You Can Be a Doctor, a Lawyer, or an Indian Chief, but you can't be the American Dream!

Thank you Bob for reminding me when wrasslin' ruled.

Ramblings

I apologize for the small gap between posts. I got a new cell phone and I have been distracted with creating ring tones out of my MP3's. It's a very daunting task trying to decide what song fits each person in my contacts. I'm currently debating between "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" and "Copacabana" for MOL Jr. Thanks to the freeware Audacity the actual editing has been pretty easy.

I have also been distracted by the constant barrage of close games that have taken place during March Madness. Of course George Mason sank any chance I had of winning the office pool. I was so close. I just needed UConn to win out. That's all I needed! Alas it was not to be. I was torn between rooting for the underdog and rooting for some extra spending money. Anyway, every time I sat down to write I'd hear the announcers scream about something, and of course I'd grab my Tivo remote to see what happened. Then I'd get sucked into the game and end up watching it till the end. That's excuse No. 2.

Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector made a little over $7 mil on its opening weekend. Why and How? Come on people, you must know better. Of course this is coming from the guy who is going to pay money to see Slither. Maybe I should just shut up. I am also really looking forward to Brick which opens in LA and NY this weekend. That should be able to balance out Slither.

Another big weekend is coming up. I have another fantasy baseball draft, but there is something bigger happening this weekend. Wrestlemania! It's the only time I click the "buy now" button on my remote. Usually, it's not worth it even though it is the Super Bowl of wrestling. I will say I'm looking forward to the "Money in the Bank" ladder match. Watching the elderly Findlay and Ric Flair have to climb ladders could be highly entertaining or very frightening.

I've been playing Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence for the PS2 off and on. I've always been reluctant to pick it up because I'm not a big fan of the stealth games. But with it getting a crap load of great reviews I decided to pick it up used. I'm pretty impressed. There are still times that I just want to stop crawling in the weeds and shoot everything. The story and its characters are weird enough to keep me involved. I really didn't mind spending nearly an hour and a half trying to snipe one of the bosses. Especially since you are able to snipe the guy's parrot if you can find it.

One thing I still marvel at is how more open I am to other foods. Up until grad school I wouldn't think of eating Indian food. Now I can't get enough. I credit both my job and my selection in women. Being as accommodating as I am, I could never say "no" to where they wanted to eat. It kind of forced me into trying new things. Better than looking like a schmuck. I still may not like sushi, but I've tried it.

How long does balsamic vinegar dressing keep? I just realized I have two unopened bottles sitting on the shelf. They've been there almost a year and a half. That's probably not good.

I should probably take down my little Christmas tree too.

Ramblings (TV Edition)

Remember the days when you couldn't wait till September or October because that was when the new show would debut? You would get all excited seeing ads for new shows and teasers of the new season of your favorite show. It hasn't been that way for awhile. Sure, I was anticipating Lost, but that's about it. I guess due to my contract I have to put CSI: Miami in there. But that's really about it. The Shield and 24 don't start till January. Rescue Me is a summer show. This got me thinking. Why can't the new TV season start in January? Clearly the old belief that nobody watches TV during the summer is incorrect. What else comes out during January and February? Nothing. It's a dumping ground for movies. Maybe one or two decent albums are released. TV should take full advantage of this and start shows mid January. I realize with the industry there would be a big hubbub raised about not getting their summers off. My answer is that they can still have the same shooting schedule just don't air them till January. This way we don't have to have extended runs of repeats. Most of the shows will be in the can, and they just have to shuffle them out. 24 should be the production model for TV shows. They start production early and air their shows back to back. No reruns! I realize this wouldn't be possible for all shows. I'm just getting tired of having one new episode a month for shows like Lost. Maybe the best would be to break the year into two seasons?

Anyway, let's catch up with what I'm watching and what you should be watching. For all you Tivo people who wait months till watching the episodes there will be spoilers for the following shows: The Shield, 24, Lost, etc.

The Shield: The season finale is this Tuesday. Usually in a Shield season the second to last episode is the climax in the arc and the last episode deals with the aftermath. It's different this time around. I have no idea what's going to happen. Someone is going to die...I think. Everything is up in the air. Are Kavanaugh and Acevedo finally going to get the Strike Team behind bars? What is Antwon Mitchell up to? Who's the father of Danny's kid? How is the new recruit, Tina, going to screw up and get someone killed? My biggest question is: What's going to happen to Lemonhead? Is he going to die? Is he going to finally rat on the team? Is he going to make it to Mexico? It all leads to at least him not coming back next season. It's a shame because I loved Lemonhead's tortured conscience and his ulcer. Man I love this show.

24: 24 has become TV's Florida Marlins? They've nixed nearly every veteran of the show. President Palmer, Tony and Michelle, and Edgar are all dead. They even killed Rudy! Only Jack and Miss Potato Face are left. Poor Edgar Stiles. His death scene may be one of my favorites in awhile. No screaming and hollering. He just had that "Oh crap!" look on his face, and then he tumbled over. The thing is we are only halfway through the season. What the hell else can happen? Is Jack going to die? I keep thinking they are cleaning house, so they can start over. Maybe they'll make Chloe the next star of 24? Maybe not.

