A Blog
I’m sure there are a few things I’m leaving out, but here are some things on the calendar:
October 7/8: MLB playoffs begin
October 27: Release of Raditude, Weezer’s seventh Studio Album
November 26: Thanksgiving
December 25: Christmas
February 2010: Final season of Lost begins
February 14, 2010: Pitchers and catchers report/International Weezer Day
March 28, 2010: Wrestlemania XXVI/MLB Opening Day (a.k.a. The Days of Greatness)
April 7 (est.), 2010: The Civee and I are havin’ a baby.
The other day, I was in the car with the Civee and U2’s latest single I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight started playing. At first, I didn’t think it was u2. The opening riff/melody was familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it.
It wasn’t familiar in the way that, say the “Boom-boom chop” that every rock act rips off for at least one of their songs. Rather, it was familiar in a way that only someone who grew up in the ’80s playing way too much video games would know.
The tune in question? the Elecman stage theme from 1987’s Mega Man composed by Manami Matsumae and Yoshihiro Sakaguchi.
Don’t believe me? Listen for yourself. Here’s U2:
[audio:u2sample.mp3]
I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight (opening riff, sample)
And here’s the Elecman riff:
[audio:elecmansample.mp3]
Mega Man: Elecman Stage
Don’t get me wrong, I think U2 are a fine group of entertainers, with much more musical talent, than say, Rob Thomas. I enjoy that Lemon song of theirs a great deal. But I just want to see Manami Matsumae and Yoshihiro Sakaguchi get their due.
If not, Mega Man will have to conquer Macphisto Man and steal his weirdness power.
Even if Weezer fans aren’t thrilled with the band’s new songs ‘The Girl Got Hot’ and ‘I’m Your Daddy,’ bassist Scott Shriner gives us plenty to look forward to in a new interview with MOVE Magazine:
“There’s parts of what we’re doing these days that really, really get me happy and excited, and there’s parts of it that I’m still a little bit on the fence about,” Shriner says. “If people aren’t into some of the stuff that’s on this album, the next album will be completely different, and we’re not going to stop making records any time soon. We’re not going anywhere. To tell you the truth, I don’t think we’ve ever been this focused on continuing to move forward than we are right now.”
More of this interview is available here.
Despite their titles, TGGH and IYD aren’t horrible. And I do enjoy (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To. And I am looking forward to October 27.
I think soon I should write a list about all the things I’m looking forward to. Some exciting things coming up.
And not all Weezer related.
Back in ’96 there was some confusion amongst fans of “Weird Al” Yankovic and Weezer (overlapping fan groups for me) as to why Weird Al would thank Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo in the liner notes of his newest album Bad Hair Day when there wasn’t anything resembling a Weezer song on the album.
Turns out Al had wanted to include a sample of Buddy Holly in BHD’s Alternative Polka, but due to a misunderstanding, didn’t get word that he didn’t have permission to do so until after the notes had been printed.
In the recent years, things seemed to have been smoothed out between Weird Al and Weezer, as Weezer let Al use a sample of Buddy Holly for Poodle Hat’s Angry White Boy Polka and one of Al’s latest singles, Skipper Dan, sounds similar to Weezer’s Pork and Beans.
Well, last night, after 13 years of being buried in the vaults, Weird Al released through his Twitter the 20-or-so second clip of Buddy Holly removed from Alternative Polka, which you can listen to here.
True, it’s only 20 seconds and sounds exactly how you think it would sound, but it’s nice to know things are good between Weird Al and The Weezers.
This is the third entry in a series titled “I Want Some Freakin’ Answers.” From time to time, I’ll talk about some of the things we’ve seen over the past five seasons of Lost that I’d like answered. I’m not going to deal with topics we know will get answered (like the smoke monster), but rather those things that no one but die-hard Lost fans would care about. It’s very likely that not everything will be answered, and even possible that some may be passed off as continuity errors, but Lost wouldn’t have obsessive fans if people didn’t care about the little things, right?
Some of the inhabitants of Lost Island see dead people.
These dead people are more than just mere visions of the departed–they have actual interactions with the main characters. Some are apparitions of the Smoke Monster, passing judgment. Others we’re not sure about yet. But one has appeared to a variety of people in different times and ways–Christian Shepard, father of Jack.
As first seen as a hallucination to a water-deprived Jack Shepard. Christian has appeared to other island inhabitants, and in the case of John Locke, has given instructions, claiming to speak for the mysterious Jacob. But Christian’s advice led Locke to play right into the game plan devised by Jacob’s adversary, leading to the question “who is Christian (Jacob’s self-proclaimed number two) really working for?
