I’m not usually a fan of “happy happy family time” videos, but JUST LOOK AT THAT BEARD! DAMN!

So Robin William’s daughter is named Zelda because Robin Williams liked the Legend of Zelda for the NES. Cool story bro. Have you checked out that beard yet?

Besides the beard, you get a pretty good look at how improved the graphics of the 3DS remake of one of the greatest games of all time actually are. That game comes out in a very short while and since I preordered it I’ll be playing it soon. Exciting!

Seriously though, dat beard!

4) The U.S. government has shut down a number of online gambling sites, including Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars. Technically, these sites are still operational, but the real money option has been frozen, meaning that the only way to play is by using “play chips.” Playing poker for fake money is like playing basketball without keeping score. Sure, the activity is the same but the stakes are so low that no one cares and people inevitably start dicking around.

I caught onto the online poker phenomenon relatively late; I opened an account about a month and a half and promptly lost the 25 dollars I had deposited. I threw in another 25, did a little better, then lost it again. Finally I bought in for 50, vowing to get to 100 bucks, cash out, and call it a career. I ended up doing fairly well, mainly playing in low entry fee Sit and Go Tournaments. I got some good breaks and got my stack up to 130 bucks. Did I cash out? Of course not. I forged ahead, delusions of winning more and more money dancing in my head.

I then went on a bad losing streak where I couldn’t catch a break, and my money dwindled to 85 dollars. It was around this time that I heard the news that Full Tilt was under attack from the U.S. government. Here’s a quote from Forbes (read the full article here) “The indictment filed by Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, charges Scheinberg, the founder of PokerStars, and Bitar, the founder of Full Tilt Poker, as well as nine other individuals, accusing them of operating illegal gambling businesses. Federal prosecutors also filed a civil lawsuit seeking $3 billion in civil money laundering penalties, alleging the online poker companies disguised money they received from U.S. poker players as payments to online merchants selling jewelry and golf balls.”

Not sure what the business about making payments to online merchants selling jewelry and golf balls (?!) is all about, but it doesn’t look like this site will be getting back anytime soon. It’s not too big a deal for me; I think I’ll be able to survive without my 80 bucks. But what about all those gambling degenerates who have half of their life savings tied up in online poker?

I’ll say this much about online poker; it really helped improve my poker skills. Playing online means you get a chance to play a ton of hands in a very short period of time, so it sort of let you experiment with different styles to see what works and what doesn’t. Granted, people play online a bit differently than they would in real life, and it’s pretty much impossible to get any kind of reads on your opponents. But still, I got much, much better in the 50 days or so on Full Tilt.

3) Franklin and Bash looks awful, but at least it kind of seems like the creators are aware of the show’s poor quality. For God’s sake, when a show’s taglines are “This much fun should be illegal” and “Franklin and Bash: Turning the courtroom upside down” one has to hope no one on board is taking it too seriously.

2)

Finally got my Playstation back a few weeks ago, so naturally I have been playing Call of Duty: Black Ops on the regular. It’s not much of a deviation from the other titles in the series, but the online play is enjoyable. For some reason, I’m way better at this game than I ever was at World at War, probably because somebody isn’t getting attack dogs.

The part of the game I really like is the Nazi Zombies, which is now referred to as just “Zombies.” Apparently, the game’s creators did not want to offend any Nazis who might be playing the game out there. If you haven’t played the game, it’s a 1-4 player game in which players are trapped in a small area with waves after wave of undead Nazis swarming you. The game has evolved a lot since the first level, the simplistic “Nacht der Untoten.” They’ve added a Pack-A-Punch Machine which increases the power and ammunition capacity of your weapon, they’ve added perks which increase your strength and quickness, and they’ve added a number of interesting weapons and grenades. 

Here’s the problem with Nazi Zombies: there’s no end. The game, quite literally, never ends. No matter how many undead fleshbags you send back to hell, there will always be more. It’s quite frustrating, this knowledge that, no matter how well you do, you will always fail. Actually, I guess one could argue that their are many endevors in life which are predestined to end in failure. For instance, you could be the world record holder in the marathon, but there will still be room for improvement, still be some person out there saying “Can’t you go just a little faster?” The same principle applies to Zombies, I suppose, but video games are generally thought of as having a definite endpoint and the fact that there isn’t one in this otherwise kick-ass game sort of sullies the whole experience, for me anyway.

