Possible Projects Ahead!

With the fanfilm still in the works and moving ahead, it is moving slowly enough to leave me time to start another project. After I canceled the Chiller Channel project due to lack of a location I decided to hit up a couple of guys I know who have an interest in filming skit comedies.

They are pretty good at improv comedy and have had no outlet to express themselves since they are a bit disgruntled with the theater right now.

This promises to be a lot of fun and I believe in this case that material will be easy to come by. I also believe that we can get a solid group of five individuals to take on the skits on a reliable basis.

In other news, DID YOU SEE ME LAY DOWN THE LAW?!?!?! I AM THE LAWGIVER!
Yes indeed!

A Predicted Outcome

My team, shorthanded from bye weeks and injuries, took the predicted beating of 69-14 yesterday. There was some good news though!
Had a great time at Beersnob's party!

There were close to ten people there and it was just a very good time! We cooked out at halftime, had some wonderful football conversation, enjoyed a pretty competitive game for three quarters, and enjoyed the nice weather which soon after the game was over turned into a severe thunderstorm!

It rained a LOT and hard too. After I got home it really started to rain! It made for some great sleeping weather! I had two windows open in my bedroom and never woke up once!

I have to make some more DVD copies so I can get them mailed out! I need to send a copy up North and another copy to Weezy in LA. Her copy was cracked when it got to her. So I'll be doing that tonight after work.
I have had positive feedback though!

A Great Day On Tap

Despite my fantasy woes this year I've had some solid play from my players that aren't injured. Injuries have kind of summed up the results the past three weeks.

Today I have two WRs off on bye weeks, Roethlisberger is off on a bye, my RBs will be at full strength though with Brandon Jacobs returning off of the injured list last week and posted a good day, the Broncs are off on a bye so that puts my D/ST and Kicker on the bench.

I'm anticipating a loss, no big deal at this point.

There is going to be a great game and some communal football watching at Beersnob's house today at 3ish. There should be people from the theater crowd and my fantasy league crowd there, it'll be a mixing of both circles for me! It should be a great day!!!!

A Good Friday Evening!

Went to a Italian eatery with about fifteen friends and then over to the pub to hang out for the rest of the evening!

Most of the cast for the most recent theater production was there and we all just had a good evening! I had taken off early yesterday from work since it was pretty slow and I had some errands to run and some bills to pay. I had been looking forward to last night for a few days and it was a great evening!

Man Vs. Survivorman Vs. Wild

Man vs. Wilds' Bear Grylls is a survival genius. Bear is to survival what Jack Bauer is to defending LA against the nuclear armed Chicom horde. Throw this guy into the harshest environments on Earth and he will come out alive and in good shape.

Heck even MacGyver would take lessons in rigging up something from a shoelace, branch, gum, moss, and a turkey baster.

Water, shelter, heat, food and he could live anywhere! While I require electricity, indoor plumbing, and the internet, Bear just needs air and a minimum of broken bones to survive.

Next up is Survivorman Les Stroud who actually does his own filming while genuinely being stranded in the wilderness. While Bear travels with a cameraman Les does everything himself....for seven days.
Bear usually goes for three days I believe.

What Bear is to surviving Les ups it a notch since he is genuinely alone. If MacGyver looks up to Bear then The Duke himself looks up to Les for shear toughness.

Both of these shows are on a few times a week in reruns on one of my favorite channels, Discovery!

Underachiever

I'm afraid it is true my friends. I'm an underachiever.

After giving things a lot of thought lately and when I measure what I know I'm capable of and what I'm successful at, well there is a gap there to say the least.

I have two friends who have moved off and are pursuing their dreams and enjoying some success at it! I have another talented friend who would enjoy the same success if he ever moved and devoted himself to the same acting dream although it is nice to keep him here since he makes some killer drinks!

I really enjoy my friends when they are here however I'm much happier for them when they fulfill their potential, the same potential that is becoming harder for me to fulfill. It boils down to contentment.

My life isn't perfect but it is pretty darn good. There are people in my neighborhood who don't have it as good as I do. I have friends that I value deeply, a good paying job that allows me the extra cash to pursue films and the making of such, and I've got a decent house to live in and I always have a good meal.

I'm content in many ways. I've got a great creative outlet. I do need a killer idea though that can be shootable with a smallish budget. Pursuit of that is part of the fun though isn't it?

Yeah I admit to being human and as such I do find myself to be lonely from time to time but I do have great friends to lean upon and hang out with!

The underachieving problem, if it can be called that, is one that can be overcome though. It is one that is a challenge and should be seen as fun and not some kind of insurmountable obstacle! So now since I've identified the problem and solution, once again it is all good from here on out!

Here's to hoping your day is twice as good as mine and mine is pretty good:)

Man Hall Of Fame Part 4

To go along with my three inductees so far I am going to induct into my Man Hall of Fame something that is a bit controversial. However after you read my explanation then I believe you'll agree that it is essential.

The fourth inductee is someone whom 99% of men dream about. Someone whom some fortunate men come across a few times in a lifetime. The person whom they might even grow up next to and embody everything they could ever want. When they walk down the street together women weep at the beauty and perfection while men want to be that man. Alright that might be a bit overly dramatic but The Girl Next Door is my fourth induction into the Man Hall of Fame.

I had a girl next door growing up. I even tracked her down a few weeks ago and called her. She wasn't home however she is doing OK! I had had a weird dream about her and wanted to make sure that she was alright.

We had probably seven Summers together and lived next door for five of those. Now it might not seem like a lot but when you are a kid a Summer is a long long time. We had many neighborhood adventures and she was a bit of a tomboy and one grade older than I was. No, nothing like that ever happened but she has always been with me as one of those friends you never forget.

So here is to The Girl Next Door who made growing up easier and more fun than it ever would have been alone!

14-33

Week 5 was a loss. So now my fantasy team is two up and three down. I am starting to feel better about it though since my injured players are now all returning! I believe I can start expecting week 1 and week 2 type of results again!

Watched part of the game last night at Mickey's. This has also been a weekly tradition and so far I really enjoy it! I could really get used to this!

I know sometimes my posts are a bit dry like this and occasionally I come across with a flash of everyday living brilliance, although they are brief, few, and far between. For the most part I write these in the morning before heading off to work, where I gain several good blogging ideas which are usually forgotten by the time I clock out.

I gotta learn to write things down!

Silent Running

I've finally had the chance to watch Silent Running, the 1972 Bruce Dern scifi/fantasy movie. A friend and I used to chat online while mutually watching Six Feet Under and in one season Arthur Martin and the mom were having a movie night and they were watching this movie. I have wanted to see it since! I have to say that once you get beyond the hippie/tree hugger influence it is a pretty good movie!

I mean Freeman Lowell does kill off his fellow shipmates to protect a forest dome but other than that he is a pretty nice guy. He reprograms two droids to be his friends, well since he killed off the other three and hijacked his space freighter he has to have someone to talk to.

Apparently the Earth is now pretty desolate so they have grown forests on these massive ships and then for some unexplained reason they have to jettison the forested domes before returning home. Got no clue as to why but that was the order.

So Lowell takes his brand of conservationism to a bit of an extreme. I guess this could be considered a bit of a kids movie. It is Disneyesque in a way.

Worth a Netflix rental though!

I'm off to watch the Monday Night game in a little bit! So have a good evening everyone!!!!

Looks Like

I'm going to be 2-3 after tonight after a fast 2-0 start.
I'm down 26-14 and only have one player tonight while he has two and a good lead. Now lots can happen and I could still win but TO would have to have a very good game.

I watched 3:10 to Yuma last night, the original with Glenn Ford and Van Heflin based on the story by Elmore Leonard. It was really good. I'd like to see the remake actually and I'm anti-remake guy!

This has been a pretty good weekend. Watched some good football, had some good food, it rained last night, all in all just a nice weekend:) I'm kind of hungry this morning but really don't feel like getting out just yet to get some breakfast. I guess I should have gone to the store yesterday.

A Great Saturday Night!!!!

The tradition that was started a few weeks ago now has reached its fourth consecutive week with friends getting together and cooking supper for each other!
We had a wonderful chicken and pasta dish cooked by my friend Wendy! We had a houseful as well with six people total!

Next turn is mine! I'll have to find something really good! Time to watch lots of the Food Network!

In sadder news I believe one of my dual monitors is going bad. It is acting buggy all of a sudden.

Should be a good day football wise. Brandon Jacobs returns to my lineup today!
So my starters will be Roethlisberger, Jacobs and Bell as my RBs, Johnson, TO, and Evans as my WRs, with the Broncs D/ST and Elam rounding out the lineup!

Neither

I had planned on watching at least one of two Netflix movies last night but instead I didn't watch either. I watched the Louisville/Utah game and part of the Red Sox/Angels game.

I took off at noon from work and that was a good way to start my three day weekend:)

There are some good games on the football slate today! Tonight Wendy and Bob are coming over to cook! I believe it will be an Italian dish! I can't wait!
This has been a really fun tradition! It gives us all something to look forward to every week!

This is going to be a great weekend!

Woohoooo!!!! Friday!!!!

I went out last night to help celebrate my dear friend Catina's completion of her comp finals!!
I had a great time with all of the people! I was able to finally get to drink Laphroaig which is an Islay malt. Very smoky like the Caol Ila or the Lagavulin, but not as sweet or as smooth as the later.
There were some very interesting conversations but mostly I got the vibe from her that she now felt accomplished and complete!

