April 26th, Carriage Place
Thursday, April 30, 2009
My Life at the Movies, April 2009
An ongoing series chronicling my love of the big screen.
April 26th, Carriage Place
April 26th, Carriage Place
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Are You Having Any Fun?
I just recently woke up from a twenty hour nap. Anybody doing anything tonight?
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Backlash news
We're going to be watching tonight's Backlash show tomorrow evening, probably starting around 8, and fast forwarding through entrances, ending at 10, God willing. All are welcome.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Blue Moon of Kentucky, Keep on Shinin'
Andrew and I are headin' south this weekend, though I don't plan on it being this sexy.
Tonight, we're going to Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, just across the border, to visit Jason. It's become a bit of an annual tradition these past three years for us to hang out with him on his birthday, so that's the first leg of our journey.
Saturday, we hop back in the car for a jaunt down to Louisville, home of pro wrestling's James E. Cornette, pornography's Audrey Hollander, and most importantly, our pals Chops and Mandy!
Quite a drive back on Sunday, but the memories we make this weekend will be well worth the trouble.
Tonight, we're going to Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, just across the border, to visit Jason. It's become a bit of an annual tradition these past three years for us to hang out with him on his birthday, so that's the first leg of our journey.
Saturday, we hop back in the car for a jaunt down to Louisville, home of pro wrestling's James E. Cornette, pornography's Audrey Hollander, and most importantly, our pals Chops and Mandy!
Quite a drive back on Sunday, but the memories we make this weekend will be well worth the trouble.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Good God, is THAT what time it is?
Christ knows I needed the distraction from real life today (I don't want to get into it on here), but I believe I just spent seven hours playing World of Mixed Martial Arts 2. This is very reminiscent of my Civilization II binges of 1996. My fighting company has not yet been attacked by a horde of barbarians, knock on wood.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Late Slip
Wrestling Night at 7. Sorry I didn't get a notice up here sooner, but I'm pretty sure the usual suspects were all aware anyway.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Can you name the WWE Hall of Fame Inductees?
http://www.sporcle.com/games/wwehofinductees.php
New Sporcle game. I bombed so terribly on this. :(
New Sporcle game. I bombed so terribly on this. :(
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Draft
WWE ran a three-hour RAW last night. I hate it when they do this. I remember when I was fourteen, and I thought it was awesome that Nitro was an hour longer than RAW. What a fool I was. And that was every week. Now, four times a year or so WWE goes three hours and I groan for weeks in anticipation. Of course, Nitro in 1997 was roughly eight trillion times better than RAW in 2009. Now that I think about it, if WWF had added an hour to RAW back in 2000, when Chris Kreski (R.I.P.) was head writer, I would have loved it. Anyway, the point is, I'm a diehard wrestling fan and if that means I have to put up with a longer RAW now and then, I guess I asked for it.
Now, as for the show itself, I found it to be strange. The directive for this year's draft was to strengthen RAW. With MyNetworkTV in the toilet and circling the drain, Smackdown! is no longer a priority of any kind and the McMahons feel that they need to do all they can to get the RAW rating up. So we got MVP, The Big Show, Matt Hardy, Triple H, the Miz, and Maryse all moving over to the "A" show. On the other hand, Smackdown! got Melina, CM Punk, Kane, Chris Jericho, and Rey Mysterio. So my question becomes... why would I ever want to watch RAW over Smackdown! again?
I may be in the minority as compared to the fan base at large, but I actually think is the much more appealing show at this point. Edge and Chris Jericho as your top heels with Undertaker, Mysterio, Jeff Hardy, and CM Punk as the top babyfaces, that's a show I can get behind. There's some more drafting being done tomorrow afternoon with the undercard guys, but I can't see what's going to make me care all that much about RAW! right now.
Now, as for the show itself, I found it to be strange. The directive for this year's draft was to strengthen RAW. With MyNetworkTV in the toilet and circling the drain, Smackdown! is no longer a priority of any kind and the McMahons feel that they need to do all they can to get the RAW rating up. So we got MVP, The Big Show, Matt Hardy, Triple H, the Miz, and Maryse all moving over to the "A" show. On the other hand, Smackdown! got Melina, CM Punk, Kane, Chris Jericho, and Rey Mysterio. So my question becomes... why would I ever want to watch RAW over Smackdown! again?
I may be in the minority as compared to the fan base at large, but I actually think is the much more appealing show at this point. Edge and Chris Jericho as your top heels with Undertaker, Mysterio, Jeff Hardy, and CM Punk as the top babyfaces, that's a show I can get behind. There's some more drafting being done tomorrow afternoon with the undercard guys, but I can't see what's going to make me care all that much about RAW! right now.
Monday, April 13, 2009
My Nephew Tried to Kill Me Today
Unlike every Superman or Superman related comic of the 1940s through the 1970s, the title of this blog entry has everything to do with the content of this blog entry.
My eldest nephew, Roger, stayed at my house last night. After I got him situated on the couch, I went downstairs to do my types on my comps until I was sure he had fallen asleep. Then, I wentn back into the room and played a really spirited round of The Adventures of Lolo 3.
Sometime on the third level, Roger woke up and was more than a little irritated that he was looking at a blue blob solve puzzles instead of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. MOTIVE
This morning, I was awoken by the sounds of Roger and my father arguing over proper shower protocol. The last thing I heard before falling asleep once more? "Here... use this bar of soap." OPPORTUNITY
My dad later informed me that Roger was in the basement, playing Fallout. My brain tried to comprehend this. Roger, as a ten year old spaz, would become very quickly bored by Fallout, a turn based role playing game. It made no sense. What was he up to? ALIBI
At the time, I didn't put any of this together. I had no reason to believe that Roger would harbor a three am grudge over the lack of Ashley Tisdale on TV, plant a bar of soap on the shower floor knowing full well that I was the only one in the house yet to step into that hotbox of doom, and then cleverly hurry downstairs for a morning of video games beyond his comprehension level.
So it was that I stepped into the shower this fateful day. I don't use bar soap. For me, it's facial scrub and body wash, like a woman. And as my right foot planted on top of the small dish of rendered fat and fresh spring scent, I knew I had been right about soap all these many years. I planted my left foot outside the shower, throwing myself completely off-balance and plunging headlong into the shower wall. I sat there for a few moments, trying to guess whether I would pass out or not. After I determined that I would not, I collected myself, finished my shower (sitting down, thank you), and went back to bed to nurse a killer headache.
This battle to you, Roger. The war, however, is still very much up for grabs.
My eldest nephew, Roger, stayed at my house last night. After I got him situated on the couch, I went downstairs to do my types on my comps until I was sure he had fallen asleep. Then, I wentn back into the room and played a really spirited round of The Adventures of Lolo 3.
Sometime on the third level, Roger woke up and was more than a little irritated that he was looking at a blue blob solve puzzles instead of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. MOTIVE
This morning, I was awoken by the sounds of Roger and my father arguing over proper shower protocol. The last thing I heard before falling asleep once more? "Here... use this bar of soap." OPPORTUNITY
My dad later informed me that Roger was in the basement, playing Fallout. My brain tried to comprehend this. Roger, as a ten year old spaz, would become very quickly bored by Fallout, a turn based role playing game. It made no sense. What was he up to? ALIBI
At the time, I didn't put any of this together. I had no reason to believe that Roger would harbor a three am grudge over the lack of Ashley Tisdale on TV, plant a bar of soap on the shower floor knowing full well that I was the only one in the house yet to step into that hotbox of doom, and then cleverly hurry downstairs for a morning of video games beyond his comprehension level.
So it was that I stepped into the shower this fateful day. I don't use bar soap. For me, it's facial scrub and body wash, like a woman. And as my right foot planted on top of the small dish of rendered fat and fresh spring scent, I knew I had been right about soap all these many years. I planted my left foot outside the shower, throwing myself completely off-balance and plunging headlong into the shower wall. I sat there for a few moments, trying to guess whether I would pass out or not. After I determined that I would not, I collected myself, finished my shower (sitting down, thank you), and went back to bed to nurse a killer headache.
This battle to you, Roger. The war, however, is still very much up for grabs.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Strikeforce, featuring Rick Martel and Tito Santana!
I haven't listened to this morning's Wrestling Observer Radio yet, so I apologize to members/leechers of the F4W Empire if I'm repeating something that Dave and/or Bryan already said, but I have one brief thought on last night's big Strikeforce show on Showtime. Or, as my cable guide identified it, "Mixed Martial Arts." Just from a production and presentation standpoint, this was heads and shoulders above your typical UFC show. It actually felt like a PRIDE show from back in the day at various points, especially with Mauro Ranallo on commentary. But aside from that, they had an awesome stage ramp, a cool video screen, and even pyro for every fighter. It came off as a really big deal event, and I recommend catching a replay if you can.
Oh, and Happy Easter.
Oh, and Happy Easter.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
More like EvenBLOW, am I right?
I live across the street from a Pearl Jam cover band. Or at least across the street from their rehearsal space. I began to notice bad grunge rock coming from the other side of Fourth Street a few weeks back. It was just a guitar at that point. Obnoxious, yes, but nothing apocalyptic. Last night, there were DRUMS and VOCALS. Unacceptable.
I don't know if they're actually a Pearl Jam cover band. It's not like I can decipher any lyrics across traffic and through brick walls. I could have just as easily said "Mudhoney" or "Mad Season". Any way you look at it you lose.
The debut of Strikeforce on Showtime is tomorrow night (tonight, now) at 10. Should be fun. Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz, brother! If anyone wants to watch some free fighting (not lucha libre), you're more than welcome to come by. Holla!
I don't know if they're actually a Pearl Jam cover band. It's not like I can decipher any lyrics across traffic and through brick walls. I could have just as easily said "Mudhoney" or "Mad Season". Any way you look at it you lose.
The debut of Strikeforce on Showtime is tomorrow night (tonight, now) at 10. Should be fun. Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz, brother! If anyone wants to watch some free fighting (not lucha libre), you're more than welcome to come by. Holla!
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
The Promise of a New Season
I was walking home from Annie's this evening when something occurred to me about Our National Pastime. A lot of people complain about the fact that the Major League Baseball season lasts 162 games. To them, I say this: no matter how wretched your favorite team may be, with a 162 game schedule, you are nearly GUARANTEED to see them pull out at least forty victories in a season. Think about it.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Wrestlemania Thoughts
Wrestlemania 25 was a good show. I don't know if it was fifty-five dollars good, but it was pretty good. Match by match below.
Before the broadcast even started I was being gypped by the powerful forces at work in WWE, as one of the two matches I was actually looking forward to was moved off the pay per view portion. Primo and Carlito, the Colons, defeated John Morrison and The Miz to unify the WWE and World Tag Team Titles in what I have read was one of the better matches of the evening. GUESS I'LL NEVER KNOW. Or they'll air it on RAW tonight just to spite me. Either way.
Money in the Bank V was, despite the personell involved, pretty much what we usually get out of the annual match. Lots of craziness, including Shelton Benjamin under-rotating on a flip dive off a ladder and nearly breaking his neck. Kofi Kingston was the real standout for me in this one. He managed to come up with several neat twists on using the ladder offensively, and also took a massive beating. I'd have to say that those are the two primary aspects of making this match work. CM Punk was the surprise winner for the second year in a row, leading me to believe that WWE has absolutely no plans for any of the men involved.
