I thought Monday Night Football was on Sunday
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Friday, September 07, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Slowly Gouging My Eyes Out : Part One
Since early Thursday morning i have been on a trip to Bend, OR. Let me rephrase that, the trip ended 3 hours after it began; however, the pain will not end until Sunday. My girlfriend's Aunt is celebrating her 50th birthday, and organized a gathering in Bend (Sun River) for her family. These are people i've either never known or only thus far moderately tolerated. That's a "me" thing though. They're not bad people, per se, i am. For every act of kindness that emanates from their character, i recoil in disgust. i've always preferred to be a bit removed when it comes to family gatherings. my own family is a bit more militant, argumentative, loud, angry...Italian. i take to this well, although many others do not.
Point being, i think i'm dealing well enough. However, i wouldn't call it enjoyable. Apparently, (this was not made clear to me prior to leaving Portland) Sun River was founded in order for people of wealth to partake in outdoor activities. As a person of only moderate wealth, i do not take part in outdoor activities. No, that's not true, it has nothing to do with wealth for me - i just don't care to jump in a river, hike a hill of lava, kayak, or "nature walk." i'm willing to go for a bike ride, but i'm not terribly interested in that either.
This paints me as a bit of an outsider to this group. i believe that all 15 of them would love to do nothing more with their lives than jump into rivers for the rest of their lives. i have always believed that we evolved with two legs for a reason: to never have to go into water again. it's not that i can't swim, but rather my body is not built for swimming. i cannot stay afloat and there's little anyone can do about it.
Until next time, here's to sitting outside the circle
Point being, i think i'm dealing well enough. However, i wouldn't call it enjoyable. Apparently, (this was not made clear to me prior to leaving Portland) Sun River was founded in order for people of wealth to partake in outdoor activities. As a person of only moderate wealth, i do not take part in outdoor activities. No, that's not true, it has nothing to do with wealth for me - i just don't care to jump in a river, hike a hill of lava, kayak, or "nature walk." i'm willing to go for a bike ride, but i'm not terribly interested in that either.
This paints me as a bit of an outsider to this group. i believe that all 15 of them would love to do nothing more with their lives than jump into rivers for the rest of their lives. i have always believed that we evolved with two legs for a reason: to never have to go into water again. it's not that i can't swim, but rather my body is not built for swimming. i cannot stay afloat and there's little anyone can do about it.
Until next time, here's to sitting outside the circle
Friday, July 20, 2007
Time for Definitions
ok, so far my blog has been:
Band Recommendations
Hockey News
Inside Jokes
and rantings
I need more of a focus. I think i'll keep the Band Rex section, and there's no way i'll stay quiet about the upcoming hockey season. but i need something else...
a major focus...
Band Recommendations
Hockey News
Inside Jokes
and rantings
I need more of a focus. I think i'll keep the Band Rex section, and there's no way i'll stay quiet about the upcoming hockey season. but i need something else...
a major focus...
Thursday, July 19, 2007
man, where'd i go
i don't post here anymore it would seem. no, it's just that i have like 8 other blogs...oh and a job.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Buffalo Where'd you Go?
Please allow me to rant for a bit...
Almost 20 years ago my family moved to a suburb of Chicago known as St. Charles, Illinois. We moved in October and my brother and I immediately hated Illinois, it was cold, dreary, uncomfortably foreign. Our neighborhood seemed to be filled with kids that were life-long friends, and we were simply outsiders (stay gold). I attended a school that is more well known for proximity to an infamous school for troubled boys (in fact, I've met transplants originally from Chicago that know what made St. Charles famous, and they always say, "ah, the bad boy school") whereas my brother was setup to attend his first year of what the Midwest (and now Northwest) call middle-school. Needless to say, we were unhappy for reasons that really had nothing to do with the Chicagoland area, but more to do with our selfish views on life.
Although it is always a good idea to rehash one's past and try to learn lessons in retrospect, this is supposed to be a post about the playoffs, so I'll get to the point. It was in Chicago that I learned to love sports. Interestingly, in the city that had just recently (within 5 years) won the Super Bowl, I became a huge fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers whereas the Bears were my "second" team. That's since changed, as now I'm a Bears fan...Pittsburgh's just my "second" team. More importantly for this story, Chicago is where I learned what the hell hockey is. Over the 2 years I lived in the great state of Illinois, I became a fan of the Chicago Blackhawks. They were a tough team that featured dynamic characters at skill positions whilst maintaining their image as a team more willing to mix it up than to play dominant offensive hockey. They were an amazing team to watch growing up even after moving back to the Northwest.
