Mood: A bit tired.
Music: Nothing. The hum of the umpteen fans in my Alienware.
So the Yankees lost four in a row, making them the first team in baseball history to lose a series after winning the first three.
Comedy is not pretty.
Anyway, this coming few weeks looks to be busy busy videogame-wise.
I have pre-ordered:
DOA:Ultimate (XBox)
Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed (PC)
Halo 2 (XBox)
World of Warcraft (PC)
Everquest 2 (PC)
For those of you who know something about these games can see that three of the five of them are MMORPGs. This means that every waking moment that I'm not at work, I'll be locked into these games. Couple that with the fact that I have to move in a few weeks, and November should be quite a month.
I already play CoD:UO, City of Heroes, and the occasional beta or something. I really need more gaming time. I need to be independently wealthy, so I can slack all day.
Anyway, Paul got into the beta for EQ2...lucky bastid. I will try again tomorrow, and maybe I'll get in. He's being nice enough to let me try his key so I can see what it looks like...if I don't like it, maybe I won't end up buying it. Which would save me a bunch of cash. Which can't be bad.
Anyway, back to organizing.
Mood: Seething.
Music: Random Bhangra again....
Have I mentioned how much I hate Jim Caple?
Unbiased sports reporting at its finest, folks.
I loathe that fuck.
Anyway, someone asked me what was with all the sports talk in the blog lately. Truthfully, just as soon as this series is over (read: tonight) I will most likely not be discussing sports at all...save for the occasional aggravated snarl at not being able to go to my hockey games.
Then, I'll be back to my usual geeky videogame banter and various and sundry other topics.
I'm sure you're all thrilled.
Mood: Gloating.
Music: Soundtrack to Gladiator, Zimmer and Gerrard
It's finally happened. Jim Caple, in the face of overwhelming reality, finally capitulated. I guess watching the Yankees tar and feather the Red Sox to the tune of 19-8 last night finally snapped him out of that bias-induced denial, and finally cried "uncle."
Oh, he's still a bit snarky about it all...but he couldn't, at all, come up with any excuses. It wasn't "The Red Sox still have a chance," or "The Yankees haven't seen the best of the Red Sox..." it was plain and simple "You can't stop the Yankees. They are doing nothing wrong, and they are crushing the best team in baseball during the regular season." Caple is finally coming to his senses: The Yankees, like all great teams, simply raise their game during the playoffs. When you were indisputably in 2nd place all season, raising your game means crushing your opponents in brutal style. Witness the carnage.
And now, back to hockey.
The Rangers were to have opened their season last Friday against the Penguins. I think it's safe to say that they didn't...and I certainly wasn't sitting in one of the two seats I paid for.
For those of you who have never owned season tickets to anything, I'll explain how it all works. Basically, you purchase seats for the entire season all at once. For the Rangers, they're the same seats. In my case, they're in section 341, where I've sat since coming back to the US from Hong Kong. I love the view, the people in the section are the best, and it's like being home...my seats. So anyway, some time in July, they send you an invoice, and you pay for all the tickets. I have two seats, at the $40 seat level. You pay for all 41 home games, and 5 pre-season games. You can do the math if you like...it's $40*2*46. In short, it's a fair amount of cash for a guy who doesn't have all that much cash to begin with.
But I LOVE going to the games. For a while there, while I was really down after getting back from Hong Kong, it was one of very few things that made me happy. And after I got my head straight again, I didn't just get happy at the games...I was ecstatic. I love live hockey. That's all there is to it. There's very little I'd rather do that doesn't (necessarily) include my fookus.
And now, these fuckers, who clearly don't give a fuck, have taken one of the most important parts of my fall, winter, and spring away. I loved telling my boss "Nope, sorry. Gotta go. Got a game tonight..." And no one ever stopped me. Because they knew that it wasn't a discussion. There were times that I probably would have quit if someone said "Sorry, you have to stay tonight." I'd have just shrugged and said "I'll work it out tomorrow with you. Call me if you don't want me to come in."
In any case, I imagine that I'm still just one fan in a huge sea of hardcore hockey fans who are experiencing this themselves. And these morons are just pissing us all off. We are not interested that the owners are not making money. We're not. If you can't take a game as great as hockey, if you can't run that business into the black, with guys like us, who will pay serious cash every year, REGARDLESS of how much the team sucks, the problem is with YOU. YOU can't run a business! Don't blame the players! It's YOU.
God I hate people sometimes.
Oh, and if you know of a good broker in Park Slope, or know of a good apartment for rent, let me know. Turns out I have to move at the end of November...not October. Duh. Teach me to read my lease, huh?
Mood: Pretty happy.
Music: Mission Impossible Theme, Danny Elfman.
OK...witness the carnage wrought by the Yankees. Boston's got a decent team. But when it gets right down to it, like I stated earlier, there is a law in the universe that states, in no uncertain terms, that:
If the Yankees meet the Red Sox in the playoffs, the Yankees will beat said Red Sox.
