare spending already? That means the government already controls half of medical spending.

So now we'll see what happens. I'm glad that Democrats decided to vote with their beliefs and not worry about the polls. Meanwhile the Republicans threaten Democrats with the idea that they'll lose big in November. Maybe, but I suspect by November there will be new issues to be angry about. Better to lose with something you believe in than to win by doing nothing.

Joe Mauer

Wow. Joe Mauer just signed for 8 years, $184 million. A great extension by the Twins but I wonder if because he is a catcher, this will pay off in the long run. The good news is that it means even the "small market" Twins can keep their own players in the current baseball economy but it should be interesting to see how this plays out in the future. The payroll for the Twins in 2009 was 67 million, and now Mauer will be getting $24 M per year.

Mauer is a great player, and it's nice to see that this contract basically guarantees he'll play the majority of his career with one team. I wonder also if this will affect the Yankees when they try to re-sign Derek Jeter at the end of the year.

Wolverine: Weapon X #11

I haven't read this issue yet but the colorist did a horrible job on the American flag on Deathlok's chest.

Best Infield Ever?

No posts in February but since spring training is starting, I have to wonder - do the Yankees of 2009 / 2010 have the best infield ever? A-Rod, Jeter, Cano, Texiera... In the past, one might have argued that Jeter or Cano was the weak link defensively but last year it seems like it's come together. It seems like there's been some discussion of this last year but I think we have to think this is a possibility.

Weather Update????

NFL.com has a weather update for Jets vs Colts? Is there one for Saints vs Vikings? Why yes, there is!

Aren't both games indoors?

More Jets - 4th Quarter...

I'm so nervous right now, the Jets just took a 10-7 lead.

I'm reading the Fifth Down, NY Times blog while watching this game, and came across this:

"Update | 7:03 p.m. Great point by Sam Farmer of The Los Angeles Times on his Twitter page. Farmer wrote that he doesn’t believe the Jets will pull the upset here, but if they do, he noted the irony in how the Colts will have to face the Jets, the “monster they created” by pulling quarterback Peyton Manning in the third quarter of the second-to-last regular season game, which the Jets needed to win to make the playoffs. — Greg"

Is that a great point? See Kitchen Fresh Blog, Monday, January 11.

"If the Jets win, a match-up with the Colts or Ravens would be fascinating. If it's the Colts then it would be funny since most people blame the Colts for letting the Jets into the playoffs."

It would make for a briefly interesting story that nearly anyone could have come up with, but let's face it, it's not a "great point." Also, the Jets still need to win...

Comic Talk

It's been a little while since I discussed comics in this space, so here's some brief thoughts on what I've been reading...

Now that I'm in Miami, I get my books through the Discount Comic Book Service, which is awesome. I can't recommend it enough. I've also been listening to a bunch of comic podcasts: Comic Geek Speak, The Uncanny X-Cast, House to Astonish, Wordballoon, Pipeline and iFanboy.

DC Comics
Blackest Night
DC's centerpiece event right now. I'm reading the main book, Green Lantern, GL Corps, and a few of the mini series (Batman, Superman, Flash, Wonder Woman). The main book is excellent. It's got great art and very good story. Unfortunately I don't like the way Green Lantern weaves into the main story - the Green Lantern comic book series issues are a little disjointed and probably won't read well after the fact. Doug Mahnke in the Green Lantern book is doing good work. GL Corps is not essential reading, like I thought it would be. It's still not bad. The tie-ins are generally optional. Mildly enjoyable but completely optional. I'm excited to see how the mini-series ends.

Batman and Robin
This is a pleasant surprise. I think by now, most people know the identities of the Batman and Robin in the book, and I'm enjoying it. It's better when Quietly is drawing. The story seems to be written by "Good" Grant Morrison as opposed to "Confusing" Grant Morrison.

Flash: Rebirth
Very underwhelming. It looks like issue 6 is due in Feb, but the ending has been spoiled in Blackest Night and other books. Same thing happened with Legion of 3 Worlds last year. Even the art is just not what I expected from Van Sciver.