In Black Ops, there are three new maps. I’ve only played the first two, Kino der Toten (didn’t bother to check if that’s how it’s spelled, but if you’ve played the game you know what I’m talking about here) and Five. Kino der Toten is almost too easy. I played with a friend and I’m sort of embarrassed to say that we got to level 27. I’m subsequently adopting a don’t ask, don’t tell policy when it comes to how long the damn thing took to finish. The second level, Five, is really inventive and interesting, but also freaking hard. It’s best to play that one over the internet, but the quality of players on the internet varies widely so that’s always a gamble.

There is a point I wanted to make though, and it’s this: video games are a massive waste of time. Don’t play them. They do nothing for you, really, other than to provide some fleeting sense of enjoyment. I’m not going to follow my own advice, obviously, but I advise all people who don’t currently waste their time playing video games to stay that way, and I commend those out there who don’t play them for their commitment to doing something productive.

1) Watching James Harden on the OKC Thunder always makes me think of how good the Thunder could have been if they had only picked Steph Curry over Harden in the draft a couple years back. Harden is an average player. He’s got a decent jump shot, he plays alright defense. He has a neat beard. That’s the main thing, he’s got a Hall-of-Fame level beard.

Stephen Curry though, is a special player. He’s not very tall, and he’s not particularly strong. In fact, one might go so far as to call him weak, at least in comparison to other NBA players. He’s not even blazingly fast. But the man has a unique ability to get his shot off, and when that shot goes up, there’s a very good chance it’s going in. Curry shot 44% from the three point line this year, despite being one of two primary scorers on the Warriors. Imagine what that percentage could have been if Curry had 1) Kevin Durant, one of the top 2 or 3 scorers in the league and 2) Russell Westbrook, a guy who can get into the lane virtually any time he wants.

Curry on the Thunder would have been the perfect fit. Paired with Westbrook in the Thunder backcourt, he would have had the luxury of playing shooting guard on offense and guarding point guards on defense, as Westbrook can guard the bigger shooting guards. I know hindsight is 20-20, but man, how fun would a starting lineup of Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, and Kendrick Perkins be to watch?

(Nope.)

I leave the apartment most days to take one of my walks (especially when it isn’t too cold) but I don’t need to shave just to be out walking.

Oh you must have been meeting a friend?

(Wrong.)

Well technically that is wrong. Tonight I will be heading over to the Lake Erie Monsters game with the lovely Rizza and her dude. So technically I more than likely would have shaven today. That is besides the point.

Is it?

(Yes! Why must you torment me with questions all the time?)

We’ll focus more on yesterday then. Happy now? I wasn’t going anywhere really. No job interviews, no lunches or anything. There was a chance I would be going grocery shopping with the wife but like I care if Giant Eagle or Aldi’s people see me unshaven. Do you get that I hate shaving and won’t a great majority of the time? If I go too many days (and yes it happens a lot) I become real Wolfman like. I can get very hairy and very fast.

I really hate shaving. It takes way too much effort and time. So if there is a reason to skip it. I usually shave for anything involving friends (you’re welcome) but sometimes…

For instance this past Saturday we attended a party at Lindsay’s house. Now this would usually mean I was going to shave. The problem was the night before I went to bed at about 4am. I slept till about noon and then ran out to watch some March Madness. Soon it was late in the afternoon/early evening and I was dozing off on the couch. Now the wife being a great wife let me sleep until pretty much time to go. I got up and got ready with no time to shave. So there I was everyone pretty unshaven—

(No I was unshaven the others were less hairy.)
(You all never rest do you?)

As Alicia asked about Lauren’s wedding I joked that on the day I’d show up and *maybe* shave.

(I always shave for weddings.)
(There is a point to this post.)
(I promise.)
(Maybe.)

Despite the lack of doing anything (on Monday) I still shaved. Why? Because of this:

The wifebot and I were driving home Sunday. I don’t know how the subject turned to shaving but it did.

Me: Why shave? What reason do I have to shave?
Wifebot: Me!

And then you know light bulbs turned on and correct answer bells went off. Another thing that went off is something only I seem to have. You know the Star Trek red alert thing? Well that goes off when I’m going to start to feel bad about something, or regret something. I once said to Kat (wifebot) that I probably regretted close to 85% of things I’ve ever said or done in my life.

