the dat

S Dot Father

2012-01-09T22:01:00.004-05:00

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The Tradition Keeps Me Coming Back - New Year's Prediction Post, Part I

2012-01-09T21:17:00.010-05:00

Well, hello again.

I won't bother explaining where I was or why I haven't been posting. Let's just do this, people.

Here were the predictions for the 2011 year and the results, with a self-imposed grade:

2011 PREDICTIONS:

1. The Green Bay Packers will prevail in tomorrow's Super Bowl, 34-24, thereby giving yours truly a $2000 win in a SB boxes pool that I am participating in. Aaron Rodgers will be named MVP, going 15-23 with 2TDs passing, 1INT and 1TD rushing. In a rage, Ben Roethlisberger will get black out drunk at a Dallas bar afterwards and will once again force himself on an insecure diva in the bathroom. Unfortunately for him, that someone will be Jerry Jones.

RESULT: The GB Packers DID win, although by a score of 31-25. Aarom Rodgers WAS named the MVP, going 24-39 with 3TDS (no INTs and no TDs rushing :-/). And Ben Roethlisberger did force himself on Jerry Jones!

GRADE: B+

2. The New York Knicks will not get Carmelo by the February 24th deadline. But they will make the playoffs nonetheless as a 6 seed, only to be knocked out by the Magic. Thankfully though, Melo will sign a max deal in the offseason giving the 2011-2012 version a starting line-up of Amar'e, Felton, Melo, Fields and Galo (Chandler will leave).

RESULT: Umm, well, we DID get Carmelo on February 22nd, so the first part is wrong. But, they DID make the playoffs as the 6 seed, but got knocked out by the Celtics and not the Magic. And the 2011-2012 starting lineup was Amar'e, Melo, Chandler (Tyson to Wilson, who did leave), Fields and Douglas. Soo... eh, not THAT bad.

GRADE: B-

3. The NFL will be locked out until late July. The new CBA will NOT include an 18 game schedule, but WILL include at 17 game schedule.

RESULT: The NFL WAS locked out until late July! (July 25 to be precise). Don't know what the fuck I was talking about re: the 17 game schedule. Schedule stayed at 16.

GRADE: B

4. The race for the presidency in 2012 will heat up for the Republicans. The field will include Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and... Sarah Palin!

RESULT: Yes, Yes and.... No!

GRADE: C

5. The 2011 New York Yankees will display a starting rotation of CC, AJ, Phil Hughes, Freddy Garcia and.... Joba Chamberlain! They will finish 1st in the AL and will tare through the playoffs to win their 28th World Championship! Derek Jeter will silence critics as he finishes the year with a .301 BA, 16HRs and another Gold Glove. A-Rod will finish with a .310 BA, 38 HRs and 121 RBIs. CC will win 20 games again, finishing 22-4 with a 3.11 ERA. He will finally win the Cy Young this year. Phil will have an OK year, finishing 15-9 with a 3.50 ERA. AJ will bounce back and finish with a 18-8 record and a 3.89 ERA.

RESULT: Joba definitely did NOT start. They did indeed finish 1st in the AL but got trounced out of the playoffs by the damn Detroit Tigers in the ALDS. Derek Jeter DID silence critics as he finished the year with a .297, 6HR but no GG. A-Rod batted .276 with 16HR and 62RBIs (way off...). CC did NOT win 20 games - he went 19-8 with a 3.00 ERA and finished 4th in CY voting. Phil got injured and went 5-5 with a 5.79ERA. AJ did NOT bounce back and finished 11-11 with a 5.15ERA. So... other than Jeter, a pretty bad Yankee year for me!

GRADE: C-

6. Politics will be interesting. Obama's approval rating will continue to rise as the economic situation improves across the country. The unemployment rate will go down to 8.2% by the end of the year. While expectations will be high for the amount that will be done in Congress, not much substantial legislation will be able to achieve compromise among both parties.

RESULT: Hey, not too bad! -

So the rate was 8.5% by the end of the year, and while Obama's rating hit a peak in March, it dipped but started climbing back up towards the end of the year. And yea, Congress sucked.

GRADE: A-

7. Dr. Dre's Detox will finally come out!

RESULT: No.

GRADE: F

8. The much anticipated Arrested Development movie will finally begin shooting.

RESULT: Well... the movie WAS confirmed in October, but don't think any shooting began in 2011. Half-win.

GRADE: B-

9. The iPhone 5 will be released in June, but with not that many changes. It will be on a 4G network, have extended battery life and a better camera. The iPhone 4 on Verizon will fuck up its network and there will be a lot of complaints.

RESULT: No iPhone 5 - iPhone "4S" was released in October. And it is not on the 4G network and apparently the battery sucks. Verizon does suck though.

GRADE: D

10. A new social networking venture will erupt and challenge Facebook and Twitter.

RESULT: Well, Instagram has kind of been blowing up, but not enough to challenge FB and Twitter.

GRADE: D

11. Osama Bin Laden will finally be caught.

RESULT: See previous post.

GRADE: A

Overall, a C/C+ for NostraDATmus in 2011. Not that great, huh... Well, hopefully soon I will unveil my 2012 predictions and they will be more on point. Hopefully.

Happy New Year.

The Formulation

2011-05-03T22:59:00.002-04:00

I have been trying to formulate my emotions regarding the death/murder/assassination/whatever you want to call it of Osama Bin Laden on Sunday night. I know I am not alone in this quest. I do not think I am there yet in terms of my formulation, but I still want to get a crack at writing through this.

I remember 9/11/2001 very well. I remember that I woke up at around 9:30 in order to eat my croissant with butter and jelly while watching TV and preparing for my first class of the day senior year, my 3rd period AP Econ class that I always arrived late to until the 3rd to last class of the year (!?) when the teacher said to me, "You always going to arrive late?"

I turned on and the TV immediately went to NY1, per usual. I saw smoke coming out of the towers. Something about a plane hitting it. I immediately though it was a small plane and some drunk dude doing it. Turned to channel 2, 4, 5 then 7. All over the news there. I guess it's a big deal. I got ready for school and drove over with my learner's permit in my Solid Gold 1995 Toyota Camry LE.

I walk in, late, and the first thing someone says is the towers have fallen. I disagree and state that I was just watching on TV and in no way did it look like they would fall. I was so wrong.

What followed that day was a blur of activity. Classes canceled. Worrying about my parents being in the UN. Cellphones being jammed. Watching more TV. Eventually getting through to my mom, passing the phone to a teacher so that they could get the permission to release me home.

What followed in the weeks and months ahead was a mixture of shock, sadness, anger, but also, in hindsight, not a full emotional understanding of the moment. That came later, much later as I grew from boy to man.

Through it all it was very clear to me that there was someone responsible for these vicious attacks and that someone was Osama Bin Laden. I just assumed that he would be caught and brought to "justice" (whatever that is) relatively soon. But as time went on and on and he wasn't caught, I began to grow very frustrated as did many others. Why the fuck were we going into Iraq in March of 2003 when Osama was not there? Why the hell was Bush connecting 9/11 to Saddam when everybody and their dog knew that Osama planned the attacks? My exasperation with the lack of progress on the OBL front was entangled with my very blatant acknowledgement of the vast incompetency that was present in the Bush administration, starting squarely with Dubya.

Make no mistake about it, Obama succeeded where Bush failed. But I digress...

So now the "job" has been done. A competent leader has come in and achieved a very clear and ambitious goal. "Justice" has been served.

Or has it?

I found out around 10:30PM on Sunday night thanks to the ping from my AP Mobile app. 3,520 days after that croissant morning. End of high school, all of college, all of my educational career. So many things have happened in the last 9.6 years, all under the specter of the bastardization of 9/11.

My first emotion was a bit of exhilaration. Relief. "It's-about-time"-ism. It has been way too long, he should not have escaped for close to a decade. I wanted to be back down in DC chanting U-S-A with the rest of the ecstatic crowd. I watched CNN until close to 1 that night. I was constantly updating my FB and my Twitter and looking for updates from my friends. I was yearning to SHARE this moment just as i SHARED the tragedy 9+ years ago. The act on 9/11 was not one for an individual, and thus this consequence is not either.

Next I was just happy. I love Obama and I loved the fact that he made this moment happen. It just proved to me once again what a capable and competent leader could accomplish. I loved his short speech and felt proud to be a (naturalized) American. I was happy because this proved that if you fuck with us we will, in due time, make you pay.

My next emotion was a weird one. I started to doubt my reaction. Why am I celebrating death? Am I sinking down to the level of OBL? Aren't we all? Why wasn't he captured alive and given due process? We are supposed to be America, the country that is the moral compass for the world. And yet we had just engaged in the same tactics that we were so appalled at 9+ years ago?

As these last few days passed I have read some articles, talked to some friends, but the formulation of my final emotion is not coming any easier. And perhaps, it never will. As an atheist who tries to live by the Golden Rule, I put myself in the shoes of someone who lost a loved one that day. What would I feel now if any of my parents had died on 9/11? Probably a lot of happy relief that "justice" was done. Who am I to tell them that their celebrations are "inappropriate."