Adventure Comics
I'm glad to be exposed to Francis Manapaul. This book looks great. Johns is doing some nice writing here. Unfortunately, when that team leaves the book, I will too.

Ex-Machina
This title, by Brian K Vaughan and Tony Harris is hitting its final stride. It's very good. Not as good as Y: The Last Man, but stil very good.

Starman Omnibus
Another Tony Harris book - this was a huge title in the 90's. I missed it. I can see why people like it but I'm only on volume 2 and I don't think it's awesome yet.

Marvel Comics

Uncanny X-Men
Very good. Some people think Matt Fraction has a little bit of disjointed storytelling but it doesn't bother me. Alternating between the Dodsons and Greg Land seems to work. I like the Dodsons much more on the art but I saw some previews of the upcoming Land issue and the pencils actually look pretty good - not as stiff as usual. There is a little lightheartedness to this story that makes it my favorite X-title right now.

X-Men Legacy
I'm not sure where this is going. There was a time when I thought Mike Carey was the best of the X-writers. Now, I'm not so sure. I think this book needs to focus a little more on the X-Men in general.

Wolverine: Weapon X
This is Jason Aaron's title for Wolverine, so far it's just a fun Wolverine book. We haven't had that for a while. Old Man Logan was a good story but it is an alternate future story without much more to do. This title is good ol' Wolverine fun.

Captain America / Reborn
Captain America has been great. Unfortunately I think the Reborn story would have done a little better within the main Captain America book, but no matter, it's still pretty good. They suffered a scheduling hiccup when the issue after Reborn #6 came out before it. Hitch's artwork looks great, but the story doesn't seem as epic as expected from a big "event." I think Captain America and Green Lantern are the two best super hero books I read right now from the big 2.

Astonishing X-Men
Phil Jimenez takes over for Simone Bianchi on art which is welcome but Warren Ellis' story is completely out of context from the other books and because it is detached, it's hard to get into for me.

Dark Wolverine
I don't really like this book. The only reason I'm getting it is to have a continuous run on Wolverine. I'm not sure what will happen after Siege to this title.

X-Force / Cable Messiah War tpb
Because it was a great deal on DCBS, I got this paperback. The art is good, especially Mike Choi, but the story seems to meander a little bit. There are some nice character moments, and the X-Force book in general is pretty good, but in the end, the characters end up in the same place they started in this story.

Image Comics
Image United
Kind of a fascinating book where each of the original Image founders draws their own characters, so each panel looks like a jam piece. It makes for some cool art. It definitely makes me remember the 90's in comics, but with all the pros and cons. Good art (pro) and bad story (con). Also, this book was recently delayed. Ah, just like the old days!

Thoughts on upcoming events:
X-Men Second Coming
An X-Men crossover that promises to resolve the issue of the baby, Hope. I'm curious to see where this goes. I thought the last full X-Men Crossover, Messiah Complex was quite good.

Siege
The original Avengers are back, which should be great. Not sure why Marvel cancelled all their Avengers books this April but I'm sure there will be several titles to replace them. I hope that in the post-Dark Reign Marvel U that there will be room for Cap and Bucky, at least for a little while. Bucky has developed into a great character and is an example of how to do the unexpected resurrection correctly (as opposed to Jason Todd over at DC).

Brightest Day
A biweekly 26 issue series following Blackest Night. I just hope this is more like 52 than Countdown to Final Crisis. The good news is Geoff Johns is involved.

War of the Supermen
You know, I read New Krypton in the Superman books, and it was entertaining. But then Superman left the main titles, Geoff Johns left too, and there were just too many books to read. I hope that this is a little different and a good Superman story.

Bruce Wayne Returns
Just as I had not expected Bucky to make a good protagonist in Captain America, I also had not expected to like Dick Grayson as Batman. But I do now, so the question is maybe Bruce Wayne is back too soon? Also will this be written by "JLA / New X-Men" Grant Morrison or "Seven Soldiers / Final Crisis" Grant Morrison?

