Ethan's Thoughts About Life and Fantasy Football

We've Come Full Circle and.....Forgotten History Entirely

2008-11-05T02:37:00.000-08:00

Let me just start out by saying, I'm proud to live in a country that in less than 75 years over came tremendous racial bias to elect the first African American president. This was the part of history I am glad was forgotten, the racism and prejudice.

America you need to look further back and realize you forgot another big part of your history. Not only in the presidential election but in the House and the Senate. America was a country founded by individuals who believe in freedom. The most important freedoms for those people, who are often referred to as "The Founding Fathers" were economic. They wanted their wallets to be safe, plain and simple. And you know what, that idea still makes sense. My money should be my money, my debt should be my debt. With the election last night, America elected individuals including the president elect who do not believe this. They believe more of your money belongs to them. THE EXACT SAME THING KING GEORGE BELIEVED!! We slapped our founding fathers in the face! Freedom needs to begin with your wallet, plain and simple. Since the dawn of time every form of fascism starts by the government taking more and more of the individuals fiscal resources.

Again we forgot our own history. I had someone tell me over the weekend this was the worst 8 years in American history under GW. Folks, get prepared for worse. Don't even get me started on how many US citizens will die when we publish our time table for exit in Iraq. A country we were trying to instill freedom into. Also, every American who died in Iraq died for absolutely nothing, if we are to believe the president elect and his promise to withdraw troops.

And don't for one minute believe this is about race. This is about ideology plain and simple. As most of you know, I am trying to change careers to build a better life for my family, but now if the Democrats accomplish their supposed agenda, I'm wondering why I didn't stay at my job making $12 an hour and spending $10 a day to do that. Mark my words, the magic number for Barrack and the Democrats in Congress isn't $250,000, it isn't $200,00, it isn't $150,000, it is $100,000 or possibly even $75,000. And what will your tax rate be? I'm guessing about 35%, and capital gains, our president elect has openly said those need to be raised to 39%. So for my family personally I will go back to work and be marginally better off. Not to the point I can significantly contribute anything to the economy. Not only that individuals who are actually contributing significantly to the economy won't be getting dividends(because corporations won't pay them out with high capital gains) and they certainly won't sell stocks for a gain(why when you'll lose .40 on a $1).

Welcome to Change We Need, not change we have in our pockets. Hello, FDR your Socialist/Marxist baby is now a toddler. Hello, Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, I need to spit in your face some more.

Two Months Later...Phew!!

2008-10-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

So let's get the easy stuff out of the way....politics. Everyone prepare yourself for four(hopefully two) years of ultra-left economic policies in America. There I said it, let's move on. Just realize you will have ultra-right conservatives like me saying I told you this won't work.

Now something a little harder...I saw the new Indiana Jones movie this week on DVD. It was really good. Watching Iron Man and that I don't understand why everyone went so ga-ga over The Dark Knight. Those two films were like good old fashioned movies, without a statement or anything just entertaining.

Football...the Redskins look good for now. They tried their darndest to lose Sunday. Fantasy wise I sit at 5-2,5-2,3-4,2-5. Pretty happy with that considering my 5-2 is the big money league. I just seem to be able to pull them out somehow.

Short but sweet, schoolwork is kicking my butt. It'll be longer next time.

Top 5 Super Hero Movies Ever and 2008 The Year of the Video Game

2008-08-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

So, haven't blogged since Brett Favre was a Packer....gee, who would've thought we'd ever see that guy in any uniform other than Packers green. I just can't see it, here's $2 million to sit at home and do nothing or here's $12 to be behind an offensive line that you could be a vegetable every snap possibly. What would you do?

So I saw The Dark Knight and although I really liked it, far far far far far too much hyperbole being attached to the film. I thought Heath Ledger was good, but truthfully, what wasn't he good in? I never and will never see Brokeback Mountain so I can't say about that film. The Dark Knight is a good movie, but not even my favorite of the summer(still is Iron Man), and best comic book movie ever, come on. My biggest problem with The Dark Knight, and it's there in Batman Begins(which by the way I liked better than TDK) is the desire to explain some things and have them be realistic(almost hyper-realistic) but not explain others or have them be sillier than the comic book version. Let's just look at the Joker (by the way here is the link for the original Joker concept art:http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/08/07/the-dark-knight-early-joker-concept-art/, which movie villain does this look a lot like? Can you say Leatherface?). Yes, Heath Ledger does an awesome job with what he was given, and his direction with the character is somewhat viable. However, I think(IMHO) in the best Joker comics he retains some of his campiness, because I think the reader is supposed to believe he thinks he's funny. He's not just an anarchist, he thinks disorder is laughable. The only scene that really embraces this aspect of the character is when he meets the mob goons. The magic trick was something the Joker would do in a comic. But I don't think he would just create Two-Face to create him(he didn't in the comics it was a mob boss). I guess I wanted to see him laugh more, or something. So don't get me wrong I liked TDK, I just think it wasn't the greatest comic book movie ever. That being said, here we go:

