Stuck in the Forest Maze

Keeping on par with my Mario themed entries. While searching for videos to add to my entry I found a cool fan made video. Someone was smart enough to put lyrics to Beware the Forest Mushrooms, and I must say, bravo. They did a great job with recapping the story plot, as well as capturing the overall feel of the game. I tell you one thing, it makes me want to play right now.

If you did you'd find yourself, DOING THE SAME THING TOO!!

Greetings all on this weird first day of spring. I found a hilarious cover of the Judas Priest - Breaking the Law VIDEO. It isn't a cover of the song just the video. It is all done with little kids and I must say job well done. The kid Halford cracks me up trying to mimic his dancing in the video. I give this video a 4 out of 5 laws broken for its faithfulness to the video. Take a look.


Here is the original contrast and compare!


Bonus!!! Here is MOTORHEAD'S cover of Breaking the Law. Lemmy+Priest = EPIC WIN!!

Pickle

Part 2 of my favorite Super Mario music is here! I hope you enjoyed yesterday's romp into NES land. Like in part 1 only original game music is counted here that means no remixes or remakes. 16 & 64 bit ho!

Super Mario World - The Evil King Koopa Hearing this reminds me of playing SMW when I was a kid and the adrenaline rush I would get upon reaching Koopa. It didn't matter if I slugged it out through the game map proper, or used the Star Road to get there the rush would always be the same. As I got further and further into the fight my heart would beat faster, I would get pins and needles, and my arms would feel like they were made out of Jell-O! Then when the pressure has reached its apex and my body can't take the rush anymore Mario let's the final mechakoopa fly, and our little mechanical friend connects with his target causing the clown ship to turn and dump out its prize. I would breathe a sigh of relief and my body would relax. Danger is over as Princess Toadstool floats down daintily to meet our hero. It may not seem like much to you but this game gave me one of my first adrenaline rush experiences at a kid and I will always be reminded of it from this song.





Super Mario Land 2: The 6 Golden Coins - Star Maze This song is one of the first songs that caused my child brain to pay attention to music and critically listen. I remember hearing it and being soothed, knowing that it was more than just a creative background track for a game. To me it was an accurate representation of the calming whimsy that outer space can offer one's imagination. Star Maze is one of the first tracks from a video game to get an emotional reaction out of me, every time. It would make me stop and think about the emotions that were flooding me at the time. I knew from the first time hearing it that it was a special track which would remain near heart for the rest of my life.



Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island - Flower Garden This song always struck me as walking through a park on a gorgeous day in the height of spring. The structure of the song is what made this my favorite out of an amazing soundtrack. It does a great job of making you imagine a crayon drawn world revolving around critters and baby Mario.



Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - Beware the Forests Mushrooms This is one of my favorite games of the SNES and of ALL time. I had such a blast playing this game that I was genuinely upset when it was over. Of an amazing soundtrack it was hard to choose just one song as my all time favorite, but I knew it would be this track. To me it does a great job of conveying the feeling of wandering a forest and the mystery inside. I always, always think of a cloudy or rainy day in mid spring in 96 when I hear this. How it was a time in my life where I was on the threshold of a life changing event. ( I was about to graduate elementary school and progress to middle school where I gained more responsibility and start to become my own person.) It also helped that this was my favorite part of the game when Mario is trying to help the citizens of Rose Town. It is a bit difficult to put into words exactly how this song makes me feel and where else in time it takes me, so you will just have to give it a listen for yourself. (side note: my least favorite part of the game is trying to climb those damn vines to get to Nimbus land!)



Super Mario 64 - Dire,Dire Docks An amazing game. Nintendo hit the nail on the head in Mario's first foray into true 3D. This song is along the lines of Star Maze in the sense of how it made me feel about my emotions. Being a young teenager at the time of it's release I was able to think a bit deeper into the emotions that Dire, Dire Docks conjures up. Some of those emotions were peacefulness, love (which I was starting to learn more about from my own experiences at the time), enjoying life and everything that being an early teenager had to offer, and good times with friends. The calming phrases and soothing melodies would make me think about sitting outside on a spring or summer night and look to the horizon and think about where my life was at that particular moment. Or floating in a pool during the summer of my middle school years looking up at the sky and watching the clouds and sun dance from under the water.


That's my list! I know what you are thinking, "Wow! What a giant dork!" All I am trying to do is convey the importance that video game music has on my life and why. Hopefully, I didn't just ramble on pointlessly and was able to reach someone. Possibly, even cause someone to stop and think about where these songs take them. Also I would like to thank YouTube user SilvaGunner for their amazing collection of video game music.

It's a me, Mario!