Some thoughts before SD vs NYJ

I have to say, I didn't think I'd be watching football this far into the year. I hope the Jets win today but I think it's going to be a really tough game. They need to play near perfect football, I think. The good news, is that the last few weeks, they have been. However, at times this season they have made some mistakes and been unable to overcome them.

As I watch the Vikings take a 14-3 lead over the Cowboys, I realize how much I can't stand Brett Favre. What a selfish jerk. If the Vikings make the Super Bowl, I sincerely hope that the Jets are there to take him down. I'm rooting for NO next week no matter what - they looked pretty good.

Even if the Jets win this week, it's hard to imagine them making it past Indy. The Colts looked good against the punchless Ravens. Funny how a team can look so dominating one week and then the opposite the next. I realize Flacco was hurt, but still. It would be kind of remarkable if the Jets could advance, beat the Colts (who "let them in" the playoffs) and then beat their old QB Favre. But that's a dream scenario.

Other little facts I had been wondering about - when was the last time both #1 seeds hosted the Conference Championship? More recently than I had remembered - 2004. When was the last time both #1 and #2 seeds made it to the Conf Championship? That same year, actually. That year, one #1 advanced (Philly over Atlanta) and one #2 (NE over Pittsburgh). Last time both #1's advanced? I think it's 1993, Bills vs Cowboys.

Much is made of Norv Turner's coaching history. He's 4-3 in the playoffs for his career, 3-2 with SD. In the division round he's 1-1, with both games occurring on the road. They've never had a 1st round bye and are 2-0 at home under Turner.

Not much of a sample size.

In general, when I think of the Chargers:
2004 - Jets beat Chargers 20-17, Kaeding misses a critical FG and the Jets advance despite an Eric Barton penalty
2002 - Jets (2-5) beat SD (5-1) on the road 44-13 in a huge upset

I forgot about:
2005 - Chargers beat Jets at Giants Stadium 31-26, but looking at the box score it looks like Vinny Testaverde (in his 2nd go-around) and Brooks Bollinger played some QB so it must have been one of the bad years when Pennington was hurt.
2008 - Chargers dominate Favre and the Jets 48=29 on MNF.

People often compare the Jets defense to the Ravens because of Rex Ryan. Well, Baltimore beat SD this year in week 2, although barely - Lewis made a huge stop on Sproles at the end of the game to save it. In '07, SD beat the Ravens 32-14.

Finally, in computer simulations this week (aka Madden NFL 10) the Jets (me) beat the Chargers (computer, All-Pro) 42-13. But I also lost in an online game today 28-14. However, first caveat to the online game - I had a kickoff return for TD overturned by a holding call, got called for a facemask on a Sproles kickoff to my own 49 and Braylon Edwards had a fumble ending a drive where I was dominating time of possession. The other caveat - it's Madden.

Final note: During the Bengals / Jets game, I was at a bar and a Patriots fan here said, why are they called the "New York" Jets if they play in New Jersey? My response: Why is your team named after an entire region of the country and not a state or city? Or maybe we should call them the "West Coast 49ers." Sadly, I don't think he heard my response. Also, perhaps not every team plays in the exact city they are named for (e. g. Washington plays in Maryland).

Woooooo J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!!!

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

I'm 10 minutes into it and regretting it already.

McGwire

Mark McGwire admitted to Bob Costas on Monday that he used performance enhancing drugs back in 1998, the year he hit 70 home runs. Most in the media have commended the way that he has finally come out to admit this given the years of speculation, especially after his "let's not talk about the past" testimony in Congress.

While it's nice to hear him come clean about this, the frustrating part about his admission is how many qualifiers he used. Here are a few that I noticed:

-McGwire said he could have still broken the HR record without steroids

In general, I agree, there's no proof per se that steroids make someone a better home run hitter, but it sure seems to be true from anecdotal evidence. Baseball players also wouldn't be using steroids or HGH if they didn't think there would be a benefit. In some ways, the cheating isn't just the act, it's the intent, too.

