Public Enemy #1

Is this guy serious? I come home today to some good news in the sporting world. Something that might take the sting out of the debacle in the Dome. Artest was finally being traded. Not only was he being traded, but the Pacers were going to get something decent out of the trade, one Peja Stojakavich. I changed the roster on my NBA Live game. I started to contemplate ordering a Peja jersey, but above all else I was so excited to finally get rid of Ron Ron. Ever since last year I have been saying that we should get rid of this guy. At best he might be the dumbest person in the NBA, at worst he is just the craziest. I don't' care how talented the guy is, he completely ruined last season and showed little to no remorse for doing so. When he requested a trade, I thought, "Thank GOD! So long and good riddance." After waiting forever, finally he is gone.

But then. . ."This just in to Sportscenter it seems that the trade has fallen apart."

No...NO!!! He was gone, he was good as playing in a Kings jersey. "Artest is reportedly refusing to play for the Kings." That feeling I had when Vandy missed a field goal is starting to return. Visions of Big Ben tackling Harper. My general feeling of disgust for Artest has now gone to blind hate. I HATE this man. He wanted to be traded, we worked out a trade and he is REFUSING IT??? It is bad enough that he ruined last season, part of this season, but he is going try and sink this franchise. I love the Pacers and Artest is ruining a proud franchise. The franchise that Reggie built. If I see this man on the street, I might spit in his face. What a selfish prick! Ron, you are ruining the lives of Pacer fans everywhere, get the hell out of here. You don't have any right to determine where you are going to go. You completely stabbed this franchise in the back more than once. You let us down when we stuck up for you. We had your back and you choose to take the coward's way out. The very LEAST you can do is get out of town and let us get on with our lives, but apparently your sole purpose in life is scar a team, fans and the city. Thanks Ron, thanks a lot.

I've Got Nothing

Okay, so this every other day posting stuff is starting to get hard, but have no fear I haven't given up yet, I will continue to try. For those of you who haven't already, make sure you check my friend Tyler's post on his website, theyellowshirt.blogspot.com. His moment by moment recollection of the disaster at the dome is perfect. Just watched a older movie that was really good, "Murder on the Orient Express." If you haven't seen it, rent it today. It is a wonderful example of some great character work. Albert Finney might be the most underrated actor of the last half century. That is all I have, goodnight and good luck.

Utter and Complete Disappointment

I'm done.

I am done emotionally investing in a football team that continues to disappoint me. A team that has disappointed me so much that I have contemplated giving up on teams from Indiana all together. Bottom line, they choked. The stars were aligning, the Pats had lost, we had a great regular season, home field advantage, Super Bowl in a dome, and the Colts choked. In years past I haven't been as upset as I am now. I really didn't think that they were good enough to go to the Super Bowl the last few years. But this year, this year they were good enough and they blew it.

As much as I hate to admit it, but I think Peyton can't win the big game. At least the way he plays the game now. There needs to be someone on that coaching staff that can say to Peyton, "Run this play, not the play you want." When someone says to me, "Peyton sucks, he can't win the big one." I am not going to go into my usual lengthy defense of him, but simply say, "You are right." As much as I feel for Tony Dungy and his family, I can't help but think that the coaching staff that he is in charge of did a horrible job preparing for theis game. This team has some serious issues that need to be addressed. Not issues like bringing in new personnel or new staffs, but taking a good hard look at themselves and realizing that the way things are run now is not the way to win the Super Bowl. Win lots of regular season games? Yes. Break passing records? Yes. Get a good seeding in the playoffs? Yes. Win it all? No, no and no again.

Bill Polian is good at what he does, but his holier than thou attitude has hurt this team. It gives the attitude that we will continue to do things a certain way and it will produce the desired results. Instead, maybe the team should realize why no QB in NFL history has had as much command in play calling as Peyton has, maybe they should realize that they need someone on that staff that gets in players' faces, maybe they should realize that they can't win the way things are.

A few questions from the game. 1) Did we forget that Edgerin James was the team's running back and had a great year? 2) Why in blue hell did we try a 10 yard pass on 3 and 2 with two timeouts? 3) Were we trying to show Joey Porter that all we had to do was pass the ball and that would give us the win? I would have a question about Vanderjagt here, but the more I think about it, the less I think that this loss had anything to do with him. (Alright, it had a little bit to do with him and they should cut his ass right now.)

There are many more questions, but I can't muster to ask them, because I'm done. I will follow the team next year and cheer if they win, be a little disappointed if they lose, but I am not pinning my hopes on this team anymore. They had their chance to give me a little bit of joy and excitement this year and I shouldn't be surprised that they blew it, just like everything else.

I Saw "Brokeback Mountain". . .but Now I'm Watching Football.

Brokeback Mountain is a good movie. It is a very good movie. I don't think it is as great as people are making it out to be, but it is a really solidly good movie. It is shot beautifully, acted wonderfully, and for a story that spans many years is told seamlessly. I was hesitant to see this movie for reasons that I hate to admit, but two men getting busy makes me uncomfortable. There I said it. If that makes me homophobic then I guess I have to accept that. There were two things that really impressed me about this moive, the soundtrack and Heath Ledger. The music (I'm downloading the album right now) is touching and haunting. It accentuates the key moments of the movie so well that you can't imagine the movie without them. Heath Ledger is really good. It is a perfect example of how to give a subtle performance while still creating a rich character. Jake Gyllenhall is good, but has some moments were he seems to be forcing it a little. On a side note, saw the trailer for the new Albert Brooks movie, Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World, looks freakin hilarious.