It was very satisfying to see her in such a happy state after the chaos of the past year!!!!

Today is also the Friday before a three day weekend!!!! These days are always great my friends!
The day seems to zip by!

I plan on watching at least one Netflix movie tonight but I'm not sure which one, Woody Allen's Sleeper or Silent Running which is a early 70's Bruce Dern scifi movie.

All in all I expect another incredible day!!!!

1408: The Host

I saw two movies the other night and both were pretty good!
First up was 1408 in which a writer, John Cusack investigates haunted places. Now anyone who knows me knows that I complain about modern horror movies since they aren't scary and substitute gore and violence for tension and genuine terror. They rely too much on the cat in the closet scare tactics accompanied with the loud burst of music or sound instead of building tension through something called a story.

So here comes 1408, a movie that I've been interested in seeing since I first saw the previews quite some time ago. Too me this was a pretty good movie! It had some genuine tension in it. It was slowly built up so that nothing came off as phony or cheap. The acting was very very good. Samuel L. Jackson did a amazing job with his part but this was clearly Cusack's movie.

Watch it, I think you'll enjoy it!

Next up was The Host. A Korean version of Godzilla! This movie was half drama, half big monster movie, and half comedy. You say "But that's three halves!" I say it is a big movie and one of the reasons some of the best horror movies today are coming from Japan and Korea. Watch Oldboy or The Audition and tell me I'm wrong after you have compared it with the horrible movies we are getting here that pass for horror.

The Host was fun, about as scary as Godzilla but it was a fun and good movie all the way through!

Ever Have One Of Those Guys Around?

Who always said the wrong thing at the wrong time when the wrong people were around?

Well yesterday Bob, if you go back to the post about who my coworkers are he is in there somewhere, said something that embarrassed the entire shop they work in to the wrong people who will spread it all over.

Here is the story. An aircraft was ready to be moved, the senior guy calls it in and then they usually wait for the team to get there to move it. So they call in the aircraft and instead of waiting there they go to the parking lot and look at one of the guy's new truck for a few minutes. Meanwhile the team had arrived to move the aircraft.

They all walk in and then the supervisor asks where everyone had been?

Bob immediately spouts out they had all been in the bathroom!

While the rest of the shop was now trying to hide in shame, the supervisor then adds, "All of you, in the bathroom at the same time, like a bunch of women?"

Now let me be clear, there was no danger of being in any kind of trouble at all here, people frequently go to the parking lot for whatever reason and a new truck would be a good reason.

Now there was no reason to say such a line however ya'll don't know Bob. He says stupid things all the time and LOVES to talk about penis. I kid you not. He isn't out and out gay I guess, he has a wife and kids but if there were say a picture emailed to them that had a naked guy and girl in it, he always compliments the guy and ignores the girl. He has called one of the guys in the shop handsome on occasion and has a daily penis story. He genuinely gets excited at the word and I presume at the thought.

He has a Mickey Mouse high pitched voice and if you hear me do the imitation, which everyone in the shop does their own imitation, and look at me quizzically I'll explain why. Sometimes I have to catch myself in public because they just wouldn't get it, like my Captain Insaneo Laugh.

Bob always has an excuse as to why he can't do something he doesn't want to do and he doesn't want to do much. He has a lot of seniority so he isn't in danger of being laid off so he is just lazy.
No one in the shop likes him but he doesn't see it that way, the dull are always the last to catch on after all. They also call him the "Professor" since he is a know-it-all, for example if I'm talking to someone and ask them a question, Bob is always the one to answer before that person has a chance to.

To me it is quite hilarious since I don't work around him but when the other guys are down in my area they always complain about him and tell me what stupid thing he has done that day.

I'm grateful I'm not in that shop!

Battle Beyond The Stars

I revisited one of my old drive in movies last night via Netflix. Anyone who knows me knows that I used to go to the movies a lot as a kind and that the town I went to grade school in had a theater within walking distance and a drive in that either my parents or friends parents would take me to.

Well one evening around 1980 in the wake of Star Wars, Battlestar, and other scifi movies and shows, Battle Beyond The Stars was playing which is a Roger Corman version of either The Seven Samurai OR The Magnificent Seven but closer to the later since Robert Vaughn plays the same character by a different name.

Richard Thomas starred as Shad and when John Saxon decided to invade Shad's peace loving planet, Shad has to find people to defend them. You've seen it before however this version is not only good but a low budget scifi classic!

The cast is solid and do their best with the lines given them. The effects are Corman cheap but effective in delivering the story. It is very hard to find on DVD now unless you look on Ebay. It was a very limited release. I hope it is revisited though and cleaned up and restored. It deserves that much.

That is the beauty of Netflix, you get to watch many many movies from your youth that you really wouldn't spend the bucks to get.

Man Hall Of Fame Part 3!

So far the inductees are John Wayne, and Grills.

What better third induction could there be than Football!!!! Yes friends Football, the new national past time is everything most men want to watch on the weekend! I could have gone a bit broader and said sports in general but no one wants to watch baseball, golf, tennis, or hockey on TV. At least I don't and this is my Hall of Fame.

I love me some football though! I need it! Anyone who knows me knows I'm a fantasy football player and as such I plan for a long time for my draft, I plan my lineups, I watch the waiver wire closely, I study injury reports, and I watch week to week match ups.

I love football season and so does America!

Football, welcome to the Hall of Fame! I know you will be most welcome here!

Its A Football Sunday!!!!

I'm facing the weekly average today which means my team has to score more than the average of the other twelve teams.
My lineup is the same as last week even though Laurence Maroney is questionable. He is a better bet than Brandon Jacobs who hasn't played since being injured early in the season. I've been reading the news wire and there seems to be some conflicting information.

I believe he is a game time decision and might see some limited action but is not 100% this week. Next week will probably be a lot different story though. I've read that Calvin Johnson will play today after leaving in the second quarter last week after a hard fall to the turf.

Yesterday was VERY productive! Beersnob and I put down one more coat on the hanger floor, it just requires one more and it's done!

I got approval from Catina to duplicate the documentary so now anyone who wants a copy email me your snail mail addresses! I'll get one to you! I've made twenty copies so far so I have plenty!

We shot some closeup scenes in the fanfilm project! That was a pretty good start to the whole thing!

I had drinks at the Pub with my friends and got home around eleven!

It was a very good day:)

A Productive Friday!!!!

Yesterday Beersnob and I painted the hanger floor a very bright green! The primer we put down last Saturday was plenty dry and since I was off yesterday it was the perfect time!

Today we'll have to put another coat down but that'll go very quickly. We are also supposed to shoot some closeups today on the fanfilm project. That'll be exciting as we finally roll film! Speaking of film, I left a master copy at Catina's house for her approval! Once she approves or disapproves then we go from either re-editing or duplication!

Last night I went to a wonderful supper at a sidewalk cafe here in town. Many of my circle of friends were there and it was a great time! I had one of the best steak fillets I've ever had!
It was an amazing time! The only problem was that their scotch selection was very lacking.

No matter I wasn't in a big drinking mood. I purchased a new bottle called Caol Ila the other day and I have to say this is a very good Islay scotch!! It has a nice smoky flavor, not overbearing, not as sweet as the Lagavulin but smoother. I am really enjoying it! Not a starter scotch but after you have developed the taste then I'd really recommend it!

Hall Of Fame Induction Part 2!!!!

The second induction in my Man's Hall of Fame to go along with John Wayne is a Grill.

Nothing says you are more manly than to own a grill. I know I've posted about the pure joy of cooking on an open fire before. It is primal and very satisfying. There is something in our hard wiring that just makes cooking outside on a grill instinct and something we feel we need to do.

We are still essentially hunter/gatherers. We now just hunt from the grocery store, stalking our already butchered and prepackaged meats, looking for the right cuts, the right amount of marbling, going over our marinade recipes in our heads to see what would enhance those meats as they cook!

Yeah! A grill enhances being a man and manly conduct and as such deserve to be in my Man's Hall of Fame along side of John Wayne!

Three Failrues

In a row with the doc DVD. The first DVD locked up around thirty minutes in while watching it on a regular DVD player. The second was ten minutes. The third DVD, well I don't know what happened yet

I'm going to have to do more research I guess and figure out a better way.

I've gone with the title, "Right Now....Over Me!" It seems to fit the best and has a nice sound to it but I had some great suggestions and all of them actually fit in a way just not every way this one does.

So hopefully I'll have something figured out very soon!

The Man Hall Of Fame

I'm starting my own Hall of Fame. It will only consist of people and things I deem to be manly or that enhance being a man from pop culture and everyday life.

I'll introduce new inductees whenever the need arises and they are pretty much not debatable since this is my blog and my Hall of Fame.

My first introduction should be no surprise to anyone who knows me. He was a patriot, a great American, a prolific actor, and an icon.

John Wayne is my first inductee.

From all time great movies such as The Searchers to personal favorites of mine such as They Were Expendable and In Harm's Way, John Wayne epitomized what it meant to be a hero and a man and as such is the logical choice to be the inaugural inductee!

I Have Asked

A few friends to give me ideas for the title of the doc.

What I want is a simple word that means "To Bring Together" since that is pretty much what both storylines are about.

Chianti suggested the French word "Renour". I'm not sure about the spelling though. I like its simplicity. It is what I was looking for to start with.