In many ways 9/11 was possible due to the mindsets of several extreme Islamists. Why did they hate America so much, I always wondered? Are any of their points valid? Is that old adage "one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter" true?

Of course it is. America has done some whack ass shit in the last century. We have killed innocents for no real reason, we have started wars for no just cause. When will the perpetuation of all of this violence end? Certainly not with the gruesome murder of one individual.

I don't want to dabble in the ideal. I don't want to sit here and complain that you don't fight violence with violence, that you don't go after someone and try and kill them if they brutally slaughtered your family. I refuse to climb on a pedestal that high. But all of these thoughts do have some sort of fundamental basis. The celebration of death is weird and disgusting if a crowd of extreme Muslims is doing it just as if a crowd of young Americans is doing it as well.

"Young" is the key word in that last sentence. Most of the kids who were out in front of the White House on Sunday night must have been 8, 9, 10 when 9/11 happened. But even if the range was from 8 to 18, 9/11 has cast a huge impenetrable shadow over our generation. Perhaps all of the celebration and exhilaration was not for the death of OBL, but for the hope that the shadow can finally be lifted. That we as a country do not have to live anymore under the stranglehold of that one day.

There will be many more emotions regarding 5/1 just as there have been re: 9/11.

Back? I'll try...

2011-05-03T22:57:00.001-04:00

My blog game blows big bricks. I'm so alliterate..

So, I have not posted in over a month. I guess I just need inspiration minus procrastination to post anything. So what got me out from under my 'net rock?

My next post...

What We Will Soon Be Getting Used Too...

2011-03-24T22:40:00.001-04:00

not bad, but is taking way too long.

1 WTC from 4B5PR1T20R on Vimeo.

Look Alikes: Marshmallow Man & Michelin Man

2011-03-24T22:16:00.005-04:00

Concept Alikes: Jim Jones' "Perfect Day" & Ice Cube's "It Was A Good Day"

2011-03-24T22:12:00.003-04:00

Jim Jones - Music - More Music Videos

iPhone Apps I Love: Part III

2011-02-11T22:34:00.011-05:00

StumbleUpon

This is an interesting app. First off, it is a complete time waster. Basically, you indicate what you're interested in - movies, science, history, etc. Then, you start "stumbling," which means the app takes you to completely random websites based on your indicates interests. Some of the sites are great, and you will never encounter them otherwise. You are able to "favorite" sites as well, and have "friends" whose favorite sites you could check out.

Tango

Pretty simple: free video calls over the 3G network. No WiFi required.

360 Panorama

Really awesome photography app where you are able to take panoramic photos of your surroundings. You are able to view the panoramic photo's in 3D if you have the app, but you can also save them to your images. Not free, but worth it.

Top 5 Ludacris Guest Spots Of All Time

2011-02-07T23:02:00.005-05:00

One of my fav songs right now is the "Fucking You" song by Enrique. Ludacris has a pretty good guest spot on it, which got me thinking to his past guest spots. In many ways, he may be the best guest verse rapper ever. Here's my list.

5. Damn(Remix) - Youngbloodz feat. Lil Jon, Bone Crusher & Ludacris

"And please don't get it twisted I ain't Hollywood yet
I just jumped in that movie to get a big ass check"

0:26-1:11

4. Hot and Wet (Remix) - 112 feat. Ludacris

"Lets mountain climb 'til we reach the peak
The technique will make you sweat
But don't sweat the technique"

0:18-0:56

3. Made You Look (Remix) - Nas feat. Jadakiss & Ludacris

"I was the victim of society, it's 'Cris the menace
With mo' shit out on the streets than evicted tenants"

1:30-2:11

2. One Minute Man - Missy Eliot feat. Trina & Ludacris

"You one minute FOOLS, you wonder why y'all missin
On the back of milk cartons and there's no reward
No regards, close but it's no cigar"

2:27-2:43

1. Yeah - Usher feat. Lil John & Ludacris

"So gimme the rhythm and it'll be off wit their clothes
Then "bend over to the front! and touch your toes!!"

2:27-3:03

Thoughts on Super Bowl XLV

2011-02-07T07:36:00.004-05:00

-Christina Aguilera is a really huge idiot for fucking up the national anthem. Like she's on another level now. There is absolutely no excuse. Watch at :58:

-This year's batch of commercials were one of the worst in a very, very long time. From the start every single one sucked so much! And the only reason any of them were decent was because you started to compare them to the other horrible ones! This one is probably my favorite:

-The actual game was alright, I guess. No one play really stands out to me, maybe the INT return for the TD. Roethlisberger really fucked up, which is always great. I guess both teams just have a very boring personality, which lent to it being a pretty boring-seeming game. Definitely NOT a classic, like everyone was predicting it to be, not even close.

-Joe Buck is the worst announcer/analyst ever. And he will be with us for years and years to come. Can we like, just... vote him out or something??

-For me last night's SB was one of those where you don't really eat a dinner, you just munch on apps the whole night. This really messes up the routine of your digestive tract.

-The Black Eyed Peas could have done a much better job. Only thing that saved them for me from absolute failure was Slash and them singing their Dirty Bit song.

The New Year's Prediction Post, Part II

2011-02-05T17:07:00.002-05:00

Well here we go, on this, the 36th day of the 2012th year after the birth of our lord an savior, I will transform into NostraDATmus for this post and give you my 100% correct predictions for the 2011 year. Today also marks a most important date, that being my 26.3rd birthday. No presents necessary.

PREDICTIONS:

1. The Green Bay Packers will prevail in tomorrow's Super Bowl, 34-24, thereby giving yours truly a $2000 win in a SB boxes pool that I am participating in. Aaron Rodgers will be named MVP, going 15-23 with 2TDs passing, 1INT and 1TD rushing. In a rage, Ben Roethlisberger will get black out drunk at a Dallas bar afterwards and will once again force himself on an insecure diva in the bathroom. Unfortunately for him, that someone will be Jerry Jones.

2. The New York Knicks will not get Carmelo by the February 24th deadline. But they will make the playoffs nonetheless as a 6 seed, only to be knocked out by the Magic. Thankfully though, Melo will sign a max deal in the offseason giving the 2011-2012 version a starting line-up of Amar'e, Felton, Melo, Fields and Galo (Chandler will leave).

3. The NFL will be locked out until late July. The new CBA will NOT include an 18 game schedule, but WILL include at 17 game schedule.

4. The race for the presidency in 2012 will heat up for the Republicans. The field will include Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and... Sarah Palin!

5. The 2011 New York Yankees will display a starting rotation of CC, AJ, Phil Hughes, Freddy Garcia and.... Joba Chamberlain! They will finish 1st in the AL and will tare through the playoffs to win their 28th World Championship! Derek Jeter will silence critics as he finishes the year with a .301 BA, 16HRs and another Gold Glove. A-Rod will finish with a .310 BA, 38 HRs and 121 RBIs. CC will win 20 games again, finishing 22-4 with a 3.11 ERA. He will finally win the Cy Young this year. Phil will have an OK year, finishing 15-9 with a 3.50 ERA. AJ will bounce back and finish with a 18-8 record and a 3.89 ERA.

7. Dr. Dre's Detox will finally come out!

8. The much anticipated Arrested Development movie will finally begin shooting.

9. The iPhone 5 will be released in June, but with not that many changes. It will be on a 4G network, have extended battery life and a better camera. The iPhone 4 on Verizon will fuck up its network and there will be a lot of complaints.

10. A new social networking venture will erupt and challenge Facebook and Twitter.

11. Osama Bin Laden will finally be caught.

Love This

2011-01-30T15:32:00.000-05:00

Yearly Tradition: The New Year's Prediction Post, Part I

2011-01-23T22:38:00.006-05:00

Whatup whatup.

Happy New Year (3 weeks ago). Per usual I would like to take some time now to look back on 2010 and what I predicted for last year, and then immediately in the near future serve up some incredibly accurate predictions for this year, the two-thousand eleventh after the birth of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ. So, without further Freddy Adu, here we go.

First the 2010 predictions :

The unemployment rate will hover around 10 for a couple of months then will slowly begin to creep down. It will end the year at 8.6%

Well.. let's just take a look at the data:

It did float around 10 almost the whole year, but finished the year at 9.8, not 8.6 like I predicted. Wishful thinking??

Verdict: True AND False

The Democrats will lose their Super 60 majority in the Senate, but will retain control of both chambers.

YES, the Democrats DID lose their Super 60 majority!!! Wow, how did I ever anticipate this?? And yet, NostraDATmus wasn't fully correct yet again because they did NOT retain control of the House. Sigh.

Verdict: True AND False

The Superbowl will be played between the Ravens and the Saints and the Saints will win 35 - 21!

The Superbowl was actually played between the Colts and Saints and the Saints won 31-17. I was off by 4 points on each score! I am too good!

Verdict: True AND False

The Knicks will finally make the playoffs!... but will get swept in the first round.

Yea that did not happen.

Verdict: False

LeBron will sign to the Knicks!!!

