05.22.08
Posted in Movies at 8:28 am by Dave
I was a little hesitant going in to the midnight showing of Crystal Skull last night. I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I have an Indiana Jones addiction, I knew I was going to like the movie regardless. Either way, good or bad, it really didn’t matter. I can safely say now that Speilberg, Lucas and Ford have delivered a great movie. It’s Indiana Jones with a 50’s sci-fi feel and it works.
The pay off in this movie is that they give you everything you wanted to see and follow up on From Raiders of the Lost Ark. Bringing Marion along for the ride makes the movie. I’m not going to spoil anything but the film goes exactly where you want it to. It delivers all of the action you were looking for. You get Russian’s instead of Nazi’s this time around but it really doesn’t matter.
This movie does fit in better with Temple of Doom and Last Crusade than Raiders. There is more CGI than I would have liked but it’s not distracting. My only big issue is that some of the action goes a little too far. You’ll see what I mean when you see the film. I really can’t say much with out spoiling the main action sequences.
If you’re an Indiana Jones addict or even just a casual fan, Crystal Skull is well worth the wait. Lets hope they can get the next film out the door in the next few years. I really don’t want to wait 19 years for the next one!
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04.14.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:45 pm by Dave
It’s coming…
Learn How to Drink like a Pirate!
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01.02.08
Posted in Parties, Weekends at 7:21 pm by Dave
The usual suspects were in attendance. This included Ed, Tom, Melissa, Sam, Heather, Walt and Rhonda. I hadn’t seen Walt or Rhonda since July 4th, I was glad they came.
I didn’t start off the night thinking I was going to drink myself in to a drunken passed-out state. Up until midnight I was pretty straight on the idea of just getting drunk enough to have a good time. But this is me, it never works out that way no matter what I say. Normally I would ride up on a party with enough alcohol to kill several normal humans, then drink most of it myself. This time I only had a bottle of vodka and the supplies to make a damn good Kamikaze. I know that’s a good way to get fucked up quickly but I really had myself deluded in to thinking otherwise. I just figured that with awesome wings from Billy’s Roadhouse and pizza from Monte Cello’s I would just eat more than I could drink.
It all went downhill with the first drink. Starting with several Captain Morgans and no Coke I proceeded on from there. I graduated to modified Kamikaze’s with a little tonic to fill it out. Some where in here was where the first kiss happened. This whole time I was shoveling as much food as possible in to my mouth.
Sam and Heather showed up around 11:30. I always have fun when they are around. Heather and I have had this strange non-confrontational flirting thing going on for years. It really makes everyone around us a little ill. At this point we keep trying to push the limit of strange sexual comments. I would provide an example but I don’t want to make anyone sick.
We of course had to have a champagne toast at midnight. The second kiss happened here before we even got to the champagne. I abstained, champagne and I do not get along very well. I was also still kind of sober at this point. That’s almost not possible but we did get a late start. I was still on the “I’m not getting stupid drunk” portion of the evening
Time travel forward a little… Ed and I decided to go for a walk around 3 AM. I actually made the decision on the excursion and the direction, Ed came along for the hell of it. Logic was really out the window because I decided to take a full drink/cup of vodka with me as we walked across the street to Shaler High School. I know, stupid idea! Especially if the cops show up. Not only were we trespassing on school property while drunk but we were also carrying full cups of alcohol. Lucky for us, when the cops did make an appearance we were at the edge of the woods on top of a hill, they just drove on by, never even seeing us. On the way back, I got the brilliant idea to walk through the woods to the house. It would have been a short cut but when it’s dark, cold and your drunk, it’s a bad idea. I’m pretty sure some where in here I tripped on a log and sprained my ankle. Didn’t realize that till some time later the next day. We must have been gone for a while. Tom called several time to make sure we were alive.
Wrapping the night up with more food, I passed out some time after 4 AM. Every thing is just a little fuzzy here. It’s quite possible I passed out under the kitchen table at some point. I remember sleeping on the couch which is where I was in the morning.
Some time around 8 AM I woke and moved to the sofa bed. I couldn’t sleep and since everyone had slept over I decided to get out, go home and get a shower. I also wanted to make sure I got some sleep before the outdoor NHL Winter Classic game between the Pens and Sabers came on. There was also less chance of a confrontation, just in case more people knew of the kiss than I thought.
Overall it was a great party with some enjoyably strange events in the middle. I would say we’ll have trouble duplicating this again but this is pretty much how all out parties go.
Hope everyone has a great new year… It’s headed in an interesting direction from here.
