Somewhat Manly Nerd

I would die for this poster.

That is all.

Talk about teams going in completely different directions…

The Yankees have won their past 9 games, while the Mets have lost 9 of their last 10. The Mets are still 8 games over .500, though, due to their insanely hot start. I don’t see them losing their division lead, considering the Braves have sucked almost as bad over the same period. Meanwhile, the Yankees have steadily been cutting down on what seemed an insurmountable lead for the Red Sox only a month ago. 7.5 games back. Boston has to be pissing themselves.

Anyway, this series is looking to be an absolute massacre. Unfortunately, I have work until 9, so I’m going to miss at least the first 5 innings or so tonight. I wish I could watch Clemens pitch. The way the Mets have been hitting though, he’s probably going to dominate them. Of course, Oliver Perez is a toss-up every time he takes the mound. I can’t bring myself to look further into the series.

This is yet another release of Panel de Pon, the classic Nintendo game. Most people probably know the game as TETRIS ATTACK, arguably the greatest 2-player puzzle game of all-time. I’m not even going to explain the mechanics of the game. If you like puzzle games and are over 20 years old, you’ve probably played some iteration of Panel de Pon. If you’re a bit younger and like puzzle games, buy this game. If you don’t like puzzle games, then maybe you’ll prefer 皇冠娛樂.

The important thing here is that one can play online using the DS’s Wi-Fi capabilities. This is truly enough awesome for me, but there’s a few things Nintendo could’ve added very easily to pack the game with even more awesome. Unfortunately, there’s only one gameplay mode to choose from when playing with random people online. You can choose whether to be ranked or not (Birthday or Free Play mode), but both modes play exactly the same. When playing with a friend (which we all know Nintendo has made a chore with Friend Codes) you can decide whether you want items or not, and voice chat or not. There’s no handicap option, a la Tetris DS. I just prefer the overall implementation of online play on Tetris DS more, but maybe that’s because I’m much better at that game.

Part of the reason I’m not quite too good at Planet Puzzle League is due to my reluctance to get accustomed to the stylus control. It’s faster and easier, but the old Tetris Attack mode of button control is ingrained in my mind. And I was never a legendary Tetris Attack player, as the only time I got to play was over my friend Anth’s house – something I’ve been doing for 10 years now. So even though I get my ass kicked sometimes, I’m just happy to have other people to play against now.

https://crown155hk.com

Roland Garros = French Open, by the way.

Don’t ask me why, but big Grand Slam tennis matches excite me as much as any other sporting event outside of the MLB playoffs. I would’ve watched the French Open final today if I didn’t have some work around the house to do. Basically any late-round Grand Slam match with Roger Federer is worth a watch, but the French Open is different. Why, you ask? Because it’s the one Grand Slam tournament that Federer hasn’t won, and it’s completely owned by another player – Rafael Nadal. After today’s convincing 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win, Nadal has three straight titles and a career record of 21-0 at Roland Garros. In his career, he is 35-0 in five-set clay matches. That is absolutely disgusting. Federer’s dominance at Wimbledon and on grass comes close, but he’s not UNDEFEATED. (Of course, he’s lost some 3-set clay matches, but he still had a record 81-match winning streak on the surface.)

So Federer has to deal with another year without completing his career Grand Slam. He’ll most likely win the last two Grand Slams this year in addition to his Australian Open title, though. But he’s one year closer to retiring without a French Open title, much like the man he has already surpassed in many experts’ eyes – Pete Sampras. He’s still 4 Grand Slam titles behind Sampras (he has 10), but I see him at least tying that by next year unless Nadal’s dominance over Federer spills over onto other surfaces. That is something I’d like to see, as every other Grand Slam is reaching the point of foregone conclusion at this point.

My friend Justin wrote a nice, long review of the new Dream Theater album.

Let me start this off by saying I am a die hard Dream Theater fan.

As a longtime fan, I have to say that it’s hard for me to ever dislike the direction they go in. They are progressive, meaning constantly progressing, and so I have always defended their latest work, even their previous release, 8v (Octavarium), which came under certain scrutiny from a large portion of the fan-base.

The key to Dream Theater’s success, as I see it, is based on three important factors; the first and most obvious being their technical lure to any musician or music lover. No matter what style of music you prefer it’s impossible to deny that these 5 band members are other than musical prodigies, and that the music they create would leave any prospective cover band in tears. They are simply that good, and so for many, including me, this is what ensnares you initially.