The Pats look like they are going to lose and I couldn't be happier. I really didn't want to face them in the playoffs. I thought we could beat them, but I didn't want to chance it. The Pats are the Colts' Achilles and if we don't have to face them...GREAT! Of course this is all assuming that the Colts win tomorrow and if they don't I am going to be super pissed. And yes, I am writing about football because I just said Brokeback Mountain was a good movie.

Wisdom...

I don't really feel like writing today, so instead here is a story from a Tibetan Monk, I think his name is the Dali something.

Once there was a disciple of a Greek philosopher who was commanded by his Master for three years to give money to everyone who insulted him. When this period of trial was over the Master said to him, "Now you can go to Athens and learn Wisdom."” When the disciple was entering Athens, he met a certain wise man who sat at the gate insulting everybody who came and went. He also insulted the disciple, who burst out laughing. "“Why do you laugh when I insult you?" said the wise man. "“Because," said the disciple, "“for three years I have been paying for this kind of thing and now you give it to me for nothing."” "“Enter the city,"” said the wise man, "it is all yours."

My Dog is...a Poop Machine.

So after I write this glowing review of my dog, he shits in my closet. All over the place. He has diarrhea, with could mean a number of things, most not very serious. If he doesn't get better I am going to take him to the vet tomorrow or Thursday. I'll keep everyone posted as I know you are worried.

If you haven't yet, go to www.thesmokinggun.com. Turns out that the author of A Million Little Pieces is a fraud. I just found out that he went to my alma mater, Denison University. I wonder what the officials at Camp Denidoo think is worse, having a major drug addict as an alum or the scam artist who fooled Oprah and millions of readers. That's all I got people...good night and good luck.

My Dog...is Awesome!

A couple of months ago, we got a dog. I've always wanted a dog, but have never had one. My parents, my Dad especially, were very anti-dog. They made a mess, they were too much work, we aren't around enough. The usual run down that parents give their children as to why they can't have a pet. We did have several cats over the years, but most of them were "outside" cats and the one inside cat we had was cute, but got fat and moody. My fiance and I always knew that eventually we wanted a dog and finally decided to get one. After a couple weeks of looking we found one through 1-800-SaveAPet.com. This service is great. It basically connects you to pet rescue organizations all over the place to find a dog that is right for you. The great thing is that you can find out a lot of information about the dog online before you make any kind of commitment. If the dog is staying with a foster family they can tell you a lot about the dog; hates kids, barks a lot, etc. So, after looking we found a dog we liked. However, when we called the rescue organization they said that dog was spoken for, but his brother was recently returned from a family because they were allergic. We said we would check him out. The adoption process of a rescued dog is surprisingly long, but relatively painless. We met Reno at a Pet's Mart and were instantly in love. However, you don't get the dog right away, they then set up a home visit to make sure you don't live in a hovel. It makes sense, this dog has been rescued from a bad situation before, no need to be rescued again. The visit went great and after some money and some paperwork, we had Reno. (In case you haven't guessed, Reno is pictured above.)
We were fully prepared to handle all the trials and tribulations that come with having a dog, but honestly there haven't been hardly any. Reno is the best behaved dog. He doesn't tear stuff up, doesn't jump up on people, doesn't bark loudly, HE'S GREAT! When we got Reno he was already a year old, was house trained, and crate trained, so all of that helped. I think a lot of people get puppies and aren't willing to put in the time to properly train them, which leads to bad dogs. I wasn't completely sure that I would be a dog person, but I am and it feels great. There is nothing better than coming home from a crappy day and him greeting you with such excitement and love that you can help but cheer up a little. He makes you feel so great when you feel crappy and since is a rescued dog, he seems to truly appreciate you. Reno's litter was found wandering the streets, so luckily most of his life has been pretty good. When you own a dog, you are apart of a whole new world, full of dog treats, crates, toys, vets, and dog food. You go to the dog park and join a group of dog owners who are generally nice, sometimes weird, and always entertaining. You wonder why everyone doesn't own a dog and you question those who don't like dogs. Part of the problem is that all dogs aren't Reno I know, but then again he is an one of a kind pooch. So, if you are thinking of getting a dog, go for it, it might change your life.

A token post

Alright, technically the day is over, but I still think this counts as writing every other day, so shove it.  I am trying to convince myself that quantity is good in posting, not quality, so please keep that in mind as you read these.  The theory is that some of these will actually be good and some will not, but I’m okay with that.  

I just watched a great movie tonight, “Crash.”  Man, is it fan-fucking-tastic.  If you haven’t seen this movie yet, please do, it gets you thinking.  It really is a serious movie, but I couldn’t help but humming “Everyone’s a little bit racist sometimes, doesn’t mean we go around committing hate crimes.”

I have a dog, have I told you guys that?  He is the first dog I have ever had, and might possibly be the greatest dog alive.  I promise a longer post later as to why this is the case, plus pictures.  

Okay, I posted.  I am sleepy, see you in two days with a more concerted effort.  

So. . .I'm back.

Alright, I suck, yada, yada, yada. I'm not going to bore you with the usual, "Sorry I haven't been posting, but I've been busy" diatribe. You know I've been slacking, I know I've been slacking. So, since we are in the time of year when we try and rededicate ourselves to things, I am going to rededicate myself to this blog. The goal is to post every other day, but I don't know if that is going to happen. Some dedication huh? To those of you who are "contributors" to this website, I'm giving you an opportunity to come back, otherwise you are out. (Eric, if you want to post your reviews, please do! I don't know if that is allowed or not.) This post is going to be short, but I am trying to wrap my head around the idea that a short post is better than no post at all. I've read some stuff, saw some things and heard some music, so look for new recommendations starting today. I'm back people, get ready for some slightly insightful comments tinged with sarcasm and some wit. Woo hoo!!!