* For the betterment of all in attendance, I’m going to put the kissing incident out of my mind for now. I’m not going to deny it happened. I’m not going to pretend I didn’t enjoy it. It’s just going on the back burner till I can get the real story…
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01.01.08
Posted in Dating, Single Life, Weekends at 11:54 am by Dave
I’m really not sure how to explain this one. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it at the moment.
Someone, whom I’ve always thought was cute, kissed me. It wasn’t at midnight like you might be thinking. It was at a moment I never even saw coming which made it all the more enjoyable. I just never expected it
Then, at midnight, she kissed me again. It wasn’t a quick peck like the first one. It was a full-on open mouthed kiss which shocked me just a little. I hesitated just enough to make it awkward. Then I went with it and fully enjoyed the experience.
The strange part is that her significant other was at the party as well. One of our friends saw the second kiss happen. I have no intention of saying anything. I know the friend isn’t going to say anything. I can only assume she’s not going to talk.
I had to get this out of my head for now. I can’t help thinking about her and how she smelled.
More details may follow, after I talk to her.
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10.17.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:22 am by Dave
I couldn’t get my car started last night. I was really annoyed about this because I was suppose to be at the Hot Pink Pittsburgh breast cancer benefit. I really want to to go to this, it’s for a great cause.
To make a long story short, The problem wasn’t as bad as I thought.
I was thinking it was the fuel pump. That’s what the mechanic said when I talked to him.
When the truck from AAA arrived to tow the car to the dealership he knew exactly what the problem was. The factory installed security system had locked out the fuel pump. Don’t know how, don’t really care. But here is how to fix it.
Turn the ignition key to on. If the security light is flashing, the system is locked. Leave the key turned to the on position till the security light stops flashing. Turn the key off and it should start.
Strange, but it did save me from the pain of sitting at the dealership all morning.
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Posted in Concerts at 10:11 am by Dave
That title might be a little bit of an over statement but I’m going with it.
Last Friday Tom and I ventured off to Toronto for the Van Halen concert. The concert was awesome. It was the second best concert I’ve been to this year. The played pretty much everything from the David Lee Roth era, at least everything that was popular. This is a good thing because what I really feared was that they would attempt to cover some of the songs from the Sammy Hagar era which I didn’t really want to hear. Not that I don’t like those songs, in fact it’s the exact opposite. I just didn’t want to hear Roth trying to sing them.
We did get carded when we tried to get beer at Air Canada Center. For those that don’t know the drinking age in Ontario on 19, I’m sure we can pass for 19 with out issue. The strange thing about this was that when the girl checked our ID’s she had to get out a book and look up what a PA drivers license should look like. I don’t really have an issue with this but I think she was being a little over cautious.
After the concert we stopped at Hoops Sports Bar which is across the street from the Courtyard Marriott hotel. I’ve been there many times, it’s always fun. On this night they were having their Octoberfest promotion. I didn’t really care about that but I was entertained by the costumes the waitresses were wearing. I should have taken a picture but I was more in to getting drunk. I was really digging the French-Canadian accent of out waitress.
Saturday saw a return visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame. I had been there last year but Tom had never been there. We were moving a little slow getting there but we did have a great time. The only bad part was that we stopped for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. I like the Hard Rock but we ordered way too much food. Should have skipped the Nachos. I could have skipped the Chicken Club Sandwich and it wouldn’t have mattered. I just didn’t want to eat any more food.
With the Penguins playing the Maple Leafs we toyed with the idea of trying to get tickets to the game. Had we been motivated I think we could have made it to the ticket office at Air Canada Center and had a chance to get tickets but we waited too long. We had to get there by 10 A.M. which just wasn’t going to happen. I really didn’t fee like paying $100 or more to see that game. We already have Pens season tickets, we’ll see enough games this year. We ended up watching the game at the hotel which worked out just as well given the game started at 7:00 P.M.
After the game we ventured across town to Wayne Gretzky’s Bar. I didn’t even know Gretzky had a bar but it was cool none the less. The crappy part was that I got a pint of Heineken and it cost $8, that’s almost the equivalent of robbery! We didn’t stay there long but the food was good and it’s a nice place.
On the return trip Sunday we stopped at Anchor Bar in Buffalo. For those that don’t know, Anchor Bar is where Buffalo Wings were invented. The wings were good but it was the sauce that makes the wings and the sauce was excellent. Just about the best I’ve ever had. Thanks goes out to Tom for thinking of this, it was a great idea. I highly recommend stopping by for lunch the next time you’re in Buffalo.