1) Superman (1978) Ok, so the scene where Glen Ford says to a high school aged Clark "I don't know what you were put on this Earth to do, but it wasn't to score touchdowns." Still brings tears to my eyes thinking about it. That was my father's favorite scene in the movie, and I understand why. We as a people are always starting about 1940s and 1930s mentalities but the truth of the matter is, if Superman landed any later than that, he wouldn't be Superman. After the 1950s you can't have Superman as we know him. Glen Ford is who makes Clark Superman, and sometimes we need those people with their cut-and-dry mentality to give us purpose. Sometimes we need to be told we have a greater purpose than our own glory, and that is one of the big reasons this is the best comic book movie ever. In addition, it was a comic book movie, not an attempt to make a crime drama film into a comic book movie.

2)Iron Man(2008) Great acting, great effects what more do you want from a comic book movie? The bad guy was a bad guy. The good guy was superhuman, essentially. Plus, again not afraid to be a comic book movie. All that it is missing is a big speech.

3) X2(2003) The scene where the military invades the mansion, Nightcrawler's assassination attempt on the President....I think this was the first film to literally take some panels from some comic books and put them on film.

4)Batman Begins(2005) Serious and real, but still a comic book movie. The only problem with this film is the more I watch it, I realize yeah Christopher Nolan really can't film any sort of action sequence(that's why The Prestige is his best film, since it is all character driven), and I really really agree with Liam Neeson once Gotham had become that bad just destroy it and start over again.

5)Spiderman 2 (2004) The only problem with this movie(well two I guess, ok three and that's all I'm mentioning). The villain was really not that good, Kristen Dunst seems like she is sleepwalking and not acting, talk about someone whose looks have made them, and they made Spiderman 3 which overshadow in badness how good this movie really was. The whole subway car scene in a way was stolen for the ferry boat scene in TDK(I'm not the only one who thought that was derivative am I?).

If I had to continue, I would probably go X-Men then TDK. But movies are really pas see anymore, because as they go up in price(it costs us $26 to see Space Chimps this weekend with no concession stand items) Video Games are staying the same price.

Madden 09 came out today and do you have any idea the enjoyment hours I will get out of that compared to TDK for instance, or even Iron Man? Financial from a purely utilitarian perspective movies are failing. If anything they should be lowering their prices not raising them. It's no wonder video games trash them. As much as I love movies, and I do, I was raised watching them, I fully expect my children and their generation to possibly not even go to movie theatres and watch movies online, and go out to midnight releases of video games, not films. but we will see.

The Best Darn Trailer Ever

2008-07-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36219.html

There it is. Simply put, the best darn trailer ever, and it's a video game trailer.

I haven't seen The Dark Knight yet, I want to, but I may be limited to seeing it next Friday. Still working hard on classes. Played some Civ Revolutions and I just love that game. It's like the original Civ only about 1/4 length. I am on the second difficulty level and won a Cultural Victory as the Arabs and Economic as the Americans. I like the fact that eventually the computer declares war on you. It makes playing as a democracy worthwhile. Nothing else really new, this weekend is Cora's birthday party.

Over a Month, Apology Necessary

2008-07-19T13:07:00.001-07:00

So, I've been too busy maintaining my 4.0 and trying to take six credits. I can't wait until the fall and 15. What with Cost, Tax and Advanced Accounting throw in some Financial Management and Business Law. I do apologize for not updating my blog more often.

That being said on to the important stuff....

Football, fantasy and otherwise:
Any amount of like I had for Brett Favre has disappeared completely. I am actually thinking of just getting a used Madden '08 copy even though I am getting '09 with Best Buy Reward Certificates(so pretty much for free). All he had to do was shut his mouth, go into Canton in five years and go down in history as one of the top ten QBs ever (albeit somewhat undeservedly, he is overrated somewhat), and one of the most competitive players ever. I guess the stress of being at home with the wife and kids wasn't worth it. Gee how many times can you and wife go wherever you want do whatever you want because of your near unlimited savings, and you're what 2 years older than me? My god Brett, that does sound stressful. I'd want to march right back into getting my head pounded in every Sunday, and lose a lot of the respect I had built up over 17 years. No one ever said he was the sharpest tool in the shed. I just don't get it. You think with the amount of personal tragedy he has had in his life he would want to spend time with those he loves.

