Constellation of Logic

requiem...

2012-02-02T17:15:00.004-05:00

he was a stubborn cautionary tale of a man with a lot to teach.

he was a storyteller who rarely painted himself as the hero.

he was my uncle, my boss, my friend and my purgatorial confidant.

he was gone this morning and the world is a little heavier for me today.

i'm sure the sun will be a little brighter with Dan working the lights....

short form...

2011-11-05T14:30:00.001-04:00

short form constellation stylings at http://constellationoflogic.tumblr.com/

its all i have the strength for currently...

enjoy or don't...

death or cake...

2011-08-17T14:11:00.003-04:00

To keep the dream alive over the past few years I have worked as a writer providing content for websites and affiliate marketers that for the most part has been inane pseudo-SEO-speak, and the content is dreck. However, occasionally I get to nudge in an opinion here or claim social doctrine there and in the case of the current allegations levied against the University of Miami football and basketball programs I found a subject that could cross all boundaries and enter into the Constellation...

For my take on the matter I present this...

For those of you who don't have the time or inclination to give me the shameless hit I sum it up thusly...

"These particular allegations attack the ideology and morality of higher learning and should merit more than just a loss of bowl eligibility or scholarships but instead become a monument to the consequences of egregious behavior in the manner that SMU penalty was proposed to be and failed."

I'm speaking of course of the 1987 "death penalty " given to Southern Methodist university merely for playing players. I use the term "merely" because in the case of "the U" players weren't just alleged to be paid, they were given access to prostitution, paid in a bounty like fashion to injure opposing players and possibly in one case given access to an abortion...

College athletics is corrupt, it was before SMU and it is now, we all know it. The athletes know it, the parents know it, the coaches, the NCAA and so on. But in the 25 years since the institution of the SMU penalty the problem has metastasized like cancer. The "death penalty" was supposed to put a stop to these kinds of things, but instead has allowed the deferment of them to leaches dressed as boosters and the culture is morally bankrupt. I don't have to go too deep into the sociology of the issue for you to understand the breadth of consequences that comes from melding education with compensation. There are a million stories of pay-for-play and worse in the naked city of college athletics, but it seems the NCAA settles for the death or cake rational...

if you offer death and cake, the answer is cake every time...

put 'em to death...

peripherals...

2011-08-09T12:55:00.005-04:00

Actor Francesco Quinn was found dead in his home of an apparent heart attack last Friday evening...

Outside of being almost Anthony Quinn—Francesco was his son, he played Rhah in the 1986 film "Platoon." Aside from that film being one of the greatest depictions of good and evil ever created, the characters, born from Oliver Stone, were as rich as you've ever seen in a military film. Rhah, along with Keith David's portrayal of King, are two of my favorites. A delayed RIP to Rhah...

facebook gold..

2011-08-03T12:25:00.003-04:00

Because some things should stretch beyond 216 friends...

This gentleman here, who I know to be of sound mind, linked this to facebook which moved me to comment about our Commander-in-Chief...

(edited for poor grammar, induced by rage)

He has been governing for a second term, which always leads to sell-outs and back-downs. At least W shoved shit in our faces and then asked us to vote for him. I might have a little more respect for W then Obama right now, because if Obama had shoved tax code up their asses back in December along with a debt ceiling rise, I would have gotten an Obama tramp stamp tattoo. Now, after caving then, he allows a body of government with worse job security than a Washington Wizards coach partake in political extortion against his and his party's principles, not to mention principles of economic logic.

Honestly, I'm on the fence about the deal that was made simply because a deal was made and the immediate repercussions, (that is my already poor credit becoming full on go-to-the-mattresses economics), were avoided. But man-alive is there a sensible motherfucker in the Senate or the White House that doesn't get the fact the house of Representatives is akin to a political joke. They have two years before they have to get re-elected that makes for a year of policy rattling. I guarantee you in 2012 there will be another congressional bloodletting because at the end of the day, that's the only place where a normal, everyday kind of voter can hope to effect real change at Federal level. The fucker that has an office in your neighborhood. That office is never furnished well and the lights ever on—no one gets too comfortable in a congressional representative's office, it might as well be a P.O. Box. The Tea Party succeeded, they rushed in a ton of yahoo's and made a mockery of the process and in turn made the professionals look like amateurs...

Oh well, I think the idea of a man getting an Obama tramp-stamp tattoo is pretty clever, considering it would be my first ink, and the Wizards comment is interchangeable with the Oakland Raiders or the old Pop Steinbrenner Yankees. I do stick to my old haunts when it comes to references...

Maybe its not facebook gold, but it got me back on this horse for a day...

Clint Eastwood getting hammered slugging Pabst. It's like this...It's like that...

Now, that's facebook gold...

deadlines...

2011-07-29T15:56:00.002-04:00

'And from my neck so free The Albatross fell off, and sank Like lead into the sea' ...

—The Rime of the Ancient Mariner-Samuel Taylor Coleridge

To be clear, I was sitting on the couch in my parent's living room, ottoman between legs, like the night Mookie Wilson became immortal and Queens was the center of the world 20 Autumns before, when it happened. Lord Charles, the hammer, the hook—whatever you call it. The first time I laid eyes on one while standing in a batters box was the last time, some kid from Bayside High made me look silly. So as the St. Louis Cardinals celebrated in front of me and Carlos Beltran walked off, defeated and despondent, my first thought was of wonderment...

"Who throws a fucking 3-2 curve ball in the ninth inning of the seventh game of a National League Championship Series?!"

The answer, of course, was Adam Wainwright, that's who...

In the days that passed the natural inclination of most Met fans was to curse Beltran for keeping the bat on his shoulder and taking the backwards K. None of those fans have every seen a curve ball up close and personal, and therefore didn't know any better. But while the Beltran K and the failure of the team to advance to the World Series in 2006 was fated by Wainwright's 12-to-6er, it would not compare to what would befall the franchise over the next four years...

I don't have the time or inclination to rehash days gone by, suffice to say that the Mets, historically are a likeness of the Mariner in Samuel Coleridge's epic "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and Beltran, fair or not represents the albatross in this current playing out of Met struggles. The trading of Seaver, the one inning too long for Gooden and the surrender of the Scioscia home run, Benitez, and Heilman and Yadier. The Beltran strikeout laid on the neck of the franchise like the albatross...

Beltran has been a great Met, when he has been healthy he has been everything we ever asked of him. He was no Mike Piazza, but who could be, Beltran came in and was a 5-tool player for this team. He played hurt until he couldn't play no more and hurt he was still better than the majority of center fielders in the game, so I'm sorry to see him go in that sense. But it occurred to me this morning as the Mets approached 6 1/2 games behind the wild card leading Atlanta Braves that there is a distinct difference in this team than the one that was playing the game just one week ago. They are free, the rain has fallen, there is water and there is wind. Regardless of how this season plays out, and whether the Mets keep it interesting through September or succeed in the improbable by cinching a wild card playoff birth, the albatross is gone. Never again will anyone have to answer for not swinging at a curve ball...

Never again will a Met's player have to answer for what happened in the past, because the all of a sudden, the Mets have a future...

the 8th district...

2011-07-11T12:00:00.003-04:00

Ohio Congressmen and Speaker of the House John Boehner got his gift horse, and he didn't just look it in the mouth, he took a boot to its kisser...

Republican lawmakers have drawn a line in the sand that shows they have no understanding of mathematics. We've spent the last 10 years with tax law in place that was initially enacted for general relief and then to stimulate job growth. We were all too busy chanting USA!, USA! and collecting a sparse check for $600-1,100 to notice anything fishy....

The cuts were trumpeted as a way to jump start job growth by providing incentives for businesses to hire, particularly in the small business sector. The cuts were supposed to help small businesses of this great nations survive under the crushing weight of the previous tax code. I worked for a small business in 2003-2006, and now that small business is one man in and out of a hospital bed without health insurance. So much for his piece of the pie. But that's not on Mr. Boehner, no, he was just s spoke in the wheel then voting yay to whatever President George W. Bush and his administration cooked up. Rising costs for two wars, weapons development programs and homeland security measures be damned, they cut revenue anyway. Fund medicare as a legacy?, 'sure, why not, let's get sushi and not pay!' Even President Ronald Reagan knew better than to get involved in a 'real' wars when he made his deep cuts in government revenue. But for all of his candy-coated sentiment and his wife's 'Just Say No' bravado we all got high enough that when we came out of our stupor the country had evolved into an oligarchy. President George H.W. Bush sealed his fate by campaigning on the call of 'Read My Lips...' and we all decided to take the power back. It was 1992...

Well, here we go again...

Ten years of tax cuts and spendthrift ways. Its 1992 all over again and Mr. Boehner is going to speak for a party so fractured they have forgotten what to call themselves. Mr. Boehner is today's H.W. Bush. Given the deal of a lifetime with all the trimmings, cuts in entitlements, smaller government, and without stripping defense contracts, Boehner draws the line and says no new taxes. He speaks not for his 8th Congressional District of Ohio that makes an average of $43, 753, but for his place of residence in West Chester, Ohio, who's motto reads; "Where families grow and businesses prosper." A place where Proctor and Gamble, BAE Systems, GE Aviation and CEVA Logistics all hang a hat. Indeed a growing township that I'm sure is making more than $43, 753 per household...

I wonder, when the President provides a deal that includes $3 Trillion in spending cuts over 10 years, which is 3/4 of the cuts that Congressman Paul Ryan has projected using conservative think tank estimates, what's the issue? Is it the fact that on top of that the President would like to roll back elements of the tax code, not on personal income tax mind you, but on corporate profits made overseas, and breaks on the use of private jets? Breaks on those high-level corporate administrators that took the Bush tax cuts, put them in their pockets, pushed economically toxic waste investment strategies and then ask for some help from their own default? American people be damned, for these folks first class isn't good enough they need to fly private!...

Goldman Sachs recently laid off 1,000 people and took those same jobs to Singapore and hired 1,000 residents of the Malaysian country. This wasn't 1,000 secretarial and mail room jobs, these were college educated trading positions, and in some cases, MBA holding individuals that lost out on their cherry gigs because they make too much money. If I were Goldman Sachs my next move would be to apply for work visas for every new hire in Singapore, put them on the books as American workers and celebrate with 1,000 additional heads for the tax cut tally. But I'm not Goldman Sachs, I have a conscience. I also believe in the free market, the same market that would have crushed them like grapes if they didn't receive their piece of corporate welfare, courtesy of my job and the jobs of millions of Americans. Thanks for that...

Exxon Mobil is only required to declare 5% of its overseas profits for the benefit of its corporate income tax. That's like saying for every dollar you make the government is taking a nickel. A NICKEL. Five Cents! Sure Exxon Mobil employs hundreds of thousands but they also lobby against energy reform and rattle sabers with OPEC millionaires in countries that breed teenage America-haters. They have played both sides to the middle like an Upton Sinclair novel and come off looking Dickensian...

I'm not looking for Mr. Boehner's ear or Mr. Ryan's or anyone else screaming 'hell no we won't tax.' I'm not looking for the ear of Senator Harry Reid or any other democrat who think that saving entitlements for this generation is worth losing the next three generations. Your children's and their children and so on. I'm looking for the ear of the 8th Congressional District of Ohio. Hamilton, Middleton, Huber Heights, Eaton, Greenville, Piqua, Troy and those parts of Dayton, those residents that hold Mr. Boehners fate in their hands every two years. Mr. Boehner has made his decision for Christ. He has once again put you under the bus. Don't let him lie to you again. Tax code changes are not job killers, corporations are. These conglomerates can choose to do the right thing and be good for their communities in a way that satisfies all, they just choose not to. Mr. Boehner is up for reelection like every member of this 112th session of Congress. Send him out on a rail because he doesn't remember what it was like to make a salary $43, 753 and he surely doesn't care to know either—no matter how many tears he sheds. Vote for the Republican challenger to current President Obama as well, I don't mind, but be sure to know that when you do he was not the only one who failed you, Mr. Boehner is getting a little surf and turf action going on tonight regardless of whether a deal goes down...

The American people want action from their President and he has answered their call. Why won't Mr. Boehner and his cronies pick up the line?...

I implore those residents of Ohio, to pass this along to those they know from the 8th district of Ohio. Pass along just a little logic from the constellation...

lessons learned from Rocky I to Rocky IV

2011-06-21T22:35:00.002-04:00

'you ain't so bad! you ain't so bad!'...

sure, Rock, you caught the chicken, outpaced Apollo on the beach, was a part of the greatest movie soundtrack montage in the history of motion pictures, and did not let Drago break you! i finally understand where you are coming from...

last week i participated in my first Bikram Yoga class, an hour and a half of challenging Asanas in a heated room. i was moved to write about that first class last week, but found myself unable to move and typing was as close to impossible as it has ever been. i found myself longing for a Neo-Speech Stephen Hawking special...

as and aside, i think hawkings fucking with us, and if he is, he's not only the foremost mind in theoretical physics and cosmotology, but a comic genius as well. what a douchebag!...

twenty-six poses in over 90 degrees of humid heat is quite a workout, let me tell you. and this is coming from a guy that rides a bike for transport, swims 70-100 laps in four different strokes for fun, and runs because why not? last week i struggled through 3/4 quarters of the class, but hung on and finished. after an extended savasana—that's rest holmes—i left shaking, relaxed and completelyt dumbfounded by my ability to still be standing. the studio which is roughly a straight mile and a short 90 degree right to my home with the Cat Mom and the boys was an exercise in what not to do after your first Bikram Yoga class...

this week was equally challenging, after a the first few poses i felt strong, i felt i wouldn't be in a life or death struggle. thereafter, i did. but i stood firm, i heard the words of Rocky Balboa, i saw the the boxing glove on Clubber Lang's (did the dude even have a real first name) mohawk, even if i pitied the fool. i worked through the pain enjoyed an incredible workout...

yeah, Bikram, you ain't so bad!...

a shout out to Vinnie Marone and Kunatagh '86, dude almost destroyed our tent doing his Rocky impression. i became worried for my life and the only other people i knew there were Chris Elarde, and Nino, so options were limited. lesson learned? don't ever attend, watch or even mention a Rocky movie ion the presence of an Italian-American, it only leads to trouble...

and one more for Robert Trepper...

fore...

2011-05-28T18:00:00.004-04:00

somewhere between untimely deaths, some cat dad duties (the cat mom is off in PA for the weekend) and some pseudo-domestical-like refrigerator window shopping, my golf clubs showed up in Tucson courtesy of ma dukes...

fortunately, my mom didn't pack the slice...

detroit is still standing, gil, however, has fallen...

2011-05-28T01:21:00.002-04:00

what do you do when your idols start disappearing two at a time?..

last week it was Randy "Macho Man" Savage. i didn't idolize Macho Man because of the eccentric style or the big elbow from the top rope nor the double axe-handle. Macho Man came with a style all of his own. he never asked you to be his fan, not once. you just were. i saw his first match in the WWE (then WWF) and was duly impressed, by his bravado and presence. in his second match he summoned all of the mangers from the time (Bobby Henin, Slick, Mr. Fuji et al) came down to watch Savage bombard Jose Luis Rivera over and over. i remember Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse "the Body" Ventura commenting that Savage was plying his wares to be picked up by one of the managers, but he chose none of them. He brought Elizabeth out his next time out. Sure, Elizabeth was attractive but that wasn't his point. his point is that he didn't need any help getting big, Savage was just going to get big...

tonight i find out that Gil-Scott Heron has died. for all of his faults and personal problems, Gil-Scott never stopped telling you like it was. he probably schooled somebody with his last breath. he was a unique talent that was marred by drug and alcohol dependency problems but he also gave us "Winter in America" an album that should be standard listening in any history class. a poet above poets and a man among musicians. i was introduced to Heron the way most are with "Whitey on the Moon" and "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" but it was a stroll into a lower east side record shop, when the lower east side still had record shops worth going to, and being introduced to a 11+ minute live jam of "The Bottle". i know that Gil-Scott has seen his share and then some, but when great spirits leave, its a little less full in this world. there is no replacing Gil-Scott or Randy they were originals and only a few of us truly understand the true beauty of the flawed, and tortured, because we are flawed and tortured ourselves...

i'm sorry, Gil. i'm sorry you never got the chance to see the revolution. but rest easy, your work is done, we'll take it from here...

Go to the Mirror, Boy!

2011-05-23T14:52:00.002-04:00

the following is the unabridged version of a post I wrote on Flushing University concerning the New Yorker article on Fred Wilpon as well as a state of the franchise essay on the New york Mets...

Fred Wilpon is just like the rest of us.

Before anyone decides to go off half-cocked, read the story. Jose Reyes will not get Carl Crawford money, David Wright is not a superstar,Carlos Beltran is a lemon and And Ike Davis is a good hitter on a shitty team. Well, maybe we're not shitty. At 22-23 you can call the Mets a lot of things, but certainly not shitty.

There has been a lot of "the sky is falling" kind of talk around the New York Mets for most of the last bunch of years. but it seems to me the sky fell in October of 2006. The franchise hasn't yet recovered from the Adam Wainwright curve ball that shook Carlos Beltran's confidence and our confidence in him. I've said this before, as have thousands of other interested (and uninterested) observers.Like a drowning man grasping for the light above the water, subsequent signing haves deepened the wounds of that cold October night. Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo are the most notable of these errors. And the spectre of the Bernie Madoff Trustee civil suit lingers like the tell-tale heart in the foundation of Citi Field.

But this is not about the Madoff case, the lost money and the potential losses that would eventually remove the Wilpon family from their throne as owners of the New york Mets. This is not even about Irving Picard and Baker Hostetler, who stand to reap the benefits of a prolonged civil case due to the almost $1 billion in legal fees the firm has collected settling complaint after complaint. They will fight as long as the Wilpon's do because not to reap justice but to serve their own interests. Every billable hour is another hand in the Madoff Trust.

I digress.

This is about the reaction. The idea that Fred Wilpon is a terrible owner not because of his supposed mis-management, although he did principally hire Frank Cashen who oversaw the greatest era in Mets history and Steve Phillips who did a decent job himself building an era before he started to believe that he was smarter than Bobby Valentine. He also hired Omar Minaya who was a golden boy before Wainwright snapped his curve. So what's the beef? That he won't put money into this team? That he seems blase about the way the team has been managed and put together?

The man's company lost $500 million plus the day Madoff was arrested. It disappeared. That's roughly 230 % of what he is paying the 25 men and coaching staff on his major league roster this year. According to the sources in Jeffery Toobin's article, Sterling Enterprises is on the hook for close to a Billion in damages on top of that. I'm not defending the man, this is just how it is.

I'm sure opinions are across the board about the comments he made in one paragraph of a 10,000 word piece. Here's mine. He's right.

The sky has fallen and it couldn't get up, but if you are not encouraged by the what Wilpon's newest hire Sandy Alderson and his band of merry men JP Riccardi and Paul DePodesta have started here than you are already a lost cost. Perez an Castillo gone, there contracts will be gone too in four months. Contributors at Flushing University are all up in arms about the use of players like Willie Harris and Scott Hairston, but with Beltran and Jason Bay out to start the season and Angel Pagan, Davis and Wright all currently spending time on the disable list, just what is it that you expected. Johan Santana has been out since last year and bargain signing Chris Young has succumbed to injury as well, but this team has pitched fairly well, especially the bullpen since the reintroduction of Jason Isringhausen. There are no world beaters on that staff and to expect anything less is foolish. This is a .500 team and will be =/- 2 wins or losses in July when the real measure of this new management regime will come.

I trust that Alderson and his troops will draft well, there is just too much talent in that office not too. But the draft will be over and done by the middle of June and we'll wax poetic about the next guy who will make the jump to the majors as fast as Davis did. I'm referring to the July 31st trading deadline. While this team will finish better than the Washington Nationals, it simply can't compete with a Philadelphia Phillies who have a monster rotation and an offense about to get a whole lot better or the Atlanta Braves a team that is also better—good old Ted Turner knows how to own or even the Florida Marlins have enough starting pitching along with offense to keep hold of third place, so any talk of the Mets competing for a playoff spot is just that. It was back in March and it is now. Since the hiring of Alderson and the subsequent hiring of his staff, this has all been about July 31st.

The Mets will have approximately $35 million coming off their payroll with the expiration of the Perez, Castillo and Beltran contracts. Reyes' modest contract will also expire and the Mets are currently paying him $11 million. That's $46 million. There is the matter of Francisco Rodriguez and his 2012 option which I will elude to in a moment, but let's take him off the books as well at $11.5 million that's a grand total of $57.5 million that Alderson and his boys will have to spend more wisely.

The Wilpon's will finish a deal to sell off 20-25% of the franchise by Summer's end, and as the club is estimated to be worth over $1 billion let's call a potential sale of 20% $200 million. The sky fell, time to build a new sky.

Where to begin? Let's start with Mike Pelfrey, who has shown if nothing else, that he can throw innings. He may not be an ace or even a #3 starter but I think I can find a team a subway ride away that would take him off our hands for a couple of prospects, or maybe a guy like Austin Romine, who has shown great skills as a catcher. I'm sure Pelfrey could bring in two decent prospect from any contender and losing him doesn't hurt, we have Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia mowing down hitters in the minors as I write this. Either one of them could take Pelfrey's place in the rotation.

Next there is Beltran, really he is the no brainer of the group, send him to the American League and get what you can. Why not pay the remaining salary and upgrade the prospect in return. I can think of three destinations where Beltran services of part-time outfielder and DH could come in handy. Namely, Boston, Tampa and Texas and why not throw Cleveland into the mix. Beltran has been maligned since the fall of 2006. Injuries have cut him in half, but he is clearly the best centerfielder this team has ever had, and when he has been healthy he has been our best player. His time is done, and while most Met fans will slam the door behind his departure, they will be sure to miss him.

Rodriguez is a tricky matter. He will be shopped and a bargained for. Most teams will hold the 2012 performance option over how heads to entice us to pay most of the contract or take lesser prospects. Take a bucket of balls just don't pay the $17.5. That will be a killer of an albatross going into the next off season.

I have written here and in other forums that Reyes should be traded. That his attitude and baseball acumen is overrated, but truth be told, I've seen the error of my ways. Citi Field is ideal for him. Reyes plays inside the walls, the bigger the walls the better. Whatever I wrote here is poppycock. Well, not entirely, but...

The tack to re-sign Reyes will be akin to a game of chicken. Its true, he is going to want Crawford money (7 years $142 million), and he is not worth Crawford money. Crawford is not worth Crawford money. So how do you talk a guy off a ledge? You let him experience what jumping is all about. There are four conceivable places for Reyes to go via free agency and get the kind of money he is looking to receive. The Yankees, which have their own problems finding a place for their aging Hall of Famers, adding Reyes doesn't seem like a particularly smart investment when they need pitching more than anything. the Red Sox already made their play with Crawford. Texas has Elvis Andrus which leaves the Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem. They have the means and the spot for Reyes. Alderson's job will be simple. Don't just make an offer to Reyes, let the market make the offer. Be up front with Jose and tell him we want you here, but we know that the idea of being a free agent is appealing and you should go out and see what's there, come back with what you find and we'll see where we are. Following that strategy the Mets will sign him for $15-16 million per season average over six or seven years.