Christian and Jack Shepard, father and son, are in many ways responsible for the state of each other’s life. It’s hinted that Christian wasn’t the best father throughout Jack’s childhood. During Jack’s adulthood, it’s much of the same, as Jack has to break free of his father’s shadow after choosing to follow in his father’s footsteps as a spinal surgeon. Eventually, Jack’s career overshadows Christian’s, and he breaks free of his father’s influence.
Christian, on the other hand, is a recovering alcoholic, who tries to advise his son, but doesn’t always do so in a fatherly way. Eventually, Christian is driven back to drinking by Jack, after Jack suspects his father of having an affair with his wife. Christian hits the bottle again, leading to a failed operation on a pregnant woman. When the patient dies, Jack (rightly) rats out Christian, who loses his medical license and decides to take a drinking tour of Australia (while trying to visit his secret daughter). In Australia, accompanied by Ana-Lucia, Christian bumps into Sawyer and eventually dies of alcohol poisoning.
Jack travels to Australia to claim the body back home, but books a flight on Oceanic 815 and they both end up on the island. Still, Jack retains bitterness and a need to fix everything-behaviors detrimental to his well-being.
Just as Christian shaped Jack during his formative years, Jack’s actions (accusing his father of having an affair with his wife, turning him into the hospital board) are the reason Christian goes to Australia.
In the early days of their time on the island, Jack saw Christian a few times while the 815 survivors were still getting acquainted with the island. As previously mentioned, Christian helped lead Jack to finding water in the caves. But Jack found more than water–he also found his father’s coffin, which was empty.
At first, Christian only appeared to Jack, until Season 4, when Hurley and Michael both saw him, Hurley seeing him in Jacob’s cabin and Michael having a weird encounter seconds before the freighter blows up. Also meeting Christian (or the ghost of) in season 4 was Locke, who met him in Jacob’s cabin.
While trying to find a way to save the island from Keamy and the rest of Widmore’s goons, Locke, Ben and Hurley search for Jacob’s cabin, looking for answers. Because of his cancer and Alex’s death, Ben felt he fell out of favor with Jacob and let Locke be the one to speak with Jacob. However, Jacob wasn’t in the cabin, and Christian (who was there with Claire) claimed he was authorized to speak on Jacob’s behalf. Christian told Locke to move the island, an act that Ben was familiar with.
Because exile from the island was the result of moving the island (done by turning the wheel at the bottom of the Orchid), Ben claimed he had to do the deed, as that exile was his punishment from Jacob. Ben turned the wheel, but because he either turned it incorrectly, or wasn’t supposed to have turned it in the first place, bad things happened. Locke ended up back at the Orchid, this time with a broken leg, where Christian appeared again, berating him for letting Ben turn the wheel, confirming the fact that Locke has to die to save his friends and being of little help as Locke has to push (although I still say pull) the wheel, gimpy leg and all.
Christian also appears to Sun and Frank during their 2007 return to the island, telling them they have a long journey to find their friends (who ended up in 1977) and to just wait for the path to appear.
At first glance, it looks like Christian is doing the work of Jacob. But there are several other factors which make me think that he’s actually working for Jacob’s adversary (or is the adversary in disguise).
First off, Ben confirmed in “The Incident” that he never met Jacob. Still, Ben took Locke to a cabin, that, according to Illana during her visit, had been empty for some time. The people/spirits Locke communicated with while in the cabin may not have been Jacob, but rather, Jacob’s enemy.
Additionally, Jacob’s adversary has a game plan of using Locke (and his body) to manipulate Ben into killing Jacob. Locke has to die for the adversary to use his body, an idea that the adversary (as Locke) implants in Locke through Richard Alpert during one of the island’s time shifts. However, when Locke tells Christian (still claiming to speak for Jacob) that he was told he’d have to die to save his friends, rather than telling Locke that’s not true, Christian coldly replies “Well, I suppose that’s why they call it sacrifice.”
Locke is crucial in the adversary’s plan. But it’s possible he’s also important in Jacob’s. There are many reasons Locke can be seen as special, from regaining his ability to walk to being touched by Jacob after his accident, an argument can be made that Jacob and/or the Island needs Locke. If that were the case, and Christian worked for Jacob, why would he send Locke to his death without batting an eye?
Even though I think Christian is “working for” the adversary, there is some evidence leading me to doubt this. Christian can be seen as a positive force working on behalf of the island. First, in his appearances to Jack, he leads his son to water, necessary for the survival of the marooned 815 passengers. Secondly, when he appears to Michael (even though Michael doesn’t know who Christian is), Christian confirms Michael is doing the Island’s work. Lastly, in the final Missing Piece aired prior to season four, Christian appears to Vincent minutes after the 815 crash, concerned about his son’s well-being and urges Vincent to wake Jack up, saying Jack has work to do.
Plus, judging from the artwork in the cabin (as long as it’s Jacob’s cabin), we can see that Jacob is fond of dogs.
