Music Monday Vol. 4 - Phoenix, "Consolation Prizes"

Well it's Monday, and that means I get to shove my opinions in your face.

This time around it's Phoenix, "Consolation Prizes". Now most of you would know Phoenix, if at all, from this commercial. That's their song "1901". Another great song by Phoenix, but it's lost its flair now that Cadillac played the shit out of that commercial.

However, this next one really is worth the listen. Sticking to the theme of "good video = good song" from the past few weeks; Phoenix's best video (that I know of) is below.

Click the image to continue (Youtube video)

Not bad huh? This is one of those songs that I'll beat the crap out of my dashboard while listening to in the car.

Other good songs by Phoenix:

Sometimes in the Fall

North

Napoleon Says

Lisztomania

Lasso

Really, it's hard not to recommend just going out and purchasing two of their albums. "It's Never Been Like That", and "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" are just fantastic.

See you tomorrow with more goodies.

Film Friday: Joe Versus the Volcano

If there's ever a movie that doesn't get the credit that it deserves, it's this one.

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan Co-Star in their FIRST role together (before Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail). With director John Patrick Shanley, who has done absolutely nothing of mention, this film uses imagery and metaphor to illustrate a man struggling to escape a boring routine of a life.

The first quarter of the movie illustrates the antagonist Joe Banks (Hanks), in his dead end job at a factory. The incandescent lights have flooded his windowless office with bright, lifeless, humming luminescence. He's battled this by bringing in his very own lamp that his boss quickly removes the lamp. This is one of many images of losing one's soul throughout the movie.

One great thing about this film, that I think has been killed by directors in recent years, is one actor playing several roles. Meg Ryan plays the office maiden DeDe (below), Angelica Graynamore (the "flibbertigibbet"), and her half-sister and captain Patricia Graynamore (pictured in the lei below). Each of Ryan's three characters play a distinctive role and different personality to Joe's situation. It's not as campy as the description suggests, and it's just a little extra time to look at the attractive Meg Ryan, before she went under the knife in the late nineties.

Once Joe Banks and Patricia Graynamore head to the island (I won't ruin the plot for you) the visual quality of the movie goes from the above still, to the following two. It really is a noticeable change, and another use of imagery to develop Banks as a character.

Kinda looks like Hanks in Castaway.... No?

I'll leave you with one more still of the film, this one from the Island Chief, and a word. If you've ever felt like your life was "under a cloud" and that there was no where to go but up, then you would enjoy this movie. I know I'm a Tom Hanks enthusiast, and that shouldn't sway your opinion. Truthfully, I wouldn't have heard of this movie without liking Hanks as much as I do, but had I seen it without liking Hanks... Well it would still be one of my top 15 movies.

Abe Vigoda in his best make-up ever.

I give it 4 and a half Desk Lamps, out of 5.

Thursday Throwbacks - Vol. 1

Something different, since I'm not prepared to write a "Thoughts of the Day" post.

I wanted to pay omage to my 2009 post a day by throwing back to a particular post that I found enjoyable in some way. Today, I want to look at a three part series from June and July.

The Men's Room.

Here are the links; Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

I really liked writing this because it was something that I could have fun with. If you haven't read it, go ahead and take a look.

What's funny about this series is that I remember writing them all on extremely slow days at work. Often during the summer months I'll have a day where no calls came in to the office and no one walked up to the ticket window. It was those days (and rain days) that I had nothing to occupy me but the blog.

I really look forward to this summer for more of the same. My creative juices got flowing last year and my post quality went up because of it.

Well tomorrow's another day, so check back around gametime (7:03 pm) for another addtion of Film Friday.

Bugs the Shit out of Me: Not Understanding Star Trek

You know what brings my piss to a boil? When I'm having a conversation with some friends, and they make a Star Trek reference.

First; I have to defend myself and my friends. No, we don't talk about Star Trek on anything close to a daily basis. I can count on two hands the amount of times the following has happening to me, so it's not as common occurrence as you may think.

We'll be talking about something and then out of no where I'll someone name-drop Captain Kirk. Who the fuck is Captain Kirk? What is a Spock? And where the hell is Klingon?

This really does bug me, but at the same time, I don't want to understand Star Trek. I feel I've claimed a higher level of coolness for not knowing which is the superior officer, Picard or Kirk.

And wasn't Shatner in this show? Dammit Rocket Man!

