I'll have reviews of the Jeopardy! books in due time, although I will say it is weird to read the two books with the new Chuck Klosterman collection in between.
Anyways, I figured I'd point out that somehow I'm mentioned in the same sentence as one of the more well-known writers at SI. There's a lot more I probably could say about it, but I'll keep that to myself for now.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
TV time
TV time
Caught a couple of series premieres tonight in between the offensively-challenged Monday night game. Nope, neither are on my LaPlaca squad.
The Class: I'm a big fan of the concept, although it seems like it could've been a better movie than sitcom. (I'm a sucker for the nostalgia they're highlighting). However, the weird twist at the start of the show sort of tries to force the action into a passable sitcom about more people in their late-20s (in other words, people just slightly younger than me). Seems like a harmless enough show and it's the right type of lead-in for How I Met Your Mother (in fact, the characters on both shows are approximately the same age).
Studio 60: I enjoyed Sports Night, but didn't watch much West Wing, although this series seems to be a good amalgam of the two shows (including a cameo from Felicity Huffman) plus a heavy dose of Hollywood insiderish stuff. It's a solid pilot and I've got high hopes for the season -- just have to make sure to either DVR it when the Monday night game is actually good.
Oh yeah, still going through Braniac, but it is interesting to see a bunch of people I know (including some whose blogs are linked on the side) mentioned prominently in the book, not to mention an entire subculture with which I'm very closely involved. Unlike Wordplay, where it just seemed like I knew the people (although eventually meeting a few), I actually know a lot of what Ken is talking about, and even written about myself.
Caught a couple of series premieres tonight in between the offensively-challenged Monday night game. Nope, neither are on my LaPlaca squad.
The Class: I'm a big fan of the concept, although it seems like it could've been a better movie than sitcom. (I'm a sucker for the nostalgia they're highlighting). However, the weird twist at the start of the show sort of tries to force the action into a passable sitcom about more people in their late-20s (in other words, people just slightly younger than me). Seems like a harmless enough show and it's the right type of lead-in for How I Met Your Mother (in fact, the characters on both shows are approximately the same age).
Studio 60: I enjoyed Sports Night, but didn't watch much West Wing, although this series seems to be a good amalgam of the two shows (including a cameo from Felicity Huffman) plus a heavy dose of Hollywood insiderish stuff. It's a solid pilot and I've got high hopes for the season -- just have to make sure to either DVR it when the Monday night game is actually good.
Oh yeah, still going through Braniac, but it is interesting to see a bunch of people I know (including some whose blogs are linked on the side) mentioned prominently in the book, not to mention an entire subculture with which I'm very closely involved. Unlike Wordplay, where it just seemed like I knew the people (although eventually meeting a few), I actually know a lot of what Ken is talking about, and even written about myself.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
I am nerd, hear me roar
I am nerd, hear me roar
If I needed any verification of my utter nerdiness or geekiness, I went to the first signing stop in the Ken Jennings book tour (although he's been just all over TV plugging the book -- including a fun appearance on The Colbert Report on Wednesday).
An aside, what a strange 1-2 punch on Colbert: Ken on Wednesday, Bill Simmons on Thursday.
In many ways it was your basic book signing -- a couple of excerpts from the book were read aloud, some of the same stories he's told numerous times about his experiences on the show, a few of the usual questions about game shows and other assorted stuff from the crowd. (However, it's rather ironic that the signing took place at 7 p.m. -- when Jeopardy! airs in New York.)
But the crowd is where I knew that I was definitely in my element, which was comforting and scary at the same time. I ended up sitting in a row two of the players featured in Wordplay . So you've got the crossword puzzle people on one hand. During the Q&A, I heard from a former DC-area quizbowl player and game show fanatic.
And to round out the intersection of all these knowledge-based cabals, I ended up hanging out with a handful of people from the Jeopardy! message boards, even though I only knew the real names of a couple of the people. So yes, it was very odd to match faces to screennames -- if that doesn't just scream of geekiness, I don't what does. And hey, I'm in the middle of the whole thing, so what does that make me?
In the end, it was a fun little outing. That Barnes and Noble in Union Square is pretty cool (not used to a four-level B&N). I got the book and will probably be part of my commute reading very soon, and KJ even recognized me (he seemed to see a bunch of familiar faces in the crowd). I'll eventually have a review of the book up here. Not only do I have that book to read -- I need to grab the "other" Jeopardy! book not to mention the latest Klosterman book.
If I needed any verification of my utter nerdiness or geekiness, I went to the first signing stop in the Ken Jennings book tour (although he's been just all over TV plugging the book -- including a fun appearance on The Colbert Report on Wednesday).
An aside, what a strange 1-2 punch on Colbert: Ken on Wednesday, Bill Simmons on Thursday.
In many ways it was your basic book signing -- a couple of excerpts from the book were read aloud, some of the same stories he's told numerous times about his experiences on the show, a few of the usual questions about game shows and other assorted stuff from the crowd. (However, it's rather ironic that the signing took place at 7 p.m. -- when Jeopardy! airs in New York.)
