Jon Roisman's Blog

California passes new controversial ghetto law

2010-05-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

Think this could never happen in our country? Read the news; it's getting worse and worse for certain aspects of our society. I'm sure there are plenty of errors in this piece; I need to hire a copy editor and an AP style coach.

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California passes new controversial ghetto law

By James Starling

Associated Press Writer

June 6, 2020

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Gov. John Chen of California signed the nation’s first “Sanctuary Law” Friday that will require the homeless to live in cordoned off sections of the state’s major cities.

The Sanctuary Law Act will require tens of thousands of California’s homeless residents to live in government housing inside Sanctuary Districts in Anaheim, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose.

The bill also allows authorities to round up the mentally ill and have them sent to the districts where they are supposed to receive treatment and housing.

California has become the first state in the country to sign such a law, and has ignited protests across the United States.

President Santorum scrutinized the law but said that the federal government would not interfere with any states’ decision to create specialized housing districts for the homeless and mentally ill.

“I don’t agree with it, but if California feels it’s the best way to deal with the social issues that plague this country than they should be allowed to do it,” said Santorum.

San Francisco plans to create two districts in the city, with the first to be opened in September and the second by next summer. The first district, officially known as “Sanctuary District A of San Francisco” will be created out of sections of the Mission District. It plans to hold 7,500 individuals.

Former state assembly member Tom Ammiano called the law “fascist” and “rotten at the core.”

“The United States is shifting towards a fascist state. This is something that Nazi Germany did, and this country, specifically California, should be ashamed of itself. I’m truly speechless,” he said.

Starting with a number of sit-and-lie laws being passed in California during the past 10 years, the homeless population has been rounded up into a number of specific areas, but hadn’t been forced to live in a sanctioned off part of the state until now.

“We’re doing this to help thousands of residents who need food and shelter,” said Mark White, Sanctuary District Director of Human Services . “People say this is a prison, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. We have job placement services for the citizens in the district, and once they are employed and have the opportunity to live outside the district they can leave.”

Sanctuary District A will have nearly 200 security personnel and another 300 workers will run the processing center and make sure the district is in an acceptable condition.

Under the new law each person will have their own bedroom and living space inside one of the dozens of apartment complexes in the Mission District. Food and water will be rationed out three times a day.

Activist groups, including the ACLU, have already filed motions in state court to overturn the law.

“We won’t stand for such a hateful law,” said ACLU regional director Sarah Teagen. “Governor Chen and the state government are in the wrong and they know it. They’re trying to banish the homeless and transients and get them out of the public eye. These are prisons.”

Riots in many major American cities over the law have caused hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage and nearly 5,000 casualties, including 104 deaths. National Guard units have been deployed in many areas of the country, with nearly 2,500 soldiers in San Francisco alone.

The economic and social woes that have affected the United States over the last decade have caused a situation where the country still cares about its people, but doesn’t know how to fix its problems, said former President Barack Obama.

“We’re still in a downturn,” he said. “The United States is wounded. We face mounting problems that affect every aspect of our society. Homelessness is just one of them. This isn’t the right way to go about it, but I understand that the government is running out of ideas to solve it. What’s sad is that as bad as it is here it’s even worse in Europe.”

“I don’t know what we can do.”

(Based on "Past Tense", Star Trek: Deep Space Nine).

Mother's Day

2010-05-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

Every year I'm convinced this day will get easier, but it doesn't. It tends to remind me of what I'm missing, and what I'll never get back. Yes, it does remind me of good memories with my mom, but it brings back a lot of sadness. I prefer to think about her when I choose, and when a holiday brings it up I just feel like I'm being forced to remember, even if I'm not ready. The hardest part of her death is over, and there are a number of wonderful memories I have of her, but there will always be pain that will never leave me. Mother's Day is just like squeezing an open wound. However, I hope everyone respects their mother and has a wonderful day Sunday. Be thankful for what you do have (I'm trying to take that advice, as well) and show how much you appreciate and love your mother.

You rule, Molly Young

2010-03-13T14:12:00.000-08:00

Three reasons why Molly Young is awesome:

1. She's very cute.

2. She's a great writer.

3. I found out about $1 frozen pizza's that don't taste like crap thanks to her.

2010 San Francisco Giants free agent targets

2010-01-08T16:49:00.001-08:00

By my estimation, the Giants need one more positional starter with power (either in the infield or outfield), another starter in their rotation, and a backup catcher (who could also start half the games if need be) to fill out their roster if they hope to be playoff bound this year. Here’s a list of available candidates that the Giants could pursue via free agency. I’m by no means an expert, but this still a fun exercise.

Outfield:

Johnny Damon, LF
2009 team: New York Yankees
Opening Day age: 36
Projected contract: 2 years, $12-16 million
Odds: Good

2009 line: .282/.365/.489, 24 HRs, 82 RBI
Career line: .288/.355/.439

Damon would not only give San Francisco a decent bat for their lineup, but he could also leadoff because of his OBP potential. His defense is below-average, which could become a problem in the spacious AT&T Park, but it’s worth the risk. His batting line would probably mirror his career totals more than his numbers in New York last year, but that should be expected when a player goes from a hitters park to a pitchers one. He’s not the best available choice, but he wouldn’t be a bad one.

Jonny Gomes, LF, RF
2009 team: Cincinnati Reds
Opening Day age: 29
Projected contract: 1 year, $2-4 million
Odds: Poor

2009 line: .267/.338/.541, 20 HRs, 51 RBI
Career line: .241/.330/.471

Jonny Gomes probably won’t be a Giant this year, but he’s still worth mentioning. He can play both corner outfield spots (albeit poorly), and has enough power to hit 30+ homers if he started the entire season. That, however, is the problem. Gomes is a platoon player at best who won’t see more than 100 games or so. He’s poor against right-handers, but that may not be a problem if he were to platoon with someone who could handle lefties. Not a likely candidate for the Giants, but someone they shouldn’t rule out.

Rick Ankiel, CF, RF, LF
2009 team: St. Louis Cardinals
Opening Day age: 30
Projected contract: 1 year, $3-5 million
Odds: Decent

2009 line: .231/.285/.387, 11 HRs, 38 RBI
Career line: .251/.311/.452

The converted pitcher had an off year in ’09, but he has the potential to match his ’08 totals (.264/.337/.506, 25 HRs) if he stays healthy. According to UZR/150, he’s a decent corner outfielder and a mediocre center fielder. He could take over in left which would let San Francisco keep Aaron Rowand in center, or act as an uber-4th outfielder playing at all three spots. He’s injury prone, however, so he’s not one of my favorites.

Jermaine Dye, RF
2009 team: Chicago White Sox
Opening Day age: 36
Projected contract: 1 year, $4-6 million
Odds: Decent

2009 line: .250/.340/.453, 27 HRs, 81 RBI
Career line: .274/.338/.488

.302/.375/.567 and .179/.293/.297. Those are the Bay Area native’s splits for the first and second halves of last season. Dye has been criticized heavily for the second number, but it should be noted he still owns a .826 career OPS, and that’s something the Giants desperately need. He’s a horrible defender in right field, but his bat is worth well worth the risk. He’s stayed fairly healthy since 2003 when he missed 97 games with Oakland, averaging 144 games a season. San Francisco tried trading for Dye last year, but the Giants and White Sox couldn’t make the money part of the deal work. Hideki Matsui set the standard this off-season for DH-types, signing a one year, $6.5 million deal with the Angels in December. Dye can be had for cheap this season, and the Giants should take the opportunity to sign him.

Xavier Nady, RF, LF, 1B
2009 team: New York Yankees
Opening day age: 31
Projected contract: 1 year, $2-4 million
Odds: Poor

2009 line: .286/.310/.429, 0 HRs, 2 RBI
Career line: .280/.335/.458

Think of Nady as the younger, more injury-prone, slightly less powerful, and better fielder version of Jermaine Dye. Nady had a good 2008, hitting .305 with 25 HRs and 37 doubles. He was limited to only seven games last season, however, after undergoing a second Tommy John surgery on his right-elbow. There’s too much risk with Nady, and paying Damon or Dye seems like a better choice because they’re much more likely to play 145 games and hit for more power.

Infield:

Russell Branyan, 1B
2009 team: Seattle Mariners
Opening Day age: 34
Projected contract: 1 year, $4-6 million
Odds: Poor

2009 line: .251/.347/.520, 31 HRs, 76 RBI
Career line: .234/.331/.491

Branyan has only played 113 games or more in a season three times in his career. He does has considerable power, however; he hit 31 homers in only 116 games last year for the Mariners. 16 of those home runs came in Seattle, a well-known pitchers park. He’d fit right in at AT&T Park assuming he stays healthy. That, however, is a big assumption that the Giants can’t take and shouldn’t risk.

Adam LaRoche, 1B
2009 team: Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves
Opening Day age: 30
Projected contract: 2 years, $14-18 million
Odds: Good

2009 line: .277/.355/.488, 25 HRs, 83 RBI
Career line: .274/.343/.491

LaRoche supposedly already turned down a 2-year, $17 million offer from the Giants already this off-season. It’s hard to believe he could get a better deal then that considering only the Giants and Orioles are in great need for a corner infielder and have money to spend. I think there’s still a good chance he reconsiders and joins San Francisco. He’s in the prime of his career and would give the Giants exactly what they need: a power hitter at a decent rate and at a good age. It would also keep Pablo Sandoval at third base and push Mark DeRosa into the outfield (which I think is a good thing). LaRoche is a notoriously slow starter, but he’s extremely hot after the All Star game. Well worth it.

Others (highly unlikely)

Hank Blalock, 1B/3B
Mike Jacobs, 1B
Miguel Tejada, SS/3B

Blalock and Jacobs are better suited as DHs, and Tejada might be too pricey for the Giants considering his age. Johnny Damon seems like the most likely outfield option and ditto that for Adam LaRoche for the infield. Jermaine Dye wouldn’t be a surprise either, especially if he can be had for under $6 million for a single season.

Catchers:

Rod Barajas and Yorvit Torrealba, C

2009 team: Toronto Blue Jays and Colorado Rockies
Opening Day age: 34 and 31
Projected contract: 1 year, $3 million and 2 years, $4-5 million
Odds: Poor

Barajas has similar power to the now departed Bengie Molina, but with a worse batting average and OBP. He’d be a lot cheaper, however, and might even be had for just one year. Torrealba is a former Giant who was traded to Seattle in the Randy Winn deal back in 2005. He offers less power than Barajas, but actually has a higher OPS. They’re both average catchers, but San Francisco could use one of them. It seems unlikely that they will spend a lot on a catcher this year, however, and they might just go with a Buster Posey/Catcher B from the minors (Eli Whiteside, Jackson Williams, other?) platoon. I think they should sign a free agent backstop, but I’m not the GM so I’ll wait and see what Brian Sabean does.

Others: Brad Ausmus and Jose Molina as backups to Buster Posey.

Pitchers:

There a ton of available borderline 5th starters out there, such as Livan Hernandez, Rich Hill, Brett Myers, Vicente Padilla and injury-prone starters who have a higher upside but a much greater risk, including Erik Bedard and Ben Sheets. The last two names are also more expensive, and as with the catcher situation, San Francisco is unlikely to spend a lot on a 5th starter. Pitchers like Jon Garland or Joel Pineiro would be great inning-eaters, but they’d probably command at least $15-20 million over two years minimum.

They might start Madison Bumgarner in the majors opening day, behind a very strong rotation consisting of Tim Lincecum/Matt Cain/Barry Zito/Jonathan Sanchez. They also have some other internal options if they feel Bumgarner isn’t ready. If they add another bat and find a platoon mate at catcher the Giants could probably get away with a borderline 5th starter for the first couple of months until Bumgarner takes over.

Obviously this is all speculation and I’m not an insider like Buster Olney or Ken Rosenthal, but it’s fun to look a list of names nonetheless.

End of therapy

2010-01-07T11:25:00.001-08:00

I'll try not to make this sound too silly or phony, but let me tell you how I currently feel about experience with therapy.

I finished my 13 week tour of psychotherapy earlier this week and I can say without a doubt that I feel much better. I have a greater control over emotions and I'm able to manage my future more easily. My therapist helped me identify the main things that were bothering me and now I have the tools to live a happier life.

It's not that easy, obviously, but the future doesn't freak me out as much anymore and for the first time in many months (years?) I feel confident about myself. Everything in life takes a lot of hard work, but I think I'm ready to meet a lot of my big challenges in life this year. 2010 should be a special year.

Here are some things I've already tackled:

* One of the main reasons I entered therapy was because I had a driving phobia. I would only drive when necessary, like going to school, and well that's about it. I'm still not totally comfortable driving, but I'd say I'm 80-90% normal now. I can drive on the freeway and pick people up and do whatever the hell I want. I've gone as far as San Jose and I feel like I can go even farther soon. This new found independence is truly amazing.

* My other big phobia was social-related. I have self-esteem issues and some other problems, but my therapist was able to help me get passed some of these problems. I'm much more comfortable with people and talking and having conversations (especially with women) is much easier. It's not 100%, but I'm improved. And happier.

* I have a ways to go with everything in my life that bugs me, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's no longer a black hole, and knowing I can find long-term happiness has lifted me up. I have to work towards it, but I'm certain now that it's worth it.

Let me say again that thirteen 55 minute sessions hasn't fixed everything in my life. Far from it. What it has done, however, is given me the tools and knowledge of what I need to do to get better. I've already seen improvement and I will continue with my progress.

Things still hurt me, both internally and externally, and they always will to a certain degree. I think most people are like that. I tend to think that I'm to blame for other people's unhappiness, and wonder what I can to do be better. I'm realizing, however, that I should start looking at my positive attributes and see how they've helped myself and others. I'm not a saint, but I'm not a harbinger of war, either. I may never get the type of love or respect that I want from some people, but I'll try not to let it keep me down.

Therapy taught me that most things in life start internally, and that goes for everyone. Most problems I think are from yourself. It's better to start by looking inward to see if there's a problem. Loving yourself in a healthy way seems to fix a lot of problems. I know who I like and love and I will continue to do so, regardless of the return.

Life is a struggle, but I have the courage to face it.

Let me leave you with how I felt before therapy and how I felt after, both thanks to my favorite human being of all time, Abraham Lincoln.

Before:

I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth. Whether I shall ever be better I can not tell; I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible; I must die or be better, it appears to me.

After:

With Malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds.

I'm not religious, but it still works well. I've got a long way to go, but I finally accept that.

Forced to grow up too early

2009-12-23T23:20:00.000-08:00

Stuck in limbo.

Top Secret

2009-12-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

I am commencing OPLAN 199 as of today, December 22, 2009.

I write about fantasy sports

2009-12-21T16:36:00.001-08:00

I feel like a tool.

My Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T21:48:00.000-08:00

I’m exhausted. I’m pretty sure it’s because I’ve been dealing with the flu/severe cold the past few days and I’m always extremely tired when I’m sick. Mind you, this isn’t to make an excuse or anything, I’m just explaining how it is right now. I’m not one of those people who got hysteric over the swine flue (especially considering something like 40,000 people die every year in the United States from the regular flu), but if I do have it, I can worry about it later. I have a story to tell.

The Road to San Diego

Twice a year I go down to San Diego with my father to visit my grandparents and aunt in San Diego. We used to drive a lot, but the past five years or so we decided to fly exclusively. Anyway, for the past couple of years we’ve decided to drive down because it’s more fun then dealing with the airport. It’s a cliché to say that airports suck, but it’s still true.

Oakland International is the worst airport I’ve ever been too; I’ve been there at least 30 times in my life, and I can only remember about two or three good experiences. I can recount at least 10 bad ones. All I can say is that place needs a new general manager. Is Matt Millen available? Oh, wait.

Anyway, the drive was pleasant. I read a good chunk of Bill Simmons new book, “The Book of Basketball” and admired the extensive amount of flat land that was being occupied with cattle that were on there way to die.

One of the many funny things Simmons wrote in his book revolved around a basketball team that had a drug addicted player at each position. For instance, someone like Lenny Bias was one of the starting forwards and the head coach was Amy Winehouse. I think it’d be funny to see her manage a basketball team while she took puffs from her crack pipe.

I knew this before we left, but my dad insisted that we stay the night in Anaheim instead of going all the way to San Diego because my aunt and grandparents live such a rigid schedule that any small disturbance sends them through the roof. They wanted us in the morning or before 5 PM, and that wasn’t going to happen so we stayed at a Super 8 near Disneyland.

Orlando of the West: Anaheim

The motel room was fine, and I should say I’m not one of those elitists who expects five-star service when you go to a motel, but this place was odd. Not so much the place, but rather the whole area.

My dad and I went to Denny’s around six at night to eat and we noticed the strangest thing: we were the only two people in the entire restaurant. The IHOP across the street was packed and this Denny’s was completely empty. Not a good sign.

We ordered and sat there for a good 10 minutes before they decided to make coffee. Even the menu wasn’t quite right. It’s like this one franchise decided they wanted to print whatever they wanted. To make a long story short (an expression I despise) the food was so greasy that I thought my veins instantly shut. They didn’t even have salt or pepper at any of the tables. It was way too weird. I can guarantee anyone that if they were there they would have thought it was surreal. And that’s because it was.

We got back to the room and decided to work on an English paper that was due the next day (online class) and of course it wouldn’t be tradition if I didn’t start my work until the night before.

I rattled through it and became so bored of just everything. It just hit me how empty I felt. Not a great feeling; although I’m not sure if it was depression or just a general lack of having anything to do. Tough call. I took some NyQuil and popped an Ativan to make sure I was gone.

This backfired, however. Apparently I had already slept about 36 hours the past three days and my body just wasn’t tired. I slept five hours and woke up at 2 AM to that infomercial where the two women are talking about the Trojan vibrator and how it’s so risqué but they still want to try it, and then the older women pops up and talks about how she loves hers and uses it all the time.

I chuckled and got up to shower. The shampoo and conditioner weren’t in bottles, but rather ketchup-like packets. Just an interesting observation. I did all that and saw that it was only 3 and decided to pretend I was the Milwaukee Brewers front office and thought of all the moves I’d make to make the team a playoff contender in 2010. Sound strange? I have to admit I do weird things like that; my mind is always racing and I love numbers and sports so I just decide create my own fantasies.

The good news: I found a way to get two quality starting pitchers without trading Prince Fielder or sacrificing any top prospects!

Anyway, we left and ate at a Coco’s in one of those newly created white people towns with a fancy/wealthy sounding name. I didn’t feel like I belonged; I’m convinced they “relocated” all of the minorities and started anew.

We got to San Diego around 10 in the morning and we decided to go to Best Buy to look around and maybe buy some stuff. This particular Best Buy was very small; maybe the size of a normal drug store, like CVS (it’ll always be Longs to me). The employees looked coked out from a night of SoCal partying and I departed with a couple of movies and a sense of sadness that I wasn’t as social as these people. Not that I want to do coke, but I bet they knew girls.

A Stroll Through the Past

It was still over an hour until Noon (the agreed upon time to arrive) and my dad said we weren’t going early because my aunt was going to give my grandmother a sponge bath in the kitchen and we both agreed that that was not something we wanted to see.

I love my dad very much. We’ve always connected well together, and our bond became even closer after my mother died a few years ago. However, he’s a bit older then me (I never like to give out his age; it embarrasses me for some reason, even though it shouldn’t, but we’ll just say he’s not one of those “cool” dad’s who grew up in the 70s) and the generational gap has hurt our understanding of one another.

But that didn’t matter. To kill some time my dad decided to drive around the freeway in San Diego and drive around Ocean Beach, one of the many beautiful places in the area. I popped in the re-mastered “Abbey Road” CD that I just bought and for a solid 20 minutes we just listened to the Beatles as I eyed everything in the small beach town. It felt like it was 1962 and everyone was just so…chill (another word I hate). It was just beautiful. The beach houses with the surfboards, the small locally owned shops, the beautiful girls in the 18-24 range walking around with big sunglasses and even bigger smiles…it was great.

I felt like my dad was trying to show me what his life was like when he was younger. I knew he grew up in San Diego and lived on the beach during some of his younger years, but I for him to show me what he experienced was really special to me. He was also a much more outgoing person, so I know he had to have capitalized on some of the encounters of the girls in the town. Man, were they hot.

I digress. The point I’m trying to make is that I had a great, unsaid connection with my dad. The throwback town with the classic music and the beautiful scenery really made my day. It got me thinking that this was something I wanted to do in my early-20s. Just live life without any cares and just have a good time.

Of course I’m not mentally wired like that. It’s a shame too. I could only think about how San Diego State wasn’t letting me in because they were impacted thanks to the never-ending budget crisis in California. This was a pipe dream, I thought. I’m also not that outgoing. I’m not one of those really socially awkward guys who looks strange and acts even stranger, but I’m also not one of those dudes who walks up to an attractive women and starts up a conversation. I wish I was, but I’m not that person. Yet, anyway.

Arrival

We drove up to my aunt’s house around 11:30 and got our luggage and went to the front door. I rang the doorbell and my aunt answered and told us “Oh, hello. I was just about to pick up Dada from the hospital”. I thought “Not again”.

Note: My grandparents have both been in and out of the hospital on a regular basis for the past three years, so this wasn’t a big shock. But I almost feel selfish that I wanted a normal visit where everyone was happy and healthy and not near death (I’ve been around too much of that for my taste. I’m experienced at least).

Anyway, my aunt said Zayde (Jewish term for grandfather; Bubbe is grandmother. Remember that) was okay and that he just had an irregular heartbeat.

We got him from the hospital and I unpacked everything in my room and just sat on the bed thinking.

Thinking is fun. I like exploring my thoughts. I remember once my aunt told me that Zayde would not have been corporative in a concentration camp during World War Two. I wouldn’t say we’re a family of complainers per se, but we do find a lot wrong with everything. Zayde is the king of that. I just imagined him arguing about the quality of the food with a Nazi guard, not caring or realizing where he was. That’s who we are: we say what’s on our mind even if it’s not the appropriate moment. (Note: I didn’t have any family living in Europe during World War Two, but If I did I imagine they would’ve survived, or at least go as far as they could before it was over. We really don’t like to fuck around).

Jews have a great sense of humor. We have to I think; it’s no mistake that some of the funniest people in the world are Jewish. It’s just something we have and I’m thankful for that.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully and the flu was taking control of me. I went to sleep around 7 and slept a solid 12 hours. It felt great.

“And I saw her standing there…”

My aunt Jodi planned on taking me to Viejas, an Indian reservation with a casino and shopping center. I’ve gone many times and I used to get bored because I’m not an outlet clothing shopper, but the casino is 18 and up and I finally meet those requirements. I like gambling. I’m smart enough to know that I can’t afford to have a gambling problem this young in life. I don’t have the money or future to risk. Maybe if I become as wealthy as Charles Barkley I can team up with him and gamble away $50,000 hands of poker while staring at the girls in the topless pool area. That’s for another life.

Before we left Zayde called me over into the sunroom to have a “serious talk”. He usually gives me one every visit, and I have to say they all mean a lot. He’s 95, but he’s still extremely intelligent and he gets around well enough. It’s really amazing.

Today’s topic was: Don’t Marry and Have Lots of Sex Before You Finish College. I should have told him right off the bat that he didn’t need to worry because I’m finding it tough to get to know girls (let alone getting laid). Like I said, I’m not some social outcast, but it’ll take a while before I open up and get out there. Therapy has been a tremendous help. Another story, however.

Anyway, Zayde told me having sex is normal and it feels wonderful (yeah, I was a little creeped out too. Imagine your 95 grandparent telling you how nice sex is), but unless you get an education it won’t matter. He didn’t want a girl to drag me down. If anything I’d drag her down because I’d be was so thankful I was in a relationship. Don’t worry, I’ll strike a balance between being a good boyfriend and not one of those needy men who are always tied to the hip. I hope, anyway.

So, I went to the Indian casino with Jodi, and within a good 15 minutes I was already down $31. I don’t have a problem, I swear! I decided to leave the smoke/white trash infested gambling pit and walked across the street to the outlet stores. My therapist has been working with me to do a few things, but one of those is to be more social and outgoing and to feel better about myself. Easier said then done, but hell, I’ll give it a shot. I’d rather be happier than sad, right?

I decided to shut off the negative thought process in my head (“You’re too fat, your obese, people think you’re strange and ugly and fat, don’t forget fat, and girls don’t go for your type, etc.) and just tried to feel at peace. And somehow I did it. I convinced myself I was attractive and went with it. I should note that even when you feel great, you need to find or create opportunities to get yourself out there. I’m still working on that.

I found my aunt and we went to the Nautica store where she told me she had spoken to a clerk who was a senior in high school and who was helping her buy clothes. I talked with her and she helped me find a shirt that she thought would look good on me. I had to immediately detour my mind from “OMG she wants to fuck you” to “This is a basic conversation people have with the opposite sex. Just work with it.” The cute girl found me a nice shirt that we both agreed looked nice and I bought it. Obviously she’s trying to make a sale, but she did spend a nice amount of time with me instead of forcing it. That made me feel nice for a few minutes before I thought less positive thoughts. Damn you brain.

Jodi and I ate lunch at the usual place we always eat at there, a small Italian deli with an employee who I’ve watched grow up there (he was 15 like 10 years ago and he still looks the same today; Jodi thinks he’s a “simpleton”, but I think he was just socially awkward).

We went back to the casino after lunch and my aunt gave me $20 to throw away at slots. We sat and talked together while we gambled the money away. I went down to $10 before making a great run where I won something like 7 out of 10 slot spins and made all my money back, plus another $20. That was pretty nice.

I can’t remember the rest of the night, except that there was a lot of complaining at the dinner table. It was the night before Thanksgiving and my family was getting a head start to what they do best. My aunt is essentially a caretaker for both Bubbe and Zayde (90 and 95 respectively) and she’s been burned out from it. I can’t even imagine how bad she has it. Her whole life is tied to them and she doesn’t have a chance to have fun.

Anyway, everyone just complains and uses the classic Roisman technique, passive aggressiveness. No one can hear each either so everyone has to shout and repeat themselves. Here’s a fun example from Thanksgiving dinner:

Jodi: Dada, how big a slice of pie would you like?

Zayde: Just a small one.

Jodi: (Speaking to my father and me): He always wants a small one

Zayde: What was that Jodi?

Jodi: Nothing.

So Jodi cuts a deliberately small piece that’s like a deformed slither. She likes fucking with him. It’s weird.

Zayde: What the hell is this? You always want to play mind games, but I know what you’re doing.

Jodi: What are you talking about?

I just sigh and go upstairs. I popped another Ativan to slow down my ever-creeping anxiety. My family is like a mental asylum sometimes.

Annoying fact: My aunt think everyone who’s ever smoked weed is a loser or degenerate. She never took chances of any kind in her life, and I feel like she’s balled up and alone inside. It saddens me. She thinks Tim Lincecum is a loser because he smoked pot. Hey everyone: Get the fuck over it. Oh, and as Weezer once said, “Might have smoked a few in my time, but never thought it was a crime”.

The Last Supper

The next day (Thanksgiving Day) I woke up and just sat there watching “Funny People”, not wanting to go down for breakfast. I went down eventually and commiserated with everyone before taking a shower. I always supposed to go see a movie with my aunt but she cancelled it for some reason and complained about something so I went back to reading and thinking.

That’s when I realized I had a story due for this website I was working for the next day and I still needed to write the story. I re-listened to the interview I had recorded and wrote out all the important facts and quotes and wrote my 1,000-word story. I was pretty happy with it, and wanted to celebrate before dinner (whenever I write a good story I always want to go out and do something fun. Anything for a party…or a way to meet some girls) but realized there was nothing to do. I waited it out in my room and came down for dinner.

Our Thanksgiving dinners have always been chaotic, with people shuffling around, preparing and distributing the food. There’s always a good amount of complaining and shouting and tidbits of great humor because I realize that even though these people are partially nuts, I still love them very much. It’s amazing that my grandparents have been married for 71 years, and that they’ve continued through life so well.