Kid Rock was next, and while I was going to just say something smug like, "The less said about this the better. Let's move on", I actually feel the need to write a few thoughts down. Primarily, and this was the mood from the crew watching at this point (myself, Dave, Keith, and Lucas), it's 2009. They weren't in Kid Rock's home town of Detroit, or even his home state of Michigan. They were in Houston, Texas, home of any number of contemporary acts that would have fit the feel of the event so much better. Tommy Tune, for instance. Anyway, Kid Rock was a big star in the late '90s. In the year 2000, WWE even used one of his songs to help repackage the Undertaker with his "American Badass" persona. Nine years later, Vince McMahon and/or the rest of the braintrust in WWE still thinks that everything that worked in the boom period is still going to work today. Trust me, it won't. And last night, it sure didn't.
The 25 Diva Battle Royal was even less of an event than I thought it would be. I assumed we'd at the very least get graphics identifying all of the women involved, but it was up to my keen eyes and that idiot Michael Cole to let me know what on earth was going on. I never even saw Sunny, Jackie Gayda or Torrie Wilson. Actually, I may have seen Torrie, it's just that every other woman on the roster these days looks exactly like her. I caught a glimpse of Molly Holly right before she was eliminated. Victoria actually got a little bit of focus, which was surprising. In the end, when the whole farce actually concluded with Santino Marella in drag winning the title of "Ms. Wrestlemania", I could only think how smart Trish Stratus and Lita were to stay far, far away from this disaster.
The 3-on-1 handicap/gauntlet/elimination/reverse battle royal started off on a pretty bad note, as Jimmy Snuka and Roddy Piper, at a combined seven-hundred and twenty-eight years of age, attempted to wrestle. This thankfully did not last long, with Jericho quickly disposing of them both, which gave way to the revelation of the night: Ricky Steamboat is still completely awesome. He's certainly not what he was fifteen years ago, but it must be at least in part like riding a bike, because that man could still go. He even busted out his flying cross body, causing Houston to simultaneously nearly wet themselves for a near-fall. He lost in the end, which was of course the right call so as not to castrate Jericho, but it was an awesome five minutes or so. Mickey Rourke knocking Jericho out with a left hook didn't really bother me, but after all the months of build, I was somehow expecting more. Of course, this match was originally thought to be Jericho versus Austin, so perhaps I should have learned my lesson about expectations.
The Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy extreme rules match was really pretty pedestrian considering it came from the men who gave us the TLC match. There were some crazy things, but honestly, it completely lacked flow. There was no wrestling to speak of, which is fine, because a match like this should absolutely just be a big, crazy brawl, but I think the fact that the pattern of the match was "set up, high spot, set up, high spot, etc. etc." with no variation really hurt the intensity. Still, the finish with Matt hitting a chair assisted Twist of Fate, was completely wicked and appropriately diabolical for his character at this point.
JBL/Rey Mysterio was less than thirty seconds long, and Rey won the title. He was also dressed as the Joker, in very creepy fashion. What can be said?
Undertaker and Shawn... hm. This is really another "what can be said?" situation, but in a completely different way. This was by far my favorite match of 2009, and looking back, may have been better than anything I saw in 2008 as well. I believe I've mentioned before that in my mind, there are only two real candidates for the best professional wrestler of all time: Shawn Michaels and Kenta Kobashi. I go back and forth between the two largely based on which one I've seen have a great match more recently. Let me just say that after last night, Kobashi has a lot of catching up to do this year. This match ruled, and really, the outcome didn't matter. It was just two master performers going out and having the absolute best match they possibly could. Unreal. This should have closed the show.
Cena versus Edge versus Big Show was perfectly fine, but really felt out of place as a Wrestlemania title match. If this were, say, the main event of Backlash, I think it would fit in very well. Come to think of it, it probably will be the main event of Backlash. Edge won after hurking Big Show up for an Attitude Adjuster (the former "F-U").