But the crowd is where I knew that I was definitely in my element, which was comforting and scary at the same time. I ended up sitting in a row two of the players featured in Wordplay . So you've got the crossword puzzle people on one hand. During the Q&A, I heard from a former DC-area quizbowl player and game show fanatic.
And to round out the intersection of all these knowledge-based cabals, I ended up hanging out with a handful of people from the Jeopardy! message boards, even though I only knew the real names of a couple of the people. So yes, it was very odd to match faces to screennames -- if that doesn't just scream of geekiness, I don't what does. And hey, I'm in the middle of the whole thing, so what does that make me?
In the end, it was a fun little outing. That Barnes and Noble in Union Square is pretty cool (not used to a four-level B&N). I got the book and will probably be part of my commute reading very soon, and KJ even recognized me (he seemed to see a bunch of familiar faces in the crowd). I'll eventually have a review of the book up here. Not only do I have that book to read -- I need to grab the "other" Jeopardy! book not to mention the latest Klosterman book.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Yes I'm still here
Sure it's been a while since I've posted anything here -- the day job (and especially the day blog) is taking precendence.
However, I was able to make my annual trip to Vegas, and that's always fun -- even if my sort of fun often involves wandering up and down the Strip in 100-degree heat. This time around, I was at the Stardust for very much its last hurrah. While I thought Excalibur was a bit too Disney-fied for my tastes, Stardust really did show its age in both the facilities and the clientele. (The 1958-2006 notation on the chips was both celebratory and sad at the same time.) But hey, at least it did have wi-fi access, even if I couldn't pick it up in my room and only got a signal in the lobby.
I still haven't been to downtown, but I finally got to see the Palms and Rio up close. The Palms is an interesting vibe since the gaming area didn't seem all that huge but all the other stuff (clubs, movie theaters, etc.) made up for it.
Oh yeah, I also saw the new Hooters Casino. I was slightly disappointed to see "regular" people serving as dealers when I got in. Then I got to the area where their famous girls served as dealers. So of course I played some blackjack in that area. Otherwise, it's a pretty blah casino.
Another interesting thing is that for as popular as poker is these days, I think not every casino really needs to have a poker room. Some of the more popular places were full (I was trying to find the "stars" at Bellagio, for instance), but others were practically begging for action. Before some of us ended up starting a game at Stardust, one of the dealers and a few hangers-on eyed us like prey, hoping we'd play.
Similar thing happened at Tropicana as I walked by after they announced an opening at a table there. As I got there, I was practically whisked into a seat before I could even think about it. And even quicker did my money disappear. While seeing a long waiting list is disheartening, is it any better to be begged and hustled to play?
Oh yeah, I keep on getting haunted by Barry Manilow, as he had his own show, a gift shop and a giant picture of him along with the Star Trek sign at the Las Vegas Hilton. At least Stephen Colbert knows how I feel about Mr. I Write the Songs.
However, I was able to make my annual trip to Vegas, and that's always fun -- even if my sort of fun often involves wandering up and down the Strip in 100-degree heat. This time around, I was at the Stardust for very much its last hurrah. While I thought Excalibur was a bit too Disney-fied for my tastes, Stardust really did show its age in both the facilities and the clientele. (The 1958-2006 notation on the chips was both celebratory and sad at the same time.) But hey, at least it did have wi-fi access, even if I couldn't pick it up in my room and only got a signal in the lobby.
I still haven't been to downtown, but I finally got to see the Palms and Rio up close. The Palms is an interesting vibe since the gaming area didn't seem all that huge but all the other stuff (clubs, movie theaters, etc.) made up for it.
Oh yeah, I also saw the new Hooters Casino. I was slightly disappointed to see "regular" people serving as dealers when I got in. Then I got to the area where their famous girls served as dealers. So of course I played some blackjack in that area. Otherwise, it's a pretty blah casino.
Another interesting thing is that for as popular as poker is these days, I think not every casino really needs to have a poker room. Some of the more popular places were full (I was trying to find the "stars" at Bellagio, for instance), but others were practically begging for action. Before some of us ended up starting a game at Stardust, one of the dealers and a few hangers-on eyed us like prey, hoping we'd play.
Similar thing happened at Tropicana as I walked by after they announced an opening at a table there. As I got there, I was practically whisked into a seat before I could even think about it. And even quicker did my money disappear. While seeing a long waiting list is disheartening, is it any better to be begged and hustled to play?
Oh yeah, I keep on getting haunted by Barry Manilow, as he had his own show, a gift shop and a giant picture of him along with the Star Trek sign at the Las Vegas Hilton. At least Stephen Colbert knows how I feel about Mr. I Write the Songs.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Disembodied head
Disembodied head
Eventually I'll have to scan in my floating head that appeared in the new fantasy insert of the magazine this past week. Hey, I actually beat a couple of my NU colleagues in the office in getting my face in the mag. That, and some nice promos for the other blog.