The second factor, which is in some cases similar to the first, is its musical enjoyment, Aside from the technicality of the playing; the songs are in themselves powerful, catchy, and at times moving. The power of the music combined with the respect and awe of their skill can please many a fan, but here comes the kicker.

The third factor: the connection. How does one connect with a song? Through the lyrics of course. Dream Theater’s lyrics have in the past known to be intelligently written, cleverly devised, and most importantly beautiful, in all senses. The pain of living and of becoming, the ups and downs of love, the odd specific idiosyncrasies of human interaction; these all make one connect with the song. And when the music is thunderous and epic (as most DT songs are), any fan of the prog genre falls in love.

With Dream Theater’s previous release, 8v, fans were on edge about the 2nd factor. The music was technical, the lyrics, while not as wonderful as some previous releases, were still OK. The power of the songs; however, did not seem on par with the rest of the DT repertoire. Any critic of the album will point out each songs lack of “substantiality.” While I do not agree, I can certainly see where this argument is coming from.

The new album, Systematic Chaos, fixed that problem and let’s the listener know it from the very first second. What this album failed to deliver, was a connection. That means the lyrics are silly.

To sum it up, track 1 and 8 (yeah, I’ll get to that) are about a guy who sells his soul to a demon (likely the devil) and fights to get it back.
Track 2 is about someone who gets taken by vampires and doesn’t know they are being sucked of blood.
Track 3 is a “balls to the wall” metal cliché.
Track 4 is about a monster who terrorizes…I don’t even know, its just a monster RAWR!
Track 5 is actually good. It’s the next in the AA saga, thus reflecting actual human emotion: A+
Track 6 is about the war in Iraq. Meh, politics in music: not my cup of tea, but at least its something real, and the music is great so this one works too.
Track 7 is about someone drowning who is saved but their savior drowns (call Alanis Morissette) they become obsessed with crossing to the “other side” where this person is, and in the end they actually do.
Track 8: see track 1

Now let me just say this: splitting up Track 1 and 8 because it’s long was a bad move. Both tracks are good, because the song is good, but track 1 is lost – it just is – and for no reason. If you get this album (which you should) I suggested ripping it on your PC and placing those babies back to back like they should be.

That being said, I can deal with this track because one can assume this battle for a soul is an internal conflict, and so this actually becomes the best track on the album. It is a fantastic piece of music, and the lyrics can assumingly be connected with, so it works. This is what DT is, and a new favorite of mine.

However, I have yet to be abducted by a vampire. Ill let the metal cliché slide, because I’m sure it was fun to play/write. Further, I am not a monster, nor has one recently terrorized me or anyone I know, so I cant really connect their. The AA saga works. The political tirade, gag factor of 10, but it works. The story about drowning can work, if you get into it, but a lot of the time it seems too trying. It’s hard to buy it.

In general the 3rd factor seems divorced from this album. Which is a shame because had it included such lines as “like the spider in the window I wish that I could speak,” “through natures inflexible grace I’m learning to live,” and “still awake I continue to move along cultivating my own nonsense,” then this would easily be one of my favorite albums.

The reason why it isn’t is because I can’t seem to connect with it beyond enjoying the songs and appreciating the music.

That being said, I love the album. It’s DT, its fun to listen to, it rocks. The songs are musically on par with everything DT has ever done. In fact the instrumental pieces are some of the most intricate DT have put out yet. Why complain then? Because this album could have easily been a DT masterpiece had they lyrics been real.

In the end, this album is only the first DT release under a new record label, and it rocks. Judging by the Special Edition documentary, the band had fun making the album, and the lyrics seem to reflect that. It’s an album where the band had fun, as such its fun to listen to; it’s just not the music that moves a person; which so much of the rest of their songs do.

So if the band wanted to come onto a new label and create a fun album that displayed their superior musical abilities, then that’s fine by me. I just hope in the future they keep the demons and monsters where they belong. Under beds and on Iced Earth albums.

Rating: 8.9 (could have been an 11 with connectable lyrics, my scales go to 11, F off.)

I made the mistake of going due to lack of options. I did the same with the second. Didn’t have much to do and everyone else wanted to see it, so I said “Fuck it” and dragged my ass to the theater with my buddies. I can’t believe I made the same mistake a second time. I would have rather gone to see Spider-Man 3, but my friends suck. There’s no way it could’ve been worse than this convoluted, bloated piece of garbage.

I really don’t know where to start, but not having Johnny Depp for a good 30 minutes in the beginning of the movie just sucked. Although, it made for a hilarious “YES” yell from some kid in the audience when he made his first appearance. And even though Depp was his usual awesome self, it seemed like the writers tried way to damn hard with making Captain Jack Sparrow as insane and weird as possible. Depp made the role himself in the first movie and it just got more and more forced as the series went on.