-He denied that he injected steroids routinely

I'm surprised he went out of his way to say he didn't inject steroids, and just took them orally. By the way, as far as I know, most testosterone analogs and HGH are taken through the skin or by injection. Also is there really added stigma attached to injection vs oral steroids? It seems to me the main argument is use or not, and not the means of use.

-He could not remember the names of the drugs

I don't believe this. Especially with all the controversy he faced with the androstenedione. Also, the name "human growth hormone" wouldn't be hard to remember.

-He only used low doses

Again, this almost sounds more like he's trying to justify it to himself. Nobody cares how much or little, do they?

-He injected himself for a medical condition

He wouldn't be alone in trying to inject steroids for a supposed medical condition however as I'm sure everybody is now well aware, there aren't any medical conditions that testosterone is indicated for.

So in summary, nice to see him finally admit stuff, but maybe we can get an admission of guilt from a player not named Canseco that is less filled with excuses and justifications.

2010 Movies Preview

I hardly read CNN.com any more, but I was a little bored and clicked on it today. The lead story? Top 25 anticipated movies for 2010. I am completely underwhelmed.

Here's a few brief observations:

Apparently it's going to be trendy to revive 20+ year old movies - Tron Legacy, Wall Street 2 and Karate Kid. Let's throw in A-Team for another revival as well.

Then there's the long standing franchises - a new installment of Shrek, Toy Story, Twilight, Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter on the way in 2010. Also Iron Man 2 (probably the only movie of the entire group I'm interested in).

Tim Burton is making every movie with Johnny Depp, I guess (Alice in Wonderland), Ridley Scott back with Russell Crowe (Robin Hood) and Martin Scorsese doing the same with Leo (Shutter Island).

Video game adaptation of Prince of Persia is coming - Jake Gyllenhaal is playing a middle easterner?

Not much to get too excited about. What's on tap for 2011?

AFC Playoffs

If you had told me a month ago that the Jets would still be playing on 1/11/10 and the Patriots wouldn't, I would not have believed it. If you had said Wes Welker was injured then I _might_ have believed that the Patriots would be out of it, but not that the Jets were in it. Yet here we are on 1/11/10, and that's exactly the situation.

The Jets looked good in the Wild Card round, although the Bengals certainly helped them out. This weekend's game vs San Diego should be pretty interesting since each team has pretty different strengths. San Diego seems to be more of a passing, and screen throwing team, whereas the Jets are a run-heavy attack. The blitzing from the Jets might be countered well by the San Diego screens, but I think that the Jets have a decent shot here - they just need to make sure they control the ball with their ground game.

I think the Jets have a better shot than most people give them. It's good for them to be in the underdog role here. Also, Kerry Rhodes did a pretty good job of shutting down Antonio Gates in the past, so perhaps the Jets will use him in that role. It seems like most of the Chargers' recent games against good teams have been close, so the Jets should have a chance for it throughout. My biggest concern about the Jets is their middle linebackers. Coaching-wise, for some reason Norv Turner never seems to be able to get the job done. I wonder if this is the year.

If the Jets win, a match-up with the Colts or Ravens would be fascinating. If it's the Colts then it would be funny since most people blame the Colts for letting the Jets into the playoffs. If the Ravens, it would be a home game, and the Ravens are the team the Jets are modeled on. But that's getting ahead of ourselves.

Lost Season 5

My race to get up to speed with Lost is going to be easily met - currently watching season 5, episode 6. That leaves 10 more til the premiere.

Today's episode, titled "316" (SPOILERS)








It starts with Jack, Ben, Sun and Desmond reunited with Eloise Hawking. I'm getting a "Knights who say Ni" moment here...

Jack needs to reunite the Oceanic Six. They need to go back to the island. Take a specific flight. Exactly recreate the events of the accident. Give Locke something of your father's.

Hmm. I would like a shrubbery. One that looks nice and is not too expensive. Oh you have one? Now another shrubbery. Oh and now cut down the tallest tree in the forest with a herring.

