Happy 22nd Anniversary

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

On a night when the Mets lost another one and their NL East lead shrunk again, I'm here to share the stories of all the Mets games I've seen in person.

Unfortunately, my record while attending Mets games in person is not pretty. This has me feeling a little queasy holding tickets for the final game at Shea Stadium. That could be a pretty important game.

Anywho, on to the games...

Game #1
Sunday, August 4, 1991
Chicago Cubs
Shea Stadium
Cubs 8, Mets 3

My first look at Shea in person. I was thrilled to be there, but not too happy about the outcome.

Here's a shot of Greg Jefferies hitting a home run off of Greg Maddux.



Pretty good pitching matchup of David Cone against Maddux. Too bad Coney got lit up for 6 ERs in 2 IP.

Game #2
Wednesday, June 18, 1997
New York Yankees
Yankee Stadium
Yankees 3, Mets 2 (10)



My first of two trips to Yankee Stadium saw a pretty good game, even though it was another loss.

This was the final game of the first regular season Subway Series. David Cone started this game too, except he was a Yankee by now. He actually flirted with a no-hitter, not giving up his first hit until the 7th inning.

Game #3
Tuesday, August 26, 1997
San Francisco Giants
Shea Stadium
Giants 6, Mets 2


Wow, look at all those people!

Pretty good seats for this game too. I've had some nice seats at Shea in my few visits there.

Pretty uneventful game. One home run (JT Snow) & Rick Reed started this game as well for the Mets. (He also started the game against the Yankees.) At least I saw Barry Bonds play once.

Game #4
Wednesday, May 20, 1998
Cincinnati Reds
Shea Stadium
Reds 8, Mets 6

Another uneventful game, another Mets loss.

Pete Harnisch started for the Reds & Dave Mlicki for the Mets. Home runs from Brian McRae & Carlos Baerga and an appearance from the immortal Mel Rojas. Rick Wilkins was behind the plate for the Mets. Three nights later, that position would be occupied by Mike Piazza.

Game #5
Saturday, June 27, 1998
New York Yankees
Shea Stadium
Yankees 7, Mets 2


I'm not sure who those random people are, but I love the shot of the skyline above the scoreboard. Since that seems to be the one thing the Mets AREN'T selling, here's hoping it will find its way over to Citi Field.

Andy Pettite vs. Bobby L. Jones. A home run by Tino Martinez & my first time seeing Mike Piazza. Oh yeah. Jerry Seinfeld threw out the first pitch. Another loss.

Game #6
Saturday, July 15, 2000
Boston Red Sox
Fenway Park
Red Sox 6, Mets 4

Mike Hampton vs. Ramon Martinez (of course). The Mets rallied for two in the ninth off of El Guapo (a Piazza homer being the highlight), but Derek Lowe (arrrgh) shut the door on the comeback.

The highlight of this game was ex-Met Carl Everett freaking out on umpire Ron Kulpa.

Game #7
Monday, March 31, 2003
Chicago Cubs
Shea Stadium
Cubs 15, Mets 2

Ugh. Very cool to be in Shea for Opening Day. Not cool to be sitting near Tommie Agee's home run landing & freezing. Not cool to see Tom Glavine's auspicious Mets debut. (Not quite as bad as his Mets finale, but pretty close.)

Corey Patterson hit two home runs, the Mets managed 4 hits & the Mets were on their way to a 66 win season.

Game #8
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Colorado Rockies
Shea Stadium
Mets 7, Rockies4

Finally!! A victory!

This was the night the Mets honored the 1986 World Champions. Of course it rained, but at least they won!!

Unfortunately, my camera broke that night. I have the memory card with the pictures on it somewhere, but it's currently missing. Oddly enough, my next camera would break upon my next visit to Shea, a rainout in June of 2008.

David Williams (??) started for the Mets & aside from the '86 throwback jerseys, it was a pretty uneventful game. Oh yeah. THEY WON!!

Game #9
Saturday, July 26, 2008
St. Louis Cardinals
Shea Stadium
Cardinals 10, Mets 8 (14)


This was a wild one. Albert Pujols won it in the 14th, but by this time, I was on the 7 train, hoping to catch the last Metro North train out of Grand Central (we made it).

