Stone Temple Pilots

Something I must confess. I've never once listened to TIny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop.

Never once.

Now, I'm a huge fan of STP... huge fan. I even paid a ridiculous amount of money for their reunion tour private show at Houdini's Mansion, with open bar, sword swallowers and contortionists.

Now, when Tiny Music... was released, I was skeptical because I had read a bad review on Rolling Stone Magazine that it sounded like a Rolling Stones (band) ripoff, and had heard that it was a bummer from a few friends. I shelved the idea buying it and thought nothing of it. I did hear Tripping Through a Paper Heart years after and had purchased it on Itunes a few back, but never thought to give Tiny Music a chance.

I found that my brother had loaded the album on my Ipod during the holiday season and I and I will say I think it's a fantastic fucking album. Big Bang baby does sound a lot like Jumping Jack Flash, but who didn't the Stones influence? How many bands came out after Rage Against the Machine with a similar sound ?

Anyways, I'm going to listen to the album again. Just thought I'd post a nugget.

NYC Flyaway

Alice in Chains : Your Decision

David Blaine: How I held my breath for 17 min | Video on TED.com

David Blaine: How I held my breath for 17 min | Video on TED.com

YUHMM – Taste it. � Dumbfoundead – Jam Session 2.0

YUHMM – Taste it. � Dumbfoundead – Jam Session 2.0

Communist Robot - Where do you stand on the future?

Communist Robot - Where do you stand on the future?

Tylenol Recall

Tylenol Recall

1/4 Of My Household Income 3rd & Last Installment

This 2nd installment (1st installment & 2nd installment) on how to make some extra money on the side. This will cover winning contests. I will start by saying that I have won over $15,000 in prizes over the last 4 years.  Some might say "how? You must be very lucky". Luck is a very small percentage of what It takes to win, persistence and knowing where/how to enter the contests is the key. By releasing this information it will actually decreases my odds so I will only outline the path and to win you must follow it.

I have won trips to NYC, Nashville & 2 places in CA. These are all expenses paid trips that have all been won through radio stations. Every large city has many radio stations, all these stations have a contests web page. The trip to NYC was to see Katy Perry perform won through 101.5. The trip to Nashville was to hang out with Jack White won through 107.7. You get the idea.


I never enter contests that take much work. Google toolbar has a auto-fill button that allows your information to be entered in a click. I enter 5+ contests a day and it takes me 10mins max. My winnings include a custom Zune, ipod touch, DVDs, concert tickets, surround sound system & many many more. Things I like, I keep, and everything else I sell or give at birthday or x-mas presents. Winning is very much like fantasy football, if you do your homework you will have a wining percentage almost all of the time but there will always be an uncontrolled aspect of it. Speaking of it I did win 1 out of 2 leagues I played in.


Radio stations are one of the best avenues to win but there are many other that you can find on your own.

El Tigre - Image of a tiger

Well, well, well, golf Icon, celebrity, possibly the so called greatest athlete ever gets busted.... Why did I find myself almost joyful when I heard this news? I will tell you why. Tiger makes millions off his super star "image" through media, endorsements, etc... yes he is a winner, a father and now a scumbag.... Does he even realize how much people are second guessing him? It makes me believe he won't go in front of a camera because Elin has been beating the crap out of him and he has a black eye or something. This whole situation is wrong on so many levels. If it was you or me crashing into shit, hitting my neighbors tree at 2:25am and ending up bloody in the street then I guarantee a breathalyzer would have been used. It took this incident and now people are digging into his past finding what ever they can to use and portray him as a villian. If your going to be in the lime light and thrive than expect when you fuck up to be torched. Charles Barkley was never a role model. Tiger is, and he reaps the benefits... It really makes me start to appreciate athletes and characters like Drew Brees and Peyton Manning. They are consintantally putting up superstar numbers bet yet prefer to stay out of the publics eye and ear for the most part. Tiger will rebound on the course soon I think, but most likely will get no ass at home for quite some time. Hope that NY hostess was worth it

