Friday, October 29, 2010

From The Youngest:
NFL Week 8
This shit is really starting to stress me out. I'm still alive in both of my survivor pools (a pool in which you have to pick one team to win each week, no spreads, and can only use each team once for the whole season)

(X'd out teams are teams I've picked, Taylor approves all picks prior to submission)
















So far I've dodged a number of bullets and come away completely unscathed. I'm 7/7 in both pools. I like to convince myself that this is all thanks to my hard work and diligence, so I spend almost all of my waking hours scouring the web for picks, predictions, simulations, offense/defense statistical matchups...I even search youtube and listen to unprofessional schmucks giving their opinions just to mash their thoughts in with the vague analysis floating around in my brain.

My ultimate goal is to come away with a game that I can feel comfortable with in my gut...something I can feel about 80% sure of. I've avoided taking teams on the road, I've been wary of bye-week returns, unproven teams. It's incredibly stressful.

Anyway, we're going with the New England Patriots over the Minnesota Vikings this week. This is going to be a meltdown week for MN. Brad Childress has no control over the injured and incorrigible Brett Favre and they're coming off a tough loss to Green Bay last week. The team is going to be frustrated with a dismal 2-4 record, newly acquired pothead (from NE) Randy Moss is going to be frustrated that he has only averaged 4 receptions over his first 3 games in MN (and Favre couldn't practice with him this week), Brett Favre is going to be frustrated by his limited mobility and the run-heavy play calling, his team is going to be frustrated with him for throwing so many interceptions this year and attracting so much attention....and on and on.

(Brett Favre - we've seen a lot of this in 2010)


















To further stoke the flames, Brad Childress, in his infinite wisdom, has made some completely idiotic comments lately. He blamed their last loss on a blown call by the officials (who admitted their error to him), he blamed their last loss to NE on stolen signals, and he has recently accused his own QB of undermining his authority by ignoring their play calls.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will be properly motivated to prepare well enough to absolutely humiliate Brad Childress, stifle their former whining WR Randy Moss, and hopefully contain the run as successfully as they have the last couple weeks. Apparently, the two coaches had a sort of minor rivalry even before this week and Billy ain't gonna be to happy about some shit coach talking trash.

Also, let's not forget about that dreamy Tom Brady who's throwing for the Pats. He's won something like 23 straight games that he's started at home. Mark it, dude, Pats win. MN Breaks down. We may even get to see backup QB Tarvaris Jackson appear in the 2nd half to hand off the ball until he gets bored and throws a pick looking for Moss.

(Tom "amazing hair" Brady)



















My second pick is KC over Buffalo...because KC is good in every spot that Buffalo is bad. Plus, most Buffalo headlines look like this:

Bills Player Named Worse in League

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

From The Youngest:
Phish - North Charleston, SC 10/15-16

South Carolina state flag













With my impending move date growing closer, I had to notch off another state and venue to see Phish before moving far away from their most frequently played cities.

I have never been a fan of the south. Not without reason, though. I think it all started after I saw the movie Easy Rider and learned that the scary people in The Coffee Diner scene weren't actors at all, but were hired after Hopper saw the them making fun of the longhairs and their fancy machines while they were scouting locations. Those were honest to goodness back country hicks that they hired...just like the hill people they used in Deliverance.
(seriously, I'm not making this shit up)












Speaking of man-on-man rape, a guy took an open seat next to mine during Phish's first night last weekend and soon thereafter offered me a bump of cocaine. I accepted, of course, and dipped a corner of my credit card into the baggie to scoop up a small mountain of powder. Unsure if I was about to inhale a large hit of meth or highly adulterated coke, I dove in. Surprisingly, it was actually cocaine and it tasted fairly clean. All was well and good with my advanced buzz until a few minutes later when my new friend casually tried slipping his arm around my waste.

I rebuffed his advance and narrowly missed elbowing him in the face. He gave me a, "What, was that wrong?" look and leaned away away as if preparing to get punched.

I mean, it's not like I'm about to tell the guy to get the fuck away from me. He had coke. Good coke. I simply dismissed it and went back to watching the show. He ended up leaving some time during that song.














A while later in between songs, the same guy came back. I was worried that perhaps I had offended him or maybe even embarrassed him. I just figured that he was back to watch the show from an awesome seat again. I politely asked about his friends who he said he had met up with back by the sound board. He wasn't talkative, and simply offered me another bump of pure cocaine. I accepted again. We're talking cocaine here.

I guess I shouldn't have been shocked when he slipped his arm around my waste again. This time, though, it was time to take physical action. I pushed him away and gave the guy a stern, "Dude, not OK."

He left shortly thereafter and didn't come back for the rest of the show. I had to walk back to my motel while constantly looking over my shoulder in fear. The only safe option was to assume I was being followed and to get ready to run. Hollywood taught me well and good that the only things that truly motivate southern men are butt-rape, chewing tobacco, and murder.













In all seriousness, that was just a minor thing at one hell of a concert and I got some free coke out of it. The next night I got some great videos that are going to be used by Team Hood, Phish's unofficial videographers that edit multi-cam phan videos (steady cams only), add a soundboard matrix, and release professional-ish DVD's and videos within the community.

(mine)

Thursday, October 14, 2010

From The Youngest:
Kid-A, Kid-A, Bye Bye
R.I.P. my closest companion of 8 years.

I dropped her off at the vet this morning.

(Summer 2010)














(Fall 2009)


















(Summer 2002 - First picture after taking her in)

















(Summer 2003 - Kid-A brings home the bacon)