Orlando Bloom pretty much sucks. Keira Knightly, although pretty, isn’t much better. Man, just writing about this movie is a painful experience. The first half of the movie is almost action-free with too much of that black chick talking in her headache-inducing accent. The last hour or so is a huge ship-to-ship battle that does have pretty damn impressive special effects, though.

I really can’t bring myself to write much more. Even the two friends I saw it with – who were big fans of the first two – agreed this was the worst of the trilogy and just a disappointing film all around. Most of the jokes and gags fall flat, the plot is disgustingly thrown together, and the action isn’t as incredible as it could’ve been.

4/10

So if you haven’t already seen Pirates 3, go see Knocked Up this weekend instead.

I just watched the most incredible playoff basketball performance since I was a little kid. I was a witness. LeBron James just scored the final 25 points for the Cavs against the Pistons in a double-OT Game 5 109-107 win. 29 out of the last 30 points. The last 11 field goals. He completely embarrassed the Pistons three times by dunking on the whole team twice in the row and then winning the game with a drive and lay-up with 2.2 seconds left in 2OT. He hit shots no one has any business hitting, never mind again and again. He was unstoppable. It was like a game of NBA Live. Although, the Pistons should’ve been triple-teaming him by the second overtime. The rest of the Cavs were completely worthless tonight. LeBron’s final line: 48 points, 9 rebs, 7 assists.

Of course, this will all be moot if the Pistons win the next two games. But who wants to see that? LeBron vs. Spurs would be extremely interesting. I have a feeling the Spurs would shut his ass down though. They’re just an indomitable machine.

Not only did Andy Roddick – the number 3 seed – lose in the first round at the French Open, every American (all 9 of them) failed to advance to the second round. That’s only the third time that’s happened at a Grand Slam in the past 40 years. This doesn’t really matter because it looks like this will be the year Roger Federer finally wins at Roland Garros. He finally beat Rafael Nadal on clay recently in surprisingly easy fashion. But getting away from America’s ineptness at tennis…

Is there any sport that is internationally played where America is on top? I’m not talking about women, because in reality no one really gives a shit about women’s sports. I’m sorry, but it’s true. In basketball, our biggest stars get completely owned by guys that actually play defense and as a team. In baseball, we didn’t even medal in the World Baseball Classic. In golf, we routinely lose the Ryder Cup – but at least we have Tiger Woods. In soccer…well, let’s not talk about that disaster. I don’t even know hockey, but I’m pretty sure the U.S. hasn’t won any international hockey competitions in recent years. At least we still have football, but only because the rest of the world plays
the more aptly-named form of football (or rugby).

It’s no doubt due to American youths not having the same drive for athletic success and discipline that kids in other countries have. Also, the wealth in the United States allows kids to participate in other activities. In Latin America, all kids do is play baseball and soccer, even if their equipment is worse than any American kid could imagine. They dream about playing in the Major Leagues from birth. In Europe, basketball is starting to grab hold, and the players from over there have a better sense of the team game than most of the best players that come out of the ghettos of American cities. But you know what? All this competition from all over the world only makes every sport better.

Unfortunately, it was him that got knocked out. With one textbook right hook.

After all the publicity Chuck Liddell has been getting lately – the covers, the interviews, the appearance on Entourage – he gets his shit ruined in less than two minutes. From the get-go Quinton “Rampage” Jackson just looked like the more composed and in-shape of the two. Liddell always looks like he trains for his fights by drinking 12-packs.

I haven’t seen anything else from UFC 71 (other than some GIFs) and I’m not any type of authority on UFC, never mind MMA (mixed martial-arts) as a whole, but I hear that the fights last night were all good ones, and that can only mean great things for MMA. I feel like a lot of people watched their first full UFC event last night and they were probably all impressed. The Liddell-Rampage fight truly showed the unpredictability of the sport and having a black champion like Rampage might bring a whole new audience to MMA.

Boxing is so dead.

So Knocked Up is hitting theaters next weekend on June 1st. It has a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes at the moment and looks to be a worthy successor to The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Judd Apatow’s film directorial debut. These two DELETED scenes just cement my faith in the awesome ridiculousness that will be this movie.

BEWARE: These are definitely R-rated clips.

And I thought the 40-Year-Old Virgin was about as insane as this man could get. Holy crap. I will say this once again: these are deleted scenes.