Pats Short Circuit Against Indy

In a night that needed no help with hyperbole most Pats fans found themselves at a loss for words by this games final act. After watching New England control the game for 3 quarters it all came down to 1 play with just over 2 minutes in the game. It was one of the game’s greatest coaches and one of the game’s greatest players having to execute when the game mattered most. And they did, and they lost. In the post game press conference Tom Brady kept referring to this being “a game of inches” and as Kevin Faulk bobbled the ball, collected it and was hit those inches needed evaporated into thick air. Was Belichick wrong for going for it on 4^th and 2, up by 6? If you think about what most coaches would do you would have to assume that it was the wrong call. You punt the ball, pin them in their territory and put it on your defense to try to stop Peyton Manning. But what if you had one of the game’s greatest quarterback with two of the league’s best wide receivers and one of the most reliable backs in franchise history? What if you knew you could get 2 feet at any time in the game and when you needed it most you only got 1 and a half? Would your choice be considered wrong? Probably. I haven’t listened to sports radio today or read the newspaper (Every time my team loses or the Yankee’s win I avoid the media for a day or 2) so I don’t know what the masses are saying. I’m sure our colorful New England constituents have quite a bit to say on this matter. Last night on Channel 7 I watched Steve Burton conduct an interview with TE Ben Watson right after the game. He started with a question about “how do you lose this game?” and as he continued to contextually describe his question it became a rant in which Ben Watson prompted him as Burton paused to breath, “go on”. I knew the feeling he was going through. It was one where an answer wasn’t going to really answer anything and the only real relief was to ask “why” this tragedy had happened. Yet that pain from past disappointments didn’t seem to equal the utter shock experienced by this finish. It was the ultimate loss yet it happened in the middle of a season that still looks fraught with opportunity. They had beaten the Colts for 58 minutes with an array of weapons and from great play from the offensive line. They were on the road and were within an inch of pulling off an incredible win in a hostile environment. I for one would rather see my team lose a game with a chance to seal the victory on their own then put it in the hands of the other guy and hope you just hold on. If you had Michael Jordan on your team and the other team had Lebron James and there were 7 seconds left in the game, would you: A) Want to be up by 1 with your opponent and Lebron having the last chance to shoot. Or B) Have possession, be down by 1 but have MJ taking the final shot. Now if there is a difference for you in regards to MJ of King James, switch it so that the better of the two is on your team. For me it’s MJ taking that last shot because it is a better decision then trying to stop Lebron. This is what Belichick had to have been thinking (though probably without the NBA analogy). So while the Patriots may have short circuited and let this one get away, knowing this is a game of inches I’ll take my guys every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

1/4 Of My Household Income 2nd Installment

This 2nd installment (1st installment) on how to make some extra money on the side. We will cover buying and selling product. By product I mean anything that you are knowledgeable about, in my case its art, music memorabilia and other odds and ends that some people might just throw out or give away. But product can be anything from car parts to dolls (not my forte).

Lets start with art. In art the less there are of the product the better so if there is only 1 that is the best and if there are 400 that is still good, 2,000 is ok if it is a high demand artist or print but over 5,000 you are usually only buying the art because you really like it, not to make money down the road. I buy art because I like it and to make money. There are a few new artists that are affordable and their resale go up right away. Shepard Fairey (Obey Giant) is the 1st one I will mention and one of favorite artists. If you can score one of his limited prints from his web sight when they go on sale, your print will double in price immediately. They usually range from $50-$100. Make sure its a screen print and not a lithograph. Most of his limited edition screen prints sell out in under 1min so like buying tickets timing is everything. Your best resale margin is after 3-5 years so look at it as an investment. I have sold many right away because I needed the money so only hang on to them if you can.

The 2nd artist I will mention is Emek . He is not as famous as Obey but his art still sells at a good margin and I would hang it on my wall (Not all but some). Both Obey and Emek do a lot of work for musicians and that is how I have come to know them.