Unfortunately, my fellow alum Luke Donald couldn't overcome the Tiger juggernaut, but I'm trying to figure out what's weirder -- one Slam wonder Shaun "not HBK" Micheel finishing second or that John Kruk had to do some PGA highlights during the Yankees-Red Sox rain delay.
I didn't watch the final round, in between scouting out places to live, I also caught World Trade Center, a solidly produced film. Not as powerful as United 93, but a strong film nonetheless.
So now I've seen NFL preseason games at three different stadiums, adding Giants Stadium to the mix for this ho-hum nationally televised contest. It was probably only about half full, and about 10% was left by the fourth quarter. But after all these years, I've finally seen my first NFL game at the Meadowlands. On the other hand, you can tell it was the preseason when the pee-wee game at halftime was more entertaining.
Eventually I'll have to scan in my floating head that appeared in the new fantasy insert of the magazine this past week. Hey, I actually beat a couple of my NU colleagues in the office in getting my face in the mag. That, and some nice promos for the other blog.
Unfortunately, my fellow alum Luke Donald couldn't overcome the Tiger juggernaut, but I'm trying to figure out what's weirder -- one Slam wonder Shaun "not HBK" Micheel finishing second or that John Kruk had to do some PGA highlights during the Yankees-Red Sox rain delay.
I didn't watch the final round, in between scouting out places to live, I also caught World Trade Center, a solidly produced film. Not as powerful as United 93, but a strong film nonetheless.
So now I've seen NFL preseason games at three different stadiums, adding Giants Stadium to the mix for this ho-hum nationally televised contest. It was probably only about half full, and about 10% was left by the fourth quarter. But after all these years, I've finally seen my first NFL game at the Meadowlands. On the other hand, you can tell it was the preseason when the pee-wee game at halftime was more entertaining.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
All in
I didn't post much off the recently completed World Series of Poker main event, although it's good to see ESPN turning it around into shows starting next week. It was interesting following along on-line, mainly because other outlets started making money off it.
Anyways, the one thing I found sorta intriguing about the final table is that there was plenty of support for the one true "pro," although the eventual winner did have a decent backstory to him. It's a major opposite from a major golf tournament like the U.S. or British Open, where an amateur doing well against the pros gets extra support (Matt Kuchar while he was at Georgia Tech, for example), while here, the pro is the sentimental favorite against a bunch of amateurs.
I suppose that says something about poker today that if a big-named pro survives to the final table at the main event, it's almost an upset, whereas an amateur winning it all is now commonplace.
As for something completely different, the silly gimmick of putting stars of an upcoming TV shows in the crowd of major sporting events has shaken down to regular-season Yankees game hyping the new MyNetwork TV. Instead of Sammo Hung at the Final Four or the cast of That '70s Show at the World Series, we get guys (not even the hot women) from this new show and this other new show "found" in the crowd. Kinda silly really, and I definitely feel for Michael Kay having to do those promos this evening.
Anyways, the one thing I found sorta intriguing about the final table is that there was plenty of support for the one true "pro," although the eventual winner did have a decent backstory to him. It's a major opposite from a major golf tournament like the U.S. or British Open, where an amateur doing well against the pros gets extra support (Matt Kuchar while he was at Georgia Tech, for example), while here, the pro is the sentimental favorite against a bunch of amateurs.
I suppose that says something about poker today that if a big-named pro survives to the final table at the main event, it's almost an upset, whereas an amateur winning it all is now commonplace.
As for something completely different, the silly gimmick of putting stars of an upcoming TV shows in the crowd of major sporting events has shaken down to regular-season Yankees game hyping the new MyNetwork TV. Instead of Sammo Hung at the Final Four or the cast of That '70s Show at the World Series, we get guys (not even the hot women) from this new show and this other new show "found" in the crowd. Kinda silly really, and I definitely feel for Michael Kay having to do those promos this evening.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Silly cinema
Silly cinema
Sorry for the lack of posts. A rapidly declining laptop at home, combined with regular updates at the work blog has kept me from randomly spouting off on stuff here.
Two movie-related things that needed to be posted here:
1. I went to the Netflix Roadshow screening of Clerks in Red Bank, down the street from the original Quick Stop where the movie was filmed. Kevin Smith has his own brief report of the night on his site -- I got there just before the movie actually screened so I missed the Q&A and only got a quick glimpse of Silent Bob, his wife as well as Lisa Loeb (who did some hosting, I think).
They did bring back some of the cast as well. Dante made a brief appearance that I missed, but Veronica did stick around after the film. Even funnier were the appearances by the roofer in the Death Star/contractor discussion and the little girl who bought a pack of cigarettes. Thankfully I didn't geek out completely and get autographs (they were just signing Netflix cards anyways
The Roadshow idea is pretty cool, especially since three of my favorite films are part of this year's tour. While all the Clerks stuff was gone before I could get to it, I did snag this poster, this poster and an Unpainted Arizona t-shirt.