Either way, even though Christian Shepard is dead, he’s important to both the Island and several of its inhabitants. I’m not the only one confused by his appearances. Izikavazo over at Not Confused Just Lost also ponders the question, but believes Christian is on the side of evil. Me? I’m not sure.
As we know, people who die on (or off) the Island don’t really disappear. Hopefully, in the show’s upcoming final season, we’ll see more of Christian and get some freakin’ answers as to whom he’s working for.
Back in aught-five, when I heard the title of Weezer’s fifth album was to be “Make Believe,” I wasn’t quite sure what to think. Sure, it grew on me, but there was some initial uncertainty.
Today, after learning the title of Weezer’s seventh album (coming October 27) will be “Raditude,” I feel a similar uncertainty.
At first, I read the title as “Ratitude,” which would have been even worse, considering the last decent album about rats was Michael Jackson’s “Ben.”
But then I fully woke up and read the title correctly. Still, I suppose it could have been worse (“Brownerton,” “Maladroit II: Maladroit Harder”). And knowing me, it will grow on me.
The title could make sense given Rivers Cuomo’s ongoing transformation into Good Ol’ Fun Time Rivers. Either way, I’m looking forward to hearing who has the titular line.
UPDATE: According to Rivers’ Twitter (twitter.com/RiversCuomo), we have Rainn Wilson to thank for the title. I’m not going to any of this summer’s Blink/weez shows, but if Weezer ends up playing the Schrute Farms Beetfest, I am so there.
…he can watch Titanic without getting sad.
Weezer – (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To
Come to think of it, I don’t think I got sad either. More like kinda bored.
Anyway, thanks a certain evil retail conglomerate that shall go unnamed, we have Weezer’s new single nine days before its release date.
It’s upbeat, it’s poppy, it’s Weezer.
Before the introduction of the Extra Innings package on cable, the only way a Yankees fan in Columbus Ohio could watch his (or her, in case there are others besides me) team was if a game was carried by Fox or ESPN as a national game.
There were a few drawbacks to having the Yankees being a national game, such as having to put up with the networks’ insufferable announce teams (both sides are guilty of this), “balanced” coverage, and awkward start times.
But for the past few years, as I’ve mentioned before, I pay to let MLB kick my ass subscribe to the extra innings get to watch pretty much every Yankees game (unless they’re playing Pittsburgh). I also get to see them when they’re on Fox or ESPN, but there have still been some negatives-see the aforementioned drawbacks, and add the fact that Fox will often pre-empt a Yankees game with a game featuring the Indians or Reds.
Other than that, you would think that having your team as one of two featured during the weekly nationally broadcast game would be a good thing. But there’s one instance when it’s not- when they face Boston. For some reason, it seems that every weekend series featuring the Yankees and the Red Sox includes a Saturday game on Fox followed by a Sunday night game on ESPN. And it always feels like these games are out-and-out slugfests (unlike last night’s awesome pitchers’ duel), are punctuated by shameless network self promotions, and last for six hours (but feel like 12 hours because of the horrible announcers both networks employ).
If it were once or twice a year, it wouldn’t be so bad. But it feels like this happens every time these two teams play. Every year.
And it’s just gotten worse.
Oh, how I pine for those random games where they play the Royals or Baltimore that the networks don’t care about.
If I’m ever on death row and it’s time for me to choose my last meal, I can’t say that I know what I want to eat. But I do know where I want that meal to come from and who I want to prepare it.
In New Jersey, there’s a Japanese restaurant called Tomo’s Cuisine, chef-ed by a food magician named Tomo. Back when I was in college, Tomo’s was located in South Orange and the Fat Triathlete and I frequented (and that’s putting it mildly) Tomo’s. These days, it’s a tad more difficult, what with me living in Ohio and all.
Tomo’s has relocated to Little Falls, and on our trip to New Jersey this past weekend, the Civee, King Classic and myself (sorry, FT) stopped there for dinner on Sunday night. The location may be different, but Tomo’s hasn’t changed a bit.
The place has six tables. The other five tables were filled with people I assumed to be Tomo’s Sunday night regulars. Because it’s just Tomo and his server Fin, Tomo gets quite busy multitasking. Because of this, Tomo has always had a set of rules in place, an older version of which appear below. The rules are very important, and even though I knew these going in, I was pleasantly surprised to have rule #10 broken for me, as both Tomo and Fin remembered me even though I haven’t been there in eight years.
Anyway, about the food, it was spectacular. Most people think of Japanese food as sushi. Tomo can do sushi. Tomo excels at sushi. But he does so much more than sushi. In addition to a boatload of sushi, we also had a few appetizers, including a black seaweed salad, an asparagus/corn tempura, broiled conch in a soy/butter sauce and braised (for six hours) ox tail with potatoes and carrots.
As for the sushi, we got an assortment of rolls and nigiri. Ordered a special surf clam (one of my favorites that I haven’t had anywhere else (or, rather, haven’t had as good anywhere else)), some salmon belly and two types of toro.
Altogether, if I ever get to pick a last meal, I’d want it to be something like that. It was great to go back (even if I had never been to the new place before). On our way out, I thanked Tomo. I could have thanked him a lot more, but remembering the rule about Tomo being very busy, I wanted to keep it short.
The unfortunate part about leaving was realizing that I wouldn’t have another meal like this until the next time the Civee and I were in New Jersey.
Now that I think about it, all I have to do is take 71 North, head east on Interstate 80, and it’s a straight shot to Little Falls.
Sure, it’s an eight-hour straight shot, but it’s worth it.
If you’re ever in the area:
Tomo’s Cuisine
113 Rt. 23 in Little Falls.
(Near the Willowbrook Mall.)
973-837-1117
July 24, 2009
Yankees 8, Oakland 3
This past weekend, The Civee and I headed east to New Jersey to visit King Classic. It was a nice, relaxing trip (even if I ruined my phone by letting it get submerged during a rafting trip down the Delaware River).
One of the big events (and I’ll get to the other later) was a trip to the new Yankee Stadium on Friday night to see the Yankees host the A’s. There were seven of us, and for all, it was our first trip to the Yankees’ all-new, all-different stadium.
I hadn’t been to The Bronx since August 9 2002, when the Yankees hosted the A’s at the old stadium. For that game, the Fat Triathlete and I had upper deck seats and stayed for every pitch of the 16-inning affair.
For Friday’s game, the first pitch was scheduled for 7, with the gates opening at 5. We figured if we left at 3, that would give us enough time to explore the new digs before game time.
We were wrong.
Between the GWB tollbooths and navigating the South Bronx looking for a parking spot, we were stuck in traffic for four hours. We barely made it in time to hear the National Anthem. We got to our seats, located in the “main” section of the bowl, the upper half of the first level of seats. The seats were great, and in a weird way, it felt like we were at the old stadium, with just a few minor differences.
Two of those minor differences bugged me, my only complaints about the new place:
1. The announcer, Paul Olden, while I’m sure he’s a nice guy, is no Bob Sheppard.
2. The location/look of Monument Park is horrible. The old monument park was vibrant, out in the open, and surrounded by plant life. The new park is in a gray little alcove beneath the center field batters’ eye. It barely stood out from inside the stadium and looked a little depressing. If you ask me, this off-season, the Yankees should switch Monument Park with the visitor’s bull pen and add some plants. Doing so would make the new park within a park stand out more.
But anyway, enough of the complaints.
The Civee and I watched Joba Chamberlain struggle through the first (his only rough spot of the game until the eighth, when he was relieved) before heading downstairs to the ‘Great Hall’ to get some food. If we had gotten to the Stadium earlier, we would have had enough time to adequately explore the place, but we only walked around a few sections because we didn’t want to miss any of the game.
The hall feature is nice and while I can see how some would complain about how it’s more of a mall atmosphere than a ballpark, I think the Great Hall is appropriate because it’s outside the field area (if that makes sense). You can watch all the action, but if you’re in your seat, the hall doesn’t detract from your experience.
As an added bonus, you can see the field (or parts of it) through the hall, and there are enough monitors around the place showing the game with speakers blaring the game’s radio feed.
The Civee settled for some pizza, and I went for some hot dogs (the sausage stand was all out of sausage) and we headed back to our seats. I’m a huge fan of the new seats. I’m 6’4″, and there were times in the old stadium where my knees would be bumping up against the seat in front of me all game. The seven of us in our group rotated seats (in the same section) throughout the game and I had no legroom or other comfort problems.
After giving up a run in the first, Chamberlain settled down, pitching a pretty good game. The Yankees came back in the third, scoring two, and adding a few more runs in the fifth and sixth.
By the eighth, Joba had only given up two hits and struck out six. He let two men get on, and was relieved. Phil Coke got out of the jam and the Yankees struck for four runs in the bottom of the eighth sparked by a Jorge Posada solo home run. By this time, the crowd was doing the wave and the Hip-Hip Jorge chant the Civee loves so much.
The A’s added two in the top of the ninth, but David Robertson recovered and finished off the game, and by this time, I was happy for two things:
-That this game didn’t go as long as the last game I attended.
-The Yankees winning.
We headed home while getting caught in another hour of traffic on our way. Everyone seemed to like the new place. For me, it was a great trip, and nice to see the Yankees finally get the stadium they deserve.
My one other comment about the stadium- people have said it’s not as loud as the old Stadium. Maybe it seems that way on TV, or in those April games when the Stadium was half-full. But on one Friday night in August, the New Yankee Stadium was just as loud as its predecessor.
