Day Two: Please Fasten Your Seatbelts

"The Shit piles up so fast in Vietnam you need wings to stay on top of it…”

Day Two can only be summarized by replacing Vietnam with inner-urban Mumbai and wings replaced with golf shoes. My delirium is beginning to break and I’m taking this full on Gonzo style complete with Jack (I know, the mini bar didn’t have Wild Turkey) neat, because I don’t trust the ice around here.

0940AM UTC// 30.04.07

I’m awake, seems like I’m always awake now in between moments of blacking out. Happened to get to sleep for more than 100 minutes straight last night thanks to a tape delay broadcast of the Yanks/Sox duel from Saturday or had Joe Buck not cleared customs until just then? Anyway, never made it through the game, but my faith lies solely in the Sox to pull it out, perhaps its waiting for me on the tele right on?

After thoroughly enjoying a combination listed below in recommendations, my morning was spent wondering if teleportation is ever legalized, will people choose hotels just so they can claim that they’ve been somewhere? I was beginning to think that my life was going to exist purely in the realms of airplanes and hotel rooms until….

1626 PM UTC// 30.04.07

After putting the room service cooks through my introductory test of a tasty club sandwich and chicken-almond cream soup, I’ve decided that I may need to up the bar for breakfast tomorrow. The meal was perfect and ended with a quality 110 minutes of rest, which came to an abrupt end with the call from the lobby telling me my Indian-Grandfather was ready to advance this journey to the next level.

1701 PM UTC// 30.04.07

I can’t recommend the showers at Le Royal Meridian enough…good velocity, good heat, ability to change speeds, but could go cold at any time…from now on we’ll just refer to this moment of my day as “The Felix”. I gather my belongings and head downstairs to meat my Indian-Grandfather as we begin one of the most monumental car rides in my life, only to be topped by this mornings car ride.

A little background about Indian driving, and I’m assuming this is common throughout most parts of the world not located in Canada and the US.

*Horns-to be used at all times, but never in anger. Horns are the universal verbal signal that informs the motorbike, scooter, ox-drawn carriage or fruit truck that you are behind and would like to pass or please start accelerating. Horns are to be used approximately 10,000 times during an average 45 minute commute.

*Lanes are informative suggestions about separation of cars on major and minor roads. These suggestions are strongly discouraged and dangerous.

*People are to walk with caution because they do not posses “right of way” status.

*Do not be alarmed when you are backed up behind a fruit truck that is having a hard time getting around two oxen-drawn carriages, this is normal and should be encouraged.

…and after all of that, it was by far the most interesting 45 car ride I’ve ever had that didn’t involve ____ on the road. I thought it was the most interesting car ride until I was set to go home, but since I don’t have any photos (and I will tomorrow, I promise,) I’m holding that conversation for a later post.

The work day was long and since I still do not posses Rupees to bargain with I was unable to put the feed bag on during my first shift, which made the 12 hours go by rather quickly in fact. So the first day of work is done and as I watch the smog-ridden sky glow with that big red ball, I’m reminded that the world is in fact a lot larger than I imagined.

More tomorrow and the Z-survival percentage of Bombay.

Recommendations:

Premiership:

*ManUtd/Everton-I know that no one will catch this, but caught the game on one of the two sports stations I get here on “ESPN” with Martin Tyler and Andy Gray. The coverage was excellent and it made me want to find an old skool Satellite Dish to take up my entire backyard so I never have to go back to FSC.

Learning:

*Discovery Channel’s Search for the Lost World-a group of scientist head out to study the findings and mythology of Arthur Doyle’s “Lost World”, I think Train is the only one that really cares about either one of these.

That’s it for today…thanks for reading

Weekend Wrapup

This past Friday, I was able to work from home since we were having the Comcast people come by to upgrade our service and join the Digital Revolution. Needless to say, with the new Digital Cable and subsequent extra 300+ channels, coupled with the NBA Playoffs, NFL Draft & Premiership matches, my weekend was pretty much set before it even started.


So as I watch Michael Owen's Newcastle comeback from injury (Owen scored a goal in the 6th minute before being called offsides, alas, the match is still scoreless as the first half comes to a close), I'll start off with condolences to Train's Blues... who squandered a chance to defend their Premiership Championship with an uninspired performance for the second week in the row, again only coming away with a draw against an inferior football club. Mourino's lineup seemed effected by the UEFA leg this week, as was ManU's starting squad with Ronaldo sitting, but the Devils were able to overcome a first half deficit with an inspired Rooney performance. Rooney now has 12 goals in his past 13 matches.

Keeping with the theme of fallen champions, in the NBA I witnessed the baby Bulls take out the hobbling and visibly over-the-hill defending NBA Champion Miami Heat, sweeping the series 4-0. Luol Deng was big throughout the series, but Ben Gordon is the key to that team. If you see Chicago continue on through the 2nd round, it'll be because of Gordon's clutch play and ability to take his man one-on-one and make key plays when the play breaks down.