Bob suggested, "...Right Now, Over Me!" which is a bit more abstract but if you think about it then you'll get it, especially if I tell you it is from a famous Beatles song, and if that still isn't ringing a bell then Aerosmith did a superior cover to it:)

I like this one a lot and plan to make both suggestions to Catina and see what she says. She is supposed to be working on the problem as well so she might very well have her own idea that she loves.

Monday Morning

I'm up and ready to get going! I have figured out what I want in a name for the documentary!
A cool word or phrase for "To Bring Together". Since that is essentially what the doc is about.

I love sleeping on problems! You wake up and WHAM all of a sudden you have a solution!
One word would be best but if it takes more than one I'm open to that as well.

I'll have to ponder it while I'm at work but I'm sure it'll dawn on me soon!

OUCH!!!!

I got hurt today!!!!
My team scored an outstanding 13 points while my opponent, the Warriors scored a league high 52!

I am close to the cellar this week instead of being even average. This week hurt as I'm going to wind up 2-1. I believe there will be only one undefeated team after this week which happens to be the team I drafted for my friend who owns the Crimson franchise.

Anyway I feel like I'll rebound nicely after this week's debacle and take the top honors next week!

A Busy Day!

"Ninety years ago I was a freak, now I'm an amateur!"
That line is from Jack the Ripper after he escaped the clutches of Scotland Yard in the 1979 movie Time After Time. A wonderful forgotten gem of a movie where H.G. Welles develops his time machine and hunts down his former friend Jack the Ripper in 1979 San Francisco.

Yep another Netfilx movie pick that I had seen long ago but not since. I love watching movies that I haven't seen for years to see how closely it lines up with my memory of the movie! Sometimes it is a very different experience and sometimes it is more than I remembered! This one was a very solid movie and should be watched or watched again if you haven't seen it!

Yesterday I helped move Chianti's piano, met her dad, went to the hanger with Beersnob, swept the place out, and primed the floor. In a couple of days we will be ready to paint the first coat of green! Afterwards we headed to the pub and got a drink to relax a bit. It was hot, dusty, and we were both pretty nasty after we got out of there!

I was supposed to go to a poker game at Chianti's house last night but I was pretty beat up and tired. I didn't make it but I know it would have been fun!

Alright today I'm 2-0 after week two and heading into week 3 I am making a change in my lineup. I'm using everyone from last week except putting in Isaac Bruce and pulling Lee Evans.
Buffalo is taking on the Patriots today and my guess is that Evans will do nothing against that defense. Buffalo hasn't had a very good offense yet and they haven't faced anyone as good as New England yet.

My opponent is 0-2 so far so they could turn things around this weekend but I'm sure that I have a good shot at making 3-0 this week and a good shot at the top 3 and making the money!

The Warriors are starting McNabb, Frank Gore, Brian Westbrook, Fitz, Hines Ward, and Shockey as his skill players and Shayne Graham as his kicker with the Redskins D/ST.

I like my matchups a bit better this week than his so I'm looking at a good day!

A Night Out

At the pub last night. My friend Bob and I hung out and watched to see who went to see the Gaslight show. We saw several people we know and had a pretty good time!

I'm about to go help Chianti move a piano and grab some breakfast. I'm hungry!

It looks to be a quiet day. Not much planned but I might watch a couple of games later on. I think Alabama vs. Georgia might be a good one. I'm just kind of in a waking up mood right now. Just a chill out and enjoy the weekend mood:)

Alone At Work!

At work. The other guy who works in the shop with me is off today so that usually makes for a fast work day!

There isn't a lot to do at work today so I'll make sure I have my Ipod and will probably think about how many times an Iphone would be great to help pass the time! Then I remember that it only has 8 gigs and how little that really is anymore.

Wow times have changed! My first PC in late '95 early '96 had a 13 gig hard drive and a 33.6 modem! I took off work when I bought a 56K modem to install it and play around with the higher speeds!

Now I average just over 1 MB per second downloads and have 4 gigs of RAM, and 1.2 terabytes of total storage! I have single files that are more than 13 gigs! I makes me wonder how in the world they are going to get faster and what a PC in ten years will be like! A 16 core processor, two terabytes of RAM, 150 terabytes of storage, quad core video cards!

I love technology! The future is exciting!!!!

The IT Crowd

A dear friend of mine told me about this hilarious British show! It revolves around two IT guys and their woman boss who knows nothing about computers. They typically get no respect and often find themselves in some very awkward experiences that will make you wince from time to time.

It is a bit better than the BBC's The Office and like that show this one will be ported soon into American homes. I was pleased to cook supper last night for Wendy and her daughter Ashley and I was able to introduce them to this amazing show! They laughed the whole time, it was a wonderful experience!!

Supper was pretty good too. I was on my "A" game. I grilled a pork tenderloin, made some baked beans (with special ingredients to make them actually taste good) and I taught Wendy how to fry potatoes. She knows but she just doesn't cook them that way. All in all it was a wonderful evening!

Children Of Men, Hot Fuzz, AND I Finished The Rough Cut!

It was a busy evening for me!
I had some more footage to capture for the documentary and while I was doing that I watched Hot Fuzz, from the makers of Shaun of the Dead.

It was pretty funny! I wished I had watched it sooner. My impressions are that it is enjoyable while it spoofs the buddy cop genre movie. There are some graphic moments but for the most part they are kind of cartoonish.

Children of Men was a bit more somber. Earth's population of humans is ending as their hasn't been a baby born in 18 years. It is a somber and depressing movie that has some action elements in it. I really didn't care about the politics of that time much and that was largely the context. It was an OK movie but just didn't fit my mood at the time.

Now the big news! I have the rough cut finished for Catina's documentary! It clocks in at ninety four minutes! That is a very good running time and I haven't added credits yet! Those will only add about one to two minutes tops so this should be very close to the final running time. I now just have to have Catina watch it and make suggestions on any changes.

All in all a very busy and productive evening! I'm happy!

Monday Night Football

I spent last night at a local sports bar with Beersnob and Nick the boy intern. We watched MNF and had supper. Beersnob was kind enough to purchase two scotchs for me, we had The Macallan and Glennfidich. He is new to single malts and always drank Dewar's. In fact he is one of the two reasons I decided to try to acquire a taste for scotch.

It was pretty fun! I finished up fantasy wise in seventh place overall this week. Not good but I did win my heads up game. When you aren't in the money you hope you at least win your match up.

Anyway it was a lot of fun and a good way to spend the evening! I can see this happening a few times this season!

Another Win!

I put up 34 points yesterday while my rival hit the 19 point mark.
We are both done so that is official. First place until tonight has 67, while second and third have 66 and 64 respectively.

My team really didn't score that much. My RBs struck out in fact. My blue chipper hasn't scored in the first two games. He has put up a good amount of yards but not enough to make any points.

My WRs are the real strong point of the team so far with Calvin Johnson and TO leading the way. Lee Evans is explosive and a great WR but he hasn't done anything so far while the other two have five TDs in the first two weeks between them!

It was a good weekend but pretty slow. I didn't get out much except to get food and run a couple of errands. I got a cool refund from my insurance company though! I get to put that in the bank today!

Boomerang

While in between football games I watched a lot of Boomerang yesterday. I saw probably fifty cartoons I hadn't seen since I was a kid. Mostly all Alex Toth cartoons such as Space Ghost, The Herculoids, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, and Shazzan.

There were other cartoons too from the same era such as Samson and Goliath, Moby Dick and The Mighty Mightor, a lot of DC comics cartoons, and a few others.

I love this channel! When I was a kid we'd rush home after school and watch Underdog and then they had a cartoon show on after that where they would show some of these cartoons at random intervals.

These are feel good cartoons where good always wins in less than a few minutes. The evil guys are clear cut and even declare their evilness openly, along with their plans. If only the real world was as simple! These shows were just a lot of fun! I hope they are on every Saturday!

Today I'm starting the same lineup as last week:
Roethlisberger
Tatum Bell and Laurence Maroney
Calvin Johnson, Lee Evans, and TO
Elam and the Broncos D/ST

This should be a good day and I expect to score in the low 40's.

Oban

I purchased a bottle of Oban yesterday. A scotch that is a bit fruity to me, pretty much no smoke, a lot like the Auchentoshan but older and smoother at fourteen years.

This is a West Highland malt but I find myself enjoying the Islay malt Lagavulin the most so far. I believe my next bottle will be another Islay malt.

It is week two of the NFL season! I'll be facing The Outlaws in my money league whose heavy hitters are Marshawn Lynch and Fast Willie Parker. A formidable combo however his WRs are a bit light with Anquan Boldin, Braylon Edwards, and the best of the bunch Reggie Wayne.

If Wayne, Parker, and Lynch go off I could be in trouble.

I'm about to head to the store and find some breakfast. I'm hungry! This is going to be a good college football day with the main event being USC vs. Nebraska in Lincoln. If USC is going to lose this year this will be the place. It should be a good game in prime time!

Eighty Minutes!

I have a full eighty minutes now edited! The doc is about 75% done. That is getting pretty close and that makes me happy!

Well happier since I'm naturally a pretty happy guy anyway. Its a payday Friday, I get a free cup of coffee this morning, and there is a lot of good football this weekend! How cool is all that?!?!?!