No fucking comment

Verdict: False

The NY Yankees will once again be on top. A-Rod will come through big this year - .310 with 40HRs and 120 RBIs. CC will be huge again reaching 20 wins (finally) and posting a 3.05 ERA. AJ finally breaks 16 wins. Unfortunately, Yanks finish 2nd in the AL, BUT... will win the WS for their 2nd in a row!

Actual 2010 statistics:

ARod: .270, 30 HR, 125 RBIs

CC: 21-7, 3.18ERA

AJ: 10-15

Yankees: 2nd place in AL, lost in ALCS

Hmm, well this is a mixed bag of prediction goodies. Way off on ARod's average, but close on the RBIs. CC did break 20 wins and I was close with the ERA. AJ blew the big one, Yanks finished 2nd but did not come close to that 2nd WS in a row.

Verdict: True AND False

Avatar will still be in theatres in December (and will break Titanic's record).

Avatar exited theaters August 8th, 2010

Verdict: False

The iPhone 4G will be released.

Um, does the iPhone 4 count??

Verdict: True AND False

Foursquare will fail.

Well, judging by this article, I am dead wrong.

Verdict: False

We will catch Osama Bin Laden.

This also did not happen.

Verdict: False

OVERALL RESULT: 2.5 out of 10. Yuck.

Stay tuned for the 2011 predictions

Up Late

2011-01-15T00:16:00.003-05:00

I am up late right now, doing the regular procrastinating sleep thing. I guess that's what you call concrastinating, huh?

My last post was pretty depressing. Sorry about that.

I keep meaning to get to my New Year's post. That will happen soon, I promise.

I love this song:

Swizz Beatz is so good. And in many ways underrated. All of his shit is good. Also, he changes it up a good amount.

Furthermore, Diddy-Dirty Money is borderline genius. You gotta admire Puff for keeping it fresh. Who would have thought in '97 that 13 years later he would be the lead singer of a female band?? I can't hate, I love the songs they have. Not enough to purchase, but just enough to download.

Also love this song:

Please excuse the lame unofficial vid. But the song is tight. Good for the mole-less Enrique. Not to mention Luda is only spectacular on guest verses. This song got me thinking of which songs with the work "Fuck" in the chorus are the best ever. I gotta go with:

1. I'm Fucking You Tonight - Notorious B.I.G. ft. R. Kelly

2. Fuck You - Cee-Lo

3. Fucking You - Enrique Iglesias ft. Ludacris

Can you think of any others?

Thoughts

2011-01-08T16:07:00.003-05:00

Well a Happy New Year to all. I was going to begin the new year the way I always do on this blog, with a recap of my 2010 Predictions and an unveiling of my 2011 version. But today does not warrant that.

A very much troubling thing has happened in Arizona this afternoon. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat, along with 11 other people were shot by a gunman at a grocery store townhall event.

Many things are going to happen in the next few days and weeks. Many people are going to have an opinion and many people are going to spin this in whichever way they want. But my feeling, based on my experience, is that most people in power will preach unity and standing together.

We cannot overlook the conditions that allowed this to occur.

In many unfortunate ways, didn't you see something like this coming? You remember this little innocent piece of art:

Recognize any names? Yes, the Congresswoman shot today is in that "harmless" list of Sarah's. Almost all liberals denounced this list and I did not hear many conservatives take a stand.

Well here we are. People have died and a government official has been wounded. Of course, conservatives on the defensive will in no way see a connection between this shooting and the harsh language that preceded it in our national conversation with the Tea Party. The shooter will be labeled as a "nut" who is not exemplative of the general conservative population. But let me tell you what, this "nut" is someone who, like all of us, gets swayed by emotions; is someone who obviously is unstable; is someone who is not helped when people who have a platform are literally calling people to arms because of what our government is doing.

This is horrible! For years the Republican party has tended to use Fear to drive home their points. From 9/11 until now every talking point went through the lens of Fear. From the War on Terror to now the War on Obamacare. And guess what... people are actually afraid! And this is what happens when Fear is mixed with ignorance! And our government officials have to hold responsibility for this! When you lead by the example of grouping a certain group of people and holding all of them responsible, maybe not blatantly, but definitely through your words, people will follow your lead. And yes, I am talking about the conservative war on Muslims. And what the Republicans and Tea Partiers have recently been doing is holding Democrats in total responsible for this new onslaught of "socialism" and "Marxism" and and overall responsibility for the state that everyone is in right now. And unfortunately, Ms. Giffords has been grouped into this group that has been the cause of the Fear that the conservatives propagate.

People will call on "toning down the Washington rhetoric." All officials, both Democrats and Republicans, will be participating in the conversation. But this is not a liberal issue! This is a conservative problem!

When 58% of the GOP doubts or are unsure about the fact that Obama was actually born here, this is not a liberal issue!

When 63% of the GOP truly believe that Obama is a socialist, this is not a liberal issue!

For the last couple of years many conservatives have been towing the line of heated rhetoric versus a call to violence. Today is a product of that. It needs to stop.

It's Been A Long Time...

2010-12-11T19:06:00.003-05:00

...I should not have left you, without a dope blog to step to.

I haven't posted in so long that this blog might as well be dead. Sorry about that. Here are some of my thoughts that have sprung up in the past month that I would have perhaps blogged about if I was more responsible with this here site:

- I do not like Julian Assange's face

- I blame my lack of blogging solely on The Twitter and The Facebook. I post shit on there when I think of it and not on here. But then it goes away as soon as more tweets or stati come through. But this shit right here is forever man

- I am (re)falling in love with the New York Knickerbockers

- I still do not get for the life of me why people keep the protective plastic on their electronics way after they have purchased them. No class.

- I have been going to the gym so much recently, more so than I did in the summer. The data nerd in me is trying to obtain a printout of all the times I have been at the Y since I joined in '07 so that I could make a graph of it on Excel.

- Speaking of Excel, the Paste Special function gives me a digital orgasm every time

- I cannot stand when the 2 or 3 express train pulls away on 96th or 72nd RIGHT when the 1 train is stopping. What the FUCK is up with that shit??

- Speaking of the trains, I witnessed or heard two fights on the platform/inside the train last night. I fear I may be involved in one soon.

- 5HE still works so wonderfully well and anyone who hates on it is missing out.

- From the Dmitry-hates-on-things-that-are-popular-when-they-first-come-out-but-not-several-years-later-when-the-love-has-died-down department, Arrested Development is the shit!

- 4Loko is overhyped

- That new song by Rihanna, "What's My Name," really makes me want to stick it in her. I mean, I have always thought were her to be alright, but her fivehead always got in the way. But there is something about that song...

- Speaking of music, GirlTalk's "All Day" is beautiful

- Can everyone lay the fuck off of Obama. Shit! His job is hard! He's trying his best! All of the fucking liberals who are all "I am not voting for him in 2012 if he doesn't do ________ or if he goes through and does ________." Man, STFU!! You know you are going to vote for him no matter what!

31 days....

2010-11-27T20:12:00.001-05:00

...since my last blog post!

The New York Knickerbockers

2010-10-27T19:01:00.007-04:00

I first started watching the Knicks when they were in the playoffs in '94. I was in 4th grade and one of my friends told me to watch them play on TV. I would keep going home and looking at the TV Guide and only seeing something about a "conference" on channel 4. In my mind, my innocent mind, I figured I didn't want to watch a bunch of men sitting around the table discussing things. But my friend kept telling me and telling me and I finally tuned into the "Eastern Conference Semifinals." Bulls vs. Knicks. Game 7.

I would watch the rest of that mesmerizing playoff series and fall in love. Until John Starks broke my heart in the Finals.

It was easy to be a Knicks fan in the 90s. We were pretty good! Plus we had that sick rivalry with the Heat when we would get into a fight every year in the playoffs.

Then came the 2001-2002 season. And after that, I lost interest. Yea you can blame me for being a fair-weather fan, but it's not like the Knicks were winning a championship every year (a la Yankees). They just had character. The teams after 2001 did not. They were just a collection of overpaid, under-performing, former superstars. And the management... ugh, just fucking awful.

So now comes this season. The season we have all been waiting for. I would say that even with all the hype I probably would have only watched secondhandly. But ehre has been a perfect storm of events that now have me thinking I can be into the Knicks as much as I was back in the 90s.

First off, the Yankees most recently pissed me off to no end. Not like from 2001-2008. But more of a "wow, you were just so pathetic you really did not deserve to go to the WS" way. So now my NY sports thirst remains unquenched.

Secondly, I very recently had the pleasure of going to a Knicks preseason game and sitting courtside (my view above). Now, on the one hand this has ruined all future live games for me because there is nothing like sitting literally on the court. On the other though, for the first time in 10 years I know the names of most of the Knicks players! I am much more invested in them now as a result of that game.

Thirdly, and this is more of a future investment, I am on the brink of joining an NBA fantasy league for the first time. Now, if my NFL fantasy experience is any indication, I will become A LOT more involved in the NBA in general, and thus in the Knicks.

So there you have it (not like you really wanted it). I am an ex-disgruntled fan coming back to the team I used to love. Win or lose this year I am excited to see what happens. And also excited to beat the fucking heat!