And then I thought of my mom. I think about her everyday, but just in small spurts and it’s usually not deep thinking. However, I thought a lot about her at dinner: her history, her first loves, who she was as a person, etc. For once I wasn’t sad, but rather just happy that I knew her for 11 years. Sometimes I think of things in terms of value and whether it’s worth it. For instance, one year of A.J. Pierzynski was not worth five years of Joe Nathan. The Giants got screwed. However, I agreed that have 11 years of my mom and then losing her was worth it rather then never knowing her.

Note: I know that seems like I shouldn’t think about that, but take it from me, a loss of a parent is something you cannot even barely understand unless it happens to you. You think of a lot of crazy shit.

Anyway, I sat around the dinner table, talking and actually enjoying everyone’s company. For once, I thought of all the positives I had in my life. And even the things that still frustrate me (DATING!!! , being social, getting a good job and living on my own, etc.) seemed like they were capable of tackling.

It’s like yeah, I have faults like everyone else, and my family is far from perfect, but in the end I know now how much I love and respect them and now know that I do have the tools and personality to be consistently happy if I work on my issues. I don’t have a girlfriend (yet), I don’t have a job (yet), my family acts insane (but they love each other), etc.

So, what am I thankful for? I’m thankful for my family, because they love each other and they love me and I love them. I’m thankful for my friends who’ve stuck by me through the years and who have a genuine interest in me, just as I do in them, and I’m thankful that over the past few months I’ve been able to see I have the ability and will to get what I want and to be happy, even if it takes a while or I have to fight for it. I can love. It’ll be worth it.

Alex Smith as 49ers starter not a surprise; either is Hill's demotion

2009-10-29T23:24:00.000-07:00

It really shouldn't be a surprise that Alex Smith is the San Francisco 49ers quarterback once again.

Drafted No. 1 overall in 2005, Smith had shown in college that he was worth the top pick in the draft. He threw for 5,203 yards and 47 touchdowns with only five interceptions in his two year career at Utah, and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy race in 2004. He amassed a 22-2 record as starter there, while completing 66.3% of his passes, and was gifted with an above average arm, speed, and intelligence.

There was some debate whether the 49ers, who went 2-14 in 2004 and had the top selection in the '05 draft, would select Smith, California quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Michigan wide receiver Braylon Edwards, Auburn running back Ronnie Brown, or trade it away for more picks. Most draft experts thought the race was between the two signal callers, and many expected San Francisco to take Smith.

The 49ers did in fact take Smith, with new head coach Mike Nolan and Scot McCloughan, then the vice president of player personnel and the team's current general manager, happy with the pick. Paul Attner from The Sporting News had this quote from Nolan in 2005:

"It is just like a game," says Nolan. "If you prepare well, it works. If not, it is chaos. I always wondered what the triggerman was thinking during a draft. But I knew exactly what I wanted with each pick, and it happened exactly as planned. And that's because of Scot. Everything is a first test, how we work together. I like what I see." He likes what he sees about Smith, too. "Rodgers might possibly have better NFL numbers than Alex," he says. "But we'll win with my guy."

The 49ers, however, did not win with Nolan's guy. San Francisco started four quarterbacks during the year (Tim Rattay, benched then traded to Tampa Bay during the middle of the season; Smith, in and out of the lineup with injuries; Ken Dorsey, injured, and Cody Pickett, who was also ineffective and injured), and finished the year with a 4-12 record. Smith put up bad, but not surprising rookie numbers: 50.9% completion percentage, 875 yards, one touchdown, and 11 interceptions in nine appearances with seven starts.

It needs to be said, however, that the 49ers were a very bad team and totally devoid of talent. Years of overspending and poor drafts finally caught up with the team and led to their collapse in 2004. It's hard to believe any other rookie QB would have succeed in San Francisco in '05. Some fans and people in the quasi-sports media deemed Smith a bust before his rookie campaign even ended. A blogger on FoxSports.com using the internet handle "sportstravler" wrote on December 16, 2005 that:

The San Francisco 49ers made a mistake when they took Alex Smith with the first overall pick of the 2005 Draft...His struggles with holding onto the football have also led to questions about the size of his hands, which have also been involved in throwing nine interceptions this year versus no touchdowns. In a draft that was loaded with good running backs but also featured a noticeable dearth in quarterback talent, San Francisco picked a signal caller...
If the 49ers were smart, they would have traded down or picked somebody else like wide receiver Braylon Edwards. Edwards would have been a nice complement to current USC quarterback Matt Leinart, who could be in position to be selected by the 49ers if they decide that Smith is a bust.
And Smith seems to be on his way to becoming one of those players who does not live up to expectations...If San Francisco is presented with the opportunity, the 49ers would be prudent to draft Matt Leinart and make amends for a poor decision.

Where to start? The entire article was littered with asinine statements, especially the one about the need to draft Matt Leinart in 2006. It's impossible to deem a top pick a bust in under a season, especially one that's on an awful team. Had Troy Aikman or Steve Young been judged that harshly, they wouldn't have made in the NFL.

As for Leinart, who was drafted 10th overall in 2006 by the Arizona Cardinals, he's having his own difficulties; it's quite possible his career in Arizona will come to an end after 2009 considering his mediocre play during the past three and half years. The Browns picked Braylon Edwards fourth overall in 2005, and he's not even in Cleveland anymore; he was moved to the Jets before the trade deadline this season and except for his stellar '07 campaign, he's been a disappointment. Rodgers, who slipped to 24th overall in '05, got to sit behind Brett Favre for three years before taking the reigns of the very stable Packers franchise.

Luckily for himself and the team, Smith's sophomore year in San Francisco was much better. He completed 58.1% of passes while throwing 16 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions with 2,890 yards. He also took every snap at quarterback for the team that year, a franchise record. He still struggled in the pocket and fumbled the ball too much (10 times to precise, including five lost). However, there was no doubt that he was improved and making a lot of progress. The 49ers 7-9 record even looked respectable considering how awful the team had been.

Much of that progress was due to Norv Turner, the new offensive coordinator. San Jose Mercury News writer Dennis Georgatos wrote in December 2006 that:

Although the numbers may not show it, offensive coordinator Norv Turner said Smith has made some of his best throws over the past three weeks.
"Unfortunately, we've also had some negative plays," Turner said. "When it happens, the brunt of it goes on the quarterback. I go off of my experience and being around him and what I see and the people that I talk to that are watching him, that know the position. And most people feel he is making great progress and is going to become an outstanding player."
Turner likened Smith's progress to the early stages in the development of quarterback Drew Brees...

Turner's run powered offense led by new star Frank Gore helped take a lot of the pressure off Smith. He also showed, however, that he was not just a game manager. He could win games. The best example of that was on December 14, 2006 when the 49ers played the Seahawks on Thursday Night Football in the pouring rain in Seattle. The 49ers trailed 7-3 at half, and there was belief that Smith might even be benched during the middle of the game because of his poor play. However, he showed why he worth the top pick in the draft; the Associated Press article after the game summed up his performance perfectly:

The setting was perfect for Alex Smith to fail: His team was trailing, it was cold and wet, and the crowd expected another Seahawks' division title.
Instead, with crisp, confident passes and nimble running, Smith put together the best 15 minutes of his young career.
Smith accounted for three fourth-quarter touchdowns -- two passing, one running -- and the San Francisco 49ers prevented the Seattle Seahawks from clinching the NFC West with a surprising 24-14 win on Thursday night.
"The boy just became a grown man today, baby," 49ers' running back Frank Gore said of his quarterback. "There's a lot more to come."

Smith's career quickly derailed, however. Turner left after the season to become the head coach of the Chargers, and San Francisco's replacement, Jeff Hostler, proved to be unacceptable.

The 49ers started 2007 with a 2-1 record, part of which was because of Smith's performance during opening night at home against Arizona. During the first series against the Seahawks on September 30, Smith was sacked by an unblocked Rocky Bernard. His shoulder was separated, and the injury would lead to a public feud with Nolan. Nolan implied Smith's injury was not as serious as he said it was and that he was doing the team a disservice by acting soft.

Smith came back after missing a few weeks while trying to nurse his injury without surgery, playing three games and looking terrible. Much of that was probably because of his shoulder. The feud with Nolan got worse, and after biting his tongue for weeks, Smith finally spoke out:

I think if (my teammates) would have heard what I actually said out there that day, it wouldn't have been an issue,'' Smith said of the day a few weeks ago when he suggested that Nolan had botched the handling of Smith's comeback.
''But all of a sudden Nolan spins it as I was making excuses for an injury. What I really felt like was, 'Yeah, I tried to play on it. And that was my decision and obviously I wasn't playing well enough.''

Smith decided to get surgery for his shoulder and missed the remainder of '07. Unlike his shoulder, however, his relationship with Nolan never healed. Instead of giving the starting job back to Smith for 2008 (which would have been the right move considering a) Smith was only 24, b) was the former No. 1 pick, and c) only lost his job because of injury, and he looked efficient before it), Nolan said that there would be a competition for the starting job.

San Francisco brought in Mike Martz to become the 49ers fifth offensive coordinator in as many years. Martz, the former head coach of the St. Louis Rams and leader of the 'Greatest Show on Turf', brought along one of his player projects from Detroit (Martz served as the Lions offensive coordinator in 2006-07): J.T. O'Sullivan.

O'Sullivan was a sixth-round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints in 2002, and former starting quarterback at UC Davis. He traveled around the league (and world; he had two stints in NFL Europe), before getting his first regular season experience in 2007 in Detroit. He had a decent arm and mobility, and his performance looked good because he was in a Mike Martz offensive system.

In a very questionable quarterback "competition" between Smith, O'Sullivan, and Shaun Hill (who looked good in limited playing time the year before during Smith's injury), O'Sullivan was declared the starter during the preseason by Nolan. Nolan had essentially given control of the offense to Martz; Nolan had saved his job the year before and knew the team had to do much better then the 5-11 record they posted in '07 to keep it.

O'Sullivan started out the season doing fairly well, while posting good numbers and keeping the team in a lot of games. However, he turned the ball over quite a bit, and lacked good pocket presence. O'Sullivan finished the year completing 128 of 222 passes (58.2%) for 1,678 yards with eight touchdown passes, 11 interceptions and 11 fumbles (six lost). He just wasn't starting material.

The 49ers started 2008 with a 2-5 record before the team finally had enough of Nolan; he was fired and replaced with assistant head coach Mike Singletary. After just a single half as head coach against the Seahawks, Singletary benched O'Sullivan for Hill and kept it that way for the remainder of the season. Smith had re-injured his shoulder just days before the start of the season and was put on injured reserved, keeping him out the rest of the year.

This brief history of the 49ers since 2005 does have a purpose; it's to set up why it shouldn't be a surprise Alex Smith is behind center again.

Singletary refused to commit to Hill as the team's starting QB after '08, and the team even flirted with the idea of signing free agent Kurt Warner. Warner even flew out and spoke with Niners officials in the Bay Area during the offseason before resigning with Arizona.

The 49ers had another competition for the starting role, and Hill was chosen half way through the preseason; many said it was because Smith hasn't shown anything to warrant the job, but clearly the team was not sold with Hill. By refusing to name a starter after '08 (especially after Hill's 5-3 record as starter and good play), and restructuring Smith's contract so he could stay with San Francisco, plus drafting Nate Davis in the fifth round in this year's draft, something wasn't right.

And that's where we're at now. Hill had played decently through six games, but his limitations are very visible. He has a below average arm and limited mobility; he cannot bring the team back from a big deficit, and when you combine that with a bad offensive line (which has limited the running game), Hill just doesn't have the ability to be a long term starter. Hill demonstrates good leadership, but physically he's been exploited.

Now that Smith is finally healthy again, he's been given another chance to prove he can be the 49ers franchise quarterback. He showed glimpses of it in the past, and he showed it again last Sunday. He is physically and mentally talented; his third and fourth years in the league were a complete wash, and it's very pleasing to see the organization let him continue where left off just two years ago.

Check me out

2009-10-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

If you're interested in sports or fantasy sports check out my articles on Examiner.com

http://www.examiner.com/x-26812-Bay-Area-Fantasy-Sports-Examiner

Who Am I? Part Two

2009-10-08T20:53:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to my positive attributes (at least how I see them). Opposite of my negative sub-personalities, the positive ones will be getting more airtime from now on. By finding them out and accepting who they are, I hope to be a better person in someway. Oh, and the songs are just quick examples I thought of just now. There are better ones I'm sure, but it's not that important.

The Journalist

Who is He?: The Journalist represents my creative side. Not only does he push me to write and do things that I enjoy, but The Journalist is also the investigative side of my personality. He tells me to ask the questions and tries to understand why something is and if there's a better way of doing it.

Song representation: The Remedy (I Won't Worry) by Jason Mraz

His representation: Edward R. Murrow (as played by David Strahairn)

The Rogue

Who Is He?: Think of Han Solo. He's a good person, but he's a rough side to him. Not afraid to take chances, and really enjoys challenges. This is a very rare side of me, but we might be seeing more of him.

Song representation: Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry

His representation: Han Solo

The Romantic

Who Is He?: Good question. I know for fact he's there, but I've denied him for so long that I don't know him that well. The good thing, however, is that by cutting down on the negative self-take I'll be able to focus my on energy on better things; and The Romantic will be getting more attention. I know I can be as "cool" as anyone else.

Song representation: Isn't It Romantic by Chet Baker

His representation: Chet Baker

Mr. Positive

Who Is He?: (I couldn't think of a better name for him) Mr. Positive is the sum of all my positive parts: He's nice, tries to be a good person, and looks at the good things on in life. He sets realistic goals and isn't upset if they aren't met; he just keeps trying until it works out. The Critic despises Mr. Positive, but that doesn't bring him down. Hopefully Mr. Positive will take control of the table and lead everyone. My favorite sub-personality.

Song representation: Josie by Blink 182 and Dreams by The Cranberries

His representation: Group of smiling people

Wise Old Man

Who Is He?: This is the sub-personality who is filled with wisdom and has all his stuff together. He isn't phased and rarely talks. I use him for guidance when I'm unsure of what I should do. Never steers me wrong; it's just a matter of listening when he speaks.

Song representation: Am180 by Grandaddy

His representation: See below

There are other sub-personalities that I'm not fully aware of yet, but this is a good start. The key as I see it, is to let these guys speak more then the negatives ones. Sounds simple, but it's been a challenge so far for me in life. However, there's always hope and I'm looking on the bright side as much as possible.

"I know that everything, know that everything, know that everything, everythings gonna' be fine".

Who Am I? Part One

2009-10-07T23:56:00.000-07:00

I recently entered therapy (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to be exact) to work on my driving and social anxieties. I've gone for two sessions now, and I already feel a whole lot better. I have a better grip and understanding over myself and why I'm afraid to drive and why I try and avoid big social gatherings. I'm also using some new tools to fix my problems and to unlearn my negative feelings. And so far, I'm very pleased. Anyhow, I've been instructed to try and find the different sub-personalities inside of me and extract them so I can analyze each one. The goal is to emphasis the positive ones and silence the negative ones. This will make me feel better about myself and help be more outgoing and to counter my fears.

I'll start with the negative ones (old habits die hard):

The Surrenderer

Who Is He?: The personality who wants to give up at the first sign of trouble. He doesn't put me down so much as he tells me to avoid any complications and to please everyone else. That doesn't mean I can't be nice to other people, but The Surrenderer sacrifices self-respect for others.

Song representation: Why Bother by Weezer

Physical representation: a white flag

The Critic

Who Is He?: The Critic is my arch-enemy and my most relentless sub-personality. Nothing is good enough for him. Whenever I do something good, it's destroyed by criticism and cynicism. He offers no words of encouragement and would rather see me fail then succeed.

Song representation: Anakin's Dark Deeds by John Williams

His representation: The Emperor from Star Wars

The Worrier

Who Is He?: A close cousin of The Surrenderer, The Worrier doesn't tell me to give up, but instead thinks of all the negative things that could happen. He tells me things like "you could crash when you drive" or "she might reject you". The Critic would tell me I'm a failure, but The Worrier just gives examples of everything negative.

Song representation: Tangled Up by New Found Glory

His representation: Larry David (I'm still a big fan of his. Maybe this is the Curb Your Enthusiasm character version).

The Victim

Who Is He?: The Victim wants me to feel sorry for myself and try and get other people's sympathy. He sees himself as an ally, but is actually detrimental to me because he doesn't help make progress when facing any of my problems. He'd rather sit there and wait for help that isn't coming.

Song representation: Can't Be Saved by Senses Fail

His representation: A depressed guy

The Perfectionist

Who Is He?: He demands the most out of me, but at the cost of self worth and respect. He will never stop wanting more, even when the task or goal was successfully accomplished. Unlike The Critic, he doesn't want me to fail, but he doesn't offer any support and is never satisfied.

Song representation: Skin and Bones by Foo Fighters

His representation: Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen arguing with an umpire

Don't worry, I'm much more positive then this. These are just the darker sides of my personality. It's just a matter of listening to everyone around your conference table and letting the right voices speak. Part Two will show you the positive aspects of my personality and what they do for me.

No!

2009-09-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

Don't you dare take Tom Delonge's red vine/twizzler! This is why Scott Raynor was thrown out of the band; it had nothing to do with the drinking.

Dating

2009-09-16T00:56:00.000-07:00

I think most people agree that dating can be a horribly awkward and intimidating exercise. What might be more uncomfortable then the actual date is the process of asking the person out. So, I am proposing a set of rules that our society should implement to make the whole courting process easier. You still might stumble through the date, but getting one will be a whole lot easier.

I should say that if you're already very outgoing and super self-confident, then this really won't apply to you. However, more people are socially awkward and shy then not, so this shouldn't be taken lightly.

Anyway, this is how it would work: Everyone would be required to accept someones date if they're asked out. A lot of people are terrified of rejection, so this would take a lot of the fear out of dating. Obviously there would be some exceptions and general protections for the individual being asked out. Here they are as followed:

1. If you're already in a relationship (dating, engaged, married, etc.)

2. If you don't feeling like dating anyone then you wouldn't have to. The way it would be pretty simple: you can't just pick and choose who's invitation to accept. You have to declare yourself off limits to everyone. You can toggle your status on and off whenever you want (kind of), but if you say no to one person, then you have to say no to everyone. There would be a one or two week period when your status would remain the same. For instance, if you say on October 1 that you're not dating anyone because a fat chick or a creepy guy asks you out, then you must wait two weeks (October 15) to date someone else. You can't pick and choose. You have to stick to your decision for a certain amount of time so you don't exploit the system.

3. The exception to that, however, would be if you have a valid reason not to date that person. If they're creepers, stalkers, douchebags, certified assholes, super bitches, etc. then you could say no without any repercussion. There would be complications because the person who is denied the date might think they were rejected for an invalid reason. The system can't be exploited by either side. A dating arbitration court would be formed to decide cases in which possible rules were violated.

Example: A guy who has a history of being a total asshole asks a girl out. She says no on the grounds that he's an asshole. He thinks she's just being a bitch and believes he isn't an asshole. He files for arbitration and a judge decides whether or not he has a valid case. The judge looks at the evidence and sees that he has a pattern of being a dick. The judge rules the girl was right and she doesn't have to accept the date.

We can fund this court by taxing the extremely wealthy a little bit more then the 40% they're being taxed now. Or something like that. Maybe borrow from the Chinese or something. We'll make it work.

3. The person who asks for the date must pay for it unless it's agreed by both sides for another arrangement.

4. If the date doesn't go well or the person who was asked out just doesn't connect with the other person there is no requirement to go out again. The whole point is just for people to connect with one another without all the weirdness that surrounds conventional dating. If people just had one chance of a one on one conversation with someone they liked, I think a lot more people would be happy.

5. People are shallow. Weight, deformities, general ugliness, etc. play a role in rejection for both sides. I completely understand someone's point of view when they're not physically attracted to someone else. However, that's the whole point of the one guaranteed date. It gives everyone a fair shot of opening up and seeing if they find a connection that goes beyond the physical aspect.

I'm sure there are some rules I can think up to make this whole process more streamlined and fair, but this is a good start in destroying the awkwardness that clouds everyday life. And it doesn't require a medication, prescription or otherwise. Just enforcement by an armed dating agency. Kidding.

The most important aspect of this plan isn't necessarily about the long term relationship or the sex (although it can be; nothing wrong with that), but rather about trying to make new friends and just see new people that you normally wouldn't have a chance with. For both sides. It could also work in a platonic friend way, or just regular friendship. Watch I Love You Man for an example of that.

"I know that everything, know that everything, know that everything, everything's going to be fine".

Untapped potential/Still have faith

2009-09-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

You can only lean on me for so long

2009-09-14T18:05:00.000-07:00

The Blink 182 show yesterday was by the best concert I've ever been too. My two favorite bands (Weezer and Blink 182) were playing at the same show. That's just true greatness. I'll try and write a more substantial review/experience on it later on.

And in your place an empty space has filled the void behind my face.

2009-09-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

I'm currently 236 pounds, which means I'm approximately 14 pounds or so from no longer being medically obese. It's a good feeling, that's for sure.

Side note: Why does life seem overly complicated? Also, I wish people were more direct with one another and dealt with problems in a civil way. Hooray progress! Hooray Beer!

What I really want to say I can't define

2009-09-14T17:20:00.000-07:00

I came to the realization that I'm not on equal footing as some people when it comes to certain things. I know that's a horribly vague statement that probably doesn't appear to mean anything deep, but writing this out gives me a certain peace of mind.

I'm not sure where I can go from here. I'm not that afraid of regressing as I once was, and that's because I know I can't do much worse. What's more frightening then regression is not making progress. I have in certain aspects, but the gains I've earned have either come at a great price or were never as good as I thought they were.

Every once in a while I get a reminder that I'm not the starting quarterback for the Patriots, but rather the third string QB battling for a job on the Lions practice squad. Will I ever reach respectability and make some big plays? I hope so, because thinking about failure is gut wrenching and depressing. Like I said, I know I've made progress in life, but I'm not sure where I thought I was and who knows If I'll get to where I want to be.

Sometimes players need a change of scenery and their team will trade them. I really like my friends; they're all good people and they're all good friends to me. But maybe I need to go somewhere else for a few months to see what I can do on my own and see who I am. Finding ones self can be devastatingly painful at times, but it's necessary to grow. If I only knew what I was growing into.

That's all for now.

Math

2009-08-31T20:31:00.000-07:00

I can't stand math. Why won't college just let me skip it and focus on subjects that are more apt to what I want to do? Argh.

The Untouchables (or the Magnificent Seven)

2009-07-03T15:40:00.000-07:00

Here are the seven San Francisco Giants' who should never be traded (unless it was for the moon)

Already in the pros:

Tim Lincecum, SP

Matt Cain, SP

Pablo Sandoval, 3B/1B

Not quite there yet:

Madison Bumgarner, SP

Tim Alderson, SP

Buster Posey, C

Angel Villalona, 1B/3B

Recommendations

2009-06-29T23:17:00.000-07:00

Movies:

Food, Inc.

Why you should watch it: A great portrait of the food industry in the United States, and it's lack of regulation. It's well made and backed up with a lot of facts and ideas on how to fix the problem.

Music:

The Rentals - Return of the Rentals

Why you should listen to it: It's bubblegum rock with meaning and purpose. While it won't go down as the best album of the century, it's definitely worth your time if you like power pop (Cheap Trick, The Cars, Weezer; The Rentals were a side project of Weezer's former bassist, Matt Sharp) or easy going rock.

Weight Loss Blog- Hiatus

2009-06-29T23:10:00.000-07:00

On hiatus until further notice. My weight is still floating in the low 240s, but the blog doesn't serve the same purpose as it once did. Hopefully it won't be gone forever.

Triples Alley

2009-06-25T16:09:00.000-07:00

What are the odds two major celebrities would die on the same day? I'm not sure how to feel about Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. I think I feel more for Fawcett because she's been on the decline for a while now. Jackson did many great things for music, but he was a creeper. Oh, and Ed McMahon died this week as well. Sad.

Here's a poem and song lyrics I just discovered and like very much:

"We Who Are Your Closest Friends" by Philip Lopate

We who are
your closest friends
feel the time
has come to tell you
that every Thursday
we have been meeting,
as a group,
to devise ways
to keep you
in perpetual uncertainty
frustration
discontent and
torture
by neither loving you
as much as you want
nor cutting you adrift.
Your analyst is
in on it,
plus your boyfriend
and your ex-husband;
and we have pledged
to disappoint you
as long as you need us.
In announcing our
association
we realize we have
placed in your hands
a possible antidote
against uncertainty
indeed against ourselves.
But since our Thursday nights
have brought us
to a community
of purpose
rare in itself
with you as
the natural center,
we feel hopeful you
will continue to make unreasonable
demands for affection
if not as a consequence
of your disastrous personality
then for the good of the collective.

And the song "These Days" by The Rentals:

Is this it
These days I may not be so happy
After all, after all that I have gained
I still feel sad when I'm all alone
I may have felt that path? decay?
I may not be so swift after all
All the chances you have given me
I just let you go
I guess I've been like this before
Sometimes I can't stand up and be a man
But God why would I lose it now
When I need my strength at hand
You know sometimes I can be real cool
All the words just seem to flow right along
But when that girl approaches me
Well it all goes wrong
These days leave me hopelessly lugubrious
I wish these days were gone
Oh please end
These days I may not be so happy
After all, after all the chances you have given me
I just let you go let you go

Anyway, it's a cool song because it's actually very upbeat, and it's a great 90s bubblegum/power-pop song.

Weight Loss Blog - Part Two, Week Two

2009-06-22T15:19:00.000-07:00

June 15 to 21, 2009

6/15 weight: 241
6/21 weight: 243

Gain of two pounds

How many more pounds I have to lose until medically not obese: 28

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Just a quick post this week; Father's Day was awesome this year. Still trying to take this weight loss blog seriously and trying to make it more interesting. It will (or should, anyway) happen, someday.

Don't tell me how to feel

2009-06-17T08:51:00.001-07:00

Please accept me for who I am.

El Scorcho

2009-06-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

Weezer's "El Scorcho" seems to describe these two guys' friendship. Good for them.

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http://www.thenewstribune.com/1042/story/780073.html#none

LARRY LARUE; The News Tribune

Last updated: June 16th, 2009 01:43 AM (PDT)

In the visiting clubhouse of Baltimore’s Camden Yards, 31/2 hours before a game, players are watching television, playing cards, listening to iPods.

Ichiro Suzuki spreads a towel on the carpeted floor in front of his locker, lies on his back and begins doing stretching exercises. From Ichiro’s blind side, Ken Griffey Jr. pounces, gets his hands deep under Ichiro’s armpits and digs in with his fingers.

Ichiro’s laughter is almost childlike – genuine and uncontrolled – and after about five seconds he screams the magic word to make Griffey stop.

Junior stands up, walks back to his locker and sits down. Ichiro lies quietly for a moment, letting his body relax, then goes back to stretching as if nothing had happened.

But he’s smiling.

“This,” trainer Rick Griffin said, “is the happiest I’ve seen Ichiro since 2001.”

So much has happened since Ichiro’s rookie season, to the team and the man, and not all of it good. That season, the team won 116 games, Ichiro was the American League’s Most Valuable Player and its Rookie of the Year.

It was a tough act to follow, and the Mariners haven’t been to the postseason since. Last season, they lost 101 games, fired two managers, went through three batting coaches.

Ichiro went about his job professionally, playing all 162 games, batting .310, winning another Gold Glove.

Was he happy?

Ichiro shakes his head at the question.

“No one was happy,” he said.

In truth, Ichiro hadn’t been happy in years, and in the Seattle clubhouse there were times when he seemed to be alone on an island. The roster turned over, again and again, and each new wave of players viewed Ichiro as something of an outsider.

He did things no one else did, from eating pregame rice balls to poking the soles of his bare feet with a stick. There were a half dozen Japanese reporters who followed him everywhere.

Ichiro closed down, too. There wasn’t tension between him and his teammates as much as there was … nothing.

