Savvy Witness

Hypocrites

2009-06-14T08:40:00.000-07:00

One thing that absolutely infuriates me hypocrisy. I have far more respect for someone who takes a position and stands by me even when it provides an unfavorable light to be shined on them. The past few weeks (and beyond) have been full of this kind of crap in one my favorite areas to comment on, the world of sports and the Bad Boys from Beantown, the Boston Red Sox. Normally the primary culprit is large headed (in every way) Mikey Kaye, the long time sycophant of the Evil Empire. I've basically become used to his nonsense, even though it still irks, especially when he is wearing his so called neutral hat on ESPN. Some typical Kaye comments of the past would revolve around Manny Ramirez and his admiration of his HR's (which also annoyed me, and I am a Sox fan, but the difference is that I acknowledge it and say publicly that it is hard for me to come down on A-Rod for doing the same thing... which he does!) - The more glaring example, and one that has reared it's ugly head, is the topic of beanballs. So last week, when Jose Veras is pitching in the 7th inning of a game the Yankees are losing 7-0, on their way to their 6th straight loss to the Red Sox, Veras plunks Jason Bay square in the back. Now Bay has been a notorious Yankee killer, so it seems odd that the ball would just happen to smack Bay. But, you didn't hear Red Sox Nation erupt, or Terry Francona cry, or Jason Bay make statements in the press. Nope, instead you saw the Sox win 2 more against the Yankees, extending the winning streak to 8-0 this season!

However, when Brad Penny hits Alex Rodriguez in the 1st inning(!) of the game Thursday, Girardi whined and cried. "

A baseball official told 1050 ESPN Radio in New York that the Yankees called the commissioner's office Friday to ask that Brad Penny be suspended for hitting Alex Rodriguez in the back during the first inning of Thursday night's Red Sox win.

"Penny's control was good," Girardi said. "I thought it was on purpose. That is all part of baseball."

But how about Veras? "You know, we hit Bay, and I know Jose did not hit him on purpose. I mean, Jose has struggled with his control. But things like that happen. You know, you expect something could happen in return." - so a threat from Joey G now. This guy is a punk, an avg player, a nutbag ultraconservative uptight douchebag with a sub .500 winning pct. in his last job and a failure to make the playoffs last year with the highest payroll in all baseball. Too bad Penny won't be here in Aug, would love to see him throw a ball at Girardi's face in the dugout!

Hmm, there must be a lot of examples for Joey G to point to, beanballs and purpose pitches, right?! Let's look at some of those pesky "facts"

Yankees pitchers have hit Red Sox players nine times this season. Rodriguez was the third Yankee to be plunked. After Rodriguez was hit, the teams were warned and there were no further incidents. -

Oh, so your team is hitting the Sox at a 3-1 ratio, but they are the culprits. How about Joba the Grunt, with his nearly killing Youk multiple times? Guess that doesn't matter.

Loved Penny's response - ""I don't give two [expletives] what Joe Girardi says," Penny told the Globe. "I'm coming inside. I don't care. Anybody can say that. We can say that about the time they hit our guys. I'm just trying to pitch inside. Maybe he should worry about managing and not trying to be the commissioner."

Now Joba is an interesting addition here, because he is the link to the other team crying, the Mets. Those who read the blog know that I blasted Johan Santanna for his crying session regarding Youk, and my wishes for a karmic visiting of justice on Johan, but how about Keith Hernandez in the booth, telling Paplebon to sit down? I guess Keith doesn't like that demonstrative approach.... except when K-Rod does it. It's just exuberance, then, huh Keith? it also appears that oft injured big mouthed yankee relieveer Brian Bruney doesn't like K-Rod's antics, as he said yesterday. - So, does that mean Bruney doesn't like Joba's antics everytime he takes the mound? -

Bottom line - Red Sox are a better team, a better organization, with better (and classier) baseball players, a devoted fan base (notice no boos for Big Papi yet, when those animals in the Bronx have already booed both Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter!! Idiots

Beast

Back from the Anniversary Weekend

2009-06-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

The wife and I returned today from a couple of days away celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary,and I wanted to check in with the Red Sox. So since I last checked in they were 3-4 on the road trip, winning the last game in Toronto to salvage things a bit. Then a sweep of the ALCS leading Detroit Tigers, which included a terrific performance by Beckett, which is nice coming on the heels of Lester's great 12 K start. They returned home and have split 2 games with the Rangers, leaders of the Al West. With Mariano rivera's implosion yesterday for the evil empire (hee, hee ) the Red Sox lead the entire A.L. Best record, and Lester nearly threw a perfect game yesterday, so now you have 2 of the aces looking like we need. Remember, this is being done with Ortiz still hitting under .200 and our shortstop situation deplorable. Currently the 19 game stretch of really tough games stands as 7-5, with todays game and then 6 with the empire and the NL east leading Phillies.

At the 54 game mark, 1/3 of the season, the team sat at 32-22. That's a pace for 96 wins, which at worst should get them in the playoffs. I still have visions of a return to the 2003/2004 ALCS battles of Evil Empire vs. Heroes from Boston.

Sox win Again

2009-06-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

So the Nation is happy with another win today, after salvaging the Toronto series on Sunday. Dice K gets the win, a typical Dice-K outing; 5 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks, 6 K's, 96 pitches, his first win of the season, and a lowered ERA to 7.17. Not terrible, not great, but a win. Great bullpen work, as usual, terrible at bats for Big Crappi, as usual, but now the team is 4-4 on the 10 game road trip, the beginning of the tough 19 game stretch. With the evil empire continuing to tear it up (17 out of 23 won) the Sox just need to continue holding down a playoff spot, and they need to make a move regarding Papi. Victor Martinez would look terrific in boston, with his great hitting, and versatility between 1st base and Catcher. With Tek only having one more year, Martinez would help the offense, provide versatility, and maybe even become the catcher of the future. Plus, the Nation has done well in the past with the last name Martinez: Pedro and Ramon ring a bell?

A Good Day for Red Sox Nation

2009-05-31T14:03:00.000-07:00

Today the nation rejoices; Sox win, Yanks lose (on a walk off single, no less), and Jon Lester pitches a gem, finally. I last checked in on May 25 and I pointed out the brutal stretch of games coming up for the Red Sox. 19 games in all, and my hope was for them to still maintain at least the wild card before embarking on a 25 game soft stretch.

They split two on the road with Minnesota, and they were facing a sweep today on the road to Toronto. Then the real Jon Lester showed up, notching the following: 6 innings, 1 earned run, and 12 Ks. Sox win 8-2 and salvage something from the trip. Up next is 3 with Detroit on the road, and 7 games into this trip they are 3-4. They haven't won a series since the earlier sweep of Toronto and could really use 2 of 3 from the Tigers before heading home for series with the Rangers and the Evil Empire. The Empire, despite todays loss, are on fire, winning 16 of 22, so the race is on!!

On the down side, big Crappi continues to be awful, going 1 for 5 and is now hitting .185. I love what he's meant to the franchise, but enough is enough! Sit him down, indefinitely, and start looking for a bat and a SS. Get on it Theo, cause the Empire isn't going anywhere.

Famous Bird Steal, huge mistake by Isiah Thomas

2009-05-27T17:08:00.001-07:00

Whenever I'm down, I just watch this... the absolute greatest sports moment I've ever seen in my life. Man, Larry Joe Bird, the Hick from French Lick!!!

Aaand Order is Restored for the nation

2009-05-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

Relax, Red Sox Nation - despite a pitching ERA that is 19th in baseball, a continued need for a legitimate, quality shortstop, an injured primary starter, and Red Sox hero Big Papi now batting below the Mendoza line, despite the evil empire obliterating our salary potential and getting yet another prized free agent.... as i sit here looking at the standings on Memorial Day, the Red Sox sit atop the A.L. East - a quarter of the way through the season, without a pitch thrown yet by John Smoltz, and with Jonathen Papelbons blown save (!) - the Sox still are sitting playoff bound.

The second quarter starts off brutally, with a 10 game road trip (4 against Minn, a team that is 17-9 at home, while the Sox are 9-12 away from Fenway. That series is followed by 3 with Det, the current AL Central leaders, then 3 with Toronto, who trail the Sox by 1/2 game. ) This leads to a return home, and a match up with Texas, the best team inthe American league. After that the yankees come to town for 3, followed by a trip to Phil. , the NL east leaders, for 3 in their ballpark. This 19 game stretch is rough, although we will look later at the 25 game stretch after that, in which the best team they will play will be the Atlanta Braves. If they can get through these 19 games with a share of at least the wild card slot, things will be looking very sweet indeed.

Mets vs. Sox game 2

2009-05-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

I generally root for the Mets, mostly due to my need to have a local rooting interest, and because they are the other NY team, the one that is not the evil empire. Anyway, last night was a game i figured would go to the Mets, with the pitching matchup pitting the best pitcher in the NL (Johan Santana) vs. dice-K's first game back after a lenghty Dl stint. Game played out about as expected, although I saw enough of Dice-K to be encouraged. Really, the story of the game was Johan's childish outburst towards kevin Youkoulis. Johan hits him (no biggie, no intent, not angry at this point). Now I imagine getting hit with a baseball at around 90 miles an hour hurts, and hitting your elbow and or hand probably hurts a lot!! So Youkoulis had the AUDACITY to look at Johan (pretty natural, when someone hurts you, even by mistake, it's slightly annoying) - Youk , walking to first, smiling, and rubbing the injured area, led Johan to get whiny. his quote "he's looking at me, I don't appreciate that." What is this, two boys on a schoolyard. Is it a prison? Johan was a little bitch, and maybe he was trying to fire himself up, but the reality is simple. He was a punk, a whiner, and I lost quite a bit of respect for him. Let's hope he blows out his arm, fucking douchebag!!

One Week Later

2009-05-18T09:15:00.000-07:00

O.K. it's been a week since I checked in. Let's see how the week has been for the Red Sox (hint, not so great!

The Sox were off on the 11th of May and coming off of a much needed series win against the Tampa Bay Rays. Beckett pitched well, and the team had the aforementioned off-day to look forward to before starting a west coast road trip. There were some concerns, including an injury to Youk that put him on the DL and an injury to Pedroia. Dice-K was still not ready to pitch and Big Papi was still struggling... and it would only get worse.

The team lost 2 out of 3 to the Angels, and david oritz hit (bad pun alert) a new low - in a game vs. the Angles, he went 0-7 and left 12 runners stranded! 12!! The team has since sat Papi down,with the hope that returning home and clearing his head will allow him to possible scrape out of this.- the jury is still way out on this one, and the team needs to consider the possibility that he will not return, and that they may have to move to plan B - ie. bring in another power bat, and if they can't find someone to replace him, they can at least strengthen the line-up. If Papi doesn't him, he is effectively worthless. I love the guy, but at DH he isn't like Varitek, who can justify a low BA. as long as he continue to play a good role behind the plate.

The team then went on to lost 2/3 to the Mariners. They are off today, and tomorrow start 6 straight games against division leaders, the Toronto Blue Jays and the NY Mets, respectively.

I like to check in periodicaly with the teams record, and project outwards over the 162 season. I checked in at the 16 game pt (1/10 of the way through), the 32 game pt, and then at 40, the quarter pt. At 16 games they were 10-6, projecting towards 100 wins. I certainly don't expect that to hold up. At 32 games they were 20-12. I like the consistency there, and the projection remains, although I still don't expect it. They are now 22-16 now, so depending on the next 2 games allowing them to hit 40 played, they could be projecting out from 88 to 96 wins. 88 won't make the playoffs, but I think 96 would win the division . 92 would be very, very tight. So we shall see.

Meanwhile the Yanks are starting to play very well, and with 3 straight walk off wins at home they are red hot! I suspect the next series between the 2 will start to take on more significance, and would love to see the sox dominance continue, but once again don't expect that to happen.

Beast

The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same

2009-05-11T16:51:00.000-07:00

"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men."

Woodrow Wilson, upon signing the Federal Reserve into existence.

"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss" - The Who, 'Won't Get Fooled Again'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_System#Criticisms

Too tired to go off on a lengthy rant here, but I beg all people to do their best to educate themselves on the economy. If anyone believes that what is being done now is going to fix the problems (very, very severe problems) this country is having right now economically, you haven't done enough research. I'm not suggesting that Obama is nearly as bad as Bush, what I am suggesting is that in the big picture, it's nearly irrelevant who is president when it comes to the Federal Reserve. From the moment Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act in the last days of 1913, this country has effectively been run by one force; HUGE MONEY. Far beyond what you or i can even imagine, the cycle of booms and busts consistently has one winner, HUGE MONEY. Dem or Rep. doesn't really matter either, their political representatives are simply playing their part in an epic show, and the best they can hope for is a starring role, perhaps as a senator, or a president, or a lobbyist, or a talking head

So as you try to wrap your head around the dizzying array of numbers you see in the paper and on TV, remember that this game is rigged. Small example that many of you should be familiar with. Notice how the banks who received the enormous amounts of bailout money, (your taxpayer money!) That was pretty nice of us, Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer, so the banks must be pretty appreciative, right? So why are they arguing about their right to continue paying huge bonuses to the very same "economic elites", the analysts that took your pension fund and flushed it down the crapper, took your 401K and started buying up derivatives, while you can't make your mortgage payment? Why are they angry that their credit card policies of egregious fees and arbitrary rate fee increases are actually being questioned? Because these "people", (using the term loosely, since those at the top of these institutions are less than human, since I always believed a human has some form of soul) don't give a crap about you,me, or anyone but themselves, for that matter. As corporate thinkers, they are effectively sociopaths, and we are their victims.

Beast

Going for 5

2009-05-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

I have lots of stuff to mention tonight, but the game is starting (hopefully) soon, so here is a quick hit, and I will try to add more a bit later when I sit down in front of the TV. I wanted to throw this out there now - I have a feeling that we may see some heat in tonights Red Sox game vs. the Evil Empire. The Empire is showing cracks all over, not the least is Joey G. from the bronx barking at first base coach Tim bogar last night in the 4th inning; apparently Joey thinks the Sox are stealing signs! Here's a sign - your 200 million dollar team just isn't good enough! However, with the Yanks dealing with the following right now (this is almost too sweet for those of use who see the Evil Empire for what it is; a bloated, greedy, arrogant bunch of whiny pricks who have outspent everyone for a decade and haven't won shit since 2000.

1. Jorge Posada (aka Dumbo, aka Douchebag) hurt his 37 yr. old hamstring last night and is hitting the DL for 2-3 wks. Listening to Joey G. on the way home he did not sound like a guy who expects Pissada back that soon. I try really hard not to celebrate injuries, but man, I hate this guy; always have, always will. Basically, he's a dick.

2. Joba Chamberlains mom arrested for methamphetamine sale, and here's the kicker: she needed a public defender because she can't afford anything else. Hey, way to take care of family of there, Joba, really classy. I figured Joba would like to take his anger out out and try to kill Youk again, but Youk is out due to a balky back, so perhaps someone else will be the target.

3. A-Hole - really, what is left to say about this guy. hell, even I feel like it's almost too much... but then I remember what a dick he is and say pile on, baby!

4. Whang - still trying to figure out what's wrong, he's probably close to a month away from returning.

5. The worst ERA in the A.L. - with a 200 million dollar payroll. = nice job, CashMoney!

6. 4 Straight losses to the Red Sox, who have been dealing with a variety of their own problems yet still find a way. Oh, and they do it with nearly half the payroll!!

All this leads to a feeling that Joba and Beckett might get in a beanball war, with my pick as the targeted Sox player being Jacoby Ellsbury, for that brilliant straight steal of home on Clueless hgh fan Andy "i'm a christian, and I repented, so all's well" Pettite. F' him.

OK, a bit longer than planned, but there is so much more, including Obama finally showing some stones and telling Corp. America to pay at least a bit of their fair share of taxes, what with the country in dire financial straits. Best yet are the Republicans, and places like the national Chamber of Commerce screaming bloody murder for daring to ask them to put some of their excessive profits back into the country that has allowed them such success. Wow, I though Republicans were uberpatriots, doesn't helping the U.S. by simply pumping money back into the system show patriotism, not to mention long term thinking?

Red Sox Update - no one out, Sox up 4-0, Joba gives up a 3 run homer to Jbay.

Sunday Check in- preview Sox/Evil Empire series 2, 2009

2009-05-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

So it looks like the yanks willbe rained out today, so advantage them for a day of rest prior to the next series with the boys from Boston. Furthermore, the Sox are starting Brad Penny today, who carries the odd combo of a 2-0 record with an ERA over 8!! Yikes - that could mean major bullpen usage, weakening the team for tomorrow, but after that 4-0 sweep last week, the Yanks need all the help they can get.

So now what we have with both teams is the following:

The Sox have a team ERA of 4.66, 7th in the American league... not what was expected coming into the season. In addition, one of the big 3 remains on the DL (Dice K)

The Yanks, on the other hand, have an ERA of 5.93, worst in the A L. Certainly not what the evil empire anticipated, with Job, CC, and Burnett. They also have a problem with a foreign pitcher, and no ones able to exactly what is wrong with Wang.

Papi isn't hitting for crap, Tex isn.'t hitting for crap. Both teams are still fightig at thee top of the division, and who really believes Toronto is going to sustain? Exactly. Now problems in april are slow starts, just getting going, etc, but problems that remain through may into June are PROBLEMS that require addressing before deep into July. So stay tuned..

Beast

Manny Who?

2009-04-28T04:25:00.001-07:00

So now this Red Sox train is really cruising along, 11 straight wins. This run started a few weeks ago, when the ageless Tim Wakefield took the mound for the series finale with Oakland 13 days ago, and he continues to drive this engine. Check out Wake's stats beginning with that game.

On the aforementioned date, April 15, Wake goes the full game, takes a no hit bid into the 8th, and ends with a 4 hit, 2 earned run game to start the streak.

1 week later he gives 7 innings of with 1 earned run in a 10-1 win against the twins, and finally last night he gives the Sox 7 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs scored. Wakefield is now 2-1, with last night's game a no decision. The dude is gonna be 43, yet he has pitched at least 6 innings in each start (with his first game his worst, a 6 inning, 3 earned run, 5 walk day. Even with that, Wakefield is giving the team length, sparing the bullpen, and now wins. With Dice-K out, what he and Masterson are doing can't be undersold.

Finally, Jason Bay, the quality team guy who replaced the bat of Manny Ramirez. Now there is no true replacement for what Manny does on with the bat, but I will take Bays's solid production and newly added clutch element. The 2 run blast against mariano on Friday, and now last nights blast, helping send the Sox to win 11 in a row!

Oh, and the Yankees lose... again. Now a 9-10 200 million dollar debacle!!

Monday night wrap-up

2009-04-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

So here we are, a hot monday night, and I figured I would drop in to catch up with my peeps. So the Red Sox continue to win, extending their streak to 11 wins, the Yankees lose, again, (4 straight, beautiful). I've read a few graphic novels this weekend (transhuman, streets of glory, Savage, to name three). Watched a few movies. (Dead and Buried, a cult classic from 82, along with Time Crimes, a witty mind fuck.)

