You're like a child who wanders into the middle of a movie...

So I'm probably the only guy in the lodge who even goes to midnight movies, but I think you guys may actually be interested in this one....

Big Lebowski
Egyptian Theater
Saturday, July 1, 2006. Midnight

The Egyptian usually does midnight showings of Big Lebowski once or twice a year, and they are usually pretty awesome. The theater is pretty full, and the crowd is totally into it. You even get some people dressing up.

Normally when this time of year comes we try to include on a few hours of Bowling and White Russians in bath robes @ the Garage before the flick, but since I'm moving that day I won't be able to do it.

Speaking of Grant Hill......

Jimmys Grant Hill commment inspired this post for me

While Arods 252 Million $$ Whopper is possibly the dumbest, he at least maintains a level of all Star play.

Top 5 Worst Free Agent Contracts of all time

Mets sign Bobby Bonilla
5 Years 25 Million
The Beauty of this was that Bonilla signs the contract, sucks for 2 years, they trade him and two years later trade to get him back. New York teams are just stupid. They ended up pro rating his contract over 25 years. in other words, Bonilla is still on the Mets Payroll. It helps play for his card games in the clubhouse with Rickey Henderson.

Sonics sign Jim McIlvaine
7 Years 35 Million
Not only was this the worst Big man signing this side of Calvin Booth, this contract pissed off Shawn Kemp and his 63 kids so badly that he forced the sonics to trade him. Thus breaking up the best sonic team since 1979.
The stiff from Marquette University career numbers 2.7 points and 3 Rebounds per game.

Raiders sign Larry Brown/New York Jets sign Neil O'Donnell
Brown 5 year 12.5 million O'Donnell 5 Years 25 Million
Its funny how you can link these two again. After Neil and larry won the Co MVP Honors for Super Bowl XXX, they both signed HUGE free agent contracts.Both players flopped with their new teams and were realeased within 2 years.

Orioles sign Albert Belle
5 Years 65 Million
You can buy ALOT of corked Bats for 65 million
while he batted .285 Hit 37 and 23 HR's and knocked in 100RBI in two years, Bell was a cancer and he was out of baseball after two years with injury.

Magic signs Grant Hill
7 Year 93 Million
Not only did the Magic trade Ben Wallace to the Pistons in this sign and trade deal, but Hill only appeared in 135 games in 5 years. For you math wizards, thats 27 games a season. Thats just under $500k per game played.
Almost 100 Million. The problem with this one is Hill is a class act (even though his Dad was a Cowboy). Its a sad footnote on what looked to be a hall of fame career.

How could we forget?!?!?!?!

Lodge Golf Outing #2

Anyone game for Golf Monday before the Holiday?
Maybe hit a Small par 3 course?
Any takers?

Snakes B*tches, snakes

Someone Tell Samuel Jackson He's My Bro A Snakes on a Plane tribute video/song to the man himself. Let's Fandango this muthaf***ah later in the summer. Cuz I know them snakes are gonna f***in get it.

(Can you read b*tch? My hair is a locator for rare comics.)

Typical Front Office Upside

Hey, I'll add to this NBA Draft conversation, but my rant has turned into a post, so here goes. Yes, I watched the entire first round as one of the remaining 19 die-hard NBA fans out there. The Sonics & the Knicks were the bone-heads of the group. Plus, I agree with Runnin' Reb' Greg Anthony in that the Blazers didn't need to make those moves to get the guys they wanted. Maybe the TWolves move if the TWolves really wanted Roy, but if they did why'd they trade his rights so quick? Weird. The draft-day workout-wonder upside-potential projects still were picked above players who have proved themselves in the NCAA's. Amazing how GM's still are seduced by "upside" when so few of picks based on potential ever truly pan out.

The Sonics f'd up because they took another 7 foot f'n project from the Euro leagues in the kid from Senegal in the abnormally large picture in the post below this one. Apparently Wally Walker loves them Euros. Why get another center when you drafted 2 in the last year that each looked decent when you invested playing time to them and were a benefit to your team defensively in Robert Swift, then Johan Petro? ESPN is reporting that there is a real possibility that the Sonics move this pick & that the Suns & Jazz have both been hot on the trail of Sene. I hope this rumor is true.