“I’m in my ninth year in the game here, and there’s a point where you have to protect yourself,” Ichiro said. “It’s been hard to open my heart to everyone.”

Then the Mariners signed Griffey in spring training. Nothing has been the same since – especially Ichiro. At Safeco Field, his locker faces Griffey’s. On the road, they are always near one another.

Just talking about Junior gets Ichiro animated.

“It’s fun to come to the clubhouse every day and just watch him, listen to him,” Ichiro said. “He’s like a different creature than the rest of us. It’s like he’s from a different planet.

“That’s what we’ve been missing here, that’s the hole he’s filled, that’s what he does. He brings a team together just by being himself.”

Griffey is asked about Ichiro.

“Ichiro’s smart, but he’s still a little uncomfortable with some things. Put yourself in Japan, you’d have the same thing to deal with,” he said. “I’ve never found him standoffish, but this isn’t his country. He’s still learning things. He’s cautious.”

Junior laughs loudly, then says, “I love messing with him.”

The escalation has been steady and often hilarious.

Griffey is the first member of the Mariners ever to make fun of the way Ichiro dresses – at least to his face. Each day when Ichiro enters the clubhouse in street clothes, Junior goes through a five-point rating process.

“I’d wear that shirt,” he said in Denver. “The pants, no. That belt? No. Shoes? Yeah, I might wear those. But that man purse? No (bleeping) way. You’re 2-for-5 today.”

After years of being above such antics in the clubhouse or anywhere else, Ichiro’s response to Griffey’s presence has been unadulterated joy.

“Ken has always been my favorite superstar, and from the time I started following his career I thought about what a relationship with him would be like,” Ichiro said. “I wasn’t going to pursue it – that wouldn’t have been respectful.

“He’s the one who’s always doing something to me. He knows how to mess with me. It is my greatest honor to play with him.”

There is a pause as Ichiro looks at his translator, Antony Suzuki, and then Ichiro continues.

“Ken has opened the doors for me, allowed me to be me this year,” he said.

“I always thought opening my heart would be close to impossible in baseball with so many differences between me and other players. It’s been close to a miracle with Junior. We have a special relationship – something I’ve never had before.

“He changed the way I sense things. I thought time would be the biggest factor in building a friendship. Junior did it from the first day.”

When Griffey got to the Seattle clubhouse for the first time, there were only two players he knew well – Ichiro and Russell Branyan. So he got to work on them first.

“I try to be an equal-opportunity messer. I get everyone,” Griffey said. “Messing with Ichiro and Russell was easy here, because I knew both of them. Everyone else, it took a little more time.

“If I’m on a team, everybody – one through 25 – is going to get messed with. You’re part of this team, I’m gonna have fun with you.”

It’s not all laughter.

“There’s a time to get ready, and the last hour or so before a game, I’m quiet. I’m focused. So is Ichiro. In this game, there’s also time to have fun, to mess with people. I use that time well,” Griffey said.

Griffin, the trainer, said walking through the clubhouse in that final hour before a game, Ichiro and Junior can be a bit unnerving.

“Sometimes they’ll each be at their locker, just staring at one another,” he said.

Ichiro’s take: “Ken is a special person, a special presence.

“He’s brought a lot to the team, a new attitude, and he’s done it on and off the field, in the clubhouse and the dugout. He’s great for the team. We’re much closer together than we’ve been.

“It’s not just what he might say or do, it’s his character,” Ichiro said.

They have become more than friends. Ichiro plans to visit the Griffeys in Florida after the season, and has invited the entire Griffey clan to his home in Japan.

Their relationship, Junior said, is both unique and simple.

“Outside of baseball, making a friend takes a lot of time. In baseball, we’re all together every day. Not five days a week – every day. So things can happen more quickly,” he said.

“Here’s why we’ve become friends: trust. I don’t want anything from him, he doesn’t want anything from me, except friendship. There are no ulterior motives. I just want to be his friend. There’s no hidden agenda.

“For both of us, that can be rare.”

General manager Jack Zduriencik acknowledges signing Junior was, in part, an effort to change the clubhouse – and to make Ichiro more comfortable in it.

“Of course, it was a factor,” Zduriencik said. “We’d heard the stories about last year, and I knew the presence of Ken Griffey Jr. would give him instant respect in the clubhouse.

“Did I think he’d help Ichiro feel more a part of this club? Yeah, I did. Did I know it would click? No. But it has, and I hoped it would.”

Ichiro was 22 when he first met Griffey in 1995. Junior was already a major league star.

“The way he approached me in our first meeting is the same way he does today. He doesn’t base friendships on ability or status,” Ichiro said. “If he’d known I was ticklish back in ’95, he’d probably have jumped on me then, too. People can change over time, but he hasn’t – not since we first met in ’95.

“That’s one thing that keeps friendships alive, someone who doesn’t change.

“As he gets older – even when he’s a grandpa – I’d still like to have him here.”

Griffey is touched by such talk.

“We both know what it’s like to reach a certain visibility level in this game, where you’re the same person but people see you differently,” Junior said. “People who have never met you write about you. After a while, you start wondering what somebody wants when they approach you – to say hello or to ask for something.”

Is the tickling a sign of friendship? Griffey shakes his head.

“The tickling thing started the same day Ichiro’s hitting streak did, so I had to keep it going – I didn’t want to break that thing up,” he said.

Ichiro was stunned the first time Griffey attacked him, although his laughter was as genuine that day as any other.

“He’s the only teammate I would ever let do that. In Japan, all relationships are respectful, so no one would ever do that to me,” Ichiro said. “If someone else did it here, I’d probably punch them in the face.”

That said, Ichiro smiles broadly and adds this:

“This is the happiest I’ve been since 2001.”

blogs.thenewstribune.com/mariners

Originally published: June 16th, 2009 12:16 AM (PDT)

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I'm a David Letterman supporter

2009-06-16T10:27:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard about the David Letterman/Sarah Palin tiff read about it here:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=7813714&page=1

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Anyway, Letterman apologized:

http://www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSTRE55F0E320090616

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And yet conservative groups and your average morons are still complaining:

http://www.firedavidletterman.com/

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If you think Palin and her supporters have blown this out of proportion join these groups:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=91467016131

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=110008694342

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People can be fucking stupid sometimes. Like John Ziegler; screw him.

Weight Loss Blog - Part Two, Week One

2009-06-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

June 8 to 14, 2009

6/8 weight: 245
6/14 weight: 241

Loss of four pounds

How many more pounds I have to lose until medically not obese: 26

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So here it is. This is my attempt to update my weight loss blog and more importantly get back on the weight loss wagon. I'll probably tweak with the format in the coming weeks, but I'll try to make it look newer and coolor and more informative. Let's get to the highlights of the week:

* I bought more fruits and vegetables this week than I have in a long time. I also cut back on microwave meals and I've tried to make healthier selections when I go out to eat. I'm trying to keep my calorie count under 2,000 a day and my fat intake to no more than 65 grams. So far, so good. Well expect for yesterday; it was a complete debacle.

* I remembered that by not putting mayonese on sandwiches I cut back on hundreds of calories and over 15 grams of fat, especially when ordering one at a restaurant. While spicy mustard isn't as good as mayo, it's much healthier and the taste doesn't suffer too much.

* Cutting back on calories is the best thing you can do for yourself when it comes to dieting. While it's important to monitor your fat and cholesteral intake, calories are what determine what you're going to weigh in the end. Cutting out 500 a day from your suggested intake will trim a pound week. Not bad.

* I still haven't exercised much, but I'm more focused on just losing weight by eating less. Exercising is important, but I'm still moderately lazy.

* I can still go to an Outback-like restaurant once a week without effecting my weight. The hard part is not eating a bunch of unhealthy crap during the day or when I'm out with friends.

* I was made fun of by two pre-teens for being fat at Rotten Tomatoes last week. Embarrassed isn't even close to describing how I felt. It did, however, get my ass in gear again to losing weight again.

* I watched a 12 hour Top Chef marathon the other day. Such an awesome show. Anyone interested in food or cooking should give the show a chance.

* There should be a lot more writing next week.

San Francisco Giants 2009 - Possible midseason trades

2009-06-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

The Giants have had a better than expected season up to this point thanks to their pitching, and because they've winning of late, they have a legitimate opportunity to trade for a bat that could help propel them into the playoffs and possibly beyond. Let's look at some theoretical trade candidates San Francisco might be looking at in the coming month and a half.

Note: The battling consists of batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. Example: .284/.368/.477. All stats as of June 14, 2009.

Infield:

Jorge Cantu, 1B/3B, Florida Marlins

Age: 27

2009 line: .271/.328/.452 - 9 HR, 43 RBI
Career line: .274/.318/.459 - 83 HR, 347 RBI

While he's a mediocre fielder, Cantu has had a consistent bat the past year and a half, and he would give the Giants a power hitter who's under team control through the 2011 season. He and Pablo Sandoval could switch off at the corner infield positions for the remainder of the year if need be, and Cantu would be a relatively cheap investment for the next two and a half years. It's unclear what San Francisco would have to give Florida to acquire him, but Jonathan Sanchez and a mid-level prospect might do the trick.

Recommended: Yes

Dan Uggla, 2B, Florida Marlins

Age: 29

2009 line: .218/.335/.423 - 11 HR, 40 RBI
Career line: .257/..340/.483 - 101 HR, 310 RBI

Uggla is an adequate second baseman with a good amount of power, and another Marlin who is under control through 2011. He's having a bad year statistically, but a change of scenery might do him so good. It seems as if he could only get better at this point in the season. There were rumors Florida wanted Matt Cain in exchange for Uggla, which if true, would not be a fair trade. Jonathan Sanchez seems like a fair trading piece instead.

Recommended: Yes (only if the Giants don't give anymore than Sanchez)

Mark DeRosa, 3B/2B/1B/SS/LF/RF, Cleveland Indians

Age: 34

2009 line: .277/.347/.459 - 11 HR, 44 RBI
Career line: .279/..348/.424 - 79 HR, 394 RBI

DeRosa is a super utility player who can play almost every position. He's currently starting at third base for the Indians, and he could play that for the Giants, as well. A late bloomer, DeRosa has become one of the best utility players in the league the past three years, and he has a clutch bat that could help San Francisco for the remainder of the season. He becomes a free agent at the end of the year. Cleveland might be in the need for pitching, so Sanchez would yet again become a possible trading chip. It's hard to know how much Sanchez is actually worth, but the fact that he's only 26 who has had some great starts might mean he has a moderate amount of value.

Recommended: Yes

Aubrey Huff, 1B, Baltimore Orioles

Age: 32

2009 line: .261/.324/.432 - 8 HR, 41 RBI
Career line: .285/.343/.480- 196 HR, 707 RBI

A run of the mill first baseman who has had a history of hitting for power. Huff would be a rental as he is a free agent after the season. He would be an upgrade at first base for the Giants, but his price might be too high for just three months.

Recommended: No

Nick Johnson, 1B, Washington Nationals

Age: 30

2009 line: .315/.417/.437 - 5 HR, 30 RBI
Career line: .273/.398/.455 - 86 HR, 347 RBI

Nick Johnson isn't so much a power hitter but rather a moneyball person's dream; his .398 career OBP is a fantastic statistic and he can work the count. He is an injury concern and is also a free agent next year, so whoever the Giants have to give up for him shouldn't be a future all star caliber player. He'd be a good protector in the lineup for Bengie Molina, however. If the price is low, he'd be worth it.

Recommended: Not a strong no, but more of a no than a yes.

Others:

Adam LaRoche, 1B, Pittsburgh Pirates
Chris Davis, 1B/3B, Texas Rangers
Hank Blalock, 1B/3B, Texas Rangers

Most of these guys are decent power hitters and below average defenders. Not bad rentals, and Chris Davis has a shot to being a good long term player.

Outfield:

The Yankee Trio

Nick Swisher, RF/CF/LF/1B - Age: 28 - 2009 line: .247/.392/.521 - 12 HR, 35 RBI
Xavier Nady, RF/LF - Age: 30 - 2009 line: .286/.310/.429 - 0 HR, 2 RBI
Hideki Matsui, LF - Age: 35 - 2009 line: .257/.352/.492 - 10 HR, 28 RBI

The Yankees have had a logjam in the outfield this year with three of their outfielders becoming free agents next year. Nady has been injured since April, but there's a good chance he would be ready to go by the end of July when the tradeline is. Matsui is also an up and coming free agent and near the twilight of his career, but he could the Giants a good amount of offensive production for the rest of the year. He's been DHing with New York for much of the season because of injury, but he would also probably be ready to play in the outfield in July. Swisher seems like the most untouchable of the three, but the Yankees would probably listen to offers for him. He's under contract through 2011 with a team option for 2012. He would give San Francisco at least two and half years of being near his prime and would cost fair market value contract wise.

All three of them would probably carry a high price in a trade, but there's always a chance Sabean might offer a package for one of the three, and it probably wouldn't involve one of the Giants elite prospects.

Recommended: Swisher: Yes
Nady: No
Matsui: No

Matt Holliday, LF, Oakland Athletics

Age: 29

2009 line: .274/.372/.438 - 8 HR, 37 RBI
Career line: .316/.385/.543 - 136 HR, 520 RBI

Acquired from Colorado by Billy Beane in a blockbuster trade this past winter, Holliday has yet to meet expectations this season. However, he is highly talented and has been one of the best outfielder's since 2006. He's still in his prime, and while he'll probably never do as well outside of Coors Field, he would still be an elite player for the Giants for the rest of the year. The A's would ask for a lot in exchange for Holliday, and the fact that he's represented by Scott Boras means that he'll take the best contract available next year. San Francisco shouldn't mortgage their future by surrendering an elite prospect just for 3 months of having Holliday.

Recommended: No

Others:

Cody Ross, RF/CF, Florida Marlins
Jeremy Hermida, LF, Florida Marlins
Jeff Francoeur, RF, Atlanta Braves
Adam Dunn, RF/LF/1B, Washington Nationals
Josh Willingham, LF, Washington Nationals

Jeremy Hermida and Jeff Francoeur are both only 25, and both have been shopped by their respective teams. Hermida seems to have a steadier bat than Francoeur, but Francoeur might be available in low buy situation. Cody Ross has had a very good season offensively, but he'll be 29 next season and he wouldn't be a good long term option unless he's taken in a low buy trade (which is unlikely). Adam Dunn is an awful fielder, but he has an outstanding bat; he'll hit 40 homers and knock in 100 runs a year. He's under contract through 2010, and the Nationals might jump at a trade if they got some pitching from the Giants. Not Matt Cain-level, but maybe Sanchez and a pitching prospect not named Bumgarner or Alderson. Josh Willingham, 30, is an average fielder with some pop in his bat, and while he's the least attractive of any of the outfielders, he might still add some offensive skill to the Giants lineup.

Changes Coming! More kick ass stuff (maybe?...hahaha, what?)- Week 23

2009-06-07T18:07:00.000-07:00

Time Span: Monday June 1 to Sunday June 7

Weight: 243

I'm setting in motion some changes for my lackluster diet, which has been pretty crappy since the end of March. I'm doing a reformat for the diet blog and I'm actually going to try harder with sticking with eating healthy(ier). Here are few of the changes I'm thinking about making for the blog:

- Updates Monday morning instead of Sunday evening. You can get a more accurate weight by weighing yourself before you start your day and consume anything, so this seems like a logical change.

- The format will be badass and action packed with kick ass things like...umm...OK, I'm not sure...but...it will look different and I think It'll be more me like it was the first couple of weeks where I logged a lot of what I ate. I don't think I'll be as specific as I once was but I'll make it more useful for myself.

- I might add pictures of different stuff that are food related. Isn't that super awesome?

- More later.

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My weight after this week: 245

(gained 2 pounds)

I'm surprised I didn't gain 6-8 pounds after consuming pizza after pizza and sandwich after sandwich in Sea Ranch. It was all very fun though.

Hello June!

Peaceful- Week 22

2009-05-31T22:54:00.000-07:00

Time Span: Tuesday May 26 to Sunday May 31

Weight: 246

I lost my Vegas pounds, as I knew I would, so yeah...suck on that. I'll have more in-depth posts (weight and non-weight related) in June, so I hope that tickles your fancy.

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My weight after this week: 243

(lost 3 pounds)

See Jason, I quit failing.

Die, you fuck

2009-05-31T02:23:00.000-07:00

Back Home- Week 21

2009-05-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

Time Span: Monday May 18 to Monday May 25

Weight: 243

Let me start with a diddy by T.I.-

Hey, never mind what haters say, ignore them 'til they fade away

It ain't that black and white, it has an area that's shaded gray
I'm west side anyway, even if I left today and stayed away
Some move away to make a way not move away cause they afraid

I pray for patience but they make me wanna melt their face away

I'm the opposite of moderate, immaculately polished with
The spirit of a hustler and the swagger of a college kid
Allergic to the counterfeit, impartial to the politics
Articulate but still would grab a nigga by the collar quick

The hootin' and the hollerin', back and forth with the arguing
Where you from, who you know, what you make and what kind of car you in
Seems as though you lost sight of what’s important with the positive
And checks until your bank account and you up out of poverty

Your values is a disarray, prioritizing horribly
Unhappy with your riches cause you're piss poor morally
Ignoring all prior advice and forewarning
And we mighty full of ourselves all of a sudden aren't we?

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I had a fun and very relaxing trip in Seattle that revolved around sitting on my ass, going to baseball games, and re-exploring the city that I fell in love with a decade ago. They also have a high hot girl ratio, so that's always a nice benefit. I gained a few pounds after eating three full sized meals, and while this would usually make me freak out about the weight gain, I don't care. That feels great; the fact that I know I'll lose it within two weeks makes eating like crazy on vacation extra special.

News and Notes

- I saw Terminator Salvation. It's a good action movie, but after re-watching the first three I realized it's worst of them all. The first two are classics, and even the third one was a well done summer blockbuster that still had a good story and humor that were trademarks of the franchise. I shouldn't have expected Salvation to be good, but with a $200 million budget I expected better acting and characters and a story I could actually care about. I know I know, I'm nitpicking. But that's what I do. When you want to be a writer and work in the industry you have to separate the good from the entertainingly crappy. Still, I like futuristic warfare and explosions so I still had a good time watching it.

- Homeless people in Seattle are accepted and aren't harassed as much as they are in most parts of the country. I like that. Yay for social reform! I hope we have more programs to help people live a decent life.

- Death to John and Kate Plus Eight! Pull our troops out of the Middle East and launch an offensive on awful television, that unfortunately, appeals to millions of people.

- Rename debit cards to "credit chips".

- I'm happy for Susan Boyle, but can we try and fix her appearance? She's pug fugly, and we can do better, damnit.

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My weight after this week: 246

(gained 3 pounds)

Cock. Beer?

Summer Heat- Week 20

2009-05-17T22:31:00.000-07:00

Time Span: Monday May 11 to Sunday May 17

Weight: 242

These updates are pretty pointless now for a couple of reasons. For one I think like three people read this blog so it's not like I have an audience. Oh well, that's life. More importantly, however, is that I haven't lost any significant amount of weight in two months. I'll continue to update thought because it gives me a reason to continue my weight loss "journey". I know being jaded and depressed isn't something people strive for, but I'm on the wrong end of the happiness scale right now. Depressed? No, but not really happy. Jaded? Sort of. I don't know what I want, but I need something. There's something about summer that's wonderful and yet terrible at the same time. Well I'm just confused. Here's hoping for a good week.

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My weight after this week: 243

(gained 1 pound)

When I'm dreamin' I know that it's okay.

Unorganized thoughts and ramblings- Reds, Blues, Love You's, and Fuck You's

2009-05-15T22:50:00.000-07:00

- I want to thank whoever created the bread bowl. He/she has done a wonderful thing for society as a whole, and even more importantly, created another excuse for bread lovers to eat more bread at a meal. The great part is that when you're done with your soup or pasta, you can literally eat the bowl. Truly genius.

- I'm tired of every athlete and sports star pointing to God or heaven or whoever the fuck it is after they get a base hit or complete a seven yard pass on 2nd and 12. Do they think God has something to do with it? Are they so special that they actually believe there was divine intervention in their accomplishment? That sounds pretty selfish to me; I mean to think God is putting you ahead of everyone else is just stupid. For one, I don't think I actually believe in God. For another, even if I did, I wouldn't be that fucking stupid to believe that I'm extra special. Like God gives a shit who wins the inter-league match up between the Royals and Nationals.

The most annoying of these sports starts is MLB closer Francisco Rodriguez of the New York Mets. He always points to the sky when he saves a game, presumably to thank the Lord for giving him the strength to pitch a whole inning of baseball! Was it God who gave him the strength to leave the Los Angeles Angels this year and sign a three-year, $37 million deal with New York? He probably thanks his agent for that one.

Thanks Jesus!

- The NHL is a horribly run league. Yes, I love hockey, but if you look what's happened in the past five years you'll notice that Gary Bettman and the rest of his crew are fucking terrible at what they do. When your championship series is on the TV channel Versus, you've become irrelevent. It's too bad too, because there's been some great hockey since the lockout.

- People who brag about not reading and put it down just show how far they'll probably get in life. The answer, believe or not, is not very far (most likely anyway).

- Please stop talking about the Swine Flue. It's just another media driven scare story.

- Ann Coulter is still a complete bitch. So is Lou Dobbs. And Sean Hannity. And Bill O'Reilly. You get the point.

- We need a new constitutional convention. The one we have currently is horribly outdated.

- The "Happy Youngster" is a douchebag. Not only because he essentially held this guy's first career home run ball for ransom, but also because he's the type of guy who wouldn't give his ball to his girlfriend or a five-year old kid. He'd keep it and start a collection. Douche.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4168063

- Voting for Barack Obama doesn't make you liberal. Do I have to explain?

- I still want to try "The Counter", a burger chain with a restaurant in Walnut Creek.

- I don't understand why people use twitter to text with individual people or express deep emotional and personal problems that would better be answered by a trained therapist. Same goes for Myspace and Facebook.

- The new Star Trek film was awesome because it didn't just satisfy Trekkies like myself, but it also appealed to people who just wanted to see a good summer action movie with an interesting story and fun characters.

- X-Men Origins: Wolverine is an example of a popular summer film with very little substance. Yes, it was a decent action movie, but the story was weak and the characters were horribly one-dimensional. I know I'll probably get some flak for saying all this, but I mean seriously, I don't think 1% of the people who saw both Star Trek and Wolverine thought Wolverine was the better movie. If they did I almost feel sorry for them. Oh well.

- I'm looking forward to the new Terminator film coming out in a couple weeks. If I had to take a guess I'd say it'll be better than X-Men but it'll fall short of Star Trek as far as quality. I do think however, that it'll be a good action movie and something that appeals to Terminator fans and non-fans alike. It's great to see that the movie takes place in the future (2018), as I want to see a lot of battles between the machines and the human resistance on what's left of Earth.

- The Sims 3 comes out next month and I'm really excited. I loved the first two games a lot, and there seems to be a lot of cool new features and improvements that will keep people living pretend lives (without the weirdness of Second Life; seriously that games is fucked up).

- Lots of good books to read this summer. More on that later, hopefully.

- I'm officially done with school for the semester. I have a few things I'm looking forward to this summer (concerts, possible road trips, etc.), and I think it'll be better then last year. Just like NBA free agency, however, it's all about the Summer of 2010 (hopefully).

Eating food is a passion- Week 19

2009-05-10T21:34:00.000-07:00

Time Span: Monday May 4 to Sunday May 10

Weight: 244

Not to much to say this week, but I did commit to my diet a bit more than usual so I was happy about that. School's almost out and that is making me fairly excited. I had a random thought: Under what circumstances could your nickname be Salty that don't involve the ocean/water or semen?

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My weight after this week: 242

(lost 2 pounds)

She loves nuts

2009-05-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

Oh my.

Speed Ball- Week 18

2009-05-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

Time Span: Monday April 27 to Sunday May 3

Weight: 244

I'm still on my diet even though I haven't made much progress in the past month and a half. Luckily I haven't gained any weight. I'm generally eating healthier except for a few nights when I cram Domino's down my throat. I'm confident I'll meet (or get very close to) my 200 pound goal by January 1, 2010.

News and Notes

- I like how British people say they're "going on holiday" when they're going on vacation.

- Lady Gaga's album "The Fame" is pretty exceptional. Most of the songs are catchy and her sound isn't generic dance music in my opinion.

- Blake Snyder is still a tool.

- After over 10 years since starting my search for a Charizard card (with a hiatus from 2001 t0 2008), I finally got one. It made me really happy.

- Listen to Adam Carolla's podcast. It's a fun and informative hour.

- I want one of those new 49ers jerseys.

- More later

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My weight after this week: 244

(No change)

My dad once said I looked like a pumpkin on my driver's license. I didn't disagree.

Shit List...

2009-04-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

...

Mark Teixeira

Rafeal Furcal

Jay Bruce

Jack Cust

Travis Hafner

Adam LaRoche

...You are all bastards!

Earn your fucking money!

All better.

Meaty- Week 17

2009-04-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

Time Span: Monday April 20 to Sunday April 26

Weight: 245

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My weight after this week: 244

(lost 1 pound)

Chinpokomon.

Chickenhawk Down- Week 16

2009-04-20T17:56:00.000-07:00

Time Span: Tuesday April 14 to Sunday April 19

Weight: 248

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I shed some of my Vegas pounds, so yippie! Pinky swear.

My weight after this week: 245

(lost 3 pounds)

I better fit into my t-shirts come summer time.

Internet

2009-04-19T21:57:00.001-07:00

My internet connection has gone to shit this weekend so I'll have to post some of my things later on in the week (hopefully tomorrow).

The Good, The Bad, and The Douchey

2009-04-16T14:46:00.000-07:00

That's a bad title to my blog post, isn't it? I agree. I bet that's something the legendary Hollywood screenwriter Blake Snyder would say not to name the movie you're writing. The man is a total genius (sarcasm). I mean, if the guy who produced the Shaggy Dog remake with Tim Allen (David Hoberman) says he's great, he must be.

Lately I've been reading different screenwriting books and movie scripts to get a better feel on how to write a competent movie (mainly because the scriptwriting class I'm taking at DVC is almost worthless when it comes to actually writing the movie and understanding the basic concepts of it). Anyway, Blake Snyder, the man who wrote such legendary films as Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot starring Sylvester Stallone and Blank Check starring no one remotely important, wrote a screenwriting book entitled Save The Cat! which I just finished reading. While it has some good strategies on how to formulate a mainstream Hollywood movie, Snyder comes off as a pretenious wannabe all-star writer who seems to think Blank Check was the next best thing since Some Like It Hot.

I guess the reason why I'm going off on this guy is because after reading his book, I felt like he was overly proud of making millions of dollars on horribly generic family films that average a 3.0 on IMDb. I mean yes, I do respect him in the sense that he's worked the Hollywood system over well enough to become successful, but it just seems that he purposely writes mediocre movies because they follow a very rigid and boring formula that sells well. Sure I wanna go out there and write films and achieve mainstream success, but I also want to write a good movie in the process, one that has a meaningful story, and not just one that follows the Hollywood script formula perfectly.

So yes, Save The Cat! is a helpful resource on screenwriting formula, but Snyder doesn't seem to know himself how to actually write a good movie, one that not only entertains, but one that makes you think in-depth about it if you choose to do so.

Go out and read his book, because 1) its moderately helpful with some aspects, and 2) he sounds like a Disney-style douchebag who brags immensely about writing some pretty awful films that got made presumably because he filled the mold.

To Blake Snyder: You were kind enough to give out your e-mail address so we could write and explain to you why Signs wasn't a bad movie, so here's mine: Jrroisman@aol.com. Please explain to me why you're a good writer.

Observe and Report

2009-04-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

Seth Rogen did a good job playing a more serious character than he's probably used to, and Anna Faris plays a great full blown whore-ish bitch. Ray Liotta, Collette Wolfe, and the rest of the supporting cast were also very adequate (except the overrated and one-dimensial Danny McBride). Writer and director Jody Hill, in only his second film, makes a movie that breaks the mold that typically follows a raunchy comedy

I think that this would've been a better drama, rather than a dark comedy because it's a sad story and Rogen seemed capable of playing a dead serious, bi-polar/emotional unstable individual who takes out his frustrations on the people around him. The comedy aspect of the film was still good for the most part, and the surreal fight scenes (especially the one at the end) were great.