I took a nice walk tonight, need to exercise daily... walked just over 3 miles.

Now watching Office Space on demand, sweat dripping down my face, relaxing.

NIce.

Beast

Spring Sweeping!

2009-04-27T04:19:00.000-07:00

Well, that makes 3 series sweeps in a row, and it is certainly safe to say the Red Sox are rolling!

What makes this even sweeter is the text I received from a buddy of mine, a Yankee fan. At 10:24 pm Fri. night he sent me a text "game over" - game over indeed. A blown save by Mo, a blown 6 run lead on Sat (first time in over 40 yrs the Sox have come back from 6 down to bean the empire), and then last night, with the steal of home(!) the Red Sox close the deal, 3-0 series beatdown. Sox have won 10 in a row, without Dice-K, without Ortiz doing much, and with their 3rd string SS.

Mo Who?

2009-04-25T12:32:00.001-07:00

So here's a funny story. My boss, who is a die hard Yankee fan (but a good guy anyway), and I stopped at Modell's so he could exchange some Yankee paraphenalia. He ended up being unable to complete his exhange, while I bought a new Red Sox hat that same trip. the Sox had been reeling, coming off the 2nd loss in Oakland, Dice-K was on the DL, and Beckett was facing a 6 game suspension. I realized that my previous 2 red sox hats had accomplished their goals (2004 hat, retired after 2005 season, and then the hat from 2005 to 2008, when they won but didn't repeat. It was time for new mojo!

Since I purchased that hat, the Sox haven't lost. They have won 8 straight. Swept 2 series. Beat the great Mariano in a come from behind win, they've got 2 wins from Brad Penny, 1 from Justin Masterson, Beckett won't miss his start, and my favorite player (youk) had a walk off homer to beat the team I hate most. Sweet. Now today, a cool matchup, Josh Beckett and his one time teammate, A.J. Burnett. Burnett iss 2-0 with a 3.2 ERA, so this should be a good matchup.

So now 22 minutes before gametime, I wait, with a summer sam nearby, in an almost too but not quite too living room.

Beast

NOM - Gathering Storm

2009-04-19T13:09:00.001-07:00

Hilarious and disturbing at the same time, it's frightening that people like this still exist in 21st century America. Then again, we are coming out of 8 years of the Bush Regime.... I suggest you check out some of the parodies of this crap on Youtube in order to cleanse the mental palate of this rubbish!!

Since Wednesday

2009-04-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

Since my last post, a quick, depressed, frustrated rant regarding the Red Sox, some good things have happened. First and foremost, the Red Sox have won 3 straight games, including a Wed. night gem pitched by old man Wakefield for a win against Oakland, followed by a terrific come from behind victory on Friday against the Orioles. In that game, Brad Penny came up heads down, and threw 3 innings with 8 earned runs! The Bullpen bore down and provided 6 innings of 0 runs baseball, and the offense finally cranked it up, coming back from a 7 run deficit to win 10-8. Sat. had Beckett, (still waiting to hear about his suspension) laboring through 6 innings but still able to keep the O's to 3 earned runs, and once again the bullpen came in to provide lights out relief and the Sox won 6-4. Additionally the team learned today that Josh Beckett could have his bogus suspension dropped to 5 games, allowing him to swap with Jon Lester for next weeks series with the Yankees, with Lester now pitchng Friday and Beckett pitching Sat, thus serving his suspension without missing a game. So.. FU Bob"I worked for the Yankees" Watson! Granted, the team still has no Dice-K, and Jed Lowrie may be lost for the season, but this minor leaguer Green is doing well in the short term and Lugo should be back soon enough.

Meanwhile, the evil empire opened their new Death Star and promptly were embarassed, losing their first real game ever in the new stadium. They were crushed 10-2 by the Cleveland indians, and big fat guy CC Sabathia, originally an Indian and currently the Yanks high priced ace. The empire squeaked a win out on Friday, only to suffer yesterdays joyful presentation for all other fans of baseball, parity, and american equality: an absolute embarassment of a loss to the Indians, 22-4, with a new record of runs scored against Vader's boys in one inning, 14 in the 2nd. As I type this, the Red sox are leading their game 2-0 in the 6th, Lester seems to have righted himself, with 7 Ks and 0 ER's, and the Empire is losing to old friend Carl Pavano 3-1. sweet!!

Son of a B**ch!!

2009-04-15T04:21:00.000-07:00

Flip on the laptop, sip my coffee, check the score from the late night Red Sox game and ... Another loss (team now in the cellar of the Al East, at 2-6), the loss was 6-5 in 12 innings, and... Thank you WBC, for giving me a pitcher who won 18 games last year arm fatigue in April, during his 2nd start!!!!! - I have long been on record as saying that if I owned a team I would not allow my players to participate in world competitions; this is exactly why. As if it weren't bad enough that yankee lover Bob Watson laid down a 6 game suspension on Josh Beckett (after an incident in a game in which Beckett wasn't even ejected, or warned by the umps, the umps who say they saw no intent in Beckett's pitch after ex yankee Bobby Abreu called time out in a bush league manner, ) Nope, now I get to lose my other ace! This is not good, not good at all!!!

Sav

AAARRGH!! - Awakening to another Red Sox Loss

2009-04-14T04:53:00.000-07:00

If it weren't for the Yankees getting drubbed yesterday and blowing a lead the day before I would be utterly despondent; instead i am only terrible frustrated by the Red Sox. 2-5 now, and if they don't win the next two against Oakland that will be 3 straight series losses! the Starting rotation, outside of Beckett and a reasonable start by Brad Penny has been a debacle. Jon Lester took his second start last night and came up with this doozy: 6 Innings pitched, 10 Hits, 6 Earned Runs. His season ERA is now at 9.00!!

Meanwhile, the offense has been equally frustrating: Ellsbury at .200, Pedroia at .179, Ortiz at .208, J.D.Drew at .150, and Lowell at .154!! Thank god for Youk and Bay at this point.

Dammit - need to win this series, come home and take 3/4 from Baltimore, getting the team to 7-6. Do It!

Red Sox update - one turn through the rotation

2009-04-12T06:09:00.000-07:00

So after a delayed home opener and a 39 pitch, 4 out save by Papelbon we're left with a 2-3 baseball team, losers of their first series of the season but with a chance for opening day ace to further show us fans/members of the Nation that his first start was not a mirage!~ After poor performances from the middle of the rotations (Lester's being most disappointing), only the 6 inning, 3 run performance by Penny, with a very nice 5 outs by Ramirez operating as the bridge to Paps, and the shaky but completed save, the team can still win today, making that a nice series win, and then look to take 2/3 from Oakland, with Lester and Dice-K needing to atone. If the Sox can grab 2 wins there then whatever Wakefield gives is bonus (which is how I generally feel about Wake - if he makes his starts, gets some innings eaten up (preferably 6 or more) and leaves them with a chance to win, basically not a whole lot different than penny,at this point.

My ultimate hope would be 50 + wins for the top 3 (49 more to go!), combined with 20 wins from the back of the rotation would put the team at 70ish wins. Add in 25 games you win with no decisions and come from behinds, and there is hopefully your playoff slot, if not your division!

Blogging the Red Sox - first game of 2009 (my first blog, not their opener.. never mind)

2009-04-11T15:08:00.000-07:00

So my first Red Sox game to blog about, after not writing the night that Lester pitched and lost. I know it's only the 5th game of the season, but for a Sox fan that is not too early to start worrying. I actually think it should be that way for any fan, but that's my opinion, man.

So after a brilliant performance by Beckett in game 1, the Sox lost games started by Lester, Dice-K, and Wakefield. They lost the first series 2-1 to the Rays, and a loss today would mean a second straight series loss, this time to the Angels. So the start today by Penny is bigger. for me, with a 5th starter in my rotations, I'm looking for 5 innings and 3 or less runs scored. Anything more or less is bonus. Well, it didn't look pretty, and I was unimpressed with Penny's physique, (have another beer and a jelly donut, jeezus), but he got through 5 innings with 3 runs, so not bad. thanks to HR's by Mike Lowell (F' U Tex, you d*@k, a 2 run blast, and another 2 run blast by Jason Bay (F' U Manny), and the Sox currently lead 4-3, 8th inning.

We're Talking Baseball

2009-04-07T16:38:00.000-07:00

Ah yes, the days are longer but still awfully brisk here in the East, and Easter is fast approaching, so it can only mean baseball. I've been a fan of the Boys from the Back Bay since my brief year of residence in the great city of Boston, so while i have suffered a bit with the team I would never approach true hardcore Sox fans and pretend to know their pain from back in the day. However, beginning with that history making comeback from a 3 game to 0 lead against that most evil of franchises, the huge spending, arrogant a-holes (not to be confused with The A-Hole, as there can only be one A-Roid, er, A-Rod) from the Bronx in 2004, things have changed.

Let's just take a look at the opening day performances for both teams and you'll see what i mean.

Yesterday the Overpaid avatars of unchecked greed (and hasn't that been good for the country,) The Yanks sent out Big Cheeseburger Squared (C.C.) Sabathia to return the evil empire to their self appointed role as top dogs. Facing the lowly Baltimore Orioles, CC took his $161 million dollar salary to the only team in baseball spending consistenly over $200 per year and took the ball, ready to help the Evil Empire begin crushing people again. Now lets have some fun with neighbors.

CC already received over 6 million in signing bonus, will receive another $14 million dollars this year, another 3.5 more in "bonue", and then will spend $23 million more each season for the next 5 seasons! Oh, and don't forget, this deal was signed during the worst economic crisis in the Modern American Era. Oh, and he was only one of 3 monster deal the Empire made this summer.

So what was the return on investment?

4.1 innings pitched. 8 Hits allowed. 6 runs, all earned. 5 Walks - 0 Strikeouts and an ERA of 12.46!

Meanwhile, after a rainout, Josh Beckett, ace Righty for the resilient fellas from Beantown made his opening day start today instead of yesterday. Once again faced with the task of taking their relatively paltry payroll into a season in which they have to match up with the Bloated Behemonth from the Bronx, he took the ball and delivered the following:

7 innings pitched. 2 Hits, 1 Earned Run. 3 Walks, 10 strikeouts... and an ERA of 1.29. Oh, and Josh does this for less than half the price (salary just over $10 million, and the club has an option next year for $12 million, once again about half the $23 million the Yanks shell out to CC.

But you know, CC must do something special in the post season to be worth.. oh, what's that. I forgot. Josh is the one with 2 rings, a post season record of 7-2, 3 complete games, including a dominating performance against the Yanks in 03, and an ERA of 2.90. (BTW, if Beckett didn't pitch hurt all of last season and the playoffs, landing him an 8.79 ERA in last years postseason, his ERA would be downright sick instead of just dominating.

Finally, instead of spending a gazillion dollars to get him, the Sox traded the super talented Hanley Ramirez to acquire Beckett and Mike Lowell, (a throw in at the time who proved to be a critical cog in their championship of 2007) - the Sox have to be shrewd because no matter how deep their resources, they can never outspend the Yankees.

How people can root for that team is just something I will never get. Rooting against the Richest guy in the room with every advantage, not that I get!

Schools Out. Any Question Red Sox = Good, Yankees = Evil

Dismissed

A beautiful Sunday Afternoon

2009-04-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah, take the upbeat Savvy while you can, we both know it's not lasting!

Check out this phenomenal painting,entitled "Saturn Devouring His Child" by Francisco Goya. Apparently,

Saturn Devouring His Son is the name given to a painting by Spanish artist Francisco Goya. It depicts the Greek myth of Cronus (in the title Romanised to Saturn), who, fearing that his children would supplant him, ate each one upon their birth. It is one of the series of Black Paintings that Goya painted directly onto the walls of his house sometime between 1819 and 1823.

Wikipedia. In regards to the artist,

In later life Goya bought a house, called Quinta del Sordo ("Deaf Man's House"), and painted many unusual paintings on canvas and on the walls, including references to witchcraft and war. One of these is the famous work Saturn Devouring His Sons (known informally in some circles as Devoration or Saturn Eats His Child), which displays a Greco-Roman mythological scene of the god Saturn consuming a child, possibly a reference to Spain's ongoing civil conflicts. Moreover, the painting has been seen as "the most essential to our understanding of the human condition in modern times, just as Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling is essential to understanding the tenor of the 16th century".^[11]

What more can one do?, from The Disasters of War, 1812-15.

This painting is one of 14 in a series known as the Black Paintings. After his death the wall paintings were transferred to canvas and remain some of the best examples of the later period of Goya's life when, deafened and driven half-mad by what was probably an encephalitis of some kind, he decided to free himself from painterly strictures of the time and paint whatever nightmarish visions came to him. Many of these works are in the Prado museum in Madrid.

Now this is my kind of dude! told you the happy, happy times won't last!

So the Slime oozes to Kentucky!

2009-03-31T19:07:00.001-07:00

Oh, this is too sweet. John Calipari, the kind of slickster sleeze, the coaching guru who just signed the richest men's coaching contract in NCAA basketball history, has agreed to take the job as coach of the Kentucky Wildcats. My prediction - within 7 years Cal has Kentucky facing some kind of NCAA violations. The man drips with slime. Let me give you the quick overview. He spents 2 years at North Carolina Wilmington, then transfers to Clarion. The beginning of his on the move mentality begins, no committment, no class, no real winning.

He coaches UMASS from 88-96, goes to final four, then leaves them with a scandal in his wake, in order to jump to the NBA for 3 seasons with the Nets. At 3-17 in his third season in NJ he gets fired and crawls back to the NCAA, taking a job with the Memphis tigers.

In Calipari's first nine years as head coach at Memphis, he won 253 games, posted nine consecutive 20-win seasons (including an NCAA record four consecutive 30-win seasons) and earned nine consecutive postseason bids. His 2007–2008 team's 38 victories set a new NCAA Division I Men's Basketball record for most victories in a season.

Sounds really good, right? Good enough for an 8 year, over 31 million dollar contract, with a 2.5 million dollar signing bonus to coach the Kentucky Wildcats. I mean, with those credentials, he is a winner, through and through. Except the primary difference between Cal and previous big time Kentucky coaches like Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith. Cal has a total of 0 championships. 0 Pitino has won a title. Tubby won a title. they never received this kind of money.

So congrats Cal. Lots of money, lots of questionable kids, lots of talent, but no character, no integrity, and no winning the big prize. Ah, the modern American dream!

A Swing Through the Sunday Stories

2009-03-29T12:51:00.001-07:00

Some quick thoughts, starting with my perusal of today's paper.

I didn't have to go any further than the first page to see the first example of absurdity. The story was prompted by the recent incident in Passaic county, NJ regarding the 14 year old Clifton girl accused of distributing child pornography, because she posted nude photos of herself on MySpace. So who exactly is she victimizing? Herself - so she should be designated with a Megan's Law label, and be forced to stay away from ..... herself? To be clear, I am not suggesting that 14 year olds should be posting nude pics, nor should they be having sex but guess what? They do, and they are. Should a 14 yr old who has sex with her boyfriend be arrested for statutory rape? Do we lock up both participants if they are under 18, and only one of them if they are older. This is the problem with a reactionary society, and it is the mentality behind everything from Megan's Law, DARE, MADD, Danielle's Law, etc. Of course we as a society want children safe from predators, drunk drivers, inappropriate use of dangerous drugs, but draconian laws and societal crackdowns have never been, nor will they ever be, the true solution.

So further into the paper we come to the Parade section. Basically this is the USA Today equivalent of the local paper. It usually is a nice piece of the paper to head into the lavatory with, as it really doesn't require more than 5-10 minutes to garner the useful portions. This week's was pretty good. The article was about the prison system in the US, and what an absolute mess it is. Here are some amazing numbers: The U.S. has 5% of the world's population yet houses nearly 25% of the world's reported prisoners. (Certainly there are many countries in which the people are not reported, but that can not possible account for the full discrepancy). This doesn't include the more than 5 million people who have left jail but remain under "correctional supervision", ie parole, probation, and other sanctions. This adds up to 1 in every 31 adults in in prison, jail, or supervised release. Price tag for US taxpayers = 68 billion per year. So some of the less enlightened of you (okay, the idiots, but you're reading my words of wisdom, so there is hope for you) are thining hey, I want the criminals, the violent, the dangerous locked up. I'm right there with you pal, but our tale becomes more depressing. Drug offenders, usually harmless users and their so called "connections" (which the police call dealers, because in the black/white world of the ignorant, you either are... or you are not. No nuance, no subtlety, because their puny brains begin to hurt when forced to... think. The pct. of prisoners locked up for drug offenses rose from 10% in 1984 to 33% in 2002. ( Congressional Joint Economic Committe, and yeah, the name is funny if you think about it in this context).

It gets worse. 47.5% of the drug arrest in 2007 were for marijuana. Also, almost 60% of the people in state prisons serving time for a drug offense had no history of violence or on any significant selling activity. 4/5 of the arrests were for possession. 75% of the drug offenders in state prisons were there for nonviolent or purely drug offenses. Is this really something that helps society? (Once again, for the unintelligent out there; the answer is NO!

Furthermore, in a time of economic crisis, this approach is even more dangerous. Legalization, with structured rules, regulation, and taxation would remove this enormous revenue source from the underground, allow for a potentially lucrative revenue stream, and put more people into the productive segments of society, as opposed to someone labeled with the "ex con" status, often pushing them into the underground economy in order to simply make a living.

Oh, and before I get too nuts and climb high on the soapbox, let's be real. Nicotine, big pharma, and alcohol are all are more powerful and damaging to society as a whole than Cheech, Chong, Harold, Kumar, Bill Maher, the Pineapple Express fellas, Cypress Hill, and Willie Nelson put together.

Pissed

2009-03-16T17:34:00.000-07:00

AIG
Bush
Cheney
Donald Rumsfeld
Eric Cantor
Fees
Gettin Fleeced
HMO's
Idiots
Jackasses
KKK members
Loudmouths
Morons
Nitwits
Owens, Terrell
Posade, jorge
Q.T. bashers
Ramirez, Manny
Scarborough, Joe
The politicians
Ugly people
Views of Ignorance
Wall St. Journal
Xenophobes
you
Zits

A suggestion for the Economy

2009-03-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

here's an idea to help our faltering economy. Anyone who voted for George W. Bush 1 time has to pay %4 of their gross income every year until the economy is stabilized. After all, Bill Clinton turned over a surplus only 8 years ago. Think about that. 8 years ago dubya was given a country of relative peace with a strong functional economy. If someone was stupid enough to vote for Dubya a second time they have to kick in 8%, 1 per year in office. Votes for Ronald Reagan are also worth 4%, but to be fair only his second term, because even I can't defend the state of the U.S. under Jimmy Carter. So the first vote for Reagan is a pass, even though his approach was the beginning of this supply side economics nonsense. Basically stuff the rich with as much as possible, and to hell with everyone else. A vote for George H.W. is also a pass, because he inherited the problem from Reagan. So if someone voted for Reagans second term and both of Bushes, and then voted for Mccain/Palin, they should pay 16% of gross salary until we are stable. In addition, the so called Red States, states which support neo-cons and believe in small govt., states which want tax cuts for the rich, can no longer receive disproportionate federal funding. It amazes me that the traditional "blue" progressive states pay the bulk of federal taxes, in order to subsidize the booger eating morons in red states who then turn around and want to dictate the terms of the countries cultural/ethical approach to everything.