Anyone selling anything on the internet now has a store page , make sure to bookmark this page. Subscribe to their e-mail list. Emek will always send an e-mail before a print goes on sale and there will always be a set time. Obey on the other hand will hardly ever send out an e-mail and only give a date of the sale not a time. I check Obey's web sight once a day to see if any new items will go on sale soon. There is a program that costs $50 called UpdatePatrol that allows you to save a web page and whenever that web page makes a change it lets you know...so if Obey is selling a new print and UpdatePatrol is running it will let you know when the print is up for sale. Otherwise you sit there and refresh your page for 6 hours.

Here is a print I just got bought as I was typing ($55) and here is how much it is going for now. I will keep mine for awhile. Saving this art also makes great presents, if you are tight on cash, just bust out a print.

Another artist that sells like mad is Jack White. He is always releasing limited stuff. The most limited stuff he only release at his Nashville store so I thought to myself how would I get these...and then it came to me. Post an add on CraigsList in Nashville for someone to pick them up for me and I will pay them $20 an hour for their time (PayPal makes this easy). I now have 3 people picking me up items in Nashville and sending them to me. I completed the 1st round of the Tri-colored set and just sold it for $2,600. I paid $600 total. Not bad considering.

Overall limited art and memorabilia sells the best for me but it could be anything just do your research 1st. Things like comics and baseball cards are past their glory days so I stay away from those.

Stay tuned for the 3rd installment if you like free trips and TVs.

one more thing...

I almost forgot. YANKEES SUCK!!!!

The Digital Music Era

Hello all. Since my name is on the letterhead, I felt it's time I should actually contribute my thoughts for once to our community blog. I've thought long and hard about a topic that is somewhat relevant to the times, and when I sat down to type this, I changed my mind about a topic at the last minute, as do most bloggers, I suppose.

I, like most people of my generation, am in love with music. Whether it's past or present, rock or opera, I can't think of a better way to spend time than to have a personal soundtrack for your thoughts handy. I remember as a young kid, listening to Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" on my first Sony, a hand held tape player with mono sound and a 4" speaker built in. I lugged it every where. Today I never leave the house without an Ipod. So much for Sony tape player walk-mans, or entertainment centers with the Hi-fidelity player (8-track) built into the craftsmanship. I remember the television I grew up with. A 27" RCA with speakers built into the side and it swiveled on a base, making the entire unit weigh near 400 lbs. Today's televisions are 3" thick at the center, and come with Ipod adapters built in to accommodate your musical needs.

Nowadays, tapes are non-existent, unless you live your weekends at yard sales and flea markets, searching for the rarest of bootlegs or live recordings. And I assume, if you find such a feat, that the recording is muffled or weathered, disappointing and leaving you feel molested. And music can be purchased by the song as well as by entire album, allowing the buyer to cherry picking their favorite songs, rather than enduring the albums of one-hit wonders. I am one of those types of buyers. I gave up on driving down to the local record store, and purchasing the almost extinct compact disc of the new album release of a favorite band.

When Napster came out, music began an aggressive change that turned the record industry into (insert favorite cliche' here). Gone are the "rare" recordings and live bootlegs. No more hard to get European recordings or half-way-across-the-globe festivals. Even U2 did a live show feed on YouTube the other night. It seems to me it's easier to find a rare track on the Internet, even if the recording is crummy, than it is to find Led Zeppelin 1 on vinyl in a popular record store, or Pink Floyd's Animals on CD. Log in to Itunes or Amazon, and the world's entire music catalog is available at your finger tips. And I love it!! I love the availability to new releases of my favorite bands while I'm at work. The ability to have a song in my head, and to log-in and purchase it a minute later is such a great feeling. I can take it home, never once dealing with tearing the plastic off the album, or driving to the record store to find it sold out. It's heart warming.

I can remember being in high school, listening to Soundgarden's "Superunknown" in my car for my entire senior year, not because I loved it, as I still do, but because it was in the tape player all the time, the others lost amid a mess of garbage and clothing. Not to mention friends with sticky hands. It's amazing how times changed. When I was in school (oh shit, I'm having one of those moments...) there were maybe 25 personal computers in the entire school. I took a typing class and we did it on the program BASIC. Now my computer at work is 240 Gig with 4 gig of RAM. I have 40 gig of music stored and that can play for over 24 days, without once repeating a song. Can you imagine lugging around that much music in records or tapes or Cd's? FUCK!