Baseball, only Fantasy:
I'm competitive in 2 out of 3 leagues. I guess a bad draft killed me in WSFB, also I fell victim to what I like to call Nickel and Dime Injuries. Meaning the guy is hurt but not for long enough to drop. I think next year I am going to try to be AL. The fact this is just a weird year probably is hurting everyone.

Pop-culture: everything from Comic Books to Booze
I've started drinking Guinness, what a great beer.

Comic books are getting really incredibly redundant. The whole Ret Con thing has got to go. Am I the only person out there who would love to read a new story with the Avengers fighting the Masters of Evil? Comic books have become more and more like kid movies, they beat you over the head with their oppressive message. Yes, Civil War and Secret Invasion I'm looking at you. They should just be fun like Journey to the Center of the Earth and Kung Fu Panda. Too much preaching. My favorite comic, any horror/slasher comic, because of no grand scale message. After that, Conan. I'm dropping the Walking Dead, which I think any more the title is more indicative of the pace of the story than the content. I just can't justify spending $3 a month on a story where even I want to see the little kid and father die, just so something happens.

Vlog Attempt

2008-06-10T09:58:00.001-07:00

Well, been pretty busy, but I'm not going to complain. I had my first intermediate accounting test today, we will see how that turned out. Now, on to the important stuff..

Strahan retired, and even though Craig and Big B are a little miffed by this as a 'Skins guy, I gotta say wahoo! Maybe just maybe that softens up the G-Mens pass D a little. In a division where all the team seem to be getting better and better defensively someone needed to take a step back.

I'm in the toughest division in WSFB so I can't buy a break there. Eric Byrnes being out hurt me a lot in that league. Now Wainwright is leaving with a finger injury. I understand the mental toughness required for baseball, after all what would anyone think of a QB who completes 33% of his passes, so is that what makes them hurt themselves so much. It's probably mental stress translating to physical injuries.

Saw Kung Fu Panda this weekend. It was allright. I like Jack Black, he was even good in King Kong. There is a boring part that was actually slow to everyone I have talked too. Absolutely no one I talk to recommends the new Indy movie. So I think next up, The Hulk, with the rumored Cap cameo.

Life is good, I've completed half of the message, and I times it seems like the old testament promoted totalitarianism, whereas the new promotes an anarchy of responsibility. The two biggest themes I have taken aware so far are forgiveness and your responsibilty to forgive. Honestly, I am not getting alot out of the old testament.

How about some Fantasy Baseball, some Football, and the Stanley Cup Finals and some Horror and some....

2008-06-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

Wow, really exciting stuff is going on around the Grayson household.

I got a new PC, and it is as Colin likes to say lately "Sweet!" I got a 24" Monitor that is nice also. This is how a computer experience was meant to be.

I took over another fantasy baseball team. Ironically enough, the person quit with his team in third overall! He had Micah Owens, feel the man crush! Speaking of man crush, how about Syd the Kid and the do-be-do-be-do Penquins pulling last night out? Sorry, I just can't root for a team that has won the cup three times in the last ten years. Anyway back to baseball and man crushes, Eric Byrnes is on the DL(he's on 2 of 3 teams). But overall, I am doing good except WSFB and if I can pull this week off, I can be in contention there.

Pacman Jones is going to play for the 'boys, and I got to tell you I am getting a little afraid of the 'Skins chances with all these shut down corners every one else in the division has. However, I am glad I have Chris Cooley on "At least I have Chicken" because he will be the best intermediate threat in the NFC East. Him, Witten, and I believe Boss will be the top recievers in the division(at least in terms of catches).

I watched half of the director's cut of Halloween and gotta say, that is the escape sequence that should have been in the theatres. I found this great blog about horror movies and literature called the groovy age of horror. Let me warn you, not for the squeamish. I think they need an adult content warning.

Well, I got to get some school work done. Above find the picture of the bear from Grizzly Adams, now.....

