Black Rock Blog

Surf and Turf at Sunset

2011-02-14T18:26:00.002-05:00

2010-05-31T21:04:00.001-05:00

2010-05-20T21:59:00.000-05:00

2010-05-09T08:46:00.001-05:00

2010-04-25T21:18:00.001-05:00

2010-04-25T21:11:00.001-05:00

2010-04-11T20:41:00.001-05:00

2010-03-24T13:05:00.000-05:00

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

2010-03-21T11:49:00.001-05:00

Nina Simone does Dylan, beautifully.

2010-03-08T17:13:00.001-05:00

Björk Cocoon
Uploaded by skinandbones. - See more comedy videos.This song keeps popping up in my playlist and I absolutely love it. The video was not what I expected, but fitting. Don't play it at work.

2010-03-07T18:07:00.001-05:00

2010-03-07T12:55:00.001-05:00

2010-03-01T21:12:00.001-05:00

2010-02-25T20:39:00.003-05:00

It pains me to say, but would be better without the hill. Fergie kills it thou. I take that back, b-real's part is fine, but I really don't need sen dog in the background all the damn time...he's the horatio sanz of cypress hill.

2010-02-12T22:44:00.001-05:00

2010-02-07T10:06:00.001-05:00

2010-01-31T14:45:00.001-05:00

2010-01-31T14:11:00.001-05:00

Pee-wee Gets An iPad! from Pee-wee Herman

2010-01-23T15:09:00.002-05:00

2010-01-18T23:20:00.001-05:00

2010-01-11T21:37:00.001-05:00

Revamping my music collection

2010-01-09T13:06:00.001-05:00

http://www.chamli.com/10-steps-to-the-perfect-portfolio-website

Buffalo Bill

2009-12-22T23:24:00.001-05:00

I hope they start playing this at the Ralph. They should play it as soon as number 4 comes out of the tunnel.

2009-12-19T23:03:00.001-05:00

2009-12-09T20:53:00.001-05:00

2009-12-09T09:07:00.001-05:00

2009-12-08T19:05:00.001-05:00

samsung led 7000 tv is crazy from Gizmodo on Vimeo.

We got that B-roll

2009-12-08T18:58:00.001-05:00

Gimme Dat Side Hug!

2009-11-25T16:48:00.001-05:00

2009-11-22T21:02:00.001-05:00

2009-11-03T18:41:00.000-05:00

2009-10-24T00:52:00.001-05:00

Tauntaun Sleeping Bag

2009-10-15T16:40:00.003-05:00

This is awesome!

Good Night Sweet Prince

2009-10-14T23:20:00.001-05:00

Any old school wrestling fan should be saddend by this post.

Been awhile!

2009-10-08T23:40:00.002-05:00

So its been a while since i have posted i have seen some nice movies since then. I saw a friend buy a house, a new season of football begin, heard a friend got married (Congrats Caps) and a brother decide to try and go back to school. These things make you realize the friends you make now may not be there forever but the guys you grew up with they always seem to come in and out of your life more times than you realize.

2009-09-12T09:47:00.001-05:00

2009-09-12T09:38:00.000-05:00

Comfort Wipe

2009-07-08T19:49:00.001-05:00

2009-07-02T18:57:00.001-05:00

2009-06-27T00:22:00.002-05:00

just saw transformers and i must say if you are a tool box and listen to the critics then you will miss out on a great fun time with awesome fight scenes. a must see for a great summer starter.

I hate strip clubs

2009-06-20T21:02:00.003-05:00

About a year and a half ago I put up a post that has done a lot of damage. I put up a post that claimed just the opposite. In fact, I made it seem like maybe a stripper was in love with me. I thought it was funny, but I never realized anyone coming across it would think I was an asshole, and worse, believe it. The truth is I hate strip clubs, I had always prided myself with never having gone, and I'm embarrassed that I ever did. I've always felt uncomfortable in those places. I thought I was being cool, but I wasn't being cool, I was being an asshole.

My love/hate relationship with this blog

2009-06-19T18:32:00.002-05:00

Whoa, I guess it's been a while. I never really knew how to approach this thing, back in the day, when I would write an entry from time to time. You're never really anonymous on the internets and I never quite got that. A joke here, something funny there, lots of embarrassing stuff. I'd gone through a lot of the old posts of mine and I didn't really like the person painted on those pages. With friends starting families and having children, the question that kept coming up in my head was, would I want my kids to see what I had written someday, would I be proud of what would inevitably be attached to me, and the answer was that for a lot of posts, no, I wouldn't. A lot of posts had me looking like a misogynist, sexist pig, and that's not who I am, that's not the image I want to project. I've had a lot of ups and downs the past several years, and spent a lot of time in a dark, scary place. I think I can finally see some light and I'm trying to have a better life, make better decisions, accomplish things. I'm not taking any drugs, I'm trying not to drink so damn much, I'm never going to strip clubs again, I'm actually working towards a degree and not just avoiding life. These are all positive things and as I climb out of this hole I'm trying to better appreciate the things I do have. I dunno, you fall, you get back up, you keep going.

wow this is a trippy video

2009-06-16T07:23:00.000-05:00

Where will amazing happen this year!