White Boys

2010-09-30T22:55:00.001-04:00

DAT Justice

2010-09-30T22:29:00.010-04:00

I'm Alive Again

2010-09-30T22:27:00.001-04:00

I got through ebbs then I get back in the game by posting videos. You know the routine by now.

This one is simply too good not to watch.

iPhone Apps I Love: Part II

2010-09-07T20:07:00.005-04:00

Angry Birds

I hated on this for awhile (obviously). But once I got it, oooohhh man, it was on. I have beaten every stage of every level with 3 stars. It is addicting. I heard now they are even coming out with a movie for it. I definitely WILL NOT be seeing that, but the app is definitely worth paying a buck for. Try it out.

Chase

Many of us in NYC are Chase card holders. If you are and you own an iPhone, you HAVE to get this free app. It has the usual checking of balance function and finding the nearest Chase ATM function, but the far-and-away best feature is the option to take photos of a check and automatically deposit it into your account. Sick!

NextStop

Great free app. Basically, it tells you when your the subway is coming next. You can look at the NYC subway app, program in your favorite lines, and automatically see how much time you have until the train comes. Also great for seeing when you can transfer from train to train. You don't need to have service to see the times either

Concrastination

2010-09-07T19:57:00.002-04:00

I started this blog Thursday, August 2, 2007. Thats 3 years, 1 month and 5 days. Or, more impressively, 1132 days of the DAT.

First of all, you gotta give me props for keeping a blog for 3.1 years. Others have came and went, while I have stayed (relatively) consistent.

Anyway, I digress. Obviously this blog was originally (and now in part still) called CONCRASTINATION. I named it that because I thought it was clever as though reading this blog would be the opposite of "procrastination."

That never made sense.

Well now, I think I have figured out what CONCRASTINATION really means. It is something I do so well. It is something I do everyday. It is something I am doing right now.

CONCRASTINATION is the act of doing something important well, efficiently and thoroughly WHILE procrastinating doing something of a higher priority and/or importance.

For instance, right now I should be outlining and writing my business school essays. Instead, I am keeping up with my blog. Bschool is a higher priority. My blog is of lower importance, but yet still worth doing.

Another example, in college, when you caught yourself cleaning your apartment when you needed to be reading that book.

Everybody does it. Now you know what to call it.

Look Alikes: Josh Duhamel & Timothy Olyphant

2010-08-31T22:24:00.001-04:00

This Is America

2010-08-24T00:47:00.000-04:00

"Ground Zero" "Mosque"

2010-08-17T22:01:00.005-04:00

I haven't taken much time on this blog recently to weigh in on on pressing social issues that have made it into the national discussion. I want to, and always make a mental point of doing so, but it never really happens for some reason.

I think I will start trying to do it more. Here are my views regarding the "Ground Zero" "Mosque."

There exist so many avenues through which to enter this discussion. Let's just start with the above photo. Obviously, this is not a "Ground Zero" mosque. It's actually a couple of blocks away, with buildings in between. So that characterization falls pretty flat. Interesting.

But let's not focus on semantics here. Let's instead focus on the huge outpouring of anti-American sentiment that has resulted because of this proposed "mosque" (I am going to put mosque in quotations because it is actually a community center that is potentially being built). Yes, anti-American sentiment. I will make my views very clear:

Anyone who opposes the construction of this "Ground Zero" "mosque" is expressing very disturbing and very real anti-American sentiments.

Why? Well, I think the answer is pretty fucking obvious. America is about having freedoms and having rights. It is what it has been for hundreds of years. It's what makes this country the best country in the whole world. It is about freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press, freedom of worship and yes, freedom of BUILDING "MOSQUES" WHEREVER YOU FEEL LIKE!

The whole notion that this will somehow upset people because of 9/11 is RIDICULOUS. Um, hello, 9/11 was planned and executed by EXTREMISTS. We cannot as a society shun ALL Muslims because of it. Muslims are Americans too! Crazy, right?! They work for a living here in New York, many times helping with the daily nuances of life, like, say, getting you to work, or getting you breakfast (obviously there are a million other things Muslims do in New York but I want to focus on these two because you find these things very close to Ground Zero). Maybe we should ban Muslim taxi-cab drivers from entering a 10 block radius in lower Manhattan. Or, how about we ban the Halal carts from lower Manhattan while we're at it. That would make just about as much sense as all of the "Ground Zero" "mosque" bullshit.

All of this really pisses me off. There is such an obvious right truth to this. And it is lost in the petty politics that are society has been stripped down to. For some reason, for many Americans, the notion that this country has helped millions of immigrants over the years has been lost. From the immigration debate, to this "mosque" business and to countless other things, certain "Americans" want to be here and stay here and get everybody who doesn't look like them the fuck out of here. Well guess what, sometimes I think we would be MUCH better served if we got those asshole the fuck out of here. And then, I think, that America also is made up of those assholes and it wouldn't be fair to kick them out and feeling this sentiment would be me sinking down to their level.

Every time this news story pops up I just get sad and upset. Sad because stories like this reinforce in me the feeling that I will never be able to see and actually INTELLECTUAL national discussion take place. That there will always in my lifetime be too many ignorant people who are controlling the discussion. That obvious issues like gay marriage will never be resolved in my lifetime because politics will now and forever be dominated by allegiance to Party over Country. Let's hope this is not the case.

Trailer for "Black Swan"

2010-08-17T22:00:00.001-04:00

This is from the guy who directed "The Wrestler" and "Requiem for a Dream."

It is worth putting here because it contains footage of the 2 hottest women ever making out.

More Will Ferrell

2010-08-05T23:59:00.000-04:00

On Jimmy Fallon. Hilarious skit.

Will Ferrell's NYPD Recruitment Video

2010-08-04T22:17:00.001-04:00

Will Ferrell's NYPD Recruitment Video from Will Ferrell

Inception Visualized (Spoiler Alert)

2010-07-28T20:03:00.003-04:00

Click on for better quality.

Trailer for "The Town"

2010-07-19T22:49:00.001-04:00

Thought it would be stupid, but it definitely piqued my interest.

R.I.P. The Boss

2010-07-13T23:12:00.003-04:00

George Steinbrenner 1930-2010

Love him or hate him, you have to respect him. As a fan of the team he owned, the team he loved and the team he was willing to spend anything on, I was obviously fond of the big Bossman. And I knew a lot of people weren't, which I always found puzzling. This is the guy ANYONE would want to have as their owner. He wanted to win. Period. And I think he is one of if not THE only owner of my generation who was willing to do anything to win. And you have to respect that.

M. Night Shyamalan's "Devil"

2010-07-13T23:10:00.000-04:00

Somebody needed to call the waah-mbulance!!

2010-07-07T00:15:00.001-04:00

Honestly good for her. This fucking idiot. She deserves years. There are rules and just because you are a celebrity doesn't mean you can get away with anything you want.

Jersey Shore: Season 2 Trailer

2010-07-01T00:30:00.001-04:00

Ama. Zing.

MTV Shows

Between Two Ferns: Ben Stiller

2010-06-28T00:00:00.001-04:00

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Ben Stiller from Between Two Ferns

Look Alikes: World Cup Edition

2010-06-27T23:32:00.008-04:00

Clint Dempsey vs. Dr. House

Carlos Tevez vs. Rafael Nadal

Mexico's Coach vs. Slobodan Milosevic

Hilarious

2010-06-20T23:09:00.000-04:00

"Put it on your hose. Then put it on your hos!"

True Blood is the truth.

2010-06-13T23:46:00.003-04:00

If you haven't yet jumped on the True Blood fangwagon, you should. Immediately. This show is the shit. The season premiere was tonight and it definitely did not disappoint. Now if you're not into the vampire fad that has swept Hollywood the past couple of years, i'll tell you this: True Blood is not your regular run-of-the-mill vampire show. This is not bullshit like Twilight or the Vampire Diaries or any other series. This is an extremely well done show from most to every standpoint: acting, writing, cinematography, etc. As a matter of fact, everything HBO does is pretty darn good.

Anyway the moral of this story: watch True Blood.

Jay-Z brings out Kanye

2010-06-13T23:45:00.002-04:00

Kind of gives me goosebumps (no homo). At 3:07. Crowd goes f-in nuts.

Hi Haters...

2010-06-13T23:45:00.001-04:00

...I'm off of hiatus.

(after one month. damn.)

King of New York

2010-05-13T23:06:00.003-04:00

Conan at Google

2010-05-08T17:02:00.001-04:00

The Massacre

2010-05-08T16:12:00.004-04:00

Look Alikes: Freddy Garcia & The Rock

2010-04-30T23:30:00.002-04:00

Exactly Alikes: KGB & KGB

2010-04-30T22:28:00.004-04:00

I really would have loved to have been at the brainstorming session for this company's name.

I am going to start a rival text messaging answer service. The name?:

Schutzstaffel

YES messes up

2010-04-30T22:18:00.001-04:00

Count the pitches

LOST!

