Manny Is A Dodger!!!

Holy crap. We got Manny and we didnt give up ANYTHING!!! yea!!!
Hopefully Manny continues being Manny - and by that I mean homers, RBI and leading teams to playoff success.

Weezer performs Creep...

very cool...I love sing alongs.

Pics From Comic Con...

Do People Hear Themselves? and a quick word about comics.

Sometimes people say things that just dont make sense or just prove their stupiditiy. I am not talking about mistakes, flubbing a word. I am talking about people who think they are making a point or say things that are just plain nonsense of dumb. Examples:
Yesterday I went to Chipotle and the woman behind me asked for a Burrito Bowl (note: for those who do not know a burrito bowl is a burrito minus the tortilla). So she goes down the line and adds everything to the bowl. Then at the end right before she is about to play she asks, "can I get a tortilla on ths side".
Are you kidding me! You have to be!
You just ordered a burrito! Why the hell did you do through the process of ordering and having someone make a burrito bowl when you are going to ask for the one item whos absense makes a burrito bowl a burrito bowl. Based on this one moment alone I am positive this woman should not have children
Now on to the next type of moron. Someone who makes a declerative statement but does not see the obvious irony of said statement.
I went to the comic con this past Friday and while trying to navigate my way through the pressing flesh of the exhibit hall a number of families with kids aged 6-9 walked by and stopped traffic for just a bit. No big deal. Except for the guy behind me apparently.
"Uh look at the kids. Oh, more of them. Is this really somewhere you should bring your kids?" He muttered underneath his breath.
Actually, it is you loser. Comics, cartoons and dressing up like a fictional character is for kids. Just because 100,000 plus adult dorks converge on one space doesnt change the fact that stuff like Batman, Spider-Man - hell comics in general - are supposed to be for kids.
Which brings me to my next point. Its great that comics are being seen more and more as an adult art or medium. But what happens a generation from now when there are NO kids who grew up reading comic books. Has anyone been to a comic book store lately. You will not find a single child in there. Its all a bunch of pasty, akward 30 or 40 somethings. Its great to have comic books and comic book movies made for adults - but we cannot forget who these things SHOULD be for - kids. If comic book companies forget that where will they find the next genration of past, socialy akward males who will buy their comics?
While everyone will remember Dark Knight I think the most important comic movie this year will be IRON MAN because it was a well made comic movie that was for adult BUT also for kids.

I Need To Catch A Break

OK, this run of bad luck has got to turn around.
Got hit by the car, had a health scare, the back of my right leg some how was raw all of Tuesday and Wednesday, I am broke. And now, all the laundry machines in Radisson are broken and do not complete the cycle. I had to dry out the clothes and they all stink. half of my pants, my towels and my RAMONES shirt are ruined. they smell like warm garbage. Seriously, something good has to be coming around the corner right.

Dark Knight (no spoilers)

First off, if you haven't seen The Dark Knight. Go see it. It is probably the best done movie based on a comic ever. I think what seperates movies like The Dark Knight and say X-Men, Hulk and Iron Man is that a) Christopher Nolan has treated a comic book character with well deserved seriousness. That is not to say that others have not done a good job bringing a human element to comic book characters (see the first two X-Men).
But at the end of the day the characters seem more human because they are human. Superman is an alien, X-Men are mutants, Hulk is a green monster, Spiderman is a dude with radioactive blood. Batman is just a guy in a mask and cape. The Joker is just a madman in clown makeup. There are no inheret powers or overwhelming muscles. Just two men dueling it out. Vigilante versus villian and the question of good versus evil. Thats what allows Batman to translate into cinema the way other comic book films cannot.

If Heath Ledger man doesn't get an Oscar nod for what he did playing The Joker the Oscars will have lost credibility with me. Why So Serious? Because the man embodied The Joker character to a tee. If anything I left the theater blown away and saddened. Blown away by such as awesome performance and sadened that someone with such gifts and talents is no longer around to share them with us. There is no doubt that this movie would have made him a star. Instead, we will be left with the question, "what if...?"

p.s. Can someone please tell Christian Bale to cut off that God awful voice he uses in the Btman suit. Its so f'ing distracting. It really does a disservice to him and an utterly amazing movie.

I'm Fucked

Car accident yesterday. It is going to be pinned on me. Even through it's not my fault. I am fucked. That is all.

Somethings I drew this past year...

For a burnt copy of Jack Johnson's Sleep Through the Static.




Both of these are for burnt copies of the Juno Soundtrack.
Both covers are different takes on the following verse:
"And in the sea there is a fish
A fish that has a secret wish
To be a big cactus
With a pink flower on it.
And the flower would be its offering
Of love to the desert
and the desert
and the desert so dry and lonely
that the creatures
would all appreciate the effort."