Lost: If they actually aired back to back new episodes maybe I might start caring. I will give them props for at least giving me a little something to think on with Australian chick finding out what happened to her during her abduction.

Sopranos: Wow! What a dump they took with the second episode. To start off with a death/dream sequence and then scrap it halfway through the episode? I imagine the conversation went like this:

Chase: Hey. How far along are you with the episode?
Writer: Um, I'm about 25 pages in. Why?
Chase: It seems we already did a crappy dream episode last season.
Writer: What?
Chase: It's been two years. I can't remember everything.
Writer: What am I supposed to do?
Chase: Just end the dream sequence now and have the family standing around crying and stuff for the rest of the episode. At least the actors can work on their crying.
Writer: Ok.
Chase: Oh! Oh! Oh! Throw in a terrorist subplot!
Writer: But we haven't set-up anything about terrorists.
Chase: Just introduce some new characters out of the blue. Think of the residuals you'll get when they show up the rest of the season.
Writer: Yeah! Hey. With all the crying do you think we can submit this to the Emmys?
Chase: I've already made room on my mantle.

Also, who's the guy that hung himself and why am I supposed to care?

Thief: I have pretty high hopes for this show that replaces the Shield on FX. It has a solid cast headed by acting stud Braugher. It looks slick. If Thief pans out, FX will be the best network on TV. If they can improve Nip/Tuck, or get a better replacement that will be a full year of quality television. Maybe these 12 episode seasons aren't so bad.

Invasion: Nearly having the same problem as Lost. It makes me think this scheduling is ABC trying to milk as much as they can out of these shows. They are screwing the fans over. New episodes of Invasion aren't going to air till May I think. May! Still, I can't wait to see what that crazy dead girl is going to give birth to.

Finally, I was flipping through the channels Saturday night, and suddenly had an 80's flashback. Saturday Night's Main Event was once again on NBC. What is up? Is NBC that desperate to fill their slots? They even went with the same old school logo. How could I not watch it? Oh the times I'd be so thrilled to have wrestling on NBC at night. It was almost like free pay-per-view matches. Almost. Of course, this is all a build up to Wrestlemania which is two weeks away. The matches were basically all stunt matches. I still got a kick out of Shawn Michaels back dropping Shane McMahon from the top of a ladder into a couple tables.

Ramblings

First off, did anyone happen to see the simulated press conference Sportscenter had for the Red Sox. They had Steve Phillips playing the roll of GM, and he fielded questions from ESPN analysts about what decisions the Red Sox are facing this off season. Monday, they are doing the same thing with the Yankees. I know there have been numerous complaints about ESPN being bias toward the Red Sox and Yankees, but I was never really bothered by it. That is until now. Being a “National” sports network, if you do this for two teams, you need to do this for all the teams. I’m not speaking of just the Cubs either. From Houston to Kansas City, they should all be covered. Actually, the whole thing was just painful to watch. Maybe it’s a good idea they didn’t do this for all teams.

Some of my favorite sounds:
-The laugh my nieces make when I chase them around.
-The sound of the bell when Ohio State has their opponent facing 3rd down. Sure I expect
AC/DC’s Hells Bells to follow, but I also expect the Buckeyes to force a fourth down.
-The sound of my iBook starting

I once went out with a girl whose family had a pet baboon. How do you legally own a pet baboon? The girl ended up being rather crazy. I don’t know why I was surprised by that.

Why is it every supposed good football match-up always end up in a blowout. The Miami/ V. Tech game being another example.

I’ve recently been playing Resident Evil 4 on the PS2. I got it because it was thoroughly praised by the press. I’m about halfway through and I’m fairly under whelmed. It might be the most overrated game of the year. Yes, it looks outstanding. Yes, the story’s pretty cool. I find myself constantly frustrated rather than challenged by the difficult parts of the game. Also, I should be able to run. Really, if I’m facing some giant troll like creature, I should be able to do more than just walk. I know most will give this game of the year, but they’re wrong. The game of the year is a toss up between God of War and Shadow of the Colossus.

I’m a bit of a hypochondriac.

A “bit” is an understatement.

I admit it. Sometimes I will watch wrasslin’ every now and then. In fact I still daydream sometimes about being a professional wrestler. Even though Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat was my favorite wrestler when I was a kid, I’d want to be a heel. It’s always more fun to play the bad guy.

I went to a party Saturday night where a grown man took the game Celebrity too seriously. That always makes for an awkward moment.

For some reason today the theme song to 3-2-1 Contact popped into my brain. “Contact…is the answer…to the question…” The Bloodhound Gang was another thing that made me want to become a P.I. I still remember that one of the clues was written out on a belt, but to read it the gang had to wrap it around a cane.