Recently I have been in a video game music kind of mood, and I decided I would make a list of my favorite tracks from the various Super Mario games. This list is original tracks only not remixes or remakes, solely original game music. Now, there is nothing wrong with the rest of the songs from the games these just happen to be my favorite songs from each. Some tracks have a particular meaning for me while others are just there. I decided to break this up into 2 parts to try and get rid of the giant list feel. In chronological order here is:

Super Mario Brothers - Overworld. This is one of those songs that can transport people back to a wonderful time of their life when everything was alright. It always reminds me of sitting at home or a family members house enjoying life, and trying to get to lvl 8-4. 9 times out of 10 if you hum this song for people they will know exactly where it is from. This song is the very definition of epic. It ALL starts here for Nintendo and Mario.


Super Mario Brothers 2 - Overworld I know that this game was originally Doki Doki Panic and that the Lost Levels are the real SMB 2, but to me this is Mario 2. The overworld music from this game is by far one of my favorite video game tracks of all time, and every remix or rehash of this song I have heard has always been amazing. Hearing this makes me think of the first time I played Mario 2. I was at my mothers friends house and her daughter was away so she let my sister and I play her NES. That is how I met the world of sub con. FYI Princess Toadstool is the best character to use, period end of story!


Super Mario Land- Chai Kingdom Mario Land will always have a special place in my heart, because when I was a kid my father and I would play this game constantly. I remember one day he picked me up from school and told me that he finally got to the Chinese Level! (at that time we had never gone that far before) I was so psyched I was flipping out in the schoolyard! The best part was he had my Game Boy in the car on pause so I can play the level! It was like Christmas in the middle of the year that day! That memory in particular is why the Chai Kingdom is my favorite track out of a superb line up of music from this game.


Super Mario Brothers 3 - Underworld This is my favorite Mario game for the NES and in the running for mine of all time. Everything about this game was amazing! This is another game where upon hearing the sounds and music will transport a person back to a magical time. I remember playing this game nonstop at my babysitters house with my sister and her grandson. Trying our hardest to all the magic whistles and the white ghost ship. Of all the tracks from this game (and they are all good!) I chose the underworld as my favorite because it takes the main theme and gives it a gritty rock groove to it. Although it is the same basic theme from SMB 1 it feels like a genuine progression. The tempo is sped up, kick ass drum track is laid down, and the theme itself has more bass to it.


That's all for part 1! Come back tomorrow for part 2 SNES and Beyond!

St Patrick Our Patron Sait of Bad Drunken Decisions

Oi! Happy St. Patty's Day to ya! To commemorate this day of drinking, eating green dyed food, and bad decisions here are a few Oirish songs I am enjoying today!

Can you say Floggy Molly???






Of all the countless covers of this song, this is my favorite so far. METALLICA!!


It's just not an Irish post without a song by Enya.

Bored

Here is a video I found of a commercial from the 80's. Mickey Mantle is telling us about the Intellivsion play cable. Being an Yankees fan and a proud former owner of an Intellivison I like this video. Also it its good filler for today while I preblog for the week.

YouTube Musings

A while ago I found this amazing video on YouTube . It combines two of my favorite things, Final Fantasy VI (my fav in the series) and Full Metal Alchemist (using my favorite of the openings!). Some guy took the time out to recreate one of the opening and endings from the anime Full Metal Alchemist and replace the characters with those from FFVI. After having watched this video over and over again all I could say was, "Damn! I wish that was a real anime!" Check it out for yourself. Side note: If anyone knows the last little song that they sing at the end please let me know it always gets stuck in my head when I watch this.

iDaft Punk

I am a big fan of Daft Punk. Needless to say when I stumbled upon this Internet gem I spent a good portion of the past hour playing with it. The url is http://www.najle.com/idaft/ and it is a keyboard map to sound bytes from their song Harder, Faster, Better, Stronger. It is a pointless little flash app but it did bring a smile to my face. It might to yours as well. Here is the video for the song so you can see where the sounds come from. Lets see how long it takes to annoy my coworkers with this.


Interesting side note, The video is a part of the anime ( Interstella 5555) that Daft Punk did for the entire Discovery album. Here is a review of said movie from my friends blog.

Randomness

Today is March 11th, so I am celebrating it by listening to 311 all day! Enjoy these videos and spread the chill. Edit: Since 311's record label being retarded and removed the embed capabilities from their YouTube videos, I had to find fan made videos set to the desired tracks. So sorry in advance for any AMVs or crap just enjoy the music!

Greatest Drink Ever!

Ecto-Cooler! Just hearing the name gives people of my generation smiles. That is how great this green drink of the gods is. Every kid remembers having the drink box if awesomeness in his lunch during school. It ruled not only for its Ghostbusters tie-in but for its crazy green color and kick ass taste! For this weeks Website to View Instead of Work I found an amazing in depth article abourt what happened to Ecto-cooler. http://www.x-entertainment.com/articles/0822/ It gives a short history of this amazing drink and then starts you down a path on what happened to it. Unfortuately this article is outdated (2003) and the answer it gives us to the million dollar question, what happened to Ecto Cooler, is also out of production. Oh by the way the answer is Crazy Citrus Cooler and in 2007 it was kanked out of production. Still it is a good read to bring you down memory lane and a good place to start for hunting down remaining stocks of this beverage of the ages. If anyone finds any information regarding Ecto-Cooler or its repackaged form, Crazy Citrus Cooler, please shed some light and inform me of your progress. From one fan to another, please let me know.