I went to a local store and looked over some HDTVs. Some of them were simply amazing! I've been antiplasma/LCD since early on since I've read on several message boards about them burning out and having a short lifespan. However the ones I saw yesterday have about a 60,000 hour lifespan which at eight hours per day is about a 20 year life.

I don't watch TV eight hours per day, well during the week anyway I don't. On the weekends is a different matter. So now I'm kind of proplasma/LCD. The picture on the Sony Bravia was astounding! I want to find a Toshiba Regza and compare. It would be cool to be able to get a HDTV and be neutral on the HiDef DVD war meaning that you have both a HDDVD and BluRay player.

That is probably my next home entertainment goal by next football season.

A Case Of Molson

Tuesday, late Tuesday afternoon I got to do something a little bit creative at work. I got to paint a refrigerator. While not spectacular in the challenge department it was still different and a little fun.

Not to mention since it was a favor for them they gave me a case of Molson beer which Chianti has spoken for. I would have done it for less than a case just for something different to do!

They picked it up yesterday over lunch and left the beer. Then they emailed me and thanked me for it. So even though I wasn't there to hear if they liked it or not they were very thankful so I am assuming that they liked the way it looked.

I know that I was happy just to do something different to break up the day! It helped the week go by fast!

Half Way Done

After last night I'm nearly at the half way point in the doc. Actually a bit over half way as I reviewed more footage and have a better idea of what to include and what to exclude. That is really the time consuming part is going through over forty hour and a half long tapes to see what adds to the story I'm constructing.

The editing part is actually pretty fast.

I've got a good idea now of where I'm going with it and that helps a lot since you have to find a story. Once you have a direction then you know kind of automatically what to do.

I still have close to twenty tapes to go through though but at this point I just want to make sure I can do the story justice.

Beauty

Those of you who know me know I have a fascination with beauty and what defines it.
From Paul Potts amazing and heartrending performance to random, anonymous, selfless acts I am fascinated.

From haunting, beautiful voices, to ugly situations which produce people of grace I'm interested. Those of you who know me know that I've been known to produce tears at the most inopportune times because of such events.

You know something? I'm not embarrassed about it either. I remember a story about Elvis once when he was asked why he drives around in a pink Cadillac.

"Because I can." was his reply as is mine. Everest is there, climb it. Water is there, swim in it. Hurt is there, experience it. Love is there, revel in it. The sky is above and the earth is below, be grateful for them.

I appreciate beauty in its many many forms. I appreciate beauty in its ugliness. I appreciate beauty in its majesty. When you hear wind through a willow tree, that is beauty. When you see a sunrise so powerful it brings tears, that is beauty. When you see someone who helps their fellow man in the most simplest of ways to never be acknowledged, that is beauty. When you see a flower so sublime that you stare at it for what seems like hours, that is beauty. When you see a adoption video (that I happened to have shot) a few times and see the achingly beautiful moments and know the context for which it represents, that is beauty so ultimate that words fail.
A day so perfect you'll never forget it, be thankful.

I hold myself up as a expert on beauty since I know that in nearly every way it is the opposite of what I am, hence my self proclaimed title of expert. Yeah if you know me you know it is true.

On this sacred day I ask you to remember the beauty that was show by complete strangers six years ago today. Those helping selflessly in the face of devastation and certain death on Flight 93. Ultimate beauty in courage and self sacrifice. Please honor that beauty.

Go out and do something for someone else. Make today beautiful.

Pretty Cool Day!

Yeah it wasn't bad at work either but it was nice this morning. It was rainy but it was beautiful out, it is kind of hard to describe and I wouldn't be able to do it justice so I'll leave it to your imagination my friends.

The typical work time drama seemed to have been in high gear while I was gone last week so I'm glad I wasn't there to hear any of it:) I really have no stomach for it. Some of these people really aren't happy unless they are unhappy and that is really strange to understand.

It is like they just don't understand what it is like to just be happy and have to create problems for other people around them, sometimes for no other reason than just because they are bored and can. They always want someone around them in trouble and will be happy to stir some up if there is none going on at their convenience.

Anyway I'm about an hour and a half away from heading up to the pub to help celebrate Catina's birthday. As I said earlier it is actually tomorrow but it is a good evening for it:) She had a very strong emotional reaction to the documentary. Well to the parts she saw, I'm about half done so far.

I'm pretty happy with the rough cut so far and I know it'll get better from here!!!!
It always does!!!!

A Win

Well I scored a league high 55 points yesterday however I will still probably lose first place overall since my team is done and the team that has 54 points has three players going tonight.

I still have the heads up win though since I won that match up 55-17 and I should still win money this week by placing in the top three!

All in all it was a great day of football! I watched several games then went over to Beersnob's house and watched the night game with Marshall, and Chianti. That was a fun time as well and made for a nice evening!

Tonight there are two games but around 7:30 I'm going to the Pub to celebrate Catina's birthday (which is actually tomorrow) and to have a drink with them.

All in all everything is a lot of fun right now and despite going back to work this morning it doesn't matter since this past week was a nice relaxing week and I wanted one of those!

Wooohooooo!!!!

Well first off it is Sunday and the first full day of NFL games! It is going to be a pleasure to watch everyone of my players when I want to with the NFL Ticket! I'm very excited today!

I believe I'm looking forward to the Patriots and the Jets this morning the most. It should be a good match up and my number 1 pick was Laurence Maroney who is the RB that will carry the heavy load for the Pats this year.

Secondly Catina came over yesterday to watch me edit and to see my progress. She loved what I'd done so far and that was encouraging! We talked for probably three hours about it and the upcoming production Misery. Her birthday is this week, the 11th, so tomorrow after she gets out of Gaslight board meeting we are going to grab a drink in celebration!

Thirdly Lloyd Carr is going to be fired. Michigan lost in the Big House AGAIN to Oregon and Notre Dame is just as bad. They are also 0-2 and no signs of picking up. It is interesting when two big time programs are down at the same time.

Anyway it is early yet and I still have some serious TV watching to do until kickoff so here is my week 1 lineup:
Big Ben Roethlisberger is my QB
Maroney and Tatum Bell are my RBs
Lee Evans, Calvin Johnson, and TO are my stud WRs
The rock steady Jason Elam is my kicker and I am starting the Broncos D/ST

So have some fun today and enjoy the games!

Hanger And Editing Today!

Yes my friends today Beersnob and I are headed to the hanger to do some floor painting and then around three Catina is headed over to help edit the documentary! This is going to be a fun day!

I went to bed around 9:30 last night. I was pretty sleepy all of a sudden and just felt like bed.

Football tomorrow and then back to work Monday.

It looks like it rained pretty much all night here. It is cool and water is standing in the ditches.

Thai Supper!

Yep I had a friend and her daughter come over last night and we cooked a Thai curry supper!
It was very tasty and we all enjoyed it while watching Indy rout New Orleans last night 41-10.

Neither Drew Brees or Reggie Bush scored last night so I was golden! I have my whole team going and my opponent is now two players down with zero points!

My Blade Runner glasses came yesterday too! So we broke them in last night and had a wonderful time! I am hoping we do the cooking thing again soon! It was a very fun time.

Kickoff!!!!

Yes my friends, the one evening that every single football fan looks forward to is here finally!

The Colts vs. The Saints! I don't have any player going tonight but I'm probably going against Drew Brees and Reggie Bush....as if I needed any other reason to watch! LOL!

So far the week off has been amazing and has yielded just over 40 minutes of edited footage and lots of relaxation. I fixed a ranch burger this morning on the grill, a friend of mine is coming over tonight to cook me a Thai curry supper, and everything is great!

I'm watching the third season of Desperate Housewives today and working on the documentary!

Life is good.....

Voice Of An Angel

I have to tell you my friends that when I listen to Alison Krauss I listen to an angel. She has the most amazingly beautiful voice! I can listen to her for hours on end and feel better with each song!

My friends that is beauty that makes me weep to behold. That is The Grand Canyon, Walking on a untouched beach, Strolling on the Moon and watching the Earth come up over the horizon, a cabin in the Colorado mountains with your lover. This is beauty.

She has a voice that everyone can love and appreciate and even though Bluegrass music isn't mainstream I guess it doesn't matter to me. If you can't appreciate this voice I would have to question your humanity.

I've Edited

About 26 minutes now on the documentary project. That is pretty good so far. I like the pace.

I purchased a bottle of Auchentoshan yesterday. It is a much lighter scotch than Lagavulin. It has more of a fruity, crisp flavor. Really pretty smooth for a 10 year old and almost no smoke flavor. It is a easy drinking scotch.

So far my vacation has been filled with satellite tv, editing, putting the short project together, and relaxing! What an amazing time this has been:)

Tomorrow night the NFL season kicks off!!!!! Woohoooooo!!!!

Remakes Suck

Remakes suck for a reason. They are rarely better than the original and 99% of the time suck.
Chris and I went to see Halloween yesterday and it was bad bad BAD.

So how do you tell a bad movie? You don't like it and you don't hate it. I caught myself wondering if I liked Big Macs or Whoppers better while during a "crucial" moment of the movie. There was just nothing compelling about the movie even though it looked good.

Apparently if you go crazy as a little kid then you gain super strength without touching a weight. The real shame is that Brad Douriff and Malcom McDowell are incredible actors who amazingly did the best they could with a horrible script.

I yawned a lot, felt no tension at all, didn't care for the characters, and was happy it was over and wished it was over with way before it was.

Rob Zombie just can't make a good horror movie. He has fallen into the modern filmmaker trap where filmmakers substitute gore for tension. For some reason they figure if there is more blood then it has to equal scary! That is so false! Some of the most tense horror movies of all time had practically no gore or blood. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, Jaws, Halloween even had almost no blood instead of the copious amounts found in this version.

Blood does not equal scary people.

Alright enough of that. I have joined the Satellite TV Revolution!!!! I now have a DirecTV system which I'm now able to watch the NFL Network which my cable system refuses to get and other channels at a much cheaper price. In fact I'm saving so much money on my cable bill that I can purchase the NFL Sunday Ticket! How cool is that?!?!?!

I love Sirius and now I love DirecTV! I can't wait to take my cable box back up to the office and cancel my cable (I'm keeping my internet service) telling them why I'm canceling.

Them - "Why are you canceling your service sir?"
Me - "You didn't get me the NFL Network."

Hehehehe, gives me goosebumps.

A Good Day!

Yesterday rocked! I was in a cooking mood so I made a meatloaf I saw off of Food Network and it was really good! They have some great recipes on there!

I made the meatloaf, fried some potatoes, chatted with friends, ate some Ben and Jerry's, and enjoyed a glass of Lagavulin! How cool of a day is that?

Today is Labor Day and the unofficial end of Summer. It is also the start of me being off all week!
Well I guess Friday was the official start of me being off but that was more of the end of last week.
The days are already cooler and the Sun is coming up a little later.

I plan on setting up everything I need to film my contest short this week while doing the editing for Catina's project. She asked if she could come over and help!

Now I'm just going to get some cereal and have some breakfast:)

David Is Still Kicking

Last season in college football we were treated to one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history when Boise State defeated annual powerhouse Oklahoma.

Yesterday a upset happened that dwarfs that one completely as back to back Division II champions Appalachian State defeated the 5th ranked Michigan AT The Big House!!!!

Yes for the first time ever a ranked Division I team was beaten by a Division II team. Goliath just fell flat on his face yesterday as the team with a winning attitude was sent to be a sacrificial lamb warm up game in Michigan's march to a National Championship began.

Then the unthinkable happened, David came to play instead of laying down.

They pulled off the massive upset in the final twenty seconds as Michigan lined up for a chip shot field goal with twenty ticks left which would give Michigan a one point victory. What happened was that David blocked the field goal attempt and nearly scored another touchdown which sealed a 34-32 Appalachian State win and a place in college football history!

Expect Lloyd Carr to lose his job this season and expect Appalachian State to win another National Championship in Division II football.

Lagavulin

I purchased a bottle of 16 year old Lagavulin the other day. I have to say that this is a Islay scotch which means it is very smoky and peaty.

I have to say that after the first drink wasn't all that good. I had about 10% scotch the rest in water and ice. It was very very smoky. I mean it was like you took a whisky drink and put liquid smoke in it!

The second drink was much better actually, it had about 40% scotch and the rest in water and ice. There was so much more flavor that I was missing. There was a sweetness to it and it tasted more like a cookout. I sat there thinking that this would be great with friends around a campfire!

I also ordered two whisky glasses yesterday! I blogged about these glasses before, they were the ones used in Blade Runner. Well not the exact same glasses but the brand! They should be in this coming week!

I can't wait! It will be so great to have two quality glasses to drink from! Especially since late this year the Ultimate Blade Runner DVD set is coming out! You can bet where I'll be with glass in hand!

I really feel that my scotch experiment has been a success. I am able to distinguish flavors now and I really enjoy the differences! There is a huge difference between blends and single malts. Blends miss out on a lot of flavor. It is hard to explain but if you did the Pepsi Challenge with a blend and a single malt I am sure that you would prefer a single malt 9 out of 10 times!

Oh, I am off this coming week and I started my vacation yesterday! AH-HAHAHAHA!!!!!!

The Thirty Greatest

Over the past couple of days I've had a friend who has asked me about boxing. It is no secret that I entertained the notion of being a boxer in my younger days and have always followed the sport.

I'm no Bert Sugar when it comes to history but I'm decent in my own right when it comes to the sport and what is and isn't good. What makes a great fighter and what makes a bad fighter. So I was inspired to look up on You Tube the best boxing match EVER!

Now most people believe that the three greatest rounds were between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns. Well that was three fast paced, frenetic rounds, three.

The thirty best rounds ever fought, yes thirty, three entire non title fights! Well they were fought between Irish Mickey Ward and Arturo Thunder Gatti. You can find a nice recap on You Tube to see the brutality these men put themselves through.

Thunder is known for taking punishment and dishing out just as much if not more. He bleeds easy to his own detriment since fights tend to be called for blood in his eyes. He swells easy around his eyes as well and looks like a car accident victim at the end of most of his fights. He is a genuine warrior though. He never quits.

Irish Mickey Ward is your typical blue collar guy who has taken fights on very very short notice. He fought mostly on the club level and even hung up his gloves after several defeats at the start of his career. He doesn't have an ounce of flash in him. He isn't pretty and takes tons of damage to land one punch. He is also one of the few boxers who could knock out someone with a body shot. It is hard enough to KO someone with a head shot but read this again my friends, he could knock out opponents with a body shot.

Mickey Ward and Arturo Gatti fought three of the most ferocious fights ever. They are great friends now out side of the ring but in the ring they were enemies and gave no quarter and refused to ask any.

Ward retired after the third fight in 2003 I believe and has stood by his word refusing bigger money to come back. Gatti has had great fights since then but his peak was clearly the Ward fights with nothing more at stake than a win.

The ninth round of the first fight might very well be the greatest round ever fought in any era my friends. Both fighters could have quit and if it had been any other two fighters than Ward and Gatti, who's reputations for brawling fights and threshold for punishment had the ref allowing more latitude than normal, would have been stopped at least two times in that round alone. It was allowed to continue though and that turned the fight of the year into the fight of the century!

I still feel deeply honored to watch the battle they put on. It tells me that this is what boxing should be. Honest and respectful, giving your all while your opponent gives his all with the best man coming out on top. Who really won these three fights is immaterial in the overall picture, both fighters earned a spot in boxing immortality with the thirty greatest rounds ever fought.

If I ever get the chance to shake the hand of Mickey Ward and Arturo Gatti it will be with deep reverence and respect.

Lunch Time Problems

Well there I was. Driving to lunch when all of a sudden I heard a thunk and my power steering was gone. Not only that but since I drive a diesel I had no brakes either! So I was in quite a fix while going nearly 50 miles per hour.

I down shifted and started to break the momentum while fighting the steering and keeping it on the road. There was an intersection about a block away and I was still trying to get it slowed down. The brakes were pretty much gone but my foot was on the floor anyway and down shifted one more time to the lowest gear possible and was finally getting it all under control.

I got stopped at the intersection and rolled across to a dirt road at an idle. Pulled over, shut off the engine, and popped the hood.

What do I find? No more belts! They are all a tangled mess strung over the pulleys. The power steering belt had broken which also powers the power brakes. It also took the other two belts with it!

So now it wouldn't cool since there was no water pump belt. So I limp it to a quick shop near my work place and call in that I wouldn't be able to make it back that afternoon. So I very slowly and carefully drive the back roads to a mechanics shop I know works on diesels. I make it there safely and in about two hours there are new belts and two broken brackets.

So for now there is a temporary fix that should last plenty long enough to find a power steering pump bracket and a AC compressor bracket which bolts it to the block.

So now with my afternoon shot and I wasted four hours of leave I really didn't want to waste (I was planning on calling into work and taking Friday off) I decided to watch a recommended movie called The Five Obstructions.

It is a documentary where Lars von Trier challenges his hero, filmmaker Jergen Leth to remake his shot film, The Perfect Human except to remake it five times and with different obstructions that von Trier puts in his way each time. I really have mixed emotions about this documentary.

I guess over all it is about art. Jergen Leth pretty much lives in seclusion in Haiti so Lars von Trier, the founder of the Dogme 95 film edicts, challenges him to make a bad film and is seemingly disappointed each time Leth brings back a good remake. However the end reveals that he wanted his hero to be alive again, to feel young again, and by lovingly chastising him and pushing him he did that.

The methods used are debatable though, for instance the most memorable scene to me was the one filmed in the slums of Bombay, the most miserable place on Earth is how von Trier presented it. A full meal is consumed in front of a clear plastic backdrop in front of dozens of hungry street people.

I am not 100% for sure how I feel about this movie. It has good points and then disturbing points such as the meal. I do like the premise and how von Trier was more or less playing a role to challenge his hero to become his hero again but at what cost? When is art for the sake of art a bad thing?

It is subjective I guess.

Wednesday!

That means that after today I'm just two days away from a week off!
I planned it so that I would still have just over 100 hours of leave upon returning back to work. I like to keep my vacation around that level. It lets you have time off while still maintaining a comfortable margin in buildup.

In a pinch I could take a full two weeks off and still have half a week left over. So 100 hours is a nice place to be.

Over the past two weeks I've had some very very vivid dreams. I usually don't remember much of the content other than I have enjoyed them and there is lots of detail. I like this trend!

I've got two more people lined up for the Chiller TV contest and I'm working on a hospital or nursing home room! I will need it for less than a half hour. The scene has two doctors and the main character and that is really the only dialog in the whole short. Everything else is action.

It should be very easy to shoot and edit!

An Outline

I've got an outline of the short horror film project for Chiller. It should be simple enough to shoot and has a nice Twilight Zone twist at the end.

I've also digitized two more tapes for the documentary project. It is very time consuming since the tapes are an hour and a half apiece. I'm making progress though!

Work should be fairly easy today, I got most everything done yesterday. Since I'm taking off next week I have a feeling that once I return there will be a lot for me to do. Happens that way!

Michael Vick plead guilty yesterday to dog fighting charges and will be sentenced in December. The Falcons also played last night and knocked off one of the favorites to head to the Super Bowl this year in the Bengals. Joey Harrington is a good QB. He has played for two of the worst teams over the past few years and really didn't have a lot of help to show what he really can do. Now he is playing for a team that has a lot of talent and a pretty good albeit rookie head coach and should be able to put up good numbers.

Vick is gone from the NFL now and Barry Bonds can go back to being one of the most miserable people on the face of the planet.

Chiller TV Contest

I've got an idea in mind for a 5-8 minutes short for a contest on Chiller!

The prize is 5K plus your short gets shown on Halloween night!

I'm putting things together now so I'll write more when I have more in shape to do it! I'm off work next week and will be able to devote more resources to the project. I have contacted several people who have expressed interest already!

Oh and this didn't publish this morning and I didn't have time to correct the error so I'm home from work now and republishing it!

If Everything Goes Right

I'll have DirecTV installed today! My dad does installs on the side for them and has an extra set up!

I'm excited about getting satellite as my cable service refuses to get The NFL Network. I've tried with several emails and phone calls but they are NOT going to add it to their service. I'm not the only one who has tried by calling and emailing them either. They are just rock solid in their answer of NO! NO NFL NETWORK FOR YOU!!!!

I do plan on keeping my cable internet service though! I have no complaints about that at all. It is fast and reliable.

I am also considering the NFL Sunday Ticket package. I believe this would be an absolute blast to have! So I'll keep you informed and if I get the Ticket then I know there will be several get togethers at my house!

My 2007 Fantasy Football Team

I had a great time of course!

Second of all it was a tough draft with thirteen teams. Anything over twelve is tough!
I feel pretty good about my team! My strategy was to fill up the crucial positions first like RB and WR before getting a QB or the lesser positions.

1-13 Laurence Maroney (Solid RB with a high powered offense)
2-1 Terrel Owens (Primed for a huge year)
3-9 Brandon Jacobs (A giant of a RB who is unstoppable on the goal line)
4-5 Lee Evans (A WR with world class speed who breaks long TDs)
5-4 Isaac Bruce (Always a solid choice especially in this round, great value)
6-10 Calvin Johnson (Randy Moss in his rookie year here, should catch everything that comes his way and put up double digit TDs!)
7-6 Tatum Bell (just filling up my RB slots, a good pick in this round but not great)
8-8 Big Ben Roethlisberger (A solid QB who should be fully recovered after coming back way too soon last season from injury)
9-8 Denver's D and Special Teams (always solid, will put up decent D numbers)
10-6 Jason Elam (reliable and solid)
11-9 Chad Pennington (Has talent but has problems staying on the field due to injury)
12-5 Sebastian Janikowski (He kicks the ball)
13-10 Tampa Bay's D and ST (Always middle of the pack but not a lot left to choose from)

So as you can see the team has potential to score big every week as long as my blue chippers kick in with the production they should instead of last year when my first rounder (Tiki Barber) was horrible and just killed my team all year!

DRAFT DAY!!!!

Yes my friends the day is here that we all know and love, DRAFT DAY!!!!

I'll be drafting two teams today. One of my oldest friends from high school and FFL veteran in our league for 8 years now is going to be out of town and called last night to ask me to draft for him. I told him I'd draft his team as if it were my own. He got into the end of the season money last year so he is a good player and knows what he is doing.

So we went over some players he would like or not like, which team situations he wanted to stay away from, and basic early round strategies. I have a good idea of what he wants but he left all decisions up to my judgment.

I'll post my team after the draft is over this evening!

Just Over Twenty Fours Left

Until the draft starts!

I've done my final preparations and have a pen ready to go in and clean up on a championship team tomorrow! I'm excited and as ready as I can be!

Last night was fun, hung out with my traditional weekly friends and there was talk of joining a bowling league....hhhmmmmmm, it has been a long long time since I have bowled (even though I have one very interesting story of one of my longest and dearest friends and a bowling alley) and I think I can do it again.

It is being checked into over the next few days:) It could be a lot of fun!

Anyway last night was fun as usual and we all enjoyed each other's company very much!

T Minus Two Days And Counting

Down to the fantasy football draft!

My cheat sheets are in order, my sleepers securely tucked away until late in the draft, and I've studied trends, injury reports, and stats, stats, and even more stats! There is no name that is not known to me and how they will effect their team this season!

Tonight I am meeting my weekly hanging out friends at the pub for a drink or two and while football won't be part of the conversation it will be on my mind:) I love these hang out sessions!

The Myth That Is Megyn Kelly

I did a Kari Byron post quite a while back but now I might have a new favorite TV hottie. I've watched Megyn Kelly (formerly Kendall) for quite a while now and I have to say that she has to be Kari Byron's match!

Now she doesn't provide the traditional geek blowing things up fantasies that Kari provides but she provides more of the Law and Order intern making out with the hot lonely lawyer chick fantasies. I have noticed lately that she has taken to wearing some very becoming glasses.

She just exudes hot like Grace Kelly did. A combination of out and out hot with the sophistication and grace that makes the hot just frosting on a well educated cake.

Now don't get me wrong here, I'm not replacing Kari Byron as my favorite TV hottie, I'd say this is probably more of a happy tie. I'm just saying that if it was a desert island situation I'd want both with me.

Kari could do all of the Gilligan's Island Professor stuff while Megyn could negotiate with the natives and sue them into submission with her dazzling briefs and then on those special occasions I am thinking island mud wrestling....

I do believe that Kari would easily win, it looks like Megyn is too lithe to make it a fair contest however the real winner would be me of course!

Coffee With April

April, what can I say about April?
She has got to be the most innocent person in the world. A talented actor who is going to college in the next couple of days with a double major.

She is one example I can point to and hold up as the youth of tomorrow, that the world is going to be in good hands. Even when she does something bad it is something like chalking cows. You'd have to see them to understand.

She is someone I'm proud to know, she embodies the youthful enthusiasm we all once had and some of us remember and try to hang on to. She is responsible, intelligent, and an all around genuinely good person. I have a lot of memories of her and I'm looking forward to a whole lot more!

Last night a handful of us went out for coffee to send April off to college. Good Luck April!

A Good Weekend

I practiced painting by doing four paintings. They all suck but I was trying a different type than what I've done before. I've got some killer ideas to make some custom paintings for friends but I need to practice up first!

Tonight I've got going away coffee to go to, a sweetheart of a friend is going away to college this week and after a going away party yesterday a handful of us are going to a local coffee shop and saying good luck and have a safe trip again!

Seriously, she is the nicest, most innocent person in the world.

As for my weekly hang out evening with friends, this week it might include bowling and it might not. I feel like we are the cast from The Station Agent. The similarities are striking! Except none of us is a midget.

Just Under One Week Now!!!!

Yes my friends, one week from yesterday I will have my full fantasy football team drafted and ready to dominate the league this season!

This is one of the highlights of the year for me! All of the preparation, all of the draft strategies I read over, all of the expert's picks I evaluate. I have noticed one thing though, this marks eleven years now for me in this league and a lot of "experts" I have read have less years under their belt.

I feel that sometimes the "expert" title is used a bit too freely. The fact of the matter is that no one knows what is going to happen during the long and brutal season. I remember Jamal Anderson after his breakout season, he set the league record with 400+ carries, I can't recall the exact number at the moment. What happens next season after all of the experts had him as a top 3 lock to be the best RB that season? He blows out his knee which effectively ends his career.

That right there makes me very leery of Larry Johnson this season. He had 420 carries last season, he is holding out right now so it might be a moot point but he has a lot of wear and tear on him which makes him a high risk pick. KC has back up RBs who are looking to step up and show what they can do. They even drafted a rookie RB who could eventually take the reigns as the lead RB!

So now I give you my FFL Commandments:
I. Though shall draft the best RB available in the first round.

II. Though shall draft the best available player for your scoring format in the consecutive rounds.

III. Though shalt not buy the hype of rookies in the first round.

IV. Though shall pay attention to who has been drafted before your pick and not pick the same player. This annoyeth me.

V. Though shalt not pick your secret, sure fire, heavy hitter sleeper in the first round. This is NOT a sleeper, it is an overreach and should show everyone in the room you areth an idiot.

VI. Though shalt not get sucked into position runs. Excluding the RBs in the first round, buck the trend. When owners are picking the same position in a long run, that leaves other high value players available for your drafting pleasure.

VII. Your season is madeth or brokeneth in rounds 3 through 6. Your first and second rounders should be your guaranteed blue chipper studs who you can count on to produce points. The three through six pick are when owners are separated from the rest of the pack and shows your drafting expertise.

VIII. If though shall be able to draft more players with the same bye week the better! Chalk up one loss for that week and dominate the league with a full lineup when everyone else is less than 100%.

