Things On My Mind, Part 4
• I’ve been mulling over my Winter Sporting Event Entertainment Options. Since I’m spending many of my days uptown, a mere two blocks from the arena, I can–if I so choose–attend minor league hockey and major league basketball games without having to pay for parking. Football tickets are not in the picture. How anybody can afford to attend NFL games is beyond me. Hockey tickets are easy to come by and no real drain on the wallet, and I can easily get seats at the glass on the Blue Line for most games, but good basketball seats are another animal entirely. Time Warner Cable Arena is not like the old LA Sports Arena, where one could pay $10 for corner nosebleed seats, but move down several sections when the crowd realized they were watching the Clippers. And though these Bobcats have been Clipper-like in the win column during their brief history, the NBA has changed. Now $10 will get you in the door, but when you do get your corner nosebleed seat, heavily armed security makes sure you stay in your assigned section. Unless you go to the loo, or the concession area. And there’s the answer: Restrooms and concessions are located several times closer to the action than the cheap seats. If one doesn’t mind standing around the nacho stand, one can generally have a good view of the action from the eateries. I don’t know that I’d want to make a habit of it, but security isn’t going to hassle you if you’re spending money on over-priced hot dogs or chowing on same while standing at the rail.
• We seem to have acquired another cat, though not officially. Another male tabby, but larger than any of ours, has been visiting regularly, acting as if he owns the joint. He and Binx got into it last week, and Binx was limping around for a few days, but now seems resigned to being Alpha Cat Emeritus. The new male, whom I’ve dubbed Wannabe, bears a striking resemblance to our Sophie, so much so that each of the girls at least once have let him in the house, mistakenly believing him at first glance to be Sophie. This confuses the other cats, but both Twidge and Cisco appear fascinated by him and follow him at a safe distance to see what he’s getting up to. And when I pulled in the driveway tonight, there was Wannabe trotting up behind the car to greet me. My hope is that he’ll be enough of a presence to ward off the other random one that comes around, the mysterious round-headed black cat. With whom Binx, of course, had a major tussle this morning.
• Bob, I agree that Gladiator vs the Mannings is a million dollar idea. Unfortunately, the medical expenses would exceed a million easily. Puppets, man...think of something with puppets. People fuckin LOVE puppets.
Things On My Mind, Part 3
• The new design that the boys in R & D slaved
over, this very one you’re looking at right now, is
massively broken in Firefox, and Camino browsers, and
behaves a bit strangely in Internet Explorer. FAIL,
as the kids say. I’m told a fix is in the works. (Of
course, I was also told the designed played perfectly
with all browsers...)
• The third and final installment of
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along
Blog
debuted today.
Joss Whedon,
creator of
Buffy The Vampire Slayer,
Firefly,
and the upcoming
Dollhouse,
has unleashed a demented, sentimental, outrageous,
and tender musical exploration of a would-be
supervillian, a moronically macho super hero, and the
girl in the middle. The supremely talented
Neil Patrick Harris
(the former kid doctor) is Dr. Horrible, and
Firefly’s
Nathan Fillion
is his nemesis, Captain Hammer, and
Felicia Day
is Penny, the girl they both love. All three do
outstanding work, and it’s hard to imagine a better
ending than the one Whedon serves up. Watch, and be
rewarded with great songs, a touching love story,
subtle and not-so-subtle humor, and a glimpse of the
inner circle of the Evil League of Evil, including
the nefarious leader, Bad Horse.
•
The Clippers
pick up
Marcus Camby
from the
Nuggets
in exchange for the option to switch second round
picks in 2010.
Whaa? This is
Marcus Camby
we’re talking about. I don’t know what Denver was
thinking, but the addition of another big man helps
the Clips ease the sting of losing Elton Brand. It’s
not a long term fix, but it won’t hurt in the short
run.
• I don’t remember any details of the dream I had
last night, but I do know it involved me playing for
the
San Diego
Chargers.
Which is absurd, of course: The Chargers already
have a perfectly useful
Outside
Linebacker.
• This is me now:
Most days, I can be seen
as the gladiator Lucullus at the “A Day In Pompeii”
exhibit at Discovery Place
in Charlotte. For the
record, and my participation not withstanding, its
an extraordinary exhibit and well worth the
trip.
Catching Up
The Super Bowl:
Sure, happy for Payton Manning, the Colts, and Tony Dungy. I didn't expect the Bears to win it, but given the history of mediocre quarterbacks in this game (Trent Dilfer, I'm looking at you) I did think anything was possible. Rex Grossman, though, is mediocre on a whole different level. (Like if I were playing QB...) Honestly, I'm still completely gobsmacked that the Chargers weren't playing.
The presentation of the Lombardi Trophy was pure cheese. Shula managed to look uncomfortable and arrogant at the same time, and he was taking mincing baby steps so he wouldn't trample the cameraman who was walking backward. And the Colts scrubs who lined the 'trophy walk' and reached out to stroke it as it went by looked like so many blue-and-white Gollums, clutching at the ring. Whatever happened to giving the trophy in the locker room?
Super Bowl Commercials:
The Sierra Mist 'Comb Over' made me laugh, as did the Robert Goulet Boogey man thing (what was the product?).