This is why the Comedian is such a great character in Watchmen. he sees the absurdity of it all.

Sav

Movie Review - Watchmen

2009-03-07T10:22:00.000-08:00

It's no secret to anyone who reads my blogs or knows me that I am a big fan of comics and graphic novels (yes, they are different ). So it should surprise no one that I took the day off yesterday and sent to see the 10 AM showing of Watchmen, the first showing at the most convenient theater for me. The audience was probably a bit less than half full, but as hoped for, it was a serious audience ready to watch the filmic translation of the best graphic novel of all time.

The bar has been set high, because "comic book" movies or movies inspired by graphic novels and comics have become increasingly well done. In the last few years we've seen V for Vendetta, Sin City, Iron Man, The Hulk, the first 2 Spider-Man films, the first 2 X-Men films, Wanted, and some I've likely forgotten. The feathers in the cap for these films the last few years had to be 300 and The Dark Knight. 300 was a well done and entertainting film directed by Zach Synder, (director of Watchment) and it made a lot of movie for the studio. The Dark Knight was a great film, and amazingly pulled off the rarest of double plays; a great film that also makes huge money. i believe the success of The Dark Knight opened the door for a movie like Watchmen, both in it's ambitious scope, length, tone, rating , and budget. (Granted, we've also had The Spirit,Both Fantastic Four movies, Teenage mutant Ninja Turtles, the third installments of Spider-Man and X-Men, the newest punisher flick, DareDevil and Elektra) but it feels as if Hollywood is really picking up their batting average in their adaptations.

Watchmen the movie is a terrific experience, a great film. If you've read Watchmen you know the task facing the screenwriters was immense. The novel is 12 chapters, with supporting info in the back of each 28 pg chapter, along with things happening on multiple levels , and the book explores issues of political idealogy, vigilantism, what types of personalities would be attacted to the field of vigilantism, quantum physics, love, and so many other themes at the same time. it's an amazing piece3 of work, and no film would ever be able to adequately include everything without a 5-6 hr. film. So the trick was to adapt the 12 chapters into a 3 act structure, cutting material without losing the overall tone and themes of the book. I found the movie to be successful at this.

Just to be clear, this will include some spoilers.

The movie opens with the killing of the perfectly named Comedian. it's a powerful opening, and for those of us who read the book, a great depiction of the panels. The Comedian is one of my favorite characters in the book and film; not quite a nihilist, he reminded me somehow of the character Candide in Voltaire's book. The Comedian sees humanity for what they are, and he thinks the whole thing is one great big fucking joke. one of my favorite lines for him, is when confronted with an angry mob of violent masses in the street, he's asked by his colleague what happened to the American Dream, he replies "You're looking at it"! - Cynicism and gallows humor, the Comedian sees at the absurdity of it all.

The movie uses a brilliant montage to convey a ton of exposition to the viewer, to the tune of bob dylan's The Times They aRe a Changing . (The first of many excellent song choices, and the use of such songs to add a layer to the movie - nice.)

Soon we meet Rorschach, easily the favorite of the majority of watchmen fans I speak to. I recently read a piece from the great web site Aint it Cool News - http://www.aintitcool.com/
in which harry compares the characters of Owl Man and rorschach as the 2 sides of Batman. It makes a lot of sense, more so if you read/watch. Rorschach has zero compromise, for anyone. The rules of right and wrong are to never be compromised on. Ever. He is violent, asocial, and judgemental of all around him, even his "friends" He is Batman lost, without the spark of humanity that Bruce Wayne provides him with. Bruce Wayne has often had some element of family around him, via Robin and Alfred in the beginning to a full Bat family in recent years. (Lucius Fox, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Batgirl, oracle, huntress, the JLA, etc. Rorschach keeps a detailed journal, spies on his friends, and eats cold beans from a can. He stinks. Owl man is different. He is very smart, a detective, less physical, more cerebral. Oh, and while he enjoys being Dan Dreiber, regular citizen, he gets off on being Owl Man the hero. Literally, and we'll leave it there, but let's just say than slapping on spandex and exchanging blows with villians can be quite the kinky turn on for some.

The film moves in what could have been a dizzying or confusing manner yet keeps it all clear. Clear to me since i knew the beats and plot points, so I think it would be clear to others but can't say for sure. The film has flashbacks, and throughout the movie shifts among and between the following: Mars, present time, New mexico, the past . new york in various time periods, from the older heroes in the late 30s through WWII, through the Vietnam War (in Vietnam) to the late 70's, when heroes were outlawed, and only the Comedian (who went to the work for the govt, knocking off third world dictatorships and black ops (check out the sweet shot of Dallas, Texas and JFK!) Meanwhile, Dr. Manhattan, a man who died after exposure to a form of molecular disintegration only to find he was able to reconstitute himself - this effectively creates a God on earth, and is crucial to the piece. Don't want to spend much time on his character, but Billy Crudup plays Dr. Manhattan and it many ways it's one of the tougher roles, because he plays a man who has lost his humanity, and is now losing touch with humanity in general.

This theme of humanity, and human connections, is powerful, and many of the critic reviews I've read seemed to have missed the point entirely. Dan (Owlman) is sorty of lonely, disconnected. He visits an older gentleman who was the original Owlman, and Dan comes fully alive when he begins to spend time with Silk Spectre II, (leading to the first attempt at lovemaking, stymied by Dan's performance issues, issues that are resolved after some superheroing later, in full costume. (One could easily argue, and it's far too lengthy and complex to go into here, that many of these heroes suffer from identity issues. Rorschach screams at one point, "Where's my face" when his mask is pulled off, and he tells the prison psychiatrist that his name is Rorschac, not Walter Kovacs. - Silk Spectre I (played by the awesome Carla Gugino) is clearly bitter, like an old athlete who can no longer play, but misses the attention).

Back to the importance of human connection and humanity, one of the most powerful schenes in both book and novel is when Dr. Manhattan realilzes that human creation is indeed a miracle unto itself, just as amazing as quarks, quantum physics, and other scientific phenomena. This humanizing link is critical.

Even the Comedian has an interesting moment, one in which I will not spoil, but it's clear in the book, a bit less so in the movie.

I realize this a rambling review, but part of the problem is that there is so much cool stuff, so many things to talk about with a project like this, that it is overwhelming. I highly recommend seeing this movie. At the very worst, you will know what others are talking about, and my true suggestion would be to read and see Watchmen, then do it again! I plan to read it yearly because every read rewards you with some new nuance you didn't catch the first time through.

Sav

Rage

2009-03-03T17:31:00.000-08:00

I returned home tonight from work in a perfectly fine mood, happy to be looking at the mid week hump day tomorrow, since it is both comic day and my second to last day of the shortened work week, since I am taking the day off to see Watchmen on Friday.

Little did I know a small kernel of anger was heating up in my belly, slowly warming up and getting ready to pop!

I unnecessarily became quarrelsome with the wife, with me bringing up some older issues, basically unimportant, except for what they obviously represented to me, on a level below the surface, but not far below. I first derisively referred to N.J. GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie as "her boy", and she was irritated. We discussed it and reminded of the fact that he stood as an arbiter of morality and a corruption buster, and he arguably did a good job of that. (There is a case to be made that he went after a disproportionate number of democrats, but it is also fair to say that our state has more democrats in power than republicans) I pointed out that when presented with an opportunity to deliver a monstrous state contract, he just happened to award the job to his boss's firm, the illustrious John Ashcroft presiding. (Oh, we'll come back to him, don't you worry). This is hypocrisy, and hypocrisy angers me more than anything else, because it so often emanates from those in power.

I then bought up an old argument about an event in which Iwanted to verbally engage with a man who worked closely with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, at a time when Bush was going to veto an extension of funding for the SCHIP program designed to provide services to poor children. This kind of callous, "compassionate conservatism" is hypocrisy at its fullest, a "born again" who shows no real understanding of the message of Christ.

Clearly, the last 8 years have left me simmering inside, and I generally do not wallow in the negativity, but the shape of the country is directly causing hardship for me and my loved ones, and I am pissed off. Why the fuck are people so ignorant that they would allow the last 8 years to happen?

I'm gonna go be happy for a while!

Rules Of The Game

2009-02-26T17:43:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick rundown of what to expect if you read this blog. Basically, a list of 38 things that will probably be topics that repeat themselves. (Man that reads lousy, but no edits here, needs to be a 10 minute blitz so I can watch the Office.

Leading us to the first topic
1. TV = commentary by me, on the best stuff I see
2. Movies
3, Comics
4. Politics
5. Class Warfare, or rants about a system geared to retain majority of wealth in very small group.
6. Action Figures
7. Novels
8. Writing
9. The Gym
10. Work - in thinly disguised ways
11. Music
12. Aging
13. My niece, Tarrah
14. My wife, Kate
15. Our Cats
16. hypocrisy
17. My friends
18. George Bush
19 Dick Cheney
20. The Reagan Revolution, Reaganomics, and the economy
21. War
22. Religion
23. Cartoons
24. Duke college hoops
25. The Boston Red Sox
26. The Yankees
27. Any given opponent of the Boston Red Sox
28. Malcontent Athletes
29. Travel
30. Alcohol
31. Technology
32. Houses
33. memories
34. Family
35. Connections
36. Meditation
37. My neighborhood
38. Restaurants

See you tomorrow! )not literally, of course!

Israel launches missile attacks on Gaza - 27 Dec 08

2009-01-04T17:46:00.001-08:00

So a couple of Israeli's have died, which is terrible.. and the response is bomb the shit out of Gaza... nice. How many hundreds of innocent dead now? Pathetic, disgusting, and criminal... for both sides.

A trio of Douchebags (and an outstanding RU win)

2008-12-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

Ah, I am feeling kind of cranky tonight, (except for the Rutgers football team up 63-7, ensuring a nice bowl bid, their 4th in a row) = more on that tomorrow.

So quickly, here are today's 3 douchebags, specifically from the world of sports.

First up is surly, whiny bitch Plaxico Burress. Owner of a superbowl ring, an enormous contract, and the love of a city for his performance in the amazing Super Bowl run for the NY Giants last year. Of course, Plax is always unhappy, fined 40-50 times in his 3(!) years with the Giants, and now gone from the team. Why. Not for being a lousy employee, missing meetings, treatments, practices, or dogging it on the field. Oh no, the Giants were willing to coddle poor Plax, since we can all understand how tough it is to be a 31 year old multimillionaire. Oh, boo fucking hoo. Worse is articles like this one... http://bleacherreport.com/articles/88232-how-plaxico-burress-turned-into-a-criminal

which basically want us to pity Plax for growing up on the mean streets, struggling to get by. Hey, news flash, douchebag.. the mothefucker is 31, not 13. At what point does this guy look in the mirror and say "hey, I am a really talented dude. I can get a college education, develop as a human being, play in the NFL, and make millions before I turn 40, then have the rest of my life to chill" How fucking hard is that? From where I sit, not hard at all. Way to go, Plax, piss on your talent, your opportunity, your future. I originally thought that this man doesn't deserve prison, because shooting ones self is stupid, not criminal, but the more I read and think about this I realize that this man (?) needs to get smacked upside his head, maybe even in prison, since the 50 suspensions made no difference.

UP next is good old douchebag Steve Avery. Just look at this asshole. He's such a dick he has me commenting on Hockey! His most recent dick move... calling his ex girlfriend "sloppy seconds" since she no longer dates him but is apparently dating a teammate. Of course, in typical classless fashion, he said this to the media, thus punking out his teammate and his ex. What a dick! I've written about him before and nothing changed. A cattle prod up his anus would only be the tip (get it?) of what this guy needs, and maybe after a decade of special treatment he may emerge as a passable human being.

Note: Elisha Cuthbert played a really stupid character, (Kim Bauer on 24), but that is no excuse for dating this asshole. Come on Elisha, get it together!

Finally, Stephon Marbury. Really, just go away. You've burned through 4 teams in 11 years. YOu make 21 million dollars per year. You're 31 yrs. old. You couldn't play well with Kevin Garnett, one of the classiest players in the NBA. You wore sneakers that said ALL ALOne while with the Nets. The Suns got rid of your sorry ass and became a great team, while you moved on and helped the KNicks to become an NBA embarassment. You couldn't get along with one of the greatest coaches in all of the NBA, Larry Brown. You then couldn't get along with another arrogant douchebag who supposedly was your greatest cheerleader in Isiah "no class and I like to harass women" Thomas, and now the Knicks just want you to go away. Y ou've let down everyone in your life, most importantly yourself. Just jump off a fucking bridge, please.

Beast

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly - Nov. 25, 2008

2008-11-25T17:46:00.000-08:00

The good for today is simple: Ann Coulter has a broken jaw! If there were ever a more deserving victim, I can't think of one. This anorexic, toxic, harpie from hell, who has wet dreams of being in a group grope with the likes of Sean Hannity, Karl Rove, Rush Limbaugh, and the rest of the neo-con boys choir (that's right, boys... men have character and integrity) has a broken jaw... if only the rest of her body would break too.

The bad - Hank Paulson, that bald fuck who looks like the villians' henchman in a James Bond film is tossing around BILLIONS in what appears to be an attempt to burn through as much of this money as possible before President Obama takes over. (Yes, that's right, I call my country's leader President, not the figurehead appointed by a halted recount by the Supreme Court) - I really can't wrap my head around the numbers being bandied about, and once I find myself in possession of some heavy duty tranquilizers perhaps I will put together a lengthy rant on how I feel about this whole economic debacle, from the early stages of the end game (say, sometime around Sept. 2008) until now. I screamed against bail outs then, and continue to do so now. Oh, and BTW, for me to call some a bald fuck.... well, it takes one angry bald man to betray the brotherhood.

The Ugly - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/21/cyberbullying-trial-we-co_n_145458.html?page=6

"HI, I'm Lori Drew... I am ostensibly a full grown adult, but I like to intimidate and bully teenage girls on line, anonymously. It's great fun and when they off themselves, well I just pee my pants in laughter."

A special place in Hell for you, Lady.

Savvybeast

It's Been 12 Days

2008-11-24T19:07:00.000-08:00

For the love of God, can we get some legitimate decisions on this financial meltdown. Can we really wait until Jan. 20th for Barack Obama to lead this country. While it's clear his presence is helpful, since it at least shows the market the attempt at competent leadership.

Why in the name of all that's holy do people continue to believe that handing out hundreds of billions of dollars to wall street, Citigroup, AIG, the Big 3, ---- instead of what I strongly support, which is money being pumped into the infrastructure of this country. A kind of New Deal, with money being spent to improve our country, from everything like bridge rebuilding, city improvements, tunnels, roads... effectively putting people to work, giving them money, thus allowing them to have purchasing power, able to buy products, and continue to spiral outward. As opposed to Reagonomics, the trickle down theory of catering to the wealthy with the assumption they will piss some of that wealth to the less significant, i.e. The Middle Class.

Savvybeast

Why I Lean Democrat

2008-11-13T10:27:00.001-08:00

Well, I'm certainly not going to deliver some ultra lengthy explanation of my political leanings, and let's say right up front that I am well aware that a two party system is unlikely to ever truly offer enough opportunity to truly affiliate yourself strongly with any party. Unless you see the world in a starkly black and white way, you have to be frustrated with the labeling inherent with such limited options.

I really only thought of this post after reading the following from Tim Pawlenty, Republican gov. of Mrs. Savvy's home state, Minnesota.

"We cannot be a majority governing party when we essentially cannot compete in the Northeast, we are losing our ability to compete in Great Lakes states, we cannot compete on the West Coast, we are increasingly in danger of competing in the mid-Atlantic states, and the Democrats are now winning some of the Western states," Pawlenty said. "That is not a formula for being a majority governing party in this nation."

As if that weren't enough, he ticked off a few more challenges.

"Similarly we cannot compete, and prevail, as a majority governing party if we have a significant deficit, as we do, with women, where we have a large deficit with Hispanics, where we have a large deficit with African American voters, where we have a large deficit with people of modest incomes and modest financial circumstances. Those are not factors that make up a formula for success going forward."

Think about that. There is a clear reason so many people, including (and important to me) people of modest incomes and modest financial circumstances.

Regular people, basically.

I believe that a large portion of the current economic debacle is the market's long term reaction to what basically is Reaganomics, the idea that by protecting the uber rich as much as possible, the money will somehow trickle down and help anyone. Doesn't work, never will work. You don't build a house by starting with the room. You have to support the base, the structural integrity, aka the middle class. To point out that those who have benefited immensely from our free market system contribute more to the societal structure isn't class warfare; it's common sense.

Sav

Sunday Round UP - Nov. 9, 2008

2008-11-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

Ah, good evening, all. Today I have a quick movie review for you, the horror film by Neil Marshall, The Descent. An incredibly intense film about six women who go spelunking in the appalachian mountains, in an unexplored cave off the map with no help coming for them. As things begin to go horribly awry I cringed with the growing sense of helplessness and doom. A terrific movie, and one of the main reasons was the development of the six women, and of the sense that there were tensions and friction within the group, just as would exist in any tight knit group of intense individualists. This development of them as three dimensional people made the ensuing terror more emotional.

Shout out to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. As an alum I've been very frustrated by their performance this season, but with this win they move to 4-5 with a 3-2 in the Big east conference. If they run the table, a reasonably conceivable possibility, they would be 7-5 and could finish second in the Big East . That's a reasonable bowl bid, my friends.

Beast

It's Finally Here

2008-11-04T19:08:00.000-08:00

Finally, the first ray of hope for those of us with intelligence, compassion, ethics, morals, and common sense since George Bush stole the 2000 election. 2 wars later, an imploded economy, deficits beyond what this country has ever had, shredding of the constitution, (Patriot Act, anyone?) the outing of american spies (I believe it's called Treason)... ok, this run on sentence has gone on too long. Obama now has 207 electoral votes, 63 left.

Despite many people who should know better, much of this country has had irrational fears re: Obama. Thankfully, this is one of the few times that the country has surprised me, and despite the lack of intelligence amongst the masses, it seems that Obama, the smart, best qualified candidate will win. Is this the beginning of our country turning the corner... only time will tell.

Beast

I realize the pics are of the evildoers, but I feel it's important to remind people who the bad guys are. Joe Biden is the face of study leadership, that's why he is there.

Movie Review,Today's Hot Chick, and a cranked up Pennslyvania!

2008-10-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? I can't believe i;ve already let so many days slip by between posts.
So let's get to it. Today's movie - DOOMSDAY, directed by Neil Marshall and starring Bob Hoskins, Malcolm McDowell, and Rhina Mitra.