My Thoughts about Nov 2008

2008-05-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

See latest stories on Yahoo! News

There it is. It is official, though I got to say. I'm not necessarily ecstatic about it. It's sort of like saying you've built this great team, great RB, great WR, great OL, DL, LB and secondary, and here is your choice at QB Kyle Boller or Brody Croyle. Exactly, that's with this nation has become. A great team with good parts and structure but with the Kyle Bollers leading it. That applies everywhere in government. Thank God someone like Nick Rattal may have a future in politics, because he is someone who will be old school enough to understand we are going down a really, really dangerous path with government getting way too big. He's also new school enough to be compassionate, in general he's a centrist, which is what we need. People called Clinton a centrist and truthfully, at least fiscally he was. However, the Elias Gonzalez thing showed he really wasn't centrist in terms of governments role. There is a fascinating book called Liberal Fascism in which the author claims all fascists have come from the left since the French Revolution. Most people don't remember Barry AuH2O famous quote "a government big enough to provide everything is capable of controlling everything."

I'll post later today about FF, comics, life, some new pics....the import stuff, oh yeah some more Fantasy Baseball....

Football, Comic Books and Old School Country Music What Else Do You Need In Life

2008-04-30T04:07:00.000-07:00

Football:
So , who in the world is Joe Flacco anyways? Let's see another tall thin QB with a rocket arm who succeeded against lesser competition. Kyle Boller must be thinking that line from the Pearl Jam song(though Flacco is far too old to be his son). "Admire me, Admire my home, Admire my son, he's my clone." Yeah, there is pretty much no way Flacco will be successful. The Ravens should have even dealt someone like Ray Lewis and their first round pick to Atl to get Matt Ryan. Not to mention Matt Ryan is much more professional than Flacco, oh yeah and he actually played against teams other than Northeast High School, while in college. The Redskins second round went pretty good, still wish they had shown a little more commitment on D. The scariest thing to me about the draft, the Packers took two QBs. It sort of shoots down my whole thought of taking Aaron Rodgers really late in the fantasy draft.
Life:
I'm sure most of you are aware I turned in my two weeks notice at work. I told them 45% of the issue was me going back to school. 25% was I didn't want poor Colin and Cora to feel like they didn't have a summer at all. Today I'm telling them what the other 30% was, and I won't air dirty laundry on this blog, but it will be tough and stressful. It basically comes down to this, when I was a young kid I used to sing "The Gambler" all the time to my Granny Gray(my father's mother) and the chorus from that song is so true about life. "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run. You never count your money when you are sitting at the table, there will be time enough for counting when the dealing is done." I don't know who wrote that song, but that really is true about life.

OK How about some Football

2008-04-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

So the NFL schedule was released today, and I think objectively. My 'Skins and Lions have relatively easy non-divisional games. I have to phrase it that way because we all know the 'Skins are in a tougher division. They play each other again week 8.

Ravens schedule outside their division, tough. Even within their division, are they the worst team? No Cincy is worse. But they have to play the Colts, the Giants (hello didn't they win the superbowl last year, what the hell are the Ravens doing playing them), and yes week 14 The Washington Redskins. I can hardly wait Dec 7, a day that will live in infamy. I'm going right now for the Redskins win. Of course, what else would you expect. I don't get (I'm not a Ravens fan) the ultra tough Ravens schedule.

The Pats have another easy schedule, maybe they can go 18-1 again. The Giants, somewhat tough, but sorry Craig and Big B and I guess Little Regis, they aren't a dynasty. Next year, Superbowl 43 will be a Chargers victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Go ahead and get a good laugh. At least I talked some football.

Two Months, What's Up?

2008-04-08T16:27:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while since I blogged.

So it's week two of fantasy baseball, and the first week was rough. Now going into the second week, it looks like maybe Sheets and Zambrano are for real, but Rollins hurt his ankle. Who knows where it is going. It's such a marathon compared to football. Big time.

Been watching this New Amsterdam show and the last time episodes were pretty good, but I just think his partner is the best part. I miss my Californication show.

American Idol, who cares. I think none of them have any appreciable talent.

Reading book two of the Dresden files, like that alot. Read Al Sarrantonio's Horrorween, kind of interesting. I'm getting 13 Bullets by David Wellington from the library. Been reading a lot of horror comics lately. The Walking Dead had it's big prison ending, and I never expected the wife and baby to die and just Rick and the boy to be alive. Talk about rough. At least the Governor got his. Sorrow was kind of interesting. Halloween Nightdance is good, but there is only so much Michael Meyers I can take. It actually is(here is the big shocker comic book fans) a monthly release though so I don't feel to bad getting it. Jason vs Freddy vs Ash, ok who cared. It should have been so much more. Forgot I read a different Freddy novel written by Christina Faust. I think the most interesting thing about the whole book was at the end reading her bio. Apparently she knows Quentin Tarantino, wahoo!