Aside from the horrible quality images this article is well written and researched. It does a good job of motovating the reader into searching for their own stash of green heaven drink boxes. Although it is a fast read, I count it as a spring board into flurry of different sites for research. That is why I give this site a 4 out of 8 work hours wasted.

Hero in a Half Shell!

So last month I went to NY Comic Con and met the creators of the Ninja Turtles. They were gracious enough to paint me a color head shot of Leonardo saying "let's kick shell". When they were done creating it I told them my childhood thanked them for the good times. A week or so afterwords I went to AC Moore to get their masterpiece matted and framed. Fast forward to this past friday and the framing is done! Take a look. Let me know what you think.

Weekend YouTube

So I went to midnight madness for Watchmen Thursday night and it was great! I will have a review of it next week. For your Weekend YouTube video I found out what happenes when you combine the Watchmen with Saturday Morning Cartoons. You get this! Enjoy.

Anime at the Gates of Dawn

I recently finished watching the series Heat Guy J. I first found it around 2004/2005 when MTV tried to show anime again. Doing what MTV does best it moved the show around different time slots until they stopped showing it all together. Since then the entire series (26 episodes) has come out on DVD and I decided to start the series over again and add it to my Netflix.

J beating the piss out of someone's head

The main plot of the show focuses on a young detective named Daisuke Aurora and his android partner J. J is the only government sanctioned android in a futuristic island society where borders are closed and androids are banned. J's design is pretty cool kind of a cross between cyberpunk and a futuristic steampunk, as he relies on steam pressure to operate and vents the exhaust through pipes that serve as his clavicals. The cast of characters are a pretty good mix and play off each other well. After watching a few episodes the real underlying plot comes out which boils down to fight the mafia and the government. Towards the end of the series it does a good job of showing how much you really care about the characters as they have grown on you.

A Track from the shows diverse soundtrack

The animation style is very clean and the CGI images are as good as 2002 had to offer. The voice acting was well cast and believeable. For those familiar with Cowboy Bebop the voice of Jet is promently heard through out this series as supporting roles. The part of the show that really sticks out for me is the soundtrack. The music ranges from bluesy rock to bagpipes, classical voice, and techno. They even throw a few world music style songs in there to show a mixing of culture. An example of this are the tracks that have an Indian woman singing in the style of the Indian culture, high pictched and fast. As great as the plot was to follow each episode I enjoyed and looked forward to the music the most. This show does not dissapoint.I reccomend anyone who is intersted in anime or a good detective/sci-fi story to give this show a try, or at the very least try the soundtrack.

I give it 4 red tap bullets out of 5.

Websites To View Instead of Work

This weeks entry of websites to view instead of work is the Video Game Lies wiki, found at http://videogamelies.wikia.com/wiki/Video_Game_Lies . I found this website while perusing around kotaku. This little gem is dedicated to one of the cornerstones of playground bragging the video game lie. Like the wiki's opening sentence states, we all knew someone who claimed to have done something that was so secret, so awesome that only they and a few others in the world have done it. One of those almost always being the older brother / cousin of course, having been the person who passed down this knowledge onto them. Examples of this from my childhood were jumping over the flag in Super Mario Brothers took you to a warp zone someplace cool and impregnating Sindel in MK3 as a finishing move. Ah, memories of growing up in the early 90's I do miss those halcyon days.

This wiki is thin on content, I'm assuming because it is young. However, what it lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality. There are a few lies in here that I remember from way back when. The creators poses the question of whether the lies come out of a desire to trick people or merely look cool to others? All in all I find this site to be most informative about a common place but rarely spoken of phenomenon in video game culture. This site has great potential and it being a wiki makes adding your own stories of lies even easier.

I give it a 5 of 8 work hours wasted.
http://videogamelies.wikia.com/wiki/Video_Game_Lies

The Yankee Years

I finished reading The Yankee Years by Joe Torre Monday and I must say it is a good book. It starts out in the end of 1995 with the decision to make Torre the manager of the Yanks. How the NY press was ripping into him before he even started! We following the historic run of Torre's tenure from World Series hero to his leaving in 2007. He goes into detail about the players like Derek Jeter, who he puts on a pedestal, and the management like Cashman. It was interesting to read about the different personalities that they players have. Like Jeter being the calm, no complaining ever, stay the course and do your best out there everyday attitude. As well as how big name players who are traded to the Yankees can't handling playing in New York and collapse.