Music Monday Vol. 3 - Of Montreal, "Id Engager"

With my first installment of Music Monday, I focused on the videos of OK Go. With today's entry (which is two days late, but I'm going to make it up anyway), we have a similar story.

Sophomore year of college, I got into the habit of turning on MTV U (the only MTV channel that plays more music than anything else) and leaving it on as my "radio" while I do homework or browse facebook and ESPN. Sometime during the year, this video came up;

That's Of Montreal's "Id Engager". Not bad if I do say so myself.

I haven't yet looked into a lot of their music, but the three songs I do know are pretty solid. A little weirder than most of the music that I enjoy, but still a good tune to nod your head to.

Paul's Weird Collections: Pennants!

Well, when I finally leave this world, no one can say that I didn't spend some time collecting junk. I'm going to begin posting my weird collections on a somewhat regular basis, and I thought today was as good as any to start.

So, with day one; pennants! Below is my first set.



Now, in this picture, we have quite a bit to talk about. Starting from the top row of vertical pennants, we have two that I have absolutely no interest in. While purchasing a pennant on eBay, these two came with it. The far left is the 1998 NHL All-Star Game in Vancouver, and on it's immediate right is the Gretzky era LA Kings. Next we have the Washington Federals (of USFL fame). We're then followed by the Washington Capitals (ick on the color scheme) and the Washington Bullets (damn that's sexy). The bottom right of the photo features the Norfolk Tides, Richmond Braves, Alexandria Dukes, Washington Nationals (2005), and the Potomac Cannons (approx 2003). Then the far right of the frame, you'll see the 2008 Potomac Nationals, 2007 Potomac Nationals, Washington Nationals (1901-1961), and the Washington Senators (1961-1972).


Next, we have an assortment of Redskins pennants, from top left down; 1991 NFC Champions, 1987 Super Bowl match-up, 1987 NFC Championship, 1982 NFC Champions (dig the curved feathers under the helmet), the 1937-86 50 year anniversary (sponsored by Shell). The right side has four more; the standard helmet, but this one has a Happy First Birthday inscription on the back from my dad (1990). Below we have, 1991 NFC Championship, 1991 Super Bowl Championship, and 1991 Super Bowl Championship.


This next one's a little more fun. On top we have three standard redskins helmet, but the bottom 6 are my favorites in the whole batch. We have (from the left) the Yellow Shell "R" helmet, the indian head logo from the 30's, another really old one with a running man image, and on the bottom right of the picture, three of the same pennant. the 1982 Super Bowl Championship pennant. Again, love the curved feathers!


This one is the weirdest, now. Can anyone tell me why they made an 1983 AFC Championship pennant for a team that LOST the AFC Championship to the Oakland Raiders?

Thoughts of the Day 5/6

If I had a superpower, it would be to absorb knowledge like Osmosis. With that power, I can kill exams and papers. Oh and flying.

There are three kinds of people in this world; People who like blueberry pop-tarts with frosting, people who don't like blueberry pop-tarts with frosting, and people who don't give a shit. I fall under the first category.

So many moments in my life are spent wishing I was doing something else, i.e., sleeping, eating, reading, or enjoying a sporting event. But there are just as many moments in my life that I spend wishing I was a wizard. Or a superhero.

If someone had a gun to my head and told me that I had to leave the country, and that I had to pick a country to go to, I would pick Australia. But then when the guy takes the gun away from my head I'd go to Canada, because no one would ever look for me in Canada.

Here's a quick math problem for you;
8 tarp pulls in 14 games = 57.14%
70 games = 39.99 tarp pulls.
I like those odds. But the nerd in me wants to run a weighted average using the data from last year to back me up. There are more tarp pulls (statistically) in May then in any other month, then June, April, July, August, and September.

Bill and I have tossed around the idea of a podcast on our blogs. We would talk about TV, Sports, Music, and Movies. We just need an idea for a name, and what day of the week we'll do it. Ideas?

Bugs the Shit out of Me: Facebook Nicknames

Know what really bugs the shit out of me? When people on facebook think it's awesome to have stupid ass nicknames. No, you're not "fresh" or "ballin'". No, you aren't original and I can safely say that no one calls you that.

My solution: hide those people from my news feed. Repeat offenders get deleted all together.

Single Riders Line

Let me ask you a question, have you ever gone through the singles rider's line at an amusement park? I love that thing. You get to have fun and you're not sitting in line for hours.

So why can't there be more of these in life?

..Have you ever been in the mood to go out to eat, but don't have anyone to go to?