IX. Though shalt not be a homer fan. Don't draft more than one player from your favorite team.

X. Have fun with your fellow owners and enjoyeth the day!

Get in a league, they are easy to find even if it is a free for fun league. Have fun with the draft, if your team tanks early learn from your draft and what you can do differently next season. Have a blast!

Good Night, Good Friends!!!!

Last night Wendy, Bob, and I met at the Pub and just enjoyed the evening.

The conversation was good, life was kicked around and discussed to the nth degree. We all talked about our week, our loves, and our fears. This is starting to become a tradition over the past few months that I've really enjoyed and come to look forward to.

In other news Barry Bonds is still happy he isn't Michael Vick as there are now seven people who have agreed to testify against him. The feds are starting to toss around the term RICO which could lead to serious jail time if Vick is convicted or if he pleas down.

How stupid can you possibly be? Look no further than exhibit V.

Its Friday!

Just a short update post here. I am lead to believe that the weather will be cooling off this weekend and as such I might have the opportunity to practice painting!

I'm in a bit of a rush this morning, since it is payday I am also paying my bills this morning so I don't have a lot of blog time. So enjoy your weekends! Look me up if you are bored! Have a wonderful day!

The Macallan

Last night on my way home from work I decided to purchase my next phase in my scotch experiment, a bottle of The Macallan, a twelve year old single malt.

First impressions are that it is far more complex than The Glenlivet and The Glenmorangie, which I found to be the easiest, lightest, almost fruity of all I've tasted so far. The Macallan is heavier, not nearly as sweet, has some smoke and more peat in the taste.

I was going to buy a bottle of from the Islay region but I'm glad I didn't, I know I'm not ready for that taste yet. Lots of smoke and peat and probably the hardest or most complex taste to drink for beginners.

So I feel I've accomplished my goal thus far. I've not sampled all that Scotland has to offer but I've read about each region and know what sounds good to me. Perhaps if I could find a small bottle from an Islay distillery I'd sample it but at this point I really like The Glens much better than The Macallan which comes from The Speyside. You can look up Speyside distilleries and find the characteristics of such fairly easily from this link. It is very helpful!

So that is my scotch report and next time I believe I'm going with an older but not cask strength Glenlivet region whiskey!

So if anyone is out there and would like to head by for a drink of The Glenlivet, The Macallan, or Johnnie Walker Black, please do! You know you are all more than welcome!

I don't recommend the Johnnie Walker though once you have tried a single malt.

Aqua Teen Movie

Yep it finally arrived on DVD yesterday and I picked it up along with the latest from David Lynch, Inland Empire.

I watched all of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie with mixed emotions. I had to wonder if they were using the same writers that they used during the regular show. The wit wasn't there. The jokes were lame. There were no real laughing out loud moments that I have while watching the TV show.

I'm a big fan of the TV show but maybe this show works better in smaller segments instead of ninety minutes.

After the Aqua Teens I put in the new Lynch epic. All you know is that it is about a "Woman in trouble" and that is it. There are no descriptions anywhere to be read on the package. I watched the first couple of scenes and it is Lynch. Odd slices of life that only make sense in a much more abstract way or when viewed as a whole.

While being a lover of challenging movies is a good thing to be I also need to be in the mood for it and last night I just wasn't. I wanted to laugh and enjoy everything. Diving head first into a abstract three hour epic just wouldn't be as much fun at the time. Maybe tonight.

In other news my AC works wonders! It was incredibly cold when I got home while it was 103F outside!!!! I even turned it off around 8ish since it was getting uncomfortably cold!!!!

I hope you all have twice as good of a day as me and I plan on having a pretty good day!!!!

A/C Blues

Well my A/C at home has been threatening to go out for the past couple of weeks by making a really loud squealing noise that reminds me of nails on a chalk board. SO since I usually don't fix something until it is actually broke I decided to break the trend this time and replace it before it went out!

I have a friend with a truck meet me at Lowe's to haul home a nice unit I picked out the Saturday before. Yep I was planning ahead! I purchase the brand new and more powerful air conditioner and we load it up and head home!

What do I find when I get home? My installed unit had decided that enough was enough and had quit sometime during the day. Talk about perfect timing!!!!

I know that this week and maybe for the foreseeable future it is going to be triple digit hot so the brand new AC will fix all that and keep me the happy person I am:)

I know I should just start saving up and have my central unit replaced but this one is one tenth the price and does an incredible job! I had to turn it down last night because it was getting too cold in here! I'm anxious to see how good it feels when I get home this afternoon and it is North of 100!!!!

Sunday Was Nice!

First of all I went to a pretty nice pool party in the afternoon! Around forty people were there and I knew most of them. It was just a really cool time! The reason was because of the court date a couple of days before as I blogged about earlier.

Then it was back home for trashy VH1 celebreality. Rock of Love was just a typical mud football episode with Bret trying to get into the pants of one of the contenders. One of the nutso women wrote Bret a letter telling him about all of the motivations of the other women and only SHE was really here for him. Like he hasn't heard that line before.....

I hope these women are getting the medication they need.

I was flipping back and forth between that and Ice Road Truckers. Spring is just around the corner and the road is becoming treacherous. One trailer broke through the ice already. Three truckers got lost in a blizzard but made their destination after the storm passed. Next week is the finale.

The NFL pre season is in full swing now and every team has kicked the ball around. Very few of the stars have played more than a couple of drives and some haven't played a down yet. Typical as the coaching staffs sift through all of their coal to find the diamond that will help the team deep into the playoffs.

All in all a really good day my friends!

Awards NIght

It was really a lot of fun. I stayed up in the booth for the show and helped out when I could which wasn't much at all.

The food was good, the company was good, the evening was good! Cover of Life won best show, best supporting actress, and one other award that I can't think of while Red Hot Mamas won best actor, best cameo, male and female. Between these two shows they won the majority of the awards! Both shows were also shows I had personal involvement in so I felt pretty good:)

Today is another party to attend and I just have to ponder how good everything really is for me:)
My life rocks, my friends rock:)

Pretty Cool Evening!!!!

Well until we filmed Drinkbusters. It wasn't good, we had the worst drinks ever and the energy was scattered and flat. Everyone wasn't feeling it so I probably won't even edit and post it. I know they wouldn't appreciate it and I like keeping them as my friends.

It was wonderful to see Weezy and have some time to talk with her! She looked great and had a great time at the party. It was a pretty typical, very wild party.

I had a bad tire. It was going bad over the past week and finally gave out before I drove home last night, so this morning I was up early putting on the spare and buying two new front tires. I ran out to Lowe's after that and purchased some templates for the spray painting.

Well templates isn't entirely accurate but they are in a general sense. They are the clay discs that potted plants sit in. I got several sizes for covering planets up. They are heavy enough where the spray won't move them and thin enough to leave a sharp edge on the outside. I also got a long straight edge for water lines and horizons. My painting tools are pretty much complete now!

I just need to get out there and practice.

Camera Is Ready

Batteries are charged, tapes are at hand.

I can't spoil this morning but I can tell you that I'm going to court for the climactic happy ending to the documentary and then tonight guess what?

DRINKBUSTERS RETURNS!!!! We film tonight in front of a live audience!

That's right Weezy, Beersnob, and Chianti are all back in the saddle and ready to test the drinks you want to see! Well in this case the drinks Weezy wants to try, this is our reunion show since she is in from LA this week and taking a short vacation from the many TV shows and movies she has been in. And there are many!

Pre Season football started last night with Dallas romping over Indy. The game wasn't that good but it was football and enjoyed anyway!

So now I've got to get all showered up and ready for the courtroom, it's going to be a long day but a great day!!!!

A Really Good Night!!!!

Well two friends and I continued a tradition last night and sat outside the Pub and had about three hours of great conversation and a few drinks! It was windy but it was very comfortable and felt great out!

I had a single malt scotch, Glenmorangie, which was very easy to drink and had a very light and fruity flavor. I say that in a relative sense since I'm not talking about schnapps or a very heavy fruity based flavor.

I got in around midnight and had a very good night of rest. I feel pretty good this morning!

It looks like it is going to rain outside, I can see lightning in the distance! It is shaping up to be a great day my friends:)

Tomorrow I should be getting the final footage for the documentary project that was started way back in the early part of this year! It'll be a very happy ending and it shouldn't take long to edit together.

It'll be good though:)

Scotch Experiment Update

Last night was the first night that I actually tasted a sweet flavor in the Glenlivet. I believe I'm going to keep to the single malts.

Far be it from me to say I'm anything but a newbie at scotch however I can tell a big difference in blends and single malts now after a few days. The malts have unique flavors and are smoother. Now I'm sure that if you got good quality blends like Johnnie Walker Gold, Green, or Blue label you could tell a difference but right now The Glenlivet is very good and I've read about two others that are a step above it in smoothness and easily affordable as well.

Single malts offer flavors that are unique to particular areas of Scotland. One area offers more smoky flavors while another offers lighter and fruiter tastes. There are plenty of guides online for what areas offer what tastes and if you are interested.

Going to the Pub tonight to meet with friends! I'm really starting to love this tradition! My friends rock!!!!

We have three recipes for Friday's Drinkbusters episode to do and I can't wait! The crew is together again! Beersnob, Weezy, and Chianti! Wooohoooo!!!!
We'll be shooting it with an audience late Friday evening so I'll have it edited by sometime Saturday for sure!