Game #10
Sunday, July 27, 2008
St. Louis Cardinals
Shea Stadium
Mets 9, Cardinals 1


As you can see, we had much better seats for this game.

Johan Santana started & pitched great. However, the highlight of the game was an amazin' catch by Carlos Beltran.

Video here:
Beltran's Catch

I could watch that over & over.

So, for the record, the Mets are 2-8 when I'm in attendance. However, they've won two of their last three in which I've been there. Lets hope they make it three out of four on September 28.

Top 20 Songs - 1990

Yup. It's back. I know you've all been anxiously awaiting the completion of this project.

Some quick thoughts...

- My main association with 1990 is the beginning of my senior year of high school & playing football for the first time.

- Which ten year span featured the most change for me, 1980-1989 or 1990-1999?

- Picking songs for 1990 was MUCH harder than 1980. I've said it before & I'll say it again. The 90's are VERY underrated in terms of music. This point gets pounded home every time I listen to the 90's on 9, which is often.

On with the list...

HONORABLE MENTION: Just A Friend: Biz Markie, Fly High Michelle: Enuff Z'Nuff, The Humpty Dance: Digital Underground, Up All Night: Slaughter, Mentirosa: Mellow Man Ace, Ice Ice Baby: Vanilla Ice, No Myth: Michael Penn, Love And Emotion: Stevie B., Everybody Everybody: Black Box, So Close: Daryl Hall & John Oates, Blaze of Glory: Jon Bon Jovi, What It Takes: Aerosmith

#20
All Around The World, Lisa Stanfield

"I did too much lyin', wasted too much time,
Now I'm here a'cryin', I, I, I"

#19
Escapade, Janet Jackson

"Come on, baby, let's get away.
Let's save our troubles for another day.
Come go with me. We've got it made.
Let me take you on an escapade.
Let's go!"

#18
Feels Good, Tony! Toni! Tone!

"If the rhythm feels good to you baby
Let me hear you sing
If the rhythm feels good to you baby
Let us take you away"

#17
Dangerous, Roxette

"Hey, where’s your work?
What’s your game?
I know your business
but I don’t know your name..."

#16
Black Velvet, Alannah Myles

"Mississippi in the middle of a dry spell
Jimmy Rogers on the Victrola up high
Mama's dancin' with baby on her shoulder
The sun is settin' like molasses in the sky
The boy could sing, knew how to move, everything
Always wanting more, he'd leave you longing for"

#15
Ready Or Not, After 7

"I'd climb the highest hill
Cross the widest sea
Nothing could discourage me
And I pray that you will be
Always there for me
Forever more"

#14
Sending All My Love, Linear

"Girl I close my eyes
and then I start to cry for you
You´re the reason why
I have to say goodbye to you
This pain I have inside
just makes me want to die for you
All these lonely nights
they just don´t feel so right for you"

#13
Whip Appeal, Babyface

"When we go to work
How the day seems so long
The only thing I think about
Can't wait 'til we get home
'Cause we got a way of talking
And it's better than words
It's the strangest kind of relationship
Oh, but with us it always works"

#12
Cherry Pie, Warrant

"She's my cherry pie
Cool drink of water
Such a sweet suprise
Tastes so good
Make a grown man cry
Sweet cherry pie"

#11
Cradle Of Love, Billy Idol

"This love starts my rollin train
You can't stop it
It ain't in vain
I ain't nobody's fool
Come on shake it up
Whatever you do"

#10
The Ballad of Jayne, L.A. Guns

"Now shes breakin hearts in heaven
Shinin bright in the sky
I still hear of us in the wind
I still think of you in the night, oh yeah
Well I guess youll never know
How much I need her so"

#9
Miracle, Jon Bon Jovi

"I'm just one man, that's all I'll ever be
I never can be everything you wanted from me
I've got plans so big
That any blind man could see
I'm standing in the river
Now I'm drowning in the sea"

#8
U Can't Touch This, MC Hammer

"My-my-my-my music hits me so hard makes me say oh my Lord
Thank you for blessing me with a mind to rhyme and two hyped feet
It feels good when you know you're down
A superdope homeboy from the Oaktown
And I'm known as such
And this is a beat uh u can't touch"