2. I did rush out to see Talladega Nights and thought it was pretty funny, although not on the level of Anchorman -- at least not yet (when a ton of lines spring to the surface after multiple viewings). I will say that the oddest cameos in the film can be summed up in the line: "Is that Elvis Costello and Mos Def?"
Oh yeah, and was I the only one to think this actress was in the film when it reality it was this Oscar nominee? The previous has connections to two of the main stars, but hey, when you can increase the Oscar nominees in the cast to three, why not?
Sorry for the lack of posts. A rapidly declining laptop at home, combined with regular updates at the work blog has kept me from randomly spouting off on stuff here.
Two movie-related things that needed to be posted here:
1. I went to the Netflix Roadshow screening of Clerks in Red Bank, down the street from the original Quick Stop where the movie was filmed. Kevin Smith has his own brief report of the night on his site -- I got there just before the movie actually screened so I missed the Q&A and only got a quick glimpse of Silent Bob, his wife as well as Lisa Loeb (who did some hosting, I think).
They did bring back some of the cast as well. Dante made a brief appearance that I missed, but Veronica did stick around after the film. Even funnier were the appearances by the roofer in the Death Star/contractor discussion and the little girl who bought a pack of cigarettes. Thankfully I didn't geek out completely and get autographs (they were just signing Netflix cards anyways
The Roadshow idea is pretty cool, especially since three of my favorite films are part of this year's tour. While all the Clerks stuff was gone before I could get to it, I did snag this poster, this poster and an Unpainted Arizona t-shirt.
2. I did rush out to see Talladega Nights and thought it was pretty funny, although not on the level of Anchorman -- at least not yet (when a ton of lines spring to the surface after multiple viewings). I will say that the oddest cameos in the film can be summed up in the line: "Is that Elvis Costello and Mos Def?"
Oh yeah, and was I the only one to think this actress was in the film when it reality it was this Oscar nominee? The previous has connections to two of the main stars, but hey, when you can increase the Oscar nominees in the cast to three, why not?
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Settling in
Settling in
I'm slowly but surely getting used to life back in the Northeast. I'm learning different ways to get into the city and to the office via a variety of commuter trains and subways, not to mention working "regular" hours.
On the other hand, I'm diving right into my work (although still having to solve a variety of paperwork/computer issues that come with starting a new job), which includes a new work blog. Seemingly everyone has at work now, so might as well jump in, even though this one has been around for a ridiculous long time.
I'm slowly but surely getting used to life back in the Northeast. I'm learning different ways to get into the city and to the office via a variety of commuter trains and subways, not to mention working "regular" hours.
On the other hand, I'm diving right into my work (although still having to solve a variety of paperwork/computer issues that come with starting a new job), which includes a new work blog. Seemingly everyone has at work now, so might as well jump in, even though this one has been around for a ridiculous long time.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Safe at home
Safe at home
Well, I'm now in New Jersey for good, and starting up in New York on Monday. It's been an interesting week or so as I made the move out of Atlanta. While I did have a fun "goodbye tour," including a big party at this place a little more than a week ago (which saw a number of my different social universes converging in one place -- much like the Jeopardy! party), I also had to spend a bunch of time finally getting rid of my couch and recliner thanks to a couple of interesting Craiglist buyers.
I took off for good Thursday morning, using a little different route than I'm used to -- taking I-85 from Atlanta to Charlotte, then I-77 from Charlotte to southwest Virginia, then I-81 for a lot of Virginia plus cameo appearances from West Virginia and Maryland. I eventually stopped in Hagerstown, just short of the Pennsylvania border (after about 12 hours on the road), in time to catch the World Series of Pop Culture (I wept as the contestants whiffed badly on the SNL category). Then it was off for a relatively short (3 1/2 hours) jaunt through Pennsylvania and into New Jersey to finish things off.
Almost fittingly, I got back in time for the first weekend of Clerks 2, which I got around to seeing today. If you liked the original movie, you'll like this one. If you didn't, you probably won't. I was a huge fan of the original, and the sequel was just fine -- nothing amazing, just some silly entertainment. I have my doubts for its box office take, if only because a lot of the local multiplexes in the area have it on only one screen for opening weekend.
Well, I'm now in New Jersey for good, and starting up in New York on Monday. It's been an interesting week or so as I made the move out of Atlanta. While I did have a fun "goodbye tour," including a big party at this place a little more than a week ago (which saw a number of my different social universes converging in one place -- much like the Jeopardy! party), I also had to spend a bunch of time finally getting rid of my couch and recliner thanks to a couple of interesting Craiglist buyers.
I took off for good Thursday morning, using a little different route than I'm used to -- taking I-85 from Atlanta to Charlotte, then I-77 from Charlotte to southwest Virginia, then I-81 for a lot of Virginia plus cameo appearances from West Virginia and Maryland. I eventually stopped in Hagerstown, just short of the Pennsylvania border (after about 12 hours on the road), in time to catch the World Series of Pop Culture (I wept as the contestants whiffed badly on the SNL category). Then it was off for a relatively short (3 1/2 hours) jaunt through Pennsylvania and into New Jersey to finish things off.
