Black Friday should be a zombie horror movie.

I hate Black Friday.

I have made a statement. I do not like Black Friday because people are no longer people, they are animals. A place such as the mall becomes the savage land. This year, I was treated to what almost became a full scale riot at the Great Mall in Milpitas. An event known as "Midnight Madness" was to commence, and the mall doors from the back had been locked for quite sometime, and the time was 12:01 AM. Some people in the crowed were getting restless and started banging on the glass doors like cavemen.

A few jackasses in the back of the crowed decided to egg on the people in the front by motivating them to become more violent. Eventually, people in fear of a riot began to leave the area and go to another entrance. Finally, people were told to go in through an employee entrance, and everyone did. Once I was inside the mall, I realized that I had never been inside of a mall with that many people present. I began to realize just how claustrophobic I was when I was placed in that environment. I felt warm and cold at the same time. Light headed and dizzy and nauseous, which was a feeling that I would rather not feel again. I was able to actually purchase a few items after waiting in an hour long line, which was not worth it.

The whole idea is a bust, in that the better brand products are never usually the sale item. Even if it was a brand item on sale, the price reduction is really not that much, yet people buy into the whole idea that it is, and are willing to buy just about anything just because it is on sale. I could sell them garbage, and as long as it was at a discounted price, and they would buy it. Another thing to note is that when I was leaving, two of those glass doors that I was standing at when I first arrived, were shattered. Some morons actually broke through them just to get in and save ten dollars, if even that. Those idiots.

Once again, I hate Black Friday, and I think it would be the perfect title for a zombie horror flick. Bunch of zombies in the mall saying "I want my discount...and your brains!". Then there would be chainsaw's, shotgun's, and bad one-liner's. Sounds good to me.

To all the people that are fortunate enough to not have to work on Black Friday, especially in retail, do yourself a favor and sleep in!

Strange Days

This posting has nothing to do with Jim Morrison or the Doors.

A few nights ago while I was on my way to a girl friends house, I made a wrong turn and had to make a U-turn to get back on the right path. It was dark outside and I was stopped by a man standing in the middle of the road that appeared to be a police officer, but all I could see was his blinding flash light and his hand motion to turn into a parking lot. I pulled into the parking lot which was pitch black, there were no lights lit, and parked into a parking space. The only thing I could see in this lot were a few other parked cars, people in yellow jackets, and a small SUV.

At that point, one of the many people in yellow jackets came up to my window and asked me if I wanted to take a voluntary survey. They did not say who they were or what the survey was for. They told me they would pay me $65 if I took the survey, but then they added that I would have to take a breathalyzer test as well. It all seemed very strange and I had no idea what the hell was actually going on. The whole situation did not feel right to me. I told them that I had to be somewhere and that I was in a hurry and did not have time to do this. After I said that, the woman in the yellow jacket decided to call her boss. Then a man in a yellow jacket came up to the window and adds more absurd requests. His exact words were "Hey fella, you seem like a pretty healthy guy, listen...we'll give you $15 just for taking the test. Then take the breathalyzer...and after that we're going to need a little bit of blood."

I took one look at that small SUV, which was where they were supposedly collecting blood and running all these tests without identifying themselves at all. They did not say what any of this stuff was for. As a matter of fact, I don't even remember if the man in the middle of the street was actually a police officer or not. My immediate thought was "you guys are fucking crazy!...I'm leaving right now!". I told them that I had to leave right then. They tried to raise to price all of a sudden, but at that point I had heard enough bullshit. I cranked up the Zeppelin IV, put the pedal to the metal, and I was out of there.

Strange days have arrived. Dark lot, blood collecting nut jobs. Now is that some crazy shit or what?

American Gangster: The return of JAY - Z

HOV IS BACK!


Due to the release of the film "American Gangster" starring Denzel Washington, rap icon Jay - Z has put out an album of the same name that correlates with the movie. In my opinion it is a good album. I would not say it is the same quality as his previous releases were, but it is definitely worth a listen. Some of my favorite Jay - Z albums are "Reasonable Doubt", "Hard Knock Life", "The Dynasty", "The Blueprint", and "The Black Album". This new album is not as well produced as those were, but it is still a solid release. It is definitely better than his last effort "Kingdom Come", which I thought was a horrible album.

On this new album, "American Gangster", Jay takes it back to the streets, putting an emphasis on gritty lyrical content and less on the party beats. The swagger that he had on classic previous releases is back, and in full swing. This is the HOV fans know and grew up on. He is giving his take on the industry and on his life coming up in the rap game. This album is refreshing in that it is actual hip hop and talks about other things than just "bling bling" that you hear from rappers out now days.

The film of the same name is also fantastic and is one of the better films that has been released in theaters in a while. Denzel Washington does a phenomenal job portraying gangster Frank Lucas. There is dialogue of scenes from the film spread through Jay's new album, which gives it the same type of vibe that the film had. I would give the film 4 out of 5 stars, and give the album 4 out of 5 stars as well. Both were great to experience and I recommend you do the same.



Photo Credit: www.thestreetstalk.com

Giants to possibly sign A. Rod

There are rumors in the media that the San Francisco Giants are interested in signing Alex Rodriguez.

If they were to actually sign A. Rod, I would shake my head in disapproval. The fact is that Barry Bonds has been cut from the team, and the SF Giants need another popular player on the team in order to draw ticket sales. It is a business and I can understand why they need to do it, but A. Rod is not the guy they should go after if they want to