#7
Epic, Faith No More

"It's so cool, it's so hip, it's alright
It's so groovy, it's outta sight
You can touch it, smell it, taste it so sweet
But it makes no difference cuz it knocks you off your feet"

#6
I Remember You, Skid Row

"We spend the summer with the top rolled down
Wished ever after would be like this
You said I love you babe, without a sound
I said I'd give my life for just one kiss
I'd live for your smile and die for your kiss"

#5
Rub You The Right Way, Johnny Gill

"Can you feel the magic in my hands
When I touch and rub you the right way
Stroke applied with tenderness
When I hold and rub you the right way"

#4
The Power, Snap!

"Quality I possess something I'm fresh
When my voice goes through the rest
Of the microphone that I am holdin'
Copywritten lyrics so they can't be stolen
If they are snap
Don't need the police to try to save them
Your voice will sink so please stay off my back
Or I will attack and you don't want that"

#3
Poison, Bell Biv DeVoe

"She's so fly, she'll drive you right out of your mind
Steal your heart when you're blind
Beware she's schemin', she'll make you think you're dreamin'
You'll fall in love and you'll be screamin' dreamin'"

#2
(Can't Live Without Your) Love And Affection, Nelson

"So I wait, here for an answer
And wonder if tomorrow will be like yesterday
I'll keep holding on
Can't go on living this way, baby"

#1
Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away), Motley Crue

"My friends called today
Down from L.A.
They were shooting pool all night
Sleeping half the day
They said I could crash
If I could find my own way
I told them you were leaving
On a bus to go away"

Fuelly

Before I purchased my new car, I had toyed with the idea of keeping track of my gas mileage. That lasted about two fill-ups, as I forgot to record something (mileage, gallons pumped, whatever.)

Now, I shouldn't have that problem, thanks to Fuelly. Well, in theory. I just have to remember to enter the info into my phone as I pump gas.

Here's the link to my car.

It will look a lot more interesting once I have more data entered. You can look around to see other cars to get a taste of what's tracked.

This will be a nice record keeper for my car as I missed only a few fill-ups. Eventually, there may be a place to keep track of all maintenance records for your car.

If you sign up, make sure you add me as a friend!

Selling Out

I have a bunch of stuff in the hopper to throw up on the blog, but don't have the motivation currently to actually do it.

In the meantime, enjoy some of my favorite commercials that are currently running.

1. Bacardi Mojito



The song is quite catchy, but I think the real reason I like it is this:



2. Rosetta Stone



3. Procede



This commercial plays roughly 50 times per Mets game on SNY. I'm sure it airs on other networks as well, so I'm sure you're familiar with it.

Before & After

Sunday, July 20, 2008


Monday, July 21, 2008

Irene Fett???

Mandalorian Dance
Uploaded by PatrickBoivin

Magnificent Seven

I can't believe my little angel turned 7 years old today. Wow.

Lots of good stuff happened over these past 12 months. Teeth lost, sports played, reading levels leaped, a few tears here & there, but mostly smiles, laughs & kisses.

I love you sweetness!!!

Token Monthly Post

Wow, I've been slacking here. Apparently one post per month is the norm around here. Not that anyone seems to mind.

I don't have much to say anyways. Work is busy (I'm almost at my sales goal for the year & there's a lot of selling left to do), I'm still trying (& failing) to finish GTA IV, at least the missions, Payton's room is completed, her birthday is quickly approaching, went to a rained-out Mets game, which resulted in another broken camera, played golf on Fishers, bought some new tunes from old bands thanks to iTunes gift cards for my birthday and that's about it.

I plan on expounding on some of these tales in the future, if I ever feel like writing.

See you in July.

Memorial Day 2008

I'm quite happy I don't have to work today!

We spent a perfect day with Payton on Sunday. The weather was fantastic & we did lots of easy stuff. Went to the parade, then the playground, grabbed some ice cream, played some Wiffle Ball & dodge ball, watched two episodes of Phineas & Ferb, had a great dinner and dabbled with Wii Fit. I'm exhausted, so I'm sure she is as well.

Here are two of my favorite pictures, both taken today.

Disgusting

I'm disgusted that the Mets lost 1-0.