Just ludicrous moves. The Sonics clearly should have taken the best player available if the two clear 4's (Sheldon Williams & Ty Thomas) were off the board. They passed on Marcus Williams out of UConn(who will be a good pro PG and better short & long term than Ridnour, I'll say it now), Rodney Carney out of Memphis & a pure-scorer in Ronnie Brewer. And why not trade the pick? There were teams that wanted to move up for another pick, which was clear with all of the draft day trades. Did Wally have his cell-phone turned off? Does he even own one?

Although I love that our boy Roy is going down to be with a coach in Mac-10 that will utilize him the way an NBA team should, there were waaay too many questions that answers in this draft by the Blazers, Knicks and Sonics. And as a Sonics fan, I'm pissed. And the only prescription might be more cowbell, because Bruce Dickenson isn't coming to save the SuperSonics any time soon.

Apparently Senegal already had a quality goalkeeper

3.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in Belgium's Division One League is good enough to be a lottery pick in the NBA now.

Crazy Kid

Link of the Day

http://www.break.com/index/gnarlskid.html



Thank you, DangerMouse & Cee-Lo. Just this video of a dancing kid alone made my day 10 times better. Plus, I guess "Crazy" is the best-selling song of the year in Britain. Looks like the Brits finally got something right after pushing the Spice Girls into a celebrity that led to the Becks/Posh power-couple duo that the UK always dreamed of.

Hammers All Up In Your Grill

Its here. Lady Vengeance has landed in Seattle. As if you didn't already know it is the final film in Park Chan Wook's revenge trilogy. Oddly, he wasn't even planning on making it a trilogy until one of his rivals was making fun of him about releasing Oldboy. In response to his offense at such gory films he was like, "Well ummm, its a trilogy then. Theres more to blood to come. Eat that bitch." Luckily for us, it will be playing at the Varsity Theatre. >

Friday, June 30
Varsity
2:15, 4:45, 7:15, 9:40

Saturday, July 1
Varsity
2:15, 4:45, 7:15, 9:40

Sunday, July 2
Varsity
2:15, 4:45, 7:15, 9:40

I hope it hasn't been playing for too long. This is what I get for not reading the Stranger as regularly as I used to. As a quick recap of the plot: At the age of 19, Lee Geum-ja (Lee Yeong-ae) goes to prison for the murder and abduction of a child on behalf of her accomplice Mr. Baek (Choi Min-sik), only to find out that she has been betrayed. Once released from prison she seeks her revenge.

Joe and I had dinner yesterday night and I figure we're definitely going to do a prefunk with Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance beforehand. After that I'm down to go hit up Lady Vengeance for a group screening. If you're with me, assemble your crew...

Man of Legacy

Frank RIBERY (FRA) "We thoroughly deserved tonight's victory and were able to make the difference at all the right times. Spain are an excellent team and that makes me even happier to have got into the next round. "

Frank Ribery is an enigma. Last night he was undoubtedly the hero that brought France back from a possible Waterloo against the Espanol with his 41st minute equalizer goal. It is strange that so little information can be found about Ribery online. My research leads me to believe he is the progeny of a small clan of unsung heroes in the world. Their pasts shrouded in mystery but their courage and ferocity shining in the face of adversity. Is he the victim of hate crimes from an earlier age? Was there a mortally threatening accident that turned around and gave him a new lease on life with an inspiration to play soccer? Or possibly he saved the life of a dying child in a fire, and the childs last wish before passing was that he live the kids dream of being one of the best footballers on earth. Who knows, but what I do know is that Ribery is not the first of his kind we have seen.

In 1985 we were given the valour of a Lotney "Sloth" Fratelli. He was pent up for years by by an abusive and nefarious family of villains. Fortunately his crystal heart was unshattered as finally there came the time when he could prove his worth and live out the dream of truth, justice, and the American way. Yet again, an example of the worlds forgotten people living in the shadows until they can triumph and shine.

Again in '85 we were given another dose of closet heroism as the Toxic Avenger came to save New Jersey from crime, pollution, and cronyism. We do know a little bit more about this off the beaten track hero, he is really a Melvin Ferd, another face of neglected society, beaten by bullies and his parents alike, yet finally given the opportunity to fight his way through with a mop and his mutant strength; also very willing to hang with the ladies.


Coach Raymond DOMENECH (FRA)"There are 23 players in the squad and I don’t want to single anyone out. Ribery stood out tonight and tomorrow it will be someone else."

Indeed there will be a time when someone else stands out and we hope it will be another hero in the mold and shape of Ribery, Sloth, and our Avenger.