Some Things I Learned From Hip Hop Songs

Mo' Money Mo' Problems

You Have to Fight For Your Right to Party

Parents Just Dont Understand

You Should Holler At A Player If You See 'Em On The Street

It Takes Two To Make A Thing Go Right 

A Word About Direct TV

I just found a channel called REEL and they have a show called THE BIG TEASE. THE BIG TEASE is all about my favorite part of the movie going experience - trailers. All they do is show Trailers. It is freaking awesome. On a no so cool note my folks' Direct TV package doesn't include ESPN Classic but it does include 10 religious channels. Seriously?

Frankie Fact...

Frankie loves Barnum's Animal Crackers.

He is also very bored right now.

I Just Saw Larry King On T.V.

I know what you are thinking... so what? Thats his job. 

But actually he was sitting behind the Dodger Dugout tonight. He was sitting next to a fan who saved Larry by making a fantastic catch. I guess the Brooklyn boy still loves his Dodgers (or maybe he is just friends with Joe Torre). And know he was not wearing suspenders.

By the way I just noticed the following. If you see a dating service ad online the ad typically features a woman who looks like she is caring some form of V.D. How is that supposed to entice me? 

Meet sexy singles in LA... these ladies know how to make it burn when you pee.

53 days until Trojan football gets underway. Let me know if you want to go to a game and I will do my best to accommodate.

Good To Know...

This weekend has been pretty sweet. It was spent celebrating good times with good friends. 

I think the biggest thing I took away from this weekend is that its nice to know that you have really done a good job being a friend. Building friendships is not a hard thing. Maintaining them is what is hard. To hold on through friendships through tough times, in spite of distance and so on is a test of character and commitment. It's not easy. Trust me I know. What makes it especially hard is realizing that maintaining those relationship is a two person process. Both people have to be committed, work hard, forgive and love. This weekend I had a few experiences that really reminded me of how much I love my friends and even more importantly how much they love me. 

All thing considered this has been an amazing weekend.

Thanks to all my friends - I love y'all.

Less Money More Problems...

OK,
So remember the Puff Daddy, Mase, B.I.G. song "Mo Money Mo Problems?" Well let me tell you something I would love for someone to give me money so I can test out the thesis statement of that song. As far as I am concerned the less money you have the more problems you are likely to acquire. 

Case and point as I mentioned earlier I was not going to make a single dime between early May and mid August. During that time I have had to pay for a trip to Milwaukee, gas, credit card bill, 3 units of tuition, a wedding present for a friend, cell phone bill, and car insurance.
That doesn't include the little things that I did not budget for like locking myself out of my car (twice). Needless to say times are tough in the old wallet and this week they got a whole lot tougher. In the middle of this financial squeeze I have been asked to bail out dear old mom one more time. This time to the tune of 2500 dollars. I did my math and estimated that I can cash advance only 2000 from my American Express so that is all she is getting. And with that I can most assuredly say that the next month and half are going to be a major pain in the ass. I still have money set aside for my last car insurance, credit card, and cell phone bills. But besides that I think I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 23 dollars.

I will say one thing though I am glad this happened now. The day before being asked for the money I spoke with my grandmother and grandfather. They are about to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in November. I asked them, "how did you do it?" The y said two things. One, when the other person gets mad - leave them alone. It takes two people to argue so just leave them alone and deal with the problem later when all the emotion is out of the situation. But its the second piece of advice that has really helped me out. They said that when you start a new family that new family has to come first. You cant allow your parents, brothers, and sisters to butt themselves into the creation of your new family. I think that helps me put somethings in perspective. I cant keep bailing my folks out or else I will never be able to start my own life. When I was 18 I gave my mom 10,000 dollars that was supposed to go to my college education. I am guessing I have given my dad somewhere around 2500 dollars in the last 6 years (though that number is deceiving and unfair to my mom because a lot of the money I have given my mom has been to deal with the various liens and debts created by my father). As for mom, I would say that with this 2000 I have given her about 6000 dollars in help over the last 6 years. If I were rich, or was working that be one thing. But I have been a college student the majority of that time. But I gave what I could give because they were my family and I felt the obligation to do so. But I can;t do that anymore.

I am trying to start my own life ad the means doing what is right for me financially. Like I have said before I am mre then likely going to have to move, maybe even find an apartment, start saving money. Everything is going to fall into place quickly in the next few months. So its imperative that I start looking out for myself. Granted, not that any of you who are reading this need to know that, but maybe its just important that I write that down somewhere so I can remind myself.