I'm disgusted that Pelfrey's finest outing was wasted.

I'm disgusted we're still lacking that initial no-hitter

I'm disgusted that Reyes attempted to go first to third on a bunt.

I'm disgusted Reyes has devolved from shortstop gone wild to a showy Dick Schofield.

I'm disgusted Beltran was doubled off third.

I'm disgusted that Delgado is in a two-year slump and couldn't pause it long enough to rekindle the magic of the inaugural CW 11 Weather Education Day with Mr. G and Linda Church.

I'm disgusted that Willie Harris isn't turned back at the players entrance by security.

I'm disgusted that a last-place team just won three of four from our alleged contender.

I'm disgusted that in games started by Odalis Perez, Tim Redding and Jason Bergmann, the Mets scored all of seven runs.

I'm disgusted that Billy Wagner publicly sniped at several of his teammates afterwards.

I'm disgusted that several of his teammates absolutely earned Wagner's wrath by apparently hiding from the press.

I'm disgusted that Willie Randolph manages like an NFL coach staring at one of those go-for-two/don't-go-for-two cards.

I'm disgusted at the four years handed Luis Castillo and the deterioration of Aaron Heilman and everything else that disgusts us all.

I'm not made of cotton candy, for crissake. But I can't stay disgusted for the last year of Shea Stadium, for my fortieth year of being a Mets fan. I like being a Mets fan too much.

Faith & Fear In Flushing, May 15, 2008

CPTV, You Suck!

Brace yourselves. I created a video entry. Ugh.

I hate how I sound on video, not to mention how I look. But I figured why not try out this fancy computer & see what I could whip up.

What Year Is It Again?

What an auspicious debut for the Mets. They show little heart in falling to the Phillies (AGAIN), ruining the final opening day at Shea Stadium.

Even though they were 2-3 after the debacle in Atlanta over the weekend, I still had no worries. The Mets started 2-3 in 1969, 1986 & 2000, all pretty good years. In '86, they even beat the same Phillies to improve to 3-3. Well, that obviously didn't happen.

I understand it's a tad too early to be jumping off the bridge. However, the signs aren't too promising. This team (& more specifically, the bullpen) look too much like last year's house of cards team. Yikes.

------

In other news, it was great to see Red Sox fans give Bill Buckner a fantastic ovation today, as he threw out the first pitch at Fenway.

Yay, Opening Day!

The Mets continued their winning ways on Opening Day yesterday, defeating the Marlins at the home of the only undefeated NFL team ever.

Hopefully it was a good omen that as soon as I turned on the radio after leaving work yesterday, I heard the call of the double that drove in the first Mets run of the year.

Also, this year is the first year that I've received SNY. Every game, home & away, in HD. Oooo baby!

The Joy of March

Sure, UConn lost. (I'll post more on that in the coming days.) But the sting of their early loss (& AJ Price's injury) was more than made up for yesterday with West Virginia taking out Duke. Buh-bye.

It's "The Wire" Wednesday!

"From start to finish, The Wire has been one of the best series ever produced for American television, one in which the commitment to honesty and authenticity has never wavered. Despite that quality, its subject matter — nothing less than the failure of the world's most powerful nation to solve the fundamental problems of its urban centers — was never likely to pull in a mass, casual audience."

Too few were plugged in, but HBO's 'The Wire' was electric, USA Today

Also, here's two good podcasts to check out.

- Interview with David Simon

- Bill Simmons (ugh) & Jason Whitlock (yes) talk about "The Wire" for 55 minutes.

Tuesday With "The Wire"

Or, "sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!"

It was something my uncle used to do all the time. Growing up, he would do it five six seven times a day. You'd go, "Did you sleep well?" and he'd go, "Ah, sheeet, my head was on the pillow." I would every now and then just do it in conversations.

The Wire: The secret origin of Clay's catchphrase

Monday's "The Wire" Stuff

TV Guide interview with Tristan Wilds (Michael Lee):

TVGuide.com: Why doesn't The Wire get its due?
Wilds: The show is real enough to strike a chord in [everybody], and most of the time people don't want to see realness like that. Or maybe they think that it's fake TV and we're just being violent for no reason. What you see on the show is really happening, and not just in Baltimore. It's happening in a neighborhood two blocks down from where you live. People don't want to open their eyes to the truth.