So what else, Charlton Heston is Soylent Green now. Ok you think that is rough, read this quote from the onion , Tracy McManus,Piano Teacher"It must have been comforting for him to pass away peacefully in his home instead of in a MADHOUSE! A MADHOUSE!!!" I cracked up when I read that so much. That's just plain awful laughing at someone dying. Still not as awful as The Ten Commandments(the movie folks).

Maybe WSFB turns around this week, for whatever reason I play the same guy I played last week. Don't ask me to explain that. Till next time.

The Best Football Weekend In a Long,Long Time

2008-02-06T16:15:00.000-08:00

First off, Art Monk Canton bound. What sportswriter's ass did he miss kissing that it took him eight years to get in? He had the numbers all along, and what three rings? I just don't get it. But with that news on Saturday I thought it can't get any better, football wise.

I was wrong. I still thought even when the Giants held onto the ball almost ten minutes that don't worry the Patriots will find some way to squeak it out. Thank you Karma Police for this correction. Brady spent the pre game show laughing about how he sucks as a father, his girlfriend is up in the booth drinking wine(what kind of bourgeois bullshit is that anyways), meanwhile all Eli has is his brother in a (what looked like even in HD) cheap ass jacket cheering him on. Who can blame Peyton for wearing less than acceptable clothing for a multi-millionaire, as it looked like he was going to puke any second, himself. I thought it would have been great if Peyton had handed Eli the keys to the car(for winning MVP). Nonetheless, perfection is hard if not impossible to maintain, and truthfully I think that the Pats won't be nearly as good next year. So look at CBS' Top 200 list and leave Brady number two in your mind as much as you want. I say thank you. He won't throw 30 TDs next year. He can't. There was all this talk online about beating the Pats. The formula was simple, get Brady on his butt. The G-Men did that, and don't worry more teams will be able to do it next year. However, besides the Bills they are still in an extremely weak division so they would have to collaps completely to not make the playoffs.

After the Super Bowl Candi found out she had to have her Gall Bladder removed, but at least she waited until after that great karmatic correction to be extremely sick. She's ok, and home now. She can't drive but would probably appreciate the well wishes if you think of it and would like to call.

Comic book wise, Glen Burnie library actually had an Elephantmen Graphic Novel. I enjoyed it, as sort of an action adventure sci-fi story. I think it's hard to read a comic book story with no real appreciable story arc(or if it was there it was cut off) and different artists pratically issue to issue. Throw in Comiccraft coloring and it sabotages what could have been a really great comic just to pretty good. I'm reading a Mike Mignola novel called Baltimore now, interesting if a bit slow.

Candi, The Porno and The Superbowl

2008-01-31T15:59:00.000-08:00

Ok so part of my bet with Candi involved her first watching of an "adult" film. I put that in quotations because the plot, acting, dialogue, etc is(or since this one was from the mid 90's early 00's)/was far from adult. Candi wasn't really shocked, but the scary thing is as hookie as the film was the writing and plot really wasn't that subpar compared to mainstream hollywood. That is all we are going to say about that.

The superbowl. Thanks to the efforts of a few dedicated SI writers and some others, the Giants are a chic underdog pick. As much as I would love to see it happen, it won't. The 'Pats do just enough to win 32-28. The commercials will have Iron Man, maybe the Incredible Hulk, but the Dark Knight commercials were probably pulled. They have decided to rework their whole ad campaign in the wake of what happened. Who knows what else those Madison Avenue genius will create!

Comics. Been pretty sucky lately. I started reading the Forgotten Realms series based on RA Salvatore's novels and it made me actually want to start reading his novels. They are good. Speaking of novels I read Harry Turtledove's Conan book. It was great because it was alternate Conan history. It was a good novel, and in the end the Aquillonas looked just as chivalrous as the Cimmerians(maybe even more), I had some fear they were going to look depraved. Speaking of alternate history, there is a new FPS called "Turning Point:Fall of Liberty" where you play a NYC skyscraper worker trying to survive a Nazi invasion of the US. The concept is good, the graphics ok, but it is just another FPS, the world needs those like it needs politicians who say nothing (yes, I am looking at you Obama and McCain).

The first pick. No this part isn't some tirade about how I took Rudi in both FF leagues and he stunk, and now in FBsktB I took Jason Kidd and he wants to be traded. This is about my ultimate football team and who I would take with my first pick overall. All you people that know(or think you know) something about football should respond. OK, I was close, so close to either Bob Lilly or Mean Joe Greene, simply because I believe the ability to dominate the LOS is so so important and both of these guys could do that. Then I thought on the other side of the ball and was going to go with Mike Munchak or Russ Grim or Gene Upshaw or Forrest Greg but ultimately you need to go skill position, just because hey I can build OL and DL later. So sticking with the pics on the side, I'm going with probably one of the few players who could impact all three parts of the game. That's right folks, I am going with Slingin Sammy Baugh. Let see dude lead the league in punting, picks and passing, the same year, with a ball that was about ten times closer to a rugby ball than a current football. I still think he'd be probably a top five punter, top five passer, and a top five corner. Oh, and did I mention he actually came close to leading the league in rushing one year. He was incredible, and the first building block on the all-E team.