2010-04-30T21:06:00.002-04:00

(Click to see a clearer version)

via wired

{S GOODBYE

2010-04-27T23:44:00.003-04:00

Remember AOL? That used to be the shit. Keeping up with your bootleg-ass profile. Instant messaging within the actual program. (Parents) Paying $29.95 a month for service. Figuring out how to have the computer say hello and goodbye to the person you were talking to. Chatrooms. A/S/L checks.

Nowadays, my AOL mail is a spam haven. Like I would say 7% of the mail I get on it is legitimate. Actually, now way. More like 0.5%. Maybe it's because my AOL email is the one I put down for bullshit offers.

Anybody Read Lips?

2010-04-27T23:25:00.002-04:00

Here's the backstory:
Final seconds of the Cavs-Bulls game tonight. Cavs up by 3. Lebron gets fouled. Sometime before the foul he hurts his arm. He takes his first free throw. Makes it. Takes the next one left-handed (presumably because his right arm hurts too much). Misses it. Bulls call timeout. Camera zooms in on Cavs huddle. Stays there for awhile. As Lebron is coming out, this happens:

He's talking to someone who appears to be walking by. It looks like he is saying something along the lines of:

"What?"

"Oh, my arm something something something something"

"Is he fucking kidding me??"

Can anybody gather what the he is actually saying? Pretty funny though.

Look Alikes: Jeffrey Dean Morgan & Robert Downey, Jr.

2010-04-22T23:56:00.005-04:00

Look Alikes: Joe Girardi & Ben Stiller from "There's Something About Mary"

2010-04-18T16:21:00.004-04:00

Your 2010 New York Yankees

2010-04-18T15:46:00.006-04:00

The 2010 Yanks have gotten off to a great start. As of today's victory (and sweep) of the Texas Rangers, NY is 9-3. Best start since 2003 (in which we started out 18-3 before losing our 4th game, so we have awhile to go). I tasted every game thus far, either on YES, on 880, or in person. Here are my keys to start of the season:

1) PITCHING

Here's the line on our starting pitchers:

C. Sabathia - 2-0, 2.84
A. Burnett - 2-0, 2.37
A. Pettitte - 2-0, 1.35
J. Vasquez - 0-2, 9.82
P. Hughes - 1-0, 3.60

Now, obviously Javier Vasquez is a sore spot, but everyone else has been stellar. CC, a notorious slow starter, has come in at the same pace as when he finished last season. AJ is in sync with Jorge and Pettitte doesn't seem to be slowing down at all given his age. Here's the line on another pitcher who does not seem to be showing his age in the least bit:

M. Rivera - 5 saves, 0.00 ERA

2) BRETT GARDNER

A very pleasant surprise Gardner has been. He's batting .333 (4th) with an OBP of .444 (2nd on team, out of the starters). He's leading the team with 7 stolen bases. He just gets on base. Yesterday against the Rangers, he had 3 infield hits. He can develop into such a valuable asset because when you have a guy with speed like that, game plans change and so do the mindsets of the infielders. With Gardner up, potential easy out grounders turn into potentially rushed throws.

3) NOT-TOP 4

Here's the line on the first 4 Yankee batters.

1. Jeter - .380

2. Johnson - .158

3. Teixiera - .114

4. Rodriguez - .295

Obviously Jeter has been awesome, A-Rod has been OK, but Johnson and Teixiera have been horrid. And yet, we have still been winning. What that means is that the 2nd half of the order has been coming through big time. Cano, Posada, Granderson. A sign of a truly great team is the response of the 2nd tier players when the 1st tier is struggling. So far this season, the response has been solid.

4) KIM JONES

She's just so damn hot!

Has Potential

2010-04-12T22:58:00.001-04:00

Keeping It Real

2010-04-07T23:34:00.003-04:00

I met Tracy Morgan once. So randomly. I was in high school. After school one day. I was standing in line with one of my friends at the McDonald's on Broadway, right near the 238th street 1 stop. Lo and behold, who's standing in front of me in line with rolled up sweatpants and a white T but Tracy Morgan! This was when he was still doing his thing on SNL, not that well known. I got an autograph. Asked him where he lives. He said the Century building. Told him I think he's great on SNL. He said thanks. And that was that.

I'd Like to See the Following Movies (INPO)

2010-04-06T23:05:00.003-04:00

Dinner for Schmucks

Splice

The Human Centipede

iPhone Apps I Love: Part I

2010-04-06T15:37:00.006-04:00

Words With Friends (Free)

This app is the shit. Period. You can play

scrabble with other people who have the app. Up to like 10 games at once. Definitely my most used app. No point in getting the paid version as the ads don't take away from the gameplay. Get it and challenge me to a game (that you will lose!). My username name is: TheDAT.

Flixter

This app lets you check movie times, add movie theatres as your favorites, watch trailers, find movie theatres, buy tickets online, etc. All the good stuff. Definitely a must-have app, especially if you are an avid movie-goer.

Sleep Cycle

This app is interesting. Basically, it is an alarm clock. But oh, it's so much more. It uses the iPhone's motion sensor technology to feel out how much you are moving in your sleep. It then can tell whether or not you are in deep sleep or not. The point is that it sets off the alarm when it senses that you are in your lightest sleep phase. That way, you feel the most refreshed when you wake up.

Look Alikes: Zoe Saldana & Jada Pinkett Smitt

2010-04-06T00:11:00.004-04:00

[ ]

2010-03-15T23:09:00.003-04:00

It's that time of year again! Time to fill out your Brackets!

Question: does anybody in the whole country fill out the women's bracket??

I'm in charge of organizing the brackets at my workplace. I think it's technically illegal. Shhhh. Don't tell anyone. I do 10 bucks per bracket or 4 for $30. It's very exciting. And then I lose.

My first ever bracketing experience came in 8th grade I believe. I knew absolutely NOTHING about college basketball. I ended up winning. I remember people were very pissed with me. That always happens. The person who knows the least is the one who ends up winning it all.

Look Alikes: Clea Duvall & Josh Hartnett

2010-03-14T22:58:00.003-04:00

Zach

2010-03-07T22:43:00.002-05:00

If you did not know this already, Zach Galifianakis is Galifiucking hilarious. I enjoyed a rare viewing of SNL last night of which he was the host. Here is a sampling:

And here are some more hilarious skits of his from "Funny or Die":

Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis from Between Two Ferns

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis from Between Two Ferns

Look Alikes: Sharlto Copley & Steve Carell

2010-03-07T22:28:00.002-05:00

Em & Weezy

2010-03-03T23:32:00.001-05:00

I think it's pretty f-in great that Eminem and Lil Wayne are collaborating now. Two of the greatest rappers of all time making great music together. It's about time too.

EDIT: Full video -

Look Alikes: Jackie Earle Haley & Steve Nash

2010-02-26T00:46:00.002-05:00

Let It Slush, Let It Slush, Let It Slush

2010-02-26T00:24:00.005-05:00

I just got home from driving in this god awful slushstorm. It is HORRIBLE out there. EASILY the worst conditions I have ever been in while driving. My car got stuck 4-5 times, once going up a ramp of the highway (uh-oh), two times going up the hill from the 158th exit on the West Side Hwy and one or two more times elsewhere. I was constantly swaying while driving, and my damn defogulators (sic) weren't working very well. Oh and I had to go through a couple of red lights in order to keep up my car's momentum and not get stuck.

How can they not possibly cancel school tomorrow?? I started the night thinking there was no way it was going to happen because it is just wet snow, but after the aforementioned driving experience, I have changed my view.

The worst thing is that I am planning on driving down to DC tomorrow. So on the one hand, if school remains open, that means conditions aren't that bad. But if it is closed, then the roads must be fucked.

I really wish I was going to a place where we don't need... roads.

Look Alikes: Christian Combs & Sean Combs

2010-02-24T23:54:00.012-05:00

Addendum:

HOLD YOUR HORSES!! Before you mentally crucify me for his seemingly-obvious post, please let me get a word in. Of course I know the above people are father and son. BUT THEY LOOK EXACTLY ALIKE!!!!!! And... Diddy's other son looks nothing like him! The pudding for my proof:

Boom.

2010-02-24T23:27:00.004-05:00

5-hour ENERGY!!!!

Let's start off by stating that this shit works. It gives you a pretty substantial boost. It's best taken before a night of partying for which you do not feel well rested. It is not best taken 5 minutes before playing a basketball game at 9:15PM on a weeknight. Like I just did 2 hours ago.

I don't feel very good right now. I am dead tired, but not. It's weird. I still have a 5-hour ENERGY!!!! buzz even though I have been up since 6AM on 5-hours OF SLEEP!!!!

I started taking this concoction perhaps a year ago. Out of curiosity. Looks like curiosity killed the DAT.

Well, not yet, but I am pretty sure that if I keep taking this that I will die. Notice how I use the verb "take" and not "drink." Have you noted it? Good. The shortened version of "to notice" should be "to note," even though it's not. Or is it? Not too sure. I'm rambling.

Anyway, you should all give this 5-hour ENERGY!!!! a shot. Especially if you are consistent coffee drinkers. This can't be worse for you than 5 cups of coffee in the morning. I've heard coffee is best for you when you are coughing. I guess you could call it coughee. (I did not hear that btw).