Finally, not to beat Goose to the punch and give you my breakdown on the NFL Draft festivities from this past weekend, but some brief thoughts on the draft and one bold opinion on the coverage... as I was watching too many hours of the NFL Draft on Saturday and continuing into Sunday, I came to shocking revelation about 1 hour into the Draft: The NFL Network kicked the shite out of ESPN this weekend.
Sure, ESPN has Mel Kiper Jr. But that can be both an advantage and a hindrance. Kiper has an encyclopedia of knowledge about NFL Prospects since scouting college football players has been his gig for over 25+ years now. But one can only take so much of Kiper before wanting to strangle him and shave his ever growing head of hair. He's basically been reduced to a glorified team manager. You remember the guy in High School and college who couldn't make even the Junior Varsity squad but wanted to be around the sports and athletes so much that he resorted to fetching water bottles and taking detailed stats of games and practices. Well, Mel Kiper Jr. has more detailed stats than anyone. But that doesn't hide the fact that he's the biggest geek in the room.


Which leads me to the NFL Network's brilliant coverage. Each anchor and analyst knows football inside and out (with the possible exception of Rich Eisen), with no talking heads like the aforementioned Kiper and Tony Kornheiser types. The analysis was faster, and more accurate. The team needs were more clear and updated along the bottom tracker throughout the days. And the "breaking news" was literally 30-40 minutes ahead of ESPN's stories. For example, NFL Network "On-site reporter", Adam Schefter, was reporting from the Radio City Music Hall floor (where the team tables are spread about), and he reported the Cleveland trade (back up for the 22nd pick to take Brady Quinn, great recap of the details behind the deal was written today by Peter King) over 30 minutes before ESPN even mentioned it. And when the NFL had moved on after discussing the Randy Moss trade (on day 2, when New England stole a Pro-Bowler for a 4th round pick, similar to the Seahawks draft day deal, only Randy Moss doesn't drop passes), ESPN couldn't stop talking about it. ESPN basically drove me to watching the NFL Network coverage. But I couldn't have been happier about the move.

Kiper's role on the NFL Network is played by Mike Mayock. The difference is that Mayock played in the NFL. Where Kiper probably hasn't even played Madden before. Mayock had just as much knowledge about the NFL prospects, and was able to point out team needs and tendencies much more often than Kiper. It wasn't even a contest.

If you break down the match-up further with a tale-of-the-tape style, the host, analysts and reporters for the NFL Network outperformed ESPN in every category (with the notable exception of Todd McShay (who was spot on with his breakdowns leading up to the draft and during) and Seattle's own John Clayton (who still has inside knowledge on teams and deals that is unmatched). Chris Berman has three forks stuck in his back at this point, ironically bumbling & stumbling over draft pick names, still clinging to the nickname schtick, a schtick that lost it's legs at the turn of the century. That all said, ESPN has better post-draft coverage thanks to their much more robust online coverage on the dot com.

Now that I got that out of my system, the Draft itself saw big winners in Oakland (getting a QB, making quality picks and deals, plus a possible gold-mine in the healing Michael Bush from Louisville, & getting rid of the unhappy Moss), Minnesota (having Peterson drop to them at #7) and Dallas (great draft moving down the board for more picks & stealing a possible 2008 Top-10 pick in the Cleveland deal). There also were big losers with Kansas City (over half of their OL retired/left in the last 2 years yet they draft no-one of significance to help, plus kept Trent Green instead of trading him for picks even though they'll have to cut him by June for cap-purposes, just stupid moves all around & a word of warning when thinking about drafting Larry Johnson next year in Fantasy) and the Tennessee Titans (who drafted a Safety when they need a replacement for the suspended Pacman and a have glaring needs at WR and took 3 underachieving wideouts on Day 2).

I Couldn't Make This Up...

Don't worry...I'm not exactly thanking the academy just yet...I know that there is still a ways to go and that anything can happen in 3 days time...but would you take a look at this?

Un-frickin-believable at the moment...I had to document just being in first place at all, let alone this late in the competition.

Updated Lodge pool standings as well.....

Day One: "I'm just glad to be here"

Welcome, I felt it would be an injustice to the blog world not document this monumental adventure, so here I am at 0122am watching a live match between Real Madrid and Athletico (3-0 Real), eating original Pringles and enjoying a nice mixed cocktail of water and Gatorade Propel mix. I apologize for the lack of wit and creativity, but I can’t remember the last time I was so mentally and physically confused. I know now that my blood doesn’t have what it takes for international travel, but that’s another story and while we’re here I suppose we should make the best of it.

13:15 (PST) // 28.04.07

Mad dash to get all gear together was a successful operation and therefore caught the plane on time and enjoyed my seat in 21F next to an elderly Dutch woman that hadme lift her luggage and help her with the remote for the on-flight entertainment screen located on the back of the seat in front of her. Six hours later my tutorial continued and we finally agreed that it would be best for everyone involved that she only watch the real time plane map to make sure we were still on course and I advised her to let me know when the outside temperature dips below -65F.

I have to sing my first ray of praise for the on-flight entertainment, I honestly can’t remember of want to image what life would have been like taking to 10 hour plane trips back to back without the ability to contemplate watching a film like “Holiday”, because if not now, when?

After only managing 20 minutes of throughout the first flight we landed at the “Schiphol” in the beautiful flood lands of the Elenbaas Tribe.

07:45 CEST (Central European Summer Time)/ /29.04.07

My arrival in Heiny world also coincided with the first stages of delirium. Since I haven’t quite finished my medical degree I figured the best thing to do to fight a mild case of delirium would be to polish off a Heiny or two and enjoy a smoke? Who knew that I could do both of these while sitting outside of a Casino, all in the Schiphol. Road trip Goose?

Well thanks to Maieke for keeping the “Big Heiny’s” flowing and Andy and DJ Dutch for keeping me company for two hours while I tried to conquer my current state with the finest in golden Dutch Ale. Unfortunately this led to the story of the day. Here are the details that need to be known:

*misread my boarding pass for the next flight to the difference of about a half hour
*this was compounded by the numerous “Big Heiny’s” and Camels that I had spent the last two hours helping get prepped for another 10 hour plane “experience”
*compounding this fact even more is that I’m unable to read Dutch, in less you count 2.0’s pic’s of the day

So as I’m walking to find my gate with the prototypical lost American look two agents waiting at the gate immediately state: “you are Mr. Edwards?”….right away I knew things were fuct. Moving quickly through security and finding the doors closed to the final tunnel to access my new Airbus 330, I immediately panic and look for the nearest button to push obviously, which turns out to be the fire alarm button….really…it’s a button. After a scolding from 2.0’s 3rd cousin I eventually settle in to my seat with a little bit of an accelerated heart beat and the line repeated over and over, “we almost pulled your bags”…well they didn’t, and I got a story so stick it Dutchies.

Not much to tell about the 2nd plane experience other than my futile attempts at trying to maintain consecutive hours of sleep in two coach seats. Good times.

22:50 UTC // 29.04.07

Mumbai, big city of dreams? We’ll see about that, but the short time I’ve spent here I’ve been floored by the hospitality and accommodations. Not much to mention, other than Ruud Van Nistleroy scored while I was talking about my Dutch experience, so is there a windmill conspiracy? Stay tuned…. (As you see with the photos I'm working with a new camera and I haven't figured how to get myself out of the picture.)

Recommendations:

Film:

***Blood Diamond-a little predictable, but perhaps the best LdC performance since he was on Growing Pains. I’m too tired to look that up, but I think that’s right.

**1/2 Half Nelson-Where did RG come from? And why is he so good? Amazing performance, some of the other elements break down as an overall film, but still quality.

¼ Aragon-I know, but I didn’t have time to get started on The Good Sheppard so this had to do, and I wish I would’ve just read Sky Mail.

Podcasts:

SModcast Absolutely brilliant (thanks to GS for pointing me in the right direction)

A New Dawn on the Sou' Coast

We had some big news(rumors) come out of the UK today. It appears that Paul Allen (yes our very own Paul Allen) is attempting to buy Southampton FC. Foreign buyers are becoming more and more prevalent in English football.

Many of these investors are American and current owners of Major American sports teams. Liverpool FC was purchased by Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Randy Lerner purchased Aston Villa FC near the beginning of the Premier league season. Just recently Stan Kroenke started a hostile takeover of Arsenal FC. What this means to me is not that Americans are into world football but these millionaires see the ability to tap into a trillion dollar sports industry, which in the long run should mean quality teams in all divisions.

A source close to Allen told the Daily Mail: "He sees Southampton as a sleeping giant, a family-supported club with traditional values."

We know what Allen can do with a team. See 2005 Seattle Seahawks.

I’ve always believed that smaller English clubs could and should be bought by investors. This would elevate the overall game in the England. I bet even the Lodge could pool some money and buy Millwall. Who wouldn’t want a return of Queens Park, Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday to the Premier league? Let the big 4 teams (Chelsea, Arsenal, ManU, Liverpool) feel some real heat. I don’t see many negatives to these foreign owners, though they of course must be dedicated to winning.

The NFL Draft point chart

Over the course of the weekend you may hear about this.

THE NFL DRAFT VALUE CHART (click for the chart)

Its a grade scale of the value of a draft pick. Most NFL GM's use this as a guidline to determine the value of a trade. As the Lodge Football guy, I thought I'd make sure you all had this for this weekends activities. The mock draft is still looking pretty good, although the Adrian Peterson Collarbone issue may force his value to drop. This throws the Brady Quinn pick around and totally blows my mock (Fill in whatever childish comment that you choose here)

Gentlemen. This ends my draft week postings. I will of course be providing a full draft review on Monday. Have a great weekend to all

With the 1st pick in the 2007 NFL Draft....Gooses 1st annual Mock Draft

So rather than bore everyone with a full 30 team mock draft, I figured I’d break down my top10 predictions and then add in the 1st picks for Dallas, Denver and Seattle. Now mind you trades can happen which throws everything for a loop. Plus I'm no John Clayton, who is calling GM's daily...

1. Oakland: JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU – There will be quite a bit of pressure for the Raider to pick Calvin Johnson, However I think The Strong Arm Russell will end up at #1
2. Detroit: Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson – Detroit needs a pass rusher, and cant afford to draft yet another WR in the 1st round. Look for DET and TB to potentially switch spots.
3. Cleveland: Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma – There is a toss up between Brady Quinn and AP. I don’t see Cleveland Turning away a bruising Larry Johnson type Running Back. Too bad his Offensive line is so poor.
4. Tampa Bay: Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech – This may be the biggest impact player of the draft. If he gets into Camp in time and learns Grudens offense, Tampa Bay will be a monster team. Especially once Cadillac Williams ends his sophomore slump. Plus there are talks that Tampa is in Talks for Lance Briggs.
5. Arizona: Joe Thomas, T, Wisconsin – The Cards could potentially trade down. This draft is strong at OL. But if the Cards stay, they pick their left tackle for the next 10 years. Thomas is a good prospect.
6. Washington: Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville – Look for the Skins to try to trade out of this pick. Miami may try to trade up to select Brady Quinn.
7. Minnesota: Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame – Brad Childress gets his West Coast QB. Unfortunately, he won’t be there for year 3 when Quinn starts to develop.
8. Atlanta: LaRon Landry, S, LSU The Falcons pick the best Player left. Landry is a solid hitter and cover guy that can lead the young secondary in Atlanta.
9. Miami: Levi Brown, OT, Penn State – If Quinn drops he is picked here by Miami, If not Miami has it Left Tackle.
10. Houston: Alan Branch, DT Michigan – If Adrian Peterson is gone as predicted, and Levi Brown in snagged, Houston may trade out, or select the best DT on the Board to team with Super Mario.


21. Denver: Jamaal Anderson, Arkansas – He may get past San Fransico and drop to Denver at here. Adam Carriker DE is my second choice here.



22. Dallas: Ted Ginn Jr., Ohio State – Look for Ginn to wet Jerry Jones Palette. Although I think a better choice here would be Dwayne Jarrett.

55. Seattle: Zach Miller, Arizona State – If Miller drops, this is 1st round talent in the second round. The Hawks could take Ben Patrick from Deleware in rounds 3 or 4. If Miller is gone, (Keep an eye on Green Bay picking at #47) look for at DT like Demarcus Tyler from NC State.

Because poignant really isn't my style...

I'm having a hard time making this post bigger than it is, but here it goes, milestone #1000, I'm not sure how the stats breakdown, but I'm sure I'd still be working to get to 200 by myself. So, thank you to everyone that has done work on the Lodge. I'm not sure what the future looks like or when we'll finally get our logo (hint hint Maude), but hopefully the next 1000 posts will put us on the internets map.

Cheers, and here's the greatest photo I could find for the occasion, hopefully this will keep us grounded:

Stupid Idea of the Week

The CSU Rams had their annual spring football game last Saturday afternoon. They also decided that it would be a great idea to have a kids’ festival coincide with the game. The festival was placed on the north concourse right in the back of the end zone.

Then it happened. Late in the game that great family fun idea turned into the stupid idea of the week.

We all know the play, the 14 yard back of the end zone sideline catch. This time the momentum of the CSU receiver carried him through end zone taking himself and a 4 year old boy into the sideline barrier. The video of the incident is crazy. I literally thought the kid was dead. I had to watch it twice to really believe what just happened.

"It would seem we'd have to have better security. You can't have a lot of people when the game is going on running around the sideline," coach Sonny Lubick said. "That was frightening for a minute. Hopefully everything will be OK."

YOU THINK??

The good news as of today is that the boy is doing well and on the mend. He did need 30 stiches to sew up his head wound. The boy, Camdan Thomas had this to say...

"It was kind of scary 'cause I got bonked by the football," the boy said, hugging his own football. "It kind of hurted."

Sunny Day + Friday + Summer = Golf

So last week I had Lunch with 2.0 and brough up yet another probable "Failure" of an Idea. But because I am glutton for a punishment I though I would share it, get everyones hopes up, then watch the idea die a horrible death.

The 1st annual Black Lodge Golf Tournament


So here is where the idea starts:

8 Lodge Memebers 2 foursomes. Since there are varying skills (Or none at all but thats ok) we divide up the teams based upon skill level. Seatown is obviously the ringer of the group.

We make it a Best ball Tournament. Rules are as Follows:

All Golf Equipment can/will be shared so that no one has to rent/buy clubs

18 holes

• Each member of the team will tee off, and the best shot of four will be used
• The other members of the team will then pick their ball up and play from the spot of the best shot by their partner. This will continue until the ball is holed.

Since some Golfers are better than others we will incorporate the following rules

18 holes in the Foursome:

• Every Foursome must use a minimum of 3 and a Maximum of 5 drives per player.


• Every player must have at least one contributing shot every 3 holes. (Marked on scorecard)

I'm thinking of getting this set up for a friday or saturday towards the end of may (Fridays would be a little cheaper if we could take a day off). giving everyone some time to warm up. We would need all 8 members to make this an official tournament.

Everyone can contribute, regardless of skill level. I would like everyone to rank their skill level from 1-10. One having never picked up a club, or 10, play regularly enough to know your handicap and skill. I rank myself about a 4.5. Very inconsistant but can occasionally can come up with a shot that looks like I know what I am doing.

Thoughts? Feedback? Ideas?

RICHARD GERE IS NOT GAY..in this movie

I’ve got to hand it to my father, as he gets older his movie choices seem to get better with age. The last time my father picked a movie for a father/son outing was ‘Breach’. I was pleasantly surprised with that film. I was just happy he didn’t want to go see ‘Wild Hogs’ or something equivalent to that crap. 5 years ago ‘Hogs’ is the movie my father would have picked. My father’s cinematic tastes are not the subject of my post today but the fact he’s picked two in a row have eased my fears about going to movie with dad. Now if I could only get him to keep quite during the movie.

Dad picked ‘The Hoax’ with an unrecognizable Richard Gere playing the role of Clifford Irving. The man who had the biggest story of the century well the biggest hoax of the century. Irving and his friend Richard Suskind (played by Alfred Molina) met while on vacation in Spain and hatched a scheme to write the ‘Hughes’ autobiography. They thought it was the perfect plan. Hughes was a recluse and had been out of the public eye of years. He wouldn’t protest or even know about the story until it was too late.

The hoaxers set about there scheme with forging interviews, handwriting samples and even get access to time-life archives that provide them a wealth of Hughes knowledge. This is where the movie really excels. Richard Gere’s charisma takes over.

Gere is great as much as I hate to admit it. He is perfectly cast as the smoozing schemer who you can actually root for. I haven’t seen this much charm on screen since my mom made me watch an ‘Officer and a Gentleman’. I’ve never been able to watch one of his moives and not just think “hey, that’s Richard Gere” most of the time I just think he’s playing himself. Not much going on with the whole acting thing. Gere doesn’t act, he just looks good on celluloid. This time around he becomes Clifford Irving. For the first time I didn’t just look up there and see Gere.

I recommend seeing this movie if not in the theatre then deffinetly put it in your netflix queue. It’s a facinating story. When millions of dollars are to be made by all parties involved… Who’s not going to believe a story this big.

PS: Great cameo by Tuco himself. Eli Walich is great as Hughes business partner. The old man still has it.

Goose at the Rock, and Tales from the 415

So last weekend I had the opportunity to visit the City by the Bay, San Fracisco. Having never been there before, I really only knew Gay Rights, The 49ers, Barry Bonds and Hippies. I have to say I was pretty amazed at the city.

Side Note Discovered the wonderfull dish called Cioppino. We ate at a place that served the best. So good that Carlos Santana Goes there to eat when he is in town.



I took the Gander with me and we did all the touristy things while we were there. We saw Haight Asbury, ChinaTown, Golden Gate Park (And the Bridge) and stayed down at Fishermans Wharf. I realized that this would make a pretty good place even for a Lodge Roadtrip. (Like those ever happen). We cruised by Monster and 3Com Park. Saw McCovey Cove. Good times.

But Goose had one goal. There was only one thing that I wanted to see. I needed to see "The Rock". Alcatraz. Nothing else mattered. So sunday we packed the camera, hopped on the boat, and cruised out to the Island.

While I was there looking over the Cells, Walls, Leftover Stinger Missles from Ed Harris's Ambush, I engulfed myself in the history. I looked accross the bay to figure the best escape route to swim. I looked at the swirling currents to discovery my own "Escape from Alcatraz".

I realized at this moment I was standing in a 7 wonders of the Man World. Yes we all know about the 7 wonders of the Natural world. But this was one of the Man Wonders. A place where a Guy can freely make movie quotes, can stand holding his arms up like Cage with two flares, and can quote Sean Connery saying "Welcome to the Rock" with all other men on the island nodding in approval.

I then asked myself. Are there other Wonders of the Man World? Places you must see before you die. I came up with a Partial List, and as usually I expect the Lodge to fill in the list. My list (Not in any order):

1) Alcatraz

2) Tombstone Az

3) Las Vegas Strip

4) Wrigley Field

5) Fenway Park

6) Yankee stadium

7) Lambeau Field

8) Touchdown Jesus and Notre Dame

9) Canton Ohio and the Pro Football HOF

10) Cooperstown and the Baseball HOF

11) Bourbon St in New Orleans

Do you have Corazon???

This is an Ultimo Guerrero mask.

Which masked fighter do you think you embody?

There is a full series of masks on this page.

Yet, ebay dominates for quantity and variety of Lucha Libre masks tarting from $9.99. I'm assuming most of these are sewn by hand by 75yr old women. Thanks NAFTA!

The Blue Demon looks pretty dope.

The head honcho has said Lucha portraits must be made, so here is the opportunity. I only ask that we make a video of us body slamming pinatas in addition. We just need a dwarf...

Luchadors Galore!!!


Can a Luchador Love????


I don't know if they have any Dutch masks though... a certain someone might have to be sidelined for a tag-in...

Chewbacca Music Video

Yep, that's right. Chewbacca has a music video now. Bonus points for splicing in the Clerks audio at the beginning. See, D-Money, this is how you do it. You research if it's been posted before, and you bring something original. Ever since an admittedly superb curling story, D-Money hasn't been seen in the Lodge. Some in the Lodge are calling for Chewy to rip your arms off. Just a warning.

Libre Indeed

In Spanish "libre" means free. Last night when I got home I found a small package on my table. Within held the freedom and glory that I have sought for many years. I attempted to find liberation like this with nunchaku training, throwing star practice, and nike air shoes. Yet none of these items could achieve the sense of freedom I desired. Last night I received a Luchador Mask! It strength and power only matched by prowess of the Lord himself. (I give great thanks to my friend for remembering me during his last Mexico trip.)



Precious Father, why have you given me this desire to wrestle and then made me such a stinky warrior?