2009-05-17T21:18:00.001-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of3JPLRqNJw

The New Final Frontier

2009-05-13T20:37:00.002-05:00

As the new movie season comes upon us and so far i have witnessed horror and delight. as i sat there and watched wolverine i couldnt help but think "damn critters had better graphics and plot" but then in the dark cold abyss of space comes a light to brighten the dark that light is star trek. A must see by anyone looking for adventure and excitement.

I Have THIS!!!

2009-04-21T20:19:00.000-05:00

Procrastinating. This is laugh-out-loud funny:

Monday Night

2009-04-13T19:55:00.002-05:00

I began writing this post about my troubles with accounts of the rescue of the Mersk Alabama Captain Richard Phillips. At first reading it seemed like a tremendous overreaction to send three sniper bullets through the remaining three pirates. Pirates who, by all accounts were out of options, tethered to the USS Bainbridge because the lifeboat they occupied was out of fuel, not to mention food and water. I was writing that I was troubled by the way things went down when an intriguing and (of course) entirely speculative notion occurred to me. With ideologues like Hannity and Glenn "Blubberbuss" Beck openly calling for armed insurrection, and uncomfortably large swaths of the country amenable to their vitriol, perhaps the administration was not in a mood to take too many chances. I mean can you imagine ol' Blubberbuss' first show after Captain Phillips suffers a fatal heart attack while in the pirates' custody, or the pirates actually commit the one act of nihilism the Navy contends they (the pirates) were on the verge of when the SeALs put their heads out? Nothing but tears and bluster I'd bet and the bodies on Beck's rhetoric this time might be from a group of Somali immigrants in a rust belt city.

In other news, Clarance Thomas has taken off both shoes and one sock... is he crying?

A sad end.

2009-04-09T18:06:00.002-05:00

As I sit here waiting for the Sabres to take on the canes in their penultimate game. I think of all the missed opportunities, all the points left on the table, It makes for a frustrating season. Hopefully the off season will yield the changes needed to right the ship. But that's the thing right? Next season will be different. And I truly hope that it is. Whatever happens this off season I think there is a chance that what we have is really worth building on. We have a solid core of players. A goalie that has the ability to get us where we want to be. We also have a coach with the experience to coach in the biggest games. We may not have gotten into the playoffs. But you can never say it wasn't entertaining. Here's hoping these next two games sends us out on a high note.

I'll Just Leave This Here...

2009-04-07T15:37:00.001-05:00

Panjabi MC: Bills Fan?

2009-03-30T18:16:00.001-05:00

billy mays here

2009-03-25T18:31:00.000-05:00

the pitchoff begins

a nice website

2009-03-10T12:14:00.001-05:00

www.mmbolding.com/BSR/super_bowl_xxvi.htm some good art work

the rock obama

2009-03-08T21:49:00.000-05:00

2009-03-01T01:12:00.003-05:00

In what should have been a non-eventful saturday turns into a date with destiny! for it was on this date that i sat down and had the most lengthy time of gaming i have done since final fantasy VII. With great vengence and furious anger i got the day completed by finishing yet another zelda game. now the reason i am as happy about this as i am is due to the fact that this will complete the series for me and i can now lay this to rest and start on a new endevor. stay tuned for now i am on to resident evil 4.

And On A Lighter Note...

2009-02-16T16:19:00.001-05:00

God I love Alec Baldwin.

I'm done...

2009-02-16T15:42:00.002-05:00

"I can't do this any more."

That was the first thing that popped into my head upon learning of Marshawn Lynchs' arrest for A loaded pistol. I can't watch another mistake in judgement by a player that barely justifies his inflated contract. But then his judgement has always been the issue hasn't it? I mean this isn't exactly his first brush with the law is it? And I get the broken home/bad neighborhood argument but I'm done. I'm done with these types of players. How am I supposed to get excited about this team when the ambassador for them in Hawaii is sitting around in parked cars in LA with loaded weapons. You know I actually own a few guns myself. And let me tell you what the last thing I would be doing with them is... Sitting in a parked car with a couple of "buddies" just waiting to find trouble. You can't tell me that Fred Jackson couldn't match the numbers of Beast mode. I'm so tired of hearing how this team is trying to find high quality people & high quality players. If This is what your aspiring to then I'm out. I think we can safely say that Marv's tenure as "GM" is a bust. Between the "High" quality people he has brought in and the Low quality players I can't justify watching this team for another year. I have other shit I could be doing with that 4 hours on Sunday. This team has been broken since Polian left. There is no saviour on the horizon and I'm getting real tried of waiting. This team is actually starting to make me hate football all together. I think I'm with Chris Collinsworth on this one. "I HATE THE BUFFALO BILLS".

Ween Does Thin Lizzy

2009-02-10T17:41:00.001-05:00

Tell me that isn't dead-on. Man, these guys are good.

I'm still alive, folks, but a little busy.