How does a commonly used phrase become a web acronym? And how does a NOT commonly used phrase become a web acronym? Like FTW. I feel like that is a fucking retarded acronym. I just really dislike it. Perhaps it's because I am unsure of how to properly use it. I like the word "acronym" though. So much so I will now try to use it to mean a food. If I ate enough acronyms, perhaps I would be able to successfully climb the acrocrag. FTW.

Where were we? Oh yes, 5-hour ENERGY!!!! I guess if I took this at 9:15 I am now on hour 2.25. Fuck. That means I have 2.75 more hours left (relax, I used to be a math teacher). You know what's really going to suck? When I finish writing this dumb ass blog post and go to bed. You know why? Because I am going to toss and turn for 2.75 hours. Then, at 3:15 in the morning, I will fall into a coma. I'd rather fall into a comma than a period (right ladies?!)

Boom.

Michael Jackson: Victim of a Transition

2010-02-22T21:49:00.009-05:00

It's hard to look back at the life of the King of Pop and not wonder what the f*ck went wrong. How did such an amazingly brilliant talent deteriorate in such a fascinating fashion? I am pretty sure all of his fans think about this at one point or another. And if they are in denial, the black-boy-growing-up-to-be-a-white-woman joke most definitely hits them hard. I was recently thinking about this and took it a step further - I wondered if MJ would have been better off blowing up in the modern media world. Would Mike's downfall have happened if he skyrocketed to fame a little later in his life? Maybe if he was born 10 years later? Basically:

Would his deterioration into a visual freak have happened in the present-day 24-hour news cycle/reality TV atmosphere?

Short answer: no. Obviously not. He would have been too exposed. He would not have had the ability to basically isolate himself and go crazy. The world of Twitter/Facebook/YouTube would be able to somehow make Mike into a saner person.

This line of thought led to another, more over-arching theory. Of course we all know MJ was famous almost from his birth. He was constantly exposed and constantly under the microscope (at least as much of a microscope that there was in the 70s). But he didn't attain his remarkable heights until the 80s. And then went even higher in the 90s and 00s. So here's the theory:

Michael Jackson was the unfortunate victim of the mass media transition.

I look back at photos of Michael in the 80s. I specifically do it to see if I could pinpoint when he started to change and become white. Surprisingly, there aren't that many photos/videos available other than what was closely monitored by him. No way in hell would this have happened 10-15 years later.

Mike blew up at a time when sharing his personal information with the world wasn't mandated by the status quo. Celebrities still had some measure of privacy. Not because there was some sort of respect that fans paid their idols, but because technology was just not there yet. At some point in the late 80s and early 90s, the media tide started to shift. But Mike stayed put, growing more and more isolated and... well.. just plain freakish.

We started demanding reality from our celebrities. You can trace it back to gangsta rap and the Real World. Little by little the up-and-coming stars shared more and more. Mike did not. As the 90s went on, while celebrities weren't the most sensical people, their celebrity caused them to view themselves as their fans did. MJ got a pass. He got grandfathered in. Once he caught up, in the early 00s, and tried to share his world with ours, what resulted was disastrous. He was already too far over the edge. What he thought was normal was actually not.

Who knows what would have happened if he reached his stratosphere at a time when he couldn't isolate himself that easily. What if he spent his time between albums judging American Idol or exposing himself more through the readily available media outlets instead of going away and coming back with a lighter hue and a slimmer nose. If anything, it's interesting to wonder.

Look Alikes: Team USA Jersey & New York Rangers Jersey

2010-02-22T21:25:00.006-05:00

Happy (Belated) New Year!

2010-01-11T21:23:00.004-05:00

Um, I still have a blog? Oh yea, I do! What's up? What's poppin? Champagne bottles were 11 nights ago! Here is my annual New Years blog post:

First off, let's take a look at my predications from last year!:

-The economy will continue to flounder and tank until about June when by all accounts, it will start performing better than expected. But a crisis of some sort will throw it right back into the shitter by the end of the summer.

I guess the economy got better, but a catastrophe? Didn't happen.

-Georgetown will make it to the Final Four. There they will face UNC and blow them out by 20. They will go on to WIN the NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship.

Mega-false. Gtown didn't even make it into the NCAA tourney. They fell from the top 10 to unranked in less than 2 weeks. *Cue Price is Right loss music*

-The Yankees will open their season up in their new stadium and blow everyone out of the water. CC will finish 18-4 with a 2.58 ERA, Burnett will go 15-9 with a 3.98 ERA, M-Tex will bat .338 with 48 homers, the Yankees will finish with a 102-60 record, the AL East crown AND a World Series Championship!

CC: 19-8, 3.37 ERA (eehh, kind of close?)

Burnett: 13-9, 4.04 (pretty good!)

Teix: .292, 39 HRs (womp)

Yanks: 103-59 & AL East champs & WS Champs (oh my god, call me NostraDATmus!)

-Obama will be able to get much done in office, mostly by way of his post-partisan approach. Four key pieces will be passed with bi-partisan support in '09.

What does that word up there mean, "bipartisan"?

-Eminem and Dr. Dre will release their long awaited albums.

Eminem, yes. Dr. Dre, no.

-The Superbowl will be played between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, which the Iggles will win 34-21!

Well, halfway right. It was played between Pittsburgh and the Cardinals and Pitt won 27-23.

Ok, and now the moment you have all been waiting for. The Predictions for 2010!

The unemployment rate will hover around 10 for a couple of months then will slowly begin to creep down. It will end the year at 8.6%

The Democrats will lose their Super 60 majority in the Senate, but will retain control of both chambers.

The Superbowl will be played between the Ravens and the Saints and the Saints will win 35 - 21!

The Knicks will finally make the playoffs!... but will get swept in the first round.

LeBron will sign to the Knicks!!!

Avatar will still be in theatres in December (and will break Titanic's record).

The iPhone 4G will be released.

Foursquare will fail.

We will catch Osama Bin Laden.

You Rewind This

2009-12-08T00:22:00.000-05:00

Sliding This Into The Amazing Category

2009-12-05T14:54:00.001-05:00

Les Belles

2009-12-02T00:55:00.002-05:00

I just realized that one of my blog's labels on the left side of this page says "fantasy."

If you click on the "fantasy" label, it takes you to a picture of a naked dude with his head in his ass.

This is admittedly pretty god awful yes. And thus, I would like to offer a retroactive "no homo" clause. Or a "pause" clause if you so prefer.

Communication

2009-12-02T00:45:00.004-05:00

We are inundated with so much damn communication with everyone around us these days. Twitter. Facebook. Myspace. Text Messages. BBM. Blogs. Email. Gchat. AIM. Even if you don't use any of these modes, you still know they are out there, swarming around you.

All of this makes you forget how it used to be. The days where your only option was to call someone in order to talk to them. You literally just forget. Like I only vaguely recall those days, and they were only happening in the late 90s.

What's next? And, can we ever go back to the way it used to be? Not to say that I would want that, but would it even be possible? What is more personal and extrovertedly invasive than Twitter?? Can it get any worse? Are some of us (all of us?) going to be walking around all day long with cameras in front of our faces in 5-10 years?

Don't get me wrong, all of this technology is very exciting. But it is also very scary because you become dependent on it. When my iPhone runs out of batteries (because of my prolonged use all day), I get pissed off. If I do not have an electronic portal to the outside world at my fingertips, I am affected in a negative way. And I am sure you are too, whatever aforementioned mode you are addicted to.

What's also scary is the up-and-coming generation. My peers and I still remember the days where you had to scrounge around for a quarter to use the payphone. What are the current youths going to remember in 10 years time, debating which of their friends tweet to retweet or perhaps jailbreaking their phone to get even more crazy apps?

Maybe there will just be some sort of a colossal non-violent crash in a couple of years. When all the networks give out because of the over use. Oh wait, that happens every day if you are an AT&T user.

I guess what I am getting at is that it is useful to take the time to stop and reflect on how far technology has come, even in the past 5 years. Then, blog about it.

Look Alikes: Harry Martin from "My 9 News" & Conan O'Brien

2009-12-02T00:37:00.006-05:00

From The I-F-ing-Hate-This Dept.

2009-12-01T00:14:00.003-05:00

Well that was quick...

I really fucking hate this song:

Owl City - Fireflies
Uploaded by UniversalMusicGroup. - See the latest featured music videos.

It sounds like a 7 year old kid with a stuffed nose found his parents mic. Plus, it's a song about freaking fireflies. Some really deep quotes:

"'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning bugs
As they tried to teach me how to dance"

"To ten million fireflies
I'm weird 'cause I hate goodbyes
I got misty eyes as they said farewell"

"A sock hop beneath my bed"

Ugh.

UPDATE:
I also really fucking hate this video.

No for November

2009-12-01T00:09:00.001-05:00

I didn't post anything in November.

Womp.

My blog game is one big fail. Sorry to any readers out there.

But I shall return. With more Look Alikes and random thoughts and Yankee nostalgia.

Till then...