Corellary:
In the most heartbreaking fashion imaginable.
Anyway, I'll post more about said laws when the Yankees eliminate the Red Sox.
The hockey season did not start again this week. And I am mightily ticked about it...but what am I going to do? I am going to call up my credit card company, and tell them that I'd like them to recover my money from the NY Rangers, because I'm not at all interested in staring at these ludicrous unlabelled tickets, hoping that I get to use them.
Unlabelled? Yes. Instead of a date and an opponent, they have "Game 1", "Game 2" and so on.... As if, shocker, they thought there might not be a season this year.
I recently acquired a copy of Shaun of the Dead...if you haven't seen it, you most definitely should. I probably said that.
Oh, and if anyone wants any sorbet? I have a ton left. Come get it.
Mood: Still ill. (No, not the Smiths song.)
Music: Everybody Dance Now, C+C Music Factory.
Where to start...?
I'll start with this: I think Jim Caple is a moron. Who is Jim Caple? Jim Caple is a writer for ESPN.com. Why is he a moron? Because he has a completely irrational loathing for the Yankees that clouds his judgement and biases everything he writes.
Now, you're entitled to loathe whomsoever you choose. However, you should at least make a feeble attempt at objectivity when writing articles on how much the Yankees suck.
Let's say that I am not exactly a Yankees fan. Mainly because I dislike baseball in general, and I am a rabid hockey fan. But, in the interest of solidarity with my fellow New Yorkers, I root for the Yankees and Mets when playing other teams, and I root for the Yankees over the Mets when they play each other. It's pretty easily understood. I'm not a bandwagon fan...I like the Yankees win or lose...and I don't really much care when they lose.
What is really ticking me off is espn.com's utter bias against the Yankees, and their irrational support of the Red Sox. Newsflash: If the Red Sox actually win a World Series (which is mighty unlikely in MY lifetime,) they will still need about 25 more to even TIE the number of World Series the Yankees have. In short, the Red Sox will NEVER be the franchise that the Yankees are. Caple spends the entire season pointing out every last little perceived flaw that the Yankees have, pointing out why this year is the Red Sox' year, and at the end of the season, the Yankees ceremoniously rape the Red Sox.
If you look back, you'll see me ranting about how the fact that the Red Sox swept the Yankees to start the season meant exactly NOTHING. And, as it turns out, I was right. Golly. How did I know? I knew because it happens every year. The Yankees are making the playoffs, and if Boston's in it, they will be beaten in heartbreaking fashion by the Yankees. One of those laws.
Now, the Yankees, after losing game 1 to Minnesota, were universally pounced upon...how they looked horrible. How the Twins were going to sweep them. And then, three games in a row, the Yankees erased a deficit (tonight, a 3 run deficit in the 8th inning...) and proceeded to beat the Twins like the family mule.
You can't plan such things. You can't expect them. Except the Yankees ALWAYS do this. They refuse to give up. Whine about the payroll, complain about Steinbrenner, whatever you like. The Yankees absolutely, with no reservation or hesitation, refuse to surrender. Joe Torre is a smart manager, yes. But his real genius? Instilling in multi-millionaires with the requirement that they show up every night and they play, and they NEVER EVER give up. And, as a result, if you bet against the Yankees in the playoffs, you're a fool.
So, back to Caple: He insisted that the Twins were going to beat the Yankees. And provided reasons. And I'm sure they were all sound...save for the fact that he was wrong. The Twins got beaten. And not just beaten...they were WINNING ALL THREE GAMES. And the Yankees turned on "Playoff Baseball" and bingo, the Yankees are meeting the Red Sox next week in the formality of beating the shit out of them on the way to playing in the World Series. To be honest, once the Yankees beat the Red Sox, and ensure that they go yet another brutal winter whining about curses, Yankees fans will probably not watch the World Series...because frankly, we've won enough of them. At this point, it's about keeping Boston from winning one.
Enough of that. Let's grumble about hockey...or the lack of it. It's now over a month, and it is guaranteed 30 days more of no hockey. In fact, it's probably guaranteed a lot more than that, because, to be fair, they aren't even talking. It's been a month, and they haven't even considered talking.
But hey, it's OK...because the owners have put aside a 300 million dollar warchest to help them through this trying period.
300 million dollars put aside last year. Hm. How much did the league lose, all told last year? Well...they're claiming...wait for it...300 million dollars. Coincidence? I think not. You mean to tell me that they lost 300 million dollars last year, which is the key argument for locking out the players, and somehow, they managed to set aside 300 million dollars in case of a lockout.
Is anyone else bothered by this? If you go to the NHL's CBA homepage, you'll find all sorts of propaganda, some of it letters supposedly written by fans, calling players greedy, and demanding that they fall prey to a salary cap or some other form of hard revenue cap. I have YET to meet a fan who believes that a hard salary cap or cost certainty is required by the league.