He writes about the elation of winning his first World Series in 96 as the under dogs and how it set the tone for the years to follow. There is quite a bit about the 98 Yankee season and how everything just came together for them. As well as how they embodied the team mentality and went on that magnificent run of three back to back World Series wins, a feat not seen since. He broke down how the Steroid Era came to be and the early warnings that players tried to give while MLB ignored it. The subsequent fallout that was the aftermath of steroids in baseball.

Torre writes a good transition showing how the Yankees were getting farther and farther from the team mentality of the "good old days." How certain players required special attention/needs , Clemens, and that others were so stats centric it hurt their performance as a team player and a member of the family, Rodriguez. The book shows how Steinbrenner was a boss who was involved with his team, even if it was in eccentric ways, to his state of declining health and a back burner role. One quote of Steinbrenner's that I particularly enjoyed was when a player threw a bag of chips ( I think it was chips) or something and it wound up hitting the boss. He just stood there and said "Who threw that?" upon finding out who it was he stated, "I knew it was you because it didn't hurt." Classic Steinbrenner! One thing I didn't like was how the Boss grew so accustomed to winning the World Series that he expected it to happen every year. The years that it didn't he viewed as a total failure. Now granted they lost the 01 and 03 World Series but, damn those were two amazing seasons and postseason runs!

It was interesting to read how baseball as a whole was changing. From batting percentage and gut feelings being the end all be all to how on base percentage and information became king in baseball. How revenue sharing gave weaker clubs a chance to compete against big teams like the Yankees. Baseball today really is a different world than how it was even in the late 90s.

Torre then writes about the gradual falling out of favor with the management to the point where they were gunning for Torre. That is what made me sick to my stomach. This man who brought the Yankees out of an 18 year post season slump to 12 out of 12 playoff appearances. Going to the World Series 6 times wining 4, 3 of which were back to back! Having the team give amazing season after amazing season, making sure the Yankees were the best team in baseball every year, and the management grew pompous and wanted to get rid of him because they weren't advancing to the World Series. Now I am all for don't let your managers get complacent but damn give the guy some slack. Towards the end all he wanted was a 2 year contract so as not to feel like he had his head in a noose and retire after the first year in it. But no they chose to sideline him.

Before I get ahead of myself with another rant I will end it here with this is a great book to read regardless of whether you are a Yankees fan or not. Not only does it chronicle his tenure with the team well but it peers inside the world of baseball as a whole during those years and how things transformed in this fast paced world we live in today. Definitely give this book a read if you are a fan of Baseball.

We are Defenders of the Vinyl

For Christmas I bought my parents a combination record/cd/mp3/radio player seeing as my sister and I broke theirs when we were younger. Ever since then I have had an itch to start my own record collection. On Sunday I cashed in the thought and went to Vintage Vinyl to see what records I could purchase. I set off on this excursion with Pluck the Knife. I had a few records that I wanted to get already listed in my head as high priority, Judas Priest, particularly Screaming for Vengeance. We spent a good two hours or so in the store flipping through the used vinyl section, which had no order to it just records piled in bins and boxes, as well as the new vinyl. I was getting upset towards the end because I flipped through the used records and couldn't find any Priest! Right when the sadness of no JP set into my mind I notice that the record in front of me had a familiar logo on it. I turn it around and it was Defenders of the Faith and behind it Turbo!

I wound up purchasing the following:

Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith
Judas Priest - Turbo
Judas Priest - Hero, Hero ( new copy)
Foreigner - Head Games
Foreigner - Double Vision
Men at Work - Business as Usual
Ted Nugent - Cat Scratch Fever
Led Zeppelin - Song Remains the Same Soundtrack
Steely Dan - Gaucho

and a few others that I can't remember now but probably will once I click post. I was sad that there would be no screaming for vengeance that day but eBay rectified that once I got home. Tom and I furiously went looking for a Jefferson Starship album that had Light the Sky on Fire. We found only one that had it included as a single, however it wasn't in the sleeve. Either some fan boy took it or it just wasn't in there. I am happy that I am getting a record collection going wether or not I listen to them is a different story. I would like to find records of Ace Frehley's solo KISS album, any Led Zeppelin, and any Pink Floyd. So if anyone knows where I can find those as well as the Starship song I am looking for please let me know. I bid on a Star Wars soundtrack which hopefully (fingers crossed) I should win, and did a buy it now for The Empire Strikes Back soundtrack. I believe my record collection is starting to take shape nicely.

SNOW!

Damn I was hoping there would be no more snow in store for us this year but I guess I was wrong. Why must the weather tease me. It was just on Thursday and Friday last week we had 65 degree weather. For sure I though this could be the start of spring, wrong. I find out yesterday that we were in for a Nor'Easter. Push come to shove I decided that I was done driving to work in the snow this year and called out of work. Now I can spend my day catching up on Netflix, reading, and Xbox Live. So you will have to wait for tomorrow for a more serious blog entry. Here are some pics of the snow around here.

You Tube Video of the Day

Once I saw this I knew I had to post it. Enjoy.

You Don't Nomi

Last night I watched a documentary about Klaus Nomi called The Nomi Song. For having only known very little about his life and music before hand this documentary really made me a fan. I first learned of Nomi when I heard his version of The Twist. I instantly loved it because it was way out there. Upon finding out that he did this in the late 70's early 80's I was astonished. His music was and still is way ahead of its time. He was an opera singer who had the voice of an angel. His falsetto was a head turning soprano. If you never head him before you would think it was a woman singing. His voice was only part of what made Klaus, Klaus. His presence, cloths, and personality added to his mystery. Klaus did an amazing job of making us believe that he descended upon Earth from outer space. He even performed with David Bowie on SNL!(thats where the Venture Brothers probably got their tie in) Unfortunately, Klaus died from AIDS in 1983. I can only imagine how scary it was to have AIDS back then. It must really have felt like a death sentence.

I would give a few thoughts and opinions about his music, but I only know a few songs by name and the rest by tune. Sometime in the near future the internet will have bestowed it upon me so after listening to it I will let everyone know. I do recommend watching the documentary if you are at all interested in this amazing person's life and music.

Here are a few videos of Klaus, the only way to truly get his whole performance:

Ultimate Judas Priest Playlist

Recently I have been listening to a lot of Judas Priest's discography. I have spent a few days trying to assemble an ultimate Judas Priest playlist for my ipod. Here is what I have gathered so far. Just as a disclaimer this list is in no particular order and is incomplete as are all good playlists. You will notice some albums have multiple songs that made it to this list while others have a few or none. It is not that I hate the tracks that didn't make the list. On the Contrary, if a song isn't on here it is because it didn't stick out to me when I was creating this, so please let me know if I passed over a great song. I am always striving to add to my playlists.

Format: Song title(album title)

Deal with the Devil (Angel of Retribution)
Breaking the Law (British Steel)
United (British Steel)
Living After Midnight (British Steel) <-- My favorite Priest song of ALL time
Freewheel Burning (Defenders of the Faith)
The Sentinel (Defenders of the Faith)
Defenders of the Faith (Defenders of the Faith)
Evening Star (Hell Bent for Leather)
Hell Bent for Leather (Hell Bent for Leather)
Take on the World (Hell Bent for Leather)
Green Manalishi -With the Two-Pronged Crown (Hell Bent for Leather)
Prophecy (Nostradamus)
Awakening (Nostradamus)
Revelations (Nostradamus)
Four Horsemen (Nostradamus)
Nostradamus (Nostradamus)
Pain Killer ( Pain Killer)
Rocka Rolla (Rocka Rolla)
The Ripper ( Sad Wings of Destiny)
The Hellion (Screaming for Vengeance)
Electric Eye (Screaming for Vengeance)
Riding on the Wind (Screaming for Vengeance)
Bloodstone (Screaming for Vengeance)
Screaming for Vengeance (Screaming for Vengeance)
You've Got Another Thing Coming (Screaming for Vengeance)
Diamonds and Rust (Sin After Sin)

Please let me know what you think, I am always open to opinions and suggestions.

Websites to view instead of work

I came across this website by hearing of it from several different people, as well as Internet musings. It is www.fmylife.com . Fuck my life is like a micro blog that people pose situations that they were/are in which they state how fucked their life is because of it. You as the viewer can either just read them and laugh or cast your vote to either agree that their life is fucked or that they deserved what has happened. Simple enough premise with endless work hours of hilarity. Topics range from sex to everyday events, the possiblities are endless! So why not waste the next 4-5 hours after lunch on a few good laughs at others misfortues!

Here is an example post :

Today, a customer that I've been waiting on for years came into the restaurant after a long absence. I said to him, "Hey man, it looks like you lost a lot of weight! How'd you do it?" He replied, "I got cancer." FML

Free Gmail Stuff

So a few weeks ago I stumbled upon Gmail's blog in which I learned that they were giving away free stickers! I promptly wrote out a self addressed, stamped envelope and sent her down range. Around three weeks later I had a little package of joy waiting for me on my desk. "They have arrived!" I proclaimed to no one in particular. The stickers included are: one glittery looking Gmail logo about 2 1/2 inches in length (my favorite one), a unicorn rainbow night scene with this belongs to ___@gmail.com written on it. I'm sure it was a nod to the 90's era children stickers that adorned everything in my school back then. And a gmail keyboard shortcuts sheet of stickers for me to make my boring HP keyboard all pretty like and important looking. It was topped of with a preprinted post-it note stating "Enjoy the stickers! - the Gmail Team" with the logo stamped on it. All in all I must say I am very happy with this marketing idea they have. It has brought a bit of joy to a regular hum drum average day at the grind. If you want your very own set of Gmail stickers just send a self addressed, stamped envelope to:

Send me some Gmail stickers already
P.O. Box 391420
Mountain View, CA 94039-1420

I highly recommend getting yourself a set while the getting is good. Here is a pic of mine.

Brad Van Pelt

Last week former Giants player Brad Van Pelt passed away due to a heart attack. He was 57. He was drafted by the Giants in 1973 as a standout linebacker. He and Lawrence Taylor, Brian Kelly, and Harry Carsons made up the "Crunch Bunch." Van Pelt was elected to the Pro Bowl 5 times.

A few interesting facts, Van Pelt wore the number 10 despite the rule that linebackers had to choose from a number in the 50s or 90s, due to the new numbering system the NFL instituted. He chose the number 10 because that was his number for all sports in high school and college. The reasoning behind giving him the number 10 was he would be an alternate kicker who would play as a linebacker sometimes. The Giants stuck with the latter. The number 10 is what got him noticed as it was a weird sight to see it on a defensive line. After college he was fortunate enough to either play in the NFL or in MLB. He had the choice to be drafter by the St Louis Cardinals( baseball) or the New York Giants (football).

Van Pelt had the distinct pleasure of having played in four differnt home stadiums as a Gaint, Yankee Stadium, the Yale Bowl, Shea Stadium, and Giants Stadium. He left the Giants in 1983 a full 3 years before their first Super Bowl victory season. In 2005 he was nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Below is a picture of the Crunch Bunch, an essential poster for any Giants fan growing up in the 70s and early 80s. Rest in Peace Brad you will be missed. Photos are taken from Giants.com, I hope they don't mind.

Fitness Update

An update on my fitness progress. Since I started this get fit mentality a few weeks ago (somewhere between 3 and 4 weeks ago) I have lost a combined grand total of 7 lbs. This makes me happier than a pig in shit because it shows that everything I am doing is actually working. I have had people come up to me and say that they can see a difference in how I look. My routine isn't all that complex either. I try to run at least one mile and then walk one mile every other day. Daily I do around 100 sit ups on my fitness ball (everyone should get one it rules), 25 push ups using push up stands (which hurt like hell!), and side bends with 25 pound weight to help get rid of love handles. I have been thinking of adding more exercises to the routine as well as upping the current ones. Eating right is also doing its share. I really am amazed at how well I am sticking to this new mentality and how it is actually paying off!

I am getting closer and closer to my goal of 165lbs and a flatter stomach. I even noticed that my biceps are starting to come in better, and even doing random things throughout the day I can see the definition lines in my arms. When I do eat garbage food it actually makes me physically sick to my stomach and I can feel it moving around in there. This is a wonderful deterrent because most of my life junk food was a huge staple. I haven't even been drinking too much since my self imposed rule of no booze on weekdays. Half the time on the weekend when I allow myself some hooch I drink very little or not at all. This is a huge step for someone who was looking for any occasion to drink during the week and get wasted whenever. Sometime in the future I will post some pics of my progress for those who wish to see. (i.e. me in a few months to see where I came from)

If anyone has any helpful pointers or tips on fitness, weight loss, or healthy eating please share them with me I am always eager to learn what more I can do to make myself better.

In the pipe 5x5

As I sit here on this beautiful Saturday afternoon, I think to myself what will I blog about today? I have many ideas for posts but they all rely on me having completed something. Since these ideas are in their infancy because I have not finished wathing, reading, listening, or doing I will give you a taste of what is due to come down the pipe in the near future.

Reviews of the anime series Heat Guy J and Iria:Zeiram.
Review of last nights Battlestar Galactica (hasn't finished downloading yet, I don't do commercials)
Picking a random album off my ipod and reviewing it.
My thoughts on the books that I am reading.
My thoughts on some books I have read awhile ago.
Possibly a sentence or two about my fitness progress.
And maybe some random internet ramblings.

I know, I know I can hardly contain myself too with the amount of awesomeness I have just laid before you but we have to wait till the time is right.

Cheesy filler entry I know but here are your parting words, in picture form!

Talking Baseball

Hey look at the top of the page. See the new logo? I made it pretty fast so please tell me what you think of it, if anything needs to be changed or just general comments. Depending on what you write I may heed it or flat out ignore it.

I am a huge Yankees fan. During baseball season if you cut me I bleed pinstripes. (during football season my blood is Giants blue, go G-Men!) Needless to say that when I found out that Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids I was hurt. Upon hearing that news I instantly thought of when he hit his 500th home run in 2007 how excited I was, and how from that moment on I would tell people that he did it without cheating because he is all talent and that is what baseball needs. Now I feel kind of embarrassed having said that, which is a shame. However, I for one do accept his apology.