Great All-Around Sports Weekend

2009-10-26T23:01:00.002-04:00

In chronological order:

-My Zogsports touch football team scored a win this weekend. First half I caught a 2-point conversion. Second half, due to a couple of people having to leave early, I took over as QB and threw for a TD and ran for a TD. Also threw a late game pick (I was confused about the score).

-Made a bet with a colleague at work about Michael Crabtree's catches this weekend. Line was 3.5. I went over. Crabtree got 5 catches... and I got 5 dollars.

-My fantasy team won it's 5th game in a row. After starting 0-2 I am now 5-2 and in sole possession of 3rd place in my (12 team) league. I have basically won off of waiver wire pickups (Miles Austin, Hakeem Nicks, Austin Collie).

-YANKEES! 6 long years have passes since we have last won the pennant. I am ecstatic about our current team.

Maybe You've Seen This, Maybe Not

2009-10-14T22:55:00.000-04:00

Some Great Vids

2009-09-21T23:55:00.003-04:00

Fuck Chris Brown:

they couldn't use the real instrumental? or spell rihanna's name right? smh. otherwise, really good.

MJ's "This Is It" footage:

damn he sounds amazing! plus, I am going to pull that move at 0:11 ALL THE TIME IN THE CLUB!! The NEW MJ MOVE, bitches! (keep replaying it..hilarious)

"Turn My Swag On" flipped and reversed:

Look Alikes: Kevin Connolly & Sam Rockwell

2009-09-21T23:45:00.005-04:00

Maybe Kanye Had A Point...

2009-09-15T23:44:00.003-04:00

...you decide.

vs.

Beyonce - Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) [Official Video]

A Quarter Is Worth More Than 25 Cents

2009-09-15T23:31:00.002-04:00

I think about random things (surprise). This is one of them. Think about this:

Would you pay two dimes and six pennies for a quarter? How about two dimes, a nickel and three pennies? How about 3 dimes?

While you're thinking "why the fuck did I go to this blog?", I'm answering a definitive YES!

If you have ever had a laundry machine in your building that only takes hundreds of quarters, OR, if you drive in the city and park in front of meters, than you are totally agreeing with me. It's so simple it's beautiful: quarters are worth MORE than their stated value!

Cold

2009-09-14T23:56:00.002-04:00

It's fucking cold out. I don't like when it is like this. Not one bit. This is right at the time when I start developing the sniffles. I HATE THE SNIFFLES!! I hate waking up and sneezing like 6 times. Even though I know that a sneeze is 1/6th of an orgasm (look it up), it doesn't mathematically add up to a morning nut.

Come to think of it, this summer's weather has sucked. June was the rainiest month in the history of mankind (look it up). They should have filmed a fucking rain disaster movie. It could've been called "Rain of Terror."

July wasn't much better. Lots of clouds. And then August was the same, and then the cold hit you in the nuts September 1st. Ugh. On top of all that, SAD is coming. Oh yes, Seasonal Affective Disorder i.e. the Greatest Acronym of All Time. What dickhead came up with that?? Probably the same one who put an "s" in lisp. He probably tried to call AIDS GAYDS back in the early 80s but that didn't pan out.

Week One? A Weak Loss.

2009-09-13T23:40:00.004-04:00

Ugh. What a horrid way to start my fantasy football season. After a dismal finish last year (my first year of participation ever), I came into this season with high(er) expectations. By the accounts of many of my peers my draft went well. My starting O looked like this:

QB - Ryan

RB- Slaton

RB- Forte

WR- Houshmandezah

WR- Boldin

W/R- Driver

TE- Miller

K- Akers

Not bad, right?

Well it was bad... real bad today. The line on them looked like this:

(hasn't played yet, like it really matters)

...

WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!??!?!?!?!

Slaton shat the bed. Forte fucked up. Boldin bitched out. Houshmendshahajjskjh.. whatever.

I am very dissapointed. Like EXTREMELY upset. So what better way to cope than to self-depricate. Let's do it!:

1) My fucking kicker had more points than the #4 (Forte) and #15 (Slaton) running backs in the league... COMBINED!!

2) My Mr. Irrelevent (Devery Henderson), who of course was on the bench, had more points than my 3 starting wide receivers... AND 2 starting running backs... COMBINED!!

3) I actually took some time debating whether to start Moss or Boldin because Boldin was questionable. Well thank god I started Boldin. +1 fantasy points for me!!

4) Even if I started my OPTIMAL lineup, I still would have lost by 20+ points!!

5) Tomorrow is a battle for last place. So far I am 2nd to last in terms of total points in the league.. but I have one guy going, while the other loser has 3 guys going, including TO. Looks like I'm going to be the one taking home the trophy.

I actually feel... just really fucking tired. Maybe if I go to sleep I'll gain 54 points and be tied with my opponent at 114.

9/11 - 8 years later...

2009-09-11T00:12:00.003-04:00

It's here again. The day that annually brings up a mixture of sadness, sickness and reflection. It's been 8 years since that day which is in itself unbelievable (time flys!). I always take 9/11 to think back on where I was when it all went down. But I also develop new thoughts as time goes by. Here are my more recent ones:

-It's been 8 years. Why the hell hasn't anything been built yet? I really think that is a disgrace and it greatly upsets me.

-I dabbed a good amount in investigating 9/11 conspiracy theories. Does that make me the Democratic equivalent of a Republican "birther?"

-I don't think terrosism is as big an issue as it has been made out to be. Obviously not taking anything away from 9/11 and its tragedy, but I think that if the terror threat was really as severe as people say then there would be a lot more instances of terrorism. Think about how easy it would be to take a bomb onto a train or a bus! Yes the planes are protected heavily, but Amtrak never scans bags; the MTA never scans bags. It seems like the US only implements security measures after the fact - like taking off your damn shoes in the airport.

-We are still fighting two wars because of 9/11. Has it all been worth it? Have all the lives we've lost been worth it? Are we really safer than before?

Look Alikes: Julianna Margulies & Famke Janssen

2009-08-27T00:10:00.004-04:00

Side note: I sat RIGHT next to Famke (better known as Jean Grey from the X-Men trilogy) the other night at dinner and she is even more hot in person.

Yankees v. Red Sox

2009-08-06T16:36:00.009-04:00

HUGE game tonight! The Yankees are 2.5 up on the Sux while opening up a 4 game set at the Stadium.

Best case scenario: The Sux leave town 6.5 away from first place.

Worst case scenario: The Sux leave town 1.5 ahead in first place.

Let me see here... I think I am going to ask (pretend) God for the Best case. Regardless, the Yankees are on a tad bit of a roll having beaten up on Halladay and the Jays. The Sux are on a tad bit of a bagel having been beaten up by John Doe and the Rays. We're bringing Joba back who's 3-0 with an 0.83 ERA since the All-Star Break. They're bringing John "Maybe I Should Retire" Smoltz who's 1-2 with a 9.18 ERA since the All-Star Break. Oh and Jason Bay is out for the Sux.

I'm pretty sure all signs point to a Yanks W tonight. But not so fast...

This is usually the type of game that historically (since 2003) the Yankees have choked the big one in. Let's see if this season is truly different.

Keys to a W:

1) Joba

Joba needs to bring the heat for a 4th straight start. He's going on 7 days of rest which can either be good for him (fresh, ready to go) or very very bad (overamped, remember his 1st innings earlier this year?).

2) A-Rod

A-Roid needs to take a step back and relax. He's only batting .209 at the Stadium this year. Since the Break, he's (18 games) he's hitting .274 (not that bad) with 10 RBIs (eh..) and only 2 home runs (puke). If he comes up big this series, we'll win.

3) Youkilis

First off, this is one of the ugliest people in baseball. Fuck that, the world. Just look at him:

Did you throw up yet? I sure did. HE IS SOOOO UGLY!!!! He's like a lovechild of a retarded neanderthal and Janet Reno. I'm pretty sure I saw him in a Geico commercial. I hate him. I hate him so much, mostly because he is so god damn hard to look at. I feel like I'm a vampire from True Blood with my bleeding eyes. This man (?) was uppercutted with the most massive ugly stick by his pediatrician when he was born. His mother must have tried to stuff him back in and get a refund. Am I driving home my point here? Ugh..

Anyway, Mr. Asshole can really hit. He's batting .368 since the break. We have to contain him. Joba needs to pitch inside again. I love when he does that. Maybe it will cause brawl and Sergio Mitre can stab Youkilis in the kydney Mexican mafia style.

So safe to say I am looking forward to this series. 0-8 against the Sux is not acceptable. At all. At the same time, that was a different team back then. I hope.

PS: One more stat to compare.. Guess what it is!:

Yankees: 1923, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1956,1958, 1961, 1962, 1977, 1978, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000

Red Sox: 1903, 1912, 1916, 1918, 1936, 2004*, 2007*

Why is it even a rivalry?