**(This post was written in consideration of Goose's complaints that there is not enough film/television discussion along with World Cup coverage.)**

Et maintenant le Brésil!

You - Get this Game

Another vicarious afternoon in a downtown bar. France vs. Spain. The clash of passionate socialists against fascists. You need to watch every minute. I'm mad i'm not still there.

Meet your World Cup Quarterfinalists

I need my life back, my kids are hungry, my wife is ready to leave me and I can't even make a good post anymore...no, I"m not going on the road with Willie, but dammit I have the Cup sickness.

I realized I had a problem last night while watching by far the worst game of the second round including two teams (SUI/UKR) that will be given as sacrifices to Italy as they cruise into the Semi-finals (I really hope that I just put the hex on the Italians, but we'll wait and see)...

anyway...every four years we see a team reach the quarterfinals that surprises everyone and becomes the feel good story of the summer...alas, unless Ghana pulls off the upset of the century today, we will have no such story, but I'd still like to give props to the ugliest team currently in the quarterfinals:
So let's take a moment and meet the country and team from Ukraine (please refrain from using 'the')

Ukraine: from the Old Slavic root "kraj" meaning 'place', generally accepted as meaning "Land of the People" in contemporary translation

1st recorded human habitants: 4500 BC to 3000 BC, also the last time they were in the
Cup
Independence: 1991 as one of the founding member of the "Commonwealth of Independent States."
Government: Parliamentary democracy
Largest City: Kiev
Population (2005): approx. 47 million
Calling Code: +380
Most Famous Ukrainian Event prior to Quarterfinals in '06 WC: Chernobyl Meltdown in 1986
Most Famous Ukrainian prior to Andriy Shevchenko: Eugene Hutz
Greatest Line in Ukrainian/American Film History uttered by Eugene Hutz:
"Many girls want to be carnal with me... because I'm such a premium dancer!"
Ukrainian Odds of Winning World Cup: 81 to 1

So, there's my country breakdown of the biggest underdog left barring a miracle from earlier today (please, no spoilers). I know MCP and Goose are looking for more Aaron Spelling and Superman talk, but the volume for all things non-WC is turned completely off. I'm currently surviving off Trader Joe's Asian Crackers and Oil Can's of Fosters Bitter and if I fall off the tracks now the crash will be too much, have to keep focused.

Thanks for all the patience and understanding from family and friends, there's only ten games left and Safeway is about to run dry on Fosters.

Dutch Debacle

Joe Mikulik might never make the bigs as a manager. But he made the highlight reels this past weekend. The minor-league manager had the greatest tirade of any baseball skipper I've ever seen Sunday. Hopefully, you'll get a chance to see the video (video linked under "AP Video" in the page provided here) because words don't do it justice. Lou Pinella would be proud.



I seriously felt like throwing a fit like that during the refs absolute crap-fest of an effort during Sunday's Netherlands "loss" against Portugal. The game's highlights were that four players were sent off, a record for a match at the finals. The news reports from other sources including ESPN say it all, I really feel no need to go into detail about all the fouls, red cards, yellow cards and who got what... suffice to say it was an incredible end to the World Cup for the Netherlands. Maniche was a one person wrecking crew on the Dutch. I don't know what it is about his game that Orange has a hard time figuring out... he should not be as tough to guard as Ronaldo. Marco Van Basten didn't mark Maniche well, and I felt his decision not to play Ruud van Nistelrooy in the match showed his inexperience as a coach.

So now I guess I'll drink. With Holland now eliminated, I'll come along side Jimbo to drink & root for England to advance past this same Portugal squad on Saturday and maybe see some revenge fulfilled. Saturday's match is a 8:00AM PST kick off -- are we meeting up for another Lodge WC gathering? We'll bring 2 bottles of champagne for momosas this time around. Anybody up for it? Who's place this time?

Spider-man. Spider-man. Does whatever an evil alien symbiote can....

Spider-Man 3 teaser just should up on the internet. The preview will also be attached to Superman Returns.

People are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden.

This is a great essay I found making the case that Fight Club is actually an adult version of Calvin & Hobbes. Good stuff....

Fight Club: The Return Of Hobbes

Sadness at the lack of respect from our Lodge Admins

Gentlemen,

I understand that the World cup is in Full swing and that the Lodge has a huge sports theme over the last few weeks. But this Lodge was also built on TV and Movies and we lost a Hall of Fame Member over the weekend with the death of Aaron Spelling at the age of 83.