I like what I've seen by Neil Marshall. Dog Soldiers was his first flick, and the lead was the blond eguy from Rome. The friend of Titus PUllo. Anyway, that was about werewolves, a subject that's a particular interest of mine. A fun moive, and showed the potential of Marshall. I did not see his second effort, The Descent, but I've heard and read great things. Doomsday didn't disappoint. The movie is a mosh up of films like 28 days and it's sequel, The Road Warrior/Mad Max/Beyond Thunderdome, Escape From New York. The set up doesn't matter, just know that the chase scenes when people are being left to a fate worse than death (and we see that fate experienced by many people dying horrific deaths.), those chase scenes are incredibly harrowing. Just know that Bob Hoskins overacts, growling out tough guy lines littered with swears, Malcolm McDowell hams up some screen time as well, and Rhina Mitra plays one bad ass sexy bitch, an ass kicking honey along the lines of Carrie Ann Moss in the Matrix, (or more appropriately, Linda Hamilton in Termindator 2),

The movie was easily worth a fun watch, a violent, energetic, fast paced (the sound track is a lot of fun in and of itself) - as far as purchasing, i woiuld drop 5 to 7 bucks onit.

Today's hot chick, Rhona Mitra comes from the flick.

And finally, how about the state of Pennsylvania? You have a key battleground, one John McCain needs to have any hope of winning, (God help us all). Penn St. beat Ohio St. and remains undefeated. The Pittsburgh Steelers have been playing well, and lost a tough game to the NY Giants today. The Univ. of Pitt was humming along, until Rutgers kicked their butts Sat. (way to go, Northeast) Also, the Philadelphia Phillies lead the word series 2 games to 1, and are leading game 4 in the 7th, 6-2. The Eagles also won today, keeping pace with the rest of the NFC East teams, all winners.

I ramble.

A Movie Review and Today's Hot Chick

2008-10-22T18:36:00.000-07:00

Todays movie is a true B-movie classic, a hybrid cult flick that has only recently become available on DVD. It was recommended to me by my friend Les, a huge movie fan (particularly horror) and an all around pop culture geek.

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat - was released in nov. 1991. I hadn't even heard much about the film, vaguely recall reading a few bits and pieces about it once but forgot the name. Les mentioned it recently, and I checked out. Here's the set up, in brief. The town of Purgatory is populated by vampires, only the vamps are working real hard to refrain from hunting and draining humans. They follow Mordulac, a mysterious wealthy man who bought the town and invited all the vamps who wanted a new lifestyle to follow him. Things have improved for vamps, with the improvements in sunscreen, UV sunglasses, and skin protecting clothing, lip balm, and gloves. Basically, they can tolerate the sunlight. Better yet, Mordulac has worked with a human scientist to to create synthentic blood, allowing them to live quietly. To offer up much more than that would spoil the fun, so I won't.

What I will tell you is the film is a bizarre hybrid of comedy, horror, and layed over a classic western. Even better is the cast. David Carradine, M. Emmit Walsh, Deborah Foreman, Morgan Brittany (so hot!) and..... Bruce (the chin) Campbell. I couldn't recommend this film any more highly. If you like stuff such as Army of Darkness or Shaun of the Dead, I think you will get a real kick out of this film.

Sarah Palin doesn't know what a Vice President (VP) does

2008-10-21T17:38:00.001-07:00

Really? REALLY! Perhaps in her "mavericky" world view that's true. Or perhaps she has only followed Darth Cheney's VP antics, leading the Decider down the path to Iraq, Fascism, torture, Patriot ACTS, etc. Amazingly many people still worry about Obama. 14 days to a final rebuke of the neoconservative movement that has led this country to hell!

15 Days Until the Election

2008-10-20T18:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I remember a few years ago, when John Kerry ran a terrible campaign against The Decider, George W. Bush, in 2004. Despite the many mistakes already made by the Bush administration, after stealing the presidential election in 2000, ignoring the threats to our nation eventually resulting in the tragedy of 9/11 of 2001, and the unnecessary war in Iraq (well, really an invasion of a sovereign nation who had not attacked the U.S.), after this and so much more, JOhn Kerry lost. However, as a member of another nation, red Sox nation, I had the joy of their come from behind 3 games to 0 against the evil empire of the NY yankees. I told people then that I would have traded the joy of that championship in return for an end of the Bush regime. No such luck. Now, in 2008 it seems quite possible that after possibly the worst 2 term president in American History (and I blame every one you douche bags who voted for Dubya, your ignorance helped lead to the mess this country is now in)

This time, it's time for change. As Barack Obama says, Change is coming. I would have voted for either Hilary or Barack, and now that he is closing in, with good ole Joe Biden with him, I am very happy. I am also happy for Colin Powell, an honorable man who I have always felt some sympathy for. I believed he was unable to separate Colin Powell the honorable man from Colin Powell the dutiful military man, and this led him to carry the water for the neo-conservative movement, standing up before congress and the AMerican people and telling us all that Iraq absolutley had WMD's, when we all knew they didn't then, they don't now. Was Colin lying, or deceived? We'll never know, and I really wanted him to resign in anger, effectively telling the country that Bush had fooled him once, (shame on him) but Colin wouldn't be fooled again!

Redemption, for Mr. Powell? Or just an opportunity taken to help fix what he helped to break?

Crap - 3 Outs Away

2008-10-19T20:30:00.000-07:00

Bay, Kotsay, and Tek... Omg

Update: 11:51

Congratulations to the TampaBay Rays. They beat the Red Sox. No whining, no bitching. Winning 3-1 is a tough, hard nosed win. Lester pitched well. "Garza pitched better. No arguing. The truth is the Sox will be still be good next year. Varitek is a big decision. But the fact is , With Beckett, Dice-K, Lester for next year, with Papelbon and Okajima. Keep Bay, Ortiz, Pedroia, Youk, LOwell returns, healthy... Either Cora or Jed Lowrie, Drew, Ellsbury, (hopefully rebounds), .... Shit

Beast

Blogging During the Red Sox Game - Game 7 2008 ALCS

2008-10-19T17:13:00.000-07:00

It offered good voodoo last night, so let's check in with the heroes from Boston - 1-0 already, with a Dustin Pedroia HM in the first inning. 1 out, 1 run lead, Ortiz up at the plate, and Jon Lester looking to bounce back in the bottom half of the inning after a weak previous start. Considering Lester has battled cancer, returned to baseball, started a 4th and clinching game of a WS (last year in Colorado), pitched a no-hitter, and has been bigger, stronger, and even better this year... I feel pretty good.

Papi walks, 1 on, 1 out, Youk up -

Update - 9:41

So the Rays have tied it in the bottom of the 4th inning, an rbi double against Lester. Game tied 1-1, top of 5th, Garz strikes out Cora to end the inning. Garza vs. Lester shaping up, two young starters battling for a spot in the World Series.

Update - 9:55

Shit. Rays up now 2-1, bottom 5th. Lester in trouble, 2 on, nobody out, already gave up a run. This is big, clamp down, get out of this jam, ride that momentum into the 6th.

1 Down. 2 more to go.

OK, out of the inning. Damage controlled, game 2-1 Rays starting the 6th.

Tonights Big Game, Movie Review, and Today's Hot Chick

2008-10-19T16:32:00.000-07:00

Well here we go again. The Boston Red Sox faces up to another must win game. An elimination game. How have they done in these types of games? Glad you asked. No more shouts of 1918 for these guys. Instead, they currently sit at 9-0 in ALCS gotta win games.

From ESPN

Officially, the Red Sox and the Rays are tied 3-3. Unofficially, though, it seems as if Boston will enter Game 7 with a four-run lead. Only six previous teams have rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the ALCS to win the series, and Boston is responsible for half those rallies (1986, 2004 and 2007). With a strong performance from Lester, the Red Sox could make it 4-for-4.

So here we go again, and I, along with the rest of the Red Sox Nation, wait. 31 minutes to first pitch.

Movie Review - The Driver
Written and Directed by Walter Hill
Starring Ryan O'Neal, Isabelle Adjani, and Bruce Dern

Now many of you might think you aren't familiar with Walter Hill, but I bet you are very aware of his work, you just haven't associated the man with the work. Here are just a few of the cool things Walter Hill has been involved with, either as writer (w) Producer (p) or director (d).

Warriors (all time cult classic) - southern comfort, 48 Hours (Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte) , Red Heat (Remember, arnie and Jim Belushi, ) Trespass and Last Man Standing (a super fun western with Bruce Willis, basically a new telling of the classic Django (by Kurosawa), Fistful of Dollars/For a few Dollars More (Sergio Leone). He was also involved with Deadwood, and he directed Geronimo, Wild Bill, and The Long Riders.

The Driver can be best described in a way that I am stealing from a reader review on IMDB " an existential car- chase movie. Yet that doesn't come close to a full description. This is another example of cool 70's filmmaking. The movie was released in 78, and the characters are so super cool, so ultra minimalist, they have only titles "The Driver", The Alibi, The Cop, . Ryan O'Neal was very cool as Cowboy (aka The Driver) and I finally get why during that time era he was considered cool, (hey, he was hitting Farrah, when Farrah was the bomb).

Bruce Dern as The Cop is great, and today's hot chick is the gorgeous Isabelle Adjani - yummy. She plays the Alibi.

Blogging During the Red Sox Game

2008-10-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

Because it's just too damn stressful to watch the Sox game without something distracting me, I will check in with blog thoughts, during the game.

First thought, my local cable station TBS had some kind of technical problem and I missed the first inning, with the game finally clicking in just after Upton's HR for TB. Not a good omen. But that was followed by a double play ball by Beckett to end the first inning.

Move Review: In Bruges - This movie had received a lot of great word of mouth, from both critics and people I personally spoke to. I have to say, my wife and I didn't agree.

YOUK blasts a HR off James Shields - bang, game tied!

So how's that for a short review? Basically, I felt that the film (In Bruges) sort or meandered, with Brendon Gleeson the only watchable part of the film. However, a very strong 3rd act, and the addition of an outstanding performance by Ralph Fiennes salvaged the flick, making it a good watch, but no more.

Hey, Rutgers won it's homecoming game against Connecticut 12-10. RU moves to 2-5, with at least the faint hope of a winning season (have to run the table) or at least a strong second half and a .500 record, while seasoning some the younger players.

The Captain, Jason Varitek, gets his first hit of the ALCS, a Homer that puts the Sox up 3-2. This on the heels of the HR Beckett gave up at the end of the 5th. So now, top of 6th, Sox up 1. Win tonight, start Lester tomorrow.... staying alive.

UPDATE

Big Papi gets an RBI, REd sox go up 4-2. This onthe heels of an error 1 batter earlier by Jason Bartlett, allowing Boston to continue to move forward in the inning. Could it be

UPDATE: 11 41

Moving towards the 4 hr mark, the Sox head into the 9th inning up 4-2. Beckett grits out 5 innings, 2 runs, Hideki Okajimi puts together 2 shut out innings, (he's shaping up as huge for this series so far), and then the kid, Justin Masterson, hits a batter, but wriggles out with no runs. BTW, Boston has left 12 men on base, so if they win, they are lucky tonight, because they should have more runs.

beast

You think you know people

2008-10-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

Sort of a disappointing post today. I recently was saddened, frustrated, and ultimately disappointed to learn that 2 gentleman I consider to be great friends have succumbed to the mindless slander and mudslinging that has been thrown Barack Obama's way. Now let me be clear, I am not an "Obamaniac", I don't think he's the "Messiah", hell, I'm not even a follower. I am a guy who tries to pay attention, wade through the garbage, and see what each of these candidates has to offer our country. (These are both terms used by one of my lifelong best friends, who also referenced Barack Obama as supporting infanticide (no, it's not true. Go to Factcheck.org to check out any nonsense spouted by either campaign)

The worst was by good friend J. (first initial only) He's a very smart man, a nice guy, and someone who I would have never, ever considered to be someone who falls prey to the slander. Sadly, he and I had a number of emails go back and forth and the rhetoric coming from his was unbelievable. Obama ran with the Weathermen (right, when he was 8 yrs. old he was helping to plant bombs, ) He spoke of a fear of Obama, not trusting him, ... and this doozy -

Sort of like the guy Obama wants to sit down with with no conditions. You know, the guy who says the Holocaust never happened. Personally, I am pretty sure it happened because my buddy's Mom has the numbers tattooed on her arm. I've met other survivors, and just find it hard to believe they all concocted this story and went through the process of tattooing numbers on their bodies as a hoax. But, of course, Obama supports a man who believes that.

Sure, I trust him. /sarcasm "

Really, how does one argue with that level of untruth - there is really just sadness for me, becasue this is not true, on any level (if it is, please connect with the facts, I would be happy to correct myself. Diplomatic relations with one's enemies is what this country needs more of, not the Cowboy diplomacy we've gotten for the last 8 years . In case someone wasn't paying attention, that hasn't worked out so well. - BTW, that pic of the pin is a real pin, obviously anti-Obama, in Texas.

Oh, the market continues to crash, but John McCain wants to turn the page on that, and talk about Obama and... the Weathermen, and Jeremiah Wright.

This country needs change, and The Maverick and the Milf ain't it.

Sav

Sunday Round UP

2008-09-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

Yo, what up, everyone. Quick thoughts on this unbearably humid and very unpleasant Sun. afternoon.

How in the name of anything (God, all that is holy, fill in the blank here) can anyone still believe that John MccAin and Sarah Palin should run this country? A true example, a continuation really, of the idiots in this country (ex. Red State America, Religious Wackos, filthy rich, and the willfully ignorant_ who vote Party first and competency last. There is no room for debate re: the debate Fri., Obama looked like a smart, sensible, intelligent man who explained the nuances of many votes, pointed out the failures of the Bush approach to governing, and reminded people that John McCain is nothing more than an extension of Bush. Keating Five, anyone? (if you don't know, look it up.)

Yet the ignorance, (and racism, regardless of what people want to delude themselves into believing) continue to plague the Democratic party

Rutgers pounds on Morgan St., the homecoming game I was supposed to attend with my buddies, but we bailed out due to the awful weather. Anyway, RU wins, and maybe things will be a little bit better - Cinncinatti lost their starting qb, (their back up, really, but he was staring in place of their original starter) so RU will hopefully get them with their 3rd stringer. Pat White got hurt for wVU, next weeks opponent, so maybe that helps out too. Finally, the Navy upset win over Wake Forest, ranked 16th, at Wake Forest, makes the Navy loss look a bit better now. With the Big East starting next week, a win there would go a long way to adding some hope to this season.

Red sox begin defense Wed against Angels, and if they win that series, I think they go to the WS

Mets are choking ..... again. Surprise.

Beast

CBS Sarah Palin interview

2008-09-28T10:52:00.001-07:00

Or how about this? She gives incompetence a bad name, and shows the judgment of John "Insane" MCCain to be a danger to us all.

Sarah Palin, Thomas Muthee and witchcraft

2008-09-28T10:49:00.001-07:00

Really, Red State America? This is the woman you want a heartbeat from the presidency? YOU ARE ALL RUINING THIS COUNTRY - WAS BUSH Not BAD EnOUgh?

Sarah Palin

2008-09-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4478156n

REALLY!

I'm Back, and I'm Mad As Hell (and tired)

2008-09-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

Of Course the Fox News coverage is immensely pro McCain, and yet it couldn't have been clearer that Obama crushed John. - Racist overtone, by the smiling annoying Shepard Smith. Speaking with Chris Wallace. - I might puke now, --- or have more wine. How fucking stupid is this country? Has anyone listened to Gov. Palin? Really, this is the duo you want leading your country.

A national political campaign is better than the best circus ever heard of, with a mass baptism and a couple of hangings thrown in.
H. L. Mencken

Peace

Guns N Roses, Confirmation of a Hot Chick Pick, The Red Sox and mets Note

2008-09-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

Man, I wished Guns N Roses could have kept their shit together. Listening to the Ipod right now, shuffle, and Anything Goes came on. That isn't even one of the better songs on Appetite For Destruction, and yet it is still great! That whole album is great, from beginning to end. Earlier I listened to some cuts off of Slash's Snakepit, the solo project he had. I also enjoyed Velvet Revolver quite a bit, but it still wasn't Guns. I actually heard on K-Rock the other day that supposedly the Chinese Confederacy (Rose's long promised solo project.)

Check out the pick of Christina Ricci in the bikin, remember my earlier pic of her for hot chick of the day - pretty nice, right?

Hey, how bout them Red Sox. Winning 7-0 right now, with a healthy Beckett back in Rotation (he pitched fri. night, 80 pitches, got a win against Texas). The Rays lost already today, so if the Sox hang on for another inning, they are only 1 and 1/2 games back, with 6 more games against Tampa, 3 at home, 3 on the road. The Sox could win the division, and hold off playing the Angels until the Second round, unless they are upset by TB. Meanwhile, I believe the Sox can sweep the White Sox, the likely winner in the Central, and might be playing without their best hitter, Carlos Quentin, due to injury.

The Mets lost their second straight game to the Phillies, and now lead the NL East by just a game. Coming off last years implosion a repeat had to lead to blowing up the team.... right?

Third Day - Pet Peeve, Today's Hot Chick, and Today's Cool Song

2008-09-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

I try to walk at least a few times each week, and my favorite route takes me about 4.5 miles, and it includes a pretty lengthy but gradual ascent. It's a good workout and I like putting on my Ipod and just allowing my mind to roll, but there is one thing that really annoys me - thus, Today's pet peeve.

- Assholes who run sprinklers to water their lawns ...... and allow the sprinkler to soak water onto and over the sidewalk! Hey asshole, you don't own the sidewalk. Why should every pedestrian that takes this path be inconvenienced? It's rude, selfish, downright obnoxious, and reveals a person who is clearly very self obsessed. Since they water their lawns and consider the area constituting their house is far beyond what's reasonable, I suggest we react appropriately, by "watering" their houses with whatever, or however, we deem appropriate.

The hot chick is Katherine Isabelle, the smokin hot actress from the Ginger Snaps series of movies (good fun werewolf flicks) and she also had a nice guest spot on the TV series Supernatural. (see pic )

Finally, the song of the day is The Step and the Walk, by The Duke Spirit - I love bands with a strong female lead singer, and this chicks voice is very cool, unique, and infectious. Special note to the importance of good radio, the new radio station 101.9 plays a nice mix of stuff, including new and less mainstream stuff, like this song. I hear it, loved it, and due to the beauty of Itunes, downloaded the song.. now I'll probably buy the album, and this is what Metallica never, ever got when they fought napster - allowing people to have tastes of your music will entice many to purchase the full product, but cracking down and alienating your fans (and prospective fans) will often drive them elsewhere, for good.

Beast

2 Days in a Row

2008-09-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

O.K. Peeps, what up. I haven't really commented much on the Sarah Palin debacle, because much like watching a train wreck, your mind sees it happening in slow motion when you attempt to play it back (the actually event is very quick, as one knows if you think of anytime you've seen an accident - yet our memory playback is unique to each individual, thus you have 4 eyewitnesses often not corroborating the details of each other's versions.