And here we are. Main event time. Randy Orton, on th ehottest streak of his life challenging the son-in-law from Hell, Triple H. And... what a let down. I was actually bored at points during this, which is pretty much in the Troubleshooting manual of "things not to do" while watching the Wrestlemania main event. It picked up in certain spots, but after Undertaker/Michaels, this just wasn't going to cut it. Triple H won after a sledgehammer shot (which I suspect will come back to bite him tonight on RAW), a couple of Pedigrees and some hilarious ground and pound. If he's sporting MMA gloves in the near future, we'll know the end is nigh.
On the whole, this show goes into the "What Worked" category, but the presentation could have been much better with some stricter time management (Kid Rock, I'm looking at you) and more sensible match placement. It was a very fun evening with my friends, though, (final count was myself, Amanda Andrew, Dave, Franz, Keith, and Lucas) and really, isn't that what Wrestlemania Sunday is all about?
Before the broadcast even started I was being gypped by the powerful forces at work in WWE, as one of the two matches I was actually looking forward to was moved off the pay per view portion. Primo and Carlito, the Colons, defeated John Morrison and The Miz to unify the WWE and World Tag Team Titles in what I have read was one of the better matches of the evening. GUESS I'LL NEVER KNOW. Or they'll air it on RAW tonight just to spite me. Either way.
Money in the Bank V was, despite the personell involved, pretty much what we usually get out of the annual match. Lots of craziness, including Shelton Benjamin under-rotating on a flip dive off a ladder and nearly breaking his neck. Kofi Kingston was the real standout for me in this one. He managed to come up with several neat twists on using the ladder offensively, and also took a massive beating. I'd have to say that those are the two primary aspects of making this match work. CM Punk was the surprise winner for the second year in a row, leading me to believe that WWE has absolutely no plans for any of the men involved.
Kid Rock was next, and while I was going to just say something smug like, "The less said about this the better. Let's move on", I actually feel the need to write a few thoughts down. Primarily, and this was the mood from the crew watching at this point (myself, Dave, Keith, and Lucas), it's 2009. They weren't in Kid Rock's home town of Detroit, or even his home state of Michigan. They were in Houston, Texas, home of any number of contemporary acts that would have fit the feel of the event so much better. Tommy Tune, for instance. Anyway, Kid Rock was a big star in the late '90s. In the year 2000, WWE even used one of his songs to help repackage the Undertaker with his "American Badass" persona. Nine years later, Vince McMahon and/or the rest of the braintrust in WWE still thinks that everything that worked in the boom period is still going to work today. Trust me, it won't. And last night, it sure didn't.
The 25 Diva Battle Royal was even less of an event than I thought it would be. I assumed we'd at the very least get graphics identifying all of the women involved, but it was up to my keen eyes and that idiot Michael Cole to let me know what on earth was going on. I never even saw Sunny, Jackie Gayda or Torrie Wilson. Actually, I may have seen Torrie, it's just that every other woman on the roster these days looks exactly like her. I caught a glimpse of Molly Holly right before she was eliminated. Victoria actually got a little bit of focus, which was surprising. In the end, when the whole farce actually concluded with Santino Marella in drag winning the title of "Ms. Wrestlemania", I could only think how smart Trish Stratus and Lita were to stay far, far away from this disaster.
The 3-on-1 handicap/gauntlet/elimination/reverse battle royal started off on a pretty bad note, as Jimmy Snuka and Roddy Piper, at a combined seven-hundred and twenty-eight years of age, attempted to wrestle. This thankfully did not last long, with Jericho quickly disposing of them both, which gave way to the revelation of the night: Ricky Steamboat is still completely awesome. He's certainly not what he was fifteen years ago, but it must be at least in part like riding a bike, because that man could still go. He even busted out his flying cross body, causing Houston to simultaneously nearly wet themselves for a near-fall. He lost in the end, which was of course the right call so as not to castrate Jericho, but it was an awesome five minutes or so. Mickey Rourke knocking Jericho out with a left hook didn't really bother me, but after all the months of build, I was somehow expecting more. Of course, this match was originally thought to be Jericho versus Austin, so perhaps I should have learned my lesson about expectations.
The Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy extreme rules match was really pretty pedestrian considering it came from the men who gave us the TLC match. There were some crazy things, but honestly, it completely lacked flow. There was no wrestling to speak of, which is fine, because a match like this should absolutely just be a big, crazy brawl, but I think the fact that the pattern of the match was "set up, high spot, set up, high spot, etc. etc." with no variation really hurt the intensity. Still, the finish with Matt hitting a chair assisted Twist of Fate, was completely wicked and appropriately diabolical for his character at this point.
JBL/Rey Mysterio was less than thirty seconds long, and Rey won the title. He was also dressed as the Joker, in very creepy fashion. What can be said?
Undertaker and Shawn... hm. This is really another "what can be said?" situation, but in a completely different way. This was by far my favorite match of 2009, and looking back, may have been better than anything I saw in 2008 as well. I believe I've mentioned before that in my mind, there are only two real candidates for the best professional wrestler of all time: Shawn Michaels and Kenta Kobashi. I go back and forth between the two largely based on which one I've seen have a great match more recently. Let me just say that after last night, Kobashi has a lot of catching up to do this year. This match ruled, and really, the outcome didn't matter. It was just two master performers going out and having the absolute best match they possibly could. Unreal. This should have closed the show.
Cena versus Edge versus Big Show was perfectly fine, but really felt out of place as a Wrestlemania title match. If this were, say, the main event of Backlash, I think it would fit in very well. Come to think of it, it probably will be the main event of Backlash. Edge won after hurking Big Show up for an Attitude Adjuster (the former "F-U").
And here we are. Main event time. Randy Orton, on th ehottest streak of his life challenging the son-in-law from Hell, Triple H. And... what a let down. I was actually bored at points during this, which is pretty much in the Troubleshooting manual of "things not to do" while watching the Wrestlemania main event. It picked up in certain spots, but after Undertaker/Michaels, this just wasn't going to cut it. Triple H won after a sledgehammer shot (which I suspect will come back to bite him tonight on RAW), a couple of Pedigrees and some hilarious ground and pound. If he's sporting MMA gloves in the near future, we'll know the end is nigh.
On the whole, this show goes into the "What Worked" category, but the presentation could have been much better with some stricter time management (Kid Rock, I'm looking at you) and more sensible match placement. It was a very fun evening with my friends, though, (final count was myself, Amanda Andrew, Dave, Franz, Keith, and Lucas) and really, isn't that what Wrestlemania Sunday is all about?
Friday, April 03, 2009
Russellmania Lineup
Jack Russell Terrier versus Kurt Russell
Keri Russell versus Russell Crowe
Bill Russell versus Nipsey Russell
JaMarcus Russell versus Russell Branyon
Rusty Venture versus an army of Russ Berrie Troll Dolls
Keri Russell versus Russell Crowe
Bill Russell versus Nipsey Russell
JaMarcus Russell versus Russell Branyon
Rusty Venture versus an army of Russ Berrie Troll Dolls
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Dare
"Dare is a place where dreams survive. It's guiding you on to victory" - Stan Bush, Transformers: The Movie
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
R.I.P. Andy Hallett plus an open invitation
Sorry for the short notice on this, but it's been a bad day, dizziness-wise and I haven't been able to get to the computer.
Anyhow, tonight is a big evening of first-run UFC programming on Spike TV. Fight Night live from Nashville at 8, and then the first episode of the new season of Ultimate Fighter at 10. I'll be watching and I'd love the company for some or all of the action.
I'm still kind of dumbstruck by the Andy Hallett thing. My thoughts are with his parents and friends.
Anyhow, tonight is a big evening of first-run UFC programming on Spike TV. Fight Night live from Nashville at 8, and then the first episode of the new season of Ultimate Fighter at 10. I'll be watching and I'd love the company for some or all of the action.
I'm still kind of dumbstruck by the Andy Hallett thing. My thoughts are with his parents and friends.
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