Sure, I know I should watch the rest of the episode first...

Jets 2009

Well isn't this interesting? The NY Jets actually have a chance at making the playoffs if they win next week against the Cincinnati Bengals.

After all that... They've had the #1 defense in points, the #1 rushing attack in the league, a 3-0 start. Yet they blew 5 games on the last possession (MIA x2, Jacksonville, Buffalo and Atlanta), had huge special teams debacles (MIA, ATL), weathered Mark Sanchez interception parties (NO, ATL, BUF) and still have a chance at making the playoffs.

Of course, this has all the makings of a Jets collapse. Primetime game, control their own destiny despite looking totally out of it, Jets are favored, Bengals on the road with nearly nothing to play for, last game in Giants Stadium...

But maybe it won't be, and they'll make the playoffs, then get knocked out somewhere in there. Then it would just be another unremarkable season.

I'm not sure which I'd rather have. My ironic sensibilities are truly hoping for the Jets to make the playoffs and then make it to the 2nd round where they knock out the Colts. That would be amazing.

Lost

SPOILERS for Lost Season 3

I'm just about to watch the finale of Lost, season 3.

At this point, the Others are planning on invading the survivors' camp to take the pregnant women. Jack finds out about this so he decides the best way to attack the Others is to vacate the camp and leave dynamite behind to blow up the arriving Others.

I saw this plan once before in a movie. It was called "Blazing Saddles."

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

I just watched GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra. The first hour was not as bad as I had expected. The second hour, well...


The writers of that movie must have been inspired by Lost.

More Random Items

1. Florida doesn't have a bottle deposit policy. What a surprise! I thought I had paid bottle deposits before, but I guess not.

2. Cars aren't required to have annual inspections here. You just pay for registration annually.

3. I hate when NFL commentators say that defenses are trying to disguise coverages to fool rookie quarterbacks. Shouldn't defenses need to disguise coverages against any quarterback? Wouldn't a defense need to disguise coverages even more against a veteran?

Random Items

1. I just started watching Lost on Netflix on demand. I had paused my Netflix account for a few months after moving to Miami and when I restarted it, I activated the on-demand via PS3 option. It looks really good. I'm really surprised at the quality. I thought it might be related to my internet connection, but the quality looks better on my PS3 / tv than it does on my computer. With such high res, it makes me want to watch it even more - it's DVD level quality. The problem is, I really don't have enough time to watch Lost.

2. The Jets season is over. While I didn't post this on the blog, I felt like the Jets had no shot to win the game. After they pulled to 24-14, it seemed like they might actually make a game of it, but enough turnovers prevented them from mounting any kind of comeback.

3. Today, for the first time, I hid someone's announcements from my Facebook news feed. I never thought I'd do that, but for some reason, this person's feeds really were annoying. I have plenty of friends who post all sorts of random stuff on Facebook but for some reaosn this person's opinions and "look at me" sorts of posts were really getting on my nerves. I feel kind of bad about it but whenever I saw that person's posts it got to make FB less enjoyable.

4. This past weekend, I caught up with Smallville. I can't believe this show is in its 9th season. In addition, there is word that a 10th season is in the works! I guess nobody is watching the CW network, but they really have to let this show go. This season is interesting enough but it needs a rest. I think I'm watching this more out of habit than out of interest.

5. The Office this year is not as good as the last few. They may have jumped the shark either around the Jim / Pam marriage or Jim getting promoted to a co-manager.

Jets season is over...

You know, I just saw this statement on Facebook from a Patriots fan after they blew the game against Indianapolis:

"ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!! And this is why I can't stomach Pats games. :P"

-Was this person SERIOUS? What recent Patriots game has been hard to stomach? Please. The Pats are still handily in first place in the AFC East, certainly going to the playoffs and are firing on all cylinders. Oh, boo hoo, you haven't won the Super Bowl since 2004. What misery it must be watching the Patriots. Try watching a Jets game. That's a team that couldn't even miss a tackle on purpose.