As for Wright, we keep him because there is no alternative. There is no better player available at third base in the majors and there is no one in the minors to replace him. Bring the fence in left in and allow him and Bay to benefit. Second base is set with Justin Turner and Daniel Murphy and both give you options at the corner positions. Davis is fashioning himself for a spot alongside Casey Stengel, Gil Hodges, Tom Seaver and (most likely) Mike Piazza along with Jackie Robinson. He is the best parts of John Olerud and Keith Hernandez and he should be here for a long time.

The outfield, especially without Beltran is a question, which is why deadline trades should be made with it in mind. This team should be built on pitching and speed. We have tons of waiting arms in the minors, but no speed. Find me a 22-year-old centerfielder who can steal 30 bases and cover two-thirds of an outfield like Tori hunter or Beltran could in their youth and the job is done.

Met fans have been through a lot in the past 10 years. False starts and titanic disappointments have led to an ire against the Wilpon family that might be justified in particular instances. However, this behavior and sentiment is not just over comments that anyone of us have made since Game 7, 2006.

Wilpon's comments didn't shock me and they sure didn't anger me. They made me realize that for all of the missteps and calamities this franchise has faced that he has a clue. That he understands the reality of this team and that is an important point to digest. Wail all that you will. We are the cursed and left for dead Met fans, it is what we know, but I can't help but look at a team at 22-23 in May, the management team is in place to be successful from here on in, with the draft and the the trade deadline fast approaching and not believe something good will come out of this.

Its all a matter of patience now.

birth of the cool...

2011-05-10T17:50:00.003-04:00

it was written that jesus turned water in wine...

well in that tradition i give you cucumbers in the desert...
that's right bitches, cucumbers in the desert...

the witch is dead...

2011-05-09T13:53:00.004-04:00

there he is in all of his glory. in the only uniform that ever mattered...

i think a lot of Knick fans forget this man's history. that he was a bruiser, rebounder/defender a la Xavier McDaniel, Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason. that years later he would call those guys brutes and dirty players, the same player he was. he would say the same about Dennis Rodman and then welcome him with open arms...

Phil Jackson is a charmed citizen of the game of basketball. never more than a 7th man off the bench, he won a ring with the Knicks in 1970, via recovery from spinal fusion surgery and '73, as defender and enforcer. he inherited a ready made team in Chicago with the best player on the planet and won three straight titles riding that man's back to Atlantic City, before a year of retirement that left Jackson with the also rans...

every coach in the NBA manipulates referees some better than others, i always thought Knick coaches Pat Riley (also with the Heat and the Lakers) and Jeff Van Gundy (with the Rockets as well) did a nice job of showing the proper sort of indignation towards a particular game's officiating while others like Jerry Sloan (late of the Utah Jazz) and Greg Popovich (of the suddenly done like disco San Antonio Spurs) often sounded like someone kicked their dog. Jackson was elite in this regard, making it sound as if the NBA Commissioner, David Stern, had walked up to the microphone and said the words himself...

once Jordan came back from his 'retirement', he would coach three more title winning teams until the Air would once again take his ball and go home. Jackson followed in short order until he was hired to charge another super-talent in Shaquille ONeal along with a young superstar in the making in Kobe Bryant. Winning three more title with that crew, then, this time, taking a step away from the game only to return with Kobe and additions Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum to win two more...

11 titles, its impressive, no doubt...

he didn't create the triangle offense, that was Tex Winter, and his defensive schemes are more Red Holzman than anyone else. he has had more talent and grit given to him then any coach since Red Auerbach, but Auerbach drafted his players...

what makes Jackson what he is—his gift; is that he could make folks believe the earth was flat...

this is why, on this day, rather than applaud a man for his achievements of an unparalleled coaching career of over 20 years, we should show him for what he is...

a silver tongued thug...

i've watched the Dallas Mavericks/Lakers series as intently as i would if the Knicks we're playing it. i thought the talent, size and drive of Dirk Nowitzki, the size of Tyson Chandler and Brenden Haywood and the frenetic style of the Mavericks guards could match-up well versus the Lakers. And they did, game 1 and 2 in Los Angeles went to the conquering Mavs. Game 2 was the dagger and when the game was out of reach, Laker forward Ron Artest took a cheap-shot at fireplug point guard JJ Barrera. Classless to be sure but i thought nothing of it, i mean; its Ron-Ron, ever since Fran Frischilla pulled his pants down that kid hasn't been right. it was game 4, the penultimate ass-whooping by a team driven to destroy of a team certain of its demise...

with the game locked up late in the fourth Odom decided to shoulder block Nowitzki and was called for an illegal pick, a double technical and removed from the game. certainly another classless move and not the way Odom should be representing the thorough borough. Within the next minute, Bynum assaulted poor Barrera with a forearm shiver to the ribs, that sent the already in-flight Barrera to the floor, hard. Bynum should be suspended for the action going into next season. the action was not only classless, but it put another human being in danger of a serious injury...

all the years of promoting the idea that Jackson was the Zen master, making water in to wine, we saw his true face. when his stars faltered, the billy club came out. if he was such a good coach, a man of reason and wisdom, he would have told his charges after game 2 that Artest's behavior in was unacceptable. after the Odom incident, he should have repeated the mantra, but he kept his mouth shut and Bynum was let loose. regardless of how you perceive the incident, the onus was on Jackson to keep the peace, he did not. thug to the end...

they all fade away like wounded soldiers, Jordan came back once too many times. Oneal is languishing as a sound byte in Boston and Kobe, well, he has never looked so good. for a man who was booed in his home town all-star game, caught cheating on his wife, and had the most ridiculous scowl in playoff history, he comes off looking good. even to a hater like me. my advice is to pack them up Kobe, 5 rings in pocket are more valuable than the pain and suffering you will go through only to never see the finals again. walk now and enjoy, you've made your mark...

the next 24 hours will be a non-stop love fest for Jackson i will not participate. ESPN will get the final gurgle from the nipple of the man who was given the keys to the city throughout his whole career, but went out like a punk...

in watching this series, a lot has been made about Nowitzki, himself, 13 years in the league, and how he is determined to get another chance at a title. he has been a victim of the Jackson lore. Jason Kidd and Jason Terry have spent years in the league, foiled as well, but the player who struck me, and caught a lump in my throat was Peja Stoyakovic. Victim of Jackson's Laker's time and time again while in Sacramento, Stoyakovic went 6-6 from the three-point line yesterday, shooting the lights out. shooting every one in Jackson's eye. good for Peja, even if he doesn't win his ring, he can sleep knowing he sent Jackson out on a rail, for Chris Webber, and Vlade Divac and the rest of his former teammates...

but for a hardened Knick fan this was the sweetest day. the witch is dead. if i click my heels i can imagine a world without Jackson and maybe another title for my boys at 33rd and 7th in the neat future, the first one i will ever see...

misplaced aggression...

2011-05-02T13:23:00.004-04:00

yay!...

yay for US! USA! USA! USA! when i turned on the Met game last night after returning home from potential employer #4, i first heard the chants of USA. i logged into my fantasy baseball team to check what had become a close week in a head to head, match-up with an old TORCHIE, when the news of the evening revealed itself...

so yay! we're so great, we got Osama Bin Laden!...

i'm not trying to downplay the significance of this event, i know the grass is greener for 3,497 families and the countless others who lost their lives in the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center. but it was viewing some facebook posts and hearing the chants of USA over and over from Philadelphia fans, that caught me sour. it reminded me of a day in 1995 when the OJ Simpson verdict was announced, not just for the cheers of elation that came from African-Americans in this country but the disdain it caused amongst most white folk. i remember sitting in my History of Sports class, with the entire range of emotion exploding around me and thinking 'how is my life any different?'...

it wasn't. in fact i was still enraged from the fact that OJ and his cohort in arms Al interrupted the Knicks/Rockets game 3 the summer before. misplaced aggression i guess...

i awoke today of varying thoughts on facebook regarding the the death of Bin Laden, some are measured, some are sublime, but some are downright ridiculous. as if this will help us remember the fateful events of September 11, 2001. like we need help. i remember the sinking feeling when the second plane hit standing atop Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, the eerie drive to Whitestone, onto Bayside and the days after. the smell of death in the south plaza of the National Tennis Center that had wafted from lower Manhattan, the vigils, the rage, the fear—all of it. i remember that night the next January walking to a bar to meet up for judge roughneck's birthday, taking the wrong turn and approaching the site with a growing anxiety in me, only to turn around and find my way to the pub. or the day, years later when i would first step in the footprints of the towers. a bone-chilling late winter day with a mix of freezing rain and snowflakes, traversing the scaffold stairs lower and lower into what was a mass grave site turned into a 16-acre puddle of mud. later, i stared at the dried mud remnants on my shoes going home on the E-Train, leaving a trail from Church St. to 94th avenue. no, i don't need last night to remember September 11th...

today OJ is in jail for some foolishness, and Bin Laden gets his date with oblivion, but he doesn't mean shit to me. my life hasn't changed, neither has yours. we're just as vulnerable to a terrorist threat as we were yesterday and will be again tomorrow. our biggest threat still isn't the terrorists, its ourselves and our inability to identify the real problem, our misplaced aggression. the world isn't different today, its exactly the same and going according to plan, its just not our plan, and no, its not god's either...

there is a seen in the film 'Miracle', where Kurt Russell portraying US Hockey Coach Herb Brooks walks into the corridor of what is now named the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, takes a moment and exults to himself about coaching the team that beat the vaunted Russian squad in the 1980 Olympic Hockey Semi-Finals. for those who know the scene, it was measured and it was right. even if Brooks' actual reaction was nothing like that which was portrayed it felt right, and it is one of the best snippets from a film i've ever seen, (for sports films it rivals Gene Hackman's face-wash/nod after Ollie hits the second foul shot in 'Hoosiers')...

and that's how it would be. you should emote, in solace. elate, weep in joy, sadness and relief. repose. give a shout-out to the boys who are the best trained fighting force next to the Mossad and tip your hat to the man who had the wherewithal to pull the trigger without prejudice. something his two previous predecessors could not accomplish and move on because today is another day...

and ain't a damn thing changed...

running commentary...vol2

2011-04-24T18:47:00.003-04:00

so that didn't go according to plan...

basketball season is over now that the Knicks have fallen to the Celtics in a 4-0 sweep. the best team won, there is no question of that, but that won't tell the tale...

a little Vegas officiating in game 1 turned a 1 point lead to a 2 point loss and a nice comeback, smothered by a floating charge in game 4 removed any chance the Knicks had of making this look respectable in the series box score...

positives? Chauncey Billups got hurt on a (non-call?) contact play but game 1 was the still Knicks' contest. hopefully the Celtics took the officiating crew out for dinner afterwards, in lieu of the 'Melo call and Garnett moving pick miss, but it was losing Billups that took away the ability to run a cohesive last shot offense in both games 1 and 2. The team played admirably without Billups and Amare Stoudemire in Game 2 and Carmelo Anthony showed us something that Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari will never be able to do, I'm not sure what happened in Game 3 or the for better part of game 4 but they were in it in the last five minutes or less in 3 of 4 in this series and that says a lot...

negatives? i'm not sure why D'Antoni kept Landry Fields out there in game 3 when Anthony Carter consistently gave him good minutes all series long. Fields had an awful series. He's a rookie, its fine. watch the film and get back in the gym. however, staying with fields, along with Jefferies on the court while the ship was taking on water left the Knicks playing 3 on 5 on the offensive end. it was poor management and D'Antoni has to answer for that...

29 games. that's the sum total of the Knicks after the 'Melo trade. listen, they were going to have to be healthy and clicking on all cylinders to win this series. losing the first two the way they did led to the sluggish start in game 3, and there is no excuse for that after 2 days rest, and D'Antoni has to answer for that, but he gets a pass on defense, because i think this team proved they know how to clamp down. i think they found a nice player off the bench in Shawne Williams and Ronny Turiaf certainly showed his worth. i think they resign Carter. but this team is missing a piece. a rebounder, defender and enforcer. a 30-minute a game bruiser that will make teams weep...

i am worried about what little Jimmy Dolan will do about the management. a return of Isiah Thomas could very well put this team back in salary cap hock. short of that, re-upping Donnie Walsh's option is a primary step in the right direction. another draft like the team had last year, this time with a first rounder and the kind of signing that shores us up on the glass and in toughness is step 2. D'Antoni is most definitely on the hot seat for 2012. i fully expect this team, with a few tweaks, to have home court for the first round of the playoffs at least, and challenge a Celtic team that might not have a coach or some of their unrestricted free agents for the division title next season...

the clock starts tonight, get to work...

metwich...

2011-04-23T13:01:00.004-04:00

yeah, i know where my Metwich is made, i can still here the call of 'sauteed onions!' from Sera. and i know its raining for you poor folks in flushing, but i'm all ready for some Mets baseball via FSArizona...
3 egg whites, shallots (i'm out of onions), jalapeno and green peppers with sharp cheddar, shredded, and a couple of shakes of Cholula chili-lime on a homemade roll for some morning baseball...

let's go mets!...

its not raining here in the desert, so i'll just pretend they're playing where its 75 degrees and dry as a bone...

letting the universe decide...

2011-04-23T11:38:00.003-04:00

Plush is a decent venue for a a local show in Tucson. after a recent renovation the stage and viewing are more symbiotic, but overall, the ambiance has suffered with the installation of a warp-around bar that causes a bottle neck to the stage area and the removal of the stage are bar facilitate leaving a performance to get a Guinness. i haven't been here long, but during my several visits prior to my relocation, i had grown to dig the place. now, not so much. i still think its a fine place to see a show, and Mostly Bears was good, even with the stand-in drummer...

after the show the Cat Mom and i struggled over having another Guinness and being semi-social with Boy-Wonder from the gym and his ex-girlfriend and her family (apparently the family that parties together stays together)—CM coined her shrinky-dink and its difficult to explain just how much that was a perfect assessment. i will say that her face was involved and you can take it from there...

anyways...

we continued to waffle, i am perpetually looking for my next Guinness so it wouldn't be a stretch for me stay for the sake of strength and the Cat Mom often leaves these precious decisions in my hands to grapple with—the agony...

then came a song on the P.A. that sounded familiar, it was difficult to fully discern over the din of the ultra-cool. the Cat Mom turned to me and asked, 'Is that 'Easy Lover'?'...

i walked back to the performance area to get a better ear and it turns out that it was not. i returned to the Cat Mom and told her so, adding that all things being equal since its not 'Easy Lover' that we should step with no delay...

sometimes you have to let the universe decide...

i am fully aware that this song was released only as a single and on the 1984 Chinese Wall LP from Philip Bailey, although the person who posted this video doesn't seem to think so...

running commetary...

2011-04-20T01:04:00.004-04:00

in an effort to get my point across to New York Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni and to provide the best possible outcome in game 3 of the NBA Playoffs i will use my considerable prowess as an affiliate marketing writer...

Coach Mike D'Antoni of the New York Knicks facing the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2011 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs game 3 should be sure to redeem his Superstar Carmelo Anthony, husband of La La Vazquez not to be confused with Lamar Odom of Queens' prep high school Christ the King who is married to Khloe Kardashian, coupon to save on splitting double teams and showing patience in the far-wing post. Save with special discount offensive opportunities when you play the pick and roll from the high post rather than the wing and receive additional New York Knicks fans approval by instructing basketball superstar Carmelo Anthony married to La La Vazquez—Nuyorican actress, disc jockey and television host, to post one on one inside the three point line in order to ensure the spin dribble to the left and skip pass to the opposite wing for maximum scoring and open shots in late game situations versus the Boston Celtics in the 2011 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs Round 1, Game 3.

can't say i didn't give it a supreme effort...

as a Knick fan it is difficult not to chew D'Antoni's head off for the poor execution the team has shown in the final minutes of both games but at the end of the day, the Celtics have snuck out of their home court winning game by a total of 3 points with the help of some Vegas officiating and untimely injuries to vital pieces of the Knicks. 0-2 going home with three days rest and yet to play a mistake free game—i'll take it...

as an aside, if Anthony does what he did tonight another 15-20 times in the playoffs during his career as a Knick number 7 will be hanging in the Madison Square Garden rafters in 10 years or so, along with a championship banner or two...

on with the show...

the art of the double standard...

2011-04-19T18:37:00.003-04:00

it sure is peculiar what people will allow and not allow when it comes to their hallowed ground...

case in point, in a shorter distance to the World Trade Center than any proposed community center is a little joint called the Pussycat Lounge. i came about this hole in the wall on Greenwich St. when i was working down the street in the great big hole in the ground, (haven't been there in a touch, i figure it is a hole no more), two colleagues and i decided to grab lunch at the pizza/sandwich place next door (and connected incidentally do your best to stay away from the parm-wiches, but Chaz in Charge said the pizza was good). along with being a go-go bar the pussycat lounge has a second floor for live music and dancing. next door to the lounge is an adult movie shop, all of this within earshot of what many Americans consider hallowed ground...

this is the site of the January 8th shooting of 19 people and 6 deaths at a Tucson Safeway. a used book sale...

a few months prior a junior college professor was arrested for practicing yoga in the the same area. read about it here and make your own judgements the cat mom has some personal history with the gentlemen, and come to find out through mutual friends that all he was doing was trying to make the area a 'sacred space.' now in fairness and by all accounts this man is a bit of a fruitcake, but regardless, all he did was grieve and process in his own way, his constitutionally protected way, and he was arrested...

hmmm, guess he was trespassing on the old book sale's turf. grieving is hard these days...

is nothing sacred?...

what i know...

2011-04-18T23:15:00.002-04:00

first a couple of things i don't know...

i don't know why referees are calling suspect offensive fouls with :35 seconds to go in a playoff game but not a moving pick with the game on the line. nor do i know why it is so important to keep Jared Jefferies on Rajon Rondo after the latter gentlemen is relieved of the responsibility of in-bounding the basketball...

but i know this...

switching inbound passers after almost turning the ball over doesn't make you a genius, so let's hold off on the Doc Rivers schooled Mike D'Antoni talk right at the top. The play didn't change and more than anything else D'Antoni schooled himself by taking Jefferies off the inbound pass...

i've watched enough Celtic games over the past three or four years to make the following statements....
1. in late game situations Paul Pierce is the Celtics #1 option. he is not only one of the great players in the NBA today he absolute cash money with the game on the line. Pierce makes Kobe Bryant look like Charles Smith...
2. when Pierce is covered, which Carmelo Anthony did quite well on the play, Ray Allen is option #3. Allen has been metaphorically kicking me in the jewels since i was a younger tyke watching St. John's games from behind the basket. he might be the best shooter in the biz right now, and there is no reason to hang your head when he drops a game winner...
3. when the Celtics are successful getting a shot away out of option 1 or 2 they are very successful, when they have to go to option #3, they lose...
here endeth lesson 1...

as for the series, i have the Celtics winning in 6, but the way the Knicks played last night, most especially Tony Douglas and A'Mare Stoudemire, i am optimistic that it could get a little more interesting than that, seeing as well as they played and the team played defense and how terribly ineffective Anthony was on the offensive end, and that will most certainly change for the better...

if i was in that locker room last night i would have, (and i hope the questionable for game 2 Chauncey Billups would echo this gesture), pulled Douglas over and told him; 'next time keep the ball and take that shot.' that's not an indictment of Anthony's late game prowess, just a flow of the game decision that a point guard has to learn to make. win or lose, the Knicks can find comfort in the fact that Douglas will come out of this series a much better player in the long run...

down 1 on the road, i know this isn't over...

riding the mutt vol I...

2011-04-08T19:00:00.007-04:00

folks who know, know this—i am my bike, in all reincarnations from the banana seat hand-me-down and the childhood triumvirate (the names escape me but not the pain of losing them to dirty thieves will never fade) to the Pierce Arrow to the Mongoose Stylist and younger brother Hilltopper (both still in holding in QV)...

then there is the mutt...some of you might be familiar with the Bianchi Mutt 7700 i picked up in 2008, featured above in all its splendor in its new home, Tucson, AZ. i'm sitting in the tree. yes, there are trees in the desert. while due to nagging injuries and other responsibilities, the mutt and i haven't really been able to stretch our legs together here in the great southwest, that is, until recently...

this town has its share of breathtaking landscapes and interesting routes to explore. but for the opening volume of riding the mutt i chose to give you a handlebar view of Roller Coaster Road, a local back road that lives up to its name. its even better when you don't have to worry about the camera in your hand...

music courtesy of 24-7 Spyz, 'Yeah X 3'—enjoy...

really, don't look behind the curtain...

2011-04-07T12:36:00.004-04:00

you are not going to like what you see America...

this was never about paying down the deficit. nor was it about making government smaller, (not directly at least). it sure wasn't about getting you and i a job, or affordable health care or any of the other glossed out promises made by any number of politicians who won your heart in 2012...

it was about this...

and this...

when did republican politics become about staying out of their business while allowing them to stick their dicks in ours? attaching riders to a budget plan after a compromise has been made isn't bad politics, it is despicable politics. good faith has been rewarded with good faith and a little something for the trouble. Wisconsin has changed its mind, who is to say the rest of the country won't...

i'm under no illusions that the alternative is the solution. this is a problem 50 years in the making and you want a solution tomorrow?!...

i say make your own...

Smokey the Bear once said; 'Only you can prevent forest fires.' he was right, i once started one and i know it to be true. conventional wisdom dictates that we all have a pawn in the game—our vote, but what, pray tell, has that helped us achieve? more of the same?...

i say conventional wisdom be damned. it is no longer relevant. dictate your own terms on your own battleground because multinational corporations and industrial complexes have laid down the law and the government, the one that you think is too big, is now powerless and feckless in its own defense...

those who believe in the way things are have only something to gain. everyone else can't decide on the ground rules of what's right and wrong while the answer is inherent. don't buy what this latest round of budget talks is trying to establish—the end of the new deal. the end of any chance at an American dream unless you are born into it or winning some random lottery that deems you worthy of a reality TV show...

don't buy that these wars are for oil when they are really about production. if you want to blame the President for introducing us into a bigger mess in the Middle East, that's fine, but remember its only because we need the money. Sure Tomahawk missiles cost money, but who do you think makes them? its the only thing we do right, the morality of it be damned. only we can prevent forest fires remember?...

i was in Camp Bulowa in upstate New York on a boy scout trip, i must have been 15, i'm guessing. the fire hazard for that weekend was high, but i decided to light a couple of leaves on fire to impress the younger kids huddled around, one thing led to another and i was running up to the cabin to grab one of the 5 gallon water jugs. when asked by the adult leaders milling around the cabin what i needed the water for, i answered, 'nothing.' Luckily those leaders had reason enough to be suspicious and doubted the validity of my answer. They followed me shortly down the hill to my destination, a now 10-15 foot circumference of fire getting more ornery by the second. needless to say that was the last time i let a flame touch a leaf, a cigarette go thrown in haste or improper care be shown to fire. no one had to tell me, i just learned the lesson, all by my lonesome...

when are you all going to learn. don't buy that the sun is going to come out from behind the curtain. don't buy...

sell...

because that curtain is all fucked up...

primetime...