War across America

2009-02-08T00:33:00.002-05:00

You know it's laundry day when I'm wearing my Six Feet Under t shirt- the band, not the show. 3/11 - Bogies, Albany, NY. The year isn't written. Something tells me the t shirt's designers didn't think the wearer would have trouble remembering the year. My best guess is 1998, but that's just an average, really. Still, a long time ago. I hardly know the person who went to this show. Do we really change that much in ~11 years?/

2009-02-08T00:23:00.000-05:00

2009-02-01T10:58:00.002-05:00

As i am at my house this morning i am intrigued on this super bowl that is upon us. I may be the minority on this but i am pulling for the Cardinals on this super Sunday. I am looking forward to what i believe to be the 5th anniversary of the super party at Voelkers bar. Cardinals 27 steelers 20

Get Fair?

2009-01-29T19:23:00.002-05:00

I've grown tired of people bashing the current NFL overtime format. Folks love to lob the "coin flip winner wins 70% of the time" statistic around, followed in short order by sniffing something about how it sucks when your team loses in OT without ever touching the ball. As if 70% of the time the coin flip winner scores on their first drive in overtime. The reality is, from 2000 to 2007 the coin flip winner scored on their first drive in overtime less than 30% of the time. Which means that about 70% of the time both teams touch the ball offensively. Isn't that what's important? Now perhaps there's a better system, (strings, strings or no strings?) but for now I haven't heard it. The current system is completely fair and there's no compelling reason to change it. Yeah it sucks that Manning didn't get to touch the ball in OT, but he touched the ball plenty in regulation. That's the way it goes. I have a suggestion for you OT activists, focus on something that is actually hurting the game: Instant Replay.

Get Tough?

2009-01-24T00:13:00.002-05:00

This is what happens when you have too much time on your hands. You end up finding shit like this.

Samba De Janeiro

2009-01-15T10:01:00.001-05:00

Think Warm Thoughts.

2008-12-31T19:40:00.002-05:00

Of course I'm a sucker for the ol' onscreen pair that everyone wants to get together, but they just can't. I'm watching this all onfold for the first time ever, and man, I'm certain Pam and Jim are my favorites. I don't know how it's gonna pan out, but I'm REALLY rooting for them.

2008-12-30T17:09:00.001-05:00

Un-fucking-Bill-ievable.

Billy Fish

2008-12-30T15:23:00.003-05:00

1.

Melvins, off their latest Nude With Boots. Solid, grimy album.

That drum intro reminds me of the Veldt from Final Fantasy III/VI:

2.

Ralph C Wilson Jr has convened his triumvirate to discuss the fate of Bills head coach Dick Jauron. Secluded somewhere in the west wing of Wilson's suburban Detroit estate, they are mulling over sacked hopes and fumbled dreams. To myself, and most of the Buffalo Bills fanbase, the choice is obvious. Jauron must go.

Word has it that one of Ralph's confidantes is in support of Ol' Dick (thanks for the link, Caps), and I can only speculate that this mystery man is Marv Levy. When Levy took the GM position, it felt like a publicity stunt that could only tarnish his legacy and weaken his status as one of the most beloved icons in Buffalo sports history. For the most part, this has proven to be the case.

Looking back at the 2006/07 NFL drafts, over which Levy presided, he has had significantly more misses than hits. His drafting-for-character strategy has yielded very few talented players.

My opinion of Levy's selection took a major turn when I realized that Donte Whitner is not as good as I thought he was. He got laid out Sunday, but besides that, he is consistently out of position and fails to provide the game-changing plays that we expected of him. He's a great locker room guy, but he's not Troy Polamalu or Bob Sanders, and thus not worth the 8th overall pick.

In that same draft, the Bills traded up into the first round to pick up John McCargo, who showed some flashes, but ultimately played himself out of a job. That's two first round picks that have not had an impact.

Levy did manage a few finds in '06. Ashton Youboty, who looked like a bust, has turned out to be a solid cornerback. Kyle Williams is a reliable DT, but is probably more suited to a reserve role. Brad Butler provides some depth on the O-Line. These guys are alright, but they're not good enough to turn a team around.

To round out 2006, the Bills also selected: Ko Simpson - flop, Keith "Flapjack" Ellison - the worst Bills linebacker since Eddie "Corpse" Robinson, Terrence Pennington & Aaron Merz.

Levy then traded away Willis McGahee, most likely for PR purposes, who has gone on to a Pro Bowl season and a playoff berth. To be fair, most of Buffalo wanted McGahee gone, and I wouldn't be stuck on this if it hadn't altered the Bills' draft strategy for 2007. With the exception of the top two or three backs in the NFL, running back is not a position that drastically alters the outcome of a game (see BenJarvis Green-Ellis).

Marshawn Lynch, the top pick in '07, has proven to be no better than McGahee. He has also been a nightmare image-wise. In essence, Levy traded a first round pick for a third. 12th overall is too high for a back who isn't Adrian Peterson. That said, 2007 draft doesn't look much better.

Second-round pick Paul Posluszny has done more for Time Warner Cable than for the Buffalo Bills. Fans envisioned a hulking, nasty MLB that opposing teams had to gameplan for. They wanted Brian Urlacher. Poz might sell a lot of jerseys, but on gameday he disappears.

