Maze
2 days ago
Thursday, April 30, 2009
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.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
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.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
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?
Monday, April 20, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
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
via Freakonomics Blog
Saturday, April 04, 2009
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!
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?
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?
Thursday, April 02, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
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?
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.
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.
Monday, March 30, 2009
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?
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?
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
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?
Saturday, March 21, 2009
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.
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.
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