It's ridiculous! The owners want cost certainty...but I am willing to bet any amount of money that ticket prices will continue to rise, and beers will still be 7.50 at MSG. What the owners want is a limit to how much they're required to spend...but no limit on how much they can charge. This, my friends, is bullshit.
I do not blame the owners for raising their hands and saying "OK, enough. We're not paying guys like Bobby Holik 40 million dollars any more." Hell, I wouldn't pay that kind of money for him, either. And 90 million dollars for Alexei Yashin? Insanity. But no one held a gun to anyone's head and said "Pay stupid money or else." Players ask for it, because they get it. If they didn't keep getting dumb money, they'd stop asking for it. But no. The owners can't trust each other to be sane, so they want to collude to prevent their fellow owners from spending whatever they want. Sounds like price fixing to me. But what do I know. I'm just a fan.
Anyway, 9 flavors of sorbet are all set. Most of 'em are pretty yummy. Some of them are a little too sweet...but can't have everything. Party tomorrow at 3pm at my place. Come on over if you're in the neighborhood!
Mood: Bit under the weather...
Music: Assorted Bhangra, Who Knows?
OK. So far I have a bunch of different flavors. Right now, I'm chilling the pear-cardamom sorbet so I can freeze it in a little while.
The green apple with a hint of ginger and cinnamon is lovely.
There's more, but I don't want to ruin the surprises of my guests.
I'm completely worn out. Working while sick is a bad idea. I stayed home on Wednesday because I had a fever. I still had a fever on Thursday, but I went to work just the same. Today, I felt horrible, but I had stuff to do, which I did. Once done, I basically crawled home, crawled into bed, and passed out for 7 hours.
Explains why I'm up now. I should probably eat something...although I'm not overly hungry. Maybe I'll make some soup or something. No idea.
Mood: Tired and achy.
Music: Sniffling.
Just made some almond-vanilla sorbet. I think it tastes pretty good.
Of course, I'm not sure, because my nose is drastically stuffed, and I cannot taste a thing, really. In fact, I'm pretty darned sick.
And now, I am going to attempt, once again, to go to bed and sleep.
Wish me luck.
Mood: Eating chicken-corn soup.
Music: The Sound of a Whirling Sorbet Maker, Glenn
I've made two flavors so far...Honeydew and Pink Grapefruit. I've juiced limes for either a chile-lime, or a ginger-lime. Haven't decided yet. Tomorrow, on the way home from work, I need to pick up more fruit/ingredients.
I spent a fair amount of time prepping frozen raspberries and blackberries...but after all the work to make the smooth puree, I tasted it. And it was all freezer-burny tasting. So I chucked it all. Drag. Took about an hour to get it that far.
Have a plan for a lovely vanilla-almond sorbet...and I think I'm going to make a green tea sorbet. Also thinking about a lemon-mint, and a cucumber-dill.
And I did get my laundry done, thank you. About time, too. Was running out of socks.
Mood: Vaguely sick.
Music: About Her, Malcolm McLaren
OK, I just got back from seeing Resident Evil: Apocalypse with Adam and Pauline. First, not terrible as far as these movies go...but hare-brained plot, decent action, lots of zombies, and unnecessary grossness.
Not a great movie, by any stretch.
However, it had dawned on me that the last two movies I've seen have zombies in it...as does one of the games I've recently purchased. I think it's safe to say that zombies are making a comeback.
On the other hand, what is it with zombies? Who decided that zombies make other zombies by being bitten by one? Isn't that vampires? And who decided that zombi-ism is a disease? I thought zombies were re-animated dead people. So you can't get bitten by a zombie, and become a zombie...makes no sense. And lastly, who decided that zombies eat people? What makes a zombie get up, see a person, and say "Mmmm...dinner?" No idea. Certainly, voodoo mythos doesn't play all that out.
Night of the Living Dead obviously has a major impact on this whole thing....but what before that? Did George Romero just spawn that whole ethos out of his twisted little mind? Sort of like acne-scarred kids with greasy hair decided that vampires are cool because Anne Rice wrote them all sexy. No idea.
Anyway, I'm having a sorbet party next Sunday...not tomorrow...but the following Sunday. So I'll be making sorbets all week. Weird and exotic flavors, if I can pull it off.
And lastly, I've been fighting off a cold for weeks, and last night it landed on me hard. Achy, sore throat, so stuffed I can't breathe, and woke up every 2 hours with the sweats...took hot showers, tried to relax...because I had to go to work today. And if I hadn't been meeting an electrician who was more or less doing me a favor today, I would have called in sick. (Calling in sick on Saturday. Is that twisted or what?)
Anyway, tomorrow is laundry, soup, and sleeping. And if I'm not feeling better by Sunday night, I think Monday is a sick day.
More tomorrow during laundry.