While I am not a huge fan of 90210, Melrose Place, 7th Heaven, Dynasty, Hart 2 Hart or Charmed, you cannot dispute the popularity. You can respect the work. This man practically owned ABC for 15 years.

I am a fan of Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Charlies Angels, SWAT, TJ Hooker, The Mod Squad and FRICKIN VEGA$ with Dan Tanna, to name a few.

Some facts on Mr Spelling

His 6-acre mansion "The Manor" at 594 Mapleton Drive in Belair, Los Angeles, has 123 rooms, a bowling alley, swimming pool, gymnasium, tennis court, screening room and four 2-car garages. Spelling bought the property in 1983, a house that had belonged to Bing Crosby. He demolished the Crosby house and built his own dynasty.

His home, The Manor, is the largest single-family home in the state of California.

1945 graduate of Southern Methodist University (Years ahead of Craig James and Eric Dickerson)

Had so many shows on ABC in the 1970s, people in the business joked that ABC stood for "Aaron's Broadcasting Company".

Holds Guinness World Record for most prolific television producer.

We lost a pioneer, and what do we put on out monday Morning opening smash? A soccer coach. Lets respect the Television Medium Lodgemates. Ok. Thus endeth the Lecture. Mother Goose has spoken.

Yellow fest, Red defeat, Orange gone

Netherlands' Rafael Van Der Vaart Walks Off The Pitch As Portugal Players Celebrate Their Win After Their Second Round World Cup 2006 Soccer Match this weekend. Three yellow cards were issued out in a contentiously dirty match between Portugal vs. Netherlands. It was ugly, the highlights were awesome. Headbutting, grappling, fouling galore. Fortunately, not too much blood was shed. Unlike the Korea vs. Swiss game where the first goal caused injury on a cross shot head butt goal to Senderos. According to ESPN Switzerland and Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos will not be able to play again for five or six weeks, according the the medical staff of the Swiss national team. Senderos dislocated a shoulder in the 2-0 win over South Korea that saw the Swiss through for a last-16 tie with Ukraine. Bastard took away the dream.

In all, the massive amount of yellow carding and red outs have caused a furor. In the heat of the moment gross misconduct is being overseen and petty mismovements are being unfairly yellow carded. Norman Hubbard comments on the Oranges: "Indeed, the Dutch left back, for an innocuous foul, received a yellow card, the same punishment as Luis Figo got for a head butt (in the Portuguese captain's defence, if you are going to headbutt anyone then the irritating Mark van Bommel is a deserving candidate). "

Further commentary on the matches from the players themselves:

Andre OOIJER (NED) My feeling is we were the better team in the second half. It was an undeserved defeat. We’re headed in the right direction, but we’ve missed our target of making it into the next round. That’s a shame.

PAULETA (POR) We’ve got every chance of beating England. We’re all pulling in the same direction, and we’re an even better team than two years ago when we played them in the European Championship.


Our Korean Red Devil dream was stolen by the Swiss this Friday. The mood at Fox Sports was heated. In my first experience with football fanatics I was entranced in every shout and grunt through each hit and near miss. The Korean drums were silenced by Swiss Cow Bell, and we all know what happens with cow bells. Perhaps it was the lack of red passion as the Koreans were forced out of their colors into white shirts. Who knows. A Yahoo commenter leaves a critical message: "As far as I’m concerned, Korea gave their best performance tonight and they still didn’t look capable of beating the Swiss, who were well-organized and only made two defensive slip-ups that went unpunished. They were down 1-0 in all three games, and as I said before, luck will only last you so long. All-in-all, there’s no shame involved either in the coaching, the tactics, or the officiating. The supposed offside was not called because the ball hit the Korean defender before Frei pounced on it."

The French win on that same day gives Zidane another game to play in the 16. Indeed, this is a lucky recovery from another dumb red card.

As a final ode to Korean artistry and footballing passion, I give you the enigmatic pipe dream performance of Expressions Crew (KOR)...

Photo Montage that you know will include the Dutch...

Getting to the gusto moments of the World Cup...and then there were 12...but, first things first...The DUTCH....

Is this man fit to manage an underachieving-clog wearing nation?
Apparently, this man isn't fit to help the Orange move on: Even though FIFA did everything they could to help out both sides.

Ultimately the "Hand of God" resides only in one nation: