Dave's Thoughts of the Day: April 8th

Just a few quickies today to compliment the liveblog of the Kings/Ducks game from last night (see the previous post).

Ever try to take a whiz, and the pee splits into two parts?  Like a fork in the road or something?   Very awkward feeling.  And then you try desperately to either stop the stream or pull the whiz together so it doesn't get all over your shoes... oiiii...

I tried to go see that Kings/Ducks game in person, but couldn't get any tickets under 40 bones.   People have really taken advantage of that "jack up the prices of games vs big teams" policy most pro sports teams do now.

What a strange new world we live in:  The Clippers are now the best basketball team in Los Angeles -- not the Lakers, not UCLA, not Loyola Marymount (old reference).  No!  It's the Clippers.

I'm trying to get in shape for this month's UCLA swim meet.  I had such good swims on Friday and Saturday that I was tempted to go to the Pierce College swim meet yesterday, on a whim, and do a drop in entry.    It almost happened, and then I stayed up way too late on Saturday night playing SongPop and I slept til 10am the next morning.  First, I woke up around 6, but then went back to bed after a few minutes.

I feel like I'm getting into the groove again, but this week's swims are critical.  I need to do three swims this week, minimum.   I've done it for two weeks now, but a third week of 3 swims is going to be enormous.  I'll do everything I can to make it happen.  The UCLA swim meet is on 4/21... and if there's anything I think I can do, it's rise to the occasion in a big event.  Not that I've had many "events" to speak of, but any chance I get I like to put in a great effort!

I really hope people aren't rubbed the wrong way with that liveblog of the Kings game.  The good thing here is I placed it in a separate post, so if people are annoyed by it, it can just be ignored.  To be fair, a lot of bloggers do live blog of particular events.  I thought of liveblogging the ACM awards, but the Kings game cut into the open of the show on the West Coast so I elected to stay with sports.

Saturday morning was weird!  I was up way too late on Thursday night and that messed up my Friday, so I was extremely tired by 9pm Friday night.  So I just laid out on bed and listened to the Lakers game, expecting to get back up after a few minutes.  That never works.  So I get up and it's 9pm, and I'm way out of it, so I just called it a night and went to bed.

The next morning, I get up at 5am...  It is SO EARLY in the morning nothing was going on, but since I was in bed so early, coupled with the hour long nap that preceded it, I decided to scrub the tub in the bathroom.  Productive morning!    I was scrubbing the tub and listening to John Kincade on CBS Sports Radio.  Kincade is a clown but he was filling in for Malusis.  I kid you not, Malusis has his own CBS Sports Radio national show on Saturdays.

All right, the point is, I scrubbed the bathtub pretty cleanly, and got in a little work on the shower doors to boot.  Very noicely cleaned, so back to bed, only to realize it was about 6:30 am by then, so I packed my swim bag and went to the 7:15 Saturday swim.

I hardly ever do these Saturday swims but I was up so early I went for it.  What a great swim!   Great set, great execution, and all of us felt pretty good afterward.   I was out of there, and it was still only 9am.  No local sports on and just some baseball at 10am, so I drove down Sunset Blvd to take advantage of the light traffic. 

First I drove *East* to get over to Hollywood, but as I was getting to the Sunset Strip, I looked up Bagel Shops on my smartphone, and it pointed me to spot called "Sam's on Sunset."  The reviews claimed it was "almost as good NY bagels."  So I stopped by.  Nice little spot... good service, and indeed, pretty darn good bagels.  It literally is as close to the NY bagel as I've seen.   No one in Southern California has replicated the crispy crust of a true NY bagel, but the inside of the bagel hit all its spots.  I got the lox spread ( that cost me: 7 bones for a bagel, spread, and cofee -- would have been much less without the lox).  Then I got a seat by the window which looked out on the strip.  Gosh, the strip was looking gorgeous.   Once I finished the bagel, I thanked the staff, went out and took a photo:

How gorgeous was that??   Now, check out the Arco station on the corner.   I recall a memorable Album Cover from the Mid 70s for a recording by the "Sweet."  Remember those guys?   "Love is Like Oxygen," "Ballroom Blitz," and a bunch of others.  Great group.  They took a photo of themselves walking down the Sunset Strip during the day and used it for their album:

That has *got* to be the same ARCO sign from the same location above.  The difference is, they took picture from the other direction, facing East.  I took a photo of the ARCO sign facing West.

Pretty neat Rock n' Roll highlight.  It's a shame I haven't taken advantage of my proximity to this musical hotbed.  The trick is that Sunset Strip gets really dangerous at night.

So with that in mind, I thought of going further East to Hollywood proper to see a movie at the El Capitan, but all they were showing was that "Oz" movie, so I punted on it.  I instead went the other way down Sunset Blvd, West this time, and headed home.

At least, that was the idea, until I had the hare brained idea of riding Sunset Blvd out until I got to Santa Monica, just for fun.   Being the bonehead that I am, I had no idea that Sunset Blvd does NOT touch Santa Monica at all!  Instead it just curls northward into the mountains and gets you careening out into Pacific Palisades!!  --and the whole time I was holding a pitcher's worth of liquid in the bladder.  I really had to pee!  Then on the radio you had little ditties from Tom Petty, The Cars, and so on, and I was dying... any time I had to lift my foot from the gas pedal to the brake I could feel the urge.  Soon I was riding along the road waiting for that next gas station.

I had to wait miles and miles and miles down the road.  *Finally* as I got within 3 miles of the PCH, I found two gas stations along the road, so I made the stop.  There are three parking spaces in front of one gas pump, but the distance between them is tight.  Any car that stops there would block the three parked cars to its side.  I went over to the shop to get the key but I wondered if I had to ask first.  So one dude's in line, Dodger cap on and sweats.  For all I know it's a really famous actor person, with it being Pacific Palisades and all, but I'm a clown with identifying famous people.  I'm worthless at it.  Al Michaels could stop by and ask me for directions and I would just think he's another nice guy.

So the guy asks for some oil and I wait it out.  Meanwhile some old lady goes over and just takes the key into the restroom.   I'm looking over and thinking "nooooooooooooooooo!!!"

The bladder's about to burst, and now I'm stuck killing time in a Mobil convenience shop.  What do I even do in that spot?  So I went and looked at all the latest Snickers bars.  Fortunately, the lady was pretty quick and left the restroom.  She was awfully nice too, and handed the key over to me.   Then it was my turn.

Suddenly, it was like the hover dam just sprung a leak.   First a little, then a gush, then a monsoon into the bowl.  I've had worse "outbursts" shall we say, but this was a big one for the year.  Relieved, I washed my hands and put the key back where it was.

I was ready to get back into my car and roll but no!  Some jackass decided to take the pump right in front of all the parked cars.  I had no room to move whatsoever, but seeing as I had the luxury of time, I just left and crossed the street.  I found a nice looking woman with her kids and sunglasses.  Probably some amazing famous lady and I don't even know it.   I walked over and just kept walking, looking at all the quaint little shops around the street.   Yes, quaint shops like "Bank of America," "Subway," and "Starbucks Coffee."   Haha, anyway, I was getting impatient, so I crossed back to the gas station and that joker was STILL THERE.  How long does it take to fill up a fuel tank?  For goodness sake there's only so much you can do.  So this time I walked DOWN the street, passed by a few persons, and just kept going until said dude and his car finally pulled out and drove down the street.

That was an experience.  Pacific Palisades is beautiful, no doubt, and it's a fun place to pee.   Perhaps one day you'll rub shoulders with a famous name as you look to find the water closet. 

The rest of the day was good too.  Final Four game with my buddy Coach at the Encino Chilis.  I *love* their baby back ribs.   Then back home around 8:45 pm.   Then I get a text from my sister and it turns out the entire extended family was over in Hollywood for a surprise Birthday Dinner for my cousin.  I was stuffed and it was already 9pm by then, but I toughed it out and promised to make it.

I knew that everyone was going to leave within the next hour so I had to truck it.  Got to my car at 9:30.  So, of course!  I get every conceivable red light between Wilshire Blvd and Wilton Place!  First along Santa Monica Blvd, which is to be expected, but then, over on Melrose too, which was a disgrace.

When you travel down Melrose Avenue, it only *looks* like a two lane throughway (in either direction).  That's a lie:  it's basically one lane where the other lane is what I call the "Valet Lane" at night.  Buses stop there.   Cars pull out a foot to disrupt traffic.  Jokers from out of town straddle the lane to find a parking spot.  Taxi cabs stop and go along there.  Everyone's either dropping someone off or parking along that lane.   Whereas the passing lane is always towards the center, the only real through traffic IS the "passing lane" on a night time Melrose Avenue drive.  You have to think backwards.  Drive the left hand lane and pass on the right.  I counted upwards of 10 total red lights in my commute, which took about 30 minutes for a paltry 9 miles.

With all that said, I still got to my Cousin's house right on time to say hello to everyone, and I mean everyone in the family.  I was amazed.  I couldn't believe everyone came!   Then, right when I got in the door, people were getting ready to leave.  HAHA!   I anticipated it the whole time, but I was still really happy to see everyone, even for just a few minutes.

So, after that 25 minute window, I headed back home again and returned to my apartment at 11 or so.   It was a very busy Saturday so I just plugged in some SongPop, then sampled a little Wang Chung and passed out on the couch.  Came to at 1am, turned off the computer, and went to bed.

...that's what stopped me from having a shot at the swim meet methinks.   I rather enjoyed my weekend though, how was yours?

'Til tomorrow!  As for the live blog below, I wouldn't recommend reading it until later in the afternoon, it's very long anyway.  See you all later on...

Live Blog: Kings vs Ducks - 4/7/13

Friends, I have secured a means to watch the Kings/Ducks game tonight, live from Anaheim!   So, as the game goes along, I'll live blog it here.

We pick it up 2/3 through the First Period, Ducks up 1-0.   The Ducks got the first goal RIGHT AWAY, barely 2 minutes into the game.  Kings had two power plays so far in the period but didn't score in any of them.

AND we are treated to those wonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnderful unbiased Ducks broadcasters John Ahlers and Brian Heyward.  In LA, games between the Ducks and Kings only get one telecast, so Fox Sports Net usually chooses the home team's broadcasts.   Lucky us, we get the Anaheim guys!  ..in case you couldn't tell I was being sarcastic.

4:58 to go, 1st Period.   Lots of great scoring chances for the Kings.  Team is seriously on a roll, I don't know how they got all this offense!  Sad thing about tonight's game.  Toffoli is scratched.  I sure hope it's a healthy scratch... it was hard to tell how hurt he was on the radio when I heard some of those other games this week.

Forgot to mention, backup Goalie Jonathan Bernier is starting.   Quickie is amazing but let's face it, Bernier is pretty *close* to amazing himself.  It's as close as you can get to the Montana/Young tandem... could you imagine such a talented *backup* QB back then.  Same idea here with the Kings goaltenders.

C'mon right here, GO.  Geez...  Icing.

I'd be very surprised if the Kings won tonight.  Whole lot of games this week, although most of them were at home.  They've been hot.   Any team would be due to cool down after all that.   The Wild and Oilers victories were unbelievable!  They just DOMINATED both teams!!  Then I came to find out the Wild's defense really took a dive this year.

We have a good Kings fan contingent in the crowd tonight!  Great job by the Kings faithful.

You really had to have *faith* to remain a Kings fans all those years leading up to the Stanley Cup Title you know what I mean?  Muahahahahahaha...

I'd take that Air Canada Prize package to the Ducks/Canucks game.   The Canucks are such losers I'd be HAPPY to see even the Ducksies smash them.  And to hell with those moron green guys behind the penalty box.  Get a life.

Geez, another save!!  This Fasth guy is really on his toes.   Last shot from Reghr, new pickup via trade.

7 seconds to go, 1st period.   Kings might be down 1-0 but seems like they outplayed Anaheim for most of the period.  That'll do it: first intermission.

"Kings made their push last five minutes," Hazey?   It was more like the last fifteen!  I could count the Anaheim shots on goal from that point on one hand.

Powerball coming to LA...   I didn't realize it wasn't here already.   Fellas out East, is the Powerball deal worth the hype?

Just got a call from my Dad... I'm trying to explain how to play AVI files on a Mac.  Stupid Apple... Apple really sucks.  They are so petty they won't even include AVI support in Quicktime.

Dollar Loan Center.... seems so seedy.  I looked up the interest rates, and they're just as high as most credit cards.  Very lame.  --and now they have commercials *everywhere*.  On TV and the Radio.  It's a scene!

Would you watch Brain Games?  On National Geographic.

Honda Center's a very nice place... starting to show it's age, though.   I love the intimacy of it.   Feels very cozy in there, and I can only imagine how loud it gets when the Ducks get rolling.

Whoah... Andrea Bocelli is performing June 9th at Honda Center.  Interesting. 

Bruno Mars is also performing that month at Staples.   Remind me to go out of town that month.

Ok, Second Period underway, here we go!!

I really can't stand these Anaheim Ducks jokers in the booth.   It's them and the White Sox guys... just ridiculous homers.

Again with the high sticking?!   Good lord... Was that really necessary Clifford???

Anaheim with a Power Play... not good, fellas.  Just get it out of there...   It clears a little bit.    We need that 100 foot clear.  Oi...   got stuck on the side of the goal.

YES!!   That's more like it.  


One more... Noice... Power Play's over!

OOH!  So close!!  Richardson almost wedged it in.

That's a terrible turnover!!!   Get back...  whew, just recovered.

Back in the day you used to be able to put the AM radio on to get the radio broadcast of your local team in sync with the TV broadcast.  There's no way you can do that today with all the satellite and digital transmission delays.    It would very useful to sync this with Nick and Daryl on Kings Radio 1150 AM, ah well.

14:17 to go, 2nd Period.  Ducks called for a penalty so the Kings get the Power Play.  BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Drew Doughty from just beyond the point, right inside the blue line..... one timer goes through like 6 guys!   1-1 tie at the "Pond."

Doughty had been cold all year, and now two goals in the last two games, with the previous one the empty netter vs Edmonton.

Just poured a cup of Ruby Red Grapefruit juice.  Ahhh, this is so good.   Refreshing.

Ducks putting on a great forecheck last two minutes.   This is getting intense again!

Uh oh...

OHHHHH!    DeBorra, or whatever his name was carried the puck on his own to the goal but the shot had nothing on it.  Same score.

Folks are really talking up the Ducks' Palmerri.   I dig... he's pretty damn good.

Hahahahahahaahaha... more complaints from the Ducks guys about officiating.  Oh look Stoll just checked someone,  CALL HIM FOR BOARDING!  (It's just a plain check onto the glass face first, without much force even, I was just joking)

How did the Kings break up that Ducks 3 on 2?  Whew!

6:45 to go, 2nd period.  It's getting *really* feisty at the Pond!!   Kings this close to getting Justin Williams with a clear shot at the goal but called offside. 

The Ducks get another game tomorrow against Edmonton.  Tickets for that one are dirt cheap!   It's tempting to not buy into that... Games at Honda Center are fun even if I don't root for the home team there.

Last time I saw a game out there was four years ago.  The Ducks had a game against Dallas, which was on a Sunday night.  Pretty good game!  I also got a free Duck Call as part of a giveaway.  Those duck calls were pretty good.  I don't think we used them during the game much.

Maybe the Ducks guys aren't used to this "defense" thing.   I'd think that game against Chicago would have given them some education.. Hee hee...

The Ducks won that game against Chicago... in fact, the Ducks have won every game at home except for five so far.

One thing I do agree with John Ahlers on --OOH!!  That *was* a nice pass, and the winger fanned on it for the Ducks.   That was a goal for Anaheim if he connected.

Anyway, John was saying "The Regher trade is a clear signal that the Kings don't expect D Willie Mitchell back this year."  Absolutely right.   I hope those draft picks LA sent to Buffalo don't burn the Kings down the line, but LA's front office is hitting "Win Now" time.   I'm down for that too -- the peak is *now,* let it roll.

4:30 to go, 2nd period.  GEEEEZ!   Another good onside rush for the Ducks.  I'm starting to learn some of these other guys on the Ducks.   I knew about Palmerri from the last two years, but Emerson Lydham (sp?) is a newbie.   He's got a lil pop from what I see.

Selanne is about as old as Kobe in NHL terms.   It's incredible what he can do all these years later.  I thought he'd retire too, but he's still playing at a very high level.   Did one of the teams take an on-ice timeout?  Very odd, I didn't really see any real issues from either team. 

3 minutes left, 2nd period.  C'mon Kings don't do anything stupid here...

MOTHER BLEEPER!!  What'd I just say?   Effing turnover to Corey Perry of all people...   left him all alone on Bernier.   STUPID!!!  Ducks lead 2-1.

Quickie would have stopped that, but that's not important... pretty mean shot by Perry.   Just ridiculous.    You CANT leave a virtual penalty shot for a top 5 NHL player like that!  Idiocy!!!!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!   Kings had a lot of action in the Ducks' zone and a feed to Jeff Carter slams it home from point blank range.  Carter's killing it here, what a big answer of a goal!  Tie game 2-2.

And that's the second period!!!!!!  That tying goal was huge!!!!!!  To think I absolutely trashed Lombardi for trading Jack Johnson and some other guy for Jeff Carter.  All he's done is carry the Kings through that uneven first part of the season, then the Hat Trick, and honestly, he's been their most dependable goal scorer this year.

You know that lady in the blue dress in those Diet Pepsi commercials?  She's outstanding my friends!   Beautiful, graceful, amazing charisma, and she loves Diet Pepsi.   I gotta carry around cans of Diet Pepsi when I go out on the town.

You couldn't pay me to subscribe to Fox Soccer Plus... get outa here...

A Nardwuar interview during the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year would be epic.  Hope they get that going!

I still haven't heard Nardwuar's CITR radio show on Fridays.   I gotta get on that, he's got great taste in music..... eh?

Ah yes, the ACM awards for Country Music are going on as we speak.   We out West will get the usual 3 hour delay on CBS.  Jon Heyman would love living out West.

This Oggi's Pizza commercial is a hoot!   Definitely an Orange County original... very folksy.  It's a folksy family pizza parlor kind of place.  I *love* those kind of places.  

If Disney has the "ESPN Family of Networks," Fox has the "Mexican Enormous Family of Networks."   In one spot set we had promos for things on Fox Sports Net,  Fox Soccer Plus, FX, and this doodad "Fox Mundo."   Then there's Big Fox, Fox Business, Fox News, and coming soon, Fox Sports 1.   I'm sure that's not all of them.  Oh yes, Fox Movie Channel too, but there's still others.

Here we go!  Third Period all set to go...

Doughty should have passed on that 2 on 1 but I'm nitpicking.  Onward.

Boy this game got really up and down.  Feels like an 80's NHL game.

I smell chicken fingers.  Whoever the neighbor is that's heating them up made a great decision.

Whole lot of loose puck handling in this period.  That favors the Ducks.  Whew!

Team speed on the Ducks -- really impressive.  I'm going to find this team exciting to watch in the playoffs.

Slashing call on Jeff Carter.  Let's see the replay... eeeee... tough spot.   Big test for Kings penalty killers.

Ducks making the most of this PP so far!     Zing... oiii...

Reminds me of a blitz in the NFL, just seemed like everyone ganged up on one puck and BOOM... Berinier had no idea he left a rebound for Belezky and the Ducks now up 3-2.

Hey look at that!  Ducks fans get free Breadsticks at Oggi's when the Ducks score a power play goal at home.  Good stuff.

Almost, Williams, almost!

Kings can't seem to take the lead in this game.  Even when they tie it, it eventually gives way to another Ducks goal, but great effort tonight by both sides.  LOVE the passion here!

Wraparoundthis... ok no ... where's the puck?!   One clean shot here... blocked geez!  Dang....  What a great sequence by the Kings, but no goal.

Somebody call a whistle this is ridiculous.   The Kings were chipping away on the puck as Perry was laid out against the boards...  that puck had no chance of breaking free.  Ok there's the whistle...

10:50 to go in regulation.   Mostly neutral zone play...

There we go, whoaahhhh missed shot by who was that...  Carter I think... went out but back into the Ducks zone.

8:45 to go...  gotta take a breath!  You couldn't pay me to get a hot dog from Weinerschnitzel... I tried them multiple times, every time was disgusting.

Speak of the devil -- a Heineken commercial.

I got a bad feeling this ends in regulation.  The way this game's going, both teams deserve a point.   Wouldn't mind some OT.

So much pressure by the Kings, during a lot of the game.   Incredible resilience by the Ducks to keep the lead after all this!

6 minutes to go...

4:30 to go...

Brown had a nice shot but no one was there for the rebound... whoof!!

THEY GOT IT!!!! KOPITAR SHOT IT FIRST, and Brownie had another pop at a rebound... right in front of the crease!!  Kings tie it 3-3!

The puck was all the way in the air and Brown tapped it like a baseball bunt.  Sweet!

Now it gets VERY good, with under 3:30 left.

Refs really letting them play tonight too...  I think in this case it benefits the matchup.  Very noice.

Wait NOW it's an icing?  All right all right.   1:50 left in regulation.

Ooh!   Hard shot by Scuderi but Faust sucks it in.

1 minute to go...

Whoah!!   Dwight King  had pass to Stoll in front of the net, then a scrum, now the net's off the moorings.  Kings really slamming on the heat here!

Still nervous though... 35 sec left.   I think both teams are just trying to preserve the status quo now.  Wasn't the case leading up to that last faceoff.  Kings really wanted the win outright!

Ducks got ONE shot in the last 12 seconds, but it misses.   That's the 3rd period!   OVERTIME.

As it stands, big performance by the Kings to even get the one point.   Getting the 2nd point would be nooooooice icing.

I'm eager to see how both teams do 4 on 4.   Kings have it first in the Ducks zone.  Kopitar wasting no time, but a save.

3 min left in OT.    Ducks put together a nice shift in the Kings' zone, but I really like how the Kings trapped Selenne right after he got the entry pass in the zone.

THOUGHT the Ducks scored there, but no!  Wow!!

2 min left in OT.

Another shot by the Kings, stopped by Faust!  Make that Fasth... I've been spelling it wrong all night, oops.

These teams are really going for it in the OT!  Great to see... 1 min left in OT.

That's all for overtime!   Now to the shootout.   The Kings are pretty bad at shootouts.  3 shootout losses for the Kings this year in a shortened season.   Oddly, the Ducks have five OT losses.

Bobby Ryan goes first.   It's in!   Ducks go ahead in the shootout.

..ok fellas, this could be a very short shootout.  What a great move by Ryan.

Richards can't counter.  He's usually good with these but he looked lost out there.

Koivu next for Anaheim.   Got it... 

Carter to extend the game -- HE SCORES!!!   Up into the upper part of the net.

But Perry's got it back to win it outright.   Zing.  Ducks win 4-3.

Thank God we don't have these goofball shootouts in the playoffs.   Even if the Kings won there, I'm not a fan of shootouts.  It's like having a field goal kicking contest to decide NFL games.  Not a fan at all... but nonetheless, what a game!   Great play, particularly by the Kings, and hanging tough with the Ducks is no easy feat.

The Ducks broadcasters are pretty excited about how the Ducks might hold a top spot in the conference, but it's hard to judge that.   Doesn't it seem like your odds of success with a high seed in the Stanley Cup playoffs is 50/50?  And the ONE seed is almost like a kiss of death.

Perry had a MONSTER game tonight.  So did Brownie.  So did Carter for the Kings.  So did Goaltender Fasth for the Ducks.   Everybody gave a big effort!  This was a very fun one to watch, and on to the rest of the season.  Still about a month to go for the NHL regular season.  Every game's important.   Ducks get back at it tomorrow with the Oilers at home.   Kings travel to Dallas to play the Stars on Tuesday.  

And with that, Dave out!   Regular "Thoughts of the Day" blog to follow.

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: April 5th

It was with crushing sadness that I learned of Roger Ebert's passing yesterday.   The first one to break the news to me was through a friend.

My buddy Oomer, aka WFAN Clips wrote "R.I.P. Roger Ebert."   Then I saw another such tweet from ESPN's Adam Schefter.   With the recent twitter hoaxes of late and the TMZ debacle regarding Lil Wayne's condition, I had to wait it out before I could react, so I went to the research.  Then I looked it up on twitter itself, and it pointed me to the Chicago Sun-Times official twitter page:

@Suntimes 9h

It is with a heavy heart we report that legendary film critic Roger Ebert (@ebertchicago) has passed away

That's as official as it gets.  Shortly thereafter, the Sun-Times linked a full article announcing the news.   There really won't be another like Roger Ebert.  Some may say he was a bit pompous, but for a man as learned as he was with movies, who wouldn't be?  Some may say he was inconsistent, but man, he was quite the realist.

The key with Roger was perspective.  He knew the aim of a film which contributed to his evaluation therein.  That may lend audiences to think he was "the more lenient reviewer," but let's face it, some of the harshest criticism of movies came from Roger's pen.   There's a plethora of old clips of Roger Ebert on youtube, going at it with his long-time partner Gene Siskel.

More than anything, what a personality!  What an interesting guy, but what a genuine human being to boot.  It's hard to really come upon anyone like this in the media.  What he said was, by and large, what he meant.  Dude was hilarious too!   Nobody seemed to rock the sarcasm like he, but when he needed to be he'd be as blunt as a stone tool.  I loved it.

Siskel and Ebert, in their day were the authority on movies, and while some of that was marketing hype, a lot of it rang true.  I give them both a lot of credit for not selling out and schlepping more than a handful of guest cameos on television.  The exception was talk show interviews with Letterman, Conan, Leno, Carson, and others.

Actually, a funny thing about that: I'm reminded of a cameo appearance they made on SNL, but from 1982.  They were reviewing the sketches of a Chevy Chase hosted Premiere episode from within the program.  A little odd, in retrospect, but a neat peek at the two characters in their prime.

From their partnership and the numerous arguments, came so many parodies, and among them were the Simpsons.  My favorite S&E gag was the one where they had their own movie, and on the theater marquee:  "SISKEL AND EBERT: THE MOVIE.   *Two Thumbs Up -- Siskel and Ebert"

How about when Roger, later in life, put the can of whup-ass on Jay Mariotti.  By then cancer had taken Rogers voice away, but his dry wit and unique style of humor hadn't left him.   I'm honestly very surprised he left so soon.  I grant you he had struggled with health for almost a decade, but I didn't think he'd disappear and then go poof!

You know, my buddy "Coach" had alluded to Ebert taking a "leave of absence" only the other day.  In so doing, Ebert promised to make a return within a short while.  That's exactly how it played out for Poor Gene Siskel 14 years prior.

 "In 1998, Siskel underwent surgery for a cancerous brain tumor. He announced on Wednesday, February 3, 1999, that he was taking a leave of absence but that he expected to be back by the fall, writing "I'm in a hurry to get well because I don't want Roger to get more screen time than I".^[5]
On Saturday, February 20, 1999, Siskel died from complications of another surgery at the age of 53.

"

--source: Wikipedia

 

Death is a mysterious element that wallows in the dark, and even as one anticipates its arrival no one can predict its path.  Suddenly you don't even get the chance to react, and life is taken from you.   It brings anyone pause to think and be thankful for the life lived.

Roger may no longer be with us, but his contributions live forever.

There's really no segue here.   It's a sad day as a fan of the movies or any medium.

You know one thing I never knew about Roger Ebert, and I thought I had him completely figured out.  He was a vocal opponent of video games.   Most of it was because I imagine he simply didn't have time for them.  When you think about it, Video Games are a real time waster, and I can't imagine what can be gained, on an intellectual level, by playing them myself.   For that reason and the simple unwillingness to get into that kind of technology, Roger Ebert dismissed the medium.

I respect his opinion.   I don't agree with it, and I'm sure others didn't as well.   However, for someone to have lived and experienced so much culturally, I don't know where the time would be to lounge around an arcade and pound away on "Asteroids."

If you were walking around the Loop in Chicago in 1980, went to a corner arcade, and saw Ebert with his big puft of hair wailing at the Pac Man machine that would throw *you* for a loop too!  "Don't you have that Ordinary People film to write about?"  "What are you doing trying to get after the cherry?!   There's a Star Wars sequel out!"

It's for the best our boy Ebert never partook in video games.   We would all have been cheated of such great commentary.

If I prayed on two knees for days, I still would only have three percent of the writing skills of a Gene Siskel or Roger Ebert.   The best I can do is make connections to several inane and unrelated topics, all while adding personal perspective.

Some may call it genius... I consider it a stroke of good luck, heehee.

Some of my buddies can review movies and TV as a hobby.  One such friend is a colleague from my day job, Jason, who developed his own TV and Movie reviews blog:  http://jasongendler.blogspot.com/

I mean this is some good stuff!  I highly recommend that you check it out.

As far as this mongo's pen, I write just for fun.  I have no objectives.   A lot of the time, I start with one sentence and don't even have a theme.  Sometimes I do, like I did the other day with the "apologies" theme.   Most of the time, I start with just the one sentence, and see if it connects with another sentence.

It's worked well to date.  I'm happy to see that I've now made daily blog postings for about 8 months now.   I had long hoped to make regular contributions to the "Locks of the Week" blog and I want to thank all my friends at tmf.com for encouraging me to keep writing.

I might consider doing a "Video Game of the Year" list as Roger and Gene did for movies.   To pose an example, would you all consider "League of Legends" as the "Video Game of 2012?"  I would.  It seems to have captured the nation!

1985 is easy: Super Mario Bros.  That game was so good it could have been the Best Video Game of 1985, 1986, AND 1987.  But, let's be fair, '86 was clearly in the domain of "Legend of Zelda."  1987 is a layup:  "Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!"

1988 is tougher, but I think I'd go with Madden Football.

1989 might be Altered Beast, Moonwalker, or Joe Montana Football

1990 is Super Mario 3.

I could go on, but then I'd bore the audience.    Favorite tacos!   Asada nubmer one.  Al Pastor number two.  Lengua number three.  That's a great rotation.

I just read U.S. Acres Comic strips for an hour.  What in the world am I dong?!

So glad Friday is here.    

I have Louisville beating Wichita State and, I believe I have Syracuse beating Michigan for the Final Four games.  REALLY tough call, though.

I have the Yankees taking two of three from the Tigers this weekend. 

I think that's all I've got.  Have a good weekend!

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: April 4th

Yesterday I wrote quite a lot of sentences on Daveblog while my brain was falling asleep on me.  There were two sentences in there I could not remember writing at all.  It was some wild results!

Here's my contribution for today's blog.

Saw a headline that read "Roberto Luongo sounds off!"  so I clicked on it, and it was just him fielding boring questions about the trade deadline.  Really, NHL?   This qualifies as "sounding off." Yes, there's *sound,* but there's no excitement anger or interest here.   Try again.

I want to apologize to my podcast audience for rambling about the NBA for the monologue last night.   I did not intend to go in that direction at *all.*  I wanted to just quickly run down the NBA stories and then start my monologue on College Basketball.   Oops.

The Masters is starting laaaate this year.   I hope Matt Kuchar is in there this time.  We do it all for Kooch.

I have Louisville beating Wichita State and Michigan, believe it or not, beating Syracuse, in their Final Four games.  This qualifies as a mush.

Where's my rattle?  Four year old kid's got needs you know!

Milk!   Maaaaa!  THE MILK!!  WE WANT IT NOW!

...that "meatloaf" incident just brought the house down during "Wedding Crashers" the movie.   Will Ferrell in cameos is KING.

Are they going to get on with it and roll out "Anchorman 2?"  Lets see this movie!!

I'm starting to realize why people can't stand Jim Rome now.   As you hear Romey's sports minutes there are many, in fact, abundant, instances of him making references just to out think the room and make himself sound hip.   The problem is, when you do things forced like this, it doesn't resonate as other things would naturally.