2011-03-16T23:03:00.005-04:00

bringing that beat back...
that's how i used to roll. a one-line open and than into the soup...

i've been inspired lately by the performance of my alma mater's crew the St. John's Redmen and given that today is the true beginning of NCAA Men's basketball, i figured i'd pull a little PRIMETIME out of my rear and do a quick breakdown of the tourney...

i filled out three brackets, purists say this is a cop-out and they may be right, but i have three. i'm special. the following, then, is an overview and best guess scenarios of the four regions rather then definitive picks game by game...

East:
Ohio State is chock full of seniors, can shoot and play defense and are one of three legitimate number one ranked teams in the country. The Big Ten as a conference was a whole lot weaker than most pundits predicted but the Buckeyes are fairly real. i like West Virginia in this top half as well. They are well coached and their zone is not atypical, making them a difficult look. I would stay away from Villanova, (who probably shouldn't be in the tourney at all) and Kentucky. The wildcats are still awfully young and i'm never crazy about an SEC conference team...

in the lower half it gets a little more complex. Washington, Syracuse and North Carolina could all come out of this half. Washington has the kind of player in Isiah Thomas that carries teams to the Elite 8, Syracuse has an experienced tournament coach and a killer match-up zone, and Carolina is Carolina, except they aren't. UNC might be a year away so i'm going to pass on them getting past Washington, its the Syracuse/Washington match up that i teeter on...

West:
this one will go according to hoyle for a while. Duke is another legimate number ranked teams from this year and had a chance of going undefeated if not for Kyrie Irving hurting his foot. i mapped this out on Sunday night figuring UConn in the west=Final Four. Kemba Walker is a beast and i hate him with the white hot heat of the sun, but the boy can play—although, once i found out Irving was practicing i switched my pick and have Duke getting out of this region...

San Diego State will make a nice run, and Texas will fall in the first round. i could go either way with the U of A (Arizona) based in my new home town. Its a pretty simple bracket for Duke and UConn to have their way with...

Southwest:
Kansas...

I have this bracket going completely to seed except for Richmond topping Vanderbilt (SEC) and VCU (they beat USC last night) beating Georgetown (at some point JT the Third Jr. will realize that he is recruiting more talented players than his Princeton system can handle)...

Southeast:
St. John's could lose to Gonzaga tonight. the Redmen could also end up in the Final Four. they are a tournament nightmare for most teams. the Redmen shut down Nolan Smith and Kemba Walker, and they would do the same to Jimmer Fredette if they can get past Gonzaga...

this is the most wide open bracket and your choices are plenty. you can be safe with Florida or Pittsburgh here, but Utah State/Kansas State, UCLA and Gonzaga/St. John's could make some noise here, beware, be-very-ware...

check Belmont in the first round...

Final Four:
you could choose all four number 1 seeds and do pretty well. i have two locks and one 99 percent lock in Duke, Kansas and Ohio State. Kansas was given a cakewalk to the Final 8 and even then i don't think Notre Dame can handle the NBA bodies the Jayhawks have...

i had Connecticut in the Final game until Kyrie Irving started practicing, so as much of a lock as i think Duke might be, this is the NCAA's and weirder things have happened...

Ohio State is a strong representative out of the East, but they haven't had to play a team like Syracuse and Washington is really intriguing. if North Carolina can keep up the team's body of work from the last month they could be in the conversation. on my three brackets i have Ohio State coming out of one, Syracuse another and Washington in a third. if i had done a fourth would have seen Carolina...

last but certainly the most interesting, you can pick 'em. Pittsburgh? sure. Florida? yeah, they can put something together. Utah State, Kansas State, Gonzaga, St. John's, UCLA, even last year's runner up Butler can all make a run. nothing is for certain. i have one for Pitt, one for Utah State, and one for St. John's (my wishful thinking bracket)...

Championship Final:
each bracket ends the same, Duke beating Kansas, but if this doesn't look a lot like when UConn beat Duke on the way to face George Mason in the final a few years back. i believe UConn has just as much of a shot of winning a title as Duke and Kansas do. the rest fall in line behind...

i used to capitalize when i wrote for The TORCH, (The Official Student Newspaper of St. John's), now i find it too constricting...don't sleep on the Celtics now that they have Jeff Green, the Heat can't check them, the Magic are a one trick pony most nights and for all the height the Bulls have, they will live and die with Derrick Rose, and i don't trust teams that depend on point guards to win unless that point guard is Magic Johnson...although, give the Knicks three straight days of practice and morning shoot-around and they could be right in the thick of things...if a liberal democrat is a treehugger, does that make a conservative republican a treefucker (reprinted a comment from a friends facebook post)...i move out to Tucson home of several early round and quarterfinal NCAA match ups over the years, and they send St. John's to Denver. oh well, at least we have Casey holding it down for the Redmen there...

the new dope...

2011-03-15T21:40:00.002-04:00

odd future wolf gang kill them all...

get to know them...

tyler the creator...

earl sweatshirt...

frank ocean...

hodgy beats...

plus...

i've only been able to get my hands on frank ocean's tape, if you've got some of the others let me know, if you don't what are you waiting for???

they are the new dope...

does this thing have a trailer hitch?...

2011-02-22T10:49:00.007-05:00

there are a ton more Knick fans this morning, huh?...

i know this because the bandwagon i've been driving for the past 10 years just got full up. some of you are returning after a long absence. you were left ill by the poor decisions and outright lack of class by management and ownership. some of you are probably fresh and brand new. either way, welcome, just don't expect a pat on the back, some of us have been here a while...

first the facts:

Carmelo Anthony was going to be traded. the Denver Nuggets have eyes and they can see all the way to Cleveland. that puts the kibosh on those who actually think this was going to drag out into the summer, where a lockout awaits and a guarantee of less money for players across the board. If the Nuggets didn't trade Melo he would have signed an extension and that would have been the end of it. New York is New York, but money is money and Denver ain't all bad...

the Knicks were no better than a sixth seed in the playoffs if they stood pat. They'd be no better than a five seed next year or the year after that, and that's dependent on what the Boston Celtics become. sure, i like Raymon Felton and Wilson Chandler as players but were they weren't going to win me a championship in a league with the Orlando Magic, Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls...

Chauncey Billups is old. But he's a spring chicken in comparison to Steve Nash and Jason Kidd (and myself for that matter, though Kidd is the senior in this bunch), two (three) gentlemen that do not have rings. Billups has a ring. Not just any ring. His ring came with a bonus Most Valuable Player Trophy. You find me a point guard who has that on his resume. Billups will fit the role as long Felton was scheduled to, that is, until Chris Paul or Deron Williams come knocking, and they will....

no one can check Anthony. there are a handful of players that have earned that status—Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade and Amare Stoudemire. what? No Lebron James? Yup, no Lebron James. James has spent most of his career playing the small forward or combo guard with a power forward's build and strength but a point guards agility. There is only one other player who fits that bill and that's Melo. Anthony is a bad match up for James and nine times out of ten, head-to-head, Carmelo eats him up. For all of the talk of how great a defensive player James is he is not a very good on-the-ball defender. sure, he runs full court to block a shot off a fast break or fills a passing lane and comes up with a steal, no one is saying he doesn't have incredible instincts but in a game last year between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Nuggets the spotlight was on two of the best in the game playing clear out basketball. Anthony not only won the game, with his drive to the hoop against James, he then stymied James into taking a 25' jump shot with the clock ticking down. it was at that moment that i hoped James would resign with Cleveland, because i'd rather have Carmelo. sure, James gets all the cred, but Anthony is his nemesis, and know one is more worried today than Lebron James...

did i say no one can check Stoudemire? its true. now imagine the space created in the paint by putting Melo at the wing, or the opposite free throw line extended. imagine the lack of double team, the frustrated looks on opposing benches during time outs when they don't know who to cover. this will be worth watching. it might take a few weeks and the Knicks might not get any better than a sixth seed in the playoffs but whoever lands in that three seed better pray for a Knick injury. Amare is my man, a modern day Larry Johnson who still has his knees (at least for now). LJ could score from anywhere inside 10 feet, before Amare he is only 6'7" power forward/center i've ever seen dominate a post. Amare is listed at 6'10" which is probably closer to 6'8" and he has the same ability to power past taller, wider players to score...

now, the thoughts...

this will be Billups' show, coach Mike D'Antoni works everything through his point guard. there will be a high screens and low screens and maybe even some Anthony/Stoudemire pick and roll. it should be interesting. defense? it will be there when it has to be, this is an offensive league no matter how many times Mark Jackson tells you any different. real defense went the way of the dodo, once Phil Jackson cried enough times about how Xavier McDaniel, Charles Oakley and John Starks used their hands too much. the Knicks will be able to score with anyone and ultimately i like my chances with a kid like Landry Fields on Wade and Anthony on James. i like the odds of Melo checking Hedo Turkgoglu and Tony Douglas putting a hand in Jameer Nelson's face when they are trying to get the ball into Dwight Howard. i like my Knicks having the chance of doing to the Bulls what the Bulls did to us. And the Celtics, well, we may have gotten a little older with this trade, but those Beantown boys have been in the oven so long they are baked. i sure would like to see that series...

all of this talk that the Knicks got older and lost defense is assinine. Danillo Gallinari was a statue who regressed offensively. i love his attitude and the kid can shoot, but so can Shawn Williams and Roger Mason...

while Felton and Chandler are two players i will miss, chances are i will forget about them over the next few years as this team challenges in the conference year after year. As much as i liked those guys, as is said before, they aren't championship players, only pieces...

and where is this future all of these naysayers are talking about? in the draft picks we don't have? we should be celebrating, Eddy Curry is gone! the world is better place today!!...

Renaldo Balkman, Sheldon Williams and Corey Brewer are all replaceable parts that don't cost much and come off teh books quickly. Balkman might even find himself at the Garden where he was once a fan favorite for his hard working style of play. my man can rebound and defend better than Chandler ever could, and if you ask me which player i'd rather have Timofey Mosgov or Balkman, i'll take Reynaldo and you can hold the gross misspelling of my name...

was it the best deal? no. the New Jersey Nets (and they will be in NJ longer than they think), would have been stealing if they were able to send draft picks Devin Harris and Derrick Favors to Denver for Carmelo. Draft picks? Favors?! HARRIS?! no one in the league wants Harris two years after he was hyped as a great young point guard by the Mark Cuban marketing machine. did the Knicks outbid themselves? possibly, but its not like they got Glen Rice this time...

the deal is done. let's be pragmatic. this team is better today than it was yesterday. it will be even better in two to three weeks. ultimately it will better when they pick up basketballs next fall or whenever they decide to play again. Amare didn't lie, the Knicks are back...

will the Knicks win a title? they certainly could, but either way it will be worth watching...

more expirements from the lab...

2011-02-19T13:03:00.003-05:00

two straight posts about sandwiches? really?!..

pipe down, when you work at home and by extension eat at home this is the kind of thing that inspires you...

i write to work right now, leaving me little time for creative pursuits. between expounding on the benefits of remanufactured inkjet and adult cloth diapers a mind can wander to the matter of how best to feed oneself...

in the grand tradition of the Peace in the Middle East and the Sandwich of Love (both recipes are locked in the annals of Sandwich Masters (TM), i bring you the o'Ban...

this would be a potato pancake with jalapeno, garlic and shallots coupled with ham and surrounded by swiss and cheddar cheese with mustard on cuban bread. grilled and covered...

and yes, its awesome...

ey yo Cuban!...

2011-02-01T14:46:00.013-05:00

normally, you'd expect a native New Yorker (cue the music...) to drone on about what he misses about the biggest and best city in the world, his home. but that's just not going to be the case here, 'cause i got that scouting spirit up in brain...

sure, i miss the tons of snow, the black ice and ungodly cold. that corner of 71st and metro that seems to be the coldest place in Queens, or that turn on 31 st on the way to the Garden, where the boys and i used to hit the now-shut Blarney Stone between 6th and 7th...

in all seriousness, its peculiar what it is you do miss...

friends? of course, i've been away before and the world still turns. everybody's got their something, mine is Tucson...

pizza? not really, i had my fill on the way out and there is a place downtown that does the trick...

deli? diner? what have you, Tucson has more good places to eat than you'd think...

nightlife? Mostly Bears aren't playing in New York, neither is Tom Walbank. you don't know them, but you should...

what i do miss? semolina bread, so i baked it. and it was good...

what else? i thought of something i wasn't able to grab before my way out the door via Delta...

a Cubano, pan con lechon, a cuban sandwich, the sandwich that makes all other sandwiches jealous. so i went to the lab and got to work...

the lab...

first thing to do was to get myself some bread that could fit the bill. since i had great success with baking semolina, i figured i'd take a shot at baking some Cuban bread. after picking up a recipe to take heed of i went to work putting the bread together...

kneeding, martini optional...

then it was on to the pork. i had the damndest time finding myself some roast pork to use along with the traditional ingredients of ham, swiss and pickles. i bought small piece of pork and seasoned it up and sent it into the oven...

a little garlic (fresh only you scalawags), rosemary, thyme, lemon and lime stuffed into small slits cut into the meat. currently i'm buying fresh herbs and letting them dry out on their own as i go through them. until i can get the garden up and running it will have to do. i added some salt and pepper along with some extra virgin olive oil and dry vermouth (in lieu of white wine). i let it sit for a bit and preheated to 350. martini optional...

a note on the martini. i prefer a gin martini fairly dry, with a twist. i stir my martinis, i have since my bartending days, because who wants a watered down shot of gin and vermouth? i prefer Bombay Saphire or Hendricks, but will settle for a Tanquery and even slum with a New Amsterdam when the wallet is light. the vermouth is Martini & Rossi. my trick is to shake the vermouth in a mixing glass with ice and then pour out the majority of the vermouth. it sticks to the ice, and gives you more room for the gin...

after letting the bread and pork cool, i sliced the pork and stored it for the night in the refrigerator and put the bread in the microwave. i slept with one eye open in anticipation of putting all together the next day...

you know the recipe. i choose mustard over mayo any day and twice on Tuesday. i set up a pan on medium heat with butter and placed the sandwich in the pan. i compressed the sandwich with another, heavy pan, a la the GW grilled cheese technique. flip it, repeat, and plate...

the product, primitive crudite optional...

who needs New York? you guys have snow and ice, i have a cubano...

2011-01-10T11:10:00.003-05:00

in the light of the recent tragedy in my current city of residence i thought i would write something poignant and profound, but truly don't have the words in me yet...

there is so much wrong, and its nothing new. here, i wrote about it over two years ago—

what the fuck is wrong with you America?

rock the casbah...

2010-12-07T20:03:00.005-05:00

'the king told the boogeyman, you better let the ragga drop...'

there is a lot of ways to interpret the words of Joe Strummer, i choose, in the context of this post, to interpret them this way...

fiscal conservatives unite, and let the Bush tax cuts fade off into the sunset...

mr. Obama, you have lost a vote today. that deal you have tentaively made with republican party leaders will drive this country further into debt, eliminating the what's left of the middle class in 10 years and effectively drive this Democratic Republic into an oligarchy. in the great tradition of blind supply side economics score yet another one for the upper 2 percent. That's two more years of swiping the credit card for free...

Obama has effectively given a bump in the credit limit for the wealthiest people in this country, with no interest rate, and no payments to make ever. America, the lower 98, will make the payments for them. That's us—U.S...

our payback?, the shiny apple? The unemployed will not lose their benefits over the next year. Wow, thanks, guy, but i'll tell you what. You can have my benefits. Take 'em, i don't want them anymore. i'd rather lose my dignity and take a job swabbing up jizz at the Bunny Ranch, then to put this country in $900 Billion more in debt over THE NEXT TWO YEARS!...

that's TWO YEARS!! nan one of us got that kind of scratch on this rock!...

i guess you are going to roll over and let them kibosh the newly minted health care bill so we can add another $10 billion to the bill. yea, that's the part they didn't tell you about 'Obamacare' folks, that it kind of pays for itself. de-funding it would lose the billions of dollars in medical industry payments that are part of the bill. so the minute we finally got the free market to actually foot the bill for something we grab the check from their hands, real nice, morons. Pray tell, what is in that tea of yours?...

but really, TWO FUCKING YEARS!!..

unemployment insurance has been proven to stimulate local economies. this money is not saved by folks, it goes to grocery stores, and pharmacies and the like and nieghborhoods get to keep their local market rather than get another abandoned building. continuing to approve unemployment insurance extensions is a no brainer. its stimulus money, as far as the nation's budget is concerned, its already been spent, but republicans have chosen to use it as a bargaining chip...

some of you might believe that by calling someone a fiscal conservative that they are republican. not so. the republican party has not been fiscally conservative since the days of Jefferson, not that his rebublican party was in any shape of form similar to today's or even Goldwater's republican party. jefferson had the caveman lawyer John Adams and the free market mercenary Alexander Hamilton still kicking around the halls and making trouble. No, a fiscal conservative, in the context of the American economy, is to pay down and ultimately eliminate the deficit so the country's currency remains strong and provides all Americans with purchasing power. Imported goods will become more accessible, people will have the ability to own their land and live their life filled with liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Currently we have 'fiscal conservatives' telling us that extending the Bush-era tax cuts will stimulate businesses to expand and therefore create jobs and stimulate the economy. Really, what they are saying is that they want to continue to keep the dollar weak so they can export cheap goods and collect profit, and in the event that they actually expand, they will hire you but a a dirt wage to make sure you live hand-to-mouth waiting for your liberty and your pursuit of sort of OK. Republicans, and i say this generally, think you're stupid, and guess what you are, but apparently that's what Obama thinks we are too...

i'm not a socialist, and i don't play one on TV. i simply believe in taxation without representation. don't you? i'm not being represented. if you are reading this, chance are you are not being represented either. Warren Buffet and Bill Gates Sr. are being represented, and they are more than willing if not begging the the government to tax them. Haliburton, JP Morgan, Chevron, Phillip Morris, Disney, etc. they are all represented, but you don't here much from them do you. Probably because they are too busy smarting from the amount of money they put in electing some of these tea party freaks while hiding behind the feckless McCain-Feingold (both for extending the tax cuts) capaign finance farce, i mean law...

point is, isn't THIS why we our forefathers threw a bunch of tea into Boston Harbor? Isn't THIS why Crispus Attucks dies for us white people?! Sorry Crispus, we've all failed you, even one of your own, that is if he isn't really and Arab, i mean they said he was on TV, he must be right...

i don't think mr. Obama is an Arab, i think he's a republican...

i was happy in 2008, not because of Obama, or the landslide change in the House or the Senate. i was happy because i thought, 'finally, we can get rid of these goddamned tax cuts.' i have never been a man of means and i don't benefit from any tax cut, 3 percent of shit is still shit, but i know when my country is fiscally healthy, then problems get solved...

so this is my call to all. fiscal conservatives unite! middle class unite! those with a soul unite! let's do everything in our power, while we still have what little is left to fight extending these extensions. vote against this deal with the devil and let the tax cuts lapse, let the republicans explain why the they are cutting our social security benefits (oh, they didn't tell you when you get a 'break' on your FICA tax that means you lose out on that portion of your benefits for the future as well—oops!), our health care and giving the 2 percent a pass, $200 and a get out of jail free card...

let's have a REAL tea party...

'sheriff don't like it. ROCK THE CASBAH, ROCK THE CASBAH!'...

gulag nouveau...

2010-10-28T12:58:00.002-04:00

don't cry for me Jamaica, Queens, i was nothing more than a shadow across the Ave. in self imposed exile, i walked the streets one last night before finally, penultimately, i departed from my gulag...

one last sojourn through the air to reach my destination. home. you know, where the heart is...

true dreams of flyover states passing underneath, to a faux-promised land for a final wait and a short jump to a place rapt with as much guarantee as apprehension.

this is gulag in the 21st century...

one night in mineola...

2010-09-21T00:01:00.000-04:00

i laid there, alone, after all false-faces and pudgy's chicken. after my parents had gone and my school had been cancelled, my life put on hold. the lights went down, but there wasn't any sleep to be had that night, only worry. i'm not sure how it was on the outside, we tend not to talk about these things but i can tell you now that i've never been so scared...

she was just a little baby. Casey was her name, that was about all i knew about her. shrouded there next to me, there was an emergency. she had been clinging to life, i laid petrified. there was so much to take in now, the nurses scrambled to prep little Casey for whatever the doctors, well on their way, would need to keep her alive. time seemed to ache as i listened to them working, i didn't have a choice but to hear. i was left to wonder what she might look like, small but precious, strong but at the mercy of this mortal coil. perhaps selfishly, my thoughts shifted to my own fate. it was to unfold over the coming days. i was unprepared for this plague, i had no training, no merit badge for such a diagnosis. i had no inkling of what would happen to me, i was overcome, alone in that bed, half-scared for Casey struggling to make it another day, one of the few she had even experienced...

the din had finally ended, Casey stabilized for the moment, i laid there in quiet desperation, hoping that someone, anyone, would tell me it was going to be alright. Casey laid there recuperating from her fight, quiet. she couldn't yet understand what she was fighting for, or whether it was even worth it. i wonder whether i could tell her 'it is' with a straight face...

i wonder tonight about whatever happened to Casey. in better days i recalled asking, the nurses were all very attached to her as they had become to me. i don't know if they were protecting me or themselves, but i never received an answer...

its been 21 years since that night in Winthrop. my second self is old enough to drink...

here's to Casey...

do you remember...

2010-09-01T02:19:00.002-04:00

its september, and i have lost my way.

where was i going, why do i stay?

what the fuck am i doing...HERE?

maybe october will have the answer, but i'm not feeling too optimistic.

where have i been? fuck off...

in memorium...

2010-07-19T14:29:00.003-04:00

my Smith Serpicos...we battled the elements together and fought the good fight. you were valiant to the end, and i thank you...

you will be replaced but never forgotten..

requiem...

2010-05-29T20:56:00.003-04:00

'I mean; what are they going to say, man, when he's gone, huh? Cause he dies, when it dies, man. When it dies, he dies. What are they going to say about him—what; he was a kind man, he was a wise man, he had plans, he had wisdom—Bullshit man! Am I going to be the one that's gonna set them straight—wrong!...You."

that's goddamned right...

R.I.P.

2010-05-19T12:05:00.004-04:00

"Hi, I'm Rajon Rondo...

Chances are, you haven't heard of me. I realize it is difficult to keep track of little old me when there are LeBron Jameses, Dwight Howards, Kevin Durants, and Kobe Bryants of the worlds breathing all the air out of ESPN and TNT basketball coverage, but I've just been revitalizing a team of veterans into kicking the shit out of the Eastern Conference..."

i'm not one to boast (especially when i'm only half-right) but i did have the Celtics in this position when the rest of the NBA pundits did not. Rondo is a revelation, that in fairness, i never thought much of when he was attending the university of Kentucky, but after the Celtics won the title a few years back it became apparent that Rondo was becoming an elite point guard. During this years NBA playoffs, after almost single handedly dispatching of the Miami Heat and then burying the Hype in Cleveland with the help of my old friend KG, the Celtics are running over the Orlando magic, looking younger and healthier than they did when they won the title in 2008. In what could be the final run for the likes of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and newcomer-though experienced Rasheed Wallace, Rondo is making himself into an absolute superstar.

the first in line...