$75 Million Hug

Courtesy of NY Times.

The Yankees are back in the Fall Classic.

Bad Umpiring in Game 4

Some bad calls in game four of the ALCS - Nick Swisher easily picked off second base, then called safe. Then seemingly a make-up call when he is called out for leaving the base too early and trying to score (clearly did not leave early on the replay). Then the next inning, two Yankees off third base, tagged, and both should be out, but only one called out. What is happening?

File Under: I Don't Understand

The economy is still in the crapper (see: unemployment rates) yet the Dow is doing great (>10,000). Huh?

6 Year-Old Kid and Balloon

Is this for real? A 6 year-old kid is thought to be in a runaway balloon, only to be found in the attic? Meanwhile, the media eat this garbage up all day? Yet again, the so-called "news" continues to amaze. What a waste of resources.

And who owns a balloon large enough to have a kid hide in it and fly away in the first place?

Nice Sign

via UniWatch

Whose Idea Was This?

I don't have good fashion sense but the Seahawks' third jersey is horrible.

Tom Tomorrow

I don't feel like posting every This Modern World cartoon to Facebook, but I like this entry.

http://www.salon.com/comics/tomo/2009/09/22/tomo/index.html?source=rss

Looks Like Another Tough Year For Patriots-Haters

After a brief year to celebrate the Patriots' defeat in the Super Bowl and missing out on the 18-0 season, it looks like the Patriots are up to their old tricks -- secretly dominating the game but losing, only to have the opponent make seemingly a minor miscue (running back a normal kick off with the hands team on the field) lead to a turnover and a touchdown (fumble). I don't think I can handle too many more of these. Good thing I'm working during the Patriots / Jets game.

What are you reading?

This is an interesting article about what people are reading on the NY subway. The NY Times took a poll with about 8000 respondents and here are the results.

Is it a bad sign for Newsday that more people said they read the Washington Post than Newsday (a local Long Island paper)?

I'm Not Watching the US Open

But after reading Richard Sandomir's article in the NY Times, I wish I had been...





Sandomir points out a number of silly questions and interviews by Shriver, including the moment above, but also interviews with Michael Phelps and Alec Baldwin.

The NFL Blackout Policy is Obsolete

The NFL recently announced that blacked out games would be available the next day online for a few days for fans to watch.

In my opinion, the NFL blackout policy is a relic from when it was first initiated.

If you're not familiar with it, the blackout policy is a rule that states if a game is not sold out, it will not be available live on television for that local market. I suppose when this rule was initiated in 1973, fans chose not to pay for the games and would prefer to sit comfortably and watch them at home. Or somehow the NFL was afraid that empty seats on television would be embarrassing.

The way that television and sports are today, this is a pretty obsolete and ridiculous rule, in my opinion. Do fans really consider the decision of whether to go to the game or just watch it on television? I think that fans who really want to go to the game will go, regardless of its availability on television. Those who don't like to attend sporting events or can't afford the cost, just won't go. If it's not on television that isn't going to change the minds of those people who can't or choose not to afford it.

To me, the policy is implying that there is no difference between watching the game live and watching it in person besides the price and that people who watch at home are somehow freeloading. Going to a game in person requires not just the financial investment but also a big time commitment of getting to the stadium and waiting through all the traffic. On the flip side, there are benefits of being at the game as well, such as being part of the crowd, being able to see the whole field, tailgating and socializing.

Now with DirecTV, if a game is blacked out, a fan is probably more likely to go to their local bar that has a satellite dish than to the game anyways. Maybe they should black out unsold games on DirecTV so that people will move back to their local metropolitan areas and go to the game instead.

So would you go to more NFL games if your team was blacked out? I think you'd probably just stop being a fan. After all, the best advertisement for the local team is the actual games themselves! I expect that in the near future this policy will be reversed.

People Who Should Not Be Senators, Part 1 of Many

#1 - Curt Schilling

Disney Buys Marvel

I just hope they keep making comics...

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!