Emails to the Future

2009-08-02T23:25:00.004-04:00

No this is not a post about the remake of "Back to the Future." Although I would pay a good amount for either that or Part 4. This is about wanting to send an email to a future time. Have you ever wanted to do that? Well I have. Anyway, there are two sites that are worth checking out if you're into that sort of thing:

1) FutureMe.org

FutureMe is a basic EtotheF site. You can send an email as far as almost 30 years from now. This is great if you want to say hi to yourself from the past, if you are making a bet with someone you are sure you will forget, or for any other reason you can think of.

2) LetterMeLater.com

Just discovered this today. This site allows you to do as much as FutureMe, but you have the option of not having to log-in through their site. You can actually send an email from whatever service you use and it will let you send something to the future. This can be great for those late night emails you want to send but don't want to appear either weird, drunk or a loser.

As an aside, it would make life much simpler if GMail just had a "Send Later" option. Until then, these sites work great.

I Can't Wait For This

2009-07-31T17:46:00.004-04:00

I love(d) Seinfeld so when the news came out this past May that all four of the stars would be on the upcoming season of Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," I was excited. Based on the news from yesterday, I am now officially VERY excited.

Apparently, according to Larry David himself, Seinfeld, Richards, Dreyfus, and Alexander, will appear in 5 episodes in the critically acclaimed HBO sitcom. David had this to say:

"The context is for years I've been asked about a 'Seinfeld' reunion -- as has Jerry and the other cast members, I would say, 'No, there's no reunion, we would never do that, it's a lame idea' ... but it might be really funny to do that on 'Curb' ... and I kept thinking of how we could pull this off, and Jerry was game ... so we're doing a 'Seinfeld' reunion show. ... We'll see the read-through, parts of rehearsals, the show being filmed ... you won't see the entire [mock 'Seinfeld' episode] ... you'll get an idea of what happened 11 years later [for the characters].".. "It was like getting on a bicycle," David said of writing "Seinfeld" dialog again. "Coming up with the right ideas about what they'd be doing 11 years later ... that took some thought."

LeBron Gets Dunked On!!!

2009-07-22T18:33:00.006-04:00

fast forward to 0:34 for the good stuff!

Pepsi Killed Michael Jackson

2009-07-15T17:06:00.003-04:00

The date - January 27th, 1984.

The spot - The Shrine Audotorium in Los Angeles

The reason - Pepsi's new commerical featuring Michael Jackson and his brothers

Peep this never-before-seen footage:

Michael suffered second and third degree burns on his head and scalp. He was rushed to the hospital, after which he was prescribed several medications. Sources report that it is this incident that kicked off Michael's addiciton to painkillers and his obsession with plastic surgery.

[paraphrased from Usmagazine.com]

Look Alikes: "Jennifer's Body" Poster & "True Blood" Poster

2009-07-12T18:23:00.002-04:00

Never-Bofore-Seen Interview With MJ

2009-07-08T23:56:00.003-04:00

This is an interview from the set of the "Bad" music video. Check it out:

Also, one more thing. You can tell that MJ's skin color is obviously lighter, but I think his face is full of makeup. I personally believe he had vitiligo, the skin disorder that rids one of skin pigmentation, thus rendering the person looking white. But look at MJs hands! You can see that they are still black. So he must have had white blotches on or around his face, thus the reason for the make-up. Here are some photos of MJ with the skin blotches:

Sunday Thoughts

2009-07-05T18:12:00.002-04:00

I live right next to a church so every Sunday I see a ton of people out and about dressed in their Sunday best. Cars double parked, children dressed up - just a regular Sunday on 157th. Today was no different, but I did start thinking of some things. My thoughts in no way mean to offend.

What if the collective energy of all the people that go to church on Sundays, instead of being directed at prayer, worship and singing, began to be directed at the collective improvement of this country, starting as small as on the local community level? What if instead of sitting (or standing) around all day Sunday, these collective groups of people across this nation took their Sundays to help clean up their communities, or maybe to teach their children, or maybe to hold discussion groups on the country's issues, or maybe to organize support rallies or peaceful protests? What if instead of praying on Sundays for good things to occur, people started to take control of their lives and made good things start occurring.

These are obviously musings of an atheist, but it there is something to be said for them. I believe in the power of the human mind. I think we have yet to truly tap into its potential. I believe especially in the power of the human collective. I think we can do extraordinary things in this life. Unfortunately, I think Religion preys on this potential. People waste time praying for change instead of forcing it. Now I know, I know, "waste" is a very strong word and obviously is stated from my frame of reference and relative only to my experiences. There are people who very strongly believe in their religion, in their god(s), in their Sundays. But I look around the communities I work and live in and I see a lot of room for improvement, both aesthetically and fundamentally. And then I look at the amount of organization, thought and energy that goes into every Sunday. Then I think to myself, what does a day of prayer on Sunday really do, not in theory, but in practice? Do the streets get cleaned up? Do children get taught, not on scripture, but on the ins and outs of their daily lives? Do the conditions improve? And I am not sure about the answer to those questions.

Of course, there are amazing people that take their Sundays to relax, reflect and release. They use as their motivation for the week ahead. But I know there are many more people that instead of affecting change on their own take solace in going to church every Sunday and praying for change. Perhaps almost as adverse as our broken welfare system.

This topic is obviously a loaded one. And many people will be offended even at the sight of these thoughts because all they have known in their Sundays was collective prayer. Anyway, this is just something that I was thinking about. It's not like I really use my Sundays for anything substancial.

Look Alikes: Alfredo Aceves & Jim Leyritz

2009-07-05T17:05:00.004-04:00

REBLOG!: Michael

2009-07-03T17:17:00.002-04:00

[Orginally posted September 16, 2007. Hey if you can do it on twitter, you can do it here!]
"She gotta light skinned friend look like Michael Jackson/
Gotta dark skinned friend look like Michael Jackson..." - KW

Posting about Britney and the VMAs made me think back to other memorable VMA performances, but for the right reason. In my mind, this performace in 1995 by the G.O.A.T., Michael Jackson, is the best. The. Best. Ever.

I need you to watch it now, in it's entirety. Go ahead.

OK, now back to the post. As you just saw he is amazing. Specifically though, I love how Slash comes on, does his thing, then doesn't leave. Ha! You see how pissed MJ was? And then, Slash started riffing to "Billie Jean." Amazing.

Speaking of "Billie Jean," how sick was it when Michael restarted the song by flipping the fedora back on his head. Kind of how Chris Brown did it in his tribute to him here:

And then at the end of BJ, MJ just rips it with his freestyle robot dancing. 12 years from then he is still the best.

Funny thing that Brit is criticized by lip synching. Michael lip "sunch" through his whole performance, but he was just so good. And the group dancing to "Dangerous" at the end of his VMA performance? Also amazing.

Say what you want to say about MJ being a freak or what not, but no one out there can deny that he is a musical genius. He has single-handedly shaped the RnB and Pop fields for the next generation, molding the likes of Usher, Justin and the aforementioned Chris Brown. He is like Michael Jordan but more timeless. Every new RnB or Pop singer will always be compared to Michael first. His music and dance moves will live on forever. I just wish he makes one more comeback.

Me Likey

2009-07-01T18:51:00.001-04:00

Michael Jackson

2009-06-25T23:16:00.003-04:00

This is a very very sad day. People can make jokes and laugh, but they cannot deny the true talent this man had. Simply stated: he was a genius. No one ever in the history of music was able to connect with so many different people, regardless of their race, gender, age, class, nationality, ethnicity, you name it. Because that is the true power of music and what it can do in this world. MJ showed us how united we can be over something as simple as one song. Everyone loved his music. Everyone knows his music. His music immortalizes him.

What is sad is that I don't think he was ever truly happy. Obviously I would have no way of knowing it, but common sense points to that sad fact. The way he butchered his face, the way he lightened his skin, his weird relationship with children - this made MJ a very human figure. He was a genius when it came to music, but a struggling man when it came to things outside of music. But how could he not be? We all are familiar with his life story, his launch into stardom at the age of 11. 11! He was always in the spotlight, always performing, always trying to please other people. That can mess a person up! And it sure messed him up.

But this should be a moment for remembering the positives. Part of me feels like its not right to only remember and appreciate a man at their death. But that is the reality of the situation. MJ is gone. No more new music, no more new genius. Even though he hadn't recorded in a while, all of us still held out hope that he would regain his contemporary status with something new, something amazing. Now, that will never happen.

Somehow I knew this was going to happen. He always seemed so frail, so fragile. I had this feeling that he's just not going to make it, something bad will happen. But it is still an unbelievable and devastating shock. You always looked at MJ and thought about all of the things he could've been doing to right his life. He would keep making these dumb decisions! Wasting money. Having kids over. Plastic surgery. He was a fascinating human being who was able to fixate the whole world on himself.

But man, his music... his music will live forever. Hit after hit after hit. He made pop. He revolutionized music. Everything we see now is a recycling of what he has done.

I hope he rests in peace and perhaps finds what he has always been looking for.

I Love Apocalyptic Movies...

2009-06-20T15:09:00.003-04:00

...Like this one coming out:

I would say my top 3 apocalyptic/futuristic let's-fuck-with-the-landscape movies are:

1) Day After Tomorrow

2) I Am Legend

3) Children of Men

What are yours?