The wildcard of the '07 draft is Trent "Two-Face" Edwards, who alternately plays like Joe Montana and Kelly Holcomb. It's maddening. His post-game persona isn't doing him any favors either. I supposed that if he figures it out, Levy will end up looking like a genius. I have my doubts, however, that he can remain healthy long enough to be an elite quarterback.

John Wendling has been a solid special-teamer, and Derek Schouman is a fine second or third tight end. Problem is that special-teamers and back-up tight ends don't get you to the playoffs. The rest of '07: Dwayne Wright, C.J. Ah You.

The best thing to come from the Levy regime, easily, is Fred Jackson, who has proven to be a better than average running back. He looks capable of handling a full load. With that in mind, I'd consider dumping Lynch.

His free agency record, with the exception of Jackson, is abysmal: Tutan Reyes, Larry Triplett, Peerless Price, Melvin Fowler, Derrick Dockery, Langston Walker & Robert Royal.

This Bills do not have enough talent, and clearly Marv Levy was a big part of that. I'm not here to take shots at the man, but I think his role in the Bills inability to crack the post-season has been understated. In fairness, Levy is not, and never was a personnel man. He had input in building the Super Bowl teams, but Bill Polian had the final say. On top of that, Levy was receiving input from an inferior coach of his own choosing, Dick Jauron.

This is not to lay blame at the feet of Levy. I think we would all love to take a shot as an NFL General Manager. We do it for fun every offseason. However, no owner would give us that opportunity. Ralph Wilson is responsible for relying so heavily on a trusted friend and hiring an unqualified GM.

Great Game or Greatest Game!

2008-12-29T20:03:00.002-05:00

You decide!

F-R-E-E that spells expensive.

2008-12-23T17:03:00.002-05:00

Hey folks if all you're looking for is an annual free credit report, avoid freecreditreport.com.
It is decidedly not free. To use the site, you need to register a credit card, which they will use to charge you some $16 dollars a month in perpetuity unless you opt out. More trouble than it's worth if you ask me. If you comb their website, they eventually point you to annualcreditreport.com, which the Federal Trade Commission warns is the:

"ONLY authorized online source for you to get a free credit report under federal law."

Notes From The Underground

2008-12-19T17:29:00.002-05:00

Snowed in, reading a great article on the Drive-By Truckers/Hold Steady tour, which conveniently passed by Buffalo, again. Wish I could have caught this one in Toronto. Sounds like a rockin' good time.

In other DBT-related news, former band member Jason Isbell will be releasing a new album in February. He will be bringing his 400 Unit to Mohawk Place on Mar 5. Should be a great show at a great price.

I've been experimenting with a rudimentary music mixing program. Just finished up a 90s rock mix. Check it out here. Not at smooth and cohesive as I would have liked, but I'm still learning. Enjoy.

Thanks, Wins, for getting me onto the Dark Tower series. Just finished up The Gunslinger and I'm hooked. This is the first Stephen King book I've read since Salem's Lot roughly 10-15 years ago. Love it. Need to pick up The Drawing of the Three.

In the meantime, Oliver Twist will keep me occupied. It seems fashionable to hate on Charles Dickens for being overly sentimental, but you'd have to be cold-blooded to champion such criticism. Dickens is a master, and his canon has given us some of the most memorable characters in literary history. Show respect. Without Dickens, we would not have Scrooged.

It has proven extremely difficult to read this book without picturing the 1968 musical. Food, glorious food!

More snow tonight. Looking forward to it. Time to extricate the Hyundai from a snowbank.

Addendum: I wish I could be excited about this list. See, it doesn't have to be Cowher. Damn you, Ralph.

2008-12-17T22:12:00.001-05:00

ok i know we were trying to get away from these type of posts but this is just disturbing.

J.P. Losman

2008-12-14T16:03:00.004-05:00

I hope this guy is found in a shady alley with a needle in his arm!

GO BULLS!

The good times

2008-12-11T22:03:00.003-05:00

When we went to Boston in May there were these kids breakdancing to this song playing over and over again. I can't seem to stop playing it.

Couple of things...

2008-12-10T23:24:00.005-05:00

1) See this is why we have a tough time bailing you out...
Turns out AIG was assbettin' on the economy and now they're coming
due to the tune of $10B.

2) This is notice that criticisms of Thomas Vanek (I'm following Caps' lead and from now on will refer to him as 3PO) must from here out be reality based and not vague mumblings about him being a European and therefore lazy.

Specifically I refer to the following:

"Vanek single-handedly put Buffalo ahead with goals 22 and 23 of his NHL-leading season."

The boy is working hard and doing his part to make that contract look smart.

MAC Champions!!!!

2008-12-06T01:46:00.002-05:00

Congrats to the 2008 University at Buffalo Bulls on their conference championship. Great to see you guys take that step. Who knew the first season tickets I would buy in Buffalo would be for the Bulls?

In other news, I went from wins to ole' man wins when I shoveled my own walk for the first time ever. Here's to many more snowstorms!

Vacation, Over.

2008-12-05T10:36:00.005-05:00

1. Tune in to ESPN2 at 8:00 tonight to watch the UB Bulls take on the Ball State Cardinals for the MAC Football Championship. The odds are strongly in favor of Ball State, but I'm more interested in this game than Sunday's Buffalo @ Toronto affair. Rod McKissic's got your keys to the game.