TVGuide.com: What makes The Wire different from other cop shows?
Wilds: I don't want to say it's a cop show. What makes The Wire a beautiful story is how true to life it is. In other shows, you have a good guy and a bad guy. In The Wire, bad guys are trying to be good, good guys are doing bad. You have real life. The people who do bad get bad things done to them.

San Diego Union Tribune:

It was a harsh night on"The Wire" this week, and a beautiful one, too. Beautiful because it was so true and so human that it hurt. And when a television show can make you care the way "The Wire" makes us care, it is worth its weight in tears.

Slate Magazine:

Like the rest of you, I've been watching this story slowly crack open for several years now. It's been 59 hours of TV time; there's one more hour to go, and I can't wait for it. But for now, this hour, this episode, felt like a coming together. It was simply breathtaking -- the logical, perfect conclusion to all those hours, those years' of stories, at once exhilarating and devastating, just like you knew it would be.

I watched this on Tuesday, and it's haunted me in lonely moments ever since. I'm still a bit hopped up on it, so please forgive my sounding overwrought. The thing is, it wasn't just the plot developments that got me, though these were obviously huge: Marlo! Snoop! Namond! Kima! McNulty! Bubbs!

But there was also something more complex here, something more intricately beautiful. In describing "The Wire" to friends, we've all remarked upon on its novelistic properties. This episode felt like the climax of that novel. Every scene hangs on the subtext of years' of accumulated storylines; the story, now, is not just the script but also all that we've learned of these people's motivations, their impulses, their relationships, the constraints in which they operate. The story is the system, and now, finally, we're seeing the system in full.

Wow, Wow, Wow

Once again, wow, wow, wow.

We're now less than a week away from the season & series finale for The Wire.

Once again, this show has exceeded expectations. Tonight's episode was, like Alan said, the ultimate roller coaster ride. (Speaking of Alan, I'm glad there's no shortage of TV writers who actually know what they're doing out there.)

This show not only rewards you for paying attention early in the season, it calls back stuff that happened way back in Season 1.

There's no way I can write anything to give this show justice. There are plenty of people who can articulate their thoughts far better than I can heaping praise on The Wire out there. This week, I'll try & link to as many of those stories as possible.

These past two episodes have been unreal. First, dealing with the whole Omar thing. Tonight, there was far too much to even touch on here.

Thank goodness for DVDs, because this is something I will be re-watching many times.

One Reason Why I Hate Halo 3

The following represents one reason why I hate playing Halo 3.

This example seems to showcase how I'm always on the short end of random happenings in the game.

I'm very much aware of the fact that the main reason why stuff like this happens is my severe lack of skill. I'm horrible at this game. I could seriously challenge for worst player in the Halo 3 universe. I used to be decent, but now I can't even sniff a 1/1 kill/death ration. I don't know how Eric & Chang put up with me, as I severely hinder any chances of them winning a match. (I think they're mathematically challenged since they argue with me when I explain to them how I only have a negative impact on our team.)

I know you're wondering why I bother playing if I hate it so much. I play because I like playing with Chang & Eric. All my other cronies have moved on to Call of Duty 4, but I will play Halo 3 occasionally out of loyalty to my friends. I used to get extremely aggravated by my horrid play, but I've changed my mindset to make it tolerable. Now I don't care about my kill to death ratio. In fact, I'm trying to lower it as much as possible. I might as well be the best, worst player, right?

Anyway, onto tonight's little issue:

This is me sneaking up on an unsuspecting opponent. Usually, a melee attack from behind results in an instant kill, which Halo 3 calls an assassination. The difference this time is that this guy doesn't die.


As you can see by the flames (I have no idea why there are flames), I made contact.


Not only does he not die, he apparently can levitate, hanging over the edge, before coming back to attack me.


See that electricity on my body, a la the Emperor? That's me taking damage. Notice that the shots coming from his gun aren't even close to hitting me.


Yup. That's me. Dead. "Respawn in 4...3...2...1..."

By the way, here's a link to my stats from the game where this took place. I went 6-22. Not bad!!