"Lucha Libre" in the literal means free fight. Its tradition spans back many years. As for why they started using masks is simply because it was cool. In that pulling down of new identity over your own -- the addition of a new archetype can be found. In my excitement last night I could only hold the mask at first, barely even able to find courage to don the new identity that lied in the essence of its vinyl and fabric. So I sought out to know who the forefathers of the sport were and looked to the past at LuchaWiki.org

Last Christmas, the good Lord gave me the foresight in a brief study. I recommend you go out and get this from BN or from Joe: Lucha Libre: Masked Superstars of Mexican Wrestling

Lucha Libre also includes photographs of stickers, flyers, postcards, stills from Mexi-lucha-cinema, interviews with the wrestlers, essays, and much, much more! In this comprehensive 20-year study, Grobet has put together THE definitive look at Mexico's masked superstars. ¡Viva la Lucha Libre! For 20 years, photographer Lourdes Grobet has penetrated the world of one of the most popular sports and deep-seated traditions in Mexico: Lucha Libre-wrestling.

And tonight, I go into the alleys of California Ave to find my new crackhead sidekick...

Warning: Cursed Goods

Breaking News: Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young has been chosen by EA SPORTS to be the face of Madden NFL 08. Bad news for fantasy keeper league owners with Vince on their squads. Of course, Casey will probably draft Young in the 5th round anyways, just after taking kicker Robbie Gould with his 4th round pick.

Last season, our Seattle Seahawks lost Shaun Alexander for virtually half the season due to the curse. (Even though Alexander thought Casey Treat had his back... Um, Shaun, God isn't an NFL fan, he's more of a golfer...)

So say goodbye to your season, Vince. In was only yesterday that we saw Train pee his pants after winning a boatload of money in his office pool by riding the Longhorns to victory over OSU. Now, Jeff Fisher is scared spitless that his backup QB is Kerry Collins. Ouch is right.

The List You Don't Want To Be On:

• 1999 ("Madden 2000"): Barry Sanders. The first NFL player to be on the cover quickly became the first former NFL player on the cover. He retired before training camp began.

• 2000 ("Madden 2001"): Eddie George. Hardly cursed as he rushed for 1,509 yards and 16 touchdowns, both career highs.

• 2001 ("Madden 2002"): Daunte Culpepper. Missed the final five games with a knee injury, but the curse kicked in well before the injury. He went from being tied for the league lead with 33 TD passes in 2000 to having almost as many interceptions (13) as touchdown passes (14) in 2001.

• 2002 ("Madden 2003"): Marshall Faulk. He rushed for 1,000 yards in seven of his first eight seasons, but he hasn't surpassed that mark since appearing on the cover of the game. In 2002, he missed two games with an injured ankle.

• 2003 ("Madden 2004"): Michael Vick. Suffered a broken right leg during an exhibition game. He missed the first 11 games of the regular season.

• 2004 ("Madden 2005"): Ray Lewis. The Ravens' linebacker didn't have an interception for the only time in his career. He missed the regular-season finale because of an injured wrist.

• 2005 ("Madden 2006"): Donovan McNabb. After the Eagles slipped to a 4-5 record, McNabb missed the final seven games because of a sports hernia.

• 2006 ("Madden 2007"): Shaun Alexander. Alexander missed 6 regular season games with a broken foot. He finished the season with 896 yards and a 3.6 yard per carry average (well down from his 4.4 career yard per carry average). His 896 yards and 7 touchdowns were the lowest since his rookie season.

• 2007 ("Madden 2008"): Vince Young.

Freak of the Decade - Seung

I'm just finishing watching the Virginia Tech Convocation memorial live via net. Closing remarks were given by African American poet and Virginia Tech Professor Nikki Giovanni. This tragedy was ended and marked by her continual emphasis "We are Virginia Tech, we are better than we think... we are ALIVE... through our blood and tears... we are the hokies. we will prevail. We are Virginia Tech."


A standard google image search of Cho Seung Hui pulls up Korean popstars. But we know today that a messed up English student who got mad at his girlfriend went and destroyed a whole school and marked the worst event in College Campus history. Seung Hui wasn't a popstar. He was a person on edge who needed psychological help and was able to buy a pistol at a local gunshop. Yesterday, Korean news reported a korean student shot and the first assumption being: Commenting on reports that the killer was Asian, Lee said it was unlikely to have been Korean since few Korean students have weapons due to the difficulty of obtaining a gun license. But Seung was American having lived here since 1992 and growing up in the U.S. in an environment and society that creates Columbine and school shootings all the same.


Seung purchased his first handgun for $571 with ammo legally under federal and state law last month. The second handgun was purchased this month Friday the 13th. A limitation of one month is needed between multiple gun purchasing. (per NBC 12:26pm)


33 people are dead. over 60 shot total. the remaining wounded... multiplied by families, friends, and a nation.

The English Students Plays
When I first heard about the multiple shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday, my first thought was about my friends, and my second thought was "I bet it was Seung Cho."

Fellow students in a playwriting class with Cho described his plays as dark and disturbing.“His writing, the plays, were really morbid and grotesque,” Stephanie Derry, a senior English major, told the campus newspaper, The Collegiate Times.

“I remember one of them very well. It was about a son who hated his stepfather. In the play, the boy threw a chainsaw around and hammers at him. But the play ended with the boy violently suffocating the father with a Rice Krispy treat,” Derry said.


Brief Family Profile and Death Note
A note believed to have been written by Cho was found in his dorm room that railed against "rich kids," "debauchery" and "deceitful charlatans" on campus.