2. Ted Rogers kicked off this week, and I can't say that I am saddened by the news. Not to sound callous, but Rogers played the part of the supervillain in the infamous Toronto Bills press conference.

After last week's Bills game, however, I'm almost at a place where I wouldn't mind the team leaving town. WGR's Greg Bauch was not pleased with the results. I'm not thrilled to watch J.P. Losman on Sunday. Start Gibran Hamdan, please! Losman is a known commodity. Oh, I forgot, Dick Jauron is too cowardly to take a big chance like that. Ugh...Go Bills...I guess. Only Bill Cowher could reignite my love for this team.

3. The mystique of the Sabres' 2006-07 playoff runs has faded. These guys need a serious overhaul. Despite popular sentiment that they "should be" a playoff contender, the Sabres are clearly a middle-of-the-road team at best. I'm beginning to have serious doubts about Ryan Miller. If only they could've hung on to J.P. Dumont and Chris Drury...

4. Fuck Universal Music Group, but I've been listening to Ryan Bingham as of late. For a guy in his mid-twenties, he sounds like he has already had unhealthy helpings of whiskey and tobacco. Bingham surfaced on my Amazon recommendation a year ago or so, and I've just now given him a listen. Nice reco, Amazon.

5. Atheists, playing reindeer games. I'd like to say that I'm happy to see Atheism making a play for social acknowledgment, but this is inching too close to Atheist Fundamentalism (Is that possible?). Atheism in itself is a leap of faith, since there are simply some things we can't know. Scientists are fallible, too. To paraphrase this placard: "What you believe is wrong, and you are ignorant. Come, (un)believe as we do."

6. Dispatches from the lowest common denominator: here. Seriously? Threatened by a Shih Tzu?

This I love

2008-12-05T00:04:00.002-05:00

This record had to grow on me. I didn't think much of it when I first listened to it, but it gets better the more you play it. Better and Sorry are great songs, and of course I like this one a lot, although that may be more a function of where I'm at these days.

Heartless

2008-12-04T23:48:00.002-05:00

Here.808s and heartbreak is a great album. I can't stop listening to it. Real, real muddy sound. Listen to it on some nice speakers, you won't regret it. I love it.

prop 8

2008-12-04T19:47:00.000-05:00

A new layout...

2008-12-01T21:05:00.000-05:00

Is it an improvement?

party!!!!!

2008-11-26T23:08:00.002-05:00

Ok so invites went out his week for bowling and grub at my place for my birthday. Now i know it is customary in this group to not answer phones or return calls so i am now left to ask over the blog who is coming? You all have my number lets get the ball rolling and give lil a call and let me know whats the deal!

Fair winds and following seas

2008-11-24T19:51:00.003-05:00

This past week a US Navy visited Buffalo for a port call. This and a recurring dream where I join the Navy again has me in a reflective mood about my 3 and 10/12ths years in that institution.

When I was in boot camp, there was this guy that was kind of a tool. Always going on about his girl back home who was "really hot", and really in love with him, despite his dweebish looks and manner. (Mind you this is a less mature me) So I and this other guy Nestor start dogging him every chance we get. Smart ass comments, tripping him in the drill line, and at one point Nestor stole his diary and proceeded to read it to the rest of the company. (As I mentioned we were immature, but we get our comeuppance) Great fun for both of us but soon we grew tired of it and moved on to other things. Then comes service week - it's supposed to be seven days of working in in the mess hall from 3:30am to 8:30pm for those who have not snagged their spot in the boot camp aristocracy of recruit leadership. Due to a Clinton administration budget crisis it turned into nine days. But I digress. The recruit originally in charge of service week jobs was friendly with me (and an aspiring SeAL) so I ended up with what by mess hall standards was a cushy job; Tiger Team. This consisted of waiting for the kitchen to need a quantity of dried goods, like flour or pasta. When the order came, we'd fill it. Simple, and for the first day I was sure I was going to breeze through Service week. Day two is not like day one. At about 7 in the morning I'm informed that I no longer work in Tiger Team, and that I am to report to the GI Hole. That's what they called it. In reality what it was was a small room outfitted with hot water jets, three sinks (one for sanitizing) and a dumpster. We were there for 15 hours a day to wash every industrial pot and pan the base could throw at us, less 15 minutes for lunch and a half hour for dinner. It was hot, incredibly loud (they gave us in-ear plugs and outer ear muffs and still my ears rang for two days after my last shift in there) and spending 15 hours in very close proximity to food left you with a hellacious stench (When the GI Hole-ers returned to the barracks, it was demanded we strip at the door and head straight for the shower). About five hours into my first shift, during a slow time, I sat around contemplating what I could have done to deserve such a fate, when who should walk through the door to report for his first shift in the Hole but my old pal Nestor. As we looked at each other it instantly made sense. He got us. He got us good. It turned out that the aspiring SeAL went to try out for the unit even though he wasn't authorized to at that particular time. So he was stripped of his post, and the weasel was installed in his place with just enough power to hand out some payback. Tops on the list? Nestor and yours truly. After three days of really unpleasant labor I was allowed to complete my service week as a swabbie wiping up tables and cleaning up spills in the eating area, but not before the little fink tried to give me scullery duty, which at the time seemed like GI hole-light. The moral of the story is, if you're ever around a real asshat, you don't have to be nice to him but then it's probably best to stay off his radar entirely.