Now, because music is digital, it's not only easy to buy, it's easy to share. The kids who invented Napster, the music share community, it became a way for everyone to compare recordings and open up your senses to new music, such that you never would have heard before, thanks to the people who program radio stations. I haven't listened to the radio in ears out of choice. I just log on. And a lot of bands protest against these music sharing communities, but my man Trent Reznor says "People aren't stealing music to make money. They steal because they love music." Ain't that the truth.

I guess the point of all this is to give a little acknowledgment to what we as humans have been able to accomplish. We've come a long way since sticks and animal pelts. I think that electronic music, in the variety of options that are available for download, will have a better effect on our environment in the long run, and the feasability of avaiability makes music much more enjoyable in my opinion. I think I'll go get something new to add to my music arsenol for my way home. My life soundtrack.

Keep Rocking

-Johnny

Binging on Chuck Klosterman

If you are unfamiliar with the author Chuck Klosterman, get acquainted. I was in Seattle at the beginning of October and found myself roaming the isles of Barnes and Nobles in the basement of the Pacific Place while my mother returned a clothing item. I had heard of his most well known book "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs" which is available at any college bookstore in the country but was unable to find it in the Pop Culture section here. What I did find was his book "IV" which is a collection of the articles and interviews he did while employed by Esquire and Spin magazine. I wasn't ready to invest the $14 since it wasn't really what I had been looking for but I decided to read the Brittany Spears interview at the beginning of the book while I waited. It was an amazing interview especially since it had been conducted before Brittany's disastrous Challenger-like failings shortly there after. It almost seemed to predict the person we would all come to know. A country girl who was completely sheltered from the world and is either clueless (probably) or shrewd (probably not) as they come. Needless to say I purchased it and was immersed in a world of Bono, Billy Joel, Gilbert Arenes, Val Kilmer and many other bizarrely fascinating famous people. Since I found this book to be so rewarding I went to the Boston University bookstore when I returned to Boston and bought S,D and CP. After being spun around by this collection of essay's including why he hates soccer as a professional sport and the story of him going on the road with a Guns N' Roses cover band I couldn't wait for his newest book (Eating the Dinosaur)to be released. Well that day came last Tuesday and I am only a chapter in (I have been binging on Mad Men too!) but this book provides the promise of the best collection yet. There is nothing better than getting new work from any artist that displays them honing their skill even more than their last work (progress is good in the arts). So if you are like me and like slightly crazy, consciously clever and always entertaining books about everything (and nothing at the same time) you are sure to like Chuck Klosterman.

1/4 Of My Household Income

comes from the turn and burn, buy & sell, get what you want, eBay & Craiglist super markets of the modern digital uprising. I will not give up all my secrets but if done right I could make easily 75% of what my salary is now. I choose to carry a real job because it does pay more and it is directly related to what I love to do (Design).

There are 3 main areas that work for me because my knowledge in those areas allow me to make good buying decisions. I will outline each area individually in separate entries so each can be absorbed equally.

First is the event ticket market, specifically music and comedy. Going to concerts & shows is something I have been doing for a long time now and at some point learned that if you are inline or online first when tickets go on sale you can get the best seats in the house. As everyone probably knows great seats sell often for as much as 3x what you pay, so I started buying extra tickets to the shows I wanted to go see and selling the extras to pay for my tickets to the show. After doing this for about 3 years I knew what bands sold out, what venues were the most popular and most importantly where I can sell my tickets (eBay & CL). Rap concerts never sell as good unless its Jay-Z, Snoop, Dre, all the big names do fine but they still do not sell out nearly as fast as rock shows. Seattle is one of many states (38) that ticket brokering is legal as long as you are not reselling the tickets on the venue property (Door scalping) and you must also pay your taxes.