Have a great day my friends!

300

I've finally been able to watch 300!!!!

What an incredible movie it is too! It takes the style of filmmaking in Sin City and expands upon it. Mostly green screen, lots of animated environments, and lots of action! This is a testosterone filled romp in the vein of Gladiator or Kingdom of Heaven.

More drama than historical but a fun ride despite the inaccuracies. The visuals are stunning! Someday I can't wait to see it on a HD system but only after one format wins, either Blu Ray or HD DVD.

One or the other will win and become dominate and then I jump on to the train.

That is beside the point though, the real point is this is an incredible movie and should be watched repeatedly. Again as per many of my reviews, I leave a lot out so you, my friends, can experience it fresh for yourselves:)

It has a substantial amount of blood but it is animated blood, like a dark Pixar movie. I remember claims while it was running in theaters that it was a right wing propaganda movie, well if right wing means brave men fighting for honor, freedom, and against slavery and tyranny against impossible odds then I agree otherwise it was just reviewers who didn't like it.

The scotch experiment is getting much easier. I purchased a bottle of The Glenlivet 12 year old after work and enjoyed that more than the blended Johnnie Walker Black Label. It just tastes different than a blended scotch. Well it should since it is a single malt.

Maybe A New Favorite "Has Been" Show!!!!

I know I've really been digging Rock Of Love for the past couple of weeks now but this past weekend I decided to check out another Has Been show, well with two Has Beens, The Two Coreys.

The Coreys are some of the best Has Beens this side of Gary Coleman! They are hilarious in their own clueless way. Haim seems to shift from event to event without a real direction other than being self absorbed. Feldman is trying very hard to grab onto married life and transferring from party boy into domestic man.

The first episode I watched was where the Feldmans invited this PETA chick over to have supper with them. Haim has pizza delivered and does a lot to bring all of the attention back to himself. Meanwhile the PETA chick goes on this rant about how you absorb all of the karma and pain the animal feels when they are made into tasty meat for consumption....yeah.....

Feldman's wife Susie, I think, has a meltdown because of Haim's constant crossing the lines. Whatever.

Anyway this is a decent show and kind of shows how people deal with not being celebrities anymore. Haim is really more about "The Coreys" than Feldman is who is just trying to move on into a new part of life. Haim is more of the guy who never evolves and is probably a lot like he was when he was two years old. He is really clinging on to any strand of fame he used to have.

It is funny and it is sad.

Even though I took one night off of the scotch experiment I resumed the experiment last night with the Johnnie Walker black label. It is early yet but I'm starting to be able to tell a difference.
Freaky huh?

One Fine Day!

So Friday Chianti asks me to help her move. I can never refuse anything a friend of mine needs if I can actually help or do what they ask of me. So I figured it would be a fun day since most of the people she invited I know and enjoy!

Around 8:30 I head over to her place and we start to load up! We finish around 2:00ish and Chianti treats us to a wonderful dinner and frozen margaritas!!!! She always knows how to treat her friends!!!!

I'm exhausted at this point and instead of planning on going out I decide to stay in for the evening when Beersnob calls and asks a favor, again which I won't turn down and it is for Beersnob afterall!!!! So I agree to film the theater's performance of Four Women West, a play written locally so Beersnob can create DVDs for the cast without copyright infringements.

I head up to the theater around 7 and start to set up and chat with the cast before the performance begins. The show starts and I get all of it on film except the last three minutes or so. Just ran out of tape. I thought the show was less than ninety minutes but it wasn't. Weezy showed up from LA on vacation and we hugged!!!!

After the show we headed to Panevino for a wrap up and chill out session. I get some food and a tequila sunrise (I decided three nights in a row of scotch is good) and they messed up the Sunrise. So after eating and a drink Bob and I decide to head over to the Pub and have another drink. I ask Weezy when she would like to do Drinkbusters and since Beersnob was there we had 2/3rds of the Busters present. It looks like we will be filming around Friday night. It is around midnight at this point so we chill and have some better drinks.

Finally around 1 I decide to head back home and get some much needed sleep. It has been a long day but a darn fine day with darn fine people!

Scotch Experiment Part 3

Last night's selection was Glenlivet twelve year old scotch. It was a smooth single malt. I'm starting to distinguish flavors while sipping.

Which after just three days is not bad in my humble opinion:)

We hung out at a local establishment last night, not the regular pub but one close to it. Feeling Groovy, Beersnob and his family and Bob. It was a good time and much fun was had:)

Have I told you all lately that my life rocks?

Modern Dreams, Treadmills, and Norman Rockwell

So there I was yesterday turning over calendar to a new month and what was there? A painting that hit me very hard. It accurately depicted what I was feeling at the time and what has been rolling around in my head since last Friday night.

It is a Norman Rockwell painting called Boyhood Dreams. Now anyone who knows me knows I love Norman Rockwell's work. It is Americana and timeless.

It features a young farm boy who is sitting on a rail fence that surrounds a garden in which he was working the ground with a hoe. His dog is at his side. They are watching a train go by in the distance. Since it is a painting you are left to ponder what he is thinking about.

For me he is thinking about all of the great things he can do if he wasn’t doing what he was doing. Running away and living an exciting life. He has experienced farm life and yearns for more and different experiences. He longs to see what the world has to offer him. He craves something different, something exciting, and yet there he is, stuck where he is while he feels life is passing him by. He feels like he is missing out on so many things.

The fact that the train is so far away from where he is seated symbolizes, to me, how far he feels he is away from what he would like to experience. The train is moving away from him, as if leaving him stuck where he is at.

This painting really speaks to me, especially lately. I’m starting to wonder exactly how much of a treadmill I’m on. I’m starting to wonder if it is possible to get off of the treadmill. I’m starting to wonder even if it was possible and I could jump off the treadmill, then what? I’m starting to think I’d like to experience much more than what I am currently.

What is out there to experience? What is new under the Sun, so to speak?

Alright say that you are Bill Gates or at least you have his resources. Nothing is impossible to you. If you wanted to buy every team in the NFL, it was all yours with millions to spare. What is there for you to do then? Say you love traveling! Alright, how long would it take you to see every single nook and cranny in the world? Five years tops? Yeah, probably. Then what do you do. What is left to experience then? What exactly do you have to look forward to at that point after you have become Charles Foster Kane at Xanadu.

Do you become unhappy after you have experienced everything and realize there is nothing left OR are you internally unhappy to start which causes you to start looking for new experiences to dull the empty ache you feel inside? Nearly a chicken or the egg problem huh?

Chianti and I were sort of mulling this over last Friday night. We started talking about how much Oprah makes per year and how it is hard to fathom having that kind of money and what to do with it all. It was just polite drinking conversation but the topic stuck with me until seeing the painting today on the calendar. It kind of made me put one and one together and jump started the idea process.

I’m one step ahead of the game in that regard. I know what my passion is. I’m pretty clear on that. I’ve had a tremendous creative streak lately so that is pretty cool as well.

All of that tells me that if I'm on a treadmill it is slowing down if not stopping. If it is stopping then it is possible to get off and if that is possible then anything is possible!!!!

Thanks to Norman Rockwell, Chianti, and a metaphor of a treadmill my dreams are in the process of happening!

Scotch Experiment Part 2

Well it went a lot better tonight. I used a higher quality of scotch and less water.

I held the drink in my mouth longer and tried to distinguish the flavors.
Much easier tonight than last night's experiment.

Day 1

My friends I am a seasoned drinker. I don't drink often but I'm not a stranger to it either. I can handle tequila well. I can distinguish the flavors and good from bad.

Scotch on the other hand was rough. Day 1 was....a struggle to say the least.
I had one drink at the pub hanging with some fine company and having a great time and it took more water being added to the scotch and rocks to finally get it down.

It is a sipping drink for sure. The more diluted it got the more flavors I could taste. I was planning a whole month to learn how to drink scotch but I reserve the right to pull the plug early if I choose to. It was rough, I'm not going to lie to you my friends.

I don't know if I'm going to make the entire month, I don't even know if I'm going to make the remainder of the week if it is as rough as that was last night!

I can tell that drinking scotch is definitely an acquired taste, my friends drink beer and I feel no need what so ever to develop a taste for that. I might just wind up not expanding my horizons and stick to tequila and drinks I'm more comfortable with.

So everyone out there have a great day!!!!

I Saw This Woman

On TV a few days ago and did some research into her.
She is simply amazing.

What she does is hug people. She goes on tours and hugs people. She happens to believe, as do I, that most of the problems in the world can be solved by compassion.

I don't think hugging terrorists would really change their minds much about hating us but for reasonable people who aren't barbarians, yes.

She raises millions of dollars for diasters, thousands wait in line for her to hug them and give them encouragement. She is an incredible person. I'm not Hindu but I'd go see her.

Now for something a little less spiritual and a little more sinful. Tonight I plan on starting a new project. I have some incredible friends as I've written many times and at least two of them have a taste for scotch. I've tried it and didn't really see what it was about.

I understand that it takes a bit of time to develop a taste and start to understand the flavors that go into scotch so during the month of August I'm making a conscious effort to develop a taste for scotch whiskey. Tonight will be the first entry into the experiment.

I hope it goes better than my watching MTV for a whole day experiment that I blogged about a long time ago. I'm sure it is in the archives and a quick search would bring it up.

Wow that was a tough one.