2010-05-16T22:45:00.002-04:00

a lot can be said of Ronnie James Dio, I choose to defer...

"Always the one alone longs for mercy, the Maker’s mildness, though, troubled in mind, across the ocean-ways he has long been forced to stir with his hands the frost-cold sea, and walk in exile’s paths. Wyrd is fully fixed!"
Thus spoke the Wanderer, mindful of troubles,
of cruel slaughters and the fall of dear kinsmen:
“Often alone, every first light of dawn, I have lamented my sorrows. There is no one living to whom I would dare to reveal clearly my deepest thoughts. I know it is true that it is in the lordly nature of a nobleman to closely bind his spirit’s coffer,
hold his treasure-hoard, whatever he may think. The weary mind cannot withstand wyrd, the troubled heart can offer no help,
and so those eager for fame often bind fast in their breast-coffers a sorrowing soul, just as I have had to take my own heart —
often wretched, cut off from my homeland, far from dear kinsmen — and bind it in fetters,
ever since long ago I hid my gold-giving friend in the darkness of earth, and went wretched, winter-sad, over the binding waves, sought, hall-sick, a treasure-giver, wherever I might find, far or near, someone in a meadhall who knew of my people, or who’d want to comfort me, friendless, accustom me to joy. He who has come to know how cruel a companion is sorrow
to one who has few dear protectors, will understand this: the path of exile claims him, not patterned gold, a winter-bound spirit, not the wealth of earth. He remembers hall-holders and treasure-taking, how in his youth his gold-giving lord
accustomed him to the feast—that joy has all faded.
"And so he who has long been forced to forego his dear lord’s beloved words of counsel will understand: when sorrow and sleep both together often bind up the wretched exile, it seems in his mind that he clasps and kisses his lord of men, and on his knee lays hands and head, as he sometimes long ago in earlier days enjoyed the gift-throne. But when the friendless man awakens again and sees before him the fallow waves, seabirds bathing, spreading their feathers, frost falling and snow, mingled with hail, then the heart’s wounds are that much heavier, pain after pleasure. Sorrow is renewed when the memory of kinsmen flies through the mind; he greets them with great joy, greedily surveys hall-companions — they always swim away;
the floating spirits bring too few well-known voices. Cares are renewed for one who must send, over and over,
a weary heart across the binding of the waves.
"And so I cannot imagine for all this world why my spirit should not grow dark when I think through all this life of men,
how they suddenly gave up the hall-floor, mighty young retainers. Thus this middle-earth droops and decays every single day;
and so a man cannot become wise, before he has weathered his share of winters in this world. A wise man must be patient,
neither too hot-hearted nor too hasty with words, nor too weak in war nor too unwise in thoughts, neither fretting nor frivolous nor greedy for wealth, never eager for boasting before he truly understands; a man must wait, when he makes a boast, until the brave spirit understands truly whither the thoughts of his heart will turn.
"The wise man must realize how ghostly it will be when all the wealth of this world stands waste, as now here and there throughout this middle-earth walls stand blasted by wind, beaten by frost, the buildings crumbling.
The wine halls topple, their rulers lie deprived of all joys; the proud old troops all fell by the wall. War carried off some, sent them on the way, one a bird carried off over the high seas, one the gray wolf shared with death—and one a sad-faced man covered in an earthen grave. The Creator of men thus wrecked this enclosure, until the old works of giants stood empty,
without the sounds of their former citizens.
"He who deeply considers, with wise thoughts, this foundation and this dark life, old in spirit, often remembers
so many ancient slaughters, and says these words:

‘Where has the horse gone? where is the rider? where is the giver of gold? Where are the seats of the feast? where are the joys of the hall? O the bright cup! O the brave warrior! O the glory of princes! How the time passed away, slipped into nightfall as if it had never been!’

"There still stands in the path of the dear warriors a wall wondrously high, with serpentine stains. A torrent of spears took away the warriors, bloodthirsty weapons, wyrd the mighty, and storms batter these stone walls, frost falling binds up the earth, the howl of winter, when blackness comes, night’s shadow looms, sends down from the north harsh hailstones in hatred of men. All is toilsome in the earthly kingdom, the working of wyrd changes the world under heaven. Here wealth is fleeting, here friends are fleeting, here man is fleeting, here woman is fleeting, all the framework of this earth will stand empty.”
"So said the wise one in his mind, sitting apart in meditation.
He is good who keeps his word,7 and the man who never too quickly
shows the anger in his breast, unless he already knows the remedy,
how a nobleman can bravely bring it about. It will be well for one who seeks mercy,
consolation from the Father in heaven, where for us all stability stands.

The Wanderer—Exeter Book 975 A.D.

rules of engagement...

2010-04-27T10:30:00.002-04:00

i live by a few simple edicts...

Silence is foo. And it is...

Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey. Its all you ever need know...

If i have to follow the rules, everybody has to follow the rules...

There is a lot of yammering about banking reform these days, probably because there is a need for banking reform. Serious reform. Of course, the Hamilton Hawks (named after Alexander Hamilton) will tell you that there is a need for a strong central bank that answers to no one. While us Jeffersonians (and you know how i feel about Thomas Jefferson) point out over and over (and over) again that money=greed=power grab. In other words give 'em enough rope and the banking industry would rather hang us from the Statue of Liberty (that's what we get for accepting a gift from those socialist French pigs!!) then allow for some regulation over how wealth is managed in this country...

There is a scene towards the end of the film Platoon when bodies of dead Vietnamese are being summarily shoveled into the craters formed by the recent napalm drop. We learned that when left to their own devices the Federal Reserve, and the banking and finance industry will bury this country in the craters left behind by their carpet bombing of toxic derivatives and rampant borrowing. Changing the rules of economics to suit a profit margin almost cripples the entire banking system, but instead of jumping on the grenade, Wall Street decided to throw it back, except it landed in our laps, no pin, no chance. Capitalism run amok...

i would not consider my self a socialist. I'm a pragmatic anarchist, which is to say with all things being equal there should be no rules, except that i know that human nature will facilitate the need for regulation, so, henceforth...

The idea that regulating the Health Care Industry or the Pharmaceutical Industry or the Automobile Industry and especially the Banking industry would reek of socialism is a pathetic attempt to cloak the fact that all of these industries have taken taxpayer money in the past year whether they needed it or not. Is that not socialism. Well, i've been through this...

i was enjoying a martini and some mac and cheese a la Famous Daves when a Nicaraguan gentlemen and i struck a conversation about the Mets. It slowly developed into him railing into socialists in this country. How we are already socialist, giving hand outs to the unemployed and those in the throws of poverty. I asked him, isn't it welfare when banks accept taxpayer money to stay afloat from a free market tidal wave? He shrugged me off. It occurred to me that he was of age where he would have been a teenager in the 1980's. Probably living poorly in an urban area of his home country when the big bad Reagan machine came in to wipe the floor with the evil communists. Like they were the savages forming death squads. The Reagan administration used cold war fear to make us believe that communism and socialism would ruin this country and the world. This gentlemen drank the kool aid. When he said to me that he watched "all the news anchors—Hannity and Glen Beck" as if to say "Country and Western," i quickly looked for an exit strategy and broke north, like Oliver's neck—how apropos...

You see, what most people don't understand, other than the fact that this is a Republic and not a democracy, is that we live 75% or so of our lives like socialists. Ever time you buy a beer for someone and in turn that person buys you one back along the way, that's socialism. When you pass that joint, its socialism. Borrow that drill, cook that meal, shovel that neighbor's walk, or help that person on the side of the road change that tire—socialism. Its the bar that's capitalist, the dope dealer, the Home Depot, the restaurant, the kid looking for $10, or the wrecker that is called. We as a people are inherently socialist. It is simply the structure of our society that is capitalist...

now there's nothing wrong with making a buck. There's nothing wrong with making a lot of bucks, but when there is an opportunity to fix what's wrong, chance to repair a system that has collapsed, why not? What's wrong with a little regulation? Regulation makes sure the pipes don't burst, the roof doesn't leak, your 401K doesn't disappear and YOUR OIL TANKER DOESN'T EXPLODE AND SPILL TONS OF OIL INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO!! Like New Orleans hasn't already seen the ass-end of governmental reform, now they have a puddle of mud the size of Delaware heading towards the French Quarter—WHO DAT? Oh, its just Standard Oil, sorry...

A year and a half ago there was the equivalent of an oil spill on Wall Street. One year and a half after a global economic meltdown we're still wiping off penguins. What's wrong with a little regulation? Would you rather a little revolution?...

There are 41 Senators that would like you to think that shoring up credit card interest rates, making it affordable to buy a home, and having a safe place to invest your money and allow it to grow rather than be—wait for it—regulated through countless fees and conditions—is evil and utterly socialist. That any reform on the banking industry will lead to the strangulation of your freedom, the formation of death squads, or statues of Lenin being erected in town squares all over America. Heaven forbid Lenin takes the place of the John Calvin statues they have planned to erect or their secret plan to replace the Jefferson Memorial with one of that heretic and SOCIALIST FRENCH PIG—how's that for irony Texas?...

The era of Reaganonomics is over. It failed. And it was an epic failure. Alexander Hamilton is dead and buried a block and a half away from the scene of the crime, but Jefferson...

Jefferson Lives!...

Let's move on up...

night of the living baseheads...

2010-04-22T06:36:00.003-04:00

Ladies, if you see this guy in a bar/club/dark alley, do yourself a favor and walk the other way...

This is the culture we have wrought. Jocks with wallets full of excuses and entourages full of yes men. Gun-toting, making-it-rain attitudes all the way to their vehicular manslaughters. Let's stop acting like its ok that people like this exist. Moreover, let's stop acting like its ok that people raised people like this. Yeah, Mr. and Mrs. Roethlisberger, you are responsible. Mr. and Mrs. Vick, Woods, et al. All the coaches boosters, drunk vagrants who used to be someone, back when. Every AAU coach with a shoe deal in his or her back pocket. Every Uncle who ever told you where the money was, when he was taking it behind your back. Every teacher, guidance counselor and other school administrator who turned a blind eye for the sake of the golden child. You are all to blame...

the team owner who has taken every step to ensure the TV slot, fannies in the seat, a beer and hot dog for each hand. Laughing all the way to their luxury box...

all of us who turn on the TV, buy the ticket, or the jersey. All of us who let this culture run out of control, whether under the Friday Night Lights, Sneaker Camps or Sunday morning gag-a-thons. Its our fault as well...

its getting harder and harder to enjoy the games i love. But when i look beyond them i see the same patterns in everyday life. The double standards, the sweeping under the rug and the looking the other way—the getting away with murder. This is the culture we wrought for ourselves in this land of the free and home of the brave. It seems you don't have to smoke crack to be a basehead...

how low can you go?...

silence is foo...

2010-04-19T00:47:00.003-04:00

is that a peep from the constellation? Not really—'tis but a whimper...

i guess, i've been on vacation, except i haven't been anywhere, done anything of note or cared much about letting you in on the details. That happens. Silence is foo...

occasionally i submit and idea or two under the moniker Tavares Lives! here. Its baseball season so i suppose i'm in early season meditation. It stands to reason that most of my work would channel there...

besides that I'm looking for ways to expand the constellation—take it global as it were...

we'll see, there's work to do, and miles to go before i sleep...

midnight movies vol 3...

2010-04-07T00:30:00.005-04:00

alms

i glided like the flame-sparked fuse on a stick of dynamite,

i was screaming acetylene at you, did you hear me?...

i would break your neck with the pure sonic force, call me Blackbolt with a throat full of fire—

its the principle...

you think that's harsh, but what good are you? selling alms from the poor...

there's no promise you'll get yours...

the wheel goes round like the man sang and such and i'm watching, but there's no telling...

roses on a mosaic, he's still waiting...

i'll probably wait forever.

smoking bones...

2010-04-06T21:49:00.004-04:00

...needless to say, i'm a ball of fire.

i decided to take the day to get my head back. Temporarily it is affixed, for how long is anyone's guess. Keep back 100 feet. While your at it, run the fuck away...

i stopped by the Fatty Cue, A-Cue had reached out and asked me by to be fed. i agreed it was time...

after my flesh and organs have melted away from the funeral pyre in my honor, i would like my bones brought to A-Cue, so he can deposit them in his smokers, where they can live peacefully evermore...

i am a ball of fire, needless to say—stop and smell the smoke...

the death of cool...

2010-03-23T22:50:00.005-04:00

i hit the streets today to check out gallery showing of friend of mine you can get to know here. Him and i go back, he once drove the getaway car. Its a long story and none of your business. He's been exploring his creative side for the last few years and has found himself at the School of Visual Arts studying photography, but if you had gone here already you would know that...

i've helped him out a few times with photo shoots, whether it was lashing this guy's legs to a board and hanging him upside down, or celebrating a creepy birthday with a lovely young lady. This time i offered up my first aid skills...
So i hit the streets to check out the reception...

i made my way to the west side and i realized how the meat packing district hasn't changed all that much. Plenty of meat, its just now it is packed into dresses one size too small and pants that are on the verge of falling down...

i approached my destination and avoided the pillars of youthful disdain hanging on by the scaffolding that shrouded the entrance, smoking cigarettes like they came up with the idea. It was then i knew that i was in for it...

Hipster faggots, i hate 'em—even if i shouldn't say things like that. I mean; the last thing i want to do is offend homosexuals by pairing them with hipsters, they already have enough people condemning them...

as the elevator strained to open its doors, a stringy haired sort dressed in half-couture/half-couture made to look like thrift store, exited with two terriers and two dogs in open topped shoes, showing the tattoos on top of each. By the time i made it to the 15th floor i had reconciled that she'd probably went through a lot of unnecessary pain only to someday wonder is that gangrene setting in or if she really did think it would be cool to permanently scar her feet...

there was a time when getting a tattoo was considered subversive, taboo, a sign of rebellion—even cool. But when you decide to go through the trouble of paying someone to tattoo your feet, well, that's just plain silly...

Upon arriving at the Visual Arts Gallery, i wandered through the packed space, heated from all the hot air of ambivalence and scanned through each project room, looking for my friends, only to find retread and the overdone. The live-still-life of woman sitting in bed was especially lacking originality. Continuing through a pool of the desperately coiffed and the unfortunately dressed, i found my intended targets. i congratulated him on his work—i had seen some early mock-ups, but seeing the final product, i was again reminded with the way his mind works. His filter is unique...

i chatted with his wife, the Lovely Miss Anne (who would no longer be called Miss, i suppose), who i have known longer than him by quite a stretch. One of the few people i could and would be willing to rob a bank with. We talked about their honeymoon and then my lot of recent times, and the need to drink and frolic amongst our crew, then i bid them farewell. You see, it occurred to me that i couldn't take it any longer...

i hoped that along with the new decade would come a rebirth of cool. Something fresh and brand new, in music, film, art, science—anything. i stood there and realized, that at least for the moment, my hopes would be dashed. There will be no rebirth of cool from this generation. Only a rebirth of drab...

It was comforting to see a Stormtrooper there. i guess that's what's passing for art these days...

It also seems there was a Shane Macgowan look-a-like there, as well. After all that pestering for him to belt out a verse of Cracklin' Rosie, it turns out it wasn't Shane at all...

Oh, well—there's always youtube...

—check out the Mentor Show at the Visual Arts Gallery. 601 W 26th, 15th Floor, through April 3rd...

and no, its not those Mentors...

a picture is worth 1,000 words vol2...

2010-03-23T22:13:00.006-04:00

i only see...

i only see in infra-red...

see me, feel me, touch me, and while your at it...

2010-03-16T18:02:00.002-04:00

Is it so far fetched that this Tiger Woods scandal is a sham?...

Is it possible that rather than a sex scandal we are dealing with something else?...

What do you think is more acceptable, cheating on your wife or abusing pain meds?...

How about gambling? A bunch of years back Michael Jordan retired from basketball. He was in his prime in the middle of a contentious conference finals versus the New York Knicks when a story came out that he spent the time between games in that series losing a ton of cash in Atlantic City. He then won his third NBA Finals a few weeks later. Not long after that his father was found murdered an apparent victim of a car jacking—only problem is that the two kids, who are still doing time, forgot to jack the car and left it there with James Jordan's body still in it. Charles Barkley was on record telling stories of Michael's wagering excess on the golf course. And there he was talking about how he had nothing to prove. Nothing to prove?! Bill Russell is still trying to find someone to prove something to him and his 11 championship rings and 5 Finals MVP's. Jordan for all his airness, never came close to that even after coming back a year and half later and winning three more titles! It was always my belief that NBA Commissioner David Stern, rather then suspend the man who single handily revitalized and transcended the game of professional basketball, chose to give Jordan a reprieve—"Sit out, Mike, call it retirement—no big deal. Come back in a year or so, it'll be great. We'll get balloons and everything"...

The murder of James Jordan was always a screwy to me. The crime scene was a mess, there were no leads and then all of a sudden to kids were in custody. In a flash they were tried and convicted and now doing the better part of their lives in the slam. The "crime scene" in Windemere, Fla is a little screwy as well...

The town police are clamoring to talk to Woods, who basically, through his lawyer, tells Matlock and Barney to fuck off. Then he shows up and they give a ticket. A fucking ticket. "All done Mr. Woods!"...

Woods had knee surgery in the middle of 2008. Came back in 2009 and had a decent run early in the schedule before bottoming out and looking more than mortal by the end of the year. Some would say he came back to fast from the surgery, that the knee might not be properly healed. Look, Tiger has had four knees surgeries on the same knee. He had torn ligaments and a double stress fracture in his leg and played through it for 10 months...

Isn't there anyone else who thinks this guy has been abusing pain meds for the past two years? That maybe, just maybe, he spent the lions share at the Pine Grove Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ being treated for his addiction to pain meds?...

Funny thing, Arizona is a hotbed for off season golf, the Scottsdale/Phoenix area in particular, much like Florida. Is so hard to believe that in between detox and group Tiger has been shagging 400 footers on the Biltmore Estate?...

I don't doubt the rest of this story, that he's been cheating on his wife and this and that. Acting erratically with these ladies and his wife, but if the dude has been high as a Limbaugh for the past two years could you really blame him. When he crashed into that hydrant outside of his driveway, do you really think he knew what day it is? If Tiger has been abusing pain meds for a long stretch than he might as well have been Tommy...

Tiger, can you hear me?...

I bring it all up because its been about 4 and a half months since the incident and the exposure of his "indiscretions." Less than a month since he stood up in front of a gaggle of wafer-brained reporters hand picked by Ari Fleischer, who just reeks of integrity coming off his last gig, stating that he had no idea if or when he would come back to professional golf, announced today that he would return to the Masters—IN THREE WEEKS!!...

So, I get it, you're all broken up, and your family is a mess. Check. You are going to try and repair the damage you inflicted on your wife and babies. Check. "Alright boys, let's hit the links!"...

Watch him rock it out in Augusta, like nothing happened...

Conspiracy theory? Sure. I'm crazy? Probably. Am i wrong? Doubt it...

Shit, Don't get me started on the Ben Roethlisberger, Rooney Family/ESPN cover up—part deux...

i got your madness right here...

2010-03-15T13:49:00.004-04:00

Beware the ides of March? Forget it, unless you're name is Julius or Caesar you'll probably make it through the day. It just so happens that one of the most infamous dates in history turns out to be selection Monday. Millions of people will spend most of the day wagering their hard earned money on sheets of paper. March Madness has been in its pace laps but tomorrow the green flag flies on the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament...

St. Patty's Day, New Years Eve and Thanksgiving Eve are often identified as "amateur nights," mostly because folks who normally don't go out, always seem to find themselves gallivanting to an eventual ditch off the Belt Pkwy after abusing themselves with alcohol and any number of controlled and uncontrolled substances (and uncontrolled tolerances). While today is not one of those days it does reek of that amateur scent. All of a sudden everyone is a college basketball expert, or filling out their brackets by uniform color, or who has the best legs or any other manner of choosing the winner of each game leading to the penultimate on April 5th Championship Game. To be fair, i would say well over half of these people do have some knowledge of the game and the majority of the participants, but even then most of those people probably only watched 20-40% of all the college basketball available to them, leaving a minuscule number of well-informed men and women who have watched over 50% and more. While i wouldn't call myself an expert, per say, i have been unemployed for a year and have had the benefit of watching a lot of college basketball. More than most, in fact, unless you work for ESPN, Fox Sports or any other cable or media sports outlet, chances are i've caught a couple of more games then you. That said, i'm here with some guidelines and helpful hints to help you through the jungle that is your bracket...

If you watch or listen to any of the pundits and talking heads out there, you will hear a ton of talk about parity. In other words, overall throughout division basketball there weren't many good teams, let alone great teams. I have 5 by my count—Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse and West Virginia, so let's start there...

Kansas—What can i tell you about Kansas? Not much, every time i attempted to watch a Jayhawk game i found myself bored to death as they opened up a can of 20 point whoop ass on their opponents. That, in itself tells you more than you need to know. While they are not flashy they are well coached, experienced and can beat their own schools football team in a fight. All that said, in a round robin with the other 4 teams i named above, they have the best chance of going winless. They were never really tested in their conference, which always gets a lot of good publicity, but always leaves me flat—Missouri?!—Really?! Facing the talent of Kentucky, the workmanlike precision of Duke, the one-of-a-kind 2-3 match-up zone of Syracuse or the monumental scrap of West Virginia i think the Jayhawks will be out of their comfort zone, but by all means add them into your final eight, and if you think they can take Georgetown, then put them in your final four...

Kentucky—John Wall and Demarcus Cousins, say it with me—Wall and Cousins. They are the number 1 and 2 pick in the 2010 NBA draft. They are only freshman. Sure, Patrick Patterson is the team's best returning player, and he is lottery pick talent as well, if not for the emergence of Wall and Cousins taking his touches away. And yeah, Coach John Calipari is a great tourney coach, but there's something missing. The Wildcats could very well win the tournament in a walk, they are that good. Depending on which bracket i refer to (i've filled out 5), I have them anywhere from in the final to losing versus West Virginia in the Elite 8. The talent is in place, but is the heart, because Wall and Cousins may already be in love with the idea of their NBA careers...