Those 2 years in Chicago were important to who I became when we moved back to the Portland, Oregon area. I had a passion for things that were previously missing in my life, and I had become a hockey fan. I had also started the tedious journey of a Chicago Blackhawk fan. Easily the most maligned teams in all of the sporting world. I've watched all-stars leave the team, heroes be dealt, coaches forced out, players sign on just to fail and potential talent dealt away before it was realized. I've felt guilty for cheering on a team with an American Indian head as its logo, dirty rooting for a team that has the best looking sweaters (jerseys) and yet still made a black 3rd sweater (jersey), foolish for thinking that each year will be better when they were steadily worse from 1991 and downtrodden for criticizing them today for mistakes they made in 1992. Point being, I've been loyal, and will stay loyal.
At the same time, I had to find a way to be happy for 82 games every year. In 1992, I was able to find the way. Super Nintendo's first great hockey game was NHLPA '93. There were the Blackhawks that I had loved for 6 years now, Roenick, Chelios, Belfour and Larmer. And even though I would play with Chicago by default, so would my brother and all my friends. You see, the Blackhawks once really were that good (well, maybe it was more that Roenick was so good) and my friends really only knew hockey from me anyway; so, invariably Chicago was their team (if not, then Pittsburgh--kinda odd thinking about it). Like anyone realizing saturation, I looked elsewhere. I found a team from Buffalo, found out they were called the Sabres, and looked into their lineup.
I've always loved goaltenders, and Buffalo had 3!!! Darren Puppa (how could a 12 year old not love this name) and Clint Malarchuk were unbelievably good. Plus, I'd never seen a team have so many *chuks; from the aforementioned Malarchuk to Andreychuk and Hawerchuk. Years later the Red Wings would sport the OV line...paled in comparison to the Chuk team. Then, the coup de gras, an American center and a Russian winger named LaFontaine and Mogilny respectively. These two players were legends to me. I spent countless hours trying to find a way to get them into a Chicago sweater, alas all my solutions involved paying these players more than the league minimum. Thus, a Sabre fan was born.
I've followed Buffalo for 15 years now, only 2 more than I've followed Chicago, and at times I feel as though the Sabres really are my favorite team, even if they aren't "my team." They've had 4 near perfect teams in my lifetime, '94-'95, '98-'99 and '05-'06/'06-'07, my favorite is still the team from '95, but the one that made me realize I was a fan was the one that lost to a technicality in '99. In a way, it was that moment when I realized that the Sabres were the right team for me. From the time I decided to like any sports team (excluding the Bulls), they'd followed a track record of let downs (those keeping score: cubs, sox - both, bears, steelers (fucking neil o'donnell), blackhawks). I was sure that leaving Chicago and Boston sports teams behind for Buffalo would be the answer.
And now, we're down 3-1 to Ottawa, after a season of determination where the Sabres ran (nearly) wire to wire leading the league in points.
They say, somethings never change; but, here's to when they do.
Almost 20 years ago my family moved to a suburb of Chicago known as St. Charles, Illinois. We moved in October and my brother and I immediately hated Illinois, it was cold, dreary, uncomfortably foreign. Our neighborhood seemed to be filled with kids that were life-long friends, and we were simply outsiders (stay gold). I attended a school that is more well known for proximity to an infamous school for troubled boys (in fact, I've met transplants originally from Chicago that know what made St. Charles famous, and they always say, "ah, the bad boy school") whereas my brother was setup to attend his first year of what the Midwest (and now Northwest) call middle-school. Needless to say, we were unhappy for reasons that really had nothing to do with the Chicagoland area, but more to do with our selfish views on life.
Although it is always a good idea to rehash one's past and try to learn lessons in retrospect, this is supposed to be a post about the playoffs, so I'll get to the point. It was in Chicago that I learned to love sports. Interestingly, in the city that had just recently (within 5 years) won the Super Bowl, I became a huge fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers whereas the Bears were my "second" team. That's since changed, as now I'm a Bears fan...Pittsburgh's just my "second" team. More importantly for this story, Chicago is where I learned what the hell hockey is. Over the 2 years I lived in the great state of Illinois, I became a fan of the Chicago Blackhawks. They were a tough team that featured dynamic characters at skill positions whilst maintaining their image as a team more willing to mix it up than to play dominant offensive hockey. They were an amazing team to watch growing up even after moving back to the Northwest.