Anyway, Palin is a mess! I thought it was a bad pick initially, although I understood why McCain did it. I think he was desperate to prove himself a maverick, steal some momentum from Obama, coming on the heels of the DNC, and provide a younger face to provide balance. here's the problem, you want to provide balance, not a striking and stark visualization of just how old he really is when measured up against the VPCILF (Vice-Presidential Candidate I Would Like To... you know the rest.) - Bad call, McCain.

But worse yet is the revelation that her 17 year old daughter is 5 months pregnant and her baby daddy is a self professed red-neck (according to his now taken down myspace page) - hmm, maybe this somehow does help in red state (often gooberville) America.

The fact is that the family values candidate, and mother of 5, avid runner, perhaps should have taught her daughter that abstinence is admirable, but sex is pretty damn fun (hey, she does have 5 kids and is a former beauty queen, ) and sometimes if you succumb to the volcanic urges of passion that bubbles through the loins of young men and women.

This is no attack on the daughter, and in one of the photos I feel really bad for her, it almost seems like she is a character in some trashy tv show (the new Beverly Hills 90210, anyone) - and she knows she really needs to tell her mom soon about the bun in the oven, but now mom is so happy with that old white haired guy John - what to do, what to do?

Beast

Pathetic Evil Empire, A Movie Review, and Today's Hot Chick

2008-09-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

In game check on the Yanks/Tigers - Yanks are in the process of coughing up an 11-2 lead, as they currently lead the game 11-8 in the 4th inning! How sweet, if they piss this one away, just like yesterday, and come one step closer to an off-season of oblivion.

I watched Curse of the Golden Flower yesterday and was pretty impressed. Starring Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li , and directed by Yimou Zhang, this was a movie filled with stunning visuals, lots of palace intrigue, and the figh scenes are epic and very well choreographed. At times I was a bit confused, especially regarding the relationship between the Emperor and his Empress (Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li) . The acting is top much, the cinematography is brilliant, and while I wouldn't put this on the must own list, it is definitely worth another watch.

Today's Hot Chick is MOntclair N.J.'s own Christina Ricci. I enjoyed her work as far back as her roles with Cher and Winona Ryder in Mermaids, her great Tuesday Addams in the Addams family, but her hot chick status was achieved in the terrific The Opposite of Sex. As the buxom, sassy and ultimately sexy as hell lead she definitely broke out and showed that she could carry an entire film. Although at times she has lost too much weight, thus lessening the impact of those bodacious ta-ta's and over emphasizing her somewhat triangle like head (ala Elaine on Seinfeld), I think Christina looks damned fine in both of the pics here.

Beast

Live Check in - Red Sox vs. White Sox

2008-08-30T16:49:00.000-07:00

David Bowden, the 21 year old called up from Pawtucket to make his first major league start, currently holds a 5-1 lead on the White Sox. Red Sox continue to make Theo Epstein look very, very good, with recent acquistions Mark Kotsay and Jason Bay. Both had big doubles and the Red Sox continue to have good news today so far, with the Beckett update and the Yankee loss today.

Sweet

P.S. of course I have to listen to the Hawk, the worst baseball broadcaster of all time, already dropping his famous :"ducks on the pond", referring to the Red Sox as the bad guys , constantly using the term "we" including himself as a part of the team. Oh John Sterling,. I could event listen to you now.

I'm Back (and Beckett will be too, in a few days!)

2008-08-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

Well, in typical Beast fashion, it's been 10 days since I posted, but let's just consider that my homage to Red Sox Ace Josh Beckett, who was scratched 3 separate times from his starts and two days ago I read one of the worst things you can read when it comes to your teams ace starting pitcher - Dr. James Andrews! Thankfully Dr. Andrews has eased the fears of Red Sox Nation, and it appears that Beckett's elbow is structurally sound, no concerns regarding the elbow. The Sox retroactively put Josh on the DL, and he could pitch Friday in Texas. Meanwhile, the Sox keep chugging along, winning 2 of 3 from the Yankees, beating the White Sox last night, and today another young up and comer (21 year old Michael Bowden) from their minor league system gets a shot to pitch.

In other news, both John "insane " McCain has picked his running mate, Sarah Palin? Who? - exactly. Check out this link to a great article from Huffington Post, and this paragraph in particular really captures the legitimate concerns.

It's one thing to discuss how unqualified Sarah Palin is. That's a national matter and huge. But on a grassroots political level, her nomination takes away the Republicans' ONLY weapon in the campaign - calling Barack Obama inexperienced. They haven't even been trying to run on the issues, or on the eight-year record of George Bush, which John McCain has supported almost 95% of the time. They've only been running on the faux-issue of Barack Obama's experience of 14 years in federal and state government. Yes, Sarah Palin is merely running for VP, not president, but with a 72 year-old candidate with a history of serious medical issues, this is who they're saying is able to step in as president in a heart-beat. She has so little experience that she makes Sen. Obama look like FDR, Winston Churchill and Julius Caesar combined. So, the Republicans pulled the rug out from under themselves. They have no issues. The economy? Housing? The national debt? Education? The Environment? Iraq? Afghanistan? Nothing. All they have is "Dear Democratic women: please pretend our VP candidate is Hillary Clinton. Just forget that she's pro-life. And against most things Democrats stand for."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-j-elisberg/the-worst-vice-presidenti_b_122491.html

I'll have more to say later, and also a bunch of reviews, as I try to catch up and get back (or maybe begin) to blog consistently.

Later,

Beast

Yeah, Yeah, 9 day gap - Today's Fear - Beckett might be Hurt!!!

2008-08-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

Dude, it's one thing to lose Manny. It hurts having Wakefield on the DL, no Schilling all year. Bucholz struggling, Tek not hitting, missing Dice -K. All not good. But reading today that Beckett is experiencing numbness and tingling in his right (pitching) arm? Since Sunday - NOT FREAKING GOOD. This Wildcard race is gonna go to the wire, and the Sox need all hands on board to make the playoffs. Once in, with a healthy rotation of Beckett, Dice-K, Lester, and Wakefield, with Paps closing games, and Okajima being solid, gives them a solid shot at beating anyone. But not without Beckett.

This sucks, I'm gonna go see Towlie.

Beast

"Oh, the Pain" - Joe Beningo (sp?)

2008-08-10T12:12:00.000-07:00

I purposely stole one of my favorite sayings for WFAN radios sports host Joe Beningo. I did this for the title because announcers are on my mind, after the brutality of last nights WGN broadcast of the Red Sox /White Sox game. The good part was the Red Sox and Dice-K looked great, and with the Yankee loss the Red Sox picked up another game of space. The brutal.... Chicago White Sox sportscaster and WGN employee Hawk Harrelson. Truly, truly awful, he may well be the worst broadcaster I have ever seen. Don't forget, living here in N.J. I have to suffer with Michael Kay and John Sterling (Sterling/Susan Waldman is a very, very close second with Harrelson.)

The most annoying part had to be Harrelson with his trademark "He gone," which he utters every time a White Sox player hits a home run. I've also heard him say things "Git outta here, go on" - It's one thing to be a homer, but the level of obnoxiousness mixed with his butchery of the english language, and his grating redneck tone - well, all we can hope for is a tumble from the booth down the steps, leading to us never hearing from him again. Do White Sox fans actually like this guy?

Here's a link to a website to truly ensuring that "he gone", looking for the removal of Hawk. Please join me in supporting their efforts.

http://www.heavethehawk.com/

Beast

SCREW YOU, BRIAN GILES

2008-08-09T09:31:00.000-07:00

Brian Giles, San Diego Padres outfielder, blocked a waiver deal that would have brought him to the Red Sox for the last 2 months of the season. He could have picked up an extra 2 million for the trade and then resigned with San Diego next year, returning to his home. He blocked the trade. So let's see, a 37 year old guy with a team that is tied for the worst record in baseball (with washington) had a chance to come and play with the A.L. Wildcard leading defending champion Boston Red Sox, a team looking for it's 3rd title in 5 seasons, and he said NO. There's a word for that, actually a few. GUTLESS. COWARDLY. SELFISH. LOSER. What's the point of playing if you don't take advantage of opportunities to win? Less playing time would be likely (almost definitely) in Boston, but you don't see Sean Casey crying about that. So my thoughts for Giles are FU!

Beast

Life Without Manny - Day 5

2008-08-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

Well, after sweeping the Oakland A's to start the L.W.M. era, the Sox lost to the K.C. Royals on Monday night. The team rebounded nicely and beat K.C. last night 8-2, with new star J Bay going 4-5. The team is now 4-1 since he arrived, and as I type this the evil empire is leading Texas 5-3 in the 7th inning, the Rays already won, the Twins won, and the Sox are leading 8-2. If it all holds up it's a wash for the day.

Karma is a Bitch!!! - Part II

2008-08-06T15:09:00.000-07:00

I don't know if anyone remembers my words regarding Yankee wunderkid Joba Chamberlain, specifically his classless bs in the game a few weeks ago against the Red Sox, especially with his constant headhunting of Kevin Youkoulis. I stated I wanted his arm blown out... well, the news isn't that good, but JOBA is HURT!!! - I almost never root for injuries for any player, but there is a short list of punks, scumbags, and all around douchebags that are not covered by this sense of good will, and Joba is one of them. (Others include T.O., Pac Man Jones, Ron Artest, Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, Roger Clemens, and Bruce Bowen... possibly Kobe Bryant as well.)

So now Joba is on the DL and is visiting with Dr. James Andrews, noted orthopedist... and all I can say is hey, Joba... don't fuck with Red Sox Nation, bitch!!!

A movie Review (Rushmore) and some babble!

2008-08-04T16:59:00.000-07:00

Currently have TNT by AC/DC pumping out... well, as pumping out music can be through small laptop speakers on a Dell, but I digress... anyway, does anyone else remember this song playing in the beginning credits of an HBO show about a family of bail bondsman, I think from N.Y. now this is going to bug me.

Anyway, checking in today with 2 movie reviews. First is the absolutely terrific Rushmore, directed by Wes Anderson, co written by Anderson and Owen Wilson, and stars Bill Murray in the first of his many dour, downbeat roles. The film also introduces us to "Max Fisher" , played by Jason Schwartzman. His Max is perfect, a goofy blend of a kid who was a bit of an oddball, but
with good reason. His mother died, his father was a kind but somewhat limited man, and Max throws himself into being a student at the private prep academy, Rushmore. This is one of my 2 favorite Wes anderson films, along with The Royal Tennenbaums. I enjoyed the Darjeeling Limited but feel no need to own it. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou probably deserves another look. I also have a fondness for his first film, Bottle Rocket. I discovered it when I first began to educate myself about independent film, so that is probably why I have an unusual fondness for it.

Rushmore also came out the year I started dating my wife, and we recently watched the criterion edition dvd together, a great gift from her from last Christmas! - We have a lot of movies to watch, it often takes a long time to get to a flick. Add in Netflix and well.. you see the problem.

By the way, Red Sox finish the sweep yesterday, a nice start to life post Manny!

Life Without Manny - Day 2

2008-08-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

So the second game in the post Manny era has now been played and things continue to look good. J-Bay hit his first HR as a member of the Red Sox , a three run shot that contributed to a 12-2 drubbing of Oakland, and if Dice-K can stay on top of his game, a sweep this afternoon is possible. that would be extremely nice given that this is the first post manny series, the race for the wild card and the division is nip and tuck, and the A's swept the Sox the last time the 2 teams played. Meanwhile, the Twins lost so the Sox now trail the Rays by 3 (still), yet lead the Twins for the Wild card by 1 1/2 and the Yankees by 2 1/2. The Yanks look due for a loss today, with Rasner vs. lackey, so I hope for the quad: a Sox win, while the Yanks, Minn., and the Rays all lose!

Sav

Life Without manny - Day 1

2008-08-02T09:41:00.000-07:00

Well the Jason Bay era (or the post Manny era, however you prefer to look at it) started nicely for the Red Sox. An agonizing 12 innings with a total of only 3 runs scored (combined) left the Red Sox with a 2-1 victory, and Bay hit a huge triple in the 12th and scored the winning run. He made 2 nice plays in the field, and his stat line read 1-2, 2 runs scored (both of the boston runs, in other words), 2 SO's, 2 walks, and his Red Sox BA. is .333. Now let's hope with Lester and Dice-K going today and tomorrow (respectively) for a sweep and a little momentum.

In other games that mattered yesterday, the Yanks lost (sweet), Tampa Bay won again, and Minnesota won. So the Sox continue to hold the wild card by 1/2 game over Minn., trail the Rays by 3, and the Yanks have now dropped 2/12 behind the Red Sox for the wild card, and they have Mussina on the mound today but Rasner on tomorrow, so definitely pressure today to avoid a possible 4 game sweep.

BTW, I mentioned in my previous post that it had been a rough week for both the Sox and myself. For me it's really just a matter of being sick most of the week, and now even today my ears hurt and my head is full of snot, my throat hurts and when I cough to bring up the gallons of nasty mucus in my lungs and chest that hurts too. Currently on some Zyrtec with Pseudophenrine, some Robitussen, and in the air conditioned attic- definitely want to get over this by Monday and start a productive week.

Beast

Red Sox Nation - Critical Alert!

2008-08-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a bad week for the Red Sox and a bad week for the savvybeast. Since I last checked in on July 27, Manny Ramirez is gone from the Red sox. Manny had quite simply become too much of a pain in the ass to tolerate anymore. I know people will say that this happens every year, but I don't remember it getting this ugly before. I actually began to feel that Manny might end up costing the Red sox games with his foolishness this year, a feeling I never had before. Given that, I feel lucky that the sox were able to replace Manny's spot with Pitt. Pirate LF Jason Bay. Bay is batting .282 with 22 homers and 64 RBI. He is certainly no Manny, and the missing presence Manny leaves is huge. Really, it is not a fillable void. So what the Sox have to do is improve the other parts of their game. The offense needs to find it's earlier balance, with consistent and timely hitting by Lowell, Youk, Pedroia, Ellsbury, and J.D. Drew. Ellsbury especially has been struggling. Big Papi hopefully continues to improve, and maybe Tek can get his avg. up to .250. The pitching has to be more consistently, with Wakefield and Bucholz not getting much done lately, putting a lot of pressure on Beckett, Dice-K, and Lester. Also, there is still not a reliable bridge to Papelbon.

So this team has a lot of issues, but the truth is that so do all of the other teams. The problem is that because the Sox have not pushed forward when they could have not find themselves in a fight with the Yankees, Tampa Bay, Minn., the Chic. White Sox, and even Detroit for 2 available spots. They currently hold the wild card spot by the slimmest of margins, 1/2 game over Minn., and 3 games behind Tampa Bay in the division. The Rays have never been here before, and haven't really had a tough patch yet this year.. yet. The Yankees currently use Sydney Ponson and Darell Rasner as starters. Minn. always seems to hang around but not be enough. Detroit still has so much ground to make up after an awful start to the season you wonder if they have enough in the tank.

As for the Sox, they have now been swept by the Angels twice, lost 2 of 3 to the Yanks, and if weren't for that sweep of the Mariners, this team would be in a freefall. This series at home against Oakland really needs a sweep to get this team moving forward.

A Day or Rest

2008-07-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

So today was/is Sunday, a day of rest. Unfortunately, the wife is on a business trip this week, so she left this morning. We had breakfast at the diner and then she left at around 11:30. Utilizing great restraint, I went to the grocery store and did the week's shopping. - I watched an episode of South Park, Season 1. Completed a pretty cool Spaghetti Western, A Bullet For The General. Fun flick. Watched the Met's kick some ass and worried about my boy Manny being Manny; now having a contentious sitch with the BoSox, and the Sox are at a critical juncture; the Yanks are on fire, the Rays are winning, and now it's up to Jon Lester to stop the bleeding in a must win type of game again against the evil empire, especially with the Angels coming to town tomorrow.

So how's that for a craptastic post?

"I WANT HIM DEAD ! ....

2008-07-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

I want his family dead! I want his house burned to the ground, and I want to piss on his ashes!" - Al Capone, as played by Robert Deniro, referring to Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) in Brian DePalma's film The Untouchables - The same could be said for newest Yankee Scumbag, Joba Chamberlain. I have been on record with my Yankee buddies that Joba is awesome, the real deal. I don't mind the fist pump, the attitude, the confidence. All of that being said, I also have had a problem with his personal animosity towards Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox . Last night Joba was dominating, having issued only 1 walk the entire game into the 7th, when he came inside (fine) at the head of Youk. If it had been any other Red Sox player I may believe Joba's nonsensical explanation of "it got away"... but come on, everyone knows thats horseshit. This is now the 4th time he's done this to Youk, and the intelligent Yankee fans (I know, members of Red Sox nation, that term appears to be an oxymoron, but there are some classy Yanks fans, and I am lucky enough to know some of them). Anyway, even some Yank supporters in the bar I was in realized that inside at the head is not acceptable. In fact, it's potentially life threatening, especially when you're throwing near 100 like Joba. Joba has clearly now shown himself to be a gutless coward, a man not deserving of any respect. He's classless, and as I texted my friend last night, I want his father dead, hope his arm blows out, and his mother is accosted by wild coyotes. The game deserves better, the rivalry deserves better, and the Yankees should demand better. Remember this, the next head high fastball that comes at Jeter, or A-Hole, or Giambi, is JOba's fault. I have absolutely know problem with inside pitching, and I have always felt that back in the day, when Pedro used to hit Yanks constantly (yet always below the head, usually in on the arm, or shoulder) that the Yanks needed to show they wouldn't be bullied. Yet under Torre they seemed to never, ever step up. Joba has infused an attitude, a toughness to the rotation. Too bad he has zero class to go with it.

Savvy The

Movie Review: The Dark Knight

2008-07-18T19:22:00.000-07:00

BEST MOVIE EVER!!!---- Not hyperbole, this is the gut feeling from a guy who's read comics for over 30 years, and took the day off of work to see The Dark Knight today. I considered going to the midnight showing last night, but my good friend couldn't make it until this afternoon. So I waited, and he suffered, as I probably punched him 15 times , saying BEST MOVIE EVER.

There is so much perfect in this movie that I don't even know where to begin. Which is kind of the point, because the film (yes, film) is greater than the sum of it's parts, and the sum itself is phenomenal. Earlier this year I reviewed Iron Man and considered it the perfect comic book movie - this is far, far more than a comic book movie. This film deserves to go on top 100 of all time lists for as long as those lists are made. I will attempt to speak to some of the highlights, but this film hs to be seen, in a theater. I intend to see it many more times, including at least once in an IMAX theater.

The film runs over 2 and 1/2 hrs, yet not once did I feel a lag in pacing. That is almost unheard of. 152 minutes of perfectly edited film. From this point forward, the review may contain spoilers, so read carefully. I will leave out a few of the biggest surprises, but I was shocked by some of the bold and truly shocking twists and turns in the script. So now, in absolutely no particularly order, (and inspired by the Joker's anarchistic viewpoint, ).... I have gotten so excited typing this that I had to stop and call my friend and verbalized my excitement, because I can't contain it!