Duke—Those who know me are well aware that i am a huge fan of the Blue Devils. They won the first college game i ever watched in 1986, which directly led to me rooting for them. Those who know me also are well aware that i haven't pick Duke to get to the Final Four let alone the final game since 2004. This year i have them winning in every one of my brackets. The Blue Devils are a machine. The shoot well, handle well, defend and rebound well. In the past Duke has brought teams to the tournament with 2 or 3 good-to-great back-court and wing players players but no depth to speak of, hence their early exits the last few years. This year, along with two all-americans and a third who will be one next year, the Devils bring size. Four strapping young brick houses to clog the middle, rebound, block shots and cause havoc in the paint for anyone who dares to enter. If you are going to beat Duke you have to shoot well from deep and even then, you'd better shoot over 45% from the three point line. The only thing that can derail Duke, in my opinion is fatigue, as coach Mike Krzyzeski rarely goes past 7 on his bench, but watch for neophyte Andre Dawkins to get some time if he gets hot early in the tourney. A gift seeding in the South instead of the West does wonders for their constitution, as does the Friday Sunday schedule—guaranteeing some heavy rest for an exhausted Senior Jon Scheyer and company. Put them in your Final Four...

Syracuse—No one plays the 2-3 zone like the Orangmen—no one. It can't be duplicated at practice and watching it on film does not do it justice. It is an x-factor. Beyond that, the Orange are a lean mean big east machine with, as Bobby Knight says, seven starters. They might wear down if the game s get tight, but an early exit from the Big East Tournament gave them some extra rest. There is a good combo of experience, talent and desire. They are battle tested and dangerous. Put Syracuse anywhere from the Elite 8 to Champion...

West Virginia—There is nothing special about this team, the Mountaineers just keep winning. They do have length and and a nasty 1-3-1 zone to deal with. They have shooters, and scorers but more than anything they have workers. They force their tempo but can thrive in yours and they have been playing in cliffhangers all year only strengthening their nerves of steel. Coach Bob Huggins came home to his Alma Mater and instead of enforcing his will, took head to his seniors, who had success before his arrival the result is a shot at the Final Four, they should be in your Elite 8 and could take Kentucky out, or walk to Indianapolis if Kentucky falls off earlier...

as for the rest? Looking to fill out the rest of your Elite 8 or some first round surprises? Both...

Siena—You want to make a splash? Put Siena in your Elite 8. Purdue was a very good team before their best player went down to injury, now they are a team in crisis. The Boilermakers received a gift 4 seed and they will pay for it via the Siena Saints, who are no strangers to winning games in the tournament. Siena could also roll over Texas A & M, if Utah State doesn't beat them first in a battle of the Aggies. i don't think much of the Big 12 conference, to which Texas A & M belongs, but while Siena isn't a lock, i do believe they are smart money for a Cinderella...

Baylor—Of the Big 12 teams i do like, (that would include Kansas and uh...Kansas), Baylor is interesting. The program has improved year by year and they have a truckload of height and length and they shoot well, which make them a dangerous squad to have to face. i know Villanova is in there sights, but i haven't been overly impressed with 'Nova in big games, the Baylor Bears might just beat them to the Elite 8...

Butler, UTEP, and Murray St—All three of these Mid-Majors could make it to the Sweet 16 if not the Elite 8, the problem is, they'd all have to play each other to get there. Flip a coin or read some tea leaves. i have them rated Murray St., then UTEP then Butler, but that could change by tomorrow night...

Xavier—A lock for the Sweet 16, and could make a run for the Elite 8 is Pittsburgh falters...

Temple—Another perennial member of the Sweet 16. After a stretch where the program went through a face lift, the Owls are back and will give Kentucky all they want...

Notre Dame, New Mexico and Washington—All interesting teams who should win a game, picking them to win two is up to you. Depending on my which bracket I consult, we're talking sweet sixteen for New Mexico and Notre Dame and the Elite 8 for Mew Mexico...

Louisville—Only because if there is one team that can beat Duke before the Final Four in the South region it will be Rick Pitino's Cardinals. He's been waiting almost 20 years to excise the ghost of Christian Laetner, and wipe that ridiculous expression off the face of Thomas Hill...

Don't believe the hype...

Kansas St.—They had their chance to impress the country in the Big 12 Final Saturday night on a neutral court—epic fail. They could still settle into to the Elite 8 simply because their end of the West region looks like the Suffolk County High School Playoffs...

Villanova—The Wildcats are good, and at one point this year i thought they were the real deal. Those days are gone. An Elite 8 finish isn't out of the question, but be wary...

Cornell—i'll have the Big Red over to build my super-collider, but almost beating Kansas, losing to Seton Hall and barely beating St. John's doesn't really exciting. You know who else almost beat Kansas? Kansas St. and you know how I feel about them. They face Temple in the first round, and i just don't see it...

You want more help, then take a flier on Richmond into the Sweet Sixteen and get enough pigs in the blanket for me at your party—and make sure you get the good mustard...

an open letter to the Rev Donald J. Harrington C.M...

2010-03-09T15:18:00.009-05:00

note: Rev Harrington is the President of St John's University, Jamaica, Queens, NY.

Dear Reverend Harrington,

i apologize for my tardiness in writing you back. i have indeed received your bi-annual request for my money since my graduation from your fine institution in 1996. You might remember me, i gave you the gas face upon receiving my diploma. You even sent me a picture of it. Nothing? Maybe you remember shutting down the production of the student newspaper, in which i was part of, due to our refusal, as an Editorial Board (on which i sat), to run an add for a "student government" anti-choice group, called "Students For Life". Nothing still? Do you even remember the group, because they don't even exist anymore, and i'm not so sure they ever did...

Maybe you remember me when i used to attend basketball games. i purchased season tickets for several years and sat courtside at Alumni Hall and behind the home basket at Madison Square Garden, i don't attend anymore. i really don't expect you to remember me or any of the hundred of thousands of students you have glad-handed on the way out the door, our cash in your back pocket—but brother, you sure are an elephant when it comes to home addresses...

i know its been years since someone called you brother, the seminary i imagine, but since you know where i live, i figure we can talk as friends. And simply put, if you want my money, and anyone else's for that matter, you need start listening to alumni like myself. I know you have cash flow problems, even though you've raised tuition to ivy-like heights, you have done a lot of redecorating since i left. A cafeteria, a soccer field, a baseball field, a chapel, an athletic facility, a new student facility and you even gussied up Alumni Hall. That most have cost a mint. No wonder you have your hand out. I also hear you have some academic issues of late as well, in fact, your own students wrote it up...

So i have some advice. If you want your University's matriculation to improve both in numbers and quality of person, and your coffers to bulge there are two things you can do. You can either fix your basketball program, or you can resign...

Not going to resign? i understand, if i were you i'd keep my gig too, its pretty rough out there right now. So let's focus on your other choice, fixing a once storied program that celebrated the greatness of the City's game...

Due to personal issues, i was forced to stay local for my choice of institution. Ultimately, i chose between St. John's and Queens College, a school less than 2 miles away from SJU's Jamaica campus, and ultimately the choice came down to having access to a NCAA Division 1 basketball program. Finishing my freshman year i had just been christened sports editor of The TORCH, the Official Student Newspaper of your University, the evening that the legendary Lou Carnesseca retired from coaching the Redmen and you and your staff hired his long time assistant Brian Mahoney. i was there for the Felipe Lopez years and, though a graduate at the time, the absolute excitement of the Ron Artest/Erick Barkley years through a surprise NIT Championship with the remarkable Marcus Hatten, but this is not about the past. Most of us know by now why Fran Frischilla was dismissed, and we all know about that night in Pittsburgh and Mike Jarvis' disdain for the NYC PSAL and CHSAA leagues, all factors in the current downturn of the Johnnies' mens basketball program...

For the sake of protecting the social and ethical face of the University you hired Norm Roberts to clean up the program. A first step in healing the local wounds left wide open by the former regime. No one could argue with you for this decision and it has worked to this point. There are enough schools in Division 1 basketball that have no issue in turning a blind eye to shenanigans in return for a buck. You showed restraint in the Vincentian tradition and whether we like it or not, you did the right thing. Now the program is at a crossroads. Roberts, for all of his charm and can-do attitude, cannot coach the game of basketball. Its not that his style doesn't work or that his players do or do not like him, its that he is technically deficient. And it is time to relieve him of his duties as head coach of St. John's Basketball...

i don't want you to fire him, Roberts is a good soldier and a better man, and he deserves a job, and since he has three years left on his contract, you might as well keep him in the Athletic Department where i think he could be put to good use. But if you want my money in the form of an Alumni grant or if you are looking to increase the notoriety of the University, fostering a higher profile for admissions and earning potential then take my advice, and remove Roberts from head coach and hire someone who can facilitate the remaking of the University's basketball program...

i know, you don't want to spend a lot of money, that's understood, as i said before, times are rough, but is it much of a stretch to hire a guy like Mark Jackson? An alumnus of the University as well as an icon from the program's 1980's heyday, Jackson is currently being paid by Disney to analyze the game at the pro level. I'm sure he could be lured to coach at his old stomping grounds, especially if Carnesseca were to knock on his door. While i'm not completely sold on Jackson's ability to coach individuals to a team concept, he certainly would grab the front page of every New York City newspaper and certainly open some eyes, in city high schools, and more importantly New York City kitchen tables...

If you want to go cheaper, that's fine, there are any number of Division 1 benches to file through, Chris Collins or Steve Wojciechowski from the Duke bench bring scrap, basketball know-how and integrity to any job. How about a kid named Richard Pitino down on the Florida Gator bench. You might know his father, you turned him down when he reportedly came calling a few years back...

Cheaper still? How about Danny Hurley, son of the legendary Bob Hurley, coach of St. Anthony's in New Jersey. Danny is currently putting together a resume at St. Benedicts High School. He might be a little green but so was Roberts when you hired him, but in this case you know you are getting a basketball guy, a kid who knows the game, the city and the conference...

i'm a realist, i understand that in a conference that still fancies itself a football power, its difficult to maneuver through BCS propaganda and find your place amongst those schools who benefit from College Football money, maybe there is way to navigate your way through, say, by joining forces with perennial basketball powers with like minded ideals such Georgetown, Marquette and Villanova among others...

i know this; there is a lot of chatter coming down from I-95 that University of Connecticut Head Coach Jim Calhoun may be stepping down from his position at the end of the year. There has been a contract extension on his desk for some time now, and he has yet to sign. Even if he does sign, the performance of his current Huskie squad is a strong indication that his days as a viable voice on the bench maybe be over. Either way this leaves an open door for this University to step through and take back the influence it once held over City basketball. It was Calhoun among others like Jamie Dixon in Pittsburgh and Jay Wright of Villanova that pilfered and in some cases plundered recruits from our backyard, when we folded up and licked our wounds...

Run a program with integrity, by all means, i have no issue with that. Just don't let it run itself into the ground, never to be heard of again...

If you want people like me back, that's how you get us, and that's how St. John's can be an integral part in the future of this City and beyond. We are St. John's, now give us a listen...

sincerely,

the constellation...

midnight movies vol 2...

2010-03-06T21:00:00.004-05:00

social tea...

sandwiched by impending and prior,

rocks, hard places—you get it,

everyday is hard on death row, its true,

even if i didn't say that shit.

i read it somewhere, or heard it, can't remember, its been awhile.

waiting for the good foot, dropping for a nickel—dime—something,

lordy knows, the view from the breadline is stark,

bleak is not strong enough a word.

its not the lifestyle,

i've lived on three cookies and a cup of popcorn—soda on fridays,

adam smith ain't built a wing i can't dwell in,

shit...i can make fire.

its what i keep hearing.

i heard that was you,

talking about this and that,

doesn't matter,

its nonsense. you're good at that, real good.

nah, you say, 'it couldn't have been me!'

but i know better—i know you,

full of vinegar, rage, full of cloak and dagger,

it had to be,

it could be no one else—only a fool would say that.

so?

eat the rich and burn their carcasses but it'll never come to that, you think?

they'll pay someone to make their fire.

it won't be me.

i'll be where the wild things go, proennecke—like.

stumbled and broken, then you can erase my ass,

i'm on that first trail to serenity,

the trail's full, bitch, and i'ma leave it as i found it.

see, i'm long past the point where i've lost my shit.

hey, old man winter!...

2010-02-26T13:42:00.004-05:00

go fuck yourself!!...

this just in...

2010-02-24T17:45:00.002-05:00

i created a word...

himp-hopster—noun—1. musician/lyricist who passes his or her sound or style off as Hip-Hop when it is more closely related to pop music.

2. A fraud or sham in the Hip-Hop genre.

usage—Man, Wil.I.Am is such a himp-hopster he almost makes Fred Durst look like he has Hip-Hop cred.

pardon the interruption...

2010-02-24T14:08:00.004-05:00

Upon driving home from my swim this afternoon, i was enlightened to find out that, Tony Kornheiser, the co-host of ESPN's 'Pardon the Interruption' has been suspended for on-air comments he made on his ESPN Radio show regarding Sportscenter anchor Hannah Storm...

The Washington Post, (incidentally Kornheiser's other day job—he is a columnist), reports about the incident here. It seems Kornheiser commented on the wardrobe of Storm, while she anchored the morning program that runs live, and back to back on the network. ESPN, in the infinite wisdom, took the knee jerk/politcally correct route in suspending Kornheiser from his late afternoon TV program which he hosts with friend and co-writer Michael Wilbom. Kornheiser has personally apologized to Storm for his comments and continues to host his own radio show...

While i have multiple issues with ESPN, and its parent company Disney, i do not have an issue with Kornheiser or PTI. Its one the few produced programs i watch on the network. As for Storm, i find her to be a conscientious anchor and reporter, as she has been throughout her career which began on NBC as an anchor of that networks sports updates, and my issue is not with her. She is free to wear what she or whatever her wardrobe assistant decides is appropriate for her work on-air. My issue is with ESPN for propagating a classic example of a double standard...

sex sells, like it or not, sex sells like pancakes at IHOP. If we are to believe that Storm's wardrobe is not picked out with the issue of aesthetic, including sexuality, in mind, then we must be made to believe that the Brooklyn Bridge is indeed for sale. Not many among us walk out of our doors without thinking or at least wanting to look good to others, let alone stand in front of a television camera for three hours...

the question is whether this would be an issue if, say, Joan Rivers, or Tyra Banks made mention of the appropriateness of Storm's outfit? How about Isaac Mizrahi or Michael Kors?...

Woman reporters and anchors in sports have to eat a lot of misogyny, to be sure, but don't you think Storm should be insulted that the policy thugs at ESPN have to fight her battle for her because of a wardrobe comment? i'm insulted and you should be too...

Kornheiser is paid for his commentary, just as Storm is paid for her effort and expertise in reporting. Am i to think that if Storm had commented on Kornheiser's wardrobe or hairline she would have been suspended?...

Storm has not commented on the suspension, which is par for the course if she wants to keep her job, ESPN is all over this. This is yet another reason why i have been fading ESPN out of my television viewing routine. The network has become an entity above sports—even to the point of eating itself. It has overshadowed the sports it covers and created a generation of athletes that care more about the highlight than the sport they play, or the team they play for. This has led to a deficiency in the sports we love. The Me-Generation personified. The idolizing of a Michael Jordan led to the lack of fundamentals in younger players in the game of basketball. The network's cannonizing of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa led to the eventual demise of those player's integrity and then quickly jumped ship to burn them at the stake of the steroids scandal. They dress up broken down ex-players to report on the NFL in May, two months before any meaningful workouts will take place, four months before any meaningful game and so on, i mean; the network is just as responsible for the floundering of hockey as the 1995 lockout was...

Now ESPN suspends Kornheiser for making a comment that, i would think, some people would find valid. But then again moral superiority is hypocritical. Disney doesn't mind trotting out pop tart after pop tart for the young boys and girls to fawn over, knowing full well what sort of kind Freudian-stew they are creating, only to allow its arm, ESPN, strike down any comment against it machine...

Do as i say, not as i do...

Well, here's to you Tony, for speaking out about a skirt that was indeed shorter than the Cat Mom's camo skirt i love so much (and believe you me, its short), that a Sportscenter anchor was wearing at 9 am in the morning. While i think you be hard pressed to find a male viewer outraged by it, you still have the right to voice your opinion, even if your bosses think you should keep your mouth shut to their hypocrisy...

good night Cananda...

are you listening? vol 6...sunday soundtrack trois

2010-02-21T16:38:00.002-05:00

as i made my way through the gardens i was invulnerable, and full of asha...

basking in the tremors of a sonic trio, shuffling with aggression...

Bombs over Baghdad—Outkast

Yeah X 3—24/7 Spyz

Boom—The Roots

what are you listening to?...

now what?...

2010-02-19T10:07:00.002-05:00

this is probably the best day the Knicks have had since that fateful day in May, 1985, when David Stern announced, in the NBA's first Draft Lottery, that the Knicks would receive the first pick in that year's player draft. With that pick the Knicks chose, center and Knick-icon, Patrick Ewing...

a lot of people have intimated that the lottery process was a fixed event. That Stern and the NBA brain trust, conspired to give the Knicks the first pick in the draft and give them a clear shot at drafting far and away the best college player in the nation in Ewing. Apparently there is Zabruder-like evidence of such a conspiracy...

i can see how some people would think that garnering Ewing would be a boon to the Knicks franchise, based in the largest media market in the country, and in turn, aid the NBA in becoming the most popular sport in the world, which it was, with the help of a guy named Jordan who played in the second largest media market. Ultimately, i see the choice of Ewing to be the albatross the Knicks would wear for the last 15 years. Sure, Ewing made the Knicks a playoff team, and brought myself and other long time fans closer to a championship then we had been since before i was born, but those of us who live and die with the Knicks, those of us who know better, are cursed to remember only a mistaken shot—the finger roll...

some people remember that 1995 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals as Reggie Miller "choke" series, or the most egregious piece of non-officiating since 1993. i and others like me recall that game as the last time we wanted to see Ewing in a Knick uniform...

you see, drafting Ewing was not a gift, it was a well placed curse, meant to torment the Knick fan into thinking that we would ever be anything more than the team that propped up the Chicago Bulls to three straight titles and made Michael Jordan. An unwitting pawn in Stern's master plan. Maybe it was a conspiracy and the Knicks merely made a deal with the devil. And make no mistake, Stern is the devil...

it would take another 5 years to shed the physical nature of the franchise's albatross, only to descend deeper into the abyss through the work of Isiah Thomas and the wreckage he made of the once proud Knicks. It wasn't until a year and half ago that the sun finally peaked through the dark clouds to present Donnie Walsh, a respected basketball man, originally from this fine city, to begin to wash away the filth left behind by that day in 1986...

Yesterday, Walsh consummated a three-way deal to obtain Tracy McGrady and his $23 million-expiring contract for what, in my opinion, amounts to a bag of basketballs and a pair of old Chuck Taylor's. Sure, pundits on ESPN and TNT are worried that the Knicks might very well be mortgaging the team's future by giving the Houston Rockets access to what could be two basically unprotected lottery picks in 2011 and 2012, for nothing more than a decent shot at LeBron James, arguably the games best player, and other NBA Superstars that will be available as of July 1st. i would take any two of those guys over anyone who will be eligible for the NBA draft in 2011 or 2012, let alone lottery-worth...

in McGrady, the Knicks get a two month rental on a guy the Knick fans have always fawned over, ever since the Knicks won their last playoff series to date against the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors sported two great young players that year, Vince Carter and his cousin, rookie Tracy McGrady. During the series, Vincanity played like Vince Cortho, but McGrady, only 22 at the time, made the series competitive and announced his entrance into the NBA elite...

much has been made of McGrady's health in the later part of his career with the Oralndo Magic and then Houston Rockets. Back troubles and knee surgeries have plagued him, leading to micro-fracture surgery last February. But it seems to me if he didn't have to carry those franchises on his back all these years he would be healthier. The Knicks don't need McGrady to carry them anywhere. The Knicks merely need the clock to tick and the days to turn, until 1995 is but a memory and the clock strike midnight July 1st...

so...now what? Of course, the prize of this years free agent class is James, but i'm here to tell you—don't be fooled by a wolf in sheep's clothing...

while watching the early match-up on TNT last night between James' Cleveland Cavaliers and my pick to come out of the western conference Denver Nuggets, i noticed something that just might change minds at Two Pennsylvania Plaza, and reveal something i've always suspected. King James might not be ready for prime time...

with the game on the line James and Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony played each other on both ends of the floor. Both teams ran their offenses through their superstars. Anthony, used the dribble to create offense for himself and his teammates including a wonderful circus finish beyond the broken ankles of his defender, James, and the eventual game winner, an 18-footer right in the eye of the King. Over the same stretch of time, James while covered by Melo, settled for three straight 23-foot+ jump shots, netting one. On the final play of the game it wasn't until the Cavs used a ball screen to free James from Melo, as the Nuggets switched on defense leaving Aaron Affalo to check the Cleveland star. James then thought it prudent to use the dribble to create a chance at the tying bucket. Affalo was able to provide stout defense and James forced a poor shot resulting in the Nuggets win on the road. James stalked off the court hastily and seemingly in a huff about a foul that wasn't there let alone called...

it was a telling minute of basketball. Faced with the prospect of driving against a player of equal height and skill (more or less) James deferred to his jumper, which can be erratic, rather than challenge his equal. That's not the kind of attitude i want out of one of my max-contract players...

this is not to say that James isn't a great finisher, i once saw him go toe-to-toe with Gilbert Arenas, long before his current troubles, beating the Washington Bullets into submission in a Conference Semifinal in the Spring of 2006, but it seems to me that James cowers in the face of comparable defenders, say like, Melo, or Kobe Bryant...

regardless, i believe the Knicks have finally turned the corner. Next season will be the first season of the rest of our Knick lives. LeBron or not. I just hope that Walsh, coach Mike D'Antoni take heed to what is clearly in front of them. Nothing in the NBA, including one of its best players is cut and dry...

i was born a mere month and a half after the Knicks last championship season, so there are few Knick fans that have waited longer for the the franchise to once again stand atop the NBA as Champions. Today is the day, the beginning of what should wipe away the pain and torment of the last 36...

finally, drama makes its entrance...

2010-02-16T12:03:00.004-05:00

Those of you who know the Constellation know its spend an inordinate amount of time writing about sports. Locals like the Knicks, Mets, Jets and Rangers and issues related to major sports as a whole...

This past Friday the Winter Olympics began, and i have kept an eye on the proceedings—moguls, cross-country and downhill skiing, short track speed skating, and figure skating have all been on display. But none of those events holds the drama and excitement of the penultimate tournament. Gladiators doing battle on a sheet of ice with relentless abandon. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, get ready to be rocked by the feature presentation of this 31st Winter Olympiad...

Curling, baby!...

Who needs fixed judging or tests of individual strength and will when we can enjoy one the oldest team sports in North America in Curling. The game teems with strategy, precision and drama to the last hammer of the last end. i can barely contain my excitement at the prospect of another American medal finish...

i realize that the Knicks are on the cusp of a franchise changing trade, that pitchers and catchers are set to report to spring training this week and that there is a new season of Tool Academy vying for your attention, but allow yourself a moment to be immersed in the spectacle that is the sport of Curling...

oh, and the Hockey tournament starts today, if you're into that sort if thing...

don't look behind the curtain Joe...

2010-02-15T09:10:00.002-05:00

Joe the Plumber says John McCain ruined his life...

Wow. Joe says the whole "Joe the Plumber" thing was a ploy...

Really?! Man-oh-man alive, you could blow me down with a the false breath of socialism!...

Over the weekend, at NYLISL Draft, the notion of Sarah Palin came up. JB said that she made his party look bad. My response—"Oh, she's the one." i've said it before and will say it again, the Republican Party has a conservative problem. Sarah, Rush, Hannity, Beck, Joe—the scourge of your party, fighting the battle, willingly or unwillingly, for the Military-Pharmaceutical-Industrial Complex, other wise known as the "free market"...

So Joe feels betrayed, yet still sings the same old song. That the current administration is trying to enact un-American policies, (like the New Deal, you know because FDR was a communist). Joe the Plumber has been stripped down and ass-raped by his party but yet still wakes up early to make them a sandwich on his way out the door. Way to go Joe. You're right, we just don't understand them the way you do, not when you're alone, like you do...

The Republican Party is filled with battered wives. When will it be the day those of you who with any sense in your heads will stand up and demand real leadership from your party. Democrats made it pretty clear back in 2008 by electing Obama. Its not his fault that he inherited a bunch of broken records. Change can't occur in the age of the lobby, the age of the corporation, the age of the sheep...

Sooner or later the age of the wolf will come, and eat you all up, and your shepherd won't care...

required viewing...

2010-02-12T12:23:00.002-05:00

at some point you will realize you are closer to the bottom than you are the top...

for reference...

and for background...

enjoy...

2010-02-07T12:14:00.002-05:00

i'm sure the majority of you will be in front of your televisions or your plate of wings and Guinness, or IPA or—heaven forbid, Bud Light watching the largest sporting event that this country produces, the National Football League's Super Bowl...

while you sift through the hours of faux-inspiration, melodrama and inanity of the hours upon hours of pre-game in anticipation of an overblown spectacle of perfect set pieces and glitzy advertising, i'd like you to turn it off. Yup, do it, turn the fucking thing off. I know its hard to fathom...

'guy, its the Super bowl, what's wrong with you?!'...

there's nothing wrong, i just think you might want to get used to it...

the NFL and its consortium of owners will make the filthiest amount of money you've ever seen or heard of by the time a pigskin is touched by a single football player tonight, let alone how much they will make by tomorrow morning. These owners, purveyors of "the most popular sport in America" will then take a months off at their palatial estates and beach front or mountain getaways and head to Manhattan to cry poor...

the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL and the NFL Players Association is expiring. 2010 stands to be what is being called and "uncapped" year. You see, since 1982 the NFL has operated under a salary cap, which sets a specific dollar amount that each team must adhere to when setting its roster. Next season there will be no cap, players can sign to highest bidder, similar to baseball, but really, only for the year. In 2011, the CBA expires for real and then everything will stop. The owners will tell you that economic conditions will force them to tighten their belts and institute more stringent guidelines in managing payroll. This, by the way, after signing the most lucrative television contract in sports history with a stipulation that even if games are not played, the four networks involved are still required to hold up their financial responsibility to the league. It makes a lockout almost an inevitable event...

this is the microcosm of Capitalism. There is never enough. Greed outweighs good sense, and the common man is left holding the bag. You already pay for your TV, whether its cable, or dish, the majority of Americans pay out for what they watch. Some broadcast networks demanded a surcharge to cable that would be passed on to its customers to have the right to air these networks. As if advertising revenue had hit its ceiling, i mean; how else can they bleed a penny out of the American people...

this is what the NFL and its owners are planning to do. They are planning to lockout players from their facilities, fully prepared to let 2011 come and go with nary a game, while still getting paid for a product they are not producing, all the while blaming the greed of the players...

really...

now, i know, athletes get paid a lot of money. The likes of you and i will ever see such paychecks in our lives, and there is some give and take to be had, especially in a sport like baseball where athletes have enjoyed unprecedented wealth in their sport for over 30 years, but in football things are a little different. The average football players career is 4 years long. Most first year players do not get the million dollar, multi-year deals, with million dollar signing bonuses and those that do, the Eli Mannings of the world, sign multi-year multi-million dollar contracts, only to be wary of the fact that their ownership, at anytime, can revoke the contract as if it never existed. There is no such thing as a guaranteed contract in the NFL. Good players with smart agents can negotiate guaranteed money in the form of signing bonuses and percentages per year of the contract, but tell that to the 23 year-old who was just cut and is forced to find a job working at the Jamba Juice. Tell it to Kurt Warner 15 years ago, when he was bagging groceries, or 5 years ago when he was cut by the New York Football Giants. He is a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback, and not once in his career was he ever sure he was going to have a job from year to year. The owners of your favorite teams are about strong armed these players into eating shit, so they can take more money out of your pocket...

listen, if you're cool with that, than have at it. Eat your wings, drink your beer and enjoy what could very well be a good football game tonight. Laugh at the commercials, discuss whether Jim Nantz should be doing play by play over the likes of Greg Gumbel, and cringe at the fact that Roger Daltrey, (and i consider myself a fan of the Who), has completely lost the ability to sing Who songs. But even if you do watch, i implore you keep an eye on the dollar signs bouncing across the screen for those 3 1/2 hours, and think about your place in it all and whether it was really all worth the time and effort...

hey, look, i won't need football in 2011, the Knicks will be well on there way to a 55 win season by then on their way to fight for an NBA title. i don't need some over-orchestrated game played with increasingly suffocating restraints on gameplay to get by. i've lived through two NFL strikes/lockouts, and i am still standing here...

truth be told, i'll be watching the game tonight, there will be nothing else on. Its too cold out and its the one thing that won't cost me any money—directly that is. The Cat Mom has been excited thinking about where she can eat in solitude this evening after her time at the kitty hospital is done 2,500 miles away. The streets of Tucson will be empty but for her Volvo tonight. She has no want, need or understanding of football, as she is not alone. There are billions of people who could care less that 106 men will be playing for a championship tonight. But all of those people are effected by the ripple and undertow that is the greed and gluttony created by such an event...

maybe there will be an Pauly Shore movie marathon to check out. One can only hope...

doing the world a favor...Vol 2

2010-02-05T13:56:00.004-05:00

percy jackson?...

percy?...

really, that's what you're going with?..

percy jackson...

if i wanted to see a remake of Clash of the Titans, i'd go see, well, a remake of Clash of the Titans...

ok. Maybe i'll just wait for the new Harrison Madison film...

midnight movies vol 1...

2010-02-05T00:06:00.004-05:00

if the floors could talk they would admonish you

lights be loose, sonic boom, reeks of illumination,

can you see the sounds? that's cosmic inflation,

wrecked be the norm as tracks wax poetic,

heat rises.

bodies tumble in sardine tins,

its pathetic.

(sure, thing could be worse)

i heard you talking some what not, nonsense, hell no,

bending ears, pulling legs and saying in jest. you could be erased.

this is space and time suspended, its own circus, welcome.

a three-ringed rectangle, fourth world condition,

an mta disease

men with beards...

2010-02-04T21:25:00.003-05:00

i met up with Aces this weekend, it had been a while. He lost his battle with machine not too long ago and truth be told, i'm not good with bad news. i consider myself more an inspirational speaker, so when talk turned to his desire and wherewithal to grow a beard, i knew i was in my element...

this is my beard...

i've been growing it since late September. i've trimmed it to do my best to keep it uniformed, while allowing it to grow in full. i'll keep it until Easter Sunday, its not religious as much as it is a good round number of a date. And shit gets hot in this city in the Summer months...

the Cat Mom loves it. So much so she'll probably want more...and she'll get it.,,

my mother thinks i look like Yukon Cornelieus. i think of my young comrade Yukon and hope he hasn't broken his neck on some ski slope or on some third floor of a hospital somewhere...

the Brooklyn Bomber calls it majestic. He might be right, but the Dungeon Master would scoff at my effort...

the bastard's beard sees a therapist twice a week to offset the inferiority complex that its working through...

judge roughneck still thinks it 1998, but that's not the point...

i've noticed, since growing this beard, how i have entered an exclusive club. Even i am victim of a vain thought, now and then. When i walk the streets and i see other men, (and women unfortunately), sporting beards i rate them in comparison to mine. Rarely, at least here in the NYC, do i meet an equal, let alone a superior. But i find that i have entered an order unlike any other. As i walked through my errands in the hills this fine day i ran into a gentleman doing construction on the station clock tower wearing a beard similar in length and style to mine. We locked eyes and gave each other a head nod, it seemed a subconscious gesture. Its almost that with beard comes esteem among men. Not in a bopiti-boopiti-Family Guy way, but in a beard growers way...

you wouldn't understand, bare-face...

enjoy Aces, your life is about to change...

2010-02-04T15:13:00.002-05:00

the following is my comment left on Judge Roughneck's facebook page. I had been toying with how to attack this issue in the constellation, but I think this says it all...

What's insulting about fiscal conservatives is that they sold us a bill of goods that anyone with a memory knows didn't work the first time, in fact, George Herbert Walker Bush lost a second term to it. He, in fact, created the moniker "voodoo economics".

Supply side economics does not work. Any effort to manipulate the law of supply and demand will always end in the benefit of the very few and a crushing blow to the rest. Supply side economics are why we are in this recession, not planes flying into buildings, or wars. Supply side economics and all of the lousy tax cuts from the W years led us into the recession of the early part of the decade, and we never really made back to level ground.

The real tack to these conservative democrats should be through strong and viable liberal opposition. It was a mistake to make a deal with the devil in the first place. I'd rather have a strong minority of honest-free thinkers than a feckless majority.

apparently, someone finally woke up our President. ...

nice to hear from ya', bro'ham...

bing!...

2010-02-02T13:48:00.003-05:00

so by now a couple of old men in tuxedos have lifted a poor-overgrown varmint in the air and have announced whether this animal saw its shadow, through which proclaiming either a quick end to our frozen suffering or a deeper foray into the stark reality that is the dead of winter. Groundhogs Day...

black folk have always mused that the shortest month of the year is the one they were given to celebrate their history, and there they are, sharing it with a groundhog and a a couple of dead presidents...

February is the coldest month of the year on average. It is the definition of bleak and throughout its days it holds all of us captive to its malaise. We've fully digressed from our holiday high, hitting bottom and reaching for anything that will give us hope, like, say, a groundhog's skill of prognostication...

i, instead, am reminded of one Ned Ryerson. The annoying ghost of times past that Phil Connors meets over and over again in the film Groundhog Day. Ned is representative of the fears, and hurdles we face. For me, February is one big hurdle. Annually i sink further inward. Cold, and disaffected by the barren wasteland before me. Creatively i shut down...

this page has sat silent for the better part of the year. This is how it starts, an unwillingness to see things to their end, that's January, until a slow, dull stagger comes to a full stop. Ned Ryerson, rearing his ugly head...

Phil, after several replays of the meeting with Ned, finally seems to master the event with aplomb, even employing Ned to his advantage. The lesson is clear, after years of falling prey to the claws of February, to Ned, the time has come to use it to my advantage...

meet the new Ned, here's to making sure he isn't the same as the old Ned...

an open letter to the sheep...

2010-01-20T13:16:00.003-05:00

'we are all fighting the same

we are all in the same war

we are all in the same revolution

got to know who you're fighting for'

—Fight the Fight, Living Colour (1990)

you want change? Then let's get some! But i'm not convinced you want it...

you want affordable health insurance but you don't want the government to run, presumably because the Health/Medical Industrial Complex is running it so well. i was once fortunate enough to qualify for Medicaid after a health emergency. To put things in perspective, my two prescriptions cost a total $10. Under my plan with Local 3 i paid $40. Under government operated Medicaid i never paid out of pocket for appointments, EKGs or Echos, under my plan with Local 3 there was a $20+ copay. You have to ask yourself, is this about socialism or is it about profit. The tea baggers are being tea bagged...

you want Obama to eat shit, well, he's eating it, but not because of some Red Bulled Doc Brown-like gasbag. Obama's party sold their souls for some extra seats in Congress, but what they got were left handed republicans, who are holding onto the center for dear life. There is no change in the middle...

you want the banks to stop giving bonuses and the current administration to bailout the tax payer not the big bad banks. If my memory serves this bailout plan was the brainchild of the former administration. While Tim Geithner hasn't picked the ball up and ran with it, the onus lies upon the former administration and Congress, many of whom are still sitting in the same seats on this very day. You want change, forget about democracy. Voting is our right and privilege, but what is it worth when our elected officials are more concerned with what's in the lobby then your family's living room. You want change, get your money out of the market, fire your broker, fire your bank! Walk out, bring your business to a local financial institute. Its just plain hypocritical to complain about the state of the banking industry while you have a Chase, Bank Of America or Citibank ATM card in your wallet...

once you begin to realize that the world doesn't revolve around sound bytes, and gasbags and politicians and that in fact is is being run by people who have more money and control over what you buy for dinner than you do—once you get that—maybe we can have a serious conversation...

the elder had a Social Studies teacher named Hoffman. He would always lecture the class about how he was going to move out of the country at some point due to the cold war/nuclear crisis of the '80s. The fear of mismanagement leading to a nuclear holocaust. Right now i want to leave because of the fear that is crippling this nation. Manufactured fear. Fear of socialism, or disarmament of your Borelli, fear of faux-"death panels", whatever other nonsense that has scared you into the idea that unfettered capitalism is the only answer. This is the result of "smaller government"...

time to man up and take some responsibility for yourselves—you're being tea bagged...

a light in the dark...

2010-01-15T14:33:00.002-05:00

hey, Pat Robertson, i just got off the phone with Jesus. He told me to tell you to start acting like a Christian. i told the man to tell you himself, but he says he stopped talking to you years ago. i mean; the 700 Club made you millions of dollars and a national celebrity, you even ran for President for a short time a bunch of years ago, why trash Haiti when you should be doing what the man you call your savior has asked of you. How can you call yourself a Christian? How could you possibly along with your million dollar ministry friends call yourselves Christians?...

i heard a story that Samuel Dalembert, center for the Philadelphia 76ers and Haiti native announced an initial donation to the Haiti Relief Effort of $100,000. Now i know Pat, he is making $12 mil this year and will $13 mil the next. Its a drop in the bucket for sure. But in 10 years Dalembert won't have that kind of paycheck coming his way, in fact i doubt he will receive a salary the amount of that initial donation after he retires or is released from the NBA. There will be no coaching job or ESPN gig, when his career is over so is the paycheck. But there he is donating what could be the price of one of his children's college educations to the relief effort in Haiti. You, Pat, are spending you afternoons spitting vitriol in the name of god. When does the hypocrisy end?...

Actress Alyssa Milano is asking, no, charging corporations to equal, just equal her donation amount of $50,000. Shit, Bristol Myers Squibb should be flying a few of their private jets filled with medical supplies free of charge down to Port Au Prince. Let me get this straight, Pat, Haiti, because of their lack of identity and education, mostly due unrest created from fear, are devils. The minority population that hangs on to the idea of voodoo, because it all of their culture they have left, they are evil. You're telling me, that your great and powerful Oz is punishing them for this? Like the 400 years of political unrest weren't enough. Save your self-righteous claptrap for the boys and girls of Bristol Myers Squibb and other pharmaceutical agencies—all the other corporations that have raped and pillaged without a thought of lending a hand, unless it could make them a profit. Good PR. Aren't they the real devils, the real evil. i applaud Ms. Milano for her call-out. And in a economic climate such as we are in, how can nameless, faceless and unemployed folks like myself be asked to scrounge a couple of extra pennies to send to the Red Cross or any other reputable charity, when there is so much to go around up there where the air is rare?...

here's to Dalembert and Milano, and any other celebrity that uses their worth and popularity to stoke a fire under a corporation. And here's a gas face to pat Robertson, who has shown us what kind of "Christian" he really is...

selling the world's most famous arena...

2010-01-15T12:48:00.003-05:00

there have been some big nights at Madison Square Garden. NBA Finals, a Stanley Cup, college and high school Basketball. Led Zepellin, Bruce Springsteen and the like. Track and Field, and Ringling Bros. The old building has seen some shit...

among my many visits over the years for any number of events i spent one special season rooting for St. Johns, where it seemed like the Garden was on a swivel from week to week. There was the night i had the pleasure of seeing Wayne Gretsky skate in the blue and white, and i've seen my share of Circuses, and concerts courtesy of MSG. Good times and bad times; big nights all...

tonight is one of those big nights. Years from now no one will remember it, in fact, most people tonight won't understand its magnitude. A few months back the New York Knicks introduced "Friday Night Knicks" a night of fanfare coinciding with Knicks basketball. Through the virtue of the kid who now lives way down the street, i had the pleasure of witnessing the first two of these nights. Unfortunately, the Knicks were awful during this stretch, without a solid rotation or confidence. The second of these Fridays starred LeBron James and Cleveland Cavaliers. James is the grand prize of the 2010 free agency free for all. The suits at the Garden pulled out all the stops—lights, Grandmaster Flash, Jay-Z showed, fresh off their walk up the canyon of heroes—the god damned Yankees were there! All covered by ESPN on national TV. The Knicks were terrible lost by 15 or 20. James played half the game and probably found it hard to be impressed. The night was a bust. Tonight has to be better...

Chris Bosh is on his way out of Toronto. He was drafted by the Raptors and has been the teams best player as well as a good soldier as the team constantly struggles to retool the team and build a winner. Bosh, to me, is the prize of the 2010 free agent free for all. No free agent in this Summer's class, outside of Joe Johnson, fits what the Knicks are trying to do here under Coach Mike D'Antoni. He is a stout post presence that has the ability to run the floor with in an uptempo system. Paired with David Lee, one of the best weak side players in the league right now and Chris Duhon and his ever improving pick and roll acumen, Bosh would fit in very nicely with a core that would include Danillo Gallinari. The Garden has to welcome him tonight. Bosh needs to feel what it could be like to be a Knick and play 41 games a year in the World's Most Famous Arena...

Word is starting to trickle out of Toronto that the Raptors will look to deal Bosh at the season's trade deadline. The Knicks have to be in on this. i'm well aware that i made the suggestion to trade for Tracy McGrady a couple of weeks back, and if you can't get Bosh, I would still do that deal if Eddy Curry is part of it, but GM Donnie Walsh has to be all up in this—up to his neck...

there should be dancing girls, celebrity's, Grandmaster Flash, Robert Randolph should personally serenade Bosh. Hey, if you can get away with it, i say blowjobs in the tunnel between quarters. Just make it happen. The Knicks, with the likes of Bosh, Lee, Gallinari, Duhon, and maybe even a Joe Johnson are a squad that becomes an elite Eastern Conference team. Playoffs? Let's talk Conference Finals. Let's talk Finals...

the passing fan might see tonight as much of anything but a Friday night in the big city. But this night could lead to so many other big nights at the Garden, and haven't we waited long enough for that?...

breaking news...

2010-01-14T21:29:00.001-05:00

and that's no lie...

journey to the center of the earth...

2010-01-14T14:07:00.010-05:00

so i heard it was mighty cold here the last couple of weeks...

yeah, sorry about that, i had to get out of town for a bit. The burden of the constellation can be trying and the path arduous. To properly maintain a hue of sanity i need to recoil from time to time. i didn't mean to take the more seasonable weather with me for my journey but it happens. i've never been accused of taking air out of a room but there is a first time for everything. Most of all i missed the Cat Mom, so i jumped a flight way out west, and took a little vacation...

your regular holiday fare...

staring at big holes in the ground...
a little night-life...
some reflection and relaxation...

and hanging with Maxwell Edison and his boys; Captain Orange and Gramps...

something this vast and random is not to be underestimated—the constellation, not the Canyon, but in fairness, the Grand Canyon is worth the trip if for nothing more than the challenging drive up I-17 if you are coming from the Tucson/Phoenix area. That humble feeling you get from standing at the edge of certain death, well, that's just icing on the cake...

but i have returned from my sojourn refreshed and alive to find out that Jay Leno is trying to muscle NBC into paying more for less, leaving Conan O'Brien cast from his rightful place, the Jets have a big game ahead of them this weekend, Carlos Beltran went rogue on the Mets while Sarah Palin went on FOX News as a talking head—how unrogue. Haiti, like they needed more bad wei, was pummeled by an extraordinary turn of celestial events...

i was able to solve the energy crisis and even took a couple of yoga classes. i saw another awe-inspiring work from Terry Gilliam by the title of the 'Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassass' and caught the reemergence of Guy Richie via 'Sherlock Holmes.' i may get to all of it, i may not, but until then, namaste motherfuckers...

i see my return ushered in some warmer weather...

saving lives since 1973, you're welcome...

playing both sides to the middle...

2009-12-30T09:33:00.003-05:00

depending on the outcome of a series of physicals, outfielder Jason Bay will be joining the New York Mets for the next 4 to 5 years. Great news depending on who you talk to. i can say the constellation is pleased. Adding another bat to a healthy lineup is just what the doctor ordered. Sure, GM Omar Minaya still needs to scour the streets for pitching but this isn't about the Mets, other than the fact we can be sure, as Met fans, that going into the New Year our ship isn't being steered by a complete simpleton. Temper your distaste, Omar's job is whole lot easier than the one my friends Knicks GM Donnie Walsh and Coach Mike D'Antoni have been knee deep in over at the World's Most Famous Arena for the past year and a half...

when i wrote for The TORCH, St John's Official Student Newspaper back in the early nineties i used to receive correspondence from Walsh, who was working as the Indiana Pacers top PR guy. He would keep me up to date on the comings and goings of SJU alum Malik Sealy, that is before Malik was traded to Minnesota and ultimately died tragically in an auto accident a few years later. i would foolishly ask for press credentials to Knick games when the Pacers were in town, i mean; its 1994—playoff tickets are too much to ask for? Walsh eventually went on to run the basketball operations over in Indianapolis until the room got too small with Larry Bird joining him in the front office. Walsh came home to NYC and inherited a Knick franchise in absolute disrepair...

fast forward to the current state of the Knick winners of 9 of their last 14 after starting 12-19 overall after starting 1-9. D'Antnoni has found a strong and short rotation. A hallmark of a team on mission is a good, tight 8 man rotation. The best teams in the league practice this philosophy. It identifies a players role and keeps play consistent. D'Antoni has received a little heat from fans and an agent about the 12 games Nate Robinson has sat on the bench with a DNP-Coaches Decision. Robinson is a fan favorite to be sure, and a favorite of mine, personality wise, but i can clearly see that he doesn't quite fit the program here. He might get his time at some point, especially if Larry Hughes play continues to ebb, but the mission here is to make the playoffs and if D'Antoni feels he's better off playing a guard rotation of Chris Duhon, Larry Hughes, and Toney Douglas then so be it. There is no lottery pick to play for, that is, unless your Utah Jazz fan. So playoffs ahoy...

Walsh has molded the current roster to allow for the largest amount of room under the salary cap to use next year in 2010 NBA Free Agency Bonanza. But there is still a piece of dead weight drowning any dream of LeBron James, Chris Bosh or the like. That dead weight is Eddy Curry, signed to the teeth for the better part of the next two years and not playing a minute ever since Jonathan Bender came from the gas station to take those 5-10 minutes away from him. Not that he was playing consistently well or, for that matter, consistently or well. Curry has been an abomination, the poster boy for an administration gone insane when Isiah Thomas reigned over the Franchise. Curry needs to go, no money down, and cash back. Imediamente!...

then comes news from Houston that oft-injured, former next Michael Jordan, Tracy McGrady was sent home by Rockets management as they try to work a deal to get him out of town. McGrady wants meaningful minutes and a chance to prove his worth after micro-fracture surgery. Hmm, maybe we can do business here...

let's sum it up, neither Nate Robinson or Eddy Curry are happy and there is no answer for them as to when they will ever see the court again as anything more than a spectator. The Knicks need to clear cap space by jettisoning Curry but need to give a prospective trading partner something of worth in return. With no first round pick to speak of and a squad improving everyday with the emergence of David Lee's and Danillo Gallinari's all-around games and a team defense that has kept opposing teams shooting poorly and turning the ball over a Knick fan should be screaming for the playoffs, and D'Antoni and Walsh should be doing everything in their power to make that happen, while not jeopardizing cap space for next year...

I propose trading for Tracy McGrady and the Rockets 2010 first round pick, offering in return Nate Robinson, Wilson Chandler and Eddy Curry. That makes Robinson happy, and gets Curry off the books for the next two years. Sure, i like Chandler's game, but there seems to be a disconnect between where he is as player and talent and the next level. Not to mention the 2010 free agent class is filled with better players who do the same thing. McGrady's contract is dust next June. McGrady's is a dyed in the wool scorer. A finisher, exactly what the Knicks need late in games when the pick and roll disappears. He is a perfect fit for a team starving for playoff experience and a team looking for a quick affair, not a long term relationship. Its exactly what McGrady wants, minutes on a team with something to prove, because he has something to prove as well. A good finish and a challenge in the first round of the playoffs and McGrady all but sews up his last professional contract somewhere else. Meanwhile the gaping hole that was once a multitude of attitudes and bloated contracts will go the way of Keyser Sose. Gone...

left will be a chasm of wants and dreams. LeBron? Sure, although he is a bit of a black hole and probably won't leave Cleveland. I'd rather lock up expiring contracts like Lee and Jared Jefferies, who has finally come around as the Knicks all purpose, do-all, cover anyone, take the charge, and hit the floor for the loose ball defensive specialist. Signing Chris Bosh would be another coup, giving us an All-Star post presence, rebounder and shot blocker, and probably should be the Knicks #1 priority. How badly do you think he wants out of Toronto? Layer in Joe Johnson, who thrived under D'Antoni in Phoenix and start making reservations for a perennial trip to the playoffs. Its like the NBA gods have finally seen fit to offer this opportunity to long suffering Knicks and their loyal fans, which right about now amounts to Spike Lee and myself, and i'm not sure about Spike...

make the deal Donnie, you can thank me later...with finals tickets...

a late Christmas present...

2009-12-28T23:48:00.001-05:00

this might be the greatest thing i've ever seen!

please enjoy...

bringing that beat back...

2009-12-24T10:17:00.004-05:00

t'was the night before Christmas, i was probably 7 or 8 years old. We ended up at the house of pa duke's old co-worker after spending the lion's share of the evening at my great-grandfather's house in Lynbrook, it might have been his last Christmas, details are sketchy when your 7...

the Rabinis had just sat down to their 15th meal of the day—they are Italian after all, so we stopped by. I had grown tired of the noise and hullabaloo, and retired to the cold and dark of the old brown station wagon although, at the time, we hadn't had it for very long. This was not an unusual event, i like my alone time, even when i was 7 or 8. Solace is one my favorite things...

i remember sitting there, with a smurf stuffed toy and deciding i had enough, went back into the house, walked over to my mother and requested that we wrap up the evening. After some pouting and some ribbing from the senior Rabini, we packed up the ship and my family and i started the journey home. During the ride my brothers began clamoring to my parents to open up presents that night rather then Christmas morning. If i was 7 then the elder would be 12 and the bastard would have been 10. They had grown into their cynicism by then and eschewed the idea of a Santa Claus. At some point, it might have been the elder, again semantics, who turned to me and said, 'you know there's no Santa Claus, right?'...

i've heard stories of this traumatic event played out many times by many people since, but for me there was no surprise, no horror, not even a blink before i said, 'yeah.' That settled it, the tradition of the Christmas Eve would be born. You see, even back then i was a full time resident of the constellation of logic. By pure scientific method i had already deduced that Santa could not exist. i was a good kid, stayed out of trouble, was fairly respectful and represented all prerequisite behavior that guarantees a swift delivery of whatever i asked for come Christmas morning. Two years before i had made my desire plain and simple. All i wanted for Christmas was a drum set...

i never received my drum set, which led me to believe that Santa Claus was probably some sort of control set long ago to keep kids in line. Not really, not back then at least, but its my story and i'm sticking to it...

i like the Christmas season, especially here in the big city. For all its manic, ultra-commercial, cut-throat self, it still breeds a togetherness as a people. Its one of the few things that still has the ability to foster that feeling in the modern world. i don't need Santa Claus or Baby Jesus to tell me so, it feels inbred...

so although we propagate tall tale after tall tale to our children, and feed into the machine like good little drones, i do sincerely wish you all a merry Christmas...

i gave up the dream of getting that drum set i always wanted, these days i wish for better times and getting a day closer to my Cat Mom. i'm easy, but if i wake up tomorrow to find a snare, bass and ride cymbal waiting for me then i'll take it all back...

merry Christmas to all and to all a good night...

midnight obituaries

2009-12-22T02:23:00.002-05:00

upon telling the Land Rover that i was a writer he retorted 'what do you write, obituaries?'...

well...

[Rodrigo Rodriguez] was unfortunately named. He grew to be an intrepid entrepreneur and an Undercover Baptist. He loved the lord as long as the lord loved him. Please send all condolences to Brian Mackle, Wilmington, N.C...

a picture is worth 1,000 words...

2009-12-21T10:33:00.007-05:00

snow day? Hell no, get to work on 4,000 words...

weighing patience as a virtue...

2009-12-16T20:12:00.004-05:00

Omar Minaya is imploring Met fans to have patience. He's got some set on him. Its difficult not to be impatient given the franchise's recent run amok. Forget the current ownership and management regime, Met fans have been served a yearly sack of fresh heartbreak since Dwight Gooden sniffed 1987 away. Listen folks, i was born into this. I have autograph pictures of John Sterns, Joel Youngblood AND Steve Henderson—what you got? At least i had Frank Cashen and Nelson Doubleday to temper the Wilpons or should i say Wilpon—back then, Jeff Wilpon was about as relevant in the organization as Jeffy from the Family Circle. So after the last few days with the sky falling and all, as well as a press conference with the sphinx himself, Omar would have us believe he and the organization have a plan and you know what? i think i believe him...

Did the Mets miss out on Roy Halladay or was Halladay calling the shots? Was Reyes actually in any trade conversation? Doesn't matter. The Mets don't have Cliff Lee or Kyle Drabeck, so they never had a chance. The Phillies have him, along with the rest of their core and a brand new sure handed third baseman with it for at least the next two years. The Phillies have made every move they could possibly make to assure themselves a stake in the big game until at least 2011, when the team's entire core does a free agent walk leaving Halladay all by his lonesome. They can't sign em' all...

Did we drop the ball by not signing Lackey? Eh, $80-85 million should be enough to get Cliff Lee next year, what's the rush? There is none, the Phillies are a better team regardless, the Phils will still take the division no matter who the Mets bring in. The team does have a chance at a wild card if they are healthy and fill some holes with quality baseball players. The Mets should be thinking about 2011 and beyond...

so how about this plan of Omar's?

i have no issue with signing Jason Bay. He is a very good bat. Especially when you put him in the mix with Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran. Matt Holliday is younger and might have be a better offensive player but i have an issue with a guy who pulls the old Ahmad Abdul Rahim in the playoffs. Bay may not be Joe Rudi or Barry Bonds in their defensive primes, but he didn't drop any easy fly balls...

Nobody wants to sign Bengie Molina for more than two years. So don't. Molina has one place that will give him a three year deal and that's Columbia House. He'll sweat it and us and then sign for two, start in 2010 and be the grandpa playing once a week in 2011, or after Thole is deemed ready for everyday consumption...

Pitching?, keep it cheap and exciting. Jason Marquis wants to pitch for the Mets. OK, son, enjoy your one-year deal. Kelvim Escobar, you want in?, the price of a minor league deal is yours. Ben Sheets? Erik Bedard, Chien Meng Wang? Remember, we're not going to beat the Phillies to the top of the division, why spend too much when you can hit a goldmine instead. Jenrry Mieja and Johnathan Niese will be ready in 2011 and i still believe in Mike Pelfrey, especially at only 26 years old and he will eventually be this team's horse. John Maine is a question, i'd rather not wait around for the answer, but if you can't get value for him, you hope for a good year that eats away at his rep and trade him for some real value in July...

You don't like Daniel Murphy at first? Maybe you didn't watch any games after July. i did, and i saw a 24 year old get thrown into the fire, handle that, a slump and a benching only to finish strong and turn himself into a pull hitter, who started to find that Pepsi Porch routinely. Double in the corner. Murphy, if nothing else will be chip for use in July to make this team better. If you want first base to be any better you grab a guy like Mark Derosa. He gives you a right handed platoon at first and a break at 5 other positions. The guy can hit, and if we're devoid of good pitching performances, we'll need all the bats we can get...

There is fruit on the vine. Thole, Mejia, Niese, Ruben Tejada, and Ike Davis—all probably ready for 2011. If Fernando Martinez can finally put together a full season in Triple A count him in for '11. Wilmer Flores won't be too far behind 2012 or so. There are reasons for optimism. And patience. Maybe this is Minaya's grand master plan. Why try to go for it all, when it just isn't there yet. The clock is running on Beltran and Johan Santana, sure, but Wright and Reyes are kids, and there is still time to decide if they are right for this franchise in the future. Spending wisely and giving the little we have in the minors time develop might just be a good idea. If that's, in fact, what Minaya has in mind, then i like how he's thinking. They brought in Wally Backman to breath down necks. Backman had a job as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks a few years back before this countries ass-backward value system jumped up to bite him the ass. i have to believe the only reason he was hired was to take over the major league job, so fear not Met fans, if things get shaky for Jerry Manuel, there is help about...

So give a little patience Met fans, its not like you've been waiting as long for a championship as us Knick fans...

nobody beats the Biz..

2009-12-16T09:48:00.006-05:00

it's true. Nobody, but nobody beats the Biz...

Biz Markie has rapped and chilled with the legendary Juice Crew, and he appears in the video for the seminal Rob Base mega-hit 'It Takes Two.' He has released his own classic records like 'Goin' Off' and 'The Biz Never Sleeps.' He has even sung 'Bennie and the Jets' with the Beastie Boys. Lately you might have heard him here or seen and heard him here...

i guess my question is; Why hasn't biz hit the big time? i see the Biz with a talk show, a movie deal, a sit-com something. Tell me he wouldn't blow Sponge Bob or Barney out of the water hosting a kids show. Come on, someone give Marcel some dap. If i had my way the dude would be sitting lead anchor on CNN in place of Lou Dobbs...

this is a guy who had to forfeit royalties because of a landmark copyright case that changed the face of hip hop. His song 'Alone Again' ripped a sample from the song 'Alone Again (Naturally)' by Gilbert O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan sued him instead of thanking the Biz for making him remotely relevant again. The court decision requires all artists to clear their samples before releasing their records and got Biz bounced from his record contract. That's all fine and good, but do you really think the Biz is getting paid by Heiniken for using his song? Regardless where the sample comes from, ('You got What I Need,' Freddie Scott, 1968), i'm sure the Biz isn't waiting by the mailbox waiting for a check from Heiniken. i know Freddie Scott isn't...

there he is right now, above, actually crying about the loot he has lost and the loot he's not getting. Blues for the Biz indeed, he deserves a better agent...

if you need somebody with some real ideas for your career, by all means Biz, give me a call...

in the meantime, allow me to share some more of your timeless work...

my imaginary interview with...

2009-12-16T09:44:00.002-05:00

Amy Adams...

Miss Adams has a new film coming to a theater near you Christmas Day...

Ms. Adams, does it tire you to make the same movie over and over again?...

It sure as hell is making us very irritable...

the hippocratic oath...

2009-12-11T09:12:00.002-05:00

i could care less about Brian Kelly. i've seen his type before. Upstart coach with smaller program leap frogs to bigger program and bigger coffers. Sometimes these guys become Urban Meyer, but most times they end up becoming Ty Willingham...

i see how the University of Cincinnati could be upset. Two days ago they had an undefeated, BCS Bowl bound football team complete with a head coach—hell, they woke up in the morning with all of that in place. They probably ordered a club sandwich in the early afternoon, thinking they still had a head coach. By nightfall that was not the case. But what i don't understand is how a University that according to insider sources that i trust, paid former Lincoln High School basketball star Lance Stephenson to attend Cincinnati, could get so upset about someone taking the money...

how about Mardy Gilyard? He's a star in the making and hopefully heading on his way to being drafted by the NY Jets, although the Judge would say that us Jets fan will be cursed by getting Tim Tebow, which might not be so bad—we could run the old '747 offense' to counteract the 'wildcat'—point is, he is going to be taking the money, and that's ok, right. Several Bearcats will. I mean; when did college football grow some integrity? Lighten up fellas, is Kelly a bit mealy-mouthed? Sure. But should we get Dr. Johnny Fever to lead the charge to Kelly's crucifixion?...

i don't think i have to go any further on this, except to say that i believe Kelly will fail, ultimately, due to the fact that Notre Dame hasn't figured out that to really succeed in 21st century college football the University needs a conference, not the coach of the month...

i wonder what Bearcat alum, the cowboy feels about this, but i haven't seen him since a chance glance through the shadows a few winters ago, so i'm not holding my breath to find out...

day of the dead...

2009-12-08T12:12:00.003-05:00

dec 8, the feast of the immaculate conception, as i was reminded by some sheep on facebook. But those of us who have to live in this world know better...

sure, today is also Jim Morrison's birthday and the anniversary of Dimebag Darrell's murder, both seminal moments in rock music but this planet lost a true mind and heart 19 years ago today in John Lennon...

today is the day that decaying body of JD Salinger arises from its resting place and kicks Mark David Chapman in the balls over and over again. At least, i dream that this is the case. i've said it many times before, that in losing Lennon we didn't just lose a musician or a merely a member of the Beatles. We've lost musicians since with less than a ripple in the landscape, and, with all due respect, clocks didn't stop when George Harrison died. If you're my age, ask you mother or father if they know who Dimebag is or Kurt Cobain, or Ian Curtis, chances are they don't. But Lennon, they remember Lennon—your grandparents remember Lennon...

John Lennon was a thinker, and in a world increasingly devoid of such men and women and i save my tears for these individuals. So, if you please, allow me this requiem...

merry christmas John, we miss you...

look out santino, johnny utah is on your tail...

2009-12-07T12:05:00.002-05:00

Keanu Reeves is producing and starring in a new film, currently in production down my street called Henry Crimes. It co-stars Vera Farmiga and James Caan. The following is an excerpt of my imaginary conversation with James Caan...

'hey Jimmy Caan, what's happening, brother?'

'do i know you, kid?'

'nah, but you sure do know the doorway of my apartment.'

'oh, i'm sorry.'

'no big deal Jimmy Caan, is that for all your boys keeping me up half the night with all of

those trucks rolling in, or just for standing in front of my door like that?'

'what? We're making a movie here, kid. Ya' mind?'

'really, is that what this is? I mean; its a Keanu Reeves flick, right? Probably one of those

ne'er-do-well but makes good in and gets the girl in the end. Your the heavy right?'

'get out of here, kid, you're going to get hurt.'

'i'm just trying to be friendly here, Jimmy Caan—'

'stop calling me Jimmy Caan—'

'—tell you what, let's let bygones be bygones, come upstairs, i'll make you a sandwich.

We can watch Las Vegas. you can give me the skinny on that Josh Duhamel character, like

it seems like he's the only dude with a cock in that town...'

at this point i imagine the granite fist of James Caan crashing my face with enormous power...

end scene...

throwing wood on the fire...

2009-12-06T22:48:00.004-05:00

today, in Indianapolis, Major League Baseball convenes its Winter Meetings. A four day stretch of glad handing and misappropriation of funds, along with . Normally, during the meetings, rule changes are discussed. Along with representatives from every team, player agents get together and talk turkey regarding trades, free agency and other transactions. It is all part of what baseball fans refer to as 'the Hot Stove League'...

personally, i don't put much into the meetings—especially being a Met fan. GM Omar Minaya is going to spend the next four days signing his third catcher in a week and try to peddle off Luis Castillo's contract off on some unsuspecting club with an embattled outfielder. Who knows, maybe Omar will finally figure it out, now that his job is on the line, but i could care less. i want my baseball back—baseball before it got all fouled up by this promotional three-ring circus nonsense, they are calling baseball these days. i blame Fox Sports, ESPN, the owners and the players association. Money grubbing whores that make the ladies of the evening some of them are bound to be spending their time with in downtown Indianapolis look absolutely pristine. i think they owe me. I think they owe the baseball fan. Here's mhy list of demands from the winter meetings...

1. An End to interleague play— It is a plague on all of our houses. The Mets play the Yankees 6 times every year. The St. Louis Cardinals play the Kansas City Royals 6 times a every year. Hey, as a Met fan, i'll let it be known—i'm not ducking the Yankees, but there is something inherently wrong with a system that condones uneven scheduling such as this. The San Francisco Giants play the Oakland A's, the AL West's perennial-small market-bottom feeders. The Giants' rivals the LA Dodgers get to play the LA Angels the AL West's perennial division leaders. Where is the justice? Now one cares anymore, the experiment has failed. Ace the interleague and restore some of the great rivalries of the past without sacrificing division play. There was a time when the Mets and Cardinals were big time rivals. The Mets and Cubs too. Why shouldn't the Dodgers and Giants visit New York more than once a season—they are the reason why the Mets even exist!...

2. Adjust the schedule— There should be more day games, there should be double headers that are back to back and scheduled, there shouldn't be such a thing as November baseball! I know, its a money issue, but these fans have withstood all of the steroid bullshit, all the primadonna's and free agency garbage. We are in a recession and no matter what your government promises, even when things get better, they will never be the same. Its time for professional sports to tighten their belt and give a little back. Its all we have, but if you keep fucking with us fans, we will stop showing up, i mean; i hear that the New Jersey Shore show is a riot. Schedule more day games. Do you see the Cubs losing money. They pack their house every single day of the year and the majority of those games are played during the day. Scheduling more double headers would save days and prevent November baseball from occurring, maybe even shave the amount of games down to 154 and...

3. Move the World Baseball Classic to November— i know what i said about November baseball but this isn't the same. It only happens every two years, and you can play it in warm weather climates. World Series ends, take two weeks, start up the WBC. WBC ends, everybody goes home. See you next Spring. Done.

4. Threaten Contraction—There's a dirty word—contraction. Teams like the Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates take luxary tax money every winter, and stow it away, never to be seen again. A team that can't make money in today's age of televised sports is not worth the uniform their name is printed upon. Especially in these two cities where, literally, if you build it (a team), they (the fans) will come. These are two great baseball towns. The Pirates won the very first World Series for lamb sakes. Kansas City, along with having the greatest BBQ joint on the planet, came out in droves in the days of George Brett, and they have a beautiful ballpark and the city as a whole is on the rise. Either start spending, or fold up the tent.

On the flip side, there's the idea of enacting a salary cap and floor. The Players Asscociation and players' business representatives would convulse to the point kinipshon under this circumstance, but simply put, you either agree to less money across the board for your players, or you agree to less teams for your players to play for. Its basic AIDA.

5. Let the All-Star game mean nothing— Its an All-Star game—that's it. Who thought it was a good idea for some other team's closer decide where game 7 World Series is played. Its retarded. Put an end to it. If the game is ties, you play rock/paper/scissors or, and how about this—expand the rosters.

too many times in the past the powers that be in Major League Baseball have tinkered with the game to the point of madness. It truly is a simple and beautiful game. As Judge Roughneck and i always used to comment when walking up to old Shea Stadium, with the words 'Baseball is for Kids' emblazoned on the back of the ballpark's scoreboard—'baseball's not for kids, its for us'. it is for us, all of us, how about giving something back to those of us who love it unconditionally...

now get to work, coffee is for closers—bitches...

are you listening? vol 5...sunday soundtrack redux...

2009-12-06T20:07:00.006-05:00

'we're doing wonderful new things with burrito wraps'...

another lazy Sunday filled with football—both European and American, basketball and hockey, sandwiching laundry and the beginnings of what i hope to be the next great American recording. i have two guitars, a bass and the boy's keyboard laying about and a penchant of writing lyrics, so what the hell...

in the in-betweens i did my share of grazing...

after the mornings breakfast burrito of egg whites, onion, jalapeno, and cheddar, and a simple salad a few hours later, i through on some music and went to work on what is fast becoming signature—dal-curry. Yellow lentils, that i had pre-soaked from the last batch i cooked up, with tomatoes and carrot chopped in, cooked and combined with my curry spice, made from scratch—grape seed oil, garlic, half of green pepper (roasted), cumin, turmeric, coriander, fennel, mustard seed, cinnamon, and fresh ginger, with a little soy milk thrown in. Its starting to get pretty tasty...

after a bit i got to work on the evening's main course—falafel. Its not just for Friday's anymore...

a little prep—diced tomatoes and chopped watercress with some sesame tahini combined with a touch of garlic, lemon juice, water and salt and pepper...

then it was time to fry up my freshly made chick pea, onion, garlic, porter, soy milk flour paste seasoned with cumin, coriander, salt and pepper, balled into ovals and thrown into some hot-ass grape seed oil...

normally falafel is served in a pita. i find that pitas our too much bread for the goodness of falafel so i went another route...

voila—falafel burrito...

i added some cucumber for texture and moistness, all in all, a good time was had by all—and that would be me, myself and i. As for the soundtrack to today's events...

Blackstarr—Self Titled

The Pretenders—Self Titled

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers—A Night in Tunisia

Prince—Sign of the Times (Disc 1)

MF Doom—Born Like This

Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros—Rock Art and the X-Ray Style

do remember falafel?...

ode to the hawk...

2009-12-06T10:55:00.004-05:00

i began to notice it Friday morning, walking home after a swim. The leaves, for the most part, had been raked or blown away. The trees were bare of their Spring and Summer clothing, it was only a beginning...

for those who unaware, the phrase, 'the hawk is out,' is a Midwestern vernacular used when the first winds of the winter blow in. The old boy in FLA used to say it when a chill fell over the Cape for three or four days every January...

ladies and gentlemen, the hawk is out...

it was miserable yesterday as the Alberta Clipper started to creep into the once stout jet stream, but there was a beauty to it. The air smells different when the hawk flies in. It makes you want to stay in drink tea or hot coffee, under your favorite blanket and veg out. Yesterday was almost perfect...

i began by watching one of the better college football games i've ever seen in Cincinnati at Pittsburgh. The winner earns the BCS slot given to the Big East Champion. Being an alum of a Big East school that dropped its football program many years ago, i don't have much to root for when it comes to College Football. Sure, i'll root for Notre Dame because my last name is Walsh and i'll throw my allegiance towards the University of Georgia Bulldogs because i was a fan of Herschel Walker, but more often than not the College Football season is a non-issue for me. It could be because College Football is inherently unfair. There is the idea of a Bowl Championship Series that rarely actually names a dyed in the wool champion. There are the scholarships taken from other school programs for the third string punter. There is the fact that a school like Notre Dame rakes in cash hand over fist while a school like TCU barely sniffs a buck as they may very well get screwed out of a big bowl payday because they don't play in a "big-time" conference. There is the fact that college and, for that matter professional football, are responsible for the incredible influx of morons than any other extra curricular activity in the history of educational institutions. But there were the Bearcats and the Panthers playing for something in the snow, on grass, in December. Ladies and gentlemen, that's football...

after Cincy won the game in wonderful fashion, i switched over to what i call the Devil's Advocate Classic. My St. John's Redmen facing my Duke Blue Devils. i traditionally root for Duke i have for 23 years, but when they play St. John's, which they have for more than a decade now, i tend t root for my alma mater because when all is said and done, the St. John's always needs to beat the Blue Devils more than the Devils need to beat the Redmen. Duke looks strong this year. Not just winning the ACC strong, more than that, they look like a team that plans on spending their first Monday in April playing basketball. St. John's has had a rough go of it every since the night the Knicks chose Frederic Weis over the heart soul of the Johnnies, Ron Artest back in the 1999 NBA draft. Mike Jarvis took a giant shit on a long and storied program and Norm Roberts was charged, and maybe overmatched, with fixing it while keeping it clean. Jarvis cost us recruits from the New York City, rivals like UConn, Villanova, Syracuse and Pittsburgh cherry picked the best talent from the 5 boroughs and left St. John's with Fordham and Hofstra like talent. Losing seasons fell like rain. Three years ago Roberts had, what at the time no one thought anything of, his best recruiting season. Players like DJ Kennedy, Sean Evans and Malik Boothe are now juniors, and entering yesterday's game in Cameron Indoor Stadium the Redmen were 5-0 and actually looked like a team that could win some games this year. After an early see-saw and a Duke run that seemed to wrap up the game at the half, the Johnnies fought back, showed their mettle and lost respectably and with a promise. I believe this team, with a softer Big East schedule than past years, the Redmen could very well be in the hunt for the NCAAs this year, with 17 wins a distinct possibility. Playing well in games of this stature, at Duke, one of the most difficult places to play in the country, helps teach a team how to rely on each other, play through the adversity and even play well. This was the toughest game on their schedule, and even thought they lost, they showed an ability to hold their own against a team that is in a class above most of the college basketball landscape. You heard it here, St. John's will beat Duke next year in their yearly meeting, next time at home in Madison Square Garden. Ladies and gentlemen the Redmen are back...

after a trip across the street to pick up a to go order from Nick's Bistro, i watched Alabama destroy the Florida Gators and one trick pony Tim Tebow. i don't know why, i just can't stand the kid. i know, he's a great athlete, and he's a great motivator of his teammates, but he sounds like a bad TV script for the 700 Club. He represents another aspect of football along with other sports where the players actually think their god is heloing them play well or win a game. Tebow didn't thank Jesus for losing yesterday, not for throwing the bone-head interception that iced the game. Jesus must have been busy turning his attention towards the gentrification of Somalians because the come from the wrong tribe. Or maybe Jesus just rolls with the Crimson Tide. Judge Roughneck would believe that, since he's an Auburn fan and states, whole heartedly, that Jesus hates him. So there's that, and there is my passing allegiance to the U, due to my time in Fort Myers with family. The old boy is a fan of the Hurricanes and his daughter, the Doc, is an alum of the U along with being a student of its medical school. So there's that. Ladies and gentlemen, Texas doesn't belong, and the BCS still sucks...

the evening was locked up by the Rangers grabbing a win in Buffalo and a viewing of The Fugitive hence the Facebook status of 'provasic!'...

that film takes place in Chicago. When the old boy was still cutting glass for Japanese tourists up here in New York, his work used to take him to Pennsylvania and Ohio, where he met a gentlemen who once, in the midst of being perched above a marquee on an especially blustery day, had uttered that very to the old boy, 'oo boy, the hawk is out'...

went for a can of coffee early this morning, down the street. It was sunny and clear, i caught sight of my breath and thought indeed, the hawk is out...

win, lose or draw...

2009-12-04T13:30:00.002-05:00

in the 1986 NBA Draft Lottery the New york Knicks held the worst possible chance of obtaining the number 1 pick in the draft. The Knicks buck the odds and won the lottery, drafting Patrick Ewing. Its the last time the sun shone on the New York Knickerbockers. Allegations from team owners charged the NBA with handing the Knicks the first overall pick and these charges led to the changing of the rules in such a way that a team in the position that final lottery position would have an absolutely minuscule chance of winning the first overall pick...

a lot of good that did. In 2008, the Chicago Bulls, the most blessed team in the history of the draft—a team that somehow convinced, via mind-meld, the Portland Trailblazers to choose Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan—won the draft lottery with the best record amongst all the members of the draft lottery. All of this after the 6 NBA Finals the team won with Jordan in the 1990's. So much for fairness...

in Johannesburg, South Africa this afternoon, the 2010 World Cup Draw was chosen in a similar fashion. Somehow Italy—defending champs, Spain and France end up in the easiest draws. As an American i'm not here to kick dirt for having to play England in the first game, or about Team USA's draw. i think the draw is good for this US team, which might be this countries best representative ever leading in to the cup. i also relish a chance to play the Motherland to open the tournament, a game i think the US side could win to take control of the draw as a whole, forward to the knock out stages. The team player will be crying in his ceviche...

its just bothers me how European teams especially these three would have the red carpet rolled out for them. France especially. The ultimate insult...

world class striker Thierry Henry—you might have seen him in the Gillete commercials with Tiger Woods and Roger Federer before he was booted by Derek Jeter, who apparently just started shaving—committed a hand ball foul in the seminal moment of the France's World Cup qualifying win over Ireland. The foul was not called and Henry's goal stood, France in, Ireland out. The last thing France deserves is an easy entry into the knock out stages. FIFA, the governing body of World Football, is rattling chains that they will sanction Henry for his unsportsmanlike play. Its not going to happen, and it shouldn't. The only thing that is going to make this right is to drop the referee of that game, Martin Hansson, in the middle of Dublin...

the Italian leagues have been through its own controversies, between referee bribing and the like. FIFA slapped them on the wrist and gave them another good draw...

Spain, well, their Spanish—and the 2008 European Champions, we might as well give them a cup semi birth, if not final...

i guess, shouldn't be surprised. Although it probably doesn't matter what kind of help FIFA gives to its European members, those heathens from Brazil will probably hoist the cup for the sixth time. It almost makes it worth it to know that the "beautiful game," is truly ruled by the western hemisphere...

who's Sam Bowie? Exactly...

change we're not quite sure of...

2009-12-02T12:47:00.002-05:00

meet the new boss—and all that...

here we go again. Sending troops to a place halfway across the world to fight an enemy that isn't there only to incur the wraith of those very enemies we have been searching for since this whole mess started so many years ago...

Afghanistan. A barren wasteland. Principal economic value: poppy seeds and setting for the new Mad Max productions. Fifi will happy to be able to get his poppy seed bagel fresh from craft services. Really all we are talking about is a game of Risk. Yeah, the board game. Afghanistan is the gateway to the orient, as well as the buffer between that an Iran—part of the middle east in the game. In strategic terms its a transition area. If a large part of your army is based in Africa you want the Middle East to be your barrier country, using Afghanistan as a pawn in which to buffer from an Asian or Australian attack. Normally, when you hold Australia, your best course of action, after fortifying Siam, is to move westwards towards Africa, you see, Asia is too difficult to hold throughout the game so you are better off building a bridge to Africa, Africa offers the most points via continent bonus and also allows easy access to South America and Europe. In other words you save Asia for last. Ask the Chinese and the Russians how they feel about having to take over Asia, it just doesn't work out to well. Mostly because of the wasteland, the terrain and the angry individuals who have lost the genetic lottery. So why bother, you wait until you can trade in your cards for a boatload of armies and make Asia your last conquest, win the game and go home...

this isn't your older brother's game of risk—the one where he doesn't tell you the rules until they come up during the game and they are too late. The rules are simple here. Anything for the pipeline...

we have our interest back Iraq, even if the military presence has dwindled, believe you me, Chevron is all up in that as much as they are ass-deep in patents for the batteries that make the Hybrids work. There be oil up there in Asia—Kazakhstan to be exact, untapped and waiting for someone to drill the shit out of it. This is land that Genghis Khan didn't give a damn about, now its fucking Disneyland...

so if you were looking to build a pipeline from central Asia to Iraq, how would you go about it? Well there's Iran, but they have an Air Force and a terrain just as nasty as Afghanistan, so you might as well go for Afghanistan and surround Iran use sanction tactics and diplomacy to try and get Iran to change itself, and then just walk right in, all of a sudden you have the Persian Gulf and 3/4 of the countries needed to pump oil out of Kazakhstan and into the waiting tankers of Exxon/Mobil, Chevron and the like...

i bring this up merely to map out the reasons why President Obama went on TV last night, preempting A Charlie Brown Christmas, the only Christmas Special worth watching (it seems that Frosty the Snowman make 11 year-olds cry), to sell out 30,000 men and women to try and law up the lawless in Afghanistan. Meet the new boss...

things haven't quite come to pass as Obama laid them out for us this time last year—change we can believe in all that. Its getting harder to believe he'll get anything done and easier to see him turn into Jimmy Carter. This is the job, these problems aren't of his creation. The economy was weak-kneed after tax cuts in the early part of the decade and then exacerbated by getting involved in this Middle East mess to begin with. Then there is the toxic investment practices of the uber rich, the conceiving and institution of NAFTA, and the coddling of the Medical-Pharmaceutical Complex. There are the countless feckless education initiatives that have put an onus on useless numbers instead of real tangible results, like smarter, better prepared and more creative children instead of drones already halfway into their very own Matrix-pods. These things were all in place long before Obama entered the White house. That's the job, i understand. Its easier to let people tell you what to do then actually find a solution, see the former title holder...

thing is, i believed that Obama would put his foot down. That he had heard and seen enough like many of us already had. i thought this dude was going to pull a Black Belt Jones when he got in there, not merely get seduced like some Williams, i mean; nothing unusual about a President believing the hype...

Obama has to find a way to grab the power back. He needs to cut the puppet strings and flow free, because making the mistakes of a past administration because it is the path of least resistance won't endear him to those of us who expect and demand change. His administration should be on a suicide mission to get things done. The only way he won't be reelected in 2012 is if he sits back and allows the status quo...

breaks over Bro'ham, time to get up and go to work...

code red—danger!...

2009-11-29T22:30:00.006-05:00

thanksgiving weekends are always filled reunions, get-togethers, drinking, eating and plenty of rabble-rousing. The students come home from school, families reunite, friends spend their nights in watering holes. But with the Cat Mom still so far away weekends like this can make me feel like a man without a country...

really, i can't complain. Pop Dukes rolled out a feast that left my belly distended. As the weekend progressed i caught up with some old Tower folk, and they are just as much family as anyone else. Made time for some QV crew the next night, and caught up with the chefs tonight. Work is on the way, whether its lugging furniture or slinging drinks—either way there is a light at the end of the tunnel i haven't seen for ages. Inspiration flows regularly, even if it appears in odd places and i'm just over a month away with my own reunion with my lady. So there is plenty to be thankful for. Plenty of reason to keep my chin up. But most of all I'm thankful that there is a place called Cabrito and within this palace exists a culinary pleasure beyond imagination...

may i introduce the Danger Dog...
pictured is the El Luche Libre (right and center) and the Sonora. Not just mere hot dogs, they are indeed dangerous—and tasty...

the chefs, wilt the stilt and a-cue, brought me in on this wonder. Its fun hanging around with people in the culinary industry, all they want to do is feed you. And in the case of a-cue, advantages include a possible gig behind the bar at a new joint in Williamsburg and of course—homemade bacon!...
god bless us everyone!...

out of order...

2009-11-25T09:47:00.005-05:00

update: there are two free parking spaces on Metropolitan avenue...

this is not the work of the Department of Transportation. This was the work of a presumably drunk driver at 5 am this morning. i just happened to wake up a moment before when i heard a car pass and hit something. i knew it wasn't a building on the block or another car, those noises are pretty distinct, but with my eyes still shut and comfortable under the covers i decided to fall back asleep while the sound of the anonymous driver attempted to move his or her car away from the area of the accident. When i left for my swim this morning i took a look down the block to see the damage. Two parking meters and a parking sign. Good work indeed...

as we approach the busiest bar night of the year—amateur night, i want everyone to take care as you decided to get in your death machines after drinking too much. Most of you will be too drunk to drive, so don't, there is no excuse, and i'll tell you what—anyone caught drinking and driving on my block with get a nine iron to the head courtesy of the hit squad...

for those of you in the weeds, the hit squad is a consortium of individuals banded together to rid the world of those deemed to be harmful to society and that's all you'll ever need know...

it occurred to me that maybe the driver was trying to steal the coins from the parking meters. But there are better ways to accomplish this...

beet update...

2009-11-24T16:45:00.002-05:00

i received a comment as per my beet burger post from Zacconi, whom, besides having quite possibly the best last name ever, writes here. i received her comment while on the road, stating that she had recently posted about her love of beets by opening: 'dear beet'...

as i went about my day i began to draw inspiration from her beginning 'dear beet'. i began musing my own little love letter to beets. "Why are you so fierce and angry? You are beet red—oh, now i get it..." When i returned home from my adventure i took a look at Zacconi's post and realized her ode was excellent and there was no need for improvement, so i abandoned mine...

so enjoy Zacconi's de to the beet, linked above, and for old time's sake...

'KAREN, THAT'S ALL WE HAD!!'—funny thing about that line, upon watching 'Goodfellas' i found that the Cowboy and i had delivered that line to you incorrectly, it is actually...

'THAT'S ALL WE HAD!...KAREN!', as if it were two different statements. If its all the same i will continue to use the former for the sake of continuity...

what'cha eating...vol 2...

2009-11-24T11:15:00.006-05:00

my girlfriend's a vegetarian. Not one of those 'i saw a movie about slaughterhouses' vegetarians or 'i smoke a lot of pot and think i'm one with the planet vegetarians' or any of the like. The Cat Mom has been a vegetarian since she was six. That's commitment, pal...

so, as Quentin Tarantino once wrote in regards to vegetarian girlfriends, that "basically makes me a vegetarian." Not quite. You might recall my love of a certain sandwich. But if i plan on spending the rest of my life with this woman i should know something about cooking for a vegetarian. Enter the beet burger...

beets get a bad rap. i think most people realize that beets are a one of the best things you can eat. They stimulate the blood, clean the kidneys, liver and urinary tract along with things that all vegetables do like fight infection and promote cell growth and what not. You want a hangover remedy, get yourself some beet salad, you'll be right as rain in no time. Now the beet burger...

two beets—2 medium, or 3 large. You could use canned beets but fresh is the way to go

half a carrot, half an onion, two cloves of garlic—roast the veggies until they are soft

millet flour—a cup, cooked in boiled water. i used to use flax seed but the millet works so much better.

wheat germ—1/2 cup

two pieces of wheat toast—blend the toast with the wheat germ and mix in with the cooked and cooled millet.

blend the vegetables together and add to the millet. Mix well, let it sit in the frig for an hour, break it out make patties and enjoy. i get up to six patties.

cook them with a little oil and enjoy the shit of them. i had them with double fiber english muffins, which were kick ass, and a little mustard—because i love mustard...

do yourself a favor and eat some beets once and a while, or any vegetable and if you won't take it from me, take it from Frank...

coming to a theater near you...

2009-11-20T15:12:00.002-05:00

...Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Mysterious Product Placement...

fish, chips...taquitos?...

why do we never get an answer, when we're knocking on the door...

2009-11-20T10:25:00.002-05:00

well, Knick fans, here's you answer...

literally, the Answer himself, Allen Iverson. The man who gave us the single greatest moment in sports journalism. Knick fans and haters alike, prepare yourself. This could be an absolute disaster. Or, it could ultimately be the turning point in a franchise that hasn't had a star since Patrick Ewing used his fingers instead of his common sense. Either way it should be real entertaining...

a moment of clarity, first. i had the privilege of covering Big East Basketball for several years and went on to retain good seats at St. John's games for many years after my graduation from the university. In my time watching, studying and enjoying the Big East game i have never seen anyone as quick on the court as Iverson, except for Omar Cook but he, believe it or not, was even more of a space case. Clearly, though, Iverson is the basketball player i've seen with my own eyes, and i saw that kid from Cleveland a few weeks back. No one has done more with less than Iverson, he once brought a team of rag tag CBA players to an NBA Final, with the Philadelphia 76ers. That kid from Akron, has had NBA level talent around him last year and couldn't beat the Orlando Magic and their one trick pony of an offense. Iverson is an enigma wrapped in tattoos to be sure and every basketball pundit under the sun is calling this the mistake of century. They might be right, but what do the Knicks have to lose?...

Iverson will bring scoring and backcourt defense. It will be swift and just. It could very well take this 2-9 squad above water and possibly meet the 37 win plateau i had in mind for them. It could get them into the playoffs. David Lee is a double double machine, and an athletic power forward works well with a guy like Iverson. Lee's ability to rebound from outside the lane, or the weak side makes him perfect glass cleaner for a guy who darts and slashes to the rim like Iverson. Lee's ability to shoot the 15 footer also makes him a nice kick-out option for Iverson when he invariably gets himself in trouble...

Toney Douglas will be this team's point guard, bet on it. The other thing you can bet on is he will not lose minutes, ultimately, he and Iverson can make a stifling pair in the backcourt. Chris Duhon will eventually be regulated to off the bench status, permanently. Larry Hughes has played himself into a position to demand minutes at the two-guard as well, where i see Iverson doing his best work, but that would leave limited minutes for Hughes let alone Nate Robinson. i love Nate. i love the shake and i love the bake, but he may just not fit in the system coach Mike Dantoni envisions for this team. Iverson doesn't either, but he is 34 and will only be getting a one year deal. Nate is worth something on the open market. A microwave offensive talent and dynamo on defense, he still comes cheap and won't count against the cap next year. There should be teams clamoring for this guy, let's give 'em what they want. Robinson, traded for another expiring contract and a first round pick would be perfect...

see this is the problem, the Knicks, even if they finish dead last in all of the NBA, even if they get the most ping pong balls in the bin for the lottery—there will be know first round pick for Knicks at the end of this debacle. It is Isiah Thomas' last gift. So why not sign Iverson? Why not bring in a top flight scorer, a finisher. Someone who can give this team a chance to be a contender or at least interesting until the summer shopping spree begins...

the Knicks aren't terrible, they are playing terrible—there is a difference. They have no direction, no confidence and no need to worry about their jobs, because for most of them, come this summer they already know they will be unemployed. This season was to be a lab test—shake it up and see who comes out at the end of the year. But Al Harrington is stunting the development of Wilson Chandler. Danillo Gallinari looks like he could be real special, but he is two years away from being that. Jordan Hill probably should have been Brandon Jennings, but like i said, Douglas is this team point guard of the future, and i have no issue with that. Hill will only see time in blowouts and when Dantoni decides to reach for a breath of fresh air from his bench. He won't get any real time until 2010, after the roster is reshuffled and he develops a potent offensive game. Jared Jefferies is an abomination. Eddy Curry actually looked like he could play basketball the other night in Indiana and 20 minutes a game from a bona fide post presence will make this team better in a hurry. Without Iverson, Dantoni has to make decisions about his rotation. Douglas needs to get more minutes than Duhon, Chandler needs to be featured more than Harrington and the addition of Curry needs to be handled with kid gloves. With Iverson, the decisions will be made for him. 35 minutes, 25 points, a couple of steals and assists a game. There is no one on the roster who can provide that night after night—i'll take it...

here's the news, Lebron James is not coming here. He wasn't coming here before draft night, not after Grandmaster Flash serenaded him two weeks ago, and he won't be coming in July. Jay-Z is moving to LA and the Clippers might get real just yet. He won't be coming here unless David Stern finally gives us our boobie prize for propping up Michael Jordan all of those years ago—because it should have been us versus Phoenix in 1993. But instead the Knicks got all the cutting and pasting of the post Isiah era and with nothing more than an opportunity at a couple of tier 2 free agents. Maybe we can grab a guy like Chris Bosh, but more likely, the youth you see on this roster is more or less the core of tomorrow's team...

ultimately the Knicks would be best suited at overpaying for restricted free agent Rudy Gay and picking up a Carlos Boozer to bolster the team's paint game. So why not have a little fun this season and let loose the Answer on Madison Square Garden. The worst that can happen is a couple of hilarious press conferences and the door hitting him on the ass on the way out next June...

the question is simple, would you rather the Knicks fade into the summer without a wimper or make some noise as they march into their uncertain future?...

you have your Answer...

M-I-C-K-E-Y...

2009-11-18T10:33:00.002-05:00

let's talk birthdays. Apparently today is Mickey Mouse's birthday. Hip, hip, hooray...

its hard to get excited for an event like this, i've always been a Bugs Bunny guy. You see, Bugs always told it like it is. Mickey has been lying and manipulating for 81 years. Its not his fault, his creator fostered his politics along with his existence. Alleged backing of the Nazis, Joe McCarthy's best friend, corporate greed, i mean— i'm not sure if there is anything on this planet that disgusts me more than Disney...

Kevin Smith goes so far as to accuse Disney of breaking the first commandment in his film, 'Dogma'. Of course he never mentions Disney by name and its not Mickey Mouse that is used in this dichotomy, but a cow. Moobie. The idea is the same though, a large scale media corporation that has made kids believe Mickey Mouse is bigger than god. Now, i'm not a believer so that doesn't bother me any, i have other fish to fry...

for instance, Disney is responsible for Britney Spears, a crime against humanity in its own right. They along with Fox have cornered the market on sports television and actually made it unenjoyable to watch. If i am subjected to one more piece of cross promotion i might go on a killing spree. With its considerable financial might Disney is capable of shoving anything it wants down your throat and you are made to like it, after all Mickey says so...

the last straw came as i strolled through Roosevelt Field mall not too long ago and notice that Disney open a store where you can come in and plan your vacation to Disney World, because in these hard financial times why shouldn't you come to Disney World and plunk down the last of your good money...

so excuse me, if you are a Mickey Mouse fan, freak or lover, i could care less if it his birthday. Its only another reason for the Disney corporation to take another dollar from you...

i'm sure you are well aware that christmas is coming. How about passing on the Disney Store and giving you children, nieces or nephews something they can build, be creative with or learn with, rather than another videotape with a talking dog or some other Disney inspired nonsense...

happy birthday you fascist pig...