Those 2 years in Chicago were important to who I became when we moved back to the Portland, Oregon area. I had a passion for things that were previously missing in my life, and I had become a hockey fan. I had also started the tedious journey of a Chicago Blackhawk fan. Easily the most maligned teams in all of the sporting world. I've watched all-stars leave the team, heroes be dealt, coaches forced out, players sign on just to fail and potential talent dealt away before it was realized. I've felt guilty for cheering on a team with an American Indian head as its logo, dirty rooting for a team that has the best looking sweaters (jerseys) and yet still made a black 3rd sweater (jersey), foolish for thinking that each year will be better when they were steadily worse from 1991 and downtrodden for criticizing them today for mistakes they made in 1992. Point being, I've been loyal, and will stay loyal.
At the same time, I had to find a way to be happy for 82 games every year. In 1992, I was able to find the way. Super Nintendo's first great hockey game was NHLPA '93. There were the Blackhawks that I had loved for 6 years now, Roenick, Chelios, Belfour and Larmer. And even though I would play with Chicago by default, so would my brother and all my friends. You see, the Blackhawks once really were that good (well, maybe it was more that Roenick was so good) and my friends really only knew hockey from me anyway; so, invariably Chicago was their team (if not, then Pittsburgh--kinda odd thinking about it). Like anyone realizing saturation, I looked elsewhere. I found a team from Buffalo, found out they were called the Sabres, and looked into their lineup.
I've always loved goaltenders, and Buffalo had 3!!! Darren Puppa (how could a 12 year old not love this name) and Clint Malarchuk were unbelievably good. Plus, I'd never seen a team have so many *chuks; from the aforementioned Malarchuk to Andreychuk and Hawerchuk. Years later the Red Wings would sport the OV line...paled in comparison to the Chuk team. Then, the coup de gras, an American center and a Russian winger named LaFontaine and Mogilny respectively. These two players were legends to me. I spent countless hours trying to find a way to get them into a Chicago sweater, alas all my solutions involved paying these players more than the league minimum. Thus, a Sabre fan was born.
I've followed Buffalo for 15 years now, only 2 more than I've followed Chicago, and at times I feel as though the Sabres really are my favorite team, even if they aren't "my team." They've had 4 near perfect teams in my lifetime, '94-'95, '98-'99 and '05-'06/'06-'07, my favorite is still the team from '95, but the one that made me realize I was a fan was the one that lost to a technicality in '99. In a way, it was that moment when I realized that the Sabres were the right team for me. From the time I decided to like any sports team (excluding the Bulls), they'd followed a track record of let downs (those keeping score: cubs, sox - both, bears, steelers (fucking neil o'donnell), blackhawks). I was sure that leaving Chicago and Boston sports teams behind for Buffalo would be the answer.
And now, we're down 3-1 to Ottawa, after a season of determination where the Sabres ran (nearly) wire to wire leading the league in points.
They say, somethings never change; but, here's to when they do.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Album Challenge2 : Herbert "Scale"
Brian: so you didn't like Scale?
Josh: Roughly I’m saying, no - it's shite. Here's what I’m into now: Tull.
Brian: you're so dumb
Josh: nah, i just didn't get into it
Brian: ah well, differing opinions is the point
Josh: it doesn't seem very memorable to me, which is ok, it's just hard to focus on it when that's the case for me. Rounds was an eye-opening experience, and it has a feeling of there being something more. I like that, not every album does that, but I like it and it makes it easier to try different styles when such an element is present
Brian: I just can't listen to Rounds unless I'm at home listening to the whole thing
Summary
It's not as though Herbert (really?) has put out a bad album here in Scale. Actually, I can hear its merits. There are catchy grooves, good lyrics, fine vocals, etc. Something about it just generates apathy. I listen to this and wonder why someone would actively choose to listen to it. Tracks from Scale could wind up in a soundtrack, mix-tape, whatnot and it'd make perfect sense, "set the mood" as it were. As an album though...not so much
Josh: Roughly I’m saying, no - it's shite. Here's what I’m into now: Tull.
Brian: you're so dumb
Josh: nah, i just didn't get into it
Brian: ah well, differing opinions is the point
Josh: it doesn't seem very memorable to me, which is ok, it's just hard to focus on it when that's the case for me. Rounds was an eye-opening experience, and it has a feeling of there being something more. I like that, not every album does that, but I like it and it makes it easier to try different styles when such an element is present
Brian: I just can't listen to Rounds unless I'm at home listening to the whole thing
Summary
It's not as though Herbert (really?) has put out a bad album here in Scale. Actually, I can hear its merits. There are catchy grooves, good lyrics, fine vocals, etc. Something about it just generates apathy. I listen to this and wonder why someone would actively choose to listen to it. Tracks from Scale could wind up in a soundtrack, mix-tape, whatnot and it'd make perfect sense, "set the mood" as it were. As an album though...not so much
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