Almost fittingly, I got back in time for the first weekend of Clerks 2, which I got around to seeing today. If you liked the original movie, you'll like this one. If you didn't, you probably won't. I was a huge fan of the original, and the sequel was just fine -- nothing amazing, just some silly entertainment. I have my doubts for its box office take, if only because a lot of the local multiplexes in the area have it on only one screen for opening weekend.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
The final countdown
The final countdown
Just about a week or so before I leave the ATL for good. Been doing tons of packing, cleaning up, selling off most of my furniture on Craiglist (if anyone in the Atlanta area wants a couch, I've got a nice one available) and having friends and family taking me out to lunch to send me off. Still some more prep work to be done, including how I'm going to fit what's left in my car and another going-away party on Friday (my boss had one for me with fellow co-workers last week). Oh yeah, finished off my last night shift tonight, seemingly doing what I will be doing once I get up to New York.
But as for other stuff going around:
-- Wordplay: Finally returned to the movies after a long hiatus, and it ended up being the crossword puzzle movie. Fun stuff, although I swear I've come across many of the featured competitors in real life, even though I know I haven't.
-- An interesting July 4th for me as I saw Superman Returns with Alyson (seemingly only seeing each other on national holidays) before an aborted attempt to see the Lenox Mall fireworks. The movie was decent, seemed like Superman 2 1/2. Brandon Routh was fine as the man of steel, and he seemed to channel Christopher Reeve, while Kevin Spacey started morphing into Dr. Evil toward the end. On the other hand, Kumar got no lines, Superkid had an interesting Lipnick/Jake Lloyd vibe going for him, and Kate Bosworth seemed to be assuming Cameron Diaz's Being John Malkovich look.
-- As for the fireworks, some nasty thunderstorms rolled through just before the show was to begin. It sounded like things were going to get cancelled (at least according to a cop at the place we had established camp at), so we went our separate ways. Then as I got home, I could hear the fireworks from my apartment, so my last chance to see them live fizzled out.
-- I suppose I should comment about the World Series of Pop Culture. I like the show -- the questions are fair, if at times a bit easy, although it strays into some real trivia, which is fine, though. The concept is very simple, which is good. I'm not a big fan of the hosts -- the Studio 7 experiment probably clouds my opinion of Pat Kiernan, while Miss Tungsten seems to be showing her age a bit, even if she had a decent Hef spread last year.
I had too many strikes against me for being on the show (not to mention it taped the same weekend as TRASHionals), but I know I could more than take them on (as could plenty of my quizbowl colleagues). However, watching Wednesday night's episode on DVR, I realized I went to college with Mac from the Bobby, Ricky, etc. team (the middle guy in the team picture; he's a frat brother of one of my friends from school), meaning I'm not the only Filipino-American alum from Northwestern with game show and pop culture experience anymore.
Just about a week or so before I leave the ATL for good. Been doing tons of packing, cleaning up, selling off most of my furniture on Craiglist (if anyone in the Atlanta area wants a couch, I've got a nice one available) and having friends and family taking me out to lunch to send me off. Still some more prep work to be done, including how I'm going to fit what's left in my car and another going-away party on Friday (my boss had one for me with fellow co-workers last week). Oh yeah, finished off my last night shift tonight, seemingly doing what I will be doing once I get up to New York.
But as for other stuff going around:
-- Wordplay: Finally returned to the movies after a long hiatus, and it ended up being the crossword puzzle movie. Fun stuff, although I swear I've come across many of the featured competitors in real life, even though I know I haven't.
-- An interesting July 4th for me as I saw Superman Returns with Alyson (seemingly only seeing each other on national holidays) before an aborted attempt to see the Lenox Mall fireworks. The movie was decent, seemed like Superman 2 1/2. Brandon Routh was fine as the man of steel, and he seemed to channel Christopher Reeve, while Kevin Spacey started morphing into Dr. Evil toward the end. On the other hand, Kumar got no lines, Superkid had an interesting Lipnick/Jake Lloyd vibe going for him, and Kate Bosworth seemed to be assuming Cameron Diaz's Being John Malkovich look.
-- As for the fireworks, some nasty thunderstorms rolled through just before the show was to begin. It sounded like things were going to get cancelled (at least according to a cop at the place we had established camp at), so we went our separate ways. Then as I got home, I could hear the fireworks from my apartment, so my last chance to see them live fizzled out.
-- I suppose I should comment about the World Series of Pop Culture. I like the show -- the questions are fair, if at times a bit easy, although it strays into some real trivia, which is fine, though. The concept is very simple, which is good. I'm not a big fan of the hosts -- the Studio 7 experiment probably clouds my opinion of Pat Kiernan, while Miss Tungsten seems to be showing her age a bit, even if she had a decent Hef spread last year.
I had too many strikes against me for being on the show (not to mention it taped the same weekend as TRASHionals), but I know I could more than take them on (as could plenty of my quizbowl colleagues). However, watching Wednesday night's episode on DVR, I realized I went to college with Mac from the Bobby, Ricky, etc. team (the middle guy in the team picture; he's a frat brother of one of my friends from school), meaning I'm not the only Filipino-American alum from Northwestern with game show and pop culture experience anymore.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Shuffle up and watch
Shuffle up and watch
While World Cup Soccer has curtailed some of my late-night poker reruns, the actual World Series of Poker has already started. And even more interesting, ESPN will be starting coverage of the main event in late August, just a few days after it has been completed. And for those (possibly like me) wanting to follow in real time, the final table will be available on pay-per-view.
While it's great to see ESPN make such big changes to their coverage, I do wonder what the ratings will be and whether we've already hit the high point of poker's popularity. With the ridiculous flood of shows out there (for instance, I am curious as to how Chris Rose and Barry Tompkins feel about calling so much poker for FSN), can and will the WSOP stand out even if it is the one event that casual fans know about?
While World Cup Soccer has curtailed some of my late-night poker reruns, the actual World Series of Poker has already started. And even more interesting, ESPN will be starting coverage of the main event in late August, just a few days after it has been completed. And for those (possibly like me) wanting to follow in real time, the final table will be available on pay-per-view.
While it's great to see ESPN make such big changes to their coverage, I do wonder what the ratings will be and whether we've already hit the high point of poker's popularity. With the ridiculous flood of shows out there (for instance, I am curious as to how Chris Rose and Barry Tompkins feel about calling so much poker for FSN), can and will the WSOP stand out even if it is the one event that casual fans know about?
Saturday, July 01, 2006
And I'm moving where?
So I guess that line about "closing the state of Florida" from National Lampoon's Vacation isn't completely wrong. You just have to go up to the Garden State where a sales tax dispute had the governor "closing" the state of New Jersey.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Goodbye, coach
Goodbye, coach
Sometimes it's both good and bad that I currently live close to work. That really came into play when I caught the news of Randy Walker's sudden death on ESPN News when I got home last night. I eventually rushed back to the office to get that story up and then deal with a second fire of the latest Tour de France doping scandal.
But back to Walker. He provided lots of ups and downs for NU fans during his seven years at the helm, but at least he got the team to at least a certain level of consistent respectability, further building on Gary Barnett's legacy (remember that I was an undergrad during the Rose Bowl days) and then adding his own twists, especially the now much copied spread offense. While I'm a pretty avid fan no matter what, Walker kept things interesting, that's for sure. It's a huge loss for the university.
For more on Walker, you can also check out my colleague Stewart Mandel's take, which also talks about a whole spat of tragedies hitting the university in recent history.
Sometimes it's both good and bad that I currently live close to work. That really came into play when I caught the news of Randy Walker's sudden death on ESPN News when I got home last night. I eventually rushed back to the office to get that story up and then deal with a second fire of the latest Tour de France doping scandal.
But back to Walker. He provided lots of ups and downs for NU fans during his seven years at the helm, but at least he got the team to at least a certain level of consistent respectability, further building on Gary Barnett's legacy (remember that I was an undergrad during the Rose Bowl days) and then adding his own twists, especially the now much copied spread offense. While I'm a pretty avid fan no matter what, Walker kept things interesting, that's for sure. It's a huge loss for the university.
For more on Walker, you can also check out my colleague Stewart Mandel's take, which also talks about a whole spat of tragedies hitting the university in recent history.
Monday, June 26, 2006
On the road again
On the road again
Posting has been plenty infrequent lately as I prepare for the move to Gotham. I've been up here at home in Jersey for most of the past week -- my brother's birthday party served as a good reason to drive up a ton of my stuff and get ready for jumping into the fray in just under a month.
And in a few hours I'll be starting another 16-hour road trip back to the ATL. The drive up was actually very good until I got slammed with traffic on I-95 around Alexandria and parts of the Beltway (including getting stuck in some bizarro traffic line near Andrews AFB after getting smacked around on gas) before cruising into Baltimore to see Dave, Jessie, Justin and Kristin (major props and thanks for letting me crash there).
The car got awesome mileage despite zipping through much of the mid-Atlantic with a ton of my crap piled in the back.
Even better, I amused myself by playing all the songs I had on the WOXY Top 500 Modern Rock countdown -- I had 224 of the 500 songs, and I didn't finish it off until I was driving around New Jersey and traveling to the city. (I started the shuffle with Radiohead's "Creep." Anyone want to take a guess at what was last?)
The drive back will involve the Blender 500 greatest songs since 1980. I've got 201 of those already loaded on (with a few more hiding away on CDs back in Atlanta).
FWIW, I was reasonably productive in New York as well, seeing the U.S.-Ghana game at the ESPNZone in Times Square, followed by Pedro pitching against the Reds for a matinee at Shea. Then doing some stuff at the new office. In a way, it was practicing the commute to and from my folks' place, so I had that going for me as well.
Posting has been plenty infrequent lately as I prepare for the move to Gotham. I've been up here at home in Jersey for most of the past week -- my brother's birthday party served as a good reason to drive up a ton of my stuff and get ready for jumping into the fray in just under a month.
And in a few hours I'll be starting another 16-hour road trip back to the ATL. The drive up was actually very good until I got slammed with traffic on I-95 around Alexandria and parts of the Beltway (including getting stuck in some bizarro traffic line near Andrews AFB after getting smacked around on gas) before cruising into Baltimore to see Dave, Jessie, Justin and Kristin (major props and thanks for letting me crash there).
The car got awesome mileage despite zipping through much of the mid-Atlantic with a ton of my crap piled in the back.
Even better, I amused myself by playing all the songs I had on the WOXY Top 500 Modern Rock countdown -- I had 224 of the 500 songs, and I didn't finish it off until I was driving around New Jersey and traveling to the city. (I started the shuffle with Radiohead's "Creep." Anyone want to take a guess at what was last?)
The drive back will involve the Blender 500 greatest songs since 1980. I've got 201 of those already loaded on (with a few more hiding away on CDs back in Atlanta).
FWIW, I was reasonably productive in New York as well, seeing the U.S.-Ghana game at the ESPNZone in Times Square, followed by Pedro pitching against the Reds for a matinee at Shea. Then doing some stuff at the new office. In a way, it was practicing the commute to and from my folks' place, so I had that going for me as well.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
The list
For your reading enjoyment, here's the 2006 WOXY.com Modern Rock 500 list. I've been trying to figure out how many of these songs I already have -- it looks like 200 with a few more not ripped from my CDs. Not a bad ratio, especially with a handful of artists/songs I'm used to seeing on these lists not mentioned.
Now to do a similar project with 99X's Top 1000 countdown from last year. At least this will give me some good long-term playlists for my upcoming long drives.
Now to do a similar project with 99X's Top 1000 countdown from last year. At least this will give me some good long-term playlists for my upcoming long drives.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Slacking off
Slacking off
Time to get cracking on the updates. There are some good excuses, but laziness is the easy one ...
-- Played tour guide for my brother his fiancee over Memorial Day weekend. Good times all around, even if we couldn't make it to the aquarium (I hope to do that before leaving town). I'll need to really brush up on my places to go in New Jersey and New York when I inevitably have my first guests visiting me up north.
-- Also spent part of Memorial Day watching minor league hockey. For the second straight year, I've seen a finals match featuring a Thrashers affiliate. Each time was a loss, but each time was very entertaining. And hey, I finally got to see a game with my favorite hockey fan.
And while it's unfortunate the Gladiators were downed in the finals, at least they didn't have to make a return trip to Anchorage to finish the series. Talk about some rough road tripping. That also means I've seen teams from Idaho and Alaska play in the Atlanta suburbs. No wonder the EC in ECHL doesn't stand for East Coast anymore.
-- Speaking of fringeish sporting events, all of a sudden I've become a softball fan thanks to the alma mater reaching the NCAA finals. Of course, even though the women have now won a second straight lacrosse title, a doubles tennis title and possibly a softball title, all anyone will remember is the soccer hazing stuff.
-- Also got caught up in the prime-time National Spelling Bee where "Jersey represent!" While it's nice to see the "up close and personal" profiles, you can see it wreaking some havoc with the timing and pace of the competition. And of course, there's that odd feeling of "I've actually heard of that word" -- but that was only in the daytime ESPN rounds and supposedly were the "easy" words.
What I wonder, though, is when ESPN Classic replays these bees in a few years (either on its own or on Cheap Seats), will some of the competitors get the same attention as this girl.
-- Speaking of spelling, I've had to moderate a bunch of comments for a blog at work. And while I'm blown away by the words these kids have to spell, I'm similarly baffled at how badly people spell in these comments. Forget "ursprache," try spelling "backfield" correctly.
-- In some ways, I'd prefer if people just spelled in internet/text message shorthand. At least there's some rhyme or reason to it. But before you learn how to post on any message board, be sure to check this helpful instructional video.
-- While digging up a new icon for some IM applications, I stumbled across something I'm stunned I didn't know before since it's just a couple of counties away. Check out the Cherokee County school board. Yup, that's the Dog-Faced Gremlin and famed Michigan alum.
Time to get cracking on the updates. There are some good excuses, but laziness is the easy one ...
-- Played tour guide for my brother his fiancee over Memorial Day weekend. Good times all around, even if we couldn't make it to the aquarium (I hope to do that before leaving town). I'll need to really brush up on my places to go in New Jersey and New York when I inevitably have my first guests visiting me up north.
-- Also spent part of Memorial Day watching minor league hockey. For the second straight year, I've seen a finals match featuring a Thrashers affiliate. Each time was a loss, but each time was very entertaining. And hey, I finally got to see a game with my favorite hockey fan.
And while it's unfortunate the Gladiators were downed in the finals, at least they didn't have to make a return trip to Anchorage to finish the series. Talk about some rough road tripping. That also means I've seen teams from Idaho and Alaska play in the Atlanta suburbs. No wonder the EC in ECHL doesn't stand for East Coast anymore.
-- Speaking of fringeish sporting events, all of a sudden I've become a softball fan thanks to the alma mater reaching the NCAA finals. Of course, even though the women have now won a second straight lacrosse title, a doubles tennis title and possibly a softball title, all anyone will remember is the soccer hazing stuff.
-- Also got caught up in the prime-time National Spelling Bee where "Jersey represent!" While it's nice to see the "up close and personal" profiles, you can see it wreaking some havoc with the timing and pace of the competition. And of course, there's that odd feeling of "I've actually heard of that word" -- but that was only in the daytime ESPN rounds and supposedly were the "easy" words.
What I wonder, though, is when ESPN Classic replays these bees in a few years (either on its own or on Cheap Seats), will some of the competitors get the same attention as this girl.
-- Speaking of spelling, I've had to moderate a bunch of comments for a blog at work. And while I'm blown away by the words these kids have to spell, I'm similarly baffled at how badly people spell in these comments. Forget "ursprache," try spelling "backfield" correctly.
-- In some ways, I'd prefer if people just spelled in internet/text message shorthand. At least there's some rhyme or reason to it. But before you learn how to post on any message board, be sure to check this helpful instructional video.
-- While digging up a new icon for some IM applications, I stumbled across something I'm stunned I didn't know before since it's just a couple of counties away. Check out the Cherokee County school board. Yup, that's the Dog-Faced Gremlin and famed Michigan alum.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Casey Kasem on steroids
One thing that used to be a staple of major summer holidays was the Top 500 countdowns. I haven't seen much of it lately down here in Atlanta, save for the 99X countdown I linked to a while back. Well, it looks like there will be at least one Top 500 countdown that might be worth catching, and you can all find it online at WOXY.com (the "future of rock and roll" from Rain Man) over Memorial Day weekend -- it's another Top 500 Modern Rock tracks. You can look at last year's list to get an idea where they're headed.
Not sure how much I'll be able to catch, but at least it's good to see at least another "radio" outlet (since WOXY is now exclusively online) bringing back the holiday weekend countdown.
Not sure how much I'll be able to catch, but at least it's good to see at least another "radio" outlet (since WOXY is now exclusively online) bringing back the holiday weekend countdown.
Friday, May 12, 2006
More random musings
More random musings
--I'm trying to get my stuff together for the move, and so far it's involved clearing out about 5-6 years worth of EWs and SIs. Next up is figuring out which books that I bought at Goodwill sales over the years will end up going back to Goodwill.
--Eventually I'll read The DaVinci Code, but instead I finished up reading this book, which was written by a former colleague from the college paper. It's a compelling and entertaining read, and it should be interesting if and when it gets made into a movie.
--Speaking of movies, I did see M:I3 the other day, and when you watch that and 24 in the same day, all the plot twists, chicanery and silly corruption will make your head spin. Still, it's good for what it's supposed to be.
--It's fun to see some old contestants return for the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, but I can't help but feel a tad jealous that I couldn't get a second chance to be on the show. I will say that this is one of the first times where I've been familiar with almost every one of the TOC competitors by watching them on TV. But for now, I guess I can help others pass their auditions that are coming up.
--And how did I miss Leon getting traded for, what else, a bunch of cases of beer.
--I'm trying to get my stuff together for the move, and so far it's involved clearing out about 5-6 years worth of EWs and SIs. Next up is figuring out which books that I bought at Goodwill sales over the years will end up going back to Goodwill.
--Eventually I'll read The DaVinci Code, but instead I finished up reading this book, which was written by a former colleague from the college paper. It's a compelling and entertaining read, and it should be interesting if and when it gets made into a movie.
--Speaking of movies, I did see M:I3 the other day, and when you watch that and 24 in the same day, all the plot twists, chicanery and silly corruption will make your head spin. Still, it's good for what it's supposed to be.
--It's fun to see some old contestants return for the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, but I can't help but feel a tad jealous that I couldn't get a second chance to be on the show. I will say that this is one of the first times where I've been familiar with almost every one of the TOC competitors by watching them on TV. But for now, I guess I can help others pass their auditions that are coming up.
--And how did I miss Leon getting traded for, what else, a bunch of cases of beer.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Start spreading the news. I'm leaving today
In a move that's a bit overdue, I'm being transferred up to the New York office, starting in mid-July. The details of what I'll be doing up there is still to be determined, but it's probably not much different than what I'm doing now.
I've enjoyed my nine years (yikes, has it been that long?) in Atlanta, but I guess you can go home again.
I've enjoyed my nine years (yikes, has it been that long?) in Atlanta, but I guess you can go home again.
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