I’ve skipped some of the more mundane details here including an argument with She who Shall not be Named. It’s amazing that I was able to get in to an argument with her from 300 miles away. It’s even more amazing when you include the fact that I wasn’t even talking to her at the time.
If you have the time, see Van Halen on this tour. You won’t forget it.
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10.08.07
Posted in Weekends at 11:34 am by Dave
Tom wanted to start the weekend on Tuesday last week but I opted out. Melissa was going to be there, she wanted to go out at 8:00 and I’ve decided to avoid ever interacting with her again after the last incident. I know, I’ve said that before but I really mean it this time.
Wednesday was short and to the point. Now that the remodel at Fridays is over with I can get back to drinking large amounts of Captain Morgans which is exactly what I did. Add some Tasty Tostado Nacho’s and Potato Skins to that and a good night is had.
Thursday we landed at Mad Mex. I really wasn’t in the mood for Margaritas but when I said that it was still early. Walking in the door at 10:00 for Happy Hour usually changes my mind. $6 for a 22oz. will get the party started. How can you beat that? Better yet, what dumb ass would actually go there during the day and actually pay $12 for the same thing? I have a Mad Mex Quesadillas with Chicken, Guacamole and Sour Cream addiction. I don’t even want to think about the calories in that.
I had to fly solo on Friday. Ed worked late, Tom was at Kennywood and that meant I was going to Fridays. I had to drown my sorrows after watching the Penguins lose anyway. I can’t say I was really by myself though, the Captain is always around. The only issues is that I drink faster when I’m solo. 1.5 hours and 5 drinks later I was home just in time to watch Stargate Atlantis at midnight. That was the good part. The bad part is when I decided I hadn’t had enough. Two beers and a shot of Jager/Rumpleminze later I couldn’t have told you which way was up. I was in pain the next day till about 4:00.
Saturday it was off to the Pens home opener with Tom, Ed and Tim. It’s at times like this I’m glad we’ve had season tickets for the last two years. And just to rub it in your face, we have 4 tickets, and no, you can’t have any! It was hot as hell at the Cafe on Fifth. We were there an hour early and couldn’t even get close to a table. That pretty much sucked! Didn’t stop us from Drinking a few beers though. I had to get nacho’s at the game because I was practically starving. By coincidence Tom ran in to Daniella who was going to a party after the game. After a kick ass Pens win and finally getting something to eat at the Cafe we were off to the party. The only bad part was that it was after 11:30 by the time we got there, it was pretty much dead. Dan and Amanda had already left, though we did see them drive by was we pulled up to park. It was a good time any way though. We stayed there till almost 1:30 in the morning. By the time we arrived back at Tm’s and I drove home it was almost 2:30. By then I was completely sober, I was able to get a really good night’s sleep.
What I didn’t expect was to sleep till 12:15 on Sunday. Not that I had anything planned other than to watch part of the Steelers game. While that was on I caught up on Bionic Woman which I had missed last week. I know people have been dissing it but I really like that show. It might be more because it is from the same people behind Battlestar Galactica. Plus it’s Katie Sackhoff, who wouldn’t want to watch her run around? I also went to see The Heartbreak Kid after the game. I can’t recommend it.
Watch Along Came Polly, it’s a better movie and much more believable. This is a case of the best scenes being in the trailer.
Coming up this week: Van Halen in Toronto on Friday night with Tom. I’m sure this will be interesting.
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09.15.07
Posted in Concerts at 8:17 am by Dave
I’m all for having a few drink before a concert. It loosens everyone up and, in theory, it should open up the door to a good time. This normally works out pretty well. Then there are the times when a little too much alcohol turns everything up side down. It turns a good time in to a disaster and inevitably it ends with me saying something I really shouldn’t. I usually end up hating myself just a little for that the next day.
The whole hating myself thing is what I’m dealing with right now after the Lynard Skynard concert at Post Gazette Pavilion last night. Under normal conditions Tom and I try to stick to the rule that only he and I attend concerts. Having anyone else along usually leads to disaster. It’s not that I don’t want other people to come and have a good time. Really, it’s the exact opposite, I want other people to come. I just can’t trust anyone else to behave.
The decision to go to the concert was made at the last minute on Thursday. I should have bailed out when Tom said Melissa wanted to go. Up till this moment I hadn’t talked to Melissa since the 4th of July incident at the Pirate game. That story is almost exactly the same as this one but on a much grander scale. Needless to say, it was a disaster.
Melissa had also invited one other person she works with. We were all driving together. I only found out on route to Tom’s that were going to be meeting at Melissa’s place. I know better than to put myself in a where situation where I’m trapped in a car for a period of time with people I don’t want to associate with. I figured I could deal with it, I don’t really like Skynard but I figured what the hell.