Rather then talk about the ethics of this market I want to focus on feeding my family while enjoying life. To do that I will focus on the details to make it possible. You need the following, high speed internet, not an iPhone or DSL, you need Cable or above. I don't even use my wireless network at home because you will loose the necessary band width needed. Stay wired. I even pay the extra $10 a month to get the juice boost from Comcast. Next you need to know the pre-sale password. You will always get the best seats through fan club pre-sales or other pre-sales like it. This password, 9 times out of 10, gets sent by email after you sign up for the artist fan club, promoting companies or venues. I have a few favorite venues and promoting companies that do me right every time. And the final ingredients are, be signed up to and logged into whoever is selling the tickets. For example get a Ticket Master account and be logged into that account. Also have a credit card on file to use. When its says tickets go on sale at 10am start refreshing your screen at 9:59:50 (Make sure your clock is right). Then type like hell and navigate your way to the pay screen. Speed counts. If you follow all these things correctly you will get good seats.

Once you have good seats do your research and find the market value. I do not like to sit on tickets so I undercut market value by 5% so they sell quick. You might have to adjust that number a few times until the market finds a balance. The best place to sell your tickets is Craigslist because there are no fees involved but that off sets itself by people being unreliable. Sometimes its just easier to pay eBay and Paypal to make things go smoothly. I once met a girl on CL that showed up with a check written to half of the amount. She claimed it was her only check. She was attractive so maybe she was thinking I would give them to her for half price. HELL NO BITCH I'm married and I need the money. I wanted to go getto on that ho and scratch her eyes out (click here),but kept my composure and had her cross out and rewrite the check. "Initials please" is what I said before she handed to me. The check looked like my 2 year old went to town on it. I took a risk and the check was good so I did not have to cancel the tickets (An option if you tell the seller you lost them). I did give her $10 off just because I did not want her to drive away. Anyways lesson learned, always go over the price with the buyer on the phone and in an e-mail so its clear.

This quick overview is not the end all be all of ticket brokering but it is a good place to start. My next entry will go over buying and selling products for profit.

Boston Sports: The Monday Hangover

Well Sunday was as close to living in Mudville as it's been in Boston for quite some time. The Sox managed to blow a 2 run lead in the ninth inning with no one on and 2 strikes on the batter. When the Patriots found a way to lose to Denver I knew it was time to head home and avoid any madness that might be brewing in the city streets. The Red Sox loss was the perfect culmination for a forgettable year. The whole team without any real exception struggled mightily. Papelbon ended up being the goat of this game as he was brought in in the 8th only to surrender to inheritted runners and then give up 3 runs in the ninth. Up until this point Papelbon had not given up a run in the previous 26 playoff innings he had worked. His performance was in many ways symbolic to the attitude of this team. There was a kind of "We always beat the Angels, I never give up runs" autopilot mentality that had stunted this teams desire to rise up to the challenge. You could see it from the Angels and specifically Torii Hunter. They wanted this series and they had a chip on their shoulder. The Sox seemed beaten in every facet of the game this week. If it was basketball the Angels would have been the team getting the loose balls, steals and rebounds. On that note... Lets switch over to basketball and the Celtics. The Celtics provide not only a new life but a hunger and intensity. They are no a team who is content with winning a championship 2 years ago. They are a team with an attitude that reminds us of why we as humans like to compete. For the love, the adversity and sanity it provides for us in this crazy world. Where do we stand in Boston today? For one I am glad the Red Sox didn't prolongue this any more than was necessary. The Patriots, it is clear, will only go as far as Tom Brady can take them. Through the first five weeks he has looked like a shell of himself but if anyone is to make it back into his former self he is the guy I bet the farm on. The Celtics should be a beast this year. Garnett has looked great so far and Rasheed Wallace is going to be an excellent addition to an already deep and confident team. So the sports carousel continues to spin and it promises us nothing except another season of competition. This is why we watch and care.