Really, that's true of everyone who does the CBS Sports Minute: Tolbert, Feinstein, Gottlieb, Boomer... it never ends.

Flo is better in TV commercials than radio commercials.   True story.

You ever go to an MLB game with a weekly fireworks show, see the game, and leave before they do the fireworks?  This isn't because one forgot the fireworks.  Instead, the guise is to beat the traffic.  --it works!

Back when I used to watch Wheel of Fortune, they used to play the boop boop boop sound when the puzzle had no more consonants to reveal on the board.  Now all they do is play the "no more vowels" sound.   That's because most players buy up the vowels before running out of consonants!  Can you believe how much they've cheapened the value of vowels on the program?   The way you can pile on thousands of dollars and yet keep the price of a vowel at $250 is annoying.  It was worth $250 in 1976!    Here's what 250 bones could get in 1976:  a brand new color TV, about TEN porterhouse dinners, and a 13" Apple MacBook Pro.   250 bones in 1976 is equal to 1000 bones today.   It is a joke how little regard the producers put into vowel values... I think it cheapens the game.   Doncha think so too?

Spaghetti and meatballs... ive made it myself, I've tried it at fine Italian Restaurants, I've tried it at cheaper restaurants, but one place I have never tried it is at Tony P's... I've seen bowls of them served around the sports bar there.  It looks good -- worth a shot!

I've been very tired this week, but my mornings have been good due to my increased amount of sleep... most of my tiredness is at night as i get to bed, but i've been better with getting proper rest.


Brain is now officially fried... bring the tartar sauce.  I'll catch you all down the road...

Timeline of a Mush...

If want to see what a typical Dave Jinx (or mush) is like in real time, here's how it looked in emails yesterday afternoon:

***

Dave Medina
3:55 PM (5 hours ago)
to Andrew, Jacob

The twins game...  the twins are absolutely hopeless... they're getting good pitching here and can't even *threaten* to tie the game.

They did get a guy to second a few innings ago off a ramirez pinch hit... actually that was a double that scored a run, but haven't come close since.


Dave Medina
4:07 PM (5 hours ago)
to Andrew, Jacob

I gotta take a leak... if I go to the bathroom, will the Twins make it long enough to see me come back?

Geez ALREADY a pop out!   probably not!

Dave Medina
4:10 PM (5 hours ago)
to Andrew, Jacob

now hang on!  this is getting interesting...

Dave Medina
4:12 PM (5 hours ago)
to Andrew, Jacob

OH NO!!!!!

hahahahahahaahahahaahahahaahahahaahahahahaahahahahahahahahaahaha

Jacobsen, Andrew        4:14 PM (5 hours ago)

I think that qualifies as a Dave’s jinx.

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: April 3rd

I have a few apologies to make this morning.

I'm sorry to the Ralphs Grocery company.   I was a buffoon and can't keep track of my own groceries.  I went home after going to the store, and forgot a whole second bag of groceries with a carton of juice and two cans of peaches.  I realized I lost the juice, and went back to the store and showed the cashier the receipt... they just told me to get another one so I did.  Then I came back home and put the juice in the fridge, only to realize I still forgot to get the canned peaches.  OIIIIIIIIIII!!!

I felt like such a moron.  I apologize to my own brain for letting it down. 

I apologize to Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish.   He was working on a perfect game, other people on the internet were buzzing about it, and then I shouted "Who's pitching the no hitter???"   The moment I wrote that, I knew it was over.  I'm sorry.

I apologize to the ABC Television Network.   This time it's not my fault but I feel bad for them for getting such a quitter like Kendra Wilkinson... that prima donna was doomed from the start.  What a wimp, and to think that other people tried so much harder to dive on TV's "Splash" series.  Hopeless.  ABC, *I* feel sorry for you, friends.

I apologize to the Philosophy Department.   You know what?  I knew I could have attended their shindig at the one professor's house (same one where I set up said professor's new computer with the pool and living room).  It was a welcome dinner/party for incoming new grads.   Dumb move... but I was so excited about Shaq's number retirement ceremony that I couldn't chance it.

I *don't* apologize for shifting my schedule around to watch it.  That Shaq ceremony was GOLDEN!   First class event all the way from the Lakers.   Jeannie Buss does it again.  When Phil came up to the podium and the crowd drowned out the building with "WE WANT PHIL!" chants, I lost it.  I laughed so hard, that made my night.  An otherwise dismal night from the Cow perspective became great thanks to the Lakers.

I apologize to the Dodgers... in a sense I betrayed them, quitting on watching their game once the Lakers started to get going in the second quarter.  Once it was close to half time, when the Shaq ceremony started, I dropped the Dodgers game like a rock.  Aint no time for silly baseball dawg!

I apologize to my bed.  I don't go to bed soon enough.  I'm often formulating ideas for the blog or doing other random research at night, keeping me from my ideal bed time. 

I apologize to the UCLA Bruin Masters Swim Club.   My later nights at the computer are cutting into my swim career... I miss more and more of the practices nowadays due to my struggle to get up early.

I apologize to the beef industry of America.  This close to getting two HUGE NY steaks, bone in, for $9.88, regular price is 27 bones.   I chickened out, no pun intended.   That meat would have been amazing if it was in the fridge right now.  Might consider getting it tomorrow anyway.

I apologize to my two jars of peanut butter and jelly.   I'm not going to have enough time to make a sandwich for lunch tomorrow.  Forgive me.

That's about all I can do with this meme... I gotta stop now before it gets tiresome.

My brain feels so dead lately.   I can already feel so out of it without the drugs.  I fear my own state of mind if I *had* drugs.

Work is wearing me out.  When computers don't start, people can't access their ipads, and so on, it becomes a busy day.  Whole lot of business, some of it needless in my view.  Onward...

Tater tots... still good after all these years.

800 Degrees -- sounds good to me.

I hope one day the Dodgers beat the Giants 18-0.   Someday...

Do they have to force mobile users to use an Apple Account for **EVERYTHING?!**

Adam Corolla is a car, not a comedian. 

Let's hear it for Kobe on his triple double last night!  Woot.

The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco is a huge Lakers fan... I saw a tweet once that she had courtisde seats for a game (and only one game).   Dedication.

Seen any wayward basketballs lately?  Watch for those.


Ok I was just kidding about Corolla, I think he's a funny dude.

Man Show or Win Ben Stein's Money -- who wins?

Good for Franceser getting a "multi-year" extension at WFAN.   He's going to be here for a good while my friends.  

People can make bacon pizza or garlic pizza, but how'd it turn out that so few pizzeria's can do both?

The Blue Jays lost their first game last night.   It's early!  Give it time.  

The Canyon Club sounds like a tennis club, but it's a small concert venue.   I used to see "The Tubes" advertised on their big sign all the time.  I forget who that team is today.

How the heck is Prince going to do a credible concert without "the Revoluion" his band?  Not cool... now "Revolution" might be busy with other projects.


That's all I hae, for now.  Catch you soon!

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: April 2nd

Do not eat chocolate more than a year after you buy it.   I had some little Snickers fun size bars I had from a prior Easter, probably 3-4 years old and I took a bite.  Disgusting!  I forgot just *how* old they were til I saw a neighboring snack show an expiration date of 2011.  Oi.

It was like biting into moth balls... never again.

April Fools day was pretty good, but gosh darn-it, no real pranks on the internet or anywhere!   Even Google Maps, which was amazing with the Zelda "Quest" mode a year or two ago, just did a boring "Treasure Maps" gag this year.

I didn't see any prank news stories or bogus threads on the message boards.   It seems to me that we just got a little too uptight this year.  For shame.

I had a good time writing about things other than sports yesterday, and I'll try it again this time, but I want to make an exception here and give serious props to Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers' starting *pitcher* for hitting a home run to take the lead on Opening Day, 1-0.  Then, the Dodgers got some groundouts to score runs for a very productive inning.  They finished with a 4-0 win.  Kershaw, you were already the man but what you did yesterday was a moment for all time.  THANK YOU for being such a legend.

All right!  Back to non sports topics...

I had a staff lunch at the Faculty Center at UCLA yesterday.  Not terrible -- I didn't take any chances and got the Reuben.   Good stuff.

So we come to the topic of sorrorities.   Along Hilgard Ave, where my bus stop is, there's a whole street of Sorrority Houses lined up all together.  You could call it "Sorrority Row."  At the start of every quarter, sorrorities force their incoming members to dress up for a "formal initiation" or something like that.  I've never done fraternities or sorrorities so I have no idea.  But every quarter, you get a massive group of very well dressed women cross the street and visit the sorroities on the other side of the street, with the buses and cars parked on our side of the street.   Hilgard is like a river: to the land of gorgeous babes that we cannot cross, akin to the river Styx.

It might have been possible to dare to go there when I was younger.  Today, probably not, but to those young bucks at UCLA, don't give up the dream!

I can't believe it took me nearly four years to think of this.  Why don't I just *ask* these well dressed women what they're up to one of these years?  Like go over to the crosswalk and yell "Hey!  What are you all dressed up for?"  Haha, I'd love to hear the response.

Ok, one more sports related comment:  MAD and I mean *serious* props to USC for jumping on the train and hiring FGCU's Andy Enfield.  Not only a great move for SC, and not only a great move for Enfield, but let's face it, a pretty good move for his starlet wife too.   With two kids in the books, she could certainly revive her modeling career.  I'd say go for it!

This is quite honestly one of the best most uplifting stories to come from SC in a long time.  The USC basketball program hit the skids big time, and they needed a leader to take them to the next level.  This is as good a move as you can make.  You talk about a move with some upside here it is.

--doesn't mean it works out, but SC's very smart to go after a guy who found some legit talent back in Florida Gulf Coast.

Can somebody explain to me the deal with the goofy t-shirts with a crown on top of it and the fancy writing with some snappy, cornball one liner?  Like "KEEP CALM AND STAY PRESENT."  or "RULE THE WORLD WITH YOUR SPIRIT" and really annoying catch phrases like that. What *are* these things?  Who decided to put a damn crown on the top of it too?  Was it some British creation maybe?   What is the significance of the crown?  I see them with other symbols too......

*

KEEP COOL
and
LIKE VID
--see I can make dopey T-shirts too.

Joy, my friends, is a good glass of juice.  I had some grapefruit juice last night.  It was amazing.  Orange juice gives me a smile.   Apple juice is good when it's fresh from the Apple Farm.   Carrot juice mixed in with other things, like V8, are great too.  Juice is a way to better life, I think.

and on that happy note, I'm out!  Have a good one, my friends.  and you can catch up on some of the older blog posts if you're up for it.  Til next time...