The downward spiral started when I got to Melissa’s. I was asked if I liked Vodka by Melissa’s co-worker. I said no, and she promptly asked again. What was wrong with the first no? I was a little annoyed with that and I had no problem letting everyone know it. I was in this for the concert and to have a good time with Tom. I didn’t have to like these people but I could bit my tongue and try to get along.
I knew when I started drinking at the pavilion that it was going to be bad. I tried talking to Melissa and interacting with everyone there. I didn’t try very hard though, it was quite evident. By the time Tom and I went in to the concert I was well on my way to being completely destroyed.
At this point things get a little fuzzy. I ended up falling asleep for a brief period during Blue Oyster Cult. Laying on a blanket on the lawn and the drinking made the nap a requirement, I really wasn’t in control. I was promptly chastised for taking a nap upon awaking. Lets pile on the annoyance, I know everyone is going to love an appearance by drunk, annoyed, obnoxious Dave. After I tracked Tom down at the concession stand, this is exactly what happened.It started raining at about 10:15, part way through the Skynard portion of the show. We hung out for a while but you can only get so wet before giving up and no longer caring. To add to the misery, why don’t we pile a group of wet drunk people in to a car for the ride home.
I don’t remember the exact sequence of what happened next. Melissa’s co-worker continued to antagonize the situation. Tom and Melissa were bickering in the front seat. Melissa was driving, she was the only sober person and it was the safest option. I believe I stated that they should just cut it out and I may have even told them both to grow up. The co-worker started getting on me about being Tom’s best friend and that I should just accept that Tom and Melissa were going to be together. I then accused the co-worker of instigating and trying to keep Tom and Melissa together when they clearly should be apart. This set the drunk boyfriend of co-worker off who then threatened to bash my head in. This was of course, really mature of him. Maybe I shouldn’t have said what I did given the context but the whole situation was going down hill anyway. Nothing I said or did was going to change that.
Co-worker eventually managed to talk the boyfriend down but I really didn’t care. I do remember repeatedly telling everyone to calm down and just let it go at this point. I was really beyond caring about anything at this point. Things calmed down after we dropped co-worker and the boyfriend off at their apartment. Back at Melissa’s, Tom made the decision to stay there. This was after stating previously that he wanted to go home. I would have driven him home, I was good to go at that point. When Tom said he was staying there, I walked out, slamming the door.
And if all that wasn’t enough, when I tried to call Ed to vent I discovered that my cell phone was blinking out. I could dial a number and hear the person on the other end but they couldn’t hear me. Just great! I was pissed off and I couldn’t even talk to anyone about it. This was probably a good thing though, I wouldn’t have said anything coherently intelligent anyway.
Today’s moral is that if you don’t want to be around someone and you’re not really a big fan of the band, just say no!
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09.13.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:05 pm by Dave
I really don’t know why retail associates at Best Buy are fascinated with asking me if I need assistance in finding anything. I really wouldn’t have a problem with it if just one sales person asked. In the last few months though, the issue has become completely obsessive. During one of my visits to the store last week, I was asked no less than 5 times if I needed help. That’s just way too much interaction with retail sales people for me, period!
When I go to Best Buy I always have a game plan. I don’t walk in to the store wondering what I may buy or what might be on sale. By the time I get there I already know exactly what I’m getting. I’ve read the sales ad, I know what’s on sale. If I can get in and out in less than 5 minutes, I was there too long. I really hate when I can’t find something, I’m not going to ask, it’s not worth my time. I would rather go home to look up the status up on their web site.
I also don’t care what the security guy at the front door thinks. I don’t want to talk to them. I don’t care how their day is going. And I’m certainly not going to tell them how my day is going. The security guys job is to stand there and pretend to be useful. On occasions, they get to put a pink sticker on a returned item. That sounds like a miserable existence to me and lets face it, I just don’t care.
Finally there are the cashiers, the bottom of the retail economic chain. They don’t even need social interaction skills. All they need to do is scan your item, take your money and hand you your receipt. Any more, they don’t even need to be able to perform basic math. Swipe your debit card, press a few buttons and your out the door. I could train a monkey to be a cashier and the monkey would be more efficient. If you do actually have something to say to me, please speak up and use proper english. If I have to ask the cashier what they said, I’m going to be annoyed. I know your job sucks, that’s not my problem.