It felt weird to find out the the first ship I was on, The USS Fife DD991 was used as a target after it was decommissioned and sunk. She was a good ship.

Lastly I've produced the following image I thought we'd use as a new title image:

So Benson, get at me or give me change privileges, if you would.

2008-11-23T20:55:00.000-05:00

i think this is self-explanatory

Mother Brain: Conquered

2008-11-22T11:49:00.004-05:00

I. Finished up Super Metroid. First time ever: 100% item collection. Roughly 15 years after its initial release, Super Metroid still holds up. The game is simply unbelievable. Tied with Final Fantasy II/IV for my all-time favorite.

Nick makes a good point re: Castlevania. The Castlevania series took a drastic turn after Super Metroid's release. Symphony of the Night, widely considered to be the best in the series (and often in the running for best game ever), is essentially Super Metroid with vampires and whips instead of aliens and plasma beams.

II. On to the next SNES classic: Secret of Mana.

Multi-player rpg/adventure gaming at its finest. I used to skip school so I could sneak into my bro's room and play this game. The weapon customization and magic systems were so wide open, but not to the point of being pointless. Great music, great gameplay, great enemies. Downside: ugly Mode 7 flying sequences.

III. Bulls win!!! James Starks grabs a spot in the record books in a dramatic victory. Buffalo clinches the MAC East and a bowl bid. This program has come a long way in the past few seasons. Hopefully, Turner Gill will stick around for a few more years before being lured away by a big-time school. I hear rumors of Syracuse sniffing around, perhaps trying to pull Gill down the I-90. Luckily, the Orangemen are no longer big-time.

IV. Sabres lose...again. It's a long season, 82 games, etc etc... Trying to stay optimistic. The defense was there, but they couldn't find the back of the net.

V. Yarrrgghh, mateys! Piracy is still profitable. Way to grab the oil industry by the balls. They'd better keep a low profile now, lest the gallows make a triumphant return. Privateering might not be a bad business to go into right about now. Anyone interested?

VI. Wrapped up Light in August. Wonderful tale of what DBT would call The Duality of the Southern Thing. A South in transition creates a tremendous sense of inner conflict for Faulkner's characters. The past and present are irreconcilable, and this ideological stalemate manifests itself in two extremes. Great read.

Stay Positive

2008-11-19T16:55:00.003-05:00

While the verse may not exactly be germane, The Hold Steady provide a sing-along refrain that is sure to ease our Bills/Sabres-related pain. Umm...Spain.

I was one of the first to call for the ax to fall on Dick Jauron. Trent Edwards put on another brutal performance, and Jauron has done little to coach him out of his slump. We've witnessed too many of these heart-breaking losses, and my immediate reaction to the latest disaster was a desire to scrap the whole project and build anew.

All is not lost, however. The playoffs are still a possibility. 9-7 teams make the playoffs in the NFL. It's going to take a helluva turnaround, but these guys have won four in a row before. I'm looking forward to Sunday's game.

Sometimes I think that I have reached my limit- that I can no longer stand the agony of watching this team. I always manage to find myself ready in time for Sunday, but you are trying my patience, Buffalo Bills. Get it done.

In other news: Max and Hank to sit tonight. Hopefully Mark Mancari can spark the slumping Sabres.

Is it Tuesday yet?

2008-11-18T00:12:00.002-05:00

Abject suckfest tonight and I am tired. Tired of hearing about "character guys" who can't get pressure with a four man rush. Tired of Edwards being more shook than a Mobb Deep song. Tired of whatever scrub "center" helping defensive lineman in to the backfield. Tired of finding out yet again that the Bills are just not good enough, maybe next year. Just tired.

Monday Night.

2008-11-17T17:59:00.003-05:00

So apparently Don McNabb did not know you could tie in the NFL. So what? It's not like he said he didn't know you had to get into the endzone in order to score a touchdown. Yahoo! calls it a "key rule" and wails that they cannot believe he didn't know. It's amusing and a little embarrassing that he didn't know such a commonly known rule, but let's cut the world's most hated nice guy some slack here; it played no role in the game as it ended with Shayne Graham missing a field goal with 7 seconds left.

You know what is worse? There is a rule in the NFL where if a team kicks off to another team and if the ball comes to rest in the field of play where a receiving team can grab the ball while touching any part of his body out of bounds, the kicking team is penalized for kicking the ball out of bounds. That's asinine, the Don just had a bad game, leave him be.

Com'on Bills Let's do this!!!!

Tell me a story......

2008-11-16T20:58:00.003-05:00

Today I find my self in a mood unlike any other for as many of you received via pic msg. For those of you out there on the interwebz that have found this blog, I feel I must explain. I am an avid hunter and my story begins on a cold rainy morning in the sleepy town of franklinville. As i awoke in my bed i can hear the voices of my father and mark who has been like a big brother to me, I stir from my bed in anticipation of the hunt that is soon to start. The air outside is brisk and damp the rain falls but i have hope that it will subside. The three of us sit down for breakfast and make our usual bets on who will get the first and biggest of the deer this hunting season. Now i have been keeping an eye out for a particular deer near my hunting spot, on this morning i found my self down and angry after i had an unfortunate hunt on a friends property. we are now joined at my fathers house by long time friends and hunters Steve and Steven and have started our ritual of mid day skat and euchre the time nears 3 pm and the rain has subsided and i grow anxious, it is at this time i make the decision to leave my compatriots and strike while the moment presents itself. I put on my gear still wet from the sloshy morning that went horribly wrong and make my way to my hunting spot i smell the air and a calm comes over me i am in the moment. Now at this point i am walking to my spot where i am keeping an eye on the sky and listening for my prey, i near a clearing where i have seen a particular deer that has eluded me for some time. I bring my binocculars to my eyes i see movement in the goldenrod and brush i raise my gun and peer into my scope and excitement sweeps my body i see the antlers of the beast that should be felled this day. My heart is racing but my hands are steady my breathing has slowed to ensure a steady shot, I put the animal in my cross hairs and with my trained eye on the target pull the trigger and with a load roar from the barrel of my remmington 1300 i see the beast of my desire drop where he stands never to move again. My radio churps and i hear the voice of my father asking what happened i simply reply Bring The Drag! It is at this point i have approched the downed prey and see the first buck that i have killed and marvel at its beauty and splendor. My feelings have moved now to vindication, and jubilation. As many people before me i have a ritual of kneeling and the sprinkling of dirt over the animal as thankyou to mother nature for her gift to me. The other hunters now gather around to witness this trophy and assist me in bringing it back to camp. I tell this to you for it is a special memory i will have for the rest of my life and wanted to share it with my friends. For those of you who read it all thank you and for those who didnt your loss.

joe.

Goodbye to old friends...

2008-11-15T22:19:00.003-05:00

So I was trying to play a cd the other day at work right. But when I pressed play nothing happened. I checked the plug, nothing. I tried taking the cd out and putting it back in, nothing. I went on like this for the better part of an hour trying different solutions. Cleaning the lens, trying to get the front cover off to find a loose wire. In the end nothing worked. The reason I bring this up is that the cd player in question is the one that I received from my parents as a Christmas present. It was in fact the very first cd player I ever had. Now I have had many stereos in my lifetime, but I always came back to using this one when the other ones let me down. Either by lack of sound quality or for simply not working any longer. This one had never let me down. It lacked a lot of the fancy functions the ones I had later had. But it always worked. Fast forward through a track? Not going to happen. Fancy remote? Nope. Get up and turn up the volume yourself. But it always worked. And I loved it for that. It also holds the distinction of being the only present I have ever gotten from my parents that was even close to what I actually wanted. So as I tossed my old friend unceremoniously into the dumpster behind work. I thought about how we as people tend to lean a little harder on the things in our life that never seem to let us down. And about how we hurt a little more when they eventually do. And about that Christmas morning seventeen years ago when an excited thirteen year old got almost exactly what he asked for. I say almost because the two discs I wanted one being Guns n Roses the other Nirvana, where actually Def Leppard and Weird Al. But its as close as they have ever gotten. And I can't thank them enough. So fare thee well old friend you will be missed but not forgotten. Oh does anyone need a nice set of speakers?

New Beginning

2008-11-13T20:30:00.003-05:00

Man I don't rite enough. All that changes now. This space has underperformed for quite some time and I think it's time we did something about it. Yes, I recognize my own culpability in said under-performance, and will dedicate myself to at least one post a week. Should the other contributors do the same we should have a nice stream of content going.

The Times ran a piece this week about the dwindling relevance of the "Southern Strategy". Whites in places like Mississippi and Alabama were calcified in their opposition to Obama, and some of their post-election comments were head-shake inducing. One woman was quoted as fearing that blacks would become more "aggressive" now that Obama will become president. Lady, historically when black folks have broken color barriers in this country, it has been white folks who get more aggressive.

Looks like Flutie Flakes are back, but not in pog form. Has it really been almost 10 years since that toxic QB situation divided our region? Thankfully Losman-Os are a decidedly low probability event.

Speaking of cereal, this one is hilarious. My wife and I saw them at the old Latina's market in Stuyvesant plaza about a year ago and had a tough time containing our laughter. Some folks have tried to make commercials for it but have failed miserably.

Oh and morons, that joke you keep telling about the rose garden being turned into a watermelon patch followed by 35 seconds of cackling makes you look really, really, really, really, really, really, really smart.

Expansion:
The new Xtacles series is airing tonight (Friday) at midnight on Adult Swim. Apparently the show had a less than spectacular premiere last week, so the show is in jeopardy. In my opinion, the show suffers from a couple of problems. One, the Xtacles themselves have been changed from working stiffs who comically worry about their mortgage to vacuous fratboys. Second, no Simon, Killface, Val, Xander/Awesome X or Wendel. Anyway, give it a look because there are a few good laughs.

