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

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...

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...

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?...

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...

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!...

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...

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?