Student Blogs - Madness on Campus (Livejournal)
Right as she picks up the phone she tells me "I got red on me" I laugh, and immediately try to find out if shes hurt or what to expect, and she lets me know that shes fine, stable, good, not hurt...only slightly.

I've been wired on this event. The eeriest accounting was that of a professor hiding out in the Engineering building of Virginia Tech.
"I heard 30-40 shots... I could see people crawling out of windows... there were shots being fired for a good half hour or so..."

Its an terrible reminder of what can happen when men get mad, when people go crazy, when people don't care about other people, when guns go off... The same could have happenned at UW two weeks ago.

Yet we must warn ourselves of a backlash. Warn ourselves to understand right and wrong. Remember what self-control is. And realize that devaluing women, disregarding other human life, and discriminating against race is going to continue.

Lots of questions again, for the incident, how it played out, and what it means for us today.

Virginia Tech Raw Video from shooting scene.

(all pictures and media from yesterday and today. 04/16-04/17.)

To Sweet Lou's First Outburst of the Season

Olbermann Back

NBC has gotten Keith Olbermann to return to sports for the first time in six years as co-host of the pregame show for NBC's Sunday night NFL telecasts. According to the report, Olbermann will join host Bob Costas and analysts Jerome Bettis, Tiki Barber and Peter King on NBC's "Football Night in America."

I'm not sure Costas can effectively co-host anything without trying to try and get unnecessarily deep with his quotes, and furthermore whether he'll "get" Olbermann... but it's a bold move nonetheless.

Of course, the bigger question of why NBC didn't get rid of Bettis after signing Tiki? That is the unsolved mystery. Somebody get Robert Stack on the job.

Seriously, did anybody like Bettis last year? Good moves by NBC though, following up ESPN's admitted mulligan demotion of Theismann on MNF with a high profile move themselves.

"Have ya paid your dues, Jack?" "Yessir, the check is in the mail."

Prior to experiencing the motion picture event of the year on Saturday a question was posed to the group of four that took time to appreciate the fine work of Troublemaker Studios. At the time, due to our lack of internets, we were unable to answer this question properly, but now, thanks to a high-speed T1 line and a desire to give homage to Stuntman Mike McKay I give you the advancement of Kurt Russell.

Here is a loose transcript of the conversation that led to this post: (editor’s note: this conversation may or may not have occurred)

Me: “I have to be honest, for my money, Kurt Russell might be the most advanced actor of my generation”
2.0: “Really? What about Clancy Brown? or Mario Lopez?”
Me: “Not even Mario Van Peebles”
2.0: “Give me your top 5”
Me: “(hesitation) naw, pass me that flask"
Dude: "What are you talking about?"
2.0 & Me: "The NHL"

So, in an effort to support my initial argument regarding the most advanced actor of my generation I’m going to give you the top and bottom five films of Kurt Russell’s career (editor’s note: since this discussion occurred prior to Grindhouse, the role of Stuntman Mike will not be included in this discussion)(executive editor's note: please do not confuse my definition of the term "advanced" with "advanced theory" mentioned in several Charles Kolsterman articles)

5-The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes-Yeah, I said it, It was a favorite of mine back when the Disney Channel still had #1 status on my favorite channel settings. This initial taste the Russell-catalog shows the breath of his work as a child prodigy, but also demonstrates glimpses of how he would go on to become the most dangerous man in America, no, solar system.

Movie Props goes to the original Joker, Cesar Romero, as the good guy/bad guy who mistakenly places a little too much information in the new micro-processor. Who knew that in 1969 we would have a movie that referenced the need for dumping the history and temporary internet files dump on “family” computers after…ummmm…well, it's nothing that Russell wouldn't do.

Quotability: None...this film is best remember as an upper echelon silent film.

4-The Thing-As R.J. MacReady, Russell demonstrated the one characteristic needed to become the most advanced movie actor of any generation, a great f’n beard. In actor advancement, it is fundamental that you must have role that requires you to utilize god-given natural props, and Russell cleared that hurdle with The Thing. I'd also like to add the bonus of this film having the aesthetic quality of Hoth mixed with the groundbreaking insanely good performance from Grandpa Brimley.

Movie Props goes to a very underrated performance and film from the Carpenter/Russell duo, who made a single setting thriller work by a couple of over-the-top performances and special effects.

Quotability:
MacReady: I dunno, it's like this: thousands of years ago this spaceship crashes, and this thing, whatever it is, jumps out or crawls out and gets entombed in the ice.
Garry: So, the Norwegians find it, and they dig it out of the ice...
MacReady: That's right, Garry. They dig it up, they cart it back to their base. Somehow it gets thawed, it wakes up, probably not the best of moods, and... I don't know, I wasn't there!

3-Tombstone-Wyatt Earp, I decided against Snake Plissken for the number three spot only because, during the competition for who could be the best Earp, Russell proved his alpha-dog status over Kevin Costner by out-performing and leading a much more enjoyable film with a much stronger cast than Costner’s failed opus.

Thanks in large part to the advancement of Val Kilmer, Russell was able to play the straight man and sold the show as the epic Western Lawman. The event known as Tombstone showed the next step in the evolution of the prodigal child star Russell, to the pimp-slappin'-drunken -cowboys-all-the-while-wearing-a-mustache-that-makes-Sam Elliot-cry, professional advanced actor.

