http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2071984
Evan4444 (1:54:44 PM): you watchin duke
Evan4444 (1:54:46 PM): lacrosse
jmrnavydoc (1:54:47 PM): yeah
jmrnavydoc (1:54:50 PM): good game
Evan4444 (1:54:53 PM): its like, if they win, then thats good
Evan4444 (1:54:56 PM): if they lose, i hated them anyway
Evan4444 (1:54:57 PM): so thats good too
jmrnavydoc (1:55:00 PM): yes
jmrnavydoc (1:55:01 PM): agreed
Evan4444 (1:55:03 PM): i can't lose!
jmrnavydoc (1:55:29 PM): i hate rooting for those bastards
Evan4444 (1:55:40 PM): its like, i hate them already
Evan4444 (1:55:46 PM): and then every second the announcers are like
Evan4444 (1:55:53 PM): they all have great jobs waiting for them on wall street!
Evan4444 (1:56:03 PM): every three minutes the announcers talk about their jobs!
Evan4444 (1:56:09 PM): i get it! they have connections!
jmrnavydoc (1:56:22 PM): haha
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Sunday, May 29, 2005
*My month of June is extremely free. As in, I have pretty much zero work to do. LSAT classes and tutoring do not really happen in June, so I don't know what to do with myself. My initial thought was to work with my buddy Brandon who runs his own sort of contracting company. Maybe company is too strong of a word, but he lays tile and does other stuff like that, and I think it would be neat to learn. But I've also thought about playing online poker for 8 or 9 hours a day to see if I can make enough to cover my expenses for the month. I'd have to up the ante a little bit... I usually do $5.50 18 person sit and go tournaments (first place gets 40%, second gets 30%, through fourth), and do well enough in them. But it'd certainly be interesting to see if my skill level is high enough to make a semi-living with it. I've been a pretty consistent winner over the last year and a half (making probably around 700 bucks), so its not inconceivable. But who knows? Maybe an option C will appear.
*I've been trying to come up with the three celebrity women who I'm "allowed" to sleep with if the opportunity so arises. My first choice was Jennifer Love Hewitt.
My second choice was Heather Mitts.
But my third choice has been up in the air forever. Kim recently demanded that I freakin pick someone, but at that point I started thinking about criteria. Should I pick someone unmarried? Should I pick someone that gets all drunk easy (Tara Reid), thus raising my chances from .001 percent to .002? Well, I probably shouldn't use extra criteria at all. But that just leads to Jessica Alba...
*On a related note to the June poker thing, if you ever watch the US Poker Championships 2004 (on ESPN2, NOT the World Series of Poker), you can see one of the most painful exits ever by John D'Agostino. He was the gigantic chip leader when the final table started, but bad beat after bad beat hits him and he goes out like seventh. Its kind of sad and hilarious at the same time.
*I've watched a lot of Law and Order SVU and CSI lately, and its weird when some of the episodes actually touch a nerve in you. One of the SVU episodes tonight was about organ donors; they were chasing after some guys who were performing organ transplants to people who were at the bottom of the organ donor list. The thing was, they were using people who wanted to willingly donate and sell their organs (which of course doesn't fly in the United States). So there were all these moral dilemmas the chracters faced, etc. I'm an organ donor, and its really up to the person, but I do feel that in order to be eligible for an organ donation, you should be an organ donor yourself. But I doubt that it ever will be that way.
*I've been trying to come up with the three celebrity women who I'm "allowed" to sleep with if the opportunity so arises. My first choice was Jennifer Love Hewitt.
My second choice was Heather Mitts.
But my third choice has been up in the air forever. Kim recently demanded that I freakin pick someone, but at that point I started thinking about criteria. Should I pick someone unmarried? Should I pick someone that gets all drunk easy (Tara Reid), thus raising my chances from .001 percent to .002? Well, I probably shouldn't use extra criteria at all. But that just leads to Jessica Alba...
*On a related note to the June poker thing, if you ever watch the US Poker Championships 2004 (on ESPN2, NOT the World Series of Poker), you can see one of the most painful exits ever by John D'Agostino. He was the gigantic chip leader when the final table started, but bad beat after bad beat hits him and he goes out like seventh. Its kind of sad and hilarious at the same time.
*I've watched a lot of Law and Order SVU and CSI lately, and its weird when some of the episodes actually touch a nerve in you. One of the SVU episodes tonight was about organ donors; they were chasing after some guys who were performing organ transplants to people who were at the bottom of the organ donor list. The thing was, they were using people who wanted to willingly donate and sell their organs (which of course doesn't fly in the United States). So there were all these moral dilemmas the chracters faced, etc. I'm an organ donor, and its really up to the person, but I do feel that in order to be eligible for an organ donation, you should be an organ donor yourself. But I doubt that it ever will be that way.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Movie Review: Maria Full of Grace (spoilers involved)
Maria is a Columbian girl who is attractive, bold, independent, and seemingly smart. She shows little fear in climbing buildings or telling her loser boyfriend that, while she is pregnant with his baby, she doesn't love him, and won't marry him. She quits her job at a flower place because her boss is a jackass. While her family constantly rails on her to help out her sister (who has a kid and is apparently useless), she takes their abuse but gives back as much as they shell out at her. In other words, she seems like a pretty intelligent protagonist. She's someone you can really root for.
And then, at random times, she turns into a moron. Which made the movie infuriating to me.
It would almost be defensible if she just turned into a moron for the rest of the movie at some point. Or if she just took a slow gradual turn into a moron. But her idiocy is pretty random in the middle to late stages of the movie.
As a first time drug mule, she is given a few things that she needs to get into the United States. Her passport, her visa, and the information of the hotel where she's supposed to be staying (in case customs asks her). Three things. And then on the plane, somehow, she loses the hotel information. She had three things to keep track of and she couldn't even do that. You see this happen and you're like, what? I would expect that of a bumbling idiot, but not Maria. In any event, this makes her life immensely harder as she tries to get through customs.
She survives customs, and then meets up with the other mules in a hotel room full of not so nice guys. Things go smoothly, and you think that she's back to her old reasonably intelligent self. Nope. When one of the other mules has a drug pellet break open insider of her (more or less guaranteeing death), Maria is understandably shaken. When she wakes up and sees blood in the bathroom (presumably because the guys who are collecting the drugs needed to get the rest of the drugs out of the mule's dead body), she reverts back to her moron form again. For some reason, she coerces her friend (another mule) to run away with her from the now unguarded hotel room.
And they TAKE THE DRUGS WITH THEM.
It would sort of make sense them running away. Okay not really. Maria should have realized that the only reason that girl died was because of the pellet breaking; after all, it was that mule's third trip into the US. Its not a one and done proposition. But anyway, lets give her the benefit of the doubt and say that she fears for her safety.
Why in gods name would you take the drugs with you? The one thing those drug guys want more than anything in the world?
The rest of the movie consists of Maria doing random, inexplicably stupid things. You start to think that the movie can only end badly, which would make it a tragedy, but it would be justified given the protagonist's actions throughout the second half of the movie. But no, everything works out nicely in the end. I guess stupidity does pay.
From the New York Times:
If Maria's story is a template for countless others like it, what keeps your heart in your throat during the movie is Maria herself. In a performance that feels lived in rather than acted, Ms. Moreno's Maria is an attractive, smart, spirited young woman who faces the challenge of fending for herself with a fierce determination and an ingenuity that compromises but never undermines her essential decency and morality.
If I watched only the first half of the movie, I'd agree totally with this assessment. But her actions in the second half are so out of character with what she was built up to be in the first half, that I just got annoyed.
Grade: C-
Maria is a Columbian girl who is attractive, bold, independent, and seemingly smart. She shows little fear in climbing buildings or telling her loser boyfriend that, while she is pregnant with his baby, she doesn't love him, and won't marry him. She quits her job at a flower place because her boss is a jackass. While her family constantly rails on her to help out her sister (who has a kid and is apparently useless), she takes their abuse but gives back as much as they shell out at her. In other words, she seems like a pretty intelligent protagonist. She's someone you can really root for.
And then, at random times, she turns into a moron. Which made the movie infuriating to me.
It would almost be defensible if she just turned into a moron for the rest of the movie at some point. Or if she just took a slow gradual turn into a moron. But her idiocy is pretty random in the middle to late stages of the movie.
As a first time drug mule, she is given a few things that she needs to get into the United States. Her passport, her visa, and the information of the hotel where she's supposed to be staying (in case customs asks her). Three things. And then on the plane, somehow, she loses the hotel information. She had three things to keep track of and she couldn't even do that. You see this happen and you're like, what? I would expect that of a bumbling idiot, but not Maria. In any event, this makes her life immensely harder as she tries to get through customs.
She survives customs, and then meets up with the other mules in a hotel room full of not so nice guys. Things go smoothly, and you think that she's back to her old reasonably intelligent self. Nope. When one of the other mules has a drug pellet break open insider of her (more or less guaranteeing death), Maria is understandably shaken. When she wakes up and sees blood in the bathroom (presumably because the guys who are collecting the drugs needed to get the rest of the drugs out of the mule's dead body), she reverts back to her moron form again. For some reason, she coerces her friend (another mule) to run away with her from the now unguarded hotel room.
And they TAKE THE DRUGS WITH THEM.
It would sort of make sense them running away. Okay not really. Maria should have realized that the only reason that girl died was because of the pellet breaking; after all, it was that mule's third trip into the US. Its not a one and done proposition. But anyway, lets give her the benefit of the doubt and say that she fears for her safety.
Why in gods name would you take the drugs with you? The one thing those drug guys want more than anything in the world?
The rest of the movie consists of Maria doing random, inexplicably stupid things. You start to think that the movie can only end badly, which would make it a tragedy, but it would be justified given the protagonist's actions throughout the second half of the movie. But no, everything works out nicely in the end. I guess stupidity does pay.
From the New York Times:
If Maria's story is a template for countless others like it, what keeps your heart in your throat during the movie is Maria herself. In a performance that feels lived in rather than acted, Ms. Moreno's Maria is an attractive, smart, spirited young woman who faces the challenge of fending for herself with a fierce determination and an ingenuity that compromises but never undermines her essential decency and morality.
If I watched only the first half of the movie, I'd agree totally with this assessment. But her actions in the second half are so out of character with what she was built up to be in the first half, that I just got annoyed.
Grade: C-
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
I have no idea what to blog about.
I tried blogging about how Blockbuster online is killing me by not sending me the CSI Season 3 discs that are at the top of my queue. Instead I'm getting such classics as I, Robot, and Maria Full of Grace. "Short wait," my ass. Its been like 3 weeks.
But that didn't work out so well. It just became a confusing mess of an entry.
I tried blogging about how Blockbuster online is killing me by not sending me the CSI Season 3 discs that are at the top of my queue. Instead I'm getting such classics as I, Robot, and Maria Full of Grace. "Short wait," my ass. Its been like 3 weeks.
But that didn't work out so well. It just became a confusing mess of an entry.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
There have been very few instances in my life where after driving some distance, I was able to say to myself, "I frickin dominated out on the road today."
One was when I made it back from Duke in under six hours. Durham, NC, to Cinnaminson, NJ, 417 miles including the dreaded area around the VA/MD border, and a stop for gas. I only accomplished this feat once, but after doing so, I was able to say, "I dominated!"
I had another of these rare instances this past Sunday.
I usually take I-295 to US 1 to get back to Highland Park from Cinnaminson. The traffic usually isn't too bad, a 295 is relatively clear and Route 1, while it has a lot of lights, generally isn't bad except around the Princeton area. As I was driving on 295 this past Sunday morning, I saw some sort of electronic sign that said something about Route 1. But I looked at it at just the wrong time; I only caught the part that said something about an accident, and then it flashed to a new message. And I was past the sign by the time it changed back to the message that concerned me. Meh, what else was I going to do at this point? I was already past the point of no return.
Long story short (I just tried typing it out, failing miserably), I basically avoided 3 lanes merging into one at a stop light, (making it ten times worse), by weaving my way through the Princeton area. As I turned back onto Route 1, with the gnarled mass of traffic directly on my right, and like zero cars ahead of me on my left, I let out a primal scream of accomplishment. I had just saved around 20 minutes of my life!
Actually, it wasn't really a primal scream. It was more like a "Wooooooo!"
In any event, I dominated.
One was when I made it back from Duke in under six hours. Durham, NC, to Cinnaminson, NJ, 417 miles including the dreaded area around the VA/MD border, and a stop for gas. I only accomplished this feat once, but after doing so, I was able to say, "I dominated!"
I had another of these rare instances this past Sunday.
I usually take I-295 to US 1 to get back to Highland Park from Cinnaminson. The traffic usually isn't too bad, a 295 is relatively clear and Route 1, while it has a lot of lights, generally isn't bad except around the Princeton area. As I was driving on 295 this past Sunday morning, I saw some sort of electronic sign that said something about Route 1. But I looked at it at just the wrong time; I only caught the part that said something about an accident, and then it flashed to a new message. And I was past the sign by the time it changed back to the message that concerned me. Meh, what else was I going to do at this point? I was already past the point of no return.
Long story short (I just tried typing it out, failing miserably), I basically avoided 3 lanes merging into one at a stop light, (making it ten times worse), by weaving my way through the Princeton area. As I turned back onto Route 1, with the gnarled mass of traffic directly on my right, and like zero cars ahead of me on my left, I let out a primal scream of accomplishment. I had just saved around 20 minutes of my life!
Actually, it wasn't really a primal scream. It was more like a "Wooooooo!"
In any event, I dominated.
Monday, May 23, 2005
*Following up on that Carlos Zambrano post from a few days ago... this is just too funny.
Its not the 130 pitch outings that are giving him elbow problems. Its the damn computer!
Its not the 130 pitch outings that are giving him elbow problems. Its the damn computer!
Saturday, May 21, 2005
I drove up to the Cinnaminson Acme this morning to buy my mom a Snapple 24 pack (only 10 dollars, on sale) and some shaving cream, and a little kid out front approached me. He asked me if I wanted to buy a raffle ticket. I looked around a bit, and saw it was for "Project Challenge."
Project Challenge is a special program for 3rd to 8th graders in Cinnaminson Elementary and Middle Schools. It is for children who are deemed "gifted." Basically they take you out of your normal classes for one day a week, and you do all sorts of stuff that you wouldn't normally do in class. We would learn to count in french, make sugar crystallize in water, touch type, take special trips, etc. It wasn't super exclusive - I'd say there were about 10-15 kids from each grade level who got to go. But it was a nice break from the normal routine.
I told the kid I would buy some when I come out of the store. And when I came out, I bought a couple tickets and mentioned to them that I was once in Project Challenge. Then I heard a voice, and saw a familiar face, Mrs. Mendelow, who was the Project Challenge instructor. It was like 15 years ago, but she still sort of recognized me. We chatted about where I went to school and what I'm doing now, and I asked about how the program was going. She's been teaching for 39 years (although I'm not sure if its been all with Project Challenge). Then she took a couple pictures with me.
Honestly, I'm kind of surprised its still around. It certainly was a very nice program; but in this day and age where every possible effort is made to make all kids feel equal, a program that takes supposedly the brightest out of the classes for a day a week seems a bit out of place.
Thats kind of sad.
Project Challenge is a special program for 3rd to 8th graders in Cinnaminson Elementary and Middle Schools. It is for children who are deemed "gifted." Basically they take you out of your normal classes for one day a week, and you do all sorts of stuff that you wouldn't normally do in class. We would learn to count in french, make sugar crystallize in water, touch type, take special trips, etc. It wasn't super exclusive - I'd say there were about 10-15 kids from each grade level who got to go. But it was a nice break from the normal routine.
I told the kid I would buy some when I come out of the store. And when I came out, I bought a couple tickets and mentioned to them that I was once in Project Challenge. Then I heard a voice, and saw a familiar face, Mrs. Mendelow, who was the Project Challenge instructor. It was like 15 years ago, but she still sort of recognized me. We chatted about where I went to school and what I'm doing now, and I asked about how the program was going. She's been teaching for 39 years (although I'm not sure if its been all with Project Challenge). Then she took a couple pictures with me.
Honestly, I'm kind of surprised its still around. It certainly was a very nice program; but in this day and age where every possible effort is made to make all kids feel equal, a program that takes supposedly the brightest out of the classes for a day a week seems a bit out of place.
Thats kind of sad.
Friday, May 20, 2005
May 8: CHICAGO (AP) -- With a pump of his fist, Carlos Zambrano put an emphatic end to the Chicago Cubs' losing streak.
The fiery right-hander struck out Jose Offerman with his 136th pitch to end the game, and the Cubs snapped their seven-game skid with a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
``It was his (game),'' Baker said. ``I know he threw a lot of pitches but he's strong as an ox. We're going to have to watch him the next start, maybe give him an extra day or something. He wanted it.''
May 16: Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano underwent an MRI on Monday that confirmed he is suffering from tennis elbow, but it is not yet known if he will have to miss his next start, reports MLB.com. Zambrano, who is scheduled to start Friday's game against the White Sox, had leave Sunday's game after only 3 1/3 innings because of pain in his arm. His status for Friday's game will be determined after a side session on Wednesday. "Carlos is pretty anxious to get right after it," trainer Mark O'Neal told MLB.com on Monday. "The plan now is try to do a side session on Wednesday and go from there."
Regarding pitch counts, there are two camps of people in baseball. Some people believe that pitch counts don't matter, that if you throw 140 pitches you just need an extra day of rest before your next start or something. Then there are the people who actually have done research, and shown that there is a strong correlation between throwing over 120 pitches in an outing and being injured shortly thereafter.
Some people, like Dusty Baker, manager of the Chicago Cubs, do not believe in pitch counts. He's actually the poster-manager for people who fall in that camp, as he has worked his pitchers for longer outings than almost any manager in the league. And if you look at the injuries sustained by Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, and Carlos Zambrano in the past few years, you can't help but wonder why Baker refuses to acknowledge that high pitch counts are probably the reason for these injuries.
I don't know why I felt the need to blog about this. I guess I just see it as an example of the difficulty people have in changing their beliefs. Baker doesn't believe pitch counts matter. And thus, when all of his pitchers go down with injuries, he must simply think that he's the unluckiest guy in the world. I guess this is just a tribute to the power of stubbornosity.
The fiery right-hander struck out Jose Offerman with his 136th pitch to end the game, and the Cubs snapped their seven-game skid with a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
``It was his (game),'' Baker said. ``I know he threw a lot of pitches but he's strong as an ox. We're going to have to watch him the next start, maybe give him an extra day or something. He wanted it.''
May 16: Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano underwent an MRI on Monday that confirmed he is suffering from tennis elbow, but it is not yet known if he will have to miss his next start, reports MLB.com. Zambrano, who is scheduled to start Friday's game against the White Sox, had leave Sunday's game after only 3 1/3 innings because of pain in his arm. His status for Friday's game will be determined after a side session on Wednesday. "Carlos is pretty anxious to get right after it," trainer Mark O'Neal told MLB.com on Monday. "The plan now is try to do a side session on Wednesday and go from there."
Regarding pitch counts, there are two camps of people in baseball. Some people believe that pitch counts don't matter, that if you throw 140 pitches you just need an extra day of rest before your next start or something. Then there are the people who actually have done research, and shown that there is a strong correlation between throwing over 120 pitches in an outing and being injured shortly thereafter.
Some people, like Dusty Baker, manager of the Chicago Cubs, do not believe in pitch counts. He's actually the poster-manager for people who fall in that camp, as he has worked his pitchers for longer outings than almost any manager in the league. And if you look at the injuries sustained by Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, and Carlos Zambrano in the past few years, you can't help but wonder why Baker refuses to acknowledge that high pitch counts are probably the reason for these injuries.
I don't know why I felt the need to blog about this. I guess I just see it as an example of the difficulty people have in changing their beliefs. Baker doesn't believe pitch counts matter. And thus, when all of his pitchers go down with injuries, he must simply think that he's the unluckiest guy in the world. I guess this is just a tribute to the power of stubbornosity.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Evan tries to predict the plot of Ladder 49:
There are a bunch of firefighters in Ladder 49. They are a very tight knit group; they joke around, go out for drinks together, and of course they are the best damn firefighters in the city. We know this because in one scene we see them work as a team to save a family from a burning apartment building in the middle of the city, a rescue mission that no other "Ladder" could have done. And the leader of Ladder 49 has just met this really cute girl in a bar, but she doesn't like the danger that comes with his job.
However, tragedy strikes on their next rescue operation. One of the team members, in fact, the best firefighter on the team, gets a little too cocky. And that cockiness causes him to be a little careless, which results in the death of a valued team member. The leader firefighter guy is distraught, and he ponders quitting the team to become the manager of a pet shop, in order to appease his new girlfriend.
Ladder 49 is then called on for its most dangerous job ever. There is a gigantic fire in a highrise downtown. And they need the absolute BEST firefighters NYC has to offer, because the danger level goes up exponentionally as the height of the building increases. But they are without their best firefighter, who has gone to Petworld to inquire about management opportunities.
The remaining members of Ladder 49 go to the building, and do their best to fight the mammoth fire, but are without leadership and losing ground quickly. They get surrounded by the ultra fire and look to all perish quickly. Until... the climatic return of their leader! He puts out the fire that had surrounded them, and under his leadership, they proceed to save everyone in the building.
After these heroic acts, Ladder 49 is recognized as the best firefighting team in history, and given the key to the city. The best firefighter guy proceeds to sex up the cute girl in celebration.
In a day or two I'll see how close my predictions are to the actual movie, as its sitting on my tv stand right now, as a result of Kim putting it into our Blockbuster online queue.
There are a bunch of firefighters in Ladder 49. They are a very tight knit group; they joke around, go out for drinks together, and of course they are the best damn firefighters in the city. We know this because in one scene we see them work as a team to save a family from a burning apartment building in the middle of the city, a rescue mission that no other "Ladder" could have done. And the leader of Ladder 49 has just met this really cute girl in a bar, but she doesn't like the danger that comes with his job.
However, tragedy strikes on their next rescue operation. One of the team members, in fact, the best firefighter on the team, gets a little too cocky. And that cockiness causes him to be a little careless, which results in the death of a valued team member. The leader firefighter guy is distraught, and he ponders quitting the team to become the manager of a pet shop, in order to appease his new girlfriend.
Ladder 49 is then called on for its most dangerous job ever. There is a gigantic fire in a highrise downtown. And they need the absolute BEST firefighters NYC has to offer, because the danger level goes up exponentionally as the height of the building increases. But they are without their best firefighter, who has gone to Petworld to inquire about management opportunities.
The remaining members of Ladder 49 go to the building, and do their best to fight the mammoth fire, but are without leadership and losing ground quickly. They get surrounded by the ultra fire and look to all perish quickly. Until... the climatic return of their leader! He puts out the fire that had surrounded them, and under his leadership, they proceed to save everyone in the building.
After these heroic acts, Ladder 49 is recognized as the best firefighting team in history, and given the key to the city. The best firefighter guy proceeds to sex up the cute girl in celebration.
In a day or two I'll see how close my predictions are to the actual movie, as its sitting on my tv stand right now, as a result of Kim putting it into our Blockbuster online queue.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Last summer I visited Ben in Atlanta and we went golfing. We were both pretty hung over from drinking the night before, but golf waits for no man's hangover. You just get out there and start hacking away.
I played the best first 9 holes of my life. I shot a 42 on the front 9 (par for 9 holes is usually 36), and got another par on the tenth hole. I was on fire, pulling shots out of my ass like I've never been able to before. I was well on my way to breaking 90 for the first time in my life, a goal I'd been chasing for the last couple years.
Then, on the 11th hole, my tee shot was a bit errant, and went into a flock of geese.
The geese started hissing at me as I warily approached my ball. They can be very protective of their area, and very nasty in being protective. I ran up to my ball, obviously rattled and expecting to have various geese bites on my ass, hacked at it, and moved along.
Suffice to say, I never recovered from that moment. I ended up shooting a 91.
It seemed I would never be able to break 90.
Until yesterday.
Fueled by an eagle (my first ever) on hole 12, a 520 yard par 5, I managed to card an 88. The first time I've been under 90 in my life. What I've been working towards for the longest time.
When I added up the score, I had to triple check just to make sure. I usually would add up my score as I went along, but I felt like it would only put more pressure on me as the final couple holes approached, and it would make me worse off. I sat down on a bench and just stared at my scorecard. 88. I must have had a grin on my face from ear to ear.
And the thing is, I three putted (three putts on one hole, which is bad) SEVEN times in the round. Make those two putts instead, and I'm down to an 81.
And maybe if I don't hit a ball into a creek on hole 2. And maybe if I don't play the last two holes like a weak kneed asshole... maybe I have an 80 in me.
Maybe not. Perhaps the next goal should be 85.
I played the best first 9 holes of my life. I shot a 42 on the front 9 (par for 9 holes is usually 36), and got another par on the tenth hole. I was on fire, pulling shots out of my ass like I've never been able to before. I was well on my way to breaking 90 for the first time in my life, a goal I'd been chasing for the last couple years.
Then, on the 11th hole, my tee shot was a bit errant, and went into a flock of geese.
The geese started hissing at me as I warily approached my ball. They can be very protective of their area, and very nasty in being protective. I ran up to my ball, obviously rattled and expecting to have various geese bites on my ass, hacked at it, and moved along.
Suffice to say, I never recovered from that moment. I ended up shooting a 91.
It seemed I would never be able to break 90.
Until yesterday.
Fueled by an eagle (my first ever) on hole 12, a 520 yard par 5, I managed to card an 88. The first time I've been under 90 in my life. What I've been working towards for the longest time.
When I added up the score, I had to triple check just to make sure. I usually would add up my score as I went along, but I felt like it would only put more pressure on me as the final couple holes approached, and it would make me worse off. I sat down on a bench and just stared at my scorecard. 88. I must have had a grin on my face from ear to ear.
And the thing is, I three putted (three putts on one hole, which is bad) SEVEN times in the round. Make those two putts instead, and I'm down to an 81.
And maybe if I don't hit a ball into a creek on hole 2. And maybe if I don't play the last two holes like a weak kneed asshole... maybe I have an 80 in me.
Maybe not. Perhaps the next goal should be 85.
Monday, May 16, 2005
Movie Review: The Grudge
The more I think about this movie, the more it pisses me off that I spent almost 2 hours of my life watching it. 2 hours of my life that could have been spent doing almost anything else and me looking back on those hours more favorably than I am right now.
Lets start out with the characters. Yes, I recognize that in any horror movie, the characters need to be a little stupid. "Hmm, 4 people have died already by going in that closet, but let me see anyway..." But the characters take it to a whole new level here. The detective, who TOLD Buffy that the house causes death, goes to the house with two big containers of gasoline in order to burn it down. Once he gets inside, he hears some noises coming from the bathroom.
Stop. Lets think about this.
The detective KNOWS the house causes death, is essentially haunted, and must be destroyed. He goes to the house with the intent of burning it down. He gets in the house, hears a whimpering noise from the bathroom, and decides: "This burning the house down thing can wait?" Predictably he dies.
Come on.
What makes this movie even worse is that the actual story makes no sense. Again, I realize that in horror movies you need to suspend belief for a bit. In The Ring, you die within some amount of days if you don't make a copy of the video, because the girl in the video wants everyone to know that she got played. Fine, there's a reason she's going after people. In Stir of Echoes, the dead girl basically wants revenge on the people who raped and murdered her, and forces Kevin Bacon to uncover the truth. Fine, that makes sense.
In The Grudge, the angry woman and her son are killing people... because there is a Japanese legend that says when someone who is particularly enraged kills someone, the emotion remains forever in that area.
Which causes the place to be haunted and everyone who comes in the house to die.
Huh???
First of all, aren't most murderers pissed off at the time they kill? So wouldn't like a lot of fuckin houses in Japan be haunted? Shouldn't people be getting mysteriously killed all over the place? Secondly, thats a stupid reason for the place to be haunted.
If these were the only things wrong with the movie, it would almost be watchable. But the movie diverges from the whole "Movie Should Make Sense" theorem again and again. The spirits of the woman and boy have random powers. Sometimes they can make lights go out. Sometimes they can suck you into some other dimension, making you disappear completely. Other times a door (in an office building no less, so its not a magic door) will stop them from getting at you.
They don't even kill people in a consistent manner (when they don't make them disappear). They kill the husband and wife and stick them in an attic, but for some reason let the caretaker go (they just rip off the bottom of her jaw) and send her back to where she works. And while most people would be dead from that, for some reason she is just kind of zonked out and walking around, dripping blood.
And what of the mother, who has dementia and seems like she could be the link to the spirits of the woman and boy? Seems like she would be important right? Nope, she just dies, and you don't even see her die. I was like, "whatever happened to her?" and Kim replied, "You idiot, the doctor said she died." I guess I expected to at least see her die on camera.
I'm intentionally spoiling the movie with the hopes that you will never watch it.
The ending sums up everything that is wrong with the movie in a nice tidy package. Buffy is able to light the gasoline, apparently burning down the house. Cut to the hospital, where her boyfriend is burned to death and under a white sheet. A doctor and detective say three things to each other outside the coroner's room.
1) The boyfriend is dead
2) They were able to save the house
3) They're not sure how Buffy survived
Okay, read back to 2). Why in gods name would the doctor and detective talk about the house being saved? I don't even have a problem with the house being saved somehow. But having the doctor and detective talk about it in the normal course of the conversation?? Come on!!! Show a picture of the house still standing or something at the end of the movie. Show someone buying the house 3 years later and about to move in. Do something!
The only, and I mean only, redeeming aspect of the movie is Kadee Strickland, who I've never heard of before, but is very cute:
Actually, Buffy is still cute too:
But I would have been much better off just searching for their pics on the internet than watching two hours of this nonsensical mess of a movie.
The more I think about this movie, the more it pisses me off that I spent almost 2 hours of my life watching it. 2 hours of my life that could have been spent doing almost anything else and me looking back on those hours more favorably than I am right now.
Lets start out with the characters. Yes, I recognize that in any horror movie, the characters need to be a little stupid. "Hmm, 4 people have died already by going in that closet, but let me see anyway..." But the characters take it to a whole new level here. The detective, who TOLD Buffy that the house causes death, goes to the house with two big containers of gasoline in order to burn it down. Once he gets inside, he hears some noises coming from the bathroom.
Stop. Lets think about this.
The detective KNOWS the house causes death, is essentially haunted, and must be destroyed. He goes to the house with the intent of burning it down. He gets in the house, hears a whimpering noise from the bathroom, and decides: "This burning the house down thing can wait?" Predictably he dies.
Come on.
What makes this movie even worse is that the actual story makes no sense. Again, I realize that in horror movies you need to suspend belief for a bit. In The Ring, you die within some amount of days if you don't make a copy of the video, because the girl in the video wants everyone to know that she got played. Fine, there's a reason she's going after people. In Stir of Echoes, the dead girl basically wants revenge on the people who raped and murdered her, and forces Kevin Bacon to uncover the truth. Fine, that makes sense.
In The Grudge, the angry woman and her son are killing people... because there is a Japanese legend that says when someone who is particularly enraged kills someone, the emotion remains forever in that area.
Which causes the place to be haunted and everyone who comes in the house to die.
Huh???
First of all, aren't most murderers pissed off at the time they kill? So wouldn't like a lot of fuckin houses in Japan be haunted? Shouldn't people be getting mysteriously killed all over the place? Secondly, thats a stupid reason for the place to be haunted.
If these were the only things wrong with the movie, it would almost be watchable. But the movie diverges from the whole "Movie Should Make Sense" theorem again and again. The spirits of the woman and boy have random powers. Sometimes they can make lights go out. Sometimes they can suck you into some other dimension, making you disappear completely. Other times a door (in an office building no less, so its not a magic door) will stop them from getting at you.
They don't even kill people in a consistent manner (when they don't make them disappear). They kill the husband and wife and stick them in an attic, but for some reason let the caretaker go (they just rip off the bottom of her jaw) and send her back to where she works. And while most people would be dead from that, for some reason she is just kind of zonked out and walking around, dripping blood.
And what of the mother, who has dementia and seems like she could be the link to the spirits of the woman and boy? Seems like she would be important right? Nope, she just dies, and you don't even see her die. I was like, "whatever happened to her?" and Kim replied, "You idiot, the doctor said she died." I guess I expected to at least see her die on camera.
I'm intentionally spoiling the movie with the hopes that you will never watch it.
The ending sums up everything that is wrong with the movie in a nice tidy package. Buffy is able to light the gasoline, apparently burning down the house. Cut to the hospital, where her boyfriend is burned to death and under a white sheet. A doctor and detective say three things to each other outside the coroner's room.
1) The boyfriend is dead
2) They were able to save the house
3) They're not sure how Buffy survived
Okay, read back to 2). Why in gods name would the doctor and detective talk about the house being saved? I don't even have a problem with the house being saved somehow. But having the doctor and detective talk about it in the normal course of the conversation?? Come on!!! Show a picture of the house still standing or something at the end of the movie. Show someone buying the house 3 years later and about to move in. Do something!
The only, and I mean only, redeeming aspect of the movie is Kadee Strickland, who I've never heard of before, but is very cute:
Actually, Buffy is still cute too:
But I would have been much better off just searching for their pics on the internet than watching two hours of this nonsensical mess of a movie.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke forward Shavlik Randolph has declared himself eligible for the NBA draft, the school said Friday.
A look into the future:
One guy who has been rocketing up draft boards is Shavlik Randolph out of Duke. He made some people scratch their heads when he declared for the draft in early May, but after numerous workouts for teams that can only be described as "awe inspiring," he is poised to be a top 2 pick.
He's best described as a cross between Dirk Nowitzki and Ben Wallace. A three point shooting threat with unlimited range, who also is an absolute monster on defense, intimidating all foolish enough to come into his realm. Some people have questioned his heart, but their doubts quickly dissipated upon watching highlights from his 23 point beatdown on Army in his first game ever for the Blue Devils.
One team that has made it no secret that they are intersted is the Miami Heat. They have been offering various packages of Dwayne Wade and draft picks to the team with the first pick, the New Orleans Hornets. Reportedly, Shaquille O'Neal has told Heat management that it should be their number one priority to draft Randolph.
"He is one bad mother," O'Neal told reporters.
The Hornets, however, have not been swayed by any of the offers the Heat have made.
"We envision Shavlik as the centerpiece of a championship team," said Hornets General Manager Allan Bristow. "We're pleased as punch to have the winning ticket in the Shav Sweepsteaks."
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Homer: Wow! A Valu-Qual coupon book! Let's see ... ten percent off carpet cleaning. Ten! [gasps] Two pizzas for the price of one at Doughy's!
Lisa: Doughy's has terrible pizza!
Homer: Yeah, but there's two!
There used to be this place a couple blocks from my place in Highland Park called 2 for 1 pizza. When I lived with 8 other people in New Brunswick, I frequently would order pizza from that place. The pizza wasn't very good - it was ultra thin (not in a good way), the sauce wasn't very good, toppings were applied very randomly, etc. But there were two! I always had leftovers for lunch and if anyone else wanted to have a slice, no big deal.
That place closed down a couple months ago.
A new place has opened up in its stead, called Aposto. And I've made it my personal goal to do everything I can to make that place a success. Why?
1) The food is reasonably priced and absolutely phenomenal. The guy makes his own... everything. Kim loves the salad, we both love the garlic bread, and the main courses are exceptional. So far we've gotten veal parm and also some chicken dish too, and we've been quite pleased with them both.
2) Its 2 blocks from my house, and I like that I can just walk there and get good food.
3) And most importantly, the guy has treated me really well. When me, Kim, and my roommates went for dinner one night, he came out and gave us this gigantic piece of chocolate cake for free. Last time I was in there he asked if Kim liked her food, cause he thought that she didn't like it, and I told him we were just waiting for the garlic bread. He apologized for the delay that occured and said next time we'll get free garlic bread.
I've made it a point to try to eat there as much as possible. I'm dropping off menus and coupons at Kaplan, and of course, blogging about it right now. If you're ever by my neck of the woods, I definitely recommend you give it a try. Its right on route 27 in Highland Park, across the street from the Dunkin Donuts that does not serve meat.
Aposto
76 Raritan Avenue
Highland Park, NJ
732-745-9011
Lisa: Doughy's has terrible pizza!
Homer: Yeah, but there's two!
There used to be this place a couple blocks from my place in Highland Park called 2 for 1 pizza. When I lived with 8 other people in New Brunswick, I frequently would order pizza from that place. The pizza wasn't very good - it was ultra thin (not in a good way), the sauce wasn't very good, toppings were applied very randomly, etc. But there were two! I always had leftovers for lunch and if anyone else wanted to have a slice, no big deal.
That place closed down a couple months ago.
A new place has opened up in its stead, called Aposto. And I've made it my personal goal to do everything I can to make that place a success. Why?
1) The food is reasonably priced and absolutely phenomenal. The guy makes his own... everything. Kim loves the salad, we both love the garlic bread, and the main courses are exceptional. So far we've gotten veal parm and also some chicken dish too, and we've been quite pleased with them both.
2) Its 2 blocks from my house, and I like that I can just walk there and get good food.
3) And most importantly, the guy has treated me really well. When me, Kim, and my roommates went for dinner one night, he came out and gave us this gigantic piece of chocolate cake for free. Last time I was in there he asked if Kim liked her food, cause he thought that she didn't like it, and I told him we were just waiting for the garlic bread. He apologized for the delay that occured and said next time we'll get free garlic bread.
I've made it a point to try to eat there as much as possible. I'm dropping off menus and coupons at Kaplan, and of course, blogging about it right now. If you're ever by my neck of the woods, I definitely recommend you give it a try. Its right on route 27 in Highland Park, across the street from the Dunkin Donuts that does not serve meat.
Aposto
76 Raritan Avenue
Highland Park, NJ
732-745-9011
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
I remember back when digital cameras were just a figment in someone's imagination.
Well, thats not exactly true. I don't remember that at all. I can't actually remember when digital cameras became commonplace. I remember that freshman year I commandeered Ben's scanner so I could upload my various pictures from my photo albums onto my Duke webpage. And after his craptacular scanner konked out, I bought myself a sleeker, more flavorful scanner.
I'm guessing that digital cameras became more commonplace around that time... 1999.
I used to use disposable cameras for everything. I was always too scared to buy a real camera, and at events like shore excursions, Y100 Fez and homecoming, I certainly did not want to be lugging around some gigantic camera. Disposable cameras were perfect for these occassions.
I remember my senior year at Duke doing a big paper on digital photography and how traditional photographers were attempting to embrace it. They had to use special new thermal printers instead of dye sublimation ones, and it was pretty pricy. But the theory was that as technology got better, it would become easier for everyone to take and print their own pictures, which potentially could become a threat to professional photographers.
Over the last two years or so, stores like Target have opened up stations in their stores where you can upload pictures from your cameras and have prints made up right in front of you. Photo quality too. But it seems like lugging in your camera (or one of those tiny memory cards that are easy to lose) is a bit of a hassle.
Enter CVS.
I don't know where I heard about this from, but I heard that you could send your pictures to them over the internet, and then pick the pictures up at the store. $.29 for a 4x6 print. I thought it was too good to be true. I sent over the pictures yesterday (no credit card needed!) and picked up two pictures today. There is a dollar fifty surcharge if your order is totals less than $5.00, which brought my total up to a little over two dollars for my two pics, although 13 pics would be around 5 dollars.
The pictures looked phenomenal. Thats all there is to say about them.
I highly recommend using the CVS service if you ever need to print out pictures from your digital camera. Its fairly inexpensive, and from my one experience, hassle free.
I think I've bought my last disposable camera.
Well, thats not exactly true. I don't remember that at all. I can't actually remember when digital cameras became commonplace. I remember that freshman year I commandeered Ben's scanner so I could upload my various pictures from my photo albums onto my Duke webpage. And after his craptacular scanner konked out, I bought myself a sleeker, more flavorful scanner.
I'm guessing that digital cameras became more commonplace around that time... 1999.
I used to use disposable cameras for everything. I was always too scared to buy a real camera, and at events like shore excursions, Y100 Fez and homecoming, I certainly did not want to be lugging around some gigantic camera. Disposable cameras were perfect for these occassions.
I remember my senior year at Duke doing a big paper on digital photography and how traditional photographers were attempting to embrace it. They had to use special new thermal printers instead of dye sublimation ones, and it was pretty pricy. But the theory was that as technology got better, it would become easier for everyone to take and print their own pictures, which potentially could become a threat to professional photographers.
Over the last two years or so, stores like Target have opened up stations in their stores where you can upload pictures from your cameras and have prints made up right in front of you. Photo quality too. But it seems like lugging in your camera (or one of those tiny memory cards that are easy to lose) is a bit of a hassle.
Enter CVS.
I don't know where I heard about this from, but I heard that you could send your pictures to them over the internet, and then pick the pictures up at the store. $.29 for a 4x6 print. I thought it was too good to be true. I sent over the pictures yesterday (no credit card needed!) and picked up two pictures today. There is a dollar fifty surcharge if your order is totals less than $5.00, which brought my total up to a little over two dollars for my two pics, although 13 pics would be around 5 dollars.
The pictures looked phenomenal. Thats all there is to say about them.
I highly recommend using the CVS service if you ever need to print out pictures from your digital camera. Its fairly inexpensive, and from my one experience, hassle free.
I think I've bought my last disposable camera.
Monday, May 09, 2005
The Evan Lexicon
Crippler - From Fifa 98 for the Nintendo 64. Ben would be Brazil and I would be Croatia, and after I would take the lead on him he would constantly hit the "very hard tackle" button that always resulted in fouls, and sometimes in injuries. We referred to it as the "crippler." Used as two parts of speech
As a noun to refer to an unlikely turn of events that hurts you. "We were doing fine until he hit that crippler three pointer that banked in off the glass."
Or used as an adjective to refer to something that is particularly tough. "My crippling week consists of 80 hours of work."
Crushinated - When you are beatdown by someone. Examples:
*In texas hold em, when you have a/k, and they have 7/7, and the flop comes out k/7/3.
*In dating, when you ask a girl for a number, and she laughs at you.
*In work, when Al was forced to apologize to the HR person he pissed off.
Crushinator, The - from Futurama, when the moon farmer has 3 beautiful robot daughers. The Crushinator is an aggressive pink truck robot that has a manly voice and is in love with Bender. Used to classify some girls.
Hallelujah, Jaffar!! - From The Boondock Saints, Murphy says this to Rocco (who had a Jaffar name tag in the last scene) about his big realization. Used to signal that the happiness level about an event is perhaps a bit too high.
Lets Commence Preparations for Rumbling! - From Futurama, when Bender (the robot) begins to train for Ultimate Robot Fighting. Used whenever you are about to start up a game of something, obviously in lieu of "Lets get ready to rumbleeeeee."
Level 3 Rhino Alert - From the Canyonero Simpsons episode, where all of the Simpsons (except Marge) are under attack from Rhinos. Kent Brockman calls the scene a Level 3 Rhino Alert. Used as name of the blog.
Meh - From The Simpsons, when Homer sees a commercial for Blockoland, he gets quite excited and asks the kids if they want to go. Lisa replies with "meh" and then spells it out for him. Used to indicate indifference at an event, particularly when someone is a little too excited about it.
Spicy - from Ben's liberal use of the word. Used to describe many situations. Examples:
*Thats a spicy lie (if your golf ball is buried in the sand or a lot of grass"
*This table is spicy (if your poker table has a lot of very loose players throwing chips around)
*She's spicy (if a girl looks like she's either frisky, trouble, or some combination of both)
*Thats a bit spicy (when you are taking a big risk by doing something)
Whoopified - From Jim Landritsi. See "Crushinated"
Crippler - From Fifa 98 for the Nintendo 64. Ben would be Brazil and I would be Croatia, and after I would take the lead on him he would constantly hit the "very hard tackle" button that always resulted in fouls, and sometimes in injuries. We referred to it as the "crippler." Used as two parts of speech
As a noun to refer to an unlikely turn of events that hurts you. "We were doing fine until he hit that crippler three pointer that banked in off the glass."
Or used as an adjective to refer to something that is particularly tough. "My crippling week consists of 80 hours of work."
Crushinated - When you are beatdown by someone. Examples:
*In texas hold em, when you have a/k, and they have 7/7, and the flop comes out k/7/3.
*In dating, when you ask a girl for a number, and she laughs at you.
*In work, when Al was forced to apologize to the HR person he pissed off.
Crushinator, The - from Futurama, when the moon farmer has 3 beautiful robot daughers. The Crushinator is an aggressive pink truck robot that has a manly voice and is in love with Bender. Used to classify some girls.
Hallelujah, Jaffar!! - From The Boondock Saints, Murphy says this to Rocco (who had a Jaffar name tag in the last scene) about his big realization. Used to signal that the happiness level about an event is perhaps a bit too high.
Lets Commence Preparations for Rumbling! - From Futurama, when Bender (the robot) begins to train for Ultimate Robot Fighting. Used whenever you are about to start up a game of something, obviously in lieu of "Lets get ready to rumbleeeeee."
Level 3 Rhino Alert - From the Canyonero Simpsons episode, where all of the Simpsons (except Marge) are under attack from Rhinos. Kent Brockman calls the scene a Level 3 Rhino Alert. Used as name of the blog.
Meh - From The Simpsons, when Homer sees a commercial for Blockoland, he gets quite excited and asks the kids if they want to go. Lisa replies with "meh" and then spells it out for him. Used to indicate indifference at an event, particularly when someone is a little too excited about it.
Spicy - from Ben's liberal use of the word. Used to describe many situations. Examples:
*Thats a spicy lie (if your golf ball is buried in the sand or a lot of grass"
*This table is spicy (if your poker table has a lot of very loose players throwing chips around)
*She's spicy (if a girl looks like she's either frisky, trouble, or some combination of both)
*Thats a bit spicy (when you are taking a big risk by doing something)
Whoopified - From Jim Landritsi. See "Crushinated"
Sunday, May 08, 2005
I was driving back to Central Jersey tonight after spending last night and today with my Mom for Mom's day, and I was listening to the radio, as I don't have a snazzy IPod with ITrip or anything like that. This song that I pretty much hate came on the radio.
Hey switch, turn it over and hit it
Turn around, now switch
Turn it over and hit it
For those of you who don't know, this is Will Smith's new song, "Switch." It is very annoying. I quickly turned the station and tried to find anything else on. All I could find was commercials.
I started thinking about it. What was worse? The commercials or the song that I can't stand? Parts of my brain started debating the situation. I had to listen to something. And who knows, maybe these commercials will inform me of a need I didn't know that I had, or maybe tell me about some great product that I didn't know about. A product that would dramatically raise the quality of my life at minimal cost!
However, (said another part of my brain) this stupid Will Smith song is going to be all over the radio for the next three months. If you force yourself to listen to it now, maybe you'll start to get used to it, begin to tolerate it, and heck, even start to like it! Yes, you will force yourself to listen to this horrendous abomination of a song and you will like it!
I'm sad to say I turned Will Smith back on.
Heyyyyyy, heyyyyyyyy....
Hey switch, turn it over and hit it
Turn around, now switch
Turn it over and hit it
For those of you who don't know, this is Will Smith's new song, "Switch." It is very annoying. I quickly turned the station and tried to find anything else on. All I could find was commercials.
I started thinking about it. What was worse? The commercials or the song that I can't stand? Parts of my brain started debating the situation. I had to listen to something. And who knows, maybe these commercials will inform me of a need I didn't know that I had, or maybe tell me about some great product that I didn't know about. A product that would dramatically raise the quality of my life at minimal cost!
However, (said another part of my brain) this stupid Will Smith song is going to be all over the radio for the next three months. If you force yourself to listen to it now, maybe you'll start to get used to it, begin to tolerate it, and heck, even start to like it! Yes, you will force yourself to listen to this horrendous abomination of a song and you will like it!
I'm sad to say I turned Will Smith back on.
Heyyyyyy, heyyyyyyyy....
Friday, May 06, 2005
Go Phils!
From Bill Conlin:
Some quick math: To win the 90 games it will take to be in the wild-card hunt, the Phillies need to go 78-55 the rest of the way. Is there any way in hell or Fallujah a team that can't put a two-game winning streak together will be capable of that?
Pay very close attention, Phillies fans, OK - those of you who have not already turned your loyalties to a more rewarding endeavor than the costly support of an imploding institution administered by aging, myopic men who have honed mediocrity to its dullest possible edge.
From Bob Ford:
"What we have are two teams that, for the most part, can be counted on to limp along with about a .500 record - sometimes a little better - and then make little or no inroad on the brambly thatch of the postseason. For this, the Sixers are tolerated and accepted with something akin to affection, and the Phillies are scorned like a dog that dumps on the new carpet.
Turn it over and over, and the conclusion is simple: People like the Sixers. They don't like the Phillies.
From Marcus Hayes:
Jae Seo?
After an inconsistent 2004, Seo, 27, started the season in Triple A. He was called up April 24 when Kazuhisa Ishii went on the 15-day DL with a strained back muscle.
Seo tied his career high with eight strikeouts and was two Abreu walks and a David Bell two-strike hit from a perfect game through his seven innings. He left for a pinch-hitter having thrown 109 pitches.
And he got sent to Triple A again after the game, with today's starter, Kris Benson, coming off the disabled list.
So, the Phillies got shut down by the ace of the Norfolk Tides.
Go Phils!
From Bill Conlin:
Some quick math: To win the 90 games it will take to be in the wild-card hunt, the Phillies need to go 78-55 the rest of the way. Is there any way in hell or Fallujah a team that can't put a two-game winning streak together will be capable of that?
Pay very close attention, Phillies fans, OK - those of you who have not already turned your loyalties to a more rewarding endeavor than the costly support of an imploding institution administered by aging, myopic men who have honed mediocrity to its dullest possible edge.
From Bob Ford:
"What we have are two teams that, for the most part, can be counted on to limp along with about a .500 record - sometimes a little better - and then make little or no inroad on the brambly thatch of the postseason. For this, the Sixers are tolerated and accepted with something akin to affection, and the Phillies are scorned like a dog that dumps on the new carpet.
Turn it over and over, and the conclusion is simple: People like the Sixers. They don't like the Phillies.
From Marcus Hayes:
Jae Seo?
After an inconsistent 2004, Seo, 27, started the season in Triple A. He was called up April 24 when Kazuhisa Ishii went on the 15-day DL with a strained back muscle.
Seo tied his career high with eight strikeouts and was two Abreu walks and a David Bell two-strike hit from a perfect game through his seven innings. He left for a pinch-hitter having thrown 109 pitches.
And he got sent to Triple A again after the game, with today's starter, Kris Benson, coming off the disabled list.
So, the Phillies got shut down by the ace of the Norfolk Tides.
Go Phils!
Thursday, May 05, 2005
What is London Broil?
London Broil, despite what you might find at the local meat market is not a cut of beef but rather a method of cooking. It was one of the first recipes to become popular in early restaurants and so the name London Broil because synonymous with a cut of meat. Originally that cut of meat was flank steak, but over the years the name has been applied to almost any cut of beef that is very lean and less tender. Hence you might find London Broil being a steak or a roast that comes from the sirloin or round sections of cattle. This of course makes the whole thing very confusing.
Well today I made a tasty, um, London Broil. Thats what I'm calling it. Recipe as follows:
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1/3 c. soy sauce
3 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 green onion, chopped
1 lg. garlic cloves, crushed
1 (1 1/2 lb.) London broil, trimmed and
scored
Combine first 7 ingredients. Place meat in large
marinade dish and pour marinade over. Cover and
refrigerate overnight.
Recipe from cooks.com (I think).
After letting it marinate, I then chucked it into the broiler, around 10 minutes a side. Mmmmm mmmmm, so damn good. If you ever see london broil on sale for 1.99 a pound (as I did earlier this week), I strongly recommend you buy it, use this marinade recipe (it takes like 5 minutes), and enjoy.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Technical Question:
All afternoon (up till now), my internet connection has been doing something very strange. I was pretty much unable to bring up anything in my firefox or IE windows, but AIM worked pretty much perfectly, I was able to download an update to Ad-Aware, and also logged onto Pokerstars and joined a tournament. All this, while I was unable to look at even a single webpage. Anyone know what could have caused this?
Childhood Question:
Was I the only one who played wiffle ball like a madman back in the day? Me and four or five neighborhood kids would play in my front yard, with a tennis raquet and a couple trees as bases. We'd do this pretty much every day in the summer, pissing my mom off to no end because sometimes the ball would be hit into the flowers. I ask this because I bought a wiffle ball bat and ball from A&P for Kim's nephew and it the memories just flooded back.
Food Question:
If you actually look at the nutritional information on a package of ramen, you can see that its pretty bad for you.
Total Fat - 12% DV (Daily Value)
Saturated Fat - 20% DV
Sodium - 35% DV
That doesn't sound terrible... until you consider that there are TWO servings per package! So double those numbers... ouch.
So my question is - most of the bad stuff probably comes from that seasoning packet. And a lot of the seasoning dissolves in the water. And I would think that most people don't drink that salty water substance when you're done (although some people drain all the water before adding the seasoning, but I don't). So does not consuming that broth stuff make it not quite as bad for you? Makes sense right?
All afternoon (up till now), my internet connection has been doing something very strange. I was pretty much unable to bring up anything in my firefox or IE windows, but AIM worked pretty much perfectly, I was able to download an update to Ad-Aware, and also logged onto Pokerstars and joined a tournament. All this, while I was unable to look at even a single webpage. Anyone know what could have caused this?
Childhood Question:
Was I the only one who played wiffle ball like a madman back in the day? Me and four or five neighborhood kids would play in my front yard, with a tennis raquet and a couple trees as bases. We'd do this pretty much every day in the summer, pissing my mom off to no end because sometimes the ball would be hit into the flowers. I ask this because I bought a wiffle ball bat and ball from A&P for Kim's nephew and it the memories just flooded back.
Food Question:
If you actually look at the nutritional information on a package of ramen, you can see that its pretty bad for you.
Total Fat - 12% DV (Daily Value)
Saturated Fat - 20% DV
Sodium - 35% DV
That doesn't sound terrible... until you consider that there are TWO servings per package! So double those numbers... ouch.
So my question is - most of the bad stuff probably comes from that seasoning packet. And a lot of the seasoning dissolves in the water. And I would think that most people don't drink that salty water substance when you're done (although some people drain all the water before adding the seasoning, but I don't). So does not consuming that broth stuff make it not quite as bad for you? Makes sense right?
Monday, May 02, 2005
I went for a jog today to the bank and to Stop and Shop.
Usually when I go for a jog, I leave these things at home:
And its not a big deal. While my vision is very bad, its not so bad that I can't see a car barreling down the road at me. And even if it was, I'm usually looking down anyway, so even if I had my glasses on it wouldn't make that big of a difference.
Today was a little bit different because I went into Stop and Shop after the bank, as I needed bananas, raisin bread, orange juice, and ended up buying some london broil at $1.99 a pound. Buying these things was quite a chore, as I didn't have my glasses on. I could not make out anything in the store. I walked down the meat aisle and was moving my head to within like a foot of the signs saying what the prices were on the things. This process continued throughout the store. I'm sure it was quite humorous for some onlookers.
I don't particularly like my glasses. They are crooked from being dropped and stepped on, the right frame has a black mark on the bottom that I cannot get rid of, I don't like the way I look in them (vanity thy name is Evan!), and in the summer I get tan lines on the sides of my head. I had always thought about LASIK surgery, and seriously considered getting it before law school, but here we are 3.5 months from the start of it and it doesn't seem to be happening. Why? Its expensive.
2003 US LASIK Prices
Costs are "per eye." Why costs are mentioned like this is beyond me (well its obvious, to make it look cheaper, but still). Does anyone get LASIK on only one eye? I mean, why don't sneaker companies list their prices as per shoe? Anyway, when it started out, I expected prices to go down as the technology got better and more doctors got involved. But actually, the reverse has happened.
LASIK prices have been rising. For a rough idea of pricing, a leading refractive industry newsletter reported that the average LASIK price in 2002 was between $1,550 and $1,600. By October 2003 the overall average had risen to $1,710. At the end of 2004, it was a little over $1,800. This figure includes a wide range of business models: from individual surgeons who lease their equipment to those who own it outright; and from regional multi-center practices to nationwide provider networks.
A leading multi-center LASIK provider, TLC Vision, reported average fees per procedure in 2002 as $1,800. In the fourth quarter of 2004, TLC's average price was $1,957. Another national provider, LasikPlus, reported its average price per procedure in the fourth quarter of 2004 as $1,351 – up from $1,173 in the first quarter of 2003.
One reason for the average LASIK price increase is that an increasing number of LASIK procedures are "custom LASIK," which is often more expensive than traditional LASIK.
I know, whats the difference between being 120k in debt and 116k in debt? Part of me says not a lot, but another part of me says "just deal with it, its not so bad." And I guess my dependency on glasses hasn't hurt me yet. Whenever I wake up after drinking a lot I worry where my glasses are, but they always are around someplace nearby. Still, I think the first time I lose these things and can't drive or whatever for a couple days, I'm going to be pissy and considering LASIK surgery again. And if these trends continue, it'll set me back almost 5k at that point.
Usually when I go for a jog, I leave these things at home:
And its not a big deal. While my vision is very bad, its not so bad that I can't see a car barreling down the road at me. And even if it was, I'm usually looking down anyway, so even if I had my glasses on it wouldn't make that big of a difference.
Today was a little bit different because I went into Stop and Shop after the bank, as I needed bananas, raisin bread, orange juice, and ended up buying some london broil at $1.99 a pound. Buying these things was quite a chore, as I didn't have my glasses on. I could not make out anything in the store. I walked down the meat aisle and was moving my head to within like a foot of the signs saying what the prices were on the things. This process continued throughout the store. I'm sure it was quite humorous for some onlookers.
I don't particularly like my glasses. They are crooked from being dropped and stepped on, the right frame has a black mark on the bottom that I cannot get rid of, I don't like the way I look in them (vanity thy name is Evan!), and in the summer I get tan lines on the sides of my head. I had always thought about LASIK surgery, and seriously considered getting it before law school, but here we are 3.5 months from the start of it and it doesn't seem to be happening. Why? Its expensive.
2003 US LASIK Prices
Costs are "per eye." Why costs are mentioned like this is beyond me (well its obvious, to make it look cheaper, but still). Does anyone get LASIK on only one eye? I mean, why don't sneaker companies list their prices as per shoe? Anyway, when it started out, I expected prices to go down as the technology got better and more doctors got involved. But actually, the reverse has happened.
LASIK prices have been rising. For a rough idea of pricing, a leading refractive industry newsletter reported that the average LASIK price in 2002 was between $1,550 and $1,600. By October 2003 the overall average had risen to $1,710. At the end of 2004, it was a little over $1,800. This figure includes a wide range of business models: from individual surgeons who lease their equipment to those who own it outright; and from regional multi-center practices to nationwide provider networks.
A leading multi-center LASIK provider, TLC Vision, reported average fees per procedure in 2002 as $1,800. In the fourth quarter of 2004, TLC's average price was $1,957. Another national provider, LasikPlus, reported its average price per procedure in the fourth quarter of 2004 as $1,351 – up from $1,173 in the first quarter of 2003.
One reason for the average LASIK price increase is that an increasing number of LASIK procedures are "custom LASIK," which is often more expensive than traditional LASIK.
I know, whats the difference between being 120k in debt and 116k in debt? Part of me says not a lot, but another part of me says "just deal with it, its not so bad." And I guess my dependency on glasses hasn't hurt me yet. Whenever I wake up after drinking a lot I worry where my glasses are, but they always are around someplace nearby. Still, I think the first time I lose these things and can't drive or whatever for a couple days, I'm going to be pissy and considering LASIK surgery again. And if these trends continue, it'll set me back almost 5k at that point.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Movie Review: The Salton Sea
I'll admit it, I was skeptical when Kim told me she wanted to put The Salton Sea into our Blockbuster online queue. The Salton Sea? That just sounds like trouble. You can tell a lot about a movie by its name.
Sin City: Good
A Lot Like Love: Probably Bad
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous: Probably Very, Very Bad
The Salton Sea: Leaning Towards Bad
While it was at the top of our queue for seemingly an eternity, I thought (and hoped) it would never come, and it looked like my hopes might come true as the dreaded "long wait" appeared next to The Salton Sea under availability. But sure enough, it eventually came.
Well... my skepticism was misplaced, although the name was certainly not a point in its favor. I liked it. It starts off in a weird kind of way, with Val Kilmer playing a trumpet in a burning building. How did he get to this point? Well thats the plot of the movie.
I can't get too much into the details without giving away the plot. But its full of enough twists and turns to make it very engrossing. It also has a few moments of humor too. Val Kilmer gives a solid leading performance, and while the rest of the actors (aside from Luis Guzman) are not big names, they give solid performances that never make you feel they are overmatched. The overall "technique" of the movie, with random flashbacks throughout the plot, while not original, fits it very well.
Overall, I'd recommend you give this movie a shot. Either from netflix or your local video store, I'd give this movie a try the next night you're tired of watching SVU or CSI.
I'll admit it, I was skeptical when Kim told me she wanted to put The Salton Sea into our Blockbuster online queue. The Salton Sea? That just sounds like trouble. You can tell a lot about a movie by its name.
Sin City: Good
A Lot Like Love: Probably Bad
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous: Probably Very, Very Bad
The Salton Sea: Leaning Towards Bad
While it was at the top of our queue for seemingly an eternity, I thought (and hoped) it would never come, and it looked like my hopes might come true as the dreaded "long wait" appeared next to The Salton Sea under availability. But sure enough, it eventually came.
Well... my skepticism was misplaced, although the name was certainly not a point in its favor. I liked it. It starts off in a weird kind of way, with Val Kilmer playing a trumpet in a burning building. How did he get to this point? Well thats the plot of the movie.
I can't get too much into the details without giving away the plot. But its full of enough twists and turns to make it very engrossing. It also has a few moments of humor too. Val Kilmer gives a solid leading performance, and while the rest of the actors (aside from Luis Guzman) are not big names, they give solid performances that never make you feel they are overmatched. The overall "technique" of the movie, with random flashbacks throughout the plot, while not original, fits it very well.
Overall, I'd recommend you give this movie a shot. Either from netflix or your local video store, I'd give this movie a try the next night you're tired of watching SVU or CSI.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)