There were some loose story ends (mostly B-story stuff) that didn't effect the overall movie, but left me wanting a little bit more. Still, this is the type of movie that will probably gain cult status in a few years because it's far from a conventional comedy. I will definitely buy this when it's out on DVD.

Grade: B

This is How I Feel

2009-04-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

***DISCLAIMER***

This is not directed at any indiviudal, but rather people in general. Some examples that I bring up are from friends and what not, but I'm not mad or angry or upset at them. If I have problem with any individual, I will tell them personally and I hope they will do the same with me. Friendship is important to me, and I value it highly. I hope you do to.

Also, I'm just annoyed at the moment about things in general as I'm writing this. I'm usually pretty happy and fairly mellow and I will be an hour probably. At the moment I just feel like writing down my thoughts as they come to me. This is a form of stress release for me.

So to clarify, I'm not mad at anyone and If I have a problem I will tell you personally. Please do the same for me.

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This post is filled with a bunch of random thoughts that are currently on my mind. Most of them are negative and possibly contradict each other, but all I can say is get the fuck over it; I have. It's littered with spelling errors and grammatical errors, but I'm not trying to publish this.

- I like the song "Hot Revolver" by Little Wayne. Wayne isn't a bad rapper/"hip hop artist", but I don't think he can really play the guitar even though he pretends can. Also, he isn't the best lyricist: (a sample from Hot Revolver) "I told her, I can be with her/But I can't be with her/As much as she like me to/She like me too much/That's the problem". Give this man a Pulitzer.

- Asher Roth is not talented.

- Most musicians and actors aren't for a matter of fact; they're probably marginally talented that got lucky breaks and who can appeal to a large mass of stupid people.

- Lance Armstrong is a fuck face.

- So is Glenn Beck

- Jamie Foxx is just a moron.

- I have a lot of problems with people on almost every aspect of the political scale. I'll start with social conservatives. Many of them feel that they can dictate policy on how people can act. Why? I think it's mostly because of Christianity. Yes, there are some sensible people who subscribe to that faith, but there is a strong connection between Christian zealotry and power in the Western world for the past two thousand years. The United States is not an exception. Some people say this is a Christian nation and some don't; I don't think it matters-- the people in charge use Christianity as a weapon to help elevate themselves into power and until that stops I don't this country will make much progress.

- I've skewed away from attacking conservatives and have gone straight to ambushing Christians. That was not meant to be my intent. I'm not trying to attack people who belong to one of the many Christian faiths, but rather the institution. In person I don't attack or make fun of people I personally know who are Christian. The reason is because I have nothing wrong with their beliefs because they don't push them on others and are very sensible, smart, and nice people. I want to make it clear I don't like the organized aspect because the people in charge just use the religion to help themselves and push their shit on billions of people, many of whom are brainwashed.

- I realize all organized religions do this, including Jews, Muslims, Hindus, etc. I'm picking on Christianity because I don't know many people personally who belong to the other groups.

- I'm Jewish, albeit an agnostic one who doesn't really practice the traditions anymore. I like being Jewish just because it makes feel different than other people sometimes. That can be a bad thing sometimes I suppose, but I look at as a character trait once in a while.

- If you think I'm bashing Christians, you might be right. But I can tell you I don't call them names or shout obscenities everyday. Yes, I disagree with some of their ways, but I try not to be an asshole and I don't judge individuals on it.

- The reason I bring this is up is because in almost everyday of my life it's brought up in some way that I'm Jewish. I realize it's usually friends just giving shit for one reason or another because that's what guys do. I get that. That doesn't mean that it doesn't upset me or piss me off sometimes though. So what, I'm Jewish? What are people trying to imply? I've heard Jews in general (and myself sometimes) referred to as kikes, heebs, bagel dogs, bar codes, oven treats, etc. And you know what? It fucking pisses me off. Yes I know sometimes people are just "kidding" and trying to be funny, but for god's sake, fuck off. I don't attack other people for their religion or things they can't control (like race or ethnicity), and I expect the same treatment. Scratch that... I don't, mostly because most people are very ignorant and just fucking stupid in general, but I hope they learn common sense.

- Stereotypes can be funny and I've been a douchebag before by falling to them. Let me make it clear that I've been a dick many times before: to friends and family mostly. However, I've gotten much better in the past five years or so. I can act like your typical guy sometimes and just sound like a complete idiot and acting like an asshole. But I'm a lot better and unlike a lot of people, I try and actually think about things I say most of the time. What a concept.

- People who say they aren't racist, and just tell racist jokes because they are "funny" does not make you NOT a racist. You're probably racist.

- Fuck Stormfront.com. Would anyone actually care if all the people on that board just died?

- Cancer jokes aren't funny to me. I know they're hit with people, and I have friends who've made them, and while they don't offend me (mostly) I don't find them funny. I've made the same stupid jokes before too, but that makes me wrong, and not the jokes right.

- My mother died of cancer when I was 11. That's why it's not funny to me.

- Until you lose a parent, you CANNOT comprehend it. You really can't. I might sound insensitive but too fucking bad.

- Everyone always says they hate things. Hate is a strong word believe it or not and it makes you sound like a fucking idiot when you hate a certain TV show or movie just because you didn't like it. Read a book and expand your vocabulary.

- I can't stand when people say they "don't care". If you don't care, you aren't helping yourself or anyone. I don't like when people make fun of others (in a serious manner, at least) and say the don't care, like they're so superior. I've been called a Jew and a faggot and then the person was just like " I don't care, I'll say whatever the fuck I want". I can say with almost full certainty that people who put others down non stop have fucked up, unfilled lives. Seek therapy and try to better yourself.

- People who have to constantly remind others that they are or aren't something makes them sound very insecure and in some cases they are the person they make fun of. The best example is people who call others faggots and queers and end being a homosexual themselves. If you have to keep reminding everyone that you're straight you are not secure. And if someone is gay, who fucking cares? It shouldn't matter one fucking bit. Everyone is different so calm the fuck down.

- Barack Obama seems like a good person. I think he'll be a good president for the most part. I'm a registered Democrat and I voted for him. However, most presidents will be similar to each other. Obama will be your typical moderate/liberal Democrat. I say this because unless the United States is run differently, it'll stay the same. As long as capitalism is the driving force on government and society (which it is), everything will be the same. Obama and Clinton and Carter will blend together. I'm actually pretty much a capitalist and I definitely appreciate the system because it's already benefiting me and most the people I know. However, it does hurt billions of people in one way or another, and I just want to bring it to people's attention that an evolutionary change towards something else would be a good thing.

- There is nothing wrong with (in my mind) democratic quasi-socialism/quasi-capitalism at this point in time, but believe it or not, the United States is that far yet as a country. We should look at the Europeans examples (mainly the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Denmark, Spain) on how to try and spread the wealth. There will still be millions of millionaires in the United States with a socialist slant to the economy and social policy, but they'll have to pay higher taxes. If you make $10 million dollars a year, you should pay half of that in the form of taxes that would then be redistributed to education and social programs to make people smarter and healthier.

- I'd say more than 2/3 of Americans are very ignorant. Most people don't know the basic concepts on how the country is run. Read the Constitution and get a clue on how things are supposed to work. How can we make any progress socially, economically, etc. when people don't know how the country is run.

- We need to rewrite the U.S. Constitution, I don't mean amendments or anything where it takes years and years of political bullshit to pass something, I mean a new convention, like the one they had in 1787. I'm not saying scrap the document, but It would not hurt to change and rewrite about 1/3 of it. Other countries change their ruling document all the time (usually when, you know, they need to make a change to help people), and here's a secret: The United States is not better than other countries. Americans aren't better than Mexicans or Chinese or Czech's. And that works the other way also. Having more money and natural resources does not make you better. Too bad we teach that too our children on the onset of education.

- The American educational system is awful. Very few teachers stray away from the traditional pro-American slant. I wish it were less bias and that there was better understanding of our own country and the rest of the world. Making people more aware of things makes them smarter, and it helps people in general better themselves in almost every aspect of being human. Opening up your mind to things you don't like or trust or don't understand will help you sound like less of an asshole and dumbshit.

- The media in this country sucks. It's horrible. It's centrist and it's censored and CNN isn't better than Fox News. They're the same. None of them really report the news. It's like that for a reason. It's so the people in charge make money and control the masses. Uh-oh, I sound like a radical communist goat fucker don't I? Well before you judge me, quit jerking your cock and pick up a book. Here's one: Censored '09. Read it and check out some fucked up stories that Anderson Cooper and Katie Couric "forgot" to report. Do some google searchers on those stories and read some alternate viewpoints. They may not be right, but expanding your mind a little will not hurt.

- I know I'm rambling, and I sound like a pretenious dick, but I just wish people wanted to learn more. I'm a lot less than perfect and I fit the mold as your typical American most of the time. I jsut think once in a while it's good to think about your surrondings and question. I learned from a high school teacher (and college, actually) to always question. It's made me happier.

- Arrogance is not a good thing, especially when you haven't done anything. Don't be arrogent just because you think you're better than someone. Because you aren't. I'm not either.

- Blake Snyder is an example of arrogance. He wrote that shitty Disney film Blank Check and now he thinks he's the best fucking writer since Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain's real name...I like his original name a lot).

- I'm a hypocrite. So are you. Everyone is. I'm trying not to be, but it's human nature.

- Observe and Report would've been better if it were a full blown drama.

- Teachers piss me the fuck off. Yes they deserve a good wage, but I think the shitty one's should be fired. Tenure is stupid and should be thrown out. If you're a good teacher you should keep your job and get paid handsomely. If you're like Mr. Jim Facer, you should be fired and told to quit being such a fucking fuck face.

- I think the worst time of life is your 30s because I've observed that that's when you act like the biggest douchebag.

- Feminism is annoying because it doesn't focus on human equality, just middle and upper class white equality. We need something that respects everyone of every race and age and sex. Feminism needs to go.

- George Carlin is my favorite comedian. He was an amazing person. Bill Hicks, Chris Rock, and Jerry Seinfeld are also very funny to me. Oh and so is David Cross, but just as a person

- There's nothing wrong with Nick Swardson, but basing your comedy on poo isn't that funny.

- There are too many 18-22 year old's who date rate people and do cocaine and then go to a "party school" and drink. Fuck them.

- REMEMBER, JUST BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T LIKE DR. STRANGELOVE OR SCHOOL OF ROCK DOESN'T MEAN THE MOVIE WAS "FUCKING GAY". IT JUST MEANS YOU DIDN'T LIKE IT. ANALYZE THINGS AND FIGURE OUT WHY YOU DIDN'T LIKE IT. ARTICULATE YOUR THOUGHTS. DON'T HATE IT OR CALL IT "FAGGOTY".

- People love to hate cops but they never give good reasons why. It's because they aren't smart. If you have a problem with them all the time, question yourself why that is, and try to think of ways to fix the INSTITUTION of the police. Look at the bigger problem, and think of a better solution. Hating the cops as people does nothing, excpet get your face beat in with a club or shot 14 times in the chest. And half the time they probably deserved it. Try to better everyone.

- I like Dangers social messages for the most part. Al Brown is a good guy.

- I'm very liberal. I probably shouldn't have voted for Obama, but there's always next time. I still like him as a person though, and I think he'll be a good president considering what he has to work with (system and people wise).

- I have a lot of learning to do and I'm tired of ranting. I'm sorry I sound like a hypocrite and what not, but I'm just rambling. I just wish people were happier and smarter. I'm sure my mood will be jolly again soon.

$9 Buffet- Week 15

2009-04-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

Time Span: Monday April 6 to Monday April 13

Weight: 244

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- I went to Vegas this weekend and suspended my diet so I could actually enjoy myself while I was there. It's hard to go on a vacation and eat well and this trip followed that rule. I gained weight (as I expected), but I'm not concerned. I think I should probably see a nutritionist since I know I'm not eating the proper foods that give you important things such as vitamins and what not.

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My weight after this week: 248

(gained 5 pounds)

My plan: 200 by the end of the year.

Almost Overweight- Week 14

2009-04-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

Time Span: Monday March 30 to Sunday April 5

Weight: 244

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- It's been a stressful week, but I'm happy to say at the very least I've eaten pretty well. I don't have too much to say in this post, but I assure you next week will be a blast.

My weight after this week: 243

(lost 1 pound)

I actually think it's closer to 242, but this might make next week look better.

2009 Major League Baseball Ultimate Preview

2009-04-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

Standings:

NL West

1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. San Francisco Giants
3. Arizona Diamondbacks
4. Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres

- The Dodgers have too much power in their lineup for anyone else in the division (on paper, anyway). The Giants have the best starting pitching, and if they were to stay above .500 at the trade deadline in July and acquire a bat, they have a shot at the division. Arizona also has a solid team this year and if they were to upset the Dodgers that wouldn't come as a shock to me. The Rockies and the Padres will be the bottom dwellers this year, but Colorado may have found their new closer in Huston Street, who was acquired from Oakland this winter in the Matt Holliday trade.

NL Central

1. Chicago Cubs
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Cincinnati Reds
4. Milwaukee Brewers
5. Houston Astros
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

- The Reds have a better team than a lot of people think. The Cubs should win the division, however, but unless they make it to the World Series the season will have been a bust. The Brewers are devoid of pitching, and St. Louis is always competitive. The Astros and Pirates are still works in progress.

NL East

1. New York Mets
2. Philadelphia Phillies *
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals

- I see the Mets barely edging the Phillies for the division, but Philadelphia has a great shot at the wild card. The Braves and Marlins will be .500 teams, and the Nationals will earn the worst record in all of Major League Baseball.

Playoff teams:

Dodgers
Cubs
Mets
Phillies * (Wild Card)

AL West

1. Los Angeles Angels
2. Oakland Athletics
3. Texas Rangers
4. Seattle Mariners

- The Angels are everyone's favorites, but the A's upgraded their offense extensively this offseason, so if they win the AL West it shouldn't be a surprise. The key, however, is if Oakland's young and inexperienced pitching will hold up. The Rangers have a great offense, but their pitching is still suspect. As for Seattle, they'll compete in a couple years, but they should still win 75 games this season.

AL Central

1. Cleveland Indians
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Detroit Tigers

- The Indians and Twins will duke it out for the division crown, but watch as the Cleveland is triumphant. The White Sox are mediocre, and if the Royals give them a run for their money for third place, don't be surprised. The Tigers have a nice offense, but their pitching is a total mess.

AL East

1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees *
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Toronto Blue Jays

- Boston has proved time and time again that they have a winning organization. The only reason I'm giving the Yankees the wild card spot is because of their sheer amount of resources. They're still not a team, however, and until they win a World Series don't take them seriously. The Rays have the best chance at upsetting the Yankees because of their team effort, and Baltimore and Toronto will be weak this season

Playoff teams:

Angels
Indians
Red Sox
Yankees * (Wild Card)

Playoff matches:

National League

Division Series:

Cubs defeat Mets
Phillies defeat Dodgers

Championship Series:

Phillies defeat Cubs

American League

Division Series:

Indians defeat Yankees
Red Sox defeat Angels

Championship Series:

Indians defeat Red Sox

World Series:

Indians defeat Phillies

- That's right. I picked the Indians to win it all. They should have a great team this year, and teams like the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, and Cubs will choke like they always do. When will they realize $100 million payrolls don't mean championships?

Creepy?

2009-03-30T08:22:00.000-07:00

No.

There Will Come Soft Rains- Week 12

2009-03-29T22:05:00.000-07:00

Time Span: Monday March 23 to Sunday March 29

Weight: 245

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Catalyst- Circa 1996

I've thought many times if there was a specific moment or time when I knew I was heading down the road of obesity. I want to make it clear, however, that I know it was always possible to reverse the weight gaining trend. My actions now prove that. I probably went up in weight every year until I was 17, and I didn't start losing weight until I was 18 (except the Summer of '03, which I like to call my Summer of Love in regards to weight loss). The thing is though is that I knew was an average weight until I was at least 5 or 6. I remember the time fairly well and I have pictures of myself from then, and I look normal.

I've contemplated and looked for a specific moment in life that symbolized my thrust towards being fat, and one thing that comes to mind that I think represents this well, is when I was about 6.

When I was younger, I would occasionally go to McDonald's for lunch with my dad and get a happy meal. Fast food isn't the healthiest thing you can give to kids (or anyone), but it wasn't terrible or anything. Anyway, I always got a cheeseburger and fries and was always satisfied with that. One time after I was done eating and we were about to leave, I asked my dad if I could have another cheeseburger for the road. I can't remember if I was actually still hungry, or if I just wanted more food because I liked the taste. My dad obliged and got me another burger, assuming I was still hungry. I ate it, and from then on I would get two burgers sometimes when I went.

While I don't think there's a single reason or event that led me to getting fat, that story holds symbolism for me. It's a vivid memory that I still have and whenever I think about obesity, that always pops up.

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I saw three movies this weekend, all of which were enjoyable. I'll give you a rundown of them:

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist- A decent comedy with really good pacing and better than average dialogue for a movie focusing on teens. Michael Cera wasn't nearly as whiny as he normally he is, and I actually really liked his character. Kat Dennings also did a good job, and I don't think shes quite as fugly as some people say.

Fletch Lives- The sequel to Fletch, both of which star Chevy Chase as the self-titled wise-cracking, undercover journalist from Los Angeles. While not quite as good as the original, Fletch Lives is still a very funny movie, and Chase doesn't appear to be past his prime yet.

The Counterfeiters- Like most Holocaust movies, this one is deeply depressing and horrifying, but it also has a positive ending and a very unique slant on concentration camp movies. It focuses on the Jewish prisoners who were forced to make counterfeit money for the Nazi's Operation Bernhard, the desperate German plan to try and destroy the economies of the Allied nations near the end of the war. While it's fictionalized, this docudrama is still very powerful. Lead Karl Markovics did an outstanding job, as well as the supporting actors and crew who brought this story to life.

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News and Notes

- Listen to the Adam Carolla podcast. It's funny as hell and he has a lot of great guests every week. Another plus is that it's uncensored.

- The cookie-dough cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory is fucking delicious.

- I still can't resist Domino's pizza. It's so average, and yet I feel like I must have it.

- None of the movies that came out this week looked any good. Monsters vs. Aliens looks like a forgettable non-Pixar animated film with too many celebrities doing the voices.

- I think there's a 60% chance Alex Smith is the starting quarterback for the 49ers this season. I'd be happy with that.

- It looks like the Sharks will win the President's Trophy (best regular season record) for the first time in franchise history. Kudos.

- Scriptwriting is fun, and while it's difficult to write something that's good, it's an enjoyable process.

- I associate jazz music with going into space. I got this image stuck in my head because whenever I go to Barnes and Noble and look through the sci-fi section, classic and uptempo jazz music is usually playing.

- If you like jazz you should listen to Chet Baker. It's good stuff.
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My weight after this week: 244

(lost 1 pound)

I probably had over 3,000 calories during my birthday dinner, but I survived the week in good shape.

Letterman Got Married

2009-03-23T16:44:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to hear that David Letterman married his long time girlfriend, Regina Lasko, last week. Congratulations to him! I love Letterman's style, and he's influenced me in the ways of self-deprecation. He's the king of late night this generation, in my humble opinion.

Kings

2009-03-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

I meant to review the new TV show Kings earlier on in the week, but I haven't had the chance so far. Originally I wanted to go in-depth about it, but I'll just jot down something quick.

Anyway, the show is modern retelling of the biblical story of David, taking place in the Kingdom of Gilboa. The country is supposed to be an alternate United States, with a democratically elected government (except for the king, I suppose), and most of the pilot episode took place in the capital city, which looked like a cross between New York and Los Angeles.

The acting is good, and not over the top which lets you take the story a bit more seriously. The writing is pretty sharp and there a lot of jabs at contemporary issues in it. I heard the critics liked the first few episodes, so here's hoping it gets renewed for next season. I was sucked into the story quickly, and even if you don't care for or don't know anything about the Bible, it's still a good show. People can watch it just as a fantasy show without getting too deep if they don't want to, which might attract more viewers.

Ian McShane (Deadwood) and Christopher Egan (Eragon) play King Saul and David, respectively. McShane is a great character actor, and his performance was strong in the pilot. I also liked Egan as the young David, who leaves his humble world and is brought into the complex challenges his country faces. Allison Miller plays the king's daughter, Princess Michelle Benjamin, and she contrasts with the biblical character of Michal. She's attractive and has a lot of chemistry from the onset with Egan. All of the other major characters of the King David story are featured and fit into their roles just fine. Samuel, Jonathan, and Joab have interesting modern versions of themselves in the show, and they add character depth. Reverend Ephram Samuels, the modern Samuel, is my favorite supporting charcter, and Eamonn Walker who plays him, does an outstanding job.

There's more I could go over, but I'll just finish for now by saying that Kings is a very good new show, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming episodes this season. I hope they're just as good as the pilot.

Grade (pilot): A-

Obesity Just Got a Little Bit Easier- Week 11

2009-03-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

Time Span: Monday March 16 to Sunday March 22

Weight: 246

I ate alright this week, but I had a few nights where I had some big dinners or snacked a lot. Not to much say right now, but I promise I'll have more next week.

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My weight after this week: 245

(lost 1 pound)

Three slow weeks in a row. That's a pattern, but as long as I'm losing weight (which I am), I can live with that.

Please sir, wear a shirt that covers your stomach- Week 10

2009-03-15T22:20:00.000-07:00

Time Span: Monday March 9 to Sunday March 15

Weight: 247

I'm looking forward to NBC's new drama, Kings, which airs tonight. I'll catch it on Tivo tomorrow. I've been looking for a sci-fi/fantasy show to watch since the end of Jericho and Journeyman, and I think Kings might be able to plug the hole in my TV lineup. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what Kings is, however. In the previews I've noticed modern technology, with cars and similar looking weapons, but I'm wondering it takes place on Earth or if it's supposed to be humans evolving on a different world or something like that. There's a good chance I'll review the pilot later on in the week.

Speaking of NBC, I noticed they canceled eight shows over the weekend, the best of the bunch being Last Comic Standing. The executives at NBC must be blind if they're wondering why their network is ranked last in ratings and quality of programming. When a station relies on Momma's Boys and America's Toughest Jobs to bring in millions of viewers, they'll be in deep shit.

News and Notes-

- I have a tendency to make fun of fat people in public. I know that's highly hypocritical of me, but when I see a 350 pound woman at Nation's eating a burger and chili cheese fries, I feel like I have the right to point how gross that is.

- Almost all horror movies are terrible. They're not even funny terrible, they're just bad. I try never to watch them, but sometimes you just don't have a choice. Anyway, Last House on the Left, was no exception. It was bad; poor writing, questionable casting, and stupid dialogue. Oh, and not to mention an unnecessary death scene at the end. People are stupid.

- I won't comment on Miss March except to say it wasn't good.

- The waiter at Mimi's Cafe I had yesterday was just plain creepy. He made a lot of noises, as if he had just done a line of coke in the bathroom.

- I hate to say it, but I don't see the Giants winning the NL West this year. They've got good pitching and solid contact hitting, but they lack power and a true shut down closer. Hopefully they break the .500 mark.

- The Sharks played a really good physical game against the Ducks today, winning 1-0, thanks to Travis Moen's goal against his former team at the end of the second period. He was acquired along with defenseman Kent Huskins from Anaheim at the trade deadline this year.

- I ate out more than I should've this week, but I'm tired of eating the same crap at home all the time.

- Speaking of food and restaurants, Wing Stop is horribly overrated. Yes, it is good once in a while, but I don't think a few chicken wings with ranch sauce, french fries, and a drink is worth $10.

- I have a book to recommend to people who enjoy movies, plays, TV, and writing: The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri. I'm only about a third way through it, but It's got a lot of great information on how to write a good story. It's easy to read and it has nice flow; no hiccups or boring parts.

- My scriptwriting class has been pretty unhelpful on how to actually write a screenplay. The teacher rarely goes over the format, and people just bring in awfully written stories about serial killers and comedies that wouldn't even give a movie like Fired Up a run for its money at being totally shitty.

- IGN is a poorly written website that has it's hands drenched in corporate money, handing out good scores to almost every medicore and average game to come out.

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My weight after this week: 246

(lost 1 pound)

I'm not losing weight at the same rate as I once did, but I should be able to get back on the wagon soon.

Gravy Leg- Week 9

2009-03-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

Time Span: Monday March 2 to Sunday March 8

Weight: 248

I don't have anything earth shattering to say this week, so I think I'll just get straight to my weight.

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My weight after this week: 247

(lost 1 pound)

Not bad.

For a Few Dollars More

2009-03-02T12:05:00.001-08:00

According to ESPN.com, Kurt Warner is at the 49ers headquarters in Santa Clara as I write this. That's exciting news if you're a Niner fan. Not so much if you're a Cardinals one.

The biggest question in this whole farce is this: How could Arizona potentially let Warner go? Not just let him leave, but go to a division rival, one that has been nipping at their heels even before the Warner scandal began?

The Cardinals have had a history of being cheap when it comes to their talent, and their owner, Bill Bidwill, has a poor reputation of writing out the fair market value checks, let alone the big ones. Granted he has given big money to receiver Larry Fitzgerald (4 years, $40 million), and there's a possibility Anquan Boldin will get a big deal as well this offseason, but as a whole, Bidwill has shied away from handing over the big bucks.

And now the game they're playing with Kurt Warner might end up costing them more than money. It might cost them an elite quarterback; the same one that got them to their first Super Bowl last season. It's fairly safe to say that the Matt Leinart ship has sailed, and the free agent market for signal callers is weak this year. It's doubtful Cardinals fans would feel comfortable with J.P. Losman or Trent Green under center for them this season.

Regardless of whether Warner is worth $10 million or $14 million, Arizona has to pay up. They could call the extra few million a thank you for helping turn one of the biggest jokes in league history into not just a good team, but one that had a shot at winning a Super Bowl. Supposedly the Cardinals have offered Warner a two-year, $20 million deal, and according to Warner's agent, Mark Bartelstein, Warner wants fair market value for an elite quarterback, which is around $14 to $16 million a season.

Some would say Warner is being greedy, but I don't think Warner is out of line with his demands. He is one of the top QB's in the league, and his play the past two seasons has showed that.

Besides, two years isn't a long term commitment, and with the way NFL contracts work, only about half of the total value is actually guaranteed. In essence, whoever signs Warner could cut him after the first year and not have to pay much of the second year, if any at all. Next season is also uncapped (assuming the current CBA isn't renewed or reworked this year), meaning teams can spend as much they wish on players, just like how it was before the 1995 season.

I don't really know why the Cardinals haven't given in to Warner's demands. He has earned the contract he's seeking, and it's not as if it'll effect Arizona's cap space in any dramatic way this season. Worst of all, if they let him walk to the 49ers, it'll give San Francisco the best team in the division, and at the same time leave the Cardinals without a proven quarterback or a realistic shot at a .500 record.

As for the long term, it'll just reinforce the Cardinals fanbase that their ownership loves to get into pissing contests over a measly few million dollars, even if it means losing one of their best players to their biggest rival.

UPDATE: Warner resigned with Arizona, which I expected, although I was hopeful he'd sign with the 49ers. He got a two year, $23 million dollar deal, with $19 million guaranteed. Not bad at all. The Cardinals made the right choice by resigning Warner, but this probably ends Matt Leinart's opportunity of ever being Arizona's franchise quarterback.

Oh, I'm so fucking ill- Week 8

2009-03-01T23:59:00.000-08:00

Time Span: Monday February 23 to Sunday March 1

Weight: 252

News and Notes-

- I almost had another little embarrassing moment, but luckily I was able to avoid sounding like a creeper. I was playing air hockey with Sean when I joked in a Trey Parker voice about cumming. It had to do with the movie Orgazmo, and I was about to say the line "Oh yeah baby, you're gonna make me cum", when a 10 year old girl walked by. I was able to stop halfway through and avoid disaster.

- Jason thinks mayonnaise is funny. Especially when we're at the Jack In the Box drive-thru. Dick.

- I ate a lot of apples and other healthy food. I mixed up my diet nicely and was able to eat some tasty food at the same time.

- I beat Jon 7-6 at air hockey while some weird lady in her 30s watched and called me "Red" and "Phil Harvey". I think she was rooting for me. Fucking weirdos.

- I went to the Cheesecake Factory in Walnut Creek for the first time. It opened last week, and I think that place is great. Good food, great atmosphere, awesome location, and it's filled with a plethora of inside jokes.

- Joey showed me this funny Christian news site that seems to hate everything. Oh, and it's horribly written too. Christwire.com.

- I pretend I can play the corner outfield positions in the majors.

- This was a good week all around.

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My weight after this week: 248

(lost 4 pounds)

Finally below the 250 line. Suck on that P.E. teachers!

The Diet- Week 7

2009-02-22T20:00:00.000-08:00

Time Span: Monday February 16 to Sunday February 22

Weight: 253

I've decided that because I've followed my diet for six consecutive weeks, I'll just have weekly updates without every meal update. I'll still write about some of the stuff I ate during the week and I'll have my news and notes section and everything. Basically I'm just cutting back the boring meal updates but I'll still mention all the important things both related to the diet and not.

- So I'd say that this is probably my worst week as far as dieting is concerned. I ate well for about four days by making sure I got all my vitamins in and cutting back on fat intake and all that good stuff. The problem though was that I went to a lot of restaurants this week (Chili's, Fresh Choice, and some others) and ate a moderate amount of crappy food. I still have too many frozen meals for dinner (and lunch sometimes), but I've cut back slightly on them. Anyway, lets see how my weight is for the week.

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News and Notes-

- I wore a t-shirt for the first time in about four years (excluding my undershirts). I know my man boobs were more visible, but at the same time I know it looked a lot better now than it would have three months ago. I'd say I'm another 20 pounds away from regular t-shirt wearing.

- The main reason I started wearing undershirts in 2007 was because when I got my senior year picture taken for the yearbook I had to take off my button up shirt to put the fake tuxedo on and I didn't have anything under it. My back was totally bare and I felt so fucking fat looking. Another reason was because sometimes buttons would come undone and I didn't think people want to see my stomach while eating lunch.

- Joe Crede signed with the Twins. That's a bummer.

- Alex Smith is still legit.

- I should start working out to firm up my body. Maybe I'll give Fitness 19 a shot. Just kidding. I liked 24 Hour Fitness so maybe I'll go back sometime.

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My weight after this week: 252

(lost 1 pound)

A pretty bland week.

New Rule

2009-02-21T18:33:00.000-08:00

When there are two doors to the building your walking in to, use the one on the right. It's just like when you drive a car. It's annoying when you open the door and someone on the other side tries to walk through it also. I have seen numerous examples where I would open the door on the right and someone would either stand there or try and walk pass by me before I entered the building. They just ignored the other door which was on their right side. You wouldn't drive on the left side of the rode in this country (unless you were drunk or something), so don't use the left door when entering and exiting. I'd imagine that in countries that drive on the left side of the rode, such as the United Kingdom, they would have the same door system, i.e. the opposite of ours.

People are fucking stupid sometimes and this is just another fine example.

My Panic Attack

2009-02-16T21:06:00.000-08:00

I had a panic attack.

The kind of a panic attack where you feel like you're going to die. I had never experienced one until last night, even with my history of anxiety disorder. I think that in some ways it'll be good for me to write about it even if it sounds like a therapy session. So here it goes.

It started early this morning, around two in the morning, when Jon, Jason, Sean, and myself were driving to Safeway in Virginia Hills to get cake frosting and Coke. That alone sounds ridiculous, but we had just baked a cake at Jon's house and we needed some frosting because we didn't think Wheat Thins or dog treats would be a good topping. Anyway, we left after Taylor had come and gone from Jon's house, who chatted with us and thought Jon was drunk. That's another story.

We got to Safeway and bought the stuff we needed and as we drove back towards Jon's, my attack started to begin. We were stopped at a red light and saw to our left that a car wasn't moving for at least ten seconds even though it had a green light. For some reason the asshole sitting at a green light triggered it. I had had some minor chest pain for part of the night, but supposedly that was a side effect of this anti-anxiety medication I'm taking. Anyway, all of sudden the chest pains stopped and my entire body started to tingle; it got harder to breath and my arms and legs started to go numb.

Everyone was laughing about the psycho parked at a green light as I started to tell Jon that I didn't feel right. I know that I was panicking and my speech was fast and chaotic. I was convinced I was having a heart attack because I had some of the symptoms and I started to feel a loss over rationality. Jon pulled the car over and I got out and started to pace around. I could move fine and I didn't have any chest pain but I was completely numb and entered Flight or Fight mode. I got back into the car and Jon asked If I wanted to go to the hospital and I said yes. Everyone was calm (well except for me) as we drove off towards the hospital.

I was rambling about the dumbest shit, convinced I was dying. It was sheer fear and panic. Someone brought up the subject of scurvy and how it was caused by Vitamin C depletion and I shouted out that I thought it was a disease you got from being on a ship. Sean was kind enough to mention that pirates got it back in the day. I rambled about a number of topics and kept checking if I was numb or if my chest hurt. As I said, everyone was calm and supportive and Jon got to the hospital quickly. I think we took the freeway but I can't honestly remember. Jason was trying to pawn stuff off me if I died and I had a feeling I was okay because I didn't think he'd joke about that if anyone seriously thought I was having a heart attack.

Anyway, Jon asked me what hospital we should go to for my health insurance and I said I didn't fucking care and started to comment on how backwards the American healthcare system was. I mean if people have to ask which hospital to take you to to cover your insurance, there's a problem. Healthcare should be socialized and they shouldn't worry about charging your credit card when you're dying. I digress. Jon went to Kaiser and drove up to the ER parking area. Everyone asked If I wanted to go in and I told them I wasn't sure.

This is where it gets comical even for me. I took out my iPhone and went onto the internet and looked up heart attack symptoms. Wikipedia was kind enough to say that, and I quote "Classical symptoms of acute myocardial infarction include sudden chest pain (typically radiating to the left arm or left side of the neck), shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, palpitations, sweating, and anxiety (often described as a sense of impending doom)". I told everyone and Jon bursted out laughing. I agreed. What kind of fucked up thing is it to say "a sense of impending doom". I freaked out, but was breathing and just a little tingly.

I went to WebMd and checked my symptoms and it said that I either could have one of the following: a heart attack, a panic attack, complications from diabetes, or a stroke if you're a woman. I'm not diabetic that I know of, and last time I checked I had a penis and testicles. So that whittled it down to two possible problems. I got out of the car and paced around as we looked and saw a bunch of creepy people waiting in cars and office buildings.

I was still freaking out and Jason twittered that I may be having a heart attack. Real nice, Jason. I fell onto one knee and Jon asked if I could get up and I could. I then decided that if I could breath and do five jumping jacks in the parking lot we could go because I wasn't having a life threatening illness. I did three before I got back into the car. Jon was legitimately concerned that I didn't do five and I told him I stopped because I felt like a moron doing jumping jacks in a hospital parking lot at 3 in the morning. I started to think I was okay and told everyone we should go back to Jon's.

I think everyone was concerned but they seemed to think I'd be okay. I was happy to know that according to Jon and Sean that this wasn't the craziest shit they had seen in person as they recalled a past incident with someone else. I guess that made me feel a little better, but I thought what that other guy went through must have been totally fucked up.

We made it back to Jon's and I started to really calm down. We put the frosting on the cake and everyone got themselves a piece and a Coke (except me, I was still totally shell shocked) and we watched Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Jon told me to tell him if I started to feel bad again so we could go back to the hospital if need be. I stayed pretty calm and started to feel normal again. I finally got back home around 6:30 in the morning and quickly took a couple Ativan and went to sleep. The one night I didn't have Ativan on me was the night I truly needed it. I'm convinced it would have snapped me out of my attack.

As I look back, parts of the attack were funny because it was just so ludicrous. For instance, there's a camera in the Kaiser ER parking lot and someone today is probably watching a tape of four teenagers driving up, sitting there for minutes while one of them gets out and does jumping jacks at 3 AM.

But I want to point out that it was a scary experience. It's one you never want yourself or anyone to go through. You cannot fully understand it unless you have had one. You feel like you are going to die. Literally die. Looking at it from the outside, I can understand why people would think it's not overly serious, especially if they haven't had one. I can say though that it is fucking terrifying. Everyone in the car was supportive and helpful though, even if Jason was being his usual ass self.

All I can say right now is that I can't imagine experiencing a panic attack alone and without medication. I really can't comprehend it. I'm thinking I'm going to need to make some lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, possible therapy) because it's not something I want to go through again. For the record I was able to have some of that cake we baked after I leveled out. It was very good.

Oooh, what a lovely tea party.

I Thought Scurvy Was A Ship Disease- Week 6

2009-02-16T12:55:00.000-08:00

Time Span: Monday February 9 to Sunday February 15

Weight: 255

February 9-

12:04 PM- Turkey sandwich and lots of water.

1:30- More water.

7:05- Red Baron french bread pizza. Fuck you Ziff Davis.

February 10-

8:40 AM- I slept two hours today; I couldn't get to sleep until 6 in the morning for some reason. Believe it or not, Becker does not cure insomnia.

12:18 PM- At Subway with Austin and Jason. We saw Natasha cut school with one of her interesting hipster doofus friends.

5:03- Kinders sandwich and macaroni salad

February 11-

12:30 PM- Turkey and cheddar cheese sandwich and fig newtons.

5:50- Red Baron pepperoni pizza.

February 12-

11:38 AM- Does it even matter? I think I am getting more vitamins in, however.

6:00 PM- Haircut and Claim Jumper. I'm going to try and control myself.

11:15- I had a bunch of cookies Jon baked for the theater.

February 13-

around 1 AM- We're watching The International. I fell asleep twice and fell onto the ground a few times. I also had a bunch of popcorn from Jason's sack.

There appears to be a information gap for this day, but it's safe to say it was the usual stuff.

February 14-

2:04 AM- I'm eating a bunch of unhealthy crap like cake and frozen stuff at Jon's house.

4:00- Still awake. Watching the dumbest MTV shit I've seen in a while.

7:15- Just got home from Jon's. I'm not that tired considering how long I was up.

1:24 PM- I woke up. I had one of the coolest and most vivid dreams in my entire life. I felt like I was writing the story and everything happened the way I wanted. I was very happy.

3:06- Sandwich time.

8:15- Red Baron pizza. 4 cheese. Ohhhh yeah.

9:24- Let me confess: I had three french fries at Wing Stop.

around 10- Met with the Merchant of Death. He was very professional. Nice suit, too.

February 15-

12:45 AM- I tried calling Domino's but they hung up on me probably because they close at 1. So we went to Plan B: Extreme Pizza. Two extra large cheese pizza's. We were all, um, acting strange, but man was that good pizza. And Baseketball is still a great movie.

5:15- Just got up home from another fun, random night of weird shit. Sorry that's not specific.

1:40 PM- Just woke up. I love the lucid dreaming.

2:30- Just finished this weeks homework while eating a tuna sandwich.

7:20- I'm having spaghetti in meat sauce.

9:00- Messing around at the theater.

February 16th-

2:30 AM- Jon, Jason, Sean, and Me were on our way back to Jon's house after getting Coke and frosting for a cake we baked when I had a panic attack. At first I thought I was having a heart attack so Jon drove to the hospital and we sat there for about 20 minutes and I did a bunch of random shit to see if I was okay. In the end I was and I never had to go in, but it was scary as hell. I'll have a more detailed post on this later.

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News and Notes-

- The panic attack I had was probably the third or fourth scariest thing I ever experienced. I legitimately thought I was going to die. I want to thank Jon for taking me to the hospital and for Sean for taking it seriously also. Oh, and Jason was just being nice in his own way ;).

- Liking Star Trek might have some unanticipated rewards. Live Long and Prosper.

- Rumor has it Joe Crede won't sign with the Giants. That's disappointing in a sense because if he's healthy this season he will be a legitimate defensive third baseman with power.

- I didn't post any stories this week in the post about past food/eating incidents mainly because I had a couple other things happen to me that have shifted my attention. I'll try next week.

- Purity rings are stupid.

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My weight after this week: 253

(lost 2 pounds)

There may be some major lifestyle changes in store for me soon.

You Can Always Change Your Life- Week 5

2009-02-08T23:59:00.000-08:00

Time Span: Monday February 2 to Sunday February 8

Weight: 258

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Spring 2000-

I was at one of my Pleasant Hill Baseball Association games when I had the bright idea to eat before it was my turn at bat. There were four hitters in front of me so I decided to go to the snack shack, which was just about a hundred feet from the field, and get a soda and some candy. There was a long line and by the time I got my snacks, I was up. I ran to home plate and noticed the umpire allowed play to resume without me and the pitcher threw two strikes without anyone up at the plate. I discarded my food to the ground and picked up a bat and got to the plate before the third pitch. I swung and missed of course and was out, leaving a man on base. The parents and my coach were infuriated at me and people made fun of me for getting food during the game. Not a great day.

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February 2-

11:40 AM- Microwave sandwich. Low calorie and fat, and I need to make up for my Super Bowl binge.

5:22 PM- I had another microwave meal; it's not healthy but I'm so lazy sometimes.

8:45- I'm still hungry so I think I'll have a tuna sandwich.

February 3-

8:58 AM- My fucking car died on me. This is what I get for not using it enough.

9:04- I just called a cab to get to class. My history teacher is rather Draconian when it comes to attendance so I have to go today (especially since I slept through last Thursday's class).

9:27- The cab came and picked me up and drove like a motherfucker across Morello. I got to class three minutes late, but my teacher hadn't taken role yet so I was aces.

10:50- I'm going to the Math Lab to work on my history and law crap and log Austin in so he gets credit for supposedly doing his math.

1:18 PM- After a rousing journey to Wells Fargo where Jay went in to close his account and came out with an upgraded one, we decided to go to A&W to get burgers. It won't help my figure but fuck it, it's a cheeseburger.

4:45- My dad jump started the car and I drove it around to make sure it worked. Sometimes I wish we still rode horses around.

6:48- ...And for dinner tonight: Tuna!

February 4th-

12:30 PM- Turkey sandwich.

1:41- I finally beat Fallout 3! It's an awesome game; I think I'll check into getting the first two in the series.

4:48- McDonald's fucked up my order as usual. How do you screw this up: A Big N Tasty with cheese. Well of course they forgot the cheese.

8:41- I just had some small dish of noodles and chicken. It was okay.

February 5th-

2:30 PM- I haven't eaten yet so I'm going to have three pieces of sourdough bread and a root beer for lunch. Only 380 calories.

5:30- Went to Denny's and had a club sandwich and fries.

Around 10:00 PM- Had a turkey sandwich from Lucky's.

February 6th-

2:35 PM- I haven't had much of an appetite today, but I just had a personal Red Baron pizza.

7:10- Went to Chili's and had the chicken fajita's. Nice waitress.

10:04- NFL Blitz '99! A fucking 14-10 loss to Arizona and a 17-17 tie with Kansas City.

February 7th-

2:51 PM- Turkey sandwich on Wonder Bread's sandwich style bread. What the fuck does that mean?

7:45- Just got to the Dangers concert. Contrary to popular belief, change for a 20 is pretty difficult for this place.

11:00- After a number of terrible bands and interesting people wandering around (like the guy who spit on the floor about five times or the cousin of Boston Straight Edge), Dangers finally played. Good as usual, although the mic was fucked up for a little bit.

February 8th-

12:23 AM- I'm having a cheeseburger at In-N-Out with Jason, Sean, and Jon. There are too many pansies and douchers here.

1:43 PM- Just woke up. My sleep pattern has been out of wack lately and I don't see it geting fixed anytime soon.

4:02- Another sandwich. Does it even matter what kind? I know I have to add more to my diet, but this seems to work. I just want to be thin. But, uh, I'm working on balancing everything.

7:15- I'm at SF Creamery with Austin. I'm having an egg salad sandwich. It's nice for a change, however so slight it is.

11:19- Push is an awful movie with terrible writing, acting, pacing, and sense of purpose. Just because you're in Hong Kong and have a big black guy does not make it good.

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News and Notes-

- I found out this week that Electronic Gaming Monthly was canceled, meaning I won't get my money back for the next three years I was supposed to have the magazine. And I know you're not supposed to subscribe that long, but I told Ziff Davis and his group of cocksuckers to add the remaining time I had with the Games for Windows magazine I had before it was also canceled. The print business in this country is dying a painful death and this country in general is stuck in neutral.

- I've heard a lot about Holocaust deniers lately in the news and what not and I'll I can say is that if you are one, than you are a cunt. I should be more subtle and sound more mature, but you know what I'm not. Stupid assholes.

- My diet has been working, but I still drink too much soda and don't exercise as much as I'd like. I drink plenty of water though. This will be an ongoing process over the next few months so I'm confident I can make it all work out.

- Be kind.

- The Giants should sign Joe Crede. He's an outstanding 3rd baseman and when he's healthy (he's only 30) he can hit 25 homers.

- It's fun losing weight; hopefully I'll look like a skimmer Seth Rogen or something.

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My weight after this week: 255

(lost 3 pounds)

It may have been another uneven week, but I'm losing the weight. I can't wait to where t-shirts and move through aisles without hitting people and their stuff.

From Gentleman Jeans to 501s- Week 4

2009-02-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

Time Span: Monday January 26 to Sunday February 1

Weight: 259

January 26-

11:30 AM- I decided I'll make a tuna sandwich. I just mixed some tuna and relish together and then applied it to the bread. I'm a 5 star chef.

2:32 PM- Just had a can of tuna. So healthy.

5:28- I'm having spaghetti in a tomato sauce with chunks of ground beef. Unhealthy? Yeah.

January 27-

12:47 PM- I'm at the student cafe at DVC with Jay and Mr. Neezy. I'm having spaghetti in a meat sauce and a diet coke.

5:08- Kinders

8:15- Eating a can of tuna.

January 28-

11:17 AM- I'm eating a turkey sandwich and playing MLB 08': The Show. Damn these outdaded rosters.

2:30 PM- Extra hungry today. I decided to have a microwave sandwich to fill the gap until dinner.

5:40- Ugh. Tuna.

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August 2006-

For the first time in my life I actually thought I was too fat to ride a roller coaster. I was at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk with Austin and Jon, and as the ride attendant put the bar over Jon and me, I thought my fat was preventing the bar from going all the way down. I sucked in my stomach and it finally clicked, but that event made me fearful of riding any type of ride until I went to Disneyland in 2008 and was relieved to find I wasn't too fat to ride their rides.

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January 29-

11:45 AM- Philly Cheese Steak sandwich! Note: I can't wait until the Cheesecake Factory opens up in Walnut Creek. That place is like a palace of goodness.

5:15 PM- I'm trying one of those Red Baron French Bread Pizzas. It sounds good but I've been disappointed before. Fuck it, I'm starving; I'll have two.

9:08- My scriptwriting class is good for the most part, but some people just have some horrible ideas that they think are funny. I'm sorry, but if the story focuses on a main character named Harry Balls and he's trying to fight the evil CEO of Apple Crack cereal, you've got one terrible script idea. Especially when the guy is 50. His talent peeked 20 years ago. That's just sad.

10:22- I'm at WingStop eating some wings and fries. It's good but I don't know if it's THAT good. I probably went over my calorie and fat count today, but I'll survive.

January 30-

1:34 AM- Don't let anyone ever try and convince you that watching a 80 minute film of Liam Neeson beating the shit out of people is a bad thing. It's fucking terrific actually. I recommend Taken to anyone who enjoy one or more of the following: Liam Neeson, guns, bread, spoiled virgins, people in suits, France, sex slaves, angry Albanians, or short films that get to the point quickly and have about 3 deaths per 5 minutes.

1:04 PM- I just ate two Red Baron pizzas. Way too much food.

7:35- I'm watching Revenge of the Sith and having another microwave sandwich. I've decided for next wek to cut down on shit that goes into the microwave.

10:45- At Hooters, eating some fries and wings. Today has been a terrible day for dieting. I also had another highly embarrassing moment there. More later.

January 31-

1:48 AM- Jon, Jason, Austin, Sean, and Me are going through the Oakland Hills. We saw two prostitutes fighting each other around Jon's car. This deserves its own post I think.

2:35- Had a milkshake at Nations. I know I know.

5:20 PM- I didn't wake up until 2:30 so I'm getting a late start on my eating. I think I'll have a turkey sandwich.

9:30- Had another turkey sandwich. I feel like I need to make up for yesterday. The Super Bowl is tomorrow and I'm looking forward to a (hopefully) good game. I'll say now that I think the Steelers will win and I'd bet the over on the 46.5 spread. I'm rooting for the Cardinals though because I don't want Pittsburgh to become the first team to win 6 Super Bowls. The 49ers and Cowboys currently have 5 titles as well.

February 1-

Just like John McCain, I've decided to suspend my campaign for the day. It is the Super Bowl Sunday after all, and I feel like I've earned the day to stuff myself. I won't track what I eat today, but it's safe to say I'll eat a bunch of sandwiches and cookies and drink a lot of root beer.

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News and Notes-

- It was a good Super Bowl this year although I knew it couldn't have been as good as last year's. Arizona's defense kept them in the game for the most part, but the overall strength of Pittsburgh gave them the win. The final quarter was a blast to watch.

- I've felt a lot better since I dropped my incredibly shitty math class. Word to the wise: If the teacher sucks and you need help with the material, find a new teacher.

- The new Fallout 3 mini-expansion is really cool. You get to experience the famous Battle of Anchorage, Alaska in 2077. It's American history at its best.

- I figured to either gain weight or lose none at all mainly because of the overeating the past three days. Let's see how it turned out.

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My weight after this week: 258

(lost 1 pound)

It was an OK week considering the Super Bowl and everything, but there's still a lot of work to do.

Do you know why Liam Neeson is a badass?

2009-01-30T01:48:00.000-08:00

Because he shot a woman in the shoulder and beat up two big bad black guys. Oh, and because he carries bread around with him.

Fighting the Fat to the Death- Week 3

2009-01-25T21:33:00.000-08:00

Time Span: Monday January 19 to Sunday January 25

Weight: 263

January 19-

11:57 AM- Turkey on white. You know, the usual.

5:33 PM- Microwave sandwich. I'm still well under my calorie and fat intake for today.

6:45- Microwave pizza. Tastes pretty good.

January 20-

8:54 AM- I'm trying to watch the inauguration on my computer, but for some reason it wont connect to the schools internet server. It's pissing me off.

9:25- Well I was able to listen to half of Obama's speech and then watched the rest on one of the computers in my history class. I'll re-watch it all when I get home (I'm glad I Tivo'd it).

10:30- I just bought a turkey and cheese sandwich with tomato and lettuce from the DVC cafeteria. It tasted pretty good, but it was heavily overpriced ($4.50 for a very basic sandwich).

2:02 PM- Just had a microwave sandwich. Maybe I shut cut back on my intake.

3:30- Just started The Wackness

5:27- I'm having ham, peas, and mashed potatoes for dinner. Tastes fine, but not the greatest meal for a diet.

6:30- Had a Red Bull.

10:07- I just finished watching The Wackness (took a break halfway through). Fantastic film, I highly recommend it. I might write something about it later.

11:51- I wrote my history essay and posted it on WebCT. Yay.

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Fall 2005-

I tried my famous (for me, anyway) "Orange Diet". The goal was to just eat 3 or 4 oranges a day for 5 days or so out of the week. I figured I could lost 20-30 pounds over a 3 month period. The diet, which was extremely hard to follow because I wanted actual food, last only one day. It was a funny failure of a diet.

----------------------------------------

January 21-

11:00 AM- Eating my usual lunch.

3:34- Just had some fig newtons.

5:15- Kinders sandwich and a bag of sun chips. A fairly healthy day, I'd say.

January 22-

1:40 PM- Ditto for lunch

5:00- Eating a Boston Market meal. Turkey, corn, mashed potatoes, and cornbread. Pretty good.

10:02- Just got out of script writing class. Eating a taco from Jack In The Box.

11:10- At Hooters with Jon, Jason, and Sean. We're eating some buffalo wings and garlic fries. There are some pretty attractive girls here. I'm mildly surprised.

January 23-

11:40 AM- Shit, I'm almost out of bread. Luckily I have enough for my sandwich.

5:22 PM- I'm having one of those microwave pizzas. Pretty good and fairly healthy. Why is Lou Dobbs such a dick? He's always hating on Mexicans and so-called "liberal" Democrats. Mr. Independent my ass.

around 9:00- Eating some chocolate covered cookie dough bites and some chips at the theater. I'm still in my calorie and fat range.

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Winter 2005-

I feel like I've become addicted to eating pizza and wings while watching movies. Now that I've been having these weekly movie nights with Austin and Jon, I've been eating a lot more. It's well worth it though because they're cool and we have a good time. I'm also seeing a ton of more movies. Sometimes when I'm at home and I feel like watching a movie I get this urge to order pizza.

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January 24-

12:55 AM- After a rousing adventure through the Oakland Hills and parts of Berkeley, we stop off at Nation's. I ordered a piece of apple pie. Very good

12:35 PM- I'm eating this Tuscan pizza or whatever it says on the menu. It's a pizza so it'll work.

6:19- This ham and cheese microwave sandwich is somewhat crappy. I think the cheese is fake.

11:52- Fig Newtons!

January 25-

11:41 AM- Turkey sandwich

3:43 PM- I'm watching the NHL All Star game. I'm guessing there will be 20 goals or so.

5:33- These Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches are getting better and better. So is The Empire Strikes Back.

7:09- Well the East beat the West 12-11 in a shootout. I'm also eating some Fig newtons.

8:15- Watching Cold Case and easting tuna mixed with a little mayo and relish.
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June 2006-

As I was walking home from summer school, a truck drove passed me and one of the teenagers in the passenger seat started oinking at me, and the driver started calling me a pig. The truck sped off and I could hear both of them laughing loudly. I was fucking pissed the rest of the way home and while I'm not mad anymore, I still consider it fucked up.

----------------------------------------

News and Notes-

- The Wackness is a very good film.

- I had a very embarrassing moment at the movie theater earlier in the week. Hopefully I elaborate later in a post about my funniest embarrassing moments in life.

- Ty Wiggington > Joe Crede

- I feel like ordering a pizza and some wings. I just might do that later next week.

- I'm drinking a lot of water.

- My math class sucks so hard. The teacher blows and she's rude and not good at what she does.

- The Oakland Hills are really cool to drive through (or at least being a passenger) early on in the morning. Berkeley and parts of Oakland are really nice. Oh, and the apple pie at Nation's is pretty darn good.

- I'm just a few pounds from being moderately obese ;).

----------------------------------------

My weight after this week: 259

(lost 4 pounds)

I'm just 30 pounds away or so from having the ability to shop at Abercrombie and Fitch (not that I want to; I hate everything they stand for).

Free Agent/Trade Possibilities for the Giants

2009-01-24T16:59:00.000-08:00

The Giants need a bat, so I've speculated (through reading and listening), on what they might be able to get:

Free Agents:

Manny Ramirez, LF- Ramirez would give the Giants the bat they need to win the NL West this season, but at a high cost, and not just monetarily. First lets look at the positives. He has a career line of .314/.411/.593 with 527 home runs and he’s a 12 time All-Star and 9 time Silver Slugger.

While he’ll be 37 this season, he’s still durable and currently one of the most productive hitters in the league. The problem is that his agent is Scot Boras. He’s still asking teams for a 4-year commitment at least $20-25 million a year. Ramirez has a history of quitting on his team when he’s not happy, and his meltdown with Boston last season was a perfect example of that.