Movie Props, as mentioned above go to Kilmer who is the most quoted man from the film, although Russell held his own and led a group of Sam Elliot, William Paxton Jr., and the aforementioned Kilmer.

Quotability: Two for the price of one:
“From now on I see a red sash, I kill the man wearing it. So run you cur. And tell the other curs the law is coming. You tell 'em I'm coming! And Hell's coming with me you hear! Hell's coming with me!”
&
“You gonna do somethin'? Or are you just gonna stand there and bleed?”


2-Miracle-Herb Brooks, It wasn't easy choosing the number one role, but placing what I feel to be the most evolved role of Russell's career at number two felt like a natural choice. The ability to not only master the Minnesotah twang, but to embody the very essence of coach Brooks and the Disney-esque storyline of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team, took dedication and ability unlike this world has ever seen. There's only one man who could play the leader of one of the greatest events to happen to the US of f'n A ever, no, not Harrison Ford, no, not Bruce Willis, Russell, that's who...who put this thing together?

Movie Props goes to Tom Bronson for his Costume Design and the ability to gather enough plaid pants and beige turtlenecks for the entire length of the shoot.

Quotability: “Great moments... are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here, tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game. If we played 'em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can!

Tonight, WE are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players. Every one of you. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done. It's over. I'm sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw 'em. This is your time. Now go out there and take it.”(it’s getting real dusty in the Lodge)

1-Big Trouble in Little China-Jack Burton, If you’ve read until this point and you’ve ever met me, then you aren’t the least bit surprised by this selection. There have only been a few times were the solar system was perfectly aligned to produce such an epic fable that defies genre. I cite the third film in the Carpenter/Russell trilogy as one of those events. The over-the-top performance, the tank top, the semi-mullet, the Porkchop Express….the 80’s, everything became gold for Russell in BTiLC and to this day we have this as the benchmark to use for all potential contenders to the thrown of advancement in the name of Russell.

Movie Props goes to everyone involved in the production of this film, especially these guys.

Quotability: I’m going with a personal favorite and underrated exchange, and thanks for reading, part two is coming tomorrow, which will examine the darkside of the Russell Advancement
Wang Chi: "Here's to the Army and Navy and the battles they have won; here's to America's colors, the colors that never run."
Jack Burton: "May the wings of liberty never lose a feather."

Mullet Power!

You got to love the second annual mullet gallery brought to you by Barry Melrose...the King of the Mullet.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Duke's Weekend Girlies

In an effort to correct my youtube folly of yesterday...

Still from out of nowhere, but coming at ya' from a different angle.

Duke it up.

On Ice

"Sir, sir! The peasants are revolting!" "Yeah, they stink on ice."

OK, gotta weigh in with this. Dig it or not. Your call.

I see a lot of hockey talk here. No sweat. It's just not my deal. I've lived near the Mexican border nearly my whole damn life, so you can guess how big hockey is down in the desert. Yeah, we got the Coyotes, but it's kinda like the Phoenix Cardinals --- no one really cares deep down except the snowbirds (and even THEY don't care about the Cardinals.)

So, if I don't chime in on the hockey, it's because I'm not gonna be the guy who tries to yap it up when he don't know the score. We got a drive-time sports DJ in the afternoons here in Tucson -- he's kind of a tool, but hey. Whaddayado. But he spent a half hour the other day telling us that he doesn't know hockey and doesn't want to talk about it. What a frickin waste of time. I'm not gonna be that guy.

So instead, I'll waste your time with a story from a couple of months ago about another ice sport I sampled, that frankly I should have had even less of a chance to play than hockey.

---

Back in March, I had to go to Fargo, North Dakota for a funeral. I was up there nearly a week. One night late in the week, my cousins and I got restless and had to go do something. And there ain't a hell of a lot to do in Fargo on a Thursday. After we exhausted our inner Lebowskis at the bowling alley, we were still bored and a little buzzed from tossing back pitchers of bowling alley brew.

Turns out that one of my cousins had connections.

Gentlemen --- I give you curling.



My cousin had an in with the owner of the Fargo-Moorhead Curling Club. After the curling league finished for the night, we got the run of the place. It was the first --- and likely only -- time I'll probably ever get the chance. I admit to being a little skeptical at first. Seriously --- it looks like shuffleboard on ice. But for a shining couple of hours, I got to live out my Olympic dream. And man law says that a sport you can play while drinking beer is OK.

A few observations :

1) It's a lot harder than it looks. Really tricky to push off with enough speed to let go of the rock without slowing yourself down from friction on the ice.

2) Sweeping in front of the rock is fun, but ultimately it looks as silly in person as it does on TV.

3) Gotta love a curling rink where the soda machine is stocked with beer. Buck a can. Glory days.

4) For my money, this was a pretty pimp rink. Had a few rows of bleachers with TV's pointed over the targets. So your posse could chill and watch the action.

Maybe you Seattle-ites already are down with curling -- I doubt it, but you never know. I see you have the only dedicated curling club on the West Coast.

It's good for saying you did it once for the braggin' rights anyway.

Lodge Gathering

So it has been discussed that we need a Lodge gathering to see this epic movie, Grindhouse.

A movie like this can be seen at only one place. The Cinerama.

It looks like the first showing is 12:30 on Saturday. Let me know who is in and I'll get tickets, just let me know who is in!