O.K. Back to the post - The movie opens with a flourish. No big music, just silence, and a super cool bank robbery scene that another reviewer likens to the one in Heat. We quickly meet some of the important characters, including the Joker, Jim Gordon, Batman, and District Attorney Harvey Dent. (Arguably the tragic hero of the film, played pitch perfect by Aaron Eckhart. ) The film asks very big questions throughout, questions relevant to us, the audience. At what point do the ends fail to justify the means? And when we cross that line societally, have the ends become irrelevant?

the Joker in this movie is no hammy clown. It's fashionable currently to knock Jack Nicholsons portrayal of the Joker in Batman by Tim Burton (1989) but that's not fair. American society of 2008 is far darker than in 1989. (yeah, I will only write it once, because it's been overused far too much, but the post 9/11 world is different for Americans.) Heath Ledgers Joker is an apostle of.. nothing. As Michael Caine's Alfred says to Batman at one point "Some men just want to watch the world burn" - I've read references to the Joker's character as a terrorist, but that is inaccurate. He is an anarchist using terrorist methods to achieve his goal, the erosion of civil society and the destruction of the societal hierarchy. His point, and one that does not lack relevance, is that people accept much as long as it's part of the plan. As he says, a humvee of soldiers is blown up in the middle east and we nod but one mayor gets killed and the humans begin to scurry. As he tells Batman, people like him (the Joker) aren't insane, they are merely ahead of the curve, because as soon as the expectations of society become challenged, and fear and chaos increases, the people will turn on and cannibalize each other.

Another huge theme is the idea of escalation. Once Bruce Wayne put on a suit and began pounding on the criminals, in order to inspire hope amongst the citizenry, he upped the ante, and thus a void was created. It's a basic law of physics that each action has an equal and opposite reaction, and that model applies to human behavior as well, so it was merely a matter of time before a yin to Batman's yang emerged - The Joker.

I don't want to write too much yet on Harvey dent, since comic readers know who he is and what's coming, but others won't, so let's save him for part II of this review. kudos to the marketing mavens for holding back on some critical pieces of the film and allowing the audience to enjoy the ride.

And what a fucking ride it is. There is a second act climax that had me squirming in my seat, legs bouncing, hand banging the broken seat next to me, as sweat ran down by bald head. (Seriously, once again not hyperbole) - This scene, launching the film towards its third act, leads to the scene that will probably (and deservedly win Ledger an oscar), the arrest of the Joker and the way he conducts himself in the jail. The scene between him and Batman, and the dialog between them, is the mental core of the film.

Oh, btw, not only was I bouncing out of my seat, I also had tears form multiple times, and had trouble breathing steadily for a long section.

Man, I gotta see this thing again this weekend, maybe Sunday with my wife. I drove her nuts when I came home, because even after 2 beers and despite the brutal temps outside, I was rambling on and on.

Beast, out for now.

Today's Evil Bastard

2008-07-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

Hello, boys and girls, allow me to introduce you to today's evil bastard...none other than the master of disaster, Phil Gramm. Grammster recently turned 66 (on July 8) but he is recently known for this comment ...

"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession," he said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. "We may have a recession; we haven't had one yet."

"We have sort of become a nation of whiners," he said. "You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline" despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, he said.

Well isn't that nice for Mr. Gramm. Oh, by the way, he is the top economic advisor for John McBush... I mean, Mcain. So I guess if you feel the pinch of the economy you just need to buck up, pussy, and get with the program. Hmm, what does Mr. Gramm know that we don't? What is his secret to success?

Between 1995 and 2000 Gramm, who was the chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, received $1,000,914 in campaign contributions from the Securities & Investment industry.^(wikidpedia)That probably helped quite a bit. Wonder what contributions Mr. Gramm has made to American society... well, He was a champion of energy deregulation, which gave us Enron and blackouts and price gouging. He was a champion of deregulating the savings-and-loan industry, the bailout of which cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. And his leadership on banking deregulation helped create the current sub-prime mortgage crisis. - (Huff Post)

Well, at least he has a long, stable, loving marriage with a lovely woman, Wendy Lee Gramm... she is a true patriot, with a record.. oh, who the fuck am I kidding... Wendy Lee Gramm held several positions in the Reagan Administration, including heading the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 1988 to 1993. After a lobbying campaign from Enron, the CFTC exempted it from regulation in trading of energy derivatives. Subsequently, Gramm resigned from the CFTC and took a seat on the Enron Board of Directors. While on the board of directors she received donations from Enron to support the Mercatus Center.

So the rest of us just need to quit whining and let these filthy rich predators continue to lead us to the promised land, a land in which free market capitalism continues to fill the coffers of the rich while we decide between filling our gas tanks, feeding our children, or paying our mortgage. Ah, my country tis of thee, sweet land of liberty indeed.

Beast

Only 5 Days this time - Checking in With the Red Sox + Today's Hot Chick

2008-07-13T14:05:00.001-07:00

As I type this the Sox are 1 out away from reclaiming their rightful position at the top of the A.L. East. Yankees have lost, scoring only 1 pitiful run today, and Tampa has lost it's 7th straight. Bal. has 2 on, 2 out , 2 strikes......

So let's check in on how things have changed in the last 5 days. On July 8 the Sox trailed Tampa by ... shit, Aubrey Huff gets a hit and now the Sox lead is 2-1.

The Sox trailed by 3 games on the 8th. The Yankees trailed the RedSox by 4 1/2 for the Wild card spot. Now, as I type this, the Sox are tied with the Rays (and will go up with a win) and the Evil Empire is .. game over, REd Sox win... Theeeeeeeee Red Sox Win - (screw u, Sterling) Yanks 6 back in the division. Oh, and Big PAPI is due back, July 25, against the Yanks... nice. The Drive to make it 3 for 5 is on.

As far as the hot chick, that is none other than Amy Lynn Hartzler - a.k.a. Amy Lee, the lead singer and co-founder of the band Evanescence. She is 27, gorgeous, has a great voice, and is a classically trained pianist who took that skill and helped to form an alt metal band. What the hell more do you want?

Sav

Movie Review + Todays Hot Chick - The Professionals

2008-07-08T16:31:00.000-07:00

I watched a really entertaining movie on Sunday afternoon. It was a nice film to enjoy with the wife while we wound down from the 3 day weekend. the movie was the 1966 film The Professionals. Now listen to this cast. Burt Lancaster. Lee Marvin. Robert Ryan. - That threesome alone is enough to watch a flick. Cool as can be bad ass Lee Marvin, great in everything from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance to The Big Heat, Point Blank to the Dirty Dozen. Burt Lancaster, one of my absolute faves, whether it's as Elmer Gantry in the film adaptation of Herman Melvilles novel, the steely armed services officer in the Train, the Right Wing hatchet man in Executive Action, and a ton of other great roles. Robert Ryan, a classic tough guy in tons of movies, from westerns to Noirs, including The Wild Bunch and On Dangerous Ground. However, in addition to these three you have Ralph Bellamy, Jack Palance, Woody Strode, and the so gorgeous it should be outlawed Claudia Cardinale. Now that is a hell of a cast.

The set up is simple: Ralph Bellamy is a rich american living near the Mexican border. He has his handlers recruit Strode (playing a master scout and tracker), Ryan (playing a horse expert and a man good in a tight spot) and Lee to lead them on a mission: rescue Claudia Cardinale, the young, beautiful kidnapped wife of Bellamy, and bring her home. Ah, but there be twists and turns along the way, and lest I forget, Lee tells Bellamy he needs one more man, a man good with dynamite; Burt Lancaster.

My wife grew a bit tired of the film towards the end, feeling that a few minutes could have been cut off. I disagreed. I enjoyed the quest, and the interactions and slow respect that develops between the men made me think about the great Tarantino heist (without showing the heist) film Reservoir Dogs. There is even a line from Ralph Bellamy when the men are walking out where he says "Let's go to work", exactly like Joe in RD.

My favorite line of dialog is this exchange b/w Lee and Burt.

Burt " that Chiquita is 100 percent woman"
Lee - " Yeah, ok. anything else on your mom besides 100 percent women, 90 proof whiskey and 14 karat gold bullion?"

Great flick, well worth a watch, and likely a future addition to the DVD library.

Beast

Jeez, 11 days already?

2008-07-05T06:11:00.000-07:00

Well I have lapsed into one of my unplanned hiatuses from the blog, so in an attempt to offer a quick catch up, lets begin. the last post was June 23, and today is not July 5, 12 days later.

I saw Wanted with the wife and we both enjoyed it a great deal. I will write up a Review soon but the short take is this: lots of fun, visually interesting throughout, Angelie looks hot, sexy, and bad-ass! The film deviates dramatically from the Mark Millar written mini-series (which is also great, just an entirely different experience).

The mlb standings of June 23 had the Boston Red Sox at 47-32, sitting alone atop the A.L. East , 1 game up on the Tampa Bay Rays and 4.5 games up onthe N.Y. Yankees (a.k.a. The Evil Empire) - things have changed quite a bit, as a glance at todays standings shows the following;

Tampa Bay has the best record in baseball, and they sit atop the A.L. East 3 games ahead of the Red sox. Meanwhile, the evil empire sits in 4th place(!), 9 games back of the Rays, 6 behind the Red Sox for the Wild Card.

I finished a couple of trade paperbacks, including the terrific Cerebus Vol. 1. Cerebus was one of the premier success stories of the independent comics movement, a 30 yr. run by one man, Dave Sim. A small piece of a niche industry, but incredibly impressive for those of us who've enjoyed comics for decades.

I completed the box set of Season 1 30 Rock with Kate. I also finished watching a great noir parody, The Long Goodbye, by the always interesting director Robert altman.

What I haven't done with any consistency at all is exercise, and my gut is a constant reminder of that. Stupid gut.

That's the super fast, sloppy check in. HOpe to be back in with a much better written piece later. Todays agenda includes some exercise, dinner with friends tonight (the only annoyance is this is at 6, and the Sox and the evil empire play at 4, game 3 of a 4 game series in which the BoSox have already taken the first 2)

Sav

Today's Favorite Dialogue

2008-06-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

I love the written word, whether it be in a novel, a piece of a screenplay, or even from my long time joy, comic books. Here's a fun piece from one of my favorite writers, Warren Ellis. Creator of modern classics such as Planetary and Transmetropolitan (a book so good I was able to get my wife reading it!), this is from one of Warren's mainstream books from one of the so called Big 2 (Marvel and DC comics.) It's from a book called Thunderbolts, a team described thusly on the opening into page of each new issue

" Once they were among the worst examples of villiany mankind had to offer! But now, conscripted by the commission on superhuman affairs, they have been transformed into a force for social justice! They are the Thunderbolts - federal marshalls, empowered to track down and bring in unlicensed, unregistered superhuman offenders coast to coast! "

Okay, sorry for the lengthy lead in, but I had to offer some frame of reference for people. In a recent issue, the man appointed to head the Thunderbolts finally strips off his veneer of sanity and returns to his roots. I am referring to one of the all time great villains, The Green Goblin, or more importantly, the man behind the Goblin, Norman Osborn. Osborn has been heading up the T-Bolts, an excellent metaphor for the real world in which villains very often are put in charge of very powerful operations (Darth Cheney) - Osborn is supposedly cured of his insanity, the insanity that causes him to become the Green Goblin, but now, in Thunderbolts 120, with his home base under attack and all hell breaking loose, Norman returns to his roots.

Some of the scenes, and the one that inspired this post, is Osborn lifting up a long stowed away Green Goblin costume and he holds it to his nose, sniffing, and says the following - "Aaaaahhh. I'm so glad I never washed this particular costume. Smells like death, blondes and victory" - for fanboys the world over this evoked giggles, since Norman had sex with Gwen Stacy in the past and also killed her, crushing the spirit of her lover, Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man)

he then speaks in a monologue and has lines like this -

" Are you a self-proclaimed super hero? Why, shucks, sir, I sure am a regular guy in bad underpants who fights crime without understanding one damn thing about how the world works, yes. Yes. Excellent. I send you now to a concentration camp where you will be sterilized, lobotomized, tenderized, and pasteurized."

Finally there is this great line. While walking through the base when the attack has begun, Osborn is moving into an elevator to head down to where his goblin costume is hidden. He has the following monologue. - " There's a space monster and a mad swordsman loose in the base- shall we trust the huge security complement and the team of superhumans to deal with it? Oh, No. Let's make a complete dog's breakfast of the whole operation. So Norman has to clean things us.

"I'm a fricking martyr to my own innate heroism, is what I am. Norman Osborn, America's last hero. That's what I am."

What's truly terrific about that line is that it crystalizes what makes for a good villain in almost any fictional setting, a concept espoused by Stan Lee himself. Great villains view themselves as heroes in their own mind, so their motivations make perfect sense to them, and those against them are the true villains. That allows the writer to create depth of character, and the best villains always have character, however flawed it may be.

Wow, what a long post about a fairly obscure topic, but fuck it, it's my blog!!!

Movie Review - Hulk

2008-06-22T08:14:00.001-07:00

A little late on this one, but I wanted to offer my thoughts on the Hulk movie. I can't offer the same level of overwhelming praise that I gave Iron Man, but that really isn't a knock on the Hulk. The Hulk, for anyone who doesn't know, is also Dr. Bruce Banner (in his calmer moments). The Hulk is effectively the ID within all of us, a rage that is unleashed in times of extreme stress or anger. What this means a viewer is that Edward norton, (playing Banner) has to portray a very subdued, restrained side, in order to prevent the Hulk from busting loose. Iron Man, with the secret identity of billionaire genius playboy Tony Stark, is completely different. Tony Stark is a far more entertaining character than Banner, and Robert Downey Jr. runs with all the role allows him to be.

As far as a movie, the Hulk hits all the right notes. The movie assumes a certain level of familiarity, since the Hulk as a character is arguably more well known than Iron man (I was going to write Iconic, but that may be too strong. The Hulk has been around for 40 yrs, and with comics, a previous movie, and a popular tV show, not too strong - plus add in the repressed ID that is classic Freudian psychology and you have one hell of an interesting character. )

The govt., led by Gen. Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt) wants to tap into the gamma irradiated blood of Banner in order to create a military use for this power. Banner knows this is far too dangerous and is desperately looking for a cure while on the run from Ross and the govt. - Further complicating matters is his love of Betty Ross, daughter of the General.

What is nice about the movie at this point is that these elements are all nicely grounded in much of the Hulk Mythos, thus rewarding fan boys like myself. Little touches are the use of a contact Banner has, "Mr. Blue" reminiscent of a run of Hulk a few years ago with shadowy conspiracies, written by the underappreciated Bruce Jones. Also nice is the inclusion of Doc Samson, a character that most won't get but fanboys enjoy.

Now for the most important part - the Villian. The think ang lee didn't understand in his Hulk film from 5 years ago is that heroes are defined by their villians. Batman/Joker, Spidey/Green Goblin, Fantastic Four/Dr. Doom, X-Men/Magneto.. the list goes on. So for a big bad MF'er like the hulk, you better damn well have an equally big, bad MF'er to battle against. Imagine one of the basic laws of physics translated into story structure - Each Action has an equal and opposite reaction.- this, my friends, is at the heart of conflict, and without conflict, you have a dull story.

(BTW, this isn't just comics, it goes far beyond into other mediums. Scully and Mulder vs. Cigarette Smoking Man, Sherlock holmes vs. Moriarity, Bond vs. Blofeld, The Jedi VS. the Sith, good vs. the Bush administration, etc. )

The key to the villian facing the hulk is great casting; Tim Roth. he plays Emil Blonsky and he is eager to tap into some of the power necessary to fight the hulk Now the movie really starts throwing easter eggs to fans, with Blonsky being injected with a super-serum originally developed by a german scientist during WWII for a fella named Steve Rogers, aka Captain America! You don't need to know this but for guys like me it was great. Blonsky begins to become stronger, and unlike Banner, who realizes that the increased power brings increased responsibility and perhaps there is a limit to the amount of power any human should have, Blonsky hungers for more.. and more... and more... until he consumes so much he becomes an Abomination! Equal to the Hulk but with no moral compass, the stage is set for one muther of a fight. (Also note, like Iron Man developed quietly the character of the Mandarin, the hulk clearly shows us the coming of The Leader, another classic Hulk Villian

A great movie, exactly what a comic based movie should be, and hopefully a harbinger of the quality to expect from upcoming Marvel movies (Wolverine, Captain America, Thor, Avengers, and even a new, dark, bad assed Punisher.

Beast

Todays I-Tunes Purchases (and why)

2008-06-19T18:46:00.000-07:00

I purchased 4 songs today from the incredibly awesome I-tunes. (Incredibly Awesome? What am I, 12?)

Things Have Changed - Bob Dylan - I am not a huge Bob Dylan fan, but this song is easily one of my faves. I loved the way it's used in the very underrated film Wonder Boys. (Also great in that movie is the Neil Young song that goes "Old Man, take a look at my, I'm a lot like you were... " Not sure of the title, (hey, music isn't my forte, movies are) but the song is really poignant and it's placement in the flick is perfect.

Pulling Mussels From a Shell and Tempted by Squeeze - heard both of them on the radio today, and they have long been faves of mine whenever I am in a bar with a jukebox. Both are JukeBox staples and super fun songs. Tempted is self explanatory and Pulling Mussels is nonsensical but damned listenable.

Round and Round - Ratt - I'm a kid of the 80's, is there really any more explanation needed than that. I sure as hell don't need a whole Ratt album, but the single.. ah, now that is a piece of 80's heaven.

Red Stripe Reggae Dance Commercial

2008-06-19T18:25:00.001-07:00

Just a quick thought. I love that commercial, and I find it really funny. The dorky white guy can't dance, playing to the stereotype and making us all laugh. Even a white guy like me. Yet i can't help but wonder if a flip type of commercial would be acceptable as well. I have long found the double standard in race issues to be maddening. You see, I really don't give much of a damn what color someone is, cool people are cool, and assholes are assholes. Simple as that.

Another example of this used to be Eddie Murphy, back when he was funny. He often did a very funny imitation of a stereotypical dorky uptight white guy, (same with Richard Pryor) - funny stuff, and much of the humor stemmed from the truthfulness contained within. Yet if a white comedian did the same thing, I believe he would be labeled a racist. Need more examples? How about Spike Lee, who sees racism in everything - and who called Larry Bird overrated because he was White. Please. My point is this. As long as sacred cows are allowed, and humor isn't equal across all races, both sexes, etc, I will have a problem.

Sav

Savvy's 37 favorite songs of all time

2008-06-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

O.K., here goes. My favorite 37 songs of all time, in no order, with no real staying power, since I am doing this with a sort of free flowing thought process; creative spitballing, so to speak. This is off the top of my head, with referring to my CDS or my ITunes - basically selections unencumbered by too much processing. Inspired by the Jimi Hendrix CD I have currently playing, and the song off it which I love.

1. All Along The Watchtower - Jimi's version
2. Sympathy For the Devil - The Rolling Stones - one of my all time favorite stories within a song, and the line "Pontius Pilate washed his hands, sealed his fate" never fails to crank me up.

3. Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N Roses - I remember being a teenager in Sussex County and listening to the one good rock station we were able to get there, Z95 in Allentown PA. They started playing this song and no one had really heard of the band. I loved it, bought the tape. Soon after Sweet Child of Mine broke and the band was a household name.

4. Back in Black - Perfect, kick ass rock. Disclaimer: AC/DC is my favorite band ever.

5. Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel It is absolutely impossible for me to be in a bad mood when this comes on, no matter what is happening prior.

6. In the Air Tonight - Phil Collins - I know that Phil is pretty much a joke these days, but at one time his music was pretty cool. His early solo stuff is solemn and intense, and the use of this in one of the all time great 80's shows (Miami Vice) solidified this for me.

7. Loser - Beck - part of the college years, this goofy ode sounded unlike anything else I was listening to at the time. Funny, funky, and the use of sound clips from the previous pres. bush "I can feel it, I'm a winner" was great.

8. Highway to Hell - AC/DC - see Back in Black
9. Who Made Who - AC/DC - added bonus of being a theme song for a bad movie based on a Stephen King story. BTW, King, one of my favorite authors, is also a huge AC/DC fan.

10. Watching the Detectives - Elvis Costello - I really don't why I fell in love with this song, but after hearing it once it became one of my must plays on bar jukeboxes whenever I went out.

11. Sketches of Spain - Miles Davis - I can't pick a song for this, it has to be listened to as a complete CD. My first Miles Davis CD, and still one of my faves.

12. Plenty - Sarah McLachlan - File this under what my wife calls "whiny bitch music", I don't give a damn. This entire album is tremendous, and I used to listen to it so frequently I had to replace the CD.

13. Hurt - Johnny Cash - I also like the Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) version, but cash's version is heartbreaking. I first heard his take via trailers on tv for an upcoming season of The Shield, and couldn't get it out of my head.

14. Walking After Midnight - Patsy Cline - one of my wife's favorites, I've definitely become a big fan.

15. Glory Days - Bruce Springsteen - off of Born in the USA, which was HUGE when I was growing up, the themes of the song only began to resonate with me on an emotional level as I have gotten older. Aged like a fine wine, much like my next selections

16. Let It Grow - Eric Clapton

17. Stuck in the Middle With You - Steeler's Wheel - Tarantino is my favorite director, and after seeing Mike Madsen and slice off a cop's ear (!) this song is forever attached to that action for me. I like to think I did a fairly good recreation of Mr. Blonde's dance at my wedding.

18. Can't You Hear Me Knocking - The Rolling Stones - also part of movies, with Martin Scorseses' use of the Stones' songs in his films almost always perfect.

19. Enter Sandman - Metallica - I hate the Yankees, but the use of this song for the greatest reliever in MLB history, Mariano Rivera (no, not Billy Wagner, just ask Met's fans) as Mo trots out from the pen is electric.

20. Rain on the Scarecrow - John Mellencamp - might not have the name right, but I always loved this rocking tribute to the plight of the American Farmer.

Twenty seems like a good stopping point for now - check back tomorrow for the other 17.

Sav

Tim Russert

2008-06-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

Tim Russert, NBC's long-time anchor of Meet the Press, died at the age of 58 on Friday. The media world is filled with accolades and praise for Russert and what a wonderful icon of journalistic integrity he was. I humbly disagree. I realize this puts me in the minority, but I'm o.k. with that. I actually pissed off a very good friend with my casual dismissal of Russert's death . This occurred over drinks on Friday night. I've had a bit of time to reflect, so Salad, if you read this, here was my reasoning.

I will begin with a clear statement; I am not happy that Russert died. He has left behind a family and friends and I am sure he was a swell guy privately. However, I have a real issue with the journalistic integrity label. I used to watch the Sun. morning talk shows religiously, hoping that perhaps the media could help to cull some truth out of the politicians who were so blatantly destroying our country and my faith in it. This was primarily during the 2000 election, the 9/11 attacks, and the unnecessary invasion of Iraq. I watched evil men such as Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld appear on the show and lie... and lie.... and lie.... and lie some more, and Russert NEVER EVER REALLY CALLED THEM ON THEIR BULLSHIT!!!!! - Dick Cheney with statements linking Al-Qaeda to 9/11, statements guaranteeing the existence of WMD's in IRAQ, statements that "The insurgency is in it's last throes". - Russert is one of the, if not the, most powerful man in Washington politics, yet he provided a forum for these men to lie to millions of Americans on a show that ostensibly had legitimacy and credibility that the cable news outles (Fox, in particular) couldn't even approach, and this legitimacy was primarily the result of Russert's presence... and he never, ever really just stopped it. Imagine if he said, "Vice President Cheney, the statements you are saying have absolutely no verifiable facts behind them, and have actually been discredited numerous times. Why don't you stop lying and tell us the truth?" - I'll tell you why. Russert had become another sycophant, sucking at the teat of the corporate powers that be, fearful of biting the hand that feeds him and alienating the big names that drove the ratings for his show and allowed him to make a lot of money and wield a great deal of power. He hobnobbed with the Washington elite, and he provided a nice dog and pony show for the American public. That, my friends, is disgracefuly, and to attach the words "journalistic integrity" is an insult to the Edward Murrow's of the world, the people who laid it on the line in order to pursue the truth and present it to the American people.

Kevin

Holy Crap, it's been a week? - II

2008-06-14T06:40:00.000-07:00

Actually it's been 8 days since the last post. Busy busy at work. Let's do the quick check in

You know what, I really don't feel like making a big update. Bush is still president, with well over 200 more days filled with opportunities to further screw up this country. Dick Cheney hasn't been spotted in quite some time, which truly fills me with dread. You know that parental statement about children playing in another room, and you really don't worry as long as you can continue to hear them. However, when it goes silent is when the worry begins. Are they up to no good? Is someone hurt? Well, with Darth Cheney we know his deal with the Sith prevent him from injury, since his soul was long ago given away, so we all have to assume he is up to some nefarious plot.

Sox keep humming along despite missing Papi.

Maybe I will feel a bit more motivated later to post a lengthier list of thoughts, including thoughts on going out late on a Thursday night, something 37 year olds do not (or should not) be doing with any regularity! It was fun, though.

Sav

Bush, Boston, and an Anniversary

2008-06-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

Okay everyone, let's do the quick 3 day check in.

Bush's "legacy" continues: - a near 400 pt. drop in the Dow today, Oil closing at almost $140 a barrel, with the reality of of $150 a barrel by the 4th of July. Oh, and the unemployment numbers are in, with the biggest 1 month drop since 1986 (The Ronnie Reagan years, anyone). Oh the pain, and just in case you have forgotten, there are still 2 unfinished wars going on, both abysmal failures, and the U.S. continues to dump billions into Iraq.

Meanwhile, with my boys from Boston, I guess the first third has been far too quiet for the team. Only a week and a half ago the Sox were rolling, seemingly unable to have anything go wrong. Since then:

- Dice-K, their best pitcher so far this year, feels a strain in his shoulder and goes onto the 15 day DL

- Team hero and Mr. Clutch David 'Big Papi' Ortiz injures his wrist, goes on the 15 day DL, has a cast put on, and no one really knows what to expect. My optimistic prediction - shut him down to after the All Star Game, and hopefully that allows time for the cast to be removed and for Papi to regain range of motion in the wrist.

- Tampa Bay begins to really show their dirtiness, a carry over from their brawls with the Yankees. If I remember correctly, the Yanks/ Rays stuff started when a player from the Rays came around third and headed hard to home, barreling into a Yankee catcher, breaking the catcher's wrist. The Rays party line was basically that the Yankee catcher did not allow any room to slide, and he had to take him out hard at the plate. Hmm, ok. - The Yankees responded with a dirty slide by Shelly Duncan, spikes up into second.

So Thursday Night Coco Crisp tries to slide into Second and the Ray 2nd baseman blocked the base with his leg, and Coco banged his head on the leg. The next opportunity he had, Coco slid into second hard. Ok

So move to last night, when James Shields throws at Coco and hits him. Coco charges the mound, a brawl breaks out, Rays players are piling on and pounding on Coco. Final result, Coco gets a 7 game suspension!! Are you fucking kidding me? I know he'll appeal and hopefully get it dropped down to 4 or 5, but still. Meanwhile, later in the Game Jon Lester came inside on a Rays player and he got a 5 game suspension, and Sean Casey also got suspended. I give Shields credit for hitting Coco in an acceptable area but I am interested in seeing the Tampa Bay suspensions. How can they bitch about the Yankees blocking the plate, then have their own player block 2nd, and then complain! Screw these uppity pricks,
Meanwhile, more trouble in Beantown - Kevin Youkilis and manny Ramirez get into it in the dugout, and Jacoby Ellsbury rolls his wrist, but luckily that seems to be ok.

My wife and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary, and look forward to 40 more. 10 years together now and still not a second a doubt that she is the one for me!

Sav

Another 2 day check in...after a long f**king day!

2008-06-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

So it's been a long freakin day. I didn't get home from work until 10, and the first thing I discovered was that there was little wine left. Maybe half a glass.... then I realized the ac upstairs wasn't on..... but you know what, towlie was hanging out upstairs, and I have 2 Flying Fish Amber bottles of beer in the fridge, the Mets are on with Pedro Martinez pitching his first game in some time. The yankees got spankeed and Wunderkid Joba Chamberlain went 2 1/3 innings in his first "start" since it isn't really a start since everyone knows Joba was only going 65 pitches. (Check out the pic above of Joba... JOBA SAD!!!

Meanwhile, bad, bad news in Boston . David Ortiz has a partial torn of the sheath that surrounds his wrist. the latest is t his - he has a cast on, and doctors are optimistic that when they remove the cast in 2-3 weeks, Ortiz can begin working his way back into the line-up. With /Dice-K out as well, this is a test for the boys from Boston. The pitching will have to step up (Justin Masterson won his second game this year, Bartolo Colon is 3-0, and there is still a chance schilling will pitch this year. If Beckett can raise his game, and Lester or Bucholz steps up a little bit, I think they will still be able to win the AL East.

Also check out the pic of the gorgeous Reiko Ike, the lead in awesomely over the top kick ass flick, Sex and Fury. I will be writing a review soon, the movie has jumped to the top of my to buy DVD list.

Sox won tonight, 7-4 over the AL leading Tampa Bay rays - Sox cut Rays lead to a half game.

2 Day Check In

2008-06-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

Ah, a lazy sunday afternoon. Hanging with Towlie, watching the Yanks lose, seeing the Red Sox winning, sunny and breezy with low humidity outside. I played tennis this morning, took care of the grocery shopping, and figured I would post a quick note.

Since checking in, the Red Sox have won 3 straight, to improve to 35-24. Bartolo Colon won again, improving to 3-0, going 6 inning, 4 earned runs, and 103 pitches. If he is able to sustain what he's doing, he immediately becomes a very solid 4th starter, possiblly even a 3rd, (with apologies to Wakefield, I would rather see a one two three of Beckett, Dice-K, and Colon, with Wakefield, Lester and Bucholz fighting for a 4th spot.

Celtics clinced, headed to the finals for the first time since 87. Man, I am freaking old, since I was 16 then! 16!!!! That's half a lifetime plus 5!!!!

Finished a great book by Tim Dorsey, The Stingray Shuffle. The 5th in a lengthy series starring one of the best characters in fiction ever created, Serge A. Storms. Man, I wish a movie could be made with someone great playing this guy, he's insane. Literally. Yet he wreaks so much havoc and it's usually directed at deserving targets, you wind up loving him. Insane, over the top, stuff, felt to me like Tarantino writing a novel.

Beast

4 Day Catch Up

2008-05-30T18:31:00.001-07:00

OK, I haven't check in since Mon, so lets catch up on the last 4 days.

Work was work - nothing unusually stressful, basically a low key week.

I watched a pretty decent noir with the always terrific Robert Mitchum. The flick was called Where Danger Lives and Mitchum was basically a far too nice dr. who tries to help a young woman and the consequences he endures because of it. Basically no good deed goes unpunished. The end was not nearly as dark as I expected, which may affect your opinion of the film. For me Mitchum's performance is classic, a guy who literally begins to lose his faculties because of his attempts to be kind. Also good is Claude Raines, in a small but very important role. Recommended.

Finished a great Hardcover graphic novel, a story reimagining the origins of one of my favorite comic book characters, Green Arrow, aka Oliver Queen. The team that produced one of my favorite recent series, The Losers, Andy Diggle and Jock, combine here to make a great book. Recommended.

The Red Sox dropped 2 games in 3 days, and dropped from 32-22 to 32-24. They are 1-4 on a road trip right now, and ace Dice K has been put on the 15 day DL due to strained rotator cuff. Sounds like no big deal, and they are just being cautious, but one thing that worries me with Dice-K is the enormous amount of pitches he's already thrown in his life. Hopefully no big deal, but it sure is nice to have Bartolo Colon around right now.

The Celtics can clinch a bid in the finals tonight!

Towlies in town!

Beast

Movie Review - IRON MAN

2008-05-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I waited a few weeks to see Iron Man, primarily for 2 reasons. My wife wanted to see it with me, and I didn't want the experience ruined with the moronic masses in the theater. Finally we went to see the flick at a nice 10:30 am showing today, and all I can say is.... Perfect! This movie easily gets a 10, which a hypercritical guy like me almost never gives a film. In no particular order, here are some of the reasons this movie was so perfect.

Robert Downey Jr. (and the other actors) - I know that comic book movies aren't made for academy awards consideration, but dammit, RDJ is absolutely perfect. I am a comic book geek, have read comics for well over 30 yrs now, and RDJ is the embodiment of Tony Stark. Genius level IQ would be an understatement, with an immature, callous , somewhat superficial exterior, Tony Stark is a man without a purpose, until he faces his own death in the desert, at the hands of those who have benefited from his arms shipments. A merchant of death who finds a purpose, RDJ shows the cliched "heroes journey" (check out Joseph Campbell, if you don't know what I'm talking about.)

However, the character of Tony has some good friends, and you have to believe they see something in this man worthwhile. His 2 closest are assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth paltrow, and I forgot how damned good she is onscreen, its been so long since I've seen her. Hey Gwyneth, leave Apple with the babysitter and make some more movies.) The chemistry between Paltrow and Downey Jr is phenomenal, and the way they interact had a strong vibe of the Moneypenny/James bond sequences I've seen over the years. Great stuff.

Also in Tony's corner; James Rhodes, played by the always terrific Terrance Howard. An honorable military man, he sees potential in Tony to be better, and then watches it rise to the surface.

Finally, every good hero needs a great villian, and Jeff Bridge's Obadiah Stane is perfect. Jealous and greedy, he is clearly a man with some envy. Notice the large cigars, the big glasses of booze, the shaved scalp and full beard. This dude (pun intended) definitely wants to be at the top of the heap, and Tony Stark, son of Stane's deceased partner Howard Stark, is in his way.

Now for the fun bits for a comic geek like me:

James Rhodes looking longingly at a suit of silver armor, a different prototype in Tony's lab - can you say War Machine?

Faran Tahir's Raza, the villian in the desert, leader of a group referenced on a tv telecast as the group of the 10 rings - there is often a lot of camera attention on a large ring on Raza's finger, and any good comic geek could see early on that the next villian will most definitely be: The Mandarin, a great villian for Iron Man, probably one of his most famous in the comics.

How about the agent for SHIELD (with a few jokes re: the lengthy name until they realized they have the acronym for Shield - followed by that kick ass final scene, after all the credits roll by, when the 1 and only Sam Jackson steps out and introduces himself: "Nick Fury, director of Shield. I would like to speak to you about the Avengers Initiative!!!! (geek orgasm) - (for you non geeks out there, like my wife, who was puzzled because she thought Nick Fury was white, he is. But in the Ultimates, an updated, revamped version of the Avengers, Nick was drawn by Bryan Hitch to look exactly like Sam Jackson with an eyepatch, and that is exactly what we got.)

The Pacing of the film was perfect, the soundtrack was great, hell, the tie in action figures is terrific. Hell, even the audience was quiet!

This is a must own, and I will definitely see it in the theater again, which I do very, very rarely. Usually for Tarantino flicks and I did it for the last Batman flick -

Sav

HUNG OVER - or How the Beast roared last night (and whimpered all day)

2008-05-24T19:39:00.000-07:00

So I went out for a few drinks with by buddy Sal last night. We usually swing by a local Applebees because it's centrally located, has has 7 or 8 tvs lined around the bar so that we can watch almost any game (it's easy to watch soccer, hockey, the Red sox for me, the Yankees and Mets for him, etc.) We know the staff there and have a good banter with them, and practically next door is Shannon Rose, which is a little more of a fun, loud, colleg bar scene when we are feeling nostalgic.

So the night began easily enough, with a tall Samuel Adams for myself. (Tall is 20 or 22 oz., not sure) I had a second, and when I ordered my third we made the call to knock down some shots, and up came 2 Jagermeister shots. Still not too bad, but we were just getting started!

We ended up with another round of shots on the house, then I got another shot from a friend of mine there. We rolled out and walked over to Shannon Rose at that point, and started up with a couple of red bull and Vodkas - and then I had a Rogue Dead Guy Ale, my favorite Ale. -

Needless to say, my 37 yr. old body is not accustomed to that level of drinking. Oh, and did I mention I didn't have any dinner? -

I woke up this morning with a splitting headache and it basically just went away. I had some coffee this morning, gallons of water, some aleve, took a nap, put an ice pack on my head, and ate lots of awfully unhealthy crap (the best to sop up the leftover booze and feed my body's cravings: Sausage, Egg, and Cheese croisannwich, and later on for dinner thin crust pizza with sausage and pepporoni, along with a caesars salad.

The gym beckons to me for tomorrow.

Movie Review: The Yakuza

2008-05-23T04:21:00.000-07:00

Today's review is for a terrific film from the mid 70's, The Yakuza. Written by Paul Schrader (writer of 2 brutal american classics, Raging Bull and Taxi Driver, and Writer /Director of the underappreciated The Affliction, a film from the late 90's starring Nick Nolte and James Coburn).

The film was directed by Sydney Pollack and stars Robert Mitchum, Ken Takakura, and Brian Keith. Set in Japan the film explores themes of honor, duty, and respect that transcends the normal enemy/friend dichotomy. All of the characters feel real and the relationships between them are complex, just as real life often is. The sleepy eyed but grittily resolved Bob Mitchum Ken Takakura does a great job portraying Mitchum's nemesis/ally, a quiet and proud man who lives by a strong personal code of honor.

The set up is deceptively simple. Brian Keith's charater (Tanner) asks old friend Mitchum (Harry Kilmer) to help locate Tanner's kidnapped daughter, and requests that Mitchum bring in nemesis/ally Takakura to help. From that starting point we see a complicated plot unfold and without the use of any flashbacks we are slowly filled in on the relationships between the many characters involved, with some surprising (and illuminating) twists.

Highly, highly recommended, and yet another example of the quality filmmaking of the 70's in the pre blockbuster era.

Sav

Ho Hom, Another Day, Another Red Sox Win!