As of now, his best offer, at least publicly, is a two-year, $45 million offer from the Dodgers. It seems unlikely Ramirez will sign a deal that less than 3 years and San Francisco can get a hitter who is younger, more affordable, and someone who is a team player.

Adam Dunn, LF/1B- Dunn is one of my personal favorites. He’s hit at least 40 homers a season for the past 5 years and he has a career .381 OBP. Other positives are that he’s only 29 and he’ll probably take a two or three-year deal, meaning the Giants can rebuild and get rid of Dunn when they need to.

His agent publicly asked for $52 million over four seasons, but some baseball experts say he’ll be lucky to get anything more than $30 million over three years. Dunn does have defensive liabilities at both first base and left field, and he will strike out a lot. Plus, San Francisco would probably rather have Pablo Sandoval play first.

Still, if Sabean can get Dunn for less than three years and at no more than $9-10 million a season, it’d probably be a good investment in the short term.

Bobby Abreu, OF- His durability, batting average, and on-base percentage are all big positives for Abreu, but his defense is outright horrible sometimes. He’ll be 35 this season and the Giants would be better off with someone who can play in the infield or the corner outfield spots.

Abreu can play all three outfield positions, but as noted earlier, not very well. It would be unwise to get rid of either Fred Lewis or Randy Winn to fit Abreu in. The Giants might may be able to get him for a bargain, but they would have to give up a draft pick to sign him, and signing him for anything over a year would probably be a mistake anyway.

Others: Garret Anderson, OF- Yet another aging outfielder whose best days are behind him. He has a good career batting average, but a poor OBP and a mediocre walk/strikeout ratio.

Ken Griffey Jr., OF- Once an outstanding player, Griffey hasn’t been a durable player in 10 years and it’s unlikely his offensive production would give San Francisco what they need, especially at sacrificing playing time for either Lewis or Winn.

Trades:

Nick Swisher, OF/1B, New York Yankees- Coming off a rough year with the White Sox, Swisher was traded to the Yankees this off-season. There’s a chance he’ll never play a game for New York, particularly because of the Yankees crowded outfield and Mark Teixeira patrolling first base. Swisher has a manageable contract, with just a bit over $22 million guaranteed over the next three seasons.

His career line is .244/.354/.451 and he’s only 28. He’s hit at least 21 home runs over the past four seasons and if he were just to live up to his career averages, he’d benefit the Giants without breaking the bank. He can play all three outfield positions (although he’s poor at CF), and at first base. He offers the power San Francisco currently lacks.

What it would take to pry him away from New York is unknown, but if Sabean were able to get him without trading any of their starting pitchers, it’d be a good deal. It seems that however, they’d have to give up at least Jonathan Sanchez or Noah Lowry.

Xavier Nady, OF/1B/3B, New York Yankees- Nady has played almost every position in the game, but lately he’s situated at right field. He has a good batting average (.280 career), a decent OBP (.335), and a decent to good slugging percentage (.458). His deficiencies, however, include a lot of strikeouts, not a lot of walks, and he wouldn’t be a defensive upgrade for the Giants. Also, he’s only hit 20 homers twice in his 6 year career.

While he’ll only be 30 this year, he’ll cost $6.55 million this season and will be a free agent next season. Oh, and he’s a Scot Boras client. It’s known that Sabean doesn’t want to trade for someone who’ll only be there for a season. Nady isn’t worth any of San Francisco’s pitchers and even if he were a free agent, he doesn’t seem worth signing for more than $10-14 million over two years at this point.

Jorge Cantu, 3B, Florida Marlins- Cantu is a bit of a mystery. He hit 28 home runs in his first full season in the majors in 2005, but then only hit 15 combined during 2006 and 2007. Last year however, he hit 29. It’s hard to tell if he can average 25 homers a season, but he’ll only be 27 this season and he isn’t free agent eligible until the 2011 season.

Some of his other positives, at least for San Francisco, is that he plays 3rd base, and that’s position they need filled. Cantu has also played just as many games at 2nd base in his career, so he does offer infield versatility. His career line is .275/.317/.460, which shows that while his batting average and slugging percentage are adequate, his on-base is not. He only walked 40 times in 628 at-bats last season and he struck out 91 times in 2006 and 111 last year.

He would be a nice addition for the Giants if the price were right (meaning not giving up Sanchez or Lowry), but it seems unlikely that could happen.

Dan Uggla, 2B, Florida Marlins- Another one of my personal favorites. Uggla is a three year pro, and he’s perfectly averaged 30 homes and 90 RBIs a season during that time. He has uncommon power for a second baseman and while he didn’t make it to the show until he was 26, he’ll just be 29 this season and he won’t be a free agent until the 2012 season.

He has a good batting line (.262/.341/.490), is a two-time All Star, and was second in doubles in the National League in 2007. His defense is average, but his offensive punch would give the Giants the power hitter they need, and possibly for years to come. He probably wouldn’t make more than $21 million over the next 3 seasons combined, and Uggla would give San Francisco the option to trade their plethora of second basemen.

If Sabean could get Uggla for a package of Sanchez, Emmanuel Burriss, and another mid-level prospect, than I’d consider that a steal. Sanchez and Burriss will make the league minimum for the next couple of years, which would help the forever cash-strapped Marlins. The problem, however, is that if Florida asks for Matt Cain or either prospect Madison Bumgarner or Tim Alderson, Sabean should hang up the phone and move on.

Others: Hank Blalock, 3B, Texas Rangers- Blalock would be a more intriguing trade candidate had he not been injured the past two seasons. He hit 102 homers from 2003-06 and has a career .274/.337/.465 line. He’s only 28, and if the deal is right, I’d take a chance on him.

Chris Davis, 1B/3B, Texas Rangers- Davis has a lot of upside. He was a rookie last season and hit 17 homers in just 295 at-bats. He’ll be 23 this season and he seems to have the capability to hit 25-30 home runs a year. However, if the Rangers want Cain or any equivalent, the Giants should look somewhere else.

Prince Fielder, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers- OK, I know…this is a long shot. However, he is the only Matt Cain trade candidate that seems worth it. He’s under club control for three more seasons and he will probably average anywhere from 35 to 45 homers over that time. He’s only 24 (25 in May), and even if San Francisco didn’t resign him after 2011, they will have gotten a lot of quality out of him. They could also trade him before he becomes a free agent and get something decent in return. The Brewers will have to give him up eventually (thanks to a small market and Scott Boras being his agent), and if Sabean were willing to part with Cain, the deal MIGHT be worth it.

The American Capitol

2009-01-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

Beautiful.

It's Called the American Dream Because You Have To Be Asleep to Believe It

2009-01-19T22:39:00.000-08:00

Let me make something clear. I'm very excited about tomorrow's inauguration. I voted for Barack Obama and I'm proud of that. I believe he will bring modest change to this country that will give us a spark to believe in ourselves as a people. I know it sounds cliche, but go with me here. It happened with Lincoln, FDR, and Kennedy, and there shouldn't be a reason why it won't with Obama. I think that he will fix the United States's image not just abroad, but at home as well. He's a positive force for the country and the fact that we will have our first African-American president tomorrow is truly amazing. This country really has come a long way.

However, while Obama has a great oppurtunity to benefit this country, he is still in a system that is rigid and one that does not allow rapid change. This country is controlled by the elite, and while they allow change, it can be very slow. Don't forget that the candidate with the most money usually always wins.

There is an allusion in this country that we can make changes whenever we want because we have the will of the people in charge. I wish that were true, but I believe it will be a long time before that the people of the United States have true control of the country. I hope it's sooner rather than later, and I hope Obama makes a giant strides in fixing the American system.

I really do think Obama will do a lot of good things for the United States. He is a good person and he seems to have a fantastic family and a few good people around him. I just don't think we'll see the kind of change that I wish we could have.

Here's hoping President Obama takes the first step in the right direction.

I leave you with this video from George Carlin describing the United States as I, and many others, see it sometimes.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/61955/

EDIT: YouTube is taking down all of the Carlin videos so I don't know how long this stuff will last. Please go to the link above; it's an amazing video. It's an interesting commentary on the American people and the failure of our education system.

My 10 Favorite George Carlin bits

2009-01-19T14:58:00.000-08:00

George Carlin, one of the most influential and funniest comedians of all time, had over 40 years of outstanding and groundbreaking material. He is my favorite comedian of all time and I own almost all of his CD's, excluding some of his earlier work (which is probably most of his best). Anyway, here's my list of my favorite Carlin bits/skits (no particular order--oh and I didn't list 7 Words You Can Never Say on TV because almost everyone has heard of it and is legendary because it effected government policy; I'll post the video at the bottom).

1. State Prison Farms (Back In Town)

Carlin's rant on fixing the American penal system. Some of his recommendations include turning entire states into prisons for specific crimes, such as turning Utah into a place for maniacs and Colorado for alcoholics and drug addicts who've failed rehab 15 times. He also says it'd be a good idea for corporations like Budweiser to sponsor the prisons and then have them live on cable TV.

Favorite line: "A maniac will beat nine people to death with a steel dildo. A crazy person will beat nine people to death with a steel dildo, but he'll be wearing a Bugs Bunny suit at the time."

2. Parents of Honor Students (Complaints and Grievances)

These people are fucking annoying and Carlin tells it like it is. He points out how empty do you have to be to have a sticker on the back of your car to validate your kids minor scholastic achievements. He also has a couple of nice shots against American consumerism.

Favorite line: "Hows that science project coming along, Justin?' 'Fuck you dad, you simple minded prick. Mind your own business and pass the Cheerios."

3. Feminist Blowjob (Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics)

Carlin actually agrees with a lot of what feminists say, but he criticized their movement because all they care are middle-class white women who are obsessed with their reproductive rights. Carlin notes that they take themselves way too seriously and that's why it's easy to make fun of them. He also has a lot of good comments on how government controls thought by controlling speech and language.

Favorite line: "You want to piss off a feminist, call her a cum-catcher. That'll get her attention. Aww don't act disgusted. Half of you are going to go home and go down on each other tonight remember? If you're willing to swallow cum, let's not make believe something I said was disgusting."

4. People I Can Do Without (What Am I Doing in New Jersey?)

A pretty self-explanatory skit on people who piss off Carlin. Examples include people who mention Jesus more than 300 times in a 2 minute conversation and girls who get drunk and throw up at breakfast.

Favorite line: "A boy scout master who owns a dildo shop".

5. Airport Security (You Are All Diseased)

You Are All Diseased came out over two years before the 9/11 attacks, but the logic is still sound. Airport security has always been terribly inept and I'm not sure it's gotten much better in the past few years. It's a bunch of annoying people asking extremely stupid questions.

Favorite line: "Airport security is a stupid idea, a waste of money and is there for only one reason: to make white people feel safe."

6. Fear of Germs (You Are All Diseased)

The American people do have an obsessive problem with trying to feel clean. Carlin says live a little and take a fucking chance. Showering only 5 times a week won't kill you.

Favorite line: "...and if I drop food on the floor I eat it!"

7. Religion (You Are All Diseased)

Carlin hates bullshit. He hates American bullshit, capitalistic bullshit, feminist bullshit, but he especially hates religious bullshit.

Favorite line: The whole bit is golden. I couldn't find the exact video on YouTube, so here is the Religion is Bullshit bit. It's just the longer and even more entertaining rant on religion and all of its bullshit.

8. Sports (Playin' With Your Head)

Carlin breaks down all of the sports in the country and says what's on his mind about each one.

Favorite line: (Quote is actually from his book Napalm and Silly Putty) "Lacrosse is not a sport; lacrosse is a faggoty college activity. I don't care how rough it is, anytime you're running around a field, waving a stick with a little net on the end of it, you're engaged in a faggoty college activity. Period."

9. You Have No Rights (It's Bad for Ya)

This is one of my all time favorites if not my favorite bit George Carlin ever did. It's very topical but it also addresses not just the United States, but all governments and humans in the world. I believe almost every word of this one. We don't have rights; we have privileges.

Favorite line: "The government does not give a fuck about (you). The government doesn't care about you, or your children , or your rights, or your welfare, or your safety; it simply doesn't give a fuck about you. It's interested in its own power, that's the only thing; keeping it and expanding it wherever possible...I think (we should have) unlimited rights or no rights at all."

10. Free Floating Hostility (Back In Town)

24 things that Carlin thinks sucks or pisses him off. It's a nice montage of his work and thoughts throughout the years.

Favorite line: "And what happened in this country that now, suddenly, everyone has their own personal bottle of water...get a drink before you leave the house!"

Bonus:

War on Obesity- Week 2

2009-01-18T23:50:00.000-08:00

Time Span: Monday January 12 to Sunday January 18

Weight: 264

January 12-

11:30 AM- Turkey sandwich. I'm also trying to fight insomnia.

2:30 PM- Did some light exercising.

5:15 - I had another sandwich, but this time it was from Quiznos. It's good but it has a lot of fat for a sandwich. Oh well, I'll live. I also only had one soda today.

January 13-

10:30 AM- Light exercising

12:00 PM- I ordered a small pizza with pepperoni and olives and a calzone from Pizza Guys. I splurged...horribly. It was really good though and I didn't feel depressed after I ate it so I think it'll be okay.

9:05- I had a ceasar salad which had only 300 calories and about 18-20 grams of fat. I plan on having salad for dinner at least twice a week from now on.

January 14-

11:20 AM- I'm watching Frasier and I'm eating a turkey sandwich with water. It's pretty decent right now.

5:45 PM- Chowing down on one of those frozen sandwiches.

9:40- Ditto (I should note that even with everything today I've only had 1,350 calories and 51 grams of fat today).

January 15-

8:15 AM- My first day of school for the new semester. I'm rather apathetic about it all; and why is my old American West history class in the Advanced Technology Center?

1:30 PM- Just got home from school. Too many stupid drivers and even dumber pedestrians. I'm eating a microwave sandwich while playing as the Giants GM in 2036.

5:45- Eating dinner, which is just a turkey sandwich and water. Not bad.

10:30- At the theater, just goofing around.

January 16-

12:05 AM- Watching a pretty bad movie (Paul Blart: Mall Cop). Austin doesn't seem to like the really bad jokes and horrible plot twists.

1:50- At Nations; I had a cheeseburger, fries, and a diet coke. I ruined what was once a great dieting day. I'm still doing pretty well though, especially with the constant uphill walking at DVC.

11:30- I changed up my lunch today. Instead of the usual turkey I decided to have some ham. I'm such a risk taker.

1:18 PM- Red Bull.

6:33- I'm at Wendy's with Joey. I'm having the double cheeseburger and fries. Not a smart decision on my part, but I'm actually still within my calorie range.

Joey got his license, so kudos to him!

8:15- Eating some fig newtons (4 total).

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Summer 2003-

I had my first successful diet. I lost 20 pounds by exercising almost everyday and eating less and as healthy as possible. Unfortunately I gained it all back my December, but the weight loss let me believe that I could really get healthier. I attempted similar diets during the next two summers, but they didn't pan out.

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January 17-

1:04 PM- I'm eating this personal Red Baron supreme pizza. Only 420 calories and 19 grams of fat; plus it tastes good. CNN is getting really boring.

5:27- Spaghetti in a meat sauce. It has a good amount of calories, but the fat is low and the taste is well...high.

10:05- Just had two slices of cheese pizza from Extreme Pizza. Very good; and yeah I shouldn't have done it.

January 18-

12:15 AM- Somewhere in San Ramon. I feel like I'm in an insane asylum because Jason, Jon, and Sean are making loud squawking sounds that came from a very stupid video of a very dumb girl. The Mustang is cool though.

Around 1:30- At Nations, just got a vanilla shake <_<. style="font-style: italic;">Fahrenheit 451 was remade into a terrible movie, kind of like how the original The Day the Earth Stood Still was just remade, the song for the closing credits should be Lil Wayne's "Fireman".

7:30- At Chipotle with Sam. Eating a steak burrito. I think I'm still in my stat range.

About 8:30- At McCovey's with just about everyone. We ordered the 521 burger, which is like 2 or 3 pounds of beef. The bun is fucking huge also, and Jon, Jason, and Steve eat most of it. I had about 3 garlic fries and three Diet Pepsi's. I snapped at the waiter when I asked for my drink, which was rude, so he may have spit in my last drink.

10:44- About of half a dozen girls are pretending to flirt with me while I'm sitting inside the main lobby of the theater. The girls are outside and are about 13-15. It's embarrassing when middle school age girls are making fun of you. Two of them came in later and said "Hi" sarcastically.

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Things I Learned:

- Still drinking too much soda.

- I'm drinking enough water

- I can't over eat like I've done a couple of times this week.

- I don't want to hear anything about Boxxy girl ever again. She's annoying and fucking stupid.

- I can't believe the Arizona Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl. Hopefully they beat Pittsburgh because I don't want the Steelers to become the first team in NFL history to win 6 Super Bowls. (5 is the current record held by the 49ers, Cowboys, and Steelers).

- Exercising is good for you but I find it boring. I need to do more but can't it be fun?

- I'm looking forward to watching The Wackness. Oh and Notorious was good.

- I'm surprised I didn't gain any weight this week.

- I'm still tired of being obese.

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My weight after this week: 263

(Lost 1 pound)

I'm confident that I'll win this weight battle eventually.

Can't be

2009-01-13T18:58:00.000-08:00

I can't be an uncle unless it's through marriage. That sucks.

My unconventional (and probably unhealthy) diet

2009-01-11T19:35:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to lose weight. I'm tired of being obese. I'm taking full responsibility for my current condition and I'm attempting to fix it. As of right now, Tuesday January 6th, 2009, I weigh 270 pounds. That about 70-80 pounds too much. If I just lost 20-30 pounds I'd feel a hell of a lot better.

So, I plan on documenting my weight loss journey through my blog. I don't have a set plan on losing weight, but I'm hoping a combination of eating less (a lot less) and exercising just a little bit will help. I shall log my eating exploits and see how it goes.

I would also like to point that I'm not like some fat people who try and sue fast food corporations for their problems. Granted, the fast food industry probably isn't run by good people but to blame them for your obesity is crazy.

It's possible they made you obese but it was your choice in deciding to eat their all the time. I also understand that in the lower-economic spectrum of the United States it's harder to find healthy food at cheap prices. However, I know for fact you can do better than Burger King everyday.

Here's the first week:

January 6th-

11:48 AM- I'm sitting on my bed eating a microwaveable Stouffer's Philly-Style Steak and Cheese Panini and watching Two and a Half Men. I figure this will be my breakfast/lunch meal. The sandwich has 340 calories and 16 grams of fat in it so I guess that's not terrible. The water I'm having with my meal is pretty good too. I wish I could hook up with girls like Charlie.

1:31 PM- I contemplated whether or not I should have a Red Bull and quickly decided against it. I'm just going to drink water, juice, and the occasional diet soda. And the reason the soda is diet is because I prefer the taste, not because I think it helps me out or anything. I've been reading Tucker Max's book I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell all morning. The guy can be a total douchebag but he is quite funny.

3:06- Drinking more water. People say it helps suppress your appetite, although that's never worked for me. Who am I to complain though, I mean if I weigh 270 clearly nothing can stop me from eating except experimental government drugs or self-control. I'll try the latter for now.

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January 1999-

"No offense, but you're kinda fat"

-my cousin Jonathan, while visiting from Ohio

Now why would I be offended? Sigh.

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5:20- I just had a Kinder's sandwich; turkey and swiss on a sour role with everything. As usual it was very good. This will be my second and last meal for the day and my goal now is to not snack for the rest of the night.

7:44- Well I broke my rule; I had a snack. Luckily it's just a 70 calorie pack of fruit gummies.

I just read Jason Giambi signed with the A's at a very affordable price for Oakland. It's a one year, $4 million deal with a $6.5 million option (with a $1.25 million buyout) in 2010. Giambi, who hit 32 home runs and had a .373 OBP with the Yankeees last season, has a career .286 BA and a .408 OBP and should give the A's (assuming he can stay healthy) stability at the DH position.

January 7th-

11:03 AM- I had the same thing for lunch today as I did yesterday. It's good and fairly healthy and I fucking love steak (or least the fake taste of it). I'm supposed to hangout with Joey soon and go to lunch. This will be one of my hurdles: avoid overeating. I just ate so this probably isn't a good idea (especially since Joey wants to go to Round Table) and he assumes I haven't eaten yet. Shit. Well, it's all about self control.

12:24 PM- I got to Round Table with the usual bitching that Joey and his mom always go through when I'm in the car. I think Joey's mom gets annoyed when she picks me up because she knows I have a license and a car. That's a whole another story (my fear of driving).

12:27- Joey's mom gets all 3 of us the lunch buffet special (unlimited pizza and salad; the pizza is tiny so it's not horrible for you if you don't over eat). I eat 3 slices of mini-pizza, have some cinnamon twists and garlic bread, go to the salad bar (and put light dressing on, which I think is a party foul) once and have 1 1/2 cups of Diet Coke. I over ate again. I now know the day is going down the shitter diet wise, but at least It'll probably be entertaining.

12:54- Everyone finishes eating and Joey's mom drops Joey and me off in downtown Concord. Joey and I notice the box office at the theater is closed so we decide to go take BART to Walnut Creek.

2:35- I'm in Walnut Creek and after buying our tickets to see Gran Torino we sit in a theater full of too many old people. Average age: 60-65. Two yuppies walk into the theater and one of them sits in the front row because all of the seats are taken. He says it's too close and asks his friend to "try it out". The friend sits and agrees the seats are too close and both leave and never come back. Why would they waste that kind of money?

2:49- A middle-aged man sits right next to me (I'm one seat from the aisle with the last seat empty). He's breathing heavily and his foot is in a boot/cast. Fuck.

3:03- All the previews have finally ended, including another stupid Fast and Furious sequel, and the movie starts. The only problem is that its not Gran Torino, it's Quantam of Solace. I haven't seen the new Bond movie yet so I'm not really complaining. However, all the old folks bitch and some ghetto 17-year old employee comes in and says it'll take 15 minutes to get the right movie up.

3:26- Gran Torino starts after another batch of previews (we didn't even get our money back).

5:20 or so- The movie ends; it was an outstanding film that had great acting, storytelling, foreshadowing and it worked on a lot of different levels. Lots of good Christian imagery and comparisons between Western and Eastern cultures and what a family really is.

5:25- Joey and I walk into Yes Man. I'm skeptical of another Jim Carrey movie after Fun With Dick and Jane and his movies are always hit or miss with me.

6:05- Joey's face has an expression of utter helplessness on it as Jim Carrey's old neighbor wants to have sex with him.

6:07- The neighbor is fellating Jim Carrey and it looks like Joey wants to cry.

7:05- The movie ends and I'm actually surprised that I like it. It was a decent comedy and overall a fun film to watch.

Note: Zoey Deschanel is very attractive and is also a decent singer. Also, I think a lot of comedies are getting lazy by always having the film set in Los Angeles. I know it probably saves the studio money by having them just film it close to home, but I mean come on. Too many films take place in California's biggest suburb.

7:15- Joey and I are at McCovey's and since I know I've already fucked up my dieting today I decide now that I'll just eat whatever I want to today. Bad dieting day; these things happen. We start with a plate of nachos and I have the Philly cheese steak sandwich with garlic fries. So good. It has real cheese and is unbelievably hot. I wash that down with 4 Diet Cokes as I talk to Joey about the usual shit (which can be fucking hilarious a lot of the time) and watch the Warriors come back against the Lakers on the many TVs that plaster this fantastic restaurant.

10:00- After eating and walking around downtown Walnut Creek, Joey and I take BART back to Concord to get picked up since his mom will flip a bitch if she finds out we left. Why? Who knows. Anyway, I get dropped off and I'm at home.

11:30- Austin, Jason, Jay, and I go to San Francisco. Austin drives 115 because he thinks another car is trying to spite him. Fair enough I guess but I'm a little nervous.

January 8th-

12:00 AM- We arrive in San Francisco and walk around the beach area. I wanted to go to a gentlemen's club (i.e. titty bar and get a lap dance) but they just want to freeze their asses off on the water. In the end, however, I end up having a really good time.

I'm able to hold off from eating or drinking when we stop at an In-N-Out in the city. I did have a Red Bull right when we got to San Francisco so I added another 110 calories to my already heavy body. Oh well, I am determined to lose a good amount of weight and I won't let this day deter me, especially since I had a lot of fun.

1:15- I just got home and found out the Warriors lost. It looks like their season is just going to get worse.

2:40- Bed.

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May 23, 2001-

I'm freaking out. I just stepped onto the scale and it says I weigh a 179 pounds. Just the night before I only weighed 160. What the hell? I think I'm about to cry when my mom assures me the scale just needs new batteries. We get some new batteries in and it reads 160 again. What a relief. Still, the fact that I weigh this much for a 5th grader is a severe problem. Anyway, I calm down and prepare to watch the Star Trek: Voyager series finale. Who thought this wouldn't be the highlight of my evening? I wish it was.

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12:08 PM- I'm eating yet another microwave sandwich and drinking water. I need to change up what I eat because not only am I getting bored, It's also probably bad for you. I've had 5 sandwiches in my last 6 meals.

I'm also dreading tonight. It's haircut night. The haircut is fine and I'm overdue for one but what will happen (and whats happened for the past 8 years or so) is that my dad and I will go to Claim Jumper after. I like the restaurant very much, but as always I will eat too much unhealthy food. Sure, I could just say I don't want to go but I'm still weak willed when it comes to food. I'm planning on eating as healthy as I can (if that's even possible anyway).

I once saw a quote on Yelp that said and I'm paraphrasing: "Claim Jumper: Where obesity just got a little easier". I don't think a truer slogan in the food industry has ever been spoken.

6:00- I'm at Claim Jumper and I'm eating a side caesar salad while waiting for (sigh) my turkey and cheddar cheese sandwich with fresh fruit. Overall the meal won't be that unhealthy but I don't see this helping me lose weight. I could be doing a lot worse I suppose.

January 9th-

12:02 PM- Mmm, a turkey and mustard sandwich. Lucky me.

I was able to watch all of season 5 of Entourage on a bunch of weird Japanese video hosting sites and now I'm working on season 4 of Weeds.

About 3:30- Self-esteem drop. I don't why, especially since I've been writing. Writing usually makes me feel good.

5:54- I'm enjoying turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy and corn from Boston Market. I think it's fairly healthy except for the gravy. I'm watching the news on TV, and as usual it's either boring or depressing. I'm tired of using the words diet and healthy.

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Summer 2002-

I'm in Los Angeles with a few of my cousins. After wandering around the tourist traps we stop at a 50's style diner for dessert. My eldest cousin orders everyone a sundae and when it arrives I pretty much scarf mine down as fast as possible because it's so good. As I'm about to take another bite, my cousin takes the sundae away and tells me I've had enough. How fucking embarrassing. Everyone else is enjoying their ice cream at a reasonable human-like pace while I'm eating mine like that fat kid eating chocolate cake from Matilda.

Note: I remember that my cousins who came from Ohio wanted me to write journal entries for them so they could add them to their so-called "book of memories" or something ridiculously close. I told them I'd write some when I got home and mail it to them. As of January 2009, I have yet to write anything about that trip until right now.

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9:32- I just had a serving of York peppermint patties. All in all I think I had a decent "dieting" night.

January 10-

11:58 AM- Just had the coolest dream: Steve Young came out of retirement and led the 49ers past the Panthers in the NFC Championship Game.

1:11 PM- Enjoying my usual turkey sandwich but now I put Swiss cheese on it. Such a wonderful taste.

My Divisional Round picks:

Baltimore over Tennessee
Carolina over Arizona

3:36- I'm nibbling on a French baguette seductively.

3:55- I've counted the calories and fat I've eaten today and the stat sheet looks as such:

900 calories
28 grams of fat

7:25- This chicken ravioli tastes great until I swallow it. The after taste is horrendous and I think I look like I want to throw it back up.

I'm glad to see the Ravens defeated the Titans, but I don't think the Panthers are going to beat the Cardinals anymore. I'm also getting tired of writing about food, especially since it makes me sound like gigantic fat ass. Oh well; this is for science.

I haven't checked the scale since Monday when I was 270. Tomorrow I'm going to check the scale and see how I've done for the week.

10:00- I'm all finished catching up on Entourage, Weeds, and I just finished reading I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell. You can't tell me Mary-Louise Parker isn't hot. She's a MILF. So is Julie Bowen.

January 11-

12:41 PM- I just woke up and my first thought is why does Kristen Wiig always look so sad? Something's wrong with me.

SNL last night was just OK; the digital short was decent, but the sketches were not that funny, except for the opening. Also, the celebrities with two first names sketch was stupid because they just used their middle names like Neil Patrick Harris or Philip Seymour Hoffman. It would've been better if the celebrities last name was also a first name because anyone can use their middle name.

12:43- Before I can check the score of the Eagles/Giants game I'm making my picks for today:

Eagles over Giants
Chargers over Steelers

1:05- Lunch: ditto

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October 26, 2002-

The Giants just lost Game Six of the World Series. Totally heartbreaking. I now know that there is no way they can win Game Seven. I'm crying.

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4:10- Just did some jumping jacks. The house was shaking quite a bit so I stopped. I'll try crunches instead.

6:50- These store bought frozen chicken enchiladas are decent. The best part is that even though you sacrifice taste, there's only like 750 calories.

End of Week 1

Things I Learned:

- I did almost no exercising. If I can get in, say 3-4 hours a week, I think I'll lose weight faster, or at the very least make me more firm. Some might say I have a case of the jello arms.

- I ate way too many sandwiches. While I definitely enjoy them, I should add more variety to my diet.

- Tom Robbins is a dick.

- Drinking water does help hold off my appetite. It also tastes good. I'm still drinking too much soda and not enough of juice.

- Chad Pennington should still be the Miami Dolphins starter next year.

- Trying to lose weight isn't as a big a chore as I thought it would be. I think I'm eating about a 1/3 less than I normally do in a normal week.

- I'm having two meals a day and I'm always excluding breakfast. I know I shouldn't do that but that's way it is.

- I didn't eat any fast food. That's got to be a first.

- In 2024, student protesters caused wide-spread riots in France, which the French government led by Neo-Trotskyists could not stop. Many people in the United States believed such social ills were confined to Europe, but they were proved wrong shortly thereafter by the Bell Riots.

Yeah. Think about that.

And now the big question: how much do I weigh? After the first 6 days of "dieting" I weigh 264 pounds. I lost 6 pounds. Yay. This always happens though. I always lose a lot of weight during the first week because I eat a lot less. I'm hoping I can continue to lose the weight.

Trying to live by it

2009-01-10T22:41:00.000-08:00

Aside from the whole God thing (not trying to offend Christians here, but I'm looking at it without the God reference), I really find great comfort from the Serenity Prayer:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

The rest of it I didn't paste because it focuses more on God than what I believe should be self-determination.

Anyway, I think the words ring true and I hope to become a more relaxed and accepting person by this prayer.

Why Nick Swisher would be a good fit for the San Francisco Giants

2009-01-09T14:39:00.000-08:00

The Giants have had a nice off-season so far. General manager Brian Sabean, who along with manager Bruce Bochy, is in the final year of his contract and appears to be doing everything possible to make a .500 team.

The signings of shortstop Edgar Renteria (2 years, $18.5 million), starting pitcher Randy Johnson (1 year, $8 million base salary), and relief pitchers Jeremy Affeldt and Bob Howry (2 years, $8 million and 1 year, $2.75 million, respectively) will help the Giants stay competitive in the morose NL West while at the same time allow them to develop their young talent without hindering their long term futures.

As you can see, all of Sabean's signings have been for two years or less. If any of the newly acquired free agents fail they won't harm San Francisco long-term.

What the Giants do need desperately, however, is a bat. There a few left on the market, including big name Manny Ramirez, but if any of the reports are true, there’s no way the Giants will sign him. His questionable attitude combined with the ludicrous amount of money being asked by his agent Scott Boras (supposedly $25 million a year over at least four seasons), is scaring off most teams.

Other power hitters like Adam Dunn have defensive liabilities and even a hypothetical contract of $10-12 million over two or three years would not be in the best interest for the Giants. One player, however, makes a lot of sense. That player is Nick Swisher.

Swisher, 28, is coming off the worst year of his career where he hit only .219 with a .332 OBP in 497 at-bats in 2008 with the Chicago White Sox and was promptly traded to the Yankees after the season. He still managed to hit 24 homers and walk 82 times, however, and those are two things the Giants need: power hitting and a high on-base percentage.

The Giants in 2008 did not have a player who walked more than 59 times or who hit more than 16 home runs. None of the current additions Sabean has made have the ability to better those numbers. Swisher does, though.

Before Oakland traded him to Chicago in the 2008 off-season, Swisher hit 57 homers combined in 2006 and 2007 (including 35 in ’06) and also had 197 walks during that time span. Swisher also has a career .354 OBP and .805 OPS, both of which are respectable numbers and something San Francisco definitely needs.

Swisher is also a durable player. For the past three years he’s played at least 150 games a season and averaged 531 at-bats a year. He’s hit no less than 21 home runs a season over the past four years and he can play the corner outfield positions or at first base (which happens to be another need for the Giants).

The best part about Swisher is his contract. He signed a 5-year, $26.75 million deal after the 2006 season with Oakland and has three years remaining worth $21.05 million total and an option in 2012 worth $10.25 million with a $1 million buyout. That means if the Giants were able to trade for him they’d only be responsible for $22.05 million over the next three seasons.

That may seem like a lot, but when you consider that he’s entering his peak years that’s not so terrible. His contract his very tradable if need be and explains partly why he’s already been traded twice in the past two seasons. Swisher has a brash demeanor but he’s not a clubhouse distraction and he’s usually a hard worker.

The toughest part is for the Giants to convince the Yankees to trade him without giving up too much. New York prefers to hold onto Swisher and trade outfielder Xavier Nady, someone the Giants don’t seem terribly interested in.

Sabean has done a lot this off-season for the Giants and appears, at least on paper, to be moving them to a possible division crown. However, they still need a power hitter in the middle of the lineup to push them over the edge. Swisher may not be able to do it all himself, but he has the capability to do a lot of good.

His durability combined with his decent to above average power numbers over the past four seasons and a great contract make him a good fit for the Giants this season.

Another plus is that Swisher has a home in Danville (45 minutes or so from San Francisco).

If Sabean can pry Swisher away from the Yankees without giving up a highly ranked prospect, he gives the team an opportunity to compete now while also letting them rebuild at their own pace.

Inept drinkers

2009-01-08T19:40:00.001-08:00

I'm tired of the servers at Claim Jumper when they ask if you want vermouth with your martini. It's so asinine and ridiculous, and you don't have to be a drink connoisseur or alcoholic to understand why. A martini, whether it's vodka or gin, has to have vermouth to be martini. If you order a vodka martini on the rocks and tell them to hold the vermouth, than all you're drinking is vodka on the rocks.

For some reason at Claim Jumper, the computer used by the servers asks them if the martini the customer ordered has vermouth in it or not. Why? I don't know entirely, but I believe one of the waiters once said that customers asked them to hold the vermouth. I have a feeling that the teenagers who drink to get drunk at parties are the same people 10 years later that have no idea how to order a drink. Probably lost to many brain cells while pissing their pants from drinking too many Natural Ice's or whatever Captain Morgan rum they could find.

Note: I don't personally order drinks at restaurants or bars because I'm only 18 and therefore can't. I get all the information and experience from my dad who enjoys a vodka martini on the rocks with two olives.

Oh and a dirty martini just means there's olive juice in the drink.

Lookalike

2009-01-08T16:05:00.000-08:00

Anyone else notice how Kevin Nealon, Gary Cole, and William Fichtner look somewhat the same?

You can't tell me these 3 guys don't look somewhat similar.

Published piece

2009-01-04T23:55:00.000-08:00

Here's a feature story I wrote that got published in the DVC paper last month (the local junior college I attend). I was proud to have it published.
------------------

Five years ago, Francisco Hinojosa almost dropped out of school. He was struggling with classes and didn't feel connected to the college.

But that changed after he was stopped by a member of Students Encouraging Support and Solidarity and invited to join the club.

Once there, he began making friends and did a complete 180-degree change.

Within a year, he was president of the Inter Club Council, which is the governing body for campus clubs

He has held the office for nearly four years.

And what was once just a handful of clubs has grown to more than 60.

"Francisco has been a tireless advocate for clubs, not only as social gatherings for students, but also…as a force for increasing diversity awareness and inclusion," said Bill Oye, dean of student life, in an e-mail interview.

The ICC was not always so organized, Hinojosa said.

The rules were restrictive, with the ICC forced to follow the Associate Students of DVC's constitution, which gave the clubs little power.

Hinojosa set out to change that when he was elected ICC president in 2004.

To make it easier for more students to get involved, he lowered the minimum number of students required to form a club from eight to six, because it was hard to get a club going even with just eight people.

"We changed it and it worked," Hinojosa said.

He also oversaw creation of an ICC website, which was made by students and has been up for a year.

A pre-med major, he hopes to attend UC Davis next year and eventually become a neurologist.

"Francisco is a great guy…who is always doing anything he can to ensure that all matters involving the ICC are successful," said Kevin Powell, president of the Social and Speech Club, in an e-mail interview.

One of Hinojosa's next projects involves getting music in the Main Quad.

The Quad can be more than just a lounging area for students waiting for their next class, he said.

The man who went from a friendless, near dropout to president of all the clubs at DVC has message for everyone: "Socialize."

It worked for him.

http://media.www.theinquireronline.com/media/storage/paper1325/news/2008/12/04/Features/Spotlight.Profile.Francisco.Hinajosa.Icc.President.Brings.Change-3570369.shtml

GM fired

2009-01-04T23:45:00.000-08:00

Here's some creative writing I did earlier that I enjoyed. It's a little weird but I think sports fans will get it.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Jonathan Roisman is out as general manager of his own body.

Roisman’s brain confirmed today amid media frenzy at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco that Roisman was fired Thursday from his job as general manager and vice-president of operations of his own body.

“He didn’t do anything wrong, it’s just that I think the team needs to move towards a new direction,” Roisman’s brain said. “He’s been the GM for 18 years now and while he’s done some tremendous work, the board agreed it was time for a change.”

Roisman’s brain said there was no catalyst that lead to the firing, but that the team had hit a wall that they couldn’t get past.

“Even the best leaders have to move on eventually,” Roisman’s brain said. “I mean look at Abraham Lincoln and FDR; granted they both died in office but they would’ve had to step down eventually.”

Roisman, the GM for 18 years, will remain with the organization in an advisory role, his brain said.

“We like having him around,” Roisman’s brain said.

Roisman said it was a complete surprise when he informed that he was being fired.

“Total shock,” Roisman said. “I was doing a fine job running my life,”

“I brought happiness and fun to myself,” Roisman added.

Critics said Roisman had highs and lows like any person, and was compared to Theo Epstein when he was at the top of his game and Isaiah Thomas when he was at the bottom.

“I completely understand with what he’s going through,” Brian Cashman, the New York Yankees general manager, said.

“It’s hard to please your owner all the time and even when you’re doing well you can get fired,” Cashman added. “It’s apart of the business”.

Cashman, who signed all-star pitcher C.C. Sabathia and slugger first baseman Mark Teixeira to $160 million plus deals this off-season, is trying to save his job from the all seeing eye of owner Hank Steinbrenner.

Like Steinbrenner, Roisman’s brain wants to win another championship. While it’s a vague accomplishment for an actual person to achieve, Roisman’s brain will stop at nothing to win, he said.

“It’s all about winning”, Roisman’s brain said. “You gotta win no matter what, even if you don’t know what your winning”.

Roisman said he was actually confused when he thought about the whole.

“I’m not entirely sure what I’ve been fired from”, he said.

“This sounds like something you would read about in The Onion or something,” he added.

Roisman’s brain said he would conduct interviews next week for a replacement for the GM office.

Andy Dick and Matt Millen have been ruled out, he said.

“They’re too crazy,” he added. “We’re looking for grace and someone who’s cool under pressure.”

“Maybe Joe Montana is available.”

NFL 2008- QB Competions- Who Made the Right Choice?

2009-01-04T23:35:00.000-08:00

Well the 2008 NFL regular season is over and I think it's time to look back and see if the seven teams that had quarterback controversies heading into the season made the right choice in picking their signal caller.

Team: Miami Dolphins

Winning QB: Chad Pennington

Right Choice: Yes

Chad Pennington did an excellent job this season with Miami and he was one of the reasons why they made it to the playoffs. He completed 67.4% of his passes, threw for over 3,600 yards, and threw 19 touchdown passes. Another plus was that he turned the ball over only 8 times and never lost a game for the Dolphins (except the Wild Card game today, but that was clearly a fluke...bad timing, however). Pennington's QB rating was the best for a Miami starter since Dan Marino in 1984. Chad Henne was able to sit and watch for a year and at the very least he didn't have suffer like most rookie quarterbacks.

Team: New York Jets

Winning QB: Brett Favre

Right Choice: No

The Jets could not refuse the opportunity to get Brett Favre in trade this summer with the Packers. However, it resulted in the release of Chad Pennington and the stunted growth of quarterback Kellen Clemens, leaving the Jets back at square one. The Jets did win 9 games, but it did not get them into the playoffs and Coach Eric Mangini was fired. Favre was responsible for the Jets downfall this season after throwing only 2 touchdowns compared to 9 interceptions in the final 5 games. During that stretch New York lost to Denver, San Francisco, Seattle, and Miami--three of which were lesser teams. Favre's follies helped leave the Jets without a coach or a quarterback of the future.

Team: Baltimore Ravens

Winning QB: Joe Flacco

Right Choice: Yes

Joe Flacco has done a nice job thus far for the Ravens and is preforming well for a rookie. His stats may not look flashy (2,971 passing yards, 14 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions, 80.3 QB rating), but he's winning games for Baltimore and that's the most important thing. His preformance helped the Ravens get into the playoffs and he led them passed Miami in the playoffs this year. He would have a good shot at winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award had it not been for Falcons' Matt Ryan.

Team: Arizona Cardinals

Winning QB: Kurt Warner

Right Choice: Yes

Warner had an MVP-worthy season with over 4,500 passing yards and 30 touchdown passes. It's possible Matt Leinart could have taken Arizona to the playoffs this season with the totally inept NFC West, but picking Warner was the right choice. Leinart doesn't have a bright future with the Cardinals and the organization clearly wants to win now. Warner has done everything he can for the team and with his outstanding season and win over Atlanta in the Wild Card game this weekend, he has a good shot at the Hall of Fame.

Team: San Francisco 49ers

Winning QB: J.T. O'Sullivan

Right Choice: No

J.T. O'Sullivan, Mike Martz's new golden boy, failed miserably this year as the 49ers new signal caller. He turned the ball over 17 times in only 8 games and cost the 49ers at least 3 wins. To be fair, Mike Nolan should have never let Martz pick him just because he knew the overly complicated offense. After Nolan was fired and O'Sullivan was benched, quarterback Shaun Hill took over and won 5 out of 8 games and looked very impressive. Not only was Nolan fired and O'Sullivan was banished, Martz was fired after the season and Mike Singletary was given a 4-year contract to coach the team.

Alex Smith, who was injured during the season, still has a decent shot at the starting job next season if he restructures his contract and can win yet another QB competition (Singletary stated that Hill would not be named the starting quarterback for next year immediately despite his strong performance this season).

Team: Chicago Bears

Winning QB: Kyle Orton

Right Choice: Yes

Orton started the year out strong with Chicago before being injured in the middle of the season. He missed 1 game and didn't play as well before his injury, but he was still decent for the year and outplayed Rex Grossman considerably. Orton will have a chance next year to win the job again but he will probably have stiffer competition than Grossman.

Team: Atlanta Falcons

Winning QB: Matt Ryan

Right Choice: Yes, genius move on the part of Coach Mike Smith

Matt Ryan, named Offensive Rookie of the Year, had the best season for a rookie QB since Peyton Manning in 1998. He threw for 3,440 yards, 16 touchdowns, only 11 interceptions, and had a 87.7 QB rating. Most importantly, he became the new face of the franchise and led the Falcons to the playoffs. Atlanta now knows it has the pieces in place for a deep playoff run in the coming years with Ryan, Roddy White, Michael Turner, and Smith, who won Coach of the Year. The stains of Michael Vick and Bobby Petrino are being washed away and it was partly due to Ryan's fantastic season.

NFL 2008- QB Competions Returned

2008-08-30T23:01:00.000-07:00

Well all of the QB battles in the league are done with (excluding the Baltimore one) and it looks like I was way off on a few of them. I'll go through all of the competitions and comment what I thought and what really happened.

Team: Miami Dolphins

The Competing QBs- John Beck, Chad Henne, Josh McCown, Chad Pennington

What I Thought- Josh McCown would start the season before being benched in the middle of the season for Chad Henne.

What Really Happened- After Brett Favre was traded to the Jets from Green Bay, Chad Pennington became expendable there and was released. Miami jumped on the situation quickly and immediately signed Pennington to a two-year, $11.5 million dollar deal. With that kind of money being spent for a player, it was almost guranteed Pennington would start. The Dolphins coaching later named Pennington their starter with very little competition. Josh McCown was then later traded to the Carolina Panthers for a late-round draft pick and it looks as if now Henne will be the backup and Beck the 3rd-stringer.

Right or Wrong: I was way wrong on this one although a lot of things happened on the outside to make this happen.

Team: New York Jets

The Competing QBs- Kellen Clemens, Brett Favre, Chad Pennington

What I Thought: Clemens would beat out Pennington and hold onto the job for the rest of the year barring injury.

What Really Happened: The Jets felt they couldn't win with any of their QBs and were able to trade for Brett Favre. They later cut Pennington and named Favre the starter. Clemens had to battle for the 2nd-string job during the preseason and as of now its still unclear whether he won it or not. New York is keeping four QBs on their roster right now and their are rumors Clemens will get traded. So much for developing a QB for the long term.

Was I Right: No, but once again I only wrong (probably anyway) because Brett Favre got invloved affecting both the New York and Miami quarterback situation.

Team: Baltimore Ravens

The Competing QBs- Kyle Boller, Joe Flacco, Troy Smith

What I Thought-Kyle Boller would win the job because of his experience and get benched during the middle of the season.

What Really Happened- Finally, a QB battle without outside intervention. It seems as if Troy Smith will start this season if he can get over his illness. If he doesn't, however, Flacco will probably start. Boller had a lackluster preseason for a five year veteran and it's doubtful he'll see action this year unless there's an injury. Update- Boller went on Injured Reserve on Sept.3 and will be out for the season because of an injury he sustained in the preseason game against the Vikings. Coach John Harbaugh said Boller may have a torn labrum. Joe Flacco is now the offical starter for the Ravens because Troy Smith is still suffering from infected tonsils.

Was I Right: Nope. I'm 0 for 3 now.

Team: Arizona Cardinals

The Competing QBs- Matt Lienart, Kurt Warner

What I Thought- Leinart would start unless he showed maturity issues or struggled a lot in the preseason.

What Really Happened- Leinart had an awful preseason that was capped off with a 3 interception performance in one half against the Raiders. Warner was named the Cardinals starter and Leinart has been regulated as the backup. There's still a chance Leinart has a long-term future in Arizona, but right now it's not looking very good.

Was I Right- I think I can say I was. Sort of anyway. Leinart did not perform that well and Warner was able to take the opportunity to snatch the starting job.

Team: San Francisco 49ers

The Competing QBs- Shaun Hill, J.T. O'Sullivan, Alex Smith

What I Thought- Alex Smith would win the job and have a shot to be the franchise quarterback in San Francisco.

What Really Happened- I'm still very bitter that coach Mike Nolan gave up on the former No.1 overall pick (Smith) in favor of a journeyman QB who has never started a game (O'Sullivan). It's not that I'm against O'Sullivan. He's a local who went to UC Davis and he's looked decent in the preseason. However, to give up on Smith at this point is utterly ridiculous and will probably get Nolan fired after the season. Smith is only 24 and it's only his fourth season. I have a lot more to say about this but I'll save it for another blog post. O'Sullivan is a recent product of the Mike Martz system that gave him a distinct advantage in the so-called QB battle. He's shown flashes of greatness during the preseason, but he's also shown he's a turnover machine. If he pans out this season and helps gets some wins for the 49ers, coach Nolan might save his job and Martz will probably be off somewhere else as a head coach. O'Sullivan could follow him with a nice new multi-million dollar contract. Time will tell, but I'm skeptical that the 49ers made the right long-term decision. As of now, J.T. O'Sullivan is the starter and Alex Smith is the backup. Shuan Hill got a raw deal as well and just when he thought he'd be the starter, he'll be the 3rd-stringer.

Was I Right: No, but I don't think anyone thought O'Sullivan had a shot until August began.

Team: Chicago Bears

The Competing QBs- Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton

What I Thought: Grossman would win the job because of his long ball but would later get benched because of turnovers.

What really Happened- Orton won the job because he didn't turn the ball over and was able to lead the Bears on some scoring drives. Just as with the 49ers, the Bears will most likely need to address their QB situation next year either through the draft or free agency.

Was I Right- Sort of. I say that only because Grossman turned the ball over a lot during the preseason; I thought he'd at least be able to show he could limit the interceptions and fumbles during the preseason. I was wrong.

Team: Atlanta Falcons

The Competing QBs- Joey Harrington, Chris Redman, Matt Ryan

What I Thought- Redman would win the job and have a shot at keeping it through the season.

What Really Happened- Ryan was named the starter and Redman the backup. Harrington was cut all together in favor of 3rd-stringer D.J. Shockley, and for the fourth straught year in a row, he'll be looking for a new team.

Was I Right- No, but the Falcons might be making a huge mistake by starting their rookie QB so soon. Their team isn't very good and rushing Ryan might negatively affect him in the long run. Look what happened to Tim Couch, David Carr, Joey Harrington, and now Alex Smith.

All in all it looks like I'm for 1 for 7. That's not very good. In my defense, however, the Brett Favre mess screwed up two of the battles I thought I predicted correctly. Also, the 49ers competition was strange to say the least and completely unpredictable apparently until the beginning of August, so I like to say I'm 1 for 4.

Ron Wilson: The San Jose Sharks Scapegoat

2008-07-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

Note: This is a paper I wrote for my senior English class just a couple of months ago. I thought I'd add it even though it doesn't feel like a true blog entry. For the record I'm happy with the Sharks choice in a new head coach (Todd McClellan). This is how I felt at the time but now I'm glad the Sharks made a change. I left the referencing marks in the article although they don't really apply unless you use the reference page.

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Ron Wilson, a professional hockey coach in the National Hockey League was just recently fired on May 12, 2008 as head coach of the San Jose Sharks. He wasI the scapegoat for the teams’ recent playoff struggles in which they were eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinals for the past three seasons. The Sharks have been very talented in terms of players and well coached the past few seasons but the firing of Ron Wilson was a panic move to quickly get change in the organization, whether it is good or not.

Ron Wilson’s head coaching career began with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks where he coached for four seasons (1993-1997) and later he coached for five seasons with the Washington Capitals (1997-2002). He led the Capitals to the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals before being ousted in four games by the Detroit Red Wings (1). He was than hired midway through the 2002-2003 NHL season by the Sharks after they fired their coach Darryl Sutter after a slow start.

In the four and a half seasons as the Sharks coach, Wilson led the team to 206 regular season victories, which are the most wins for a coach in team history. He also led the team to four playoff appearances and in 2004 the Sharks reached the Western Conference Finals, the round before the Stanley Cup Finals (1). While they lost the series, the franchise had never gotten that far in their entire history. In 2006 after the 2004-2005 NHL Lockout which ended the season before it started, Sharks players Joe Thornton won the league MVP award and Jonathan Cheechoo won the Rocket Richard trophy for most goals scored by an individual player during the regular season (2). Both awards were firsts for San Jose players.

The Sharks attained their greatest regular and postseason success under Ron Wilson in only under four and a half years. While his critics said he had the most talented roster in the league, he was able to get record setting years for those players (3). The Sharks did lose in the second round of the playoffs for the past three years but they put up a stronger fight each season and played against equally talented teams. The Sharks were completely silent during free agency in the summer of 2007 and added only an aging defenseman and famous American-born forward Jeremy Roenick who was near the end of his tether as a player (1).

Wilson got just about everything out of his players and clearly needed another star or key role player for the Sharks to finally break out of the Western Conference and onto the Stanley Cup Finals. His talent as a coach is shown in his overall record with 518 victories, which is eighth most in NHL history (1). The Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson decided that Ron Wilson should be fired because the team couldn’t advance further in the playoffs. He was a scapegoat rather than the players. Unless the team can find a coach who can better motivate the players, the results will probably be the same. The Sharks need to fix the roster and add some new players to win the Stanley Cup. Firing Ron Wilson was not apart of the solution. It was a panic move to appear as if the team was moving in the right direction. They still can, but it will start with the players and not the head coach.

Will the Sharks sign Clowe?

2008-07-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

I'm getting a little worried that Ryane Clowe still hasn't agreed with the San Jose Sharks on a new contract. Originally it was reported that Clowe would resign with San Jose for $1.2 million to $1.5 million dollars a year for three years. Numerous rumors have popped up now, however, that Clowe is looking for over two million dollars a year. It could be the usual case where the client's agent is brainwashing him into wanting a lot more money then he's actually worth.

Clowe appears to have a lot of upside after being drafted in the 5th-round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. Most prospects don't make a huge splash in the league when they're drafted that far back. Clowe, who only has 44 regular season points in three seasons with San Jose after being called up in 2005, was a big contributer to the team in the playoffs last season with four goals and four assists. Many hockey scouts and analysts see Clowe breaking the 30-goal mark in a season if he can just stay healthy. He missed 67 games last year with torn knee ligaments and only appeared in 58 games in 2006-07 (although his production was very good: 16 goals and 18 assists).

The Sharks want to wait and see Clowe play an entire season and see how good his production is before they give him $2-3 million dollars a year. I agree with that assessment. $4-5 million dollars over three years is fair for a player who has appeared in 91 games (out of a possible 246; and yes I know he played a lot in the minors those seasons) in three seasons and who has put up a total of 19 goals and 25 assists. I'm not saying Clowe can't put up a 30 goal, 30 assist season. That'd be outstanding. I just think it's unfair to overpay for something he hasn't actually done yet. His health is still a major concern as well. Jonathan Cheechoo received a 5 year, $15 million dollar contract extension after he scored a franchise record 56 goals in 2005-06 and won the Rocket Richard trophy for most goals by an individual player in the entire league that year. That was a steal of a deal for San Jose. The point is however, that Cheechoo had to preform before being paid and that's fair for both sides. The team should show the money when the player shows results.

I think that Clowe can go on and have a good career in the NHL. The fact that he has the potential to be a top-six forward on a team is a great thing. But first he's got to stay healthy and prove it.

Note: The Sharks currently have less than two million dollars left before they reach the salary cap of $56.7 million dollars. They will need to shed some money (possibly Kyle McLaren's $2.5 million) before the start of the season if they plan on resigning Ryane Clowe or any other player. As of now they need to fill 3 roster spots (4 if they dump McLaren) and it will probably take $3 to $5 million dollars to do it.

NFL 2008- QB Competition's

2008-07-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

Every year a few teams in the NFL have a competition at the QB position to try and find the best possible starter. The 2008 season is no different. Good teams generally don't have such a competition because it's important to know who your starter is more than a month before the season starts. Here is a list of the QB battles that are going on this year.