He claims to only have done it from 2001 - 2003 when he was with the Texas Rangers (pre drug testing years). It is unfortunate that he did it then, but in my eyes as long as he didn't use them when he because a Yankee in 2004 that softens the blow a bit. For those who are unaware in 2003 Major League Baseball decided to do a ramification free anonymous drug test of all it's players to see if there really was a steroid problem, and depending on the results they would start mandatory testing the following year. 103 tests came back positive forcing MLB's hand into a full on testing program. Here is what gets me this test was supposed to be anonymous, but each player had to write his name next to a number that would be used to identify their sample. Not very anonymous to me. Here is the clincher this list was not destroyed, no, it was given to the players union who by rights shouldn't have access to that at all. It was from here that A-Rod's name was leaked to the press, (someone's bank account just got padded). I feel it is unfair for A-Rod to have to shoulder the blame for the other 102 players who also popped for steroids.

As much as you assign the blame to the individual players for jucing, I place the majority of it on MLB itself and the clubs for allowing, even pushing for jucing to happen. In the Steroid Era (early 90's - 2003 or present) Everyone knew about steroids being in use even though it was banned from baseball in the 70s and reiterated in 90 or 91. Just look at the home run spree that Mark Mgwire and Sammy Sosa had a few years back. They were jucing and MLB and the clubs took a blind eye to it because baseball was getting media attention and it was putting asses in the seats. So the average joe player who is struggling to stay in the majors is forced to compete with juice heads who are getting payed tons more than he is because of their juice enhanced performaces. They wind up taking performance enhancing drugs just to keep up, and since all of this is illegal in baseball but rarely enforced everyone gets away scott free. This is why it was so previlent in the steroids era. Most players were doing and getting away with it while others felt they had no choice but to use them in order to stay where they were at. I think MLB and the commisoners office itself should have to answer to congress not the players. MLB is supposed to be enforcing it's anti-drug policy not tipping of players that they will be tested on "X" date so clean out your system. ( I'm looking at you Orza) It makes me sick when I think that players are using drugs but it makes me feel even worse when it's MLB who let it happen and is running a shoddy ship. Your job is to watch for these offenses and exact appropriate punishment for those who commit them. Not tip off players and turn a blind eye just because it generates revenue.

Anyway, back on subject. I believe A-Rod is sorry for what he has done. I can see how both sides point of view. In a time of low morals and basically lawlessness not everyone has the fortitude to take the high ground and stay pure especially when the powers that be don't care about what is right and what is wrong.

I have read the Sports Illustrated article that broke this shit storm and it is kind of weak. It doesn't live up to the hype or the PR that the 24 hr news cycle has created around it. To summarize my thoughts on this before I go deeper into a rant.

-Alex took the roids from 2000 - 2003.
- He poped on the anonymous test that was ramification free.
-He hasn't failed one since that initial test
- I can see both sides of the story when it comes to him not knowing his results
- The media needs to stop going after the individual players even if they deserve it (BONDS!) and focus on Bud Selig and his administration's short comings on this issue.
- I still like A-Rod as long as he has never done and continues to never take steroids while wearing pinstripes.

If anyone reading this feels I have missd a few points or has some new information I would be more than willing to listen and tender a response. I still love baseball, and I still love the Yankees. We as fans of this great sport need to find a way to put this behind us and learn its valuable lessons so we may never repeat them again.

I want to end it on a good note so I am going to modify Joe DiMaggio's quote.

"I'd like to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankees Fan."

I am Nostradamus!

"I am your witness
The one who can tell
Bearing the sword - the shield
To your heaven from Hell"

That is a lyric from the song "Prophecy" off of Judas Priest's album Nostradamus. It is the bands first concept album and is about the life of the prophet Nostradamus. It starts out very heavy with visions of various prophecies from the future and Armageddon. These revelations eventually lead to him being exiled. As the album takes a turn into the realm of sadness with slower songs we find out how much it bothers him having these visions and being shunned. In a sick twist of fate, after Nostradamus' death, humanity finds out just how right he was.

This is a very well constructed and thought out album. It transitions well from a heavy metal opening into a more somber second act, and finishes back on top with the return of the metal sound. Rob Halford does a great job of making it seem like he is telling this tale around a campfire as a warning to future generations. The songs run the gamut of Halford's vocal range from the high notes ala Screaming for Vengeace to the low growl chanting from Hell Bent for Leather and Breaking the Law.

Clocking in at over 90 min. make sure you have ample time to dedicate to this epic album. A few of the tracks that stick out to me are "Prophecy"(my favorite off this album), "Awakening," "Revelations,""Four Horsemen," "Visions," and "Nostradamus." I am patiently waiting for the day when it is made into a movie like Pink Floyd's The Wall and Daft Punk's Interstella 5555.

I rate this album: Dripping with epic win.

Take a listen.

Load up on guns...

So I have been sitting here most of the day trying to think of a blog post to write. I was mulling over a few different ideas. I want to make a post regarding my take on the whole A Rod steroid situation, but I still have a few more sources to read in order to reinforce my forming opinion. So you have that to look forward to in the near future. (probably before the week is out)

Today I listened to Nirvana's Nevermind album in its entirety. Now being at work I can't really blast the songs at their intended volume, but I believe I can give my opinion at the level I was enjoying it at. First off my favorite Nirvana song of all time is on this album. Can you guess it?(Psst it's In Bloom). This whole album is Amazing with a capital A. The tracks that stick out for me were, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "In Bloom," "Breed," "Come as You Are," "Lithium," and to a lesser extent "Polly." This whole album transports me back in time to my childhood in the early 90's. I remember watching the video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on MTV and enjoying it. I didn't realize how much of an impact it had on music back then until I was a bit older. Watching Kurt Cobain thrash around in the video, and hearing the messages he was saying through the unique lyrics I knew that rock music would have a huge bearing on my life. Nirvana was one of the bands that helped formulate my own musical taste; in that critical time in every young ones life when they start to leave the comfort of the music that their parents or siblings have exposed them to and embark on a journey of discovery for themselves. As I got older I would start to understand the significance of this album and how much I identified with the beats and phrases of the tracks.

I could sit here and go on and on about what each track does for me but I will shorten it to just what I think about In Bloom. Hearing the opening riff makes me think about driving on a sunny day down the highway on a trip to anywhere blasting music (which I have done plenty of times). The first chours reinforces this though as well as reminding me that I am a young man with the majority of my life left to live and to sit back and enjoy the ride. The solo is gritty and dirty as grunge music should be. It makes me think that the guitar is in its death throes and squealing in pain. Most importantly of all it reminds me of being alive in the 90's just kicking it as a kid discovering different styles of music.

If there ever was a list of great albums to give to kids/early teenagers to help guide them through adolecense and young adulthood Nirvana's Nevrmind would be on it, if not in the top 10.

See for yourself:

Hell Bent, Hell Bent for Initial Posts!

Well, well, well look at this,I am blogging once again. Hopefully this will actually stick around as opposed to my LJ which had its peaks and valleys until its ultimate demise of me not caring about it. I guess I should start some sort of goal for this blog in order to keep my attention. I think it is going to start out as random thoughts, my opinion on what music I am listening to, on what TV/movies I am watching, and the like.
Lately, I have been bringing my ipod to work as opposed to leaving it in the car. This has caused me to accomplish a good amount of the goals I have set for my ipod. Complete discographies are falling by the wayside as my listening pace increases each day. Maybe one day I will have "run the taps" on my Ipod and have listened to all the mp3s on it! (Fat chance I have a lot). A few thoughts on what I have been listening to will fall here as well as maybe a review or too.

I have been on a fitness kick the past month. I resolved myself to lose the small keg manifesting in my stomach as well as get back into the shape I was in when I was with the Marines during the time I actually cared about it. I have to say I am surprising myself with my progress. Normally I get an idea in my head that I want to do x. I usually start off OK and a few days later I start to make excuses as to why I can't do x today, and eventually it just fizzles out completely. All this takes place within the span of 1-2 weeks. However, this time is completely different. I actually want to do good. I cannot wait to do my exercises each day and genuinely enjoy the feeling of pain and tightness that follows the session. I thought it would be a giant feat for me to eat healthy and stick to it, on the contrary, it has been completely easy for me to switch. It has gotten to the point that on the weekends when I am allowing myself to drink hooch and eat garbage food I get upset about it( the eating not the drinking). Each week I have been kicking it up a notch and trying new routines. I essentially try to go to the track and run every other weekday, i.e. mon, wed, fri. Tuesdays I started going to a martial arts class because it is a good total body workout and it teaches me new fight/defensive techniques. This may not seem like a revelation but ask my friends and they will tell you that this is a new me. I had a simple goal set for my fitness routine: Lose beer belly and body fat in time for april/may (start of pool and outdoor season). Get to the point of when I take my shirt off to go in the pool people will say damn he looks a lot better than last year.I started out at 180# and have currently lost a net total of 6#. My target weight is to get around 165 and tone what muscle I have. Wow, that is the most I think I have ever written about fitness in my life,ha!

I have a Netflix account and a broad taste in movie/tv so you can expect to get some random diatriabe about why I particularly enjoy some romance themed anime or action packed space oprea.

Also, I am a horrible speller and I think I fall prey to the comma disease so if there are grammer and spelling errors sorry in advance.

GASP! Almost forgot here are your parting words from me, in video form :


This thing is incredible! Check out the other monstrous things it grinds up.