2008-05-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

Hmm, a day ending in Y and the Red Sox win... again. Today it was Asian sensation Dice-K, (not to be confused with that bum from the Bronx, Special-K). Dice-K moves to 8-0 now for the Sox.

The Sox have just completed a 7 game home stand sweep, after dropping 4 in a row. That's called rebounding from a hiccup in the road. A brief look at the last week:

The win streak began with a win by Dice-K, a 5-3 win over Milwaukee. Next up was a come from behind win in which young reliever Craig Hansen picked up the win, 7-6 over the Brew Crew. Following were 2 more wins, reliable Josh Beckett and then wunderkid Jon Lester in his shutout performance (7-0) Mon night. What gets really interesting then is spot starter Justin Masterson , a double A call up who beat KC 2-1, and then the next day ex Cy-Young winner Bartolo Colon begins rewarding the REd Sox Gamble on him by pitching his first win in a few seasons. Finally, Dice K wins again today to put a nice bow on it.

Meanwhile, the evil empire finally won again last night, improving(?) their record to 21-25. Woo-hoo. And for good buddy Woody, who loves the Runs Scored/Runs against ratio, the Yankees carry a -20, 189/209. Oh happy day.

Beast

N.Y. Yankees - Classles , worthless, Pathetic - Oh, and they carry a bloated 200 million dollar payroll

2008-05-20T17:33:00.000-07:00

I walked in and turned on the tv tonight to see the evil empire, losers of 3 straight, including an 11-2 pounding by the Mets Sun night, behind 9-0 in the 2nd inning to Baltimore?! - I thought maybe I made a mistake, since I was still giddy over Boston Red Sox (aka the good guys) pitcher Jon Lester pitch a no-hitter last night for the Sox. Which made him the second young pitcher to pitch no-hitters for the Red Sox in the last year, along with Clay Bucholz. Hmm, how are those young Yankee pitchers doing? That's right, one is hurt.. again... (Hughes, winless in 08) and the other just stinks (Ian Kennedy, also winless for the year)

God I hate the Yankees, and this is awesome!

Oh, and then down 10-0 the Orioles began taking cheap shots, coming inside (ok, part of the game, Jeter had been hit earlier, clearly without intent but I understand the Yanks defending their guys, but when Latroy Hawkins tries to whack some guy in the head.. well, that's the Yankees for you. If we can't win, hit someone.

Pricks!

Hankenstein ANGRY! GGRRR

2008-05-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

So big bad Hankenstein is angry with his NY Yankees, (aka The Evil Empire) - here's a few reasons why?

His evil empire is the most well funded in all of baseball, by a large margin. For the 207 million they put out, they have a 20-23 baseball team, good enough for last place in the AL east and 3rd worst in all of the american league. The two teams fighting for the A.L. East lead are 2 of the 3 teams daddy Stein hates most to lose too; the Tampa Rays (Steinbrenner makes his home there) and the Boston REd Sox.

Furthermore, the Red Sox are currently wrapping up what looks to be a 4-2 win against the Brewers, (make that 5-2, Varitek scored as I was typing) . Dice-K Matsusaka looks to move to 7-0, while the reactionary pick made by the Yankees in response to the Sox acquiring Dice K is an absolute disaster. The one and only Special Kei Igawa (my nickname, since I felt bad he didn't have a cool nickname like Dice-K .

Oh, and additionally, the Yankees lost again today, to crosstown rivals the Mets, the other team daddy Stein hates to lose to.

Oh happy day!!

Holy Crap, it's been a week?

2008-05-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been a week since I checked in. Here's the quick update. The Red Sox have struggled a bit, dropping 3 out of 4 against the Twins and then being swept in a 2 game series against the Orioles. Amazingly enough, the Tampa Bay Rays lead the A.L East, and the season is a quarter way done, so while it certainly isn't even close to reflective of the end results, it still is impressive for Tampa Bay to be in that spot with a 43 million dollar payroll, 29th in baseball. That means they lead both the evil empire (NY Yankees for newcomers) who spends more than anyone (207 million, for the last place team in the A.L. East. ) The Rays also lead my boys from Boston, the Red Sox, currently the wild card leader and 1 game behind Tampa in the standings. To be fair, Boston has the 4th highest payroll in baseball at 133 million, certainly nothing like the empires obese payroll, but still quite a bit.

Definitely glad it's Friday, the beginning of the weekend. Ah, sweetness. Currently watching Battlestar Galactica, the first of 2 viewings, since I'm taping it for watching with the wife.

Weekend checki in, 2 Movie Reviews, and today's sexy lady

2008-05-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

OK, so it's beena few days, so I figured I would take a few minutes to check in with my peeps.

As mentioned in previous posts, good friend towelie continues to be a regular distraction... but it's ok, he's only following his nature.

Meanwhile, the Boston REd Sox continue chugging along, even after wunderkid closer Jonathen Papelbon blew back to back saves (on Thur. and Friday night). Yesterday he settled back in and the Sox won again.

By the Way, as much as I like Beckett (especially for what he does in the postseason) - but Dice-K is doing great this year. I told lots of people that I felt last year would be his adjustment year and hoped for about 15-20 wins. He made 32 starts last year, finished at 15-12. The plus is that he makes his starts and earns decision. His era was 4.4, not great and he walked 80 guys. He stayed in the same zone in the post-season, going 2 -1 with 4 games started, and a 5.03 era.

He still throws too many pitches, and walks way too many batters, but he continues to improve. He's 6-0 this season. His era sits at 2.45, good for 4th in the league, and his last game was a 7 inning 96 pitch gem, with 2 earned runs, 3 walks, and 7 strike outs.

I also saw 2 great movies. The first was Lady From Shanghai (Is that poster freaking great or what?) - This was screened at the Big Screen Classics series I've written about earlier. The wife wasn't into seeing this particular flick so my buddy Sal and I checked it out instead. This is yet another film written and directed by Orson Welles that the studio butchered with a hackneyed editing job. The cut we saw ran at 87 minutes but I've read that one of Welle's original cuts clocked in at over 2 1/2 hrs. That's at least an hour of cut material, and even though I like the film very much, I can see where at least 30 minutes could have been added to make a more complete picture.

The picture stars today's sexy lady, the incomparable Rita Hayworth, (still believe her sexiest role to be in Gilda, btw) - with her soon to be ex husband playing "Black Irish", a seafaring rogue who plays the patsy to Hayworth's femme fatale. Add in her husband, angry and ugly lawyer Bannister, who likes to keep his thumb on the people around him. 2 others are his private dick who spies on Hayworth, and Grigbsy, an always sweating miserable bastard, fitting enough Bannister's partner.

Tons of twists and turns, with visual treats such as the two schemers Hayworth and Welles conspiring in an aquarium, with exotic fish swimming noiselessly behind them. (All the more powerful due to a monologue Welle's gives earlier in the film about a school of sharks turning on each other, and the famous house of mirrors scene at the end. (One of my 2 most favorite such scenes, with the the scene with Bruce Lee for Enter the Dragon.

The other great flick was Michael Collins, a well written, well acted, well filmed movie about truth, power, the concessions we make, and the price it costs people. Well worth all the hype you've undoubtedly encountered, a must see for fans of adult, intelligent thrillers.

Checking In & Some Movie Reviews - 2 and Today's Hot Chick

2008-05-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

So I haven't checked in for a few days, and the easiest way to explain that is to reference one of my favorite characters, Towlie, on South Park. There is an episode in which towlie finds himself in trouble, begins to come up with a great idea, then decides to ... clear... his.... thoughts (cough, cough) for a minute... and he immediately loses momentum. Ah, art imitating life.

I recently rewatched Layer Cake, a terrific British crime drama, with a gritty, complex plot filled with a variety of colorful (and very well acted) characters. Directed by Matthew Vaugh, Producer of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and writer/director of Stardust, this movie is a very post modern noir (or neo-noir, if you prefer) movie with a raw edge. Highly recommended.

The Red Sox are now the best team inthe American League (no surprise there for me!!!) - Winners of 8 of their last 10, the Sox have rebounded strongly since being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays April 25-27. The team has taken 2 out of 3 from Toronto, swept Tampa Bay and exacted revenge for the previous sweep, and now has taken 3 of 4 from Detroit. Barring any major injury, this team really looks primed to repeat as champs, and take their 3rd title in 5 years.

The last 2 pictures are of one of Roger Clemens' reported lovers, country western signer Mindy McReady. Allegations mention the two knew each other when she was 15, but Roger denies any inappropriate activity (just like he didn't use steriods, and oh, by the way, one of the other woman alleged to have been with Roger is drunken golfer John Daly's ex-wife... Jeez, uglier and uglier.

Beast

OH, let's hope if anything did happen, it was when Mindy looked like the hot pic, and not the later criminal pics.

Sav

Great Googley-Moogley, Mila Kunis is so freaking hot. - I always dug her on That 70's Show, and these picts re enforce those thoughts... hmmm

Monday Night and Feeling Groovy

2008-05-05T19:55:00.001-07:00

So Okay, my bood buddy towlie is in town, which is certainly a relaxing beginning of the week. In other news, I watched a terrific movie last , Before the Devil Knows You're Dead . Directed by Sidney Lumet, and starring the alway great Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, and Albert Finney in a very tense and dark crime drama about a robbery gone wrong and a family imploding in extremely ugly fashion. Led by Hoffman's bastard brother Andy, the film has some classic noirish elements, with weak, evil, and tarnished heroes. Highly recommended, and a future addition to the DVD collection, which is my highest praise.

Elsewhere, the BoSox continue to chug along, now at 21-13 and tied for the best record in the American League. they won again tonight, with Dice-K getting sort of an ugly win (5 innings, only 2 hits, 1 earned run, 8 walks, and 109 pitches.) Not pretty, but still he now sits at 5-0 with a 2.43 era he sits atop the best starters in the A.L. Add in 2 time World Series winner Josh Beckett, Young Guns Jon Lester and no hitter throwing Clay Buckhoz, toss in ageless Tim Wakefield and you have an excellent 5 man rotation, with ex cy young winner Bartolo Colon working on a comeback to the major leagues in a Red Sox uniform. The team is basically a shut down 1-2 punch for the 8th and 9th innings with Okijima and Paps. That means that the only weak spot is the 6th and 7th, if their starters don't go long. By the way, the offense is first in the American League.

Saturday Thoughts + Movie Reviews - Maxed Out and Breathless

2008-05-03T11:36:00.000-07:00

Once again, my favorite day of the week. Pretty lazy afternoon, the wife out doing her quilting thing. 2 goals for today: hit the gym and drop the car off for an oil change. Gym is done and the car is at the shop right now. I have a little get together tonight at my friends place (actually he and his wife recently moved closer by so I am looking forward to seeing them). - Unfortunately the wife is heading to a play tonight with her librarian friend.

I recently watched a documentary far more terrifying than even the worst horror film; Maxed Out. The premise is simple: America and it's citizens have a tremendous problem with debt. Consumer debt is completely out of control, primarily through the liberal use of credit cards (the worst kind of revolving debt possible), maxed out equity loans, second mortgages, and other consumer credit (car loans, student loans, etc.) Even more disturbing is the fact that the U.S.A. has effectively been borrowing from one area of the federal budget in order to provide funding for other expenditures, including making interest payments on the American debt owed. This has been a bipartisan process (although it is true that President Bill Clinton had the country running with a surplus and with a balanced budget; a budget Bush destroyed practically overnight.

The other flick was the quintessential cinema of cool, the rookie film of one of the progenitors of the French New Wave, Jean Luc Godard, ... Breathless. Surprisingly I had never seen this before; and having watched it now I get it. There is much about the picture I found annoying, but upon completion I began to examine the flick in a different light. The key, for me, is remembering that this movie came out in 1960, so the many techniques used by Godard were groundbreaking. Having watched decades of films inspired by Godard it's easy to forget that the original is still to be praised for its utter uniqueness. Also the flick gives us today's babe of the day, the pixieish Jean Seberg, shown above.

Hey, if the evil empire wins today they can return to being the best .500 baseball team money can buy!

Her comes May - Sox in First!

2008-04-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

So the good guys from Boston have now won 2 in a row, a 1-0 game in which Jon Lester went 8 innings of shut-out baseball against Toronto, dueling Roy Halladay for the Blue Jays, who threw a complete game loss! (worse yet for Halladay, his third straight cg without a win) and Papelbon came in to nail it down. Then tonight Dice-K goes 7 shut out innings and the Red Sox pull ahead in the 9th to win again in dramatic fashion. They sit atop the A.L. East leading Baltimore and Tampa Bay by a game. As Hank would say " the order has been restored to the universe" - oh, and the Yankees young guns went 0- for the month of April, and the best 200 million dollar team money can buy sits under .500 going into May. Sweetness

Man my fucking legs aches. I worked out for the second time this week, walking to the gym, lifting, doing a mile on the elliptical machine, and then walked home. Sore, sore, sore. Good to be pushing my body, though, especially with my unappreciated (by me) gut! It's not going anywhere on it's own, he's gonna have to be kicked off the premises. And as any landlored will tell you, eviction of a tenant is a bitch.

Oh, how happy would the evil empire be if one of their young guns performed the way Lester and bucholz have!

Iron Man opens this weekend. - It looks f'ing awesome!

Saturday Afternoon, Feeling Fine

2008-04-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

Ah, Saturday afternoon and all is well. Easily my favorite day of the week since I've been lucky enough to work one normal m-f 5 day a week job. Never underestimate the importance of that schedule. Many people are unable to have such a set patter, and appreciating it is a must for it continuing.

I recently watched a couple of great movies. The most recent is Maxed Out, a documentary about the terrifying level of debt existent in this country, both from individuals and from our government. The govt. has to borrow against money earmarked for future payouts (pensions, medicaid, SSA, SSI, SSDI, and many other funds earmarked for the future. They use this borrowed money as payment on debt the government itself owes - but only the interest. Because that is all they can afford. This is the equivalent of using cash advance off one credit card to pay another cc bill off. It can not continue indefinitely!

Here's this little tidbit from Alan Greenspan,

The worst-case scenario is a sudden crisis — perhaps a major terrorist attack or a shutoff of oil from the Middle East — that triggers a loss of confidence by investors in the U.S. economy. Foreign investors refuse to lend more money to the government to finance its deficits; drastic tax increases and benefit cuts occur suddenly; the dollar's value plummets, which raises the cost of imported goods; and a severe recession or depression results from falling incomes.

Happy, Happy Joy, Joy!!!

Dazed and Confused with TOYS IN THE ATTIC!!!

April 20 (and a cranky one at that)

2008-04-20T15:14:00.000-07:00

A response to the comments on yesterdays blog:

hey old man,

I'm not wrong at all. I agree with both of your points, and of course I was being somewhat facetious, but my point remains valid. I like Woody's point about "stupidly" overpaying for the next level down. Fair enough. However, the truth is the truth; the Yankees have such an incredible safety net provided to via the extra cash. It's an unfair advantage that they can poach stellar talent from other franchises who can not afford to retain their own talented young players. In addition , the Yankees do not have to ever worry about losing someone to another club. If the Yanks want someone, they get him.

It pisses off Yankee fans that the Red Sox (who I have always acknowledged spent much more than most other teams) continue to spend far less than the evil empire yet win. Manny and Papi are two examples of players the Sox signed for expensive yet relatively reasonable contracts and their ROI has been tremendous. It is true the yanks payroll will come down a bit next year, with Pettite, Giambi, and Pavano off the payroll, and the Sox will have to resign Varitek (Thanks, Yanks, for giving Posada that absurd deal with the Sox will have to match now!!), resign Beckett, and hope Manny is happy with the team option.

I would love to see a decade in which the league implemented a cap and basement for teams, ranging from 60 mil to 130 mil. The Sox would be fine, but the Yanks wouldn't. If they can't win while overspending, could they win on a more level field.

Oh, and the Sox win again today, second come from behind victory in a row. Lead AL east at 13-7. The order of goodness remains, despite Blustering idiot Hank Steinbrenner!!!

Beast

$73,888, 377

2008-04-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

Once again I have to point out the absurdity of the Evil Empire's competitive advantage over everyone else in baseball, which amuses me since the obscene amount of money spent hasn't yielded significant wins (i.e. World Series championships) this century. Yes, I know, the Yankee lovers will say I am unreasonable, much the same way the filthy rich in America (top 1 pct.) cry "class warfare" when anyone points out maybe they shouldn't control %99 of the country's wealth.

The truth is that both the Yankee fan and the obscenely wealthy are wrong, and all they can do is is try to turn it around, because there is no legit position to stand on. Seriously, almost 74 million dollars more than the Sox? People say to me that I can't complain, the Sox spend plenty, but I can't help but wonder what the Sox could buy with another 74 million bucks. How about Johan Santannas (17 mil), Roy Oswalt, (13 mil), and Roy Halladay (10 million) ? Hmm, that's only 40 million, so the Sox would still be 34 million behind the Yanks, and they would have a rotation of Beckett, Dice-K, Santanna, Oswalt, and Halladay. - OK, the Sox are weak at SS - how about Jose Reyes, at about 4.5 million? Still got 29 million left. Let's add Joe Maur from Minn. to split time with Varitek, Mauer only costs about 6.5 mil. Still have over 22 million left. Since you can always use more relief pitching, let's add B.J. Ryan, figure he comes back healthy, can pitch middle relief for us. At 12 million, that still leaves the Sox behind the Yanks by 10 million bucks. Do you get the picture now, people? Remember, all those salaries would be in addition to the existing players salaries, not as replacements. I really can't understand how anyone can be a fan of a team with every advantage like that. If the team wins it should basically be expected, and not winning is simply abysmal.

Comic Day!.. Celebrity life... and Today's hot chick

2008-04-09T19:35:00.001-07:00

Wednesday is new comic day, a nice mid day break from the stress of the week. Other important days include Monday, first day of the traditional workweek, Tuesday is new release day for movies, music, and video games. Friday is new theatrical releases (Tuesday is DVDS, in case that wasn't clear). When I was young I bought my comics from a flea market I used to go to, in the town near where i grew up, Newton, NJ. The flea market was held in the unused areas of a drive in theater, with people driving cars, trucks, and vans loaded with their shit for sale, would drag their shit to this drive in theater and display it for other people to buy. Welcome to America, Baby!

I used to buy my comics wherever I could find them, but when I started to go to the flea market I met Walter Sigg, an odd (but harmless) guy who sold comics. He was at the flea market every sat., and by the end of the summer my friend Dougie and I were regular customers. I wanted to continue to have the comics i liked on a weekly basis, without having to worry about getting into town and finding them on some rack, wrinkled up.
But I digress....

How amazing is that shot of Pauly fucking Shore? Classic example why being a celebrity has far reaching benefits, for how else to explain a D list celebrity, past his prime (on the D-list, no less) who's packed on a beer belly, hanging on the beach with a hottie half his age - but I got nothing for props on that... here's to you, Pauly.

Todays hot chick - the bimbo who brought down a governor, Spitzers chickie - don't know her name, (can't remember) and really, it's unimportant. She is hot, though.