I do understand the reason retail associates try to interact with people. Their entire goal is to prevent idiots from applying the 5 finger discount. By talking to and asking if shoppers need assistance, any one that would be stupid enough to try this is going to move on. But come on, please, I don’t need to interact with anyone this low on the retail economic food chain. If Best Buy had self checkout, I would never have to talk to anyone.
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07.31.07
Posted in Movies at 3:37 pm by Dave
From late April through early September, there is hardly a weekend that I’m not in a theater watching something. Small independent films to summer blockbusters, I just can’t get enough. In the past month I’ve been struggling to get in at least two movies per week. This past weekend has really been a struggle. There were no less than four movies which I wanted to see. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but after seeing Sunshine yesterday and I Know Who Killed Me today I have to draw the line!
When it comes time to choose which movie I’m going to see several factors come in to play. Rotten Tomatoes and Meta Critic are usually pretty accurate when it comes to figuring out which movies should be seen and which ones end up on my Netflix queue. Blockbusters like Transformers have the hype and publicity behind them which will get my attention. Then there are the smaller movies like You Kill Me which I randomly hear about. These methods usually work, but they are not fool proof.
Sunshine is one of the movies which completely slipped through the system. The film occurs 50 years in the future. The sun is dying and the Icarus 2 has been sent with a nuclear payload to re-ignite the sun. I know what your thinking, that sounds pretty crazy. This is science fiction, crazy plots about blowing up planets and re-igniting stars are normal. Throw in a crazy mainframe computer which refuses to obey the rules and you have yourself a plot. In this case, that all goes out the window when you pull a ridiculous cliche out of the hat during the last 30 minutes.
I really did think I was safe with this one. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie 71% and Meta Critic had it at 6.7 out of 10. Those are pretty good odds, at the least, I really did think I would enjoy the movie. And, for the first 90 minutes of the movie, I loved it. There was tension among the crew members. It really did seem like they were going through experiences which could possibly occur after having been on the ship for 16 months. I forgave the cliche of detecting the distress signal from the Icarus 1, which had been lost 7 years prior. Any time a story starts off with a second ship of the same name, the original ship will almost always show up.
Adjusting their course, the Icarus 2 rendezvous with the Icarus 1 and everything looks normal. They find the crew dead, the cryptic last message from the captain really doesn’t explain anything and they leave realizing the ship can’t be saved. Then, disaster strikes with no explanation. After an insane escape back to Icarus 2, things are not as they seem. I’m skipping some plot points here but this is where the whole thing went south for me. You see, there are suppose to only be 4 people left but the mainframe states there are 5 people on board the ship. I’ll spare you the painful details and tell you that there is a killer loose on the ship. The killer happens to be the insane captain from the Icarus 1, but with no explanation on how he could have survived for 7 years without food. The entire plot just didn’t make sense at this point.
You’re probably thinking I ruined the movie for you. If I were you, I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s better that I’ve saved you from wasting 120 minutes of your life.
Then there is today’s disaster in the form of I Know Who Killed Me. I knew going in this was going to be bad. and when I say bad, I don’t just mean sort of bad, I mean really bad. 107 minutes of my life I’m never going to get back bad. First off, the movie couldn’t decide what it really wanted to be. Was it going to be a high school drama, a torture porn movie or a kidnapping suspense thriller. What it settled for being, was all of those things combined and not one of them was done well.
The film review in the Orlando Sentinel by Roger Moore sums up my feelings exactly. I can’t say it better than he already has. Though there were a few things which I really think were completely insane. The obsessive compulsion to make everything blue. From flowers to cars to clothes to eyes, everything was blue. If I see the color blue in a movie again it will be too soon. The need to continue on with the alternate personality story-line after it’s proven to be fake. The complete vanishing act of all law enforcement officials after the revelation that the alternate personality story is proven to be fake. I would continue, but it’s not worth it. I could write a dissertation on how not to make a movie from from watching this.
Sunshine and I Know Who Killed Me are the most recent examples of the utter crap hollywood is churning out. In the last three months I have seen the following movies of which all should be considered garbage. Spider-Man 3, 28 Weeks Later, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Bug, Knocked Up, Live Free or Die Hard, Sunshine and I Know Who Killed Me. That’s 8 movies for almost a combined total of 16 hours of my life which I’ll never get back. The number would be higher but I avoided several movies which I just plain knew I wouldn’t be able to stomach.
I know making a movie is an expensive proposition. It’s what has lead to the current glut of garbage which hollywood has continued to churn out in recent years. It’s all about money and marketing and profit. Why else do you think we’re experiencing the insane number of sequels which pop up every year?
Just because you can make a sequel doesn’t mean you should. Concentrate on making good movies, the movie goers will follow. I know I will.
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