Giant-Sized Avengers and Law and Order Premiere

2008-01-02T18:32:00.000-08:00

Ok, I've read only a handful of comics where a single panel can bring me to tears. Giant-sized Avengers had one. It occurred at the end of the Spiderman story where Cap says to SM, "You know with this power comes great responsibility." I might be paraphrasing but it was something to that equivalent. Man, I was choking up already. Then Peter's thought bubble is something like, "First Uncle Ben, now Cap. What is it with that generation?" Then after this story when Wasp, Ms. Marvel and Black Widow(all in bikinis no less) are all sitting around they talk about no one ever being able to fill Cap's shoes. It's trite but good. You read it and realize Cap had to die, not because those values aren't pertinent or worthy, we don't want to live up to them anymore. We want our shades of comfortable gray, we don't want to think what's right is right, what's wrong is wrong. Needless to say, this was one of the best comics I have read in months.

Law and Order is on now and I alreaady miss the big man, Fred Thompson. Where is Elizabeth Rohm anyways? The new female lead lawyer just isn't all that. It's pretty bad when the female police captain is maybe the best looking female on the show. I guess we still have Mariska Hargitay on SUV, oh wait, they make her look far too butchy for my tastes. Oh we still have Kathryn Erbe on CI. Sam Waterson just plain sucks as the DA. Yet another show that will probably stink it up in the new season. So NBC has Las Vegas, I guess USA has L&O:CI, and after the first week in February that's it until next year. Where is Dave Chapelle when we need him? Man, that Black White Supremacist is the funniest thing ever. Not to mention the whole Ribs thing, but hey they give me the itis too...

It's Been a Long Time Since I Posted Anything

2007-12-12T17:44:00.000-08:00

So, what's up?

Yes that was a Led Zeppelin reference in the title.

The NFL, well unless you want to swallow some Brady juice, sucks. I just want to see the Incredible Hulk commercial in the Superbowl. Fantasy wise, I actually have a Yahoo! team that is playing against a team called How Bout Dem Cowboys for....the championship. I am happy to say besides Ben Watson the team is composed of nothing but NFL wildcarders at best. Well, we will see. Thankfully Frank Gore plays Cincinnatti. I saw Cincy give up 100 yards to someone in a wheelchair last week.

Led Zeppelin back on tour, how much will we pay for the tickets. I remember shelling out about $150 years ago before C and C were born to see Plant and Page. What will tickets for the three of them actually cost? I'm guessing like $300-$400. Can't do that now?

Heroes, finished awfully. Let's see the only villain ever will be Sylar. Adam Monroe just doesn't cut it. The show needs something else, hopefully after the strike it can get that. But, I don't hold out alot of hope. I think next year will be the last.

Comic book wise, I think I like Thor the best of any comic now. I held out some hope for Ultimates 3 and was dissapointed. I did like the whole Tony Stark/Black Widow porn tape thing. You know in UA Direct-to-DVD, Black Widow is voiced by Olivia D'Abo, ok think about those two terms worked together, Olivia D'Abo and porn tape. Ahh....w007 Bobby.

Oh man, talk about esoteric, there are like three people in the world that got that, and I am one of them.

One last thing, I have made the decision in addition to losing weight next year, I am going to read the Bible using The Message and a 365 day Bible reading guide. I just want to see what I can learn. We have to appreciate the irony that a bunch of people who read this blog and are amongst the self-righteous Aetheists and Agnostics are like what a joke, read the Bible over the course of a year. But if I said I was going to read Buddhism for a year, or the Koran, they would be like good job. I've never read the whole Bible and I chose the message because I want to think about what this means to me. I'll keep you all posted, and try not to be too self-righteous.

2007-11-02T04:14:00.001-07:00


	My Flixster

Stuff I Want To Complain About

2007-10-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

Fantasy football first, I wish I could say I am enjoying this season, but after this week despite my losses, I am. It looks like the teams in our leagues with the best RBs(see also healthiest) will win it. Thankfully somethings don't change.