I don’t mean huge decisions (though some are in there I suppose.) when I say that about regret. Even the tiniest most throw away things fall into the Jimi will soon regret category. This is for another blog post though.

So that went off because I realized something. All in all I’m a pretty good husband—like with anything we can all be better—but I’m not too shabby. I remember what she likes and wants. I know all our special dates. I watch a lot of sports but I’m not unwilling to pass on them to do things. I love her. I show her love.
Hugs are never lacking.

Notes, texts random weird gifts and things.

Check, check and check.

She knows I love her. I can be better at being a husband. I know this. I can be a better writer, person etc… so of course I could always stand to be a better husband. All that being said I realized that doing all the nice things you can do to show those you care things can still slip past. It didn’t dawn on me to shave for her.
Why wouldn’t she like that?

(Duh.)

I mean it is a simple thing. Of course she loves me for who I am, but that doesn’t mean she needs me to be Wolfman all the damn time. It is the little things that make everything else shine out more. It goes to show you no matter how hard you try there is always the danger of falling into the taking things for granted rut.

This post really shouldn’t see the light of the day. For numerous reasons:

1-Not very fun.
2-Not very interesting.
3-That whole admitting I regret so much. (I’ll probably regret that.)
4-It sort of just rambled and fell apart.

I suppose it deserves to live if anything just for that crude paint shop hair comparison.

Whatever go hug someone you love.

A) Al Pacino, Serpico.

“A woman with a beard looks like a man.  A man without a beard looks like a woman.”

Serpico is a 1993 crime-drama about a policeman who goes undercover to expose police corruption.  It’s an awesome film, with a solid performance from Al Pacino as Frank Serpico in the lead role.  Pacino’s beard, though, steals the show.  As he becomes more alienated with the rampant corruption running through the New York City police department, his beard and hair gradually get shaggier, resulting in this:

Is anyone else intrigued with Joaquin Phoenix’s recent exploits? In late 2008 Phoenix announced his retirement from acting to pursue a rather mysterious and puzzling rapping career.  There’s no doubt he’s a talented actor and he’s got a descent musical background, but rapping? I’m not so sure; I’ve seen some of his rapping and… well it’s nothing career defining.

With his recent movie coming out titled ‘I’m Still Here’ I suspect his hiatus could very well be some sort of public prank. It’s uncertain as to whether or not this movie is a drama or comedy (there are reported scenes of full frontal male nudity which lands in the realm of comedy if you ask me), but I have my suspicions of this actor turned rapper’s intentions. It’s already around the web, but the notion that this could be some sort of elaborate joke is very possible (Andy Kaufman anyone?)

Here’s the trailer

If you haven’t seen his bizarre interview with Letterman from a while back here it is

I am sooo looking forward to my retirement.

Are we done fighting?

I’ll let you decide.
This guy is unbelievable. I don’t know if this is all bull shit or what, but this is entertaining to say the least.

-clownShoe

They pulled him out of a ditch 3 minutes before this was taken.

I don’t know what I could possibly write to add to the awesomeness that is Jayson Werth and his beard. You know, perhaps I stated that wrong. I wouldn’t doubt that a beard this epic may in fact be self-aware. Perhaps I should have said Epic Beard and his Jayson Werth. Well, no matter the semantics yesterday was media picture day for the Phillies after they took their first live batting practice sessions.

Roy Halladay took the mound for the first time at the Carpenter complex against live batters. After the session the clubhouse was abuzz with the players and writers marveling over Doc’s signature sinker. Catcher Carlos Ruiz told CSN’s Michale Barkann that the sinker had more movement on it than any sinker he has ever caught and that Roy told him he is only throwing around “40-50 %”.

Some people take better pictures than others...

And another wordpress blog that teaches you “how to be a dick” in Jiu Jitsu.

Tim ranges from no beard to giant beard. Here he is with a giant beard. 10/10.

I am going to the park. There’s so much snow! How lovely.

now brian here is a ucla alum and apparent amazing painter / graphic design artist.

seriously check out his stuff at brianbantog.com (which is going to be linked on the blogroll as well with his ongoing blog)

if you get a spare minute go take a look, trust me kids….. worth it.