Well, I was paid for that bit, but the idea of using me for anything other than a muddy body was scrapped by a few of the suits and 'the man' delivered his speech from a scaffold, unencumbered by supporting players. The spot itself was forgettable; it looked rushed and unfinished because it most certainly was: we shot it the preceding Tuesday and Wednesday for airing during a Sunday game.
Because I'm a member of the Screen Actors Guild, I get to vote for the SAG Awards™ each year, and some studios, anxious to be awarded something, send screening copies of their films on DVD to the voters. Sweet. This year, I received The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine, and Venus. The catch? They came in the mail last week, well past the voting deadline, well past the Awards Ceremony, even.
The birthday (which I share with Nathan Lane, Horace Greeley, and Lorin's son, Destry) passed uneventfully. No trauma, no drama. Safe for another year.
Here's His Problem
Chad has agents. They must do everything in their power to get the NFL to remove every picture of Chad looking like a goofball, and replace them with one of him looking like an actual Professional Football Player.
tagged
Pennington,
New York Jets
Who Dey
Well, we know who dey aint:
Dey ain't the guys that protected a 440 yard, 3 TD, no INT passing game by Carson Palmer.
Dey ain't the guys that protected Chad Johnson's team record 260 yard, 2 TD effort.
Dey ain't in first place.
Dey ain't gonna make the playoffs.
The Bengals' D has got some splainin' to do.
Get your very own Who Dey Shirt
at
Amazon.
Christmas Present, Christmas Coal
And They Very Nearly Blew It
I've been too distracted to post much recently, but I'll be updating later in the week. Oh, yeah: Ron Artest is still an idiot.
Bad News For Kerry Collins
And talking of Palmer: Jesse Palmer. The Giants execs are reportedly none too happy that he did that TV dating show. "You wanna play football, or you wanna be a TV pretty boy?" It worked for Joe Namath, but Jesse Palmer is no Joe Namath. Hell, he's not even Akili Smith at this point.
So where does Collins go? Well, other aging QB's have done well in Oakland. And, really, Arizona shouldn't rely on Jeff Blake Josh McCown to get it done.
No Sapp
Warren still has a few years in him, and would've been an interesting addition to the Bengal defense. BUT: He's a known malcontent, he stirs up controversy for its own sake, and his numbers ain't what they used to be. I don't doubt he would've jump started some games, lit a fire under some teammates, garnered a lot of ink, brought some respect to the lowly orange and black. He'll do as much for the Raiders. I don't think, however, that he is worth a 4 year deal, let alone a 7 year contract.
And lets face it: The Bengals are getting rid of one 'difficult' player in Corey Dillon (rumored to be traded to the same Oakland Raiders). They certainly didn't need another one in Warren Sapp, and for mouthing-off purposes, they already locked in Chad Johnson for 5 years.
Oh, and: The Knicks blow it big time to the Bulls. Jeebus wept: The Bulls.
Raiders Hire...Norv Turner?
We're Not The Worst, We're Not The Worst
The Knicks seem to have become energized by the addition of Isiah Thomas to the front office and have won 4 straight games. They also got rid of Clarence Weatherspoon in exchange for Moochie Norris in a deal with The Rockets. Now if Isiah can find somebody to unload Eisley and Anderson on, the Knickerbockers may be on a upswing. Too many point guards, but Frank Williams looks solid and occasionally brilliant in his new starter role, and Charlie Ward may be next on the trading block.
Christmas was fun and low-key, enough loot all around but not enough to be overkill. I emailed a bunch of friends the Official Holiday Card, and I heard back from many of them. I now have to get around to replying to those messages...(If you didn't receive the Official Holiday Card, it may be that Chet the intern doesn't have your proper address in the database. He's new, after all, so I cut him some slack. Help him out...Even if you think we have your email address, we may not, so drop a line in our ebox.)
More Proof That Hell Is A Bit On The Chilly Side
Corey Dillon was all but forgotten, along with the last 12 years of Bengals follies. Dillon wasn't even in the stadium Sunday as his downtrodden team pulled off a reputation-changing win. Jon Kitna's 53-yard touchdown pass to Chad Johnson and two tipped interceptions gave Cincinnati a 27-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. With their first win over a top-notch team, the Bengals (3-4) proved they're no longer dreadful and no longer dependent upon one moody running back. ``We believed we were going to win this game,'' offensive tackle Willie Anderson said. ``This is a new team.''
I admit it. I am a Bengals fan. I can remember going to UC's Nippert Stadium with my family to watch them play in the years before old Riverfront Stadium was built. I know who Greg Cook and John Stofa are. I still resent Dave Shula, and admire Sam Wyche, Bob Johnson, Boobie Clark, and even Virgil Carter. And I was ridiculously happy during their two Super Bowl seasons, and I still bear a grudge against the 49ers. And I have endured the past twelve seasons with a mixture of humiliation, gallows humor, genuine anger, and a low-grade fever. I don't know if they can keep this up...and since they're the Bengals, there's a good chance they won't...but it's good to see a bit of light at the end of a very long tunnel.