I am tired of the cannoninizing of Tom Brady. All the Pats do is pass, can't anyone stop that. They can't run with any physicality at all. All they do is pass, who can stop them. I've got the answer, the Colts. They will eat up the clock with their running game lead by Joey Addai and keep Tom and Randy(who I still maintain will self-destruct eventually) on the sideline. Don't worry folks the Colts win it all eventually again this year.

Other items to complain about, Law and Order, come on. I thought the whole Melissa Joan Hart as a hot teacher would be good, but I guess I have to rely on old episodes of Sabrina for my MJH fix. Or if I am feeling really lecherous Clarissa Explains It All. Both SUV and Criminal Intent(now on USA only) are kind of weak this year. I am hoping they bring back the Olivia D'Abo character to take on Detective Goren. Vincent D'Onofrio just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Is It Just Me or Does Heroes Really Stink This Year?

2007-10-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

Thought I would elaborate on a point from last week. Heroes got a little better this week, but still way too subpar. OK, even if I could regenerate I'm not using household scissors to cut off my pinky. Come on! I'm probably not even doing it without about six shots of JD in me, regeneration or not. Claire should be one of the best characters, I mean forget that fact it's Hayden Panietiere and she can't act at all. It's just totally unreal(yes I know I'm saying this about a show about super heroes), and stupid, of course a bunch of you reading this are like, well if you could regenerate you couldn't get drunk anyways. I know which leads me to my big philosophical assessment about regeneration, you aren't any tougher because you can regenerate. Next week could be the last week for me and Heroes, if it is a choice between Halo 3(which is like 500 times better than the beta) and the show it might be Halo 3.

Football time, I saw on the power rankings the Pats fans talking smack. "Who on the Colts can cover Randy Moss?" Well, what if it is a playoff game and he just decides to give up? Which Randy Moss has done before. Let the Pats lose a game or two, then we will see the love for Randy ;) Forget all of that, none of the Colts needs to cover Randy Moss one-on-one. The Colts O can keep up with the Pats O, and so far we haven't seen a team do that. It's easy to throw downfield when you are up by a couple of scores. I think if the game were played today the Colts win 31-28. (What a copout!) They can run the ball with more physical presence and probably wear down an old Pats D. Pats fans, don't be like the Ravens and count your chickens before they hatch.

By the way, Colts lose this week to TB. The Pats lose in two weeks to Big D. Cowboys lose this week. By week seven the only undefeated team, "the old man and the team." The Pack,baby.

Been a long time since I posted

2007-10-01T04:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while. A good bit has happened that I would like to share with you.

Been thinking alot about getting a little bit older with this whole turning 35. That has lead me to a lot of spiritual/philosophical thinking. When I think spiritually or philosophically I think in terms of, of course, football. Doug and I were pretty buzzed after the draft and we were both talking about feeling like C-Mart. For all his career Curtis Martin ran, caught, and even threw(though not that often) the ball far too many times for even a great NFL rb. Him and I are roughly the same age, and now he is in a bone on bone knee situation. Feeling like Curtis Martin, really isn't such a bad thing. It means 1) you are a first ballot HOFer(I might get some arguments on this but wait and see, wait and see), 2) someone, trusts you to be the "man" and finally 3)somewhere there is a Kevin Mawae clearing the middle for you to run through. Needless to say, Curtis Martin also got to touch the ball plenty of times and make things happen. So I guess what I am trying to say is yes it is hard to be a Curtis Martin, but clearly it isn't all bad. By the way, Doug is a good bit of fun to get buzzed with.

Fantasy football wise, I won the money league and it looks like I am in the strange position of having a bevy of good WRs. I can't describe that, because this may be the first year I am in that position(thanks Nicky for dropping Dwayne Bowe!!). Next year I will have plenty of good keepers with my young WRs and the always cute(at least according to Cora) Chris Cooley. Bet wise, guess who won and who lost, yes that's right the Lions won and the Ravens lost. Remember who said all summer the Ravens had no serious injuries last year...that would be me. Truthfully, it looks like the Ravens and the Chargers may have been products of their schedules last year. Parity in the NFL is just a joke. Right now I am looking forward to either Peyton "SNL" Manning or Tom "Who's Your Daddy(copyright Candi, 2007)" Brady taking it to Tony "Took a Louisville Slugger to Both Headlights" Romo in the SuperBowl.

A Couple of Days Not Long Studying To Do

2007-09-25T13:07:00.000-07:00

So haven't posted in a while, here's what has been happening.

1) Football, fantasy and bet wise went awful. I'm making a couple of moves in the keeper league, but the whole Arizona QB debacle is hurting me bad.