Red Sox: Season on the Brink

So, here we are in Boston. Season on the brink and I feel like I am supposed to feel differently. This team has been plagued with a very vanilla and cooperate feel. It as if our fun-loving Sox have been kidnapped and replaced by the stoic business-like Yankees. It was weird watching the second to last series between those two teams. It was the Yankees who were slapping five and giving hugs and showing personality and the Sox just appeared to just be content with showing up and giving it their all. Chemistry is a hard thing to quantify but this year’s team is definitely missing it. I realized as I looked at yesterdays lineup that this is exact same lineup we lost with last year except virtually everyone has been worse this year.

Don’t be fooled by statistics with Big Papi and J.D. Drew, they had pathetic years. The worst is Drew who was able finish the year with a .279 batting average 24 homers and an obp of .392. Here is a guy we have all had to suffer with the last several years. He will take strike 3 and then hit a home run when the game is out of reach. I bet his former employers (especially the Dodgers) are enjoying another typical year from “Nancy” Drew. Papi almost got to the 100 RBI plateau (99) and hit 28 home runs but was a shell of himself. You could even see that the umpires thought he was washed up by some of the strike calls he received. Pedroia is no MVP this year (still not sure he was last year either), Youk has been injured and Jason Bay (who had a good staitistical year which will be richly rewarded) showed he is still not Manny Ramirez. If the Sox had Manny last year I think they would have been in the World Series and had a very good chance of winning it (since after all it would have been played against the National League). For all the unwanted drama that Manny brought and would have continue to bring (female fertility drugs) this year’s team lacks it any sign of life. The Red Sox feel like a drafted fantasy team. One where the players will look good on paper but didn't have that abitility to interact and gel with eachother. In the past the Red Sox were known as a team of 25 players, 25 separate cabs.

The problem with this today is sports is considered entertainment and a lot of that is so that we can justify the Brad Pitt size contracts doled out to our favorite players. I have often likened Fenway to Broadway: Old theatre-like home, high drama, and expensive tickets that are hard to get. It seems unfair that with their resources the Red Sox couldn’t put out a better team to watch. I’m not saying these players don’t care or didn’t try or didn’t perform. I simply think that they are boring and gave no one a good reason to come out to watch this team. I ask management, have you gone too far with your desire for company men? We shall find out tomorrow as the season teeters on the brink.

Who You Gonna Call?

Dan Aykroyd, thats who. In all his famed glory Aykroyd has found a new direction and I have to say its one I will embrace. Crystal Head Vodka is the new direction. The bottle represents a look into the paranormal and represents subjects that I find interesting, not to mention untainted clear elixir. Any one for a Dead Russian?

Dan the man was signing bottles at the University Village the other day and we made a go at it. The line was long (700+) but the eclectic bunch of goers adorned with Blues Brothers attire and The State Puff Marshmallow Man dolls made the hour+  wait not so bad. Dan was all business, signing bottles as fast as someone handed them to him. He was kind enough to sign anything anyone brought and take pictures as well. Not saying much but keeping the herd satisfied the line flowed rather fast. We took some pictures and were on our way. Clel, on the way out, in his little boyish voice said "By Dan" and Dan replied "By honey it was good to see you".

He also confirmed Ghost Busters 3 is on the way.

Just Made A Record With Jack White

Recently I won a trip to Nashville to hang with the master of new age marketing & music mogul; Jack White. I have been to a few meet & greets with different musical artists and most of the time its wham bam, say hi, and move on not knowing what hit you. Usually I left feeling a bit robbed of what you felt was your right (undeserved) to befriend someone based on how much you like their music and how much you think they would like you. So going into this my lesson has been learned, have fun & don't expect anything too special.

They put my wife & I up in a beautiful hotel and we made the most of our night out on the town in Nashville. I have never seen so much country music and karaoke within a 2 mile radius. Meghan laid down a great rendition of Man In The Box along with a few others.

Our tour of Third Man Records (Jack White's Record Label & Store) started at 12pm in the front room. To give a little background on the record store, it is a fairly large space when looking at it from the outside but when you walk in to the store it is a tiny little room that barley fits 10 people. So where did all the space go? The back has never been open to any public and we knew we would be some of the 1st to servery whats behind the curtain.