Team: Miami Dolphins

The Competing QBs- John Beck, Chad Henne, Josh McCown

- This three-way battle will probably hinder on who has the most experience and makes the least amount of mistakes in training camp and the preseason. Chad Henne, Miami's 2nd-round draft pick this year, is the Dolphins designated starter for the future, but until then he'll probably have to wait on the bench. John Beck was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2007 draft by Miami as well, but that was under a different coaching staff. Beck was never given a chance to succeed in south Florida, and while he will compete for the starting job, he will most likely not be the long term answer for the Dolphins. Josh McCown is going into his 7th year as a pro and has the best shot at winning the starting gig this year. While this is McCown's 4th team in four years, he still offers a lot of experience as he has started 31 games in his career; the most of any of Miami's quarterbacks. McCown is mistake prone during games but management will probably want to wait before they throw Henne into the fire.

Verdict: Expect to see McCown start the season as the starting QB before being benched sometime during the season for Henne.

Team: New York Jets

The Competing QBs- Kellen Clemens, Chad Pennington

- After Chad Pennington was benched in the middle of the 2007 season, it was assumed Kellen Clemens would be rewarded the starting job for the 2008 season. There were rumors that Chad Pennington wanted out of New York and that he might be traded. However, Head Coach Eric Mangini did not commit to a starter after Clemens struggled in the second half of last season. Clemens, a 2006 2nd-round draft pick out of Oregon, has not yet shown he's ready to start. Coach Mangini wants both quarterbacks to battle it out in training camp, but it's likely he'll give Clemens every oppurtunity to win the job. Pennington, New York's first-round draft choice in 2000, has been a good starter for the Jets and has led them to the playoffs as recently as 2006. However, Pennington has been injury prone and he missed 26 games from 2003 t0 2005. His arm strength is below average and he has a fumbling problem (he had 12 over the past two seasons). Also, at age 32, Pennington only has a few years left in the league. Clemens is young and while he may not be the answer at quarterback, he needs another year at starter to help the Jets determine if they need to look elsewhere at QB.

Verdict: Clemens will beat out Pennington in training camp and will start the entire season unless he's injured or struggles mightily.

Team: Baltimore Ravens

The Competing QBs- Kyle Boller, Joe Flacco, Troy Smith

- The Ravens offense has been a mess for years and now that former Head Coach Brian Billick has been fired and replaced with John Harbaugh, there might be real change. Kyle Boller was drafted 19th overall in 2003 and was supposed to be the Ravens franchise signal caller. However, after three medicore seasons Boller was replaced as starting QB with the now retired Steve McNair in 2006. Injuries to McNair last year led to Boller seeing time as the starter and once again his performance was largely unspectacular. To help fix the woeful offense, the Ravens new administration drafted Joe Flacco in this years draft at 18th overall. Flacco, who stands at 6 foot 6 and 230 pounds, has a rocket arm and tremendous upside. The same things were said about Boller in 2003, but the new coaching staff in place in Baltimore should help out Flacco more than Billick helped Boller. The wild card in the race is Troy Smith. He won the Heismen Trophy in 2006 with Ohio State and was drafted in the 5th round in 2007. Some believe he has the ability to be a starter in the NFL. He started two games last year and preformed decently. However, with Flacco being drafted, Smith's days in Baltimore as the long term starter are most likely over. He has a good chance of being the opening day starter if he can beat out Boller in training camp and shows he won't make a lot of mistakes. Flacco has the ability to start at the beginning of the season but most coaches don't like to have their rookie QBs start immediately so look to see Boller or Smith start.

Verdict: Boller has 42 career starts compared to Smith's 2 and Flacco's 0. Look to see him start the season off before being benched in favor of either Smith or Flacco. Eventually however, Flacco will get his shot by the end of the season.

Team: Arizona Cardinals

The Competing QBs- Matt Leinart, Kurt Warner

- This competition between Leinart and Warner is more straightforward than some of the other ones. Leinart, the Cardinals 1st-round pick in 2006, is talented but has shown signs of immaturity and split time with Kurt Warner last year as starter before being injured. Head Coach Ken Wisenhunt wants Leinart to grow up and he will likely get every chance to succeed in Arizona. Leinart will start this season unless he's injured or struggles a lot (he probably won't). If his immaturity sets in again (which is a good possibility), he will be replaced by Warner and probably will not get another shot in the desert.

Verdict: Leinart will start and unless he screws up and upsets the coaching staff, he'll be the long term starter for the Cardinals.

Team: San Francisco 49ers

The Competing QBs- Shaun Hill, J.T. O'Sullivan, Alex Smith

- This will be Alex Smith's last shot to prove he can be the 49ers's franchise quarterback. Smith, the first overall draft pick in the 2005 draft, has struggled so far in his career. He had a rocky rookie campaign but was able to bounce back in 2006 with a solid season and had a few very good performances. It all came apart last year, however, when Smith was injured early in the season and had a feud with Head Coach Mike Nolan. Smith has appeared to have recovered from his arm injury and will compete with 6th-year veterans Shaun Hill and J.T. O'Sullivan for the starting job. O'Sullivan didn't appear in an NFL game until last season and Hill didn't make his first start until last year as well. Alex Smith has 30 career starts and is the most experienced quarterback on the roster. He also has the most upside and unless he struggles in the preseason, he will almost undoubtedly win the starting job. Coach Nolan and Smith have said they've fixed their once strained relationship and new offensive coordinator Mike Martz will open San Francisco's offensive like they've never seen before in the Nolan era. This year Smith has the greatest shot of succeeding and if he doesn't, Hill will probably take his place for the short term.

Verdict- Smith will win the starting job and if he can put together a good season, he will most likely be in San Francisco for a long time. If he fails during the season, however, the 49ers will have to look somewhere else for their starting quarterback.

Team: Chicago Bears

The Competing QBs- Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton

- It's hard to believe that just two years ago Rex Grossman helped lead the Bears to the Super Bowl. While the 2006 season was up and down for him, he did enough to help his team. Now, Grossman is struggling to hold onto his job. The Bears quarterback position is in shambles. The two options, quite frankly, are no more than average backups. Grossman was benched last year and he still is extremely injury prone. And mistake prone. The Bears also don't have any viable threats on offense, especially after losing their top two wide receivers in Bernard Berrian and Muhsin Muhammed. Kyle Orton, who was a 4th round draft choice in 2005, hasn't been able to prove he can put the Bears on their back and take them to victory. He's played less than the former 1st-rounder Grossman, so it's possible Head Coach Lovie Smith will want to see more of Orton in the regular season; after seeing that Sexy Rexy can't be consistent enough to win. Orton was successful in '05 after starting 15 games because he wasn't very mistake prone. However, he only threw nine touchdowns that year, so his offensive upside is limited. Either option is a lackluster one. Look for Chicago to draft a QB in the first two rounds next year or try and trade for a top-tier signal caller.

Verdict- The toughest one to call. Grossman will probably get the nod in the beginning because Lovie Smith has been so patient and loyal to him. Grossman will get benched sometime in the season, however, and Orton will show he's the not the answer either.

Team: Atlanta Falcons

The Competing QBs- Joey Harrington, Chris Redman, Matt Ryan

-Matt Ryan will start for the Falcons this season. It just probably won't be in the beginning of it, however. Ryan, the 3rd-overall pick in this year's draft, will be withheld from the playing field until Atlanta's record either implodes or the two other quarterbacks falter (probably both at the same time). Joey Harrington, a 1st-round bust who was drafted in 2002 by Detroit, showed last year he could play decent football when not throwing interceptions. Chris Redman was Atlanta's best QB last season and if he looks good in camp, he should win the job. Redman, who missed three seasons in the league because of back and shoulder problems, looked sharp last season and he should be able to manage a very suspect Falcons offense.

Verdict- Redman wins the job in camp and starts before the fans chant Ryan's name sometime in the middle of the season.

San Francisco

2008-03-09T00:35:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I went to San Francisco with my friend Joey. We got on BART around 8 in the morning and decided to go to the city and just wander around; no real plans or goals. We got off at Embarcadero and walked to Pier 39. We looked a few of the stores, the best being the NFL shop (what a surprise). After that we ate at the Rainforest Cafe which was very good but a bit pricey. That place has a pretty awesome atmosphere.

While stumbling around the shopping center at the pier I noticed a clipboard with some papers on it sitting on a bench. There were a few people next to it and rudely picked it up without asking any of them. One of the women (who seemed pissed off) asked me if I was on the list.

I had no idea what the hell she was talking about and said no. I asked her and she told me it was a list of names who were participating in a survey. Joey and me asked if we could join and they said yes. Apparently the deal was that we go and take a 45 minute survey and we would get payed over a hundred dollars. We had to meet a few requirements to be apart of it. The people who were signing us up recommended we lie and say we were from out of state so that we could get in. I guess these people preferred out of state people to be tested.

Anyway, my cover story was that I was a baseball player from Ohio and Joey said he was from Texas. The survey people said that a van would pick us up and take us to the office building where the survey would be conducted. It seemed kind of shady but once again we thought of the hundred plus bucks we would get. We hung around the pier and waited for the van. It finally came and it was a minivan with a company logo and not some hippie van. It seemed safe. We got in and went about three or four blocks to this nice looking building. We got out and went in. There were a bunch of other kids our age there so Joey and me felt like we'd be OK.

We waited for a few minutes until Joey, me, and some other kid from central California got called in. We sat at this conference table and this corporate woman asked a bunch of questions on a sports drink and snack. We got to test it and it tasted hell of good. Once she was done asking questions we left and the people in the main room gave us all an envelope with our money it. Some of the easiest money I ever made. The same van took us back to the pier and Joey and me walked around.

We then went to this huge mall in Union Square and a bought a bunch of crap at the Virgin Record store and some other places. We ate and went back home using BART later that night. While we took the train home an announcement went over the intercom that there was a "police action" near the Concord station and they wouldn't let us off at the Pleasant Hill station because of it. We had to get off at the Lafayette station and get a ride home. All in all it was hell of cool.

Rex Grossman: Mutual Need?

2008-02-24T22:02:00.001-08:00

Believe it or not, I'm actually not that surprised the Chicago Bears resigned the on and off quarterback, Rex Grossman (according to ESPN.com, the deal is for 3 million dollars for one year). Grossman, who was a first round draft choice in 2003, has had a turbulent roller coaster ride of a career in five years. After his rookie season, Grossman was injured in back to back seasons on 2004 and 2005 and only played a handful of games.

After starting every game in 2006, throwing 23 touchdown passes (albeit 20 interceptions) and leading the Bears to the Super Bowl, he was benched three games into the 2007 after throwing six interceptions to just one touchdown pass. His struggles began in the second half of 2006 when he alternated from great games to terrible ones.

He was scheduled to become a free agent this season after his five year rookie contract expired. However, after Grossman was reinserted as the starting QB in late 2007, Chicago wants to give their quarterback another chance. He threw three touchdown passes and only one pick during the four games he played before being injured yet again.

While Grossman has been hot and cold for the past two seasons, the Bears do not have a better option at quarterback. There are rumors that Eagles QB Donovan McNabb might be available for trade, but It's highly unlikely that the Bears would want to give up a first round draft pick (and probably more) to get him. I expect the Bears to draft a QB in this years draft, probably anywhere from the 2nd to 4th round for insurance if Bad Rex shows up again.

Apparently backup Bears QB Kyle Orton will compete for the starting job this year but I'd guess Grossman wins. If he struggles he'll be benched but Orton will not be an upgrade. Grossman wants another opportunity with Chicago and Chicago wants Grossman because of his experience and because they won't find anyone better this year. Hopefully the gamble pays off for both of them because Rex is a talented player and Chicago hasn't had a longterm QB since Jim Harbaugh in the early 90s. I should mention that I think Grossman is too inconsistent to be a starter but the Bears have shown they don't want to find out if anyone is better, hoping Grossman will regain the form he had in the beginning of 2006. Time will tell what happens.

Note- According to ESPN.com, it's likely QB Brian Griese (who replaced the ineffective Grossman last year before being injured) will be cut before the start of the 2008 season because of his cost (he's due a $300,000 dollar bonus in March) and because the Bears don't see him as a viable starter due to his injury history and inability to consistently play well with them.

New music- Part I

2008-02-23T14:11:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been trying to listen to a lot of new music. Not necessarily different genres but rather new bands. I've listened to about ten new CDs in the last few weeks and for the most part I've liked what I've heard. I thought I share them and my opinions on it.

The way I'll do is it list a band with the CDs I listened to and briefly discuss my thoughts on the subject. It's not in any particular order.

30 Seconds to Mars- I purchased their second of two albums in it's entirety last night, A Beautiful Life. I enjoyed it even though it wasn't the most upbeat CD out there. The songs that stood out to me were "Attack", "Beautiful Lie", "The Kill", "From Yesterday", and "Battle of One". While those songs were the ones that critics liked and seem to be the most popular songs on the album, the rest of the material wasn't bad. A few people I know can't stand this band but I think the alternative/emo beat is good even if it isn't happy.

Bad Religion- A friend of mine introduced me to their music a few weeks ago and gave me three of their albums: Against the Grain, The Gray Race, and New Maps of Hell. As of now I've only thoroughly listened to New Maps of Hell. While punk has never been one of my favorite genres, the album is very good. "The New Dark Ages", "Requiem For Dissent", "Honest Goodbye", "Dearly Beloved", and "Prodigal Son" were my favorite songs on the album. "The New Dark Ages" is easily the best song on the CD while "Honest Goodbye" is reminiscent of a Weezer song (which happens to be my favorite band, so thats a bonus).

I'll get to their other work later and while I don't think Bad Religion will be one of my favorite bands (mainly because of my disinterest of punk) anytime soon, I still enjoyed what I heard enough to keep on listening.

The All-American Rejects- I purchased both of their albums, The All-American Rejects and Move Along last night and listened to each of them a couple of times. While I have already listened to their hit songs such as "Swing, Swing" on their debut album and "Dirty Little Secret" and "Move Along" on their sophomore effort many times, I never actually listened to the bulk of their music. Both of their CDs were very good now that I've listened to them. My favorite song by them (and probably a top ten all time personal favorite by any band) is "Dirty Little Secret". I first heard it when I went to go see the movie "Deuce Bigalow - European Gigolo". While the movie was god awful, the song was outstanding. I originally thought the band was a dud and that "Swing, Swing" would be their only hit song, but I see now why The All-American Rejects are popular.

Some of my favorite songs on their first CD include "My Paper Heart", "Swing, Swing", "One More Sad Song" and, "Happy Endings". On their second CD (and what seems to be more popular), songs such as "Dirty Little Secret", "Move Along", "Change Your Mind", "Night Drive, and "Can't Take It" are some of my favorite of theirs. Many critics say that other than their hit singles, the bulk of their material is average. While I think some of their points are valid, their happy, uptempo music mixed with their somewhat downer music works well and overall is fun to listen to. I seem to enjoy that alternative rock/emo vibe.

Oasis- One of the most popular bands of the 90s (especially in the UK) has a lot of good music, obviously. Another friend of mine gave me their second CD, (What's the Story) Morning Glory ? and the song "Don't Look Back in Anger" immediately became one of my all time favorite songs. "Wonderwall" was also very good although I'd say it's not their greatest song. The rest of the album didn't really excite me, although they are very talented.

I recently purchased their first album, Definitely Maybe although I have yet to listen to the entire thing. I have a feeling I'll be disappointed although it did go quadruple platinum or something like that. Overall, I really enjoyed their hit songs but the bulk of their music doesn't interest me (well the album and a half I listened to) a whole lot. Still, they are very talented and I understand their popularity.

Paranoid Social Club- Best known for their song on the Beerfest soundtrack, "Wasted", PSC is very nostalgic of early Smash Mouth material (mainly their first two CDs, Fush You Mang and Astro Lounge) and dare I say I fucking love it. Smash Mouth is one of my favorite bands and and it's great to hear a band that emulates them but at the same time has their own euphoric style.

The songs on their self-titled album, "Two Girls", "Save Me", "Lunatic", "Headphones", "She Gets Me High", and "Theme Song" really stood out to me and reminded me of the past. It felt very late 90s like. My favorite song by them has to be their most popular one, "Wasted". It feels like a fun party song and probably accurately describes what's happening at them. I see why it was included in the alcohol friendly movie, Beerfest.

While I don't think Paranoid Social Club will ever find mainstream success, Smash Mouth and third generation ska fans should enjoy it very much.

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That's all of the new music I've listened as of now. I'd like to try and listen to the bands Angels and Airwaves, Motion City Soundtrack, Taking Back Sunday, Escape the Fate, and some more Rage Against the Machine, Green Day, and Bad Religion so that I can see if there's more music out there I think I'll enjoy. I know that many people look down on Motion City Soundtrack, Taking Back Sunday, and Escape the Fate, including myself. I would always rip Taking Back Sunday (including a bit yesterday) but I have a feeling I might actually like it a bit. Same goes for the other two bands I just listed.

So I'll leave it at that for now and hopefully I can get my hands on more music to listen to and enjoy.

God Bless the Allied States of America!

2008-02-19T23:06:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching the latest episode of Jericho and it was just as good as I thought it would be, if not better. The show seems to have a bright future and if it continues with these kind of episodes...well then that will be wonderful. Spoilers ahead.

One of the things I love about the show is fact that the government is fractured into three different groups all fighting for control of the country. The states from the Pacific Ocean to the Mississippi (excluding Texas) are under the control of the loathsome government now officially known as the Allied States of America. Their capital is in Cheyenne, Wyoming and are commonly referred to as the Cheyenne government.

What's left of the original federal government (the "good" guys, or so it seems right now) is based in Columbus, Ohio after the destruction of Washington D.C. in the attacks. It controls all of the states east of the Mississippi and is known as the Eastern Block or Eastern Block states by the characters in Jericho. From what I can tell it's still officially known as the United States of America.

The third American government is simply known as the independent state of Texas and compromises of the current day state of Texas. Texas is probably the key in restoring the legitimate government in Columbus because both the USA and ASA are fighting for it join their respective side. A side note: it appears U.N. peacekeeping troops made a buffer on the Mississippi River to discourage fighting between the USA and ASA.

I love these kind of plots and they're rarely seen on TV for more than an episode. It's been stated in the show that if Texas joins the ASA, the USA will become weak and lose the fight to restore the government. The Allied States is controlled by the people who attacked the country and they are trying to hide the truth by taking over the rest of the nation. I love all these government conspiracies; it makes for great story telling.

It looks like I'll have to wait until the end of the second season to get more answers about the struggle for America. I'm very anxious for more answers and that's a good thing.

Here's the flag of the newly formed Allied States:

Jericho

2008-02-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

One of my new favorite TV shows (entitled Jericho if you couldn't tell by the title) returned last week from a long hiatus. Originally canceled after its first season last year, a huge campaign led by thousands of fans helped bring it back and a shortened second season was produced for this years TV season.

Anyway, last weeks episode was good and was a good bridge from last season to this one. I hear tonights episode is supposed to be outstanding and I'm very excited to watch it.

To sum up what the shows about I'll just take some information from Wikipedia:

"The storyline revolves around the residents of Jericho, a small, rural Kansas town in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on twenty-three major cities in the contiguous United States."

I haven't enjoyed a TV drama like this in a very long time and the writing and acting really make this a good show. Hopefully it isn't canceled again because I want to see where the story ends. For now, however, I'm looking forward to tonights episode.

Orange Ball and Arena Baseball

2008-02-15T20:04:00.000-08:00

A few years back I invented my own sports game. I'm pretty sure it's original because I think most people would find it fucking stupid because instead of a ball there's an orange. But you know what? It still seems intriguing. Here's my explanation of the first of two games I've thought up: Orange Ball.

Orange Ball (circa 2000) is a mixture of lacrosse and hockey. Five to seven players (excluding the goaltender) are on the field for each team. I think it would be something like 2 forwards, 3 middle players, 2 defenders or any combination of that like in soccer. The goal would be the same size as the ones in lacrosse and the goalie (or goaltender or another favorite of mine, netminder) would defend it. The players would play on either grass or artificial turf and either indoors or outdoors.

The ball would be replaced with an orange; the size would be different every time because well... it's an orange. Many oranges would be used every game. Players can check and hit other players almost like a tackle. This is how the orange would be freed from the player holding it. To score, the player with the orange would throw it into the goal and try to get it passed the goalie.

I'm not sure if I like quarters or periods but I think it would either be three 20 minute periods (ala ice hockey) or four 12 minute quarters (basketball). It might be better if its shorter. The players would wear protective helmets and pads because of all the hitting. I also want the field to be an official NHL rink without the ice. Scoring would be in the twenties hopefully. Oh and there better be lots of passing.

An official professional league would be made with two, six team conferences. The West and East. Small market teams until they expand from all the popularity and huge TV contracts. Only in dreams...(thanks Weezer).

And now to Arena Baseball (Circa 2006)- This is much more vague then my previous sport but this is still pretty simple. Instead of nine players they're would be seven players on the field. A first, second, third baseman, pitcher, catcher, and two outfielders. The field would be really small and would have to fit indoors if possible. Plus there would only be two outs instead of three. Instead of a fence for home runs there would be a bunch of nets like in arena football and to get a home run you have to hit the ball threw the tiny openings in the nets. Sounds nuts but hey arena football somehow made it. More to come on this sport when I think up more awesome ideas for it.

Have you noticed that in a lot of leagues that aren't the big four (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL) the team names are singular? For instance in the Arena Football League (AFL) , 9 out of the 17 teams have singular names. They include the Soul, Force, Voodoo, Storm, Crush, Rush, Brigade, Blaze, and Rampage. Seems corny to me.

So I have a new rule: the larger the ratio of singular named teams that are in a league, the less legitimate they are.

Here's a random arena football game to show you how silly it is:

Weezer and the Blue Album

2008-02-15T18:31:00.000-08:00

I'd like to start off by saying that I'd like to actively review movies, music, and TV shows. Obviously not a lot but maybe a review once a week or every other week on one of these topics. I'm not sure if this piece really qualifies as a review or not but I thought I'd express my feelings on my favorite band, Weezer.

I forgot how I was introduced to the band but I do know that I've had an interest in them since at least 2002 when I went to my cousins Bar Mitzvah and we discussed how awesome they were. I've come a long way since then and would say they're better than awesome. I can't think of the word but I think it has something to do with greatness. Anyway, this in a way is a review of their work and just a gushing post on how much I like they're music.

Weezer's first album was self-titled and is commonly referred to as The Blue Album. It's my favorite of their albums but by no means are the others bad. The Blue Album is just so fun to listen to and I see how it would be hard to beat it. If I had to take a stab at it I'd say "Buddy Holly" is their most heard of and liked song of casual fans and it was the song that got the album off the ground; at least from what I've read from 1994 and after since I was only 4 when the CD came out.

I've realized that every song on the CD is fucking awesome. I could really use a thesaurus. Anyway, with songs like "My Name Is Jonas", "No One Else", "Undone (The Sweater Song), and "Say It Ain't So", you have an all star line up of songs. I think they're classic song would be "My Name is Jonas". I can't explain why because I'm awful at accurately judging music and to then write about it like I know what I'm talking about is even harder. I do know that if you like an alternative sound with some fun lyrics and a lot of good, not over the top songs, this is an album you'd want to listen to.

So far three of the songs from the album have been released onto the hit games Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band ("My Name is Jonas", "Buddy Holly", "Say It Ain't So").

On a side note, It seems like Weezer was overshadowed by other bands like Green Day during the mid-90s but I could be wrong. It might have to do with the fact Weezer's second CD "Pinkerton" bombed in sales although it is was liked by critics and in my opinion is almost as good as "The Blue Album". Rolling Stone magazine originally gave it 3/5 stars in 1996 but reviewed it again in 2004 and gave it a perfect 5/5 stars. I'll get to that later.

I didn't realize how much I'd have to say about Weezer in one post but I think it's going to take a lot more to convey my feelings on how much I like them. In the meantime I'll leave you with this video and hopefully I'll review their other CDs and continue to blog.

Note- Weezer re-released "The Blue Album" (Deluxe Edition) in 2004 with a bonus CD that includes some b-sides and live performances of a few of their songs. One of the b-sides is entitled "Mykel and Carli" and it's outstanding. The live version of "My Name is Jonas" is also very good. I highly recommend the deluxe version of the CD. I'll get to Weezer's other albums later and just other random posts in general soon.

I think I'm writing these posts as if a lot of people are reading them but It's fun to dream isn't it?

Alex Smith: One Last Shot

2008-02-14T21:33:00.000-08:00

I remember back in 2005 when Alex Smith was drafted by the 49ers. I was not a fan of the move because at the time I thought Tim Rattay was the answer at quarterback. This probably was because I remember the few good games Rattay had in his career and thought he could sustain that kind of production over a seasons time. What I realize now is that I pay a lot more attention to football and other sports much more. While I've been a Niner fan since I was a little kid, I haven't actively payed attention to them like an obsessed fan since 2006. When that happened I realized that Tim Rattay was a good backup at best and understood why he was traded to Tampa Bay in the middle of the 2005 season.

After the Rattay trade, the first pick in the 2005 draft QB Alex Smith was given the starting job. He had a rough rookie season; that's actually an understatement. He had one of the worst seasons a rookie quarterback had in recent NFL history. He threw 11 interceptions compared to only one touchdown pass and had an abysmal QB rating of 40.8.

Anyone who thought logically knew that you couldn't call him a bust after one season while playing for an awful team. While most people knew Smith needed two or three more years to develop, others were very quick to judge. A blogger on foxsports.com by the name of sportstravler gave up on Smith in December of his rookie year which was ridiculous. He said that "If San Francisco is presented with the oppurtunity, the 49ers would be prudent to draft Matt Leinart and make amends for a poor decision." There is no way in the NFL today to have two QBs making over 50 million dollars over six years each. That would not only cripple the teams salary cap but force them to keep a very expensive backup. As it so happened, Leinart was drafted 10th overall in the first round of the 2006 draft by the Arizona Cardinals and by the end of the '07 season there was already a QB controversy between him and 3-time Pro-Bowler Kurt Warner. But I digress.

Smith bounced back from his dismal rookie campaign and had a respectable sophomore season as he passed for 16 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions while leading the 49ers to an improved 7-9 season. The local media started to get on the Smith bandwagon and some of his highlights included his three touchdown effort in Seattle during a heavy rainstorm in which he scored a touchdown on a naked bootleg that completely fooled the Seattle defense. Oh, and all of this was on national television. That victory coupled with improved stats in almost every category helped to propel him to many peoples breakout player of the year list for the 2007 season.

I myself thought that Smith was headed for a Pro-Bowl season in '07. After a 2-0 start the 49ers collapsed, however. Smith had his shoulder separated when Seattle's DT Rocky Bernard was left unblocked and sacked the unprotected quarterback. After a few weeks rest Smith returned as the starter. His performance was lackluster because of his injury however, and he was deactivated for the rest of the season and later had surgery.

The bust label is now being applied to Smith again and the feud he had with coach Mike Nolan probably did not help his reputation in the locker room even though that isn't fair. Third string QB Shaun Hill started two games after an injury took out backup Trent Dilfer and preformed extremely well. Hill, a third stringer for much of his career, was finally given the chance to start in his 6th season as a pro and did an excellent job. It was so good that he signed a three year, six million dollar deal to compete with Smith this season for the starting job. I believe that Smith should be the undisputed starter and given one last chance to prove his worth but Hill should provide good competition for him. Adding to this, the fourth offensive coordinator in the last four seasons, Mike Martz, should install an offense that is favorable to both QBs, although I've seen conflicting reports stating that it favors one or the other.

I guess I really don't know where this post is going but I suppose it's this. I think that Alex Smith still has a shot to be the 49ers starting quarterback for the longterm. As much as I like Shaun Hill, I believe he is best suited as a backup and isn't a realistic solution as the starter. Smith ran a spread offense in college at Utah which is somewhat similar to the one Martz uses. If he can't succeed this year, I'd say it's over for Smith has a viable starter in the league. However, Smith has all the intangibles to be successful. Add another proven receiver or at the very least draft one in the first round in this years draft and you might actually see a lot of improvement. If the Niners are serious in winning this year (with either QB as the starter) they need to surround them with talent. And if Alex Smith fails, I hope Coach Nolan fails as well because of his arrogance in thinking he can pick talent and then back stab them in the end without suffering the consequences. That's for another post, however.