2)Heroes premiere: OK got to be honest here, by about 2/3 of the way just wasn't into it. I think if the story is just rehasing last year but with a new Sylar count me out.

Fun Friday-LONG POST

2007-09-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

Candi took off on Friday since on my actual Bday I had to work, go to Cub Scouts and all the normal boring stuff life just seems to be full of. So we went and saw the new Halloween at a 1:25 show which is the way to go, us and one other person was in the theatre. I liked it actually a little better than the 1978 Halloween. Are there parts that make no sense? Yes, but hello it is a movie. It actually made me scared in parts. You go to the movies to be entertained and it was entertaining. I've seen a lot of posts/internet writing trying to pin Rob Zombie as a misogynist because he always is showing women naked in all his movies, but truth be told, I don't think of him that way because at least all the women he is showing are natural. In other words, I think the nudity is part of the film, in theory it could be cut out but come on it's 2007. However, he is not just showing some woman with 36dd and a 20" waist to show her naked. The women in his film all have realistic body proportions(though they do tend to be a little on the thin side, but look at his wife). That being said I don't think an appreciation for the female body or showing nudity within the realms of your art makes one a misogynist. But enough controversy. He's definitely progressed tremendously as a director, though the movie could be about 15 minutes shorter. It's not like Devil's Rejects which could have been about 40 minutes shorter. It does suffer from one of my two major flaws with modern films, the no real setting flaw. With all due respect, it's less derivative and condemning socio-economically than the 1978 version(though I guess since that was one of the first slasher films I can't really say derivative but I will see below; ) ), or else I just really think teenagers today are just wild and these kids were relaxed. It kind of plays with the whole "pure evil" nonsense from the 1978 film and you start to wonder if maybe Dr. Loomis had that all in his head. One thing that made it much scarier than the 1978 movie was the sheer size of Michael Myers, hello he's taller than Big B and about 150 lbs heavier. I'd be pretty scared if he was coming after me. The characters do suffer from cis(character induced stupidity) alot. Hello, if there is one thing I have learned from all these movies when the bad guy is down make sure he is down.

Overall, it wasn't Transformers, but it wasn't Mr. Bean's Holiday either. Though it is less gory than even watching it you think it is(I know that sounded strange what I mean to say is you see a lot less gore than you think you do), the level of violence does sort of make the 300 look like Sesame Street. It was good escapism which ultimately is what movies are supposed to be. It probably cracks my top 100 horror films of all time probably at like number 72. Rob Zombie is definitely progressing as a director, I think his next film(live action, I know he has an animated film in the works) might even crack my top 100 ever, which currently only has about 3 horror films in it(TCM-the original, Psycho-the original, Birds).

One last thing, though I really claim to not like Will Ferrell movies, it's amazing how often I quote them. They just fit everywhere, it's strange. Doug's whole "Your My Boy Blue" team sort of makes me want to watch Old School again(besides which it stars the replacement Candi, Juliette Lewis), just to hear the quotes I am missing. So here is your weekly Will Ferrell quote.

Will Ferrell (Ricky Bobby):
... with all due respect, Mr Dennit ... I had no idea you had gotten experimental surgery to have your balls removed ...
Molly Shannon (Mrs. Dennit):
... ha ha ha ha ha ...
Greg Germann (Larry Dennit, Jr.):
... what, what did you say, what was that, what was that?
Will Ferrell:
... woah woah, I said with all due respect ...
Greg Germann:
... no, that doesn't mean you get to say whatever you want to say to me ...
Will Ferrell:
... sure, sure as heck does ...
Greg Germann:
... no no, it doesn't mean that ...
Will Ferrell:
... its in the Geneva Convention, look it up ...

Turning 35 and Other Interesting News

2007-09-21T05:55:00.000-07:00

So yesterday, 9/20 I turned the big 35. In general I had a pretty good b-day. Can't complain, who'd listen anyways.

Best thought on football of the week, doesn't come from Donovan McNabb, it comes from Ed who said, "The thing that should scare teams about the Lions and Texans is they have been losers so long, if they win 3 or 4 at the beginning they(the Lions and Texans) might actually think they can do something." I completely agree with this statement, and speaking of Donovan guess who the Iggles play? Yes, the Lions, who have the big man, God himself on their side, according to Kitna. I look for wins from Lions, Redskins, and a closer than people want to think victory from the Ravens.

Fantasy football wise, Laurence Maroney should be on a short leash. All the experts say he is a guarantee for a buck and a TD this week. Forget it, I got him in but I fully expect the 7-8 points and next week Marshawn goes in.