Like a scene out of Charley and the Chocolate Factory JW comes out of the back bull horn bumpin in one hand and clove a blazin in the other. With a brief introduction he asked us to follow him back into his home. His workers included females and males dressed in uniform reminiscent of the umpa lumpas. Our umpa hosts were very accommodating. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures of this space and its too bad because words could not do it justice. Full kitchen, living room, working stop light, photo booth, offices, jukebox, stage, photo shoot area, underground tunnels, dressing room and Jack Lawrence playing the stand up bass in the closet! All of the highest quality, saturated with bright colors and finished in master woodworking. Jack invited us to have a coke from the fridge and take a look around. He explained where the influences came from in each room. There was an unreleased White Stripes record playing in the background and all in all a pretty laid back environment.

Recently TMR released a series of records called the blue series where each different recording artist had their picture taken behind the blue staging area. Jack explained that we would each be making a record with our picture on it with him. How fuckin sweet is that. Here it is...its always and after thought but I wish I would have posed cool but instead I have a big shit eating grin on my face but at least it shows we were having fun.

 

 

After taking our pictures Meghan gave Jack some fresh tomatoes from our garden. Not sure if he would give us the freak card for that Meg followed through. He was very grateful and said this is great these will definitely get eaten.

Next we toured United Record Pressing where all TMR releases are printed. They are one of the biggest plants in the world and have been doing a great job for many decades. If you want to make a record this is where you go.

On our way out we were given a bag of goodies along with our finished record. All in all a great, one of a lifetime trip, that will always be fun to look back on.

Thanks Jack

Quick Note: Gilbert Arenas

Ok, so I don't own an NBA Franchise or a business but why would you invest your future in a player with an attitude like Gilbert Arenas. He has been injured the last 2 years after having 2 other productive years yet somehow the Wizards gave him a 6 year $111 Million dollar deal. He said this year he is finally ready but blamed the team for not protecting him from himself http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4480321 . Like most of us I find it disgusting that the face of a franchise would come out and make ridiculous accusations of his current employer especially considering he hasn't even said that they made him play when injured. Check out the article and see what you think. You may want to be close to the toilet because it could cause you to be sick. Not just that, I went on to Wikipedia and this is what it said under his bio:

Arenas had only played in 8 games this season due to a knee injury, before he started practicing again in May, and returned to action on April 2, 2008 against the Milwaukee Bucks,[13] scoring 17 points in a 110–109 home loss.[14]
Ten days prior, Arenas stormed out of the locker room before a game against the Detroit Pistons.[15] He had wanted to play, but his doctor did not give him clearance.[16] Arenas made a surprise return on April 9, when he came out of the locker room with 5:30 left in the first quarter.

I mean really?! These players are unreal. It's no wonder kids identify with these guys. They behave just like them. I remember how cool I thought Barry Bonds was when he would non-chalant his fly ball catches and now I realize that if I wouldn't find that attitude cool in any other proffesional. Maybe I'm showing my age but I thing I'm just showing my class.

Movie Seen: Informant!

Got out of the gym after finishing up an hour of lousy hoops (lousy referring to my performance) and decided I needed a little pick-me-up. Since the Gym is directly above the Loews Boston Common I headed over. I had been interested in seeing the documentary September Issue about the head of Vogue Magazine (I know, not exactly a manly movie but I'm interested in successful people, especially ones accused of being horrendous to work for) but I saw Informant! with Matt Damon had opened. I went in with high hopes but was literally counting the minuets before it ended. It wasn't that there weren't funny moments or that Mstt Damon wasn't great (he was) it was just that the moments were so far and between that I didn't feel like laughing when they finally arrived. The movie seemed to just float along with no sense of direction and no urgency. The drama did not build and by the end I didn't care how it ended, I was just happy it was over (though it wasn't technically since as I left they were still telling us about where the characters are today). If you want to see a movie which is clocked at an hour and fourty five minutes but feels an hour longer than that then here's your movie. Sorry besides the excellent use of music there was little enjoyable about this. So my lousy hoops performance sat there like a rock in my stomach and my mind was left to dwell upon how I wished I had gone to see that documentary.