Are there any nights that you want to go to the movies, but you don't have a date, or just a friend in town to meet you?

Have no fear, Single-Riders Line is here!

Now you can go to that fancy restaurant and sit at a big table with complete strangers instead of a bad date!

Instead of bowling alone, you can show up and head to the single riders section and bowl!

Yea.. Maybe there would be too many creepy people.
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Music Monday Vol. 2 - Spoon

This time, I focus more on the artist that started it all, rather than the song.

But first... a story.

It was fall of 2007, and I was visiting a special someone in Richmond. We went to Short Pump Mall and as she was in the changing room at American Eagle, I sat (yea there were chairs at the time) and watched the TV playing music videos. On comes this video and it was one of those songs I couldn't get out of my head.

Now, normally I wouldn't recommend ANYTHING from American Eagle for the strict reason that it was from American Eagle. But I make an exception for this group.

Spoon has been around for sometime now. Spanning from 1996 to now, the indie-rock group from Austin, Texas has released seven albums (the previously mentioned "The Underdog" is from the 2007 album entitled, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga) and numerous EP's and Singles.

I've written in the past how music tends to create memories and stick to certain events in my life. Which is true, but for some reason, this group doesn't evoke memories of a past relationship. Luckily, I wouldn't say the above story "ruins" the song or anything for me, on the contrary, I remember the song and the fact that I was sitting in an American Eagle more than that day or the person I was with.

So, for your listening pleasure, I give you Spoon.

Joan Polk Harrington

February 17, 1930 - April 19, 2010

I love you and I miss you.
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Saturday and another news.

Uncle Slam and his adoring Fans.

As you may have been able to tell, this week has been crazy. I'm taking this opportunity to put up a quick post to remind you of things to come. Tomorrow is the last game of the homestand, so that means no more posts after tomorrow until the 3rd of May. Also, since tomorrow is Sunday, I'm supposed to have YOU readers out there pick what I write about. Well, I'm not ashamed to say it, I've had Zero suggestions. I'm gonna go ahead and scrap that feature and just write what ever I desire.

Your loss!

I haven't been updating the tarp count as it happens, but rest assured it will always be up-to-date by the end of the week.

And finally, another little news item, I will be working with Bill to get the Family Guy rating posted on the sites in the future.

Well have a good weekend, and take care.

Film Friday: Saving Private Ryan

Ahh.. Why do I love this movie? Let me count the ways..

For those of you who haven't seen this, where have you been? It came out over 10 years ago. You've had your chance.

Let's start from the beginning. Stephen Spielberg directing and Tom Hanks starring, along with several solid performances by the supporting cast. Tom steals the show, and thankfully, if this movie was about Matt Damon, I think it would have blew.

Going back to what I said about the supporting cast; Tom Sizemore, Adam Goldberg, Giovanni Ribisi and (surprisingly) Vin Diesel all add to the story, and their characters are relate-able if not identifiable in some way to the viewer. It's nice when the main characters are great, but when the supporting cast brings you into the story like these guys did, it makes the experience better.

And the gore.. Oh the gore.. If there is a better opening sequence to open a film than storming the beach of Normandy, I don't wanna see it. That opening kicked ass.

Unfortunately my only complaint is Matt Damon. I normally like him, but in this role he comes off as a bitch. This platoon of men led by Tom Hanks' character, Miller, are sent to pick up Private James Ryan (Damon) whose brothers have all perished in the war. On the way to rescue Ryan, two of Miller's men have fallen. Yet when Miller and his men reach Ryan, Ryan wants to stay. He says that "these are my brothers" (referencing his platoon members) and refuses to leave.

If Ryan hadn't been such a dick and let Miller take him home, Miller wouldn't have died on the bridge because of some dumb fucking German.

Anyway, it's a great film. You should check it out if you haven't seen it, but I'm sure you have. It's really a great story and the visuals are fantastic by today's standards, and this was filmed in the late 90's.

See you tomorrow.

Thoughts of the Day: 4/22

Is there a better (or worse, depending on how you look at it) song to get stuck in your head than "Highway to the Danger Zone"? I don't think so. ..Sorry about getting that stuck in your head by the way.

I don't know what's worse, drinking coffee with the wrong mixture of cream and sugar, or not drinking coffee at all. I know it may sound like I'm a coffee addict (what with my body hating me at 3:00 pm) but I'm really not. I just like the feeling of being awake in the morning more than the feeling of death.

Why does my left contact always pop loose.. {rubs left eye} I'm gonna start calling my left eye "Lisa Left-Eye".

Does anyone else out there like Ben Folds as I do? I've been on a big Ben Folds kick since last summer and I've had his songs playing on shuffle all week.

How many times do you think everyone in existence has said the phrase "That's what she said"? It's probably a hell of a lot. I bet the first time someone said it, it was probably not a joke. But the first time it was meant as a joke was probably hilarious.



Well that's all for today.

Bugs the Shit out of Me: 3:30 in the afternoon.

You've seen the commercials for "5-Hour Energy" regarding the afternoon crash for people right? Well you know that feeling when you just get extremely exhausted at around 3-4:30?

I f**king hate that feeling.

Today, I left work around 3:15 refreshed and ready to go, and by the time I was on the road and headed to class, I was dead tired.

Why the hell does my body say, "Hey Paul, F**K YOU!" at 3:00 pm? That's Bull Shit. I work hard to keep my body happy and take naps whenever I can, I eat good food, and I get a good work out. So why do I get punished by Mr. Sleepy time every weekday afternoon?

So you know what I say to that? Coffee. Yea that's right Body, I'm gonna drown you with legal addictive stimulants until you wake the f**k up. I'm tired of your needy shit and I'm gonna do what I wanna do.

God dammit body. You're an asshole. You bitch and moan until I do what you want me to do, and then when I do it, it's not good enough.

Bring on the caffeine. Whore.

My Own Personal Hell

I've realized, after much thought, what my own personal Hell would be like (if there is in fact an afterlife).

First, I'll die. I mean, we all do. It's just a question of "How" and "When". But when I do, I'll wake up, in a car. Not just any car, but a car with no working Radio, or Air Conditioning, and a bad smell of burning rubber.

As I awake in this car, I'll look around to understand what's going on. I'll see in the car with me a nondescript overweight man. He'll be wearing a hooded sweatshirt, even though it's well over 90 degrees, and sweating profusely. I look further and realize I am in a small cramped hatchback in bumper to bumper traffic. It's at this time that I think, maybe I am in purgatory. I am no where and yet I am somewhere at the same time. This road must lead somewhere, most likely my final destination of either Heaven or Hell.

The nondescript man begins to talk, and his voice has an accent I've heard before. A southern accent, with long drawing sentences instead of one word responses to my queries. A simple question of, "Where are we?" will lead to a 12 minute response with unnecessary back stories and "funny" stories, only all of his stories will have no meaning and have no semblance of a punchline.

I glance behind to see if there are anymore occupants in this cramped hatchback, but no one is there. Just a stained and empty back seat. There is a styrofoam cup of water in the cupholder next to me. I take a swig and finish the last amount of ice cold liquid to satisfy my thirst. Then, after downing the cup and tossing it out the window, I have the feeling of "Nature's Call." The doors are locked and there is no way to relive myself. Any desperate attempts to "go" are met with the feeling that it is not possible to do so.

As I am moving inch by inch on a sun parched highway, I cannot see the cause of the traffic jam in the distance. I can only guess, but I will never know the real answer. I tell myself to take the next exit, only no exit will come. All the while, in the back of my mind, a nagging feeling of, "I'm almost there" and "This has to lead somewhere" will keep me driving.

This scenario will play on for all eternity until the end of time.

That, my friends, is my own personal Hell.

Well there's a game tonight, which means it's time to post!

"Here it Goes Again" by OK Go

You've probably seen the music video, it erupted The Internets a few years back, but in case you missed it;



Not only is the video great, but the song is pretty darn good too. Sweet guitar with an even better drum line throughout the song. I'm not music analyst but this is definitely something I can bob my head to.

Now what you may not know is that this group, OK Go, has so much more to offer than one song. There are several things by them that I really like, and (you guessed it) each one has a solid video to go along with it.

And the songs they have that I haven't seen videos for are just as good. Like "All is Not Lost", "Needing / Getting" and "Don't Ask Me".

So check OK Go out. They really deserve a look beyond the occasional chuckle at a music video.

For day 4, something different.

First, as a reminder, I will only be posting on DAYS WHEN I HAVE A GAME. 70 Games, 70 Posts. And to help you keep track, I've posted the schedule on the side, as well as a link to my twitter here. If there's a post, you'll here about it there.

But I wanted to take this late evening post opportunity to remind you of what I promised this past Thursday.

No, it's nothing about work. It's not always about me don't you know.

This time, I wanted to tell you what features will be coming your way!

Here's the lineup:

Monday - Music Monday
I know it's unoriginal, but you don't know MY perspective! I'll be featuring one song a day and telling you the importance or relevance of it.

Tuesday - No features
sorry!

Wednesday - Bugs the Shit out of Me.
You know what this is, and I'm making it a staple. For reminders, look here and here.

Thursday - Thursday's Thoughts of the Day.
This was an easy choice. One, because I'll have absolutely NOTHING to do at work on Thursdays, and it's always slow. And two, because you guys MUST know what i'm thinking... right?

Friday - Film Friday
Pretty self explanatory, I review a recent movie I've seen, or an old favorite. But I will certainly be throwing some in this summer that you most likely haven't seen for some time or never even heard of.

Saturday - No feature
Saturday is too busy for me at work, so I'll most likely make Saturday a quick thing or write something "good" in advance. Sorry!

Sunday - You pick.
I'm hoping this works out... I'll be asking (daily) for your submission of what I should write about. Could be anything at all. Seriously, anything. I'll write it.
We'll see if it actually happens, hopefully it does. Send your stuff in the comments section or a facebook message (for you non-bloggers) and I'd be happy to oblige your interest.

Well that's all folks.

See you on the 19th of April.

Day 3 and I already messed it up!

Well that didn't last long. Let's try this again...

Saturday was pretty eventful, so let me give you the run down and maybe you'll understand why I missed the blog.

Woke up at 7:30 and made my way to the stadium by 8:00 am. There, I called to confirm that one of my employees, Matt, would be there at 8:45 to be the mascot for our upcoming day. Then, I collected the directions and phone numbers of all of the places I was going that day.

By 8:50, we were on the road. Uncle Slam in a bag in my trunk and Matt beside me, headed to Nokesville. There, I met Danny Kopich (Events Coordinator for Nokesville Little League) and as Uncle Slam danced around and met with kids, I spoke to him and his wife about a fundraiser for the league, or a group outing with him and his team.

By 10:40, we were back on the road to Dumfries. We stopped and ate lunch around 11:15, then headed to a little ballpark off 234 to meet with Javier Castro and the Dumfries-Triangle-Quantico Little League at 12:30. Here, I just followed Uncle Slam around while he messed with kids and played on the see-saw.

They thought he was Poppa-Smurf

By 1:30, we were on the road again, this time to Gar-Field High School for the 15th annual News & Messenger Hoops Fest. Uncle Slam had fun and judged the Dunk Contest for a while and I watched the different events from the stands and snapped some pictures.

We left at the end (4:00) and headed to the stadium where Matt would be the mascot for the night. I spend the beginning of the night counting money with Andrew and helping distribute the money drawers for some of the stands (he did most of the work, naturally). Then I spent the evening peddling the Uncle Slam's Kids Club to a host of children and their parents.

At least I wasn't in the suit..

From there, I sold two Kids Club Memberships, helped with on-field stuff, counted a lot of money, and performed regular tom-foolery at the Pfitz.

Then, a miracle happened.

Jim, the Director of Food Service, is a great guy. But, he's not one to give away food for fun. And certainly not beer. As a running joke in the Money Room (the place where profit is counted at the end of the night, and where this picture was taken), we ask Jim to bring us beers. The general response, without a hesitation, is; "What the fuck did you just say to me?" Followed by a smile of course. But, when reminded that I, his employee for a year, intern for another, and friend for two more, had just turned 21 this off-season, he smiled and left the room. Moments later, I was greeted with a tall cool beverage in a 22 oz Pepsi Cup. Because that's how we do it.

..of course, though, it was a Natty Light.

Tarp Sheet

As the devoted readers of this site can tell you, we have a bit of a thing called "tarp" at the P-Nats Stadium.

Well with a new season, we have already begun the tarp madness..

Being a minor league front office staffer, everyone on staff and myself are the "field crew" that runs out onto the field while it's raining to cover up the infield with a giant blanket. It's not fun. It is actually really un-fun.

It takes a lot of help to get that thing on the field.

So, all things considered, it's a lot to deal with. That is why I've had a "tarp count" on the side panel of this blog since I started posting in early 2009. This year I'm going further into detail and posting not only the total for the year, but also the time of the pull, date, if it was during a game, on a game day, if it was a rain out, how "bad" it was, and whether or not I was present (i miss some due to class).

I'll keep you updated on the totals (tab on the side) but the details will be kept in a spreadsheet. I'll post THAT sucker at the end of the season.