The Drizzle

2008-11-13T19:05:00.002-05:00

A dreary, rainy evening here in the B-Lo. Looked like dusk at 3 in the afternoon today.

A: Perfect soundtrack for a day like today. KEXP in Seattle has your indie needs covered. I listened at work for an entire day and I was impressed. Aside from the the occasionally over-indulgence in emo nonsense, they've got a playlist with high drinkability. You'll even catch an occasional Drive-By Truckers tune. The specialty shows, particularly the honkey tonk show Swingin' Doors, look solid. Love to catch 'em, but they don't start til 6 Pacific, and that puts me damn near bedtime.

B: Caught Sabres v. Blues in person last night. First game in two years. Great seats! Exciting first period. Manny Legace, chased. Two better-than-average Peters fights in our end. Local boy Lee Stempniak scored. Jay McKee made his return to Buffalo. St. Louis kept it interesting, but the Sabres came out on top. Couldn't ask for anything more. Sabres look good.

Observations:
1: Guy, stay off your Blackberry and watch the game.
2: The wave is lame in general, but it's even worse during the PK. Knock it off.
3: Leaving with 5 minutes to go in a one goal game? O Rly?

C: Getting ready for Bills-Quitters on Monday night. Should be a wild one. Definitely a must win. I've gotten over the Patriots loss quicker than expected. Maybe it's the excitement of the national spotlight, but it may be a touch of apathy. Three soul-crushing losses in a row can do that.

Dreaming in Bills: J.P. Losman showed up in a daymare I just had about a wild after-prom party. He was unaccompanied, ladies. I hope it's not a harbinger of things to come. The good news is that this party was otherwise populated by people who are forever cemented in the past. There's a ton of potential for Freudian analysis on this one, but I think it's best to leave those demons in the subconscious until they pose a real threat.

D: The Super Nintendo is hooked up. No emulators here, baby. Just the best game ever, Zoo-pah Meh-toh-wee:

More when I finish obliterating the inhabitants of Zebes.

E: Q-Tip, back at it. It's been a decade since his last proper album. He'll never be able to recapture the Tribe magic, but it's always nice to hear from Tip. Welcome back.

E.L.O.

2008-11-12T12:18:00.002-05:00

Note the singer's resemblance to Papa Slamm. Don't bring me down.

President Obama

2008-11-04T23:23:00.002-05:00

Winner By tap out

The force is strong with this one!

2008-11-04T22:10:00.002-05:00

I know its a bit early to put this up but i am looking forward to getting this country back on track. Oh and stice your pops would have loved this moment!

Change

2008-11-04T12:19:00.001-05:00

John Fogerty is ready. Are you?

Here's hoping for a good, clean election.

2008-10-30T09:58:00.002-05:00

I watched the thirty minute spot obama had on last night. I dont care what faction you belong to this is the candidate that we have not seen since JFK. Now I have heard alot of poeple say that this country isn't ready for a black president, but look at the past eight years and the failed policies of old southern politics then it should be clear that this country needs someone who isnt apart of the good 'ol boys club.

Real Muthaphukkin G's

2008-10-28T20:25:00.003-05:00

This game may be terrible, and I've certainly never played the first and heard the talk of it being only a (poor) GTA clone, but the commercials on TV have me interested. If only for my love of Eazy-E and my support for tha E in his Death Row beef, putting this song in the commercial is awesome. He may not have had the best voice and the rhymes may have been juvenile, but got-damn, he was larger than life.

Eazy-E - Real Muthaphukkin G's
Uploaded by XlyS

World Juniors: 2010

2008-10-27T14:30:00.001-05:00

Buffalo is getting the World Junior Hockey Championships in 2010-11. Check it out. I'm in.

The Horror

2008-10-26T23:03:00.003-05:00

I've been watching a lot of horror movies to prep for Halloween, but nothing has been as frightening as this:

These people are INSANE.

The film does a nice job of contrasting the Evangelical nutjobs with an intelligent Christian radio host. Even that dude is appalled the things that these people are teaching.

See it. Get indignant.

Success

2008-10-26T20:25:00.003-05:00

So I spent the whole weekend feeling sorry for myself, and just when I figured I should probably shoot myself in the fucking face, this happens:It's not our cat, but you get the idea. I just taught the cat to fetch. It's not much, but it helps.

Lazing On A Saturday Afternoon

2008-10-25T13:07:00.002-05:00

This just screams 90's alt:

One of the first bands I saw live was God Lives Underwater, an electronic/industrial/alt-rock outfit with a few marginal radio hits. I must've been about 14 or so when they came to the now-derelict Showplace Theatre (I'm guessing it's been shut down, as they've been advertising the same Meatbeat Manifesto show on the marquee for about a year). The show was mind-blowing, at least in the eyes of one teenage boy. Poe opened up, and I was thrilled to cop a feel as she crowd surfed. Ahh, the salad days.

Unbeknownst to me, David Reilly, lead singer of GLU, passed away in 2005 due to complications from an abscessed tooth. Raw deal. They fell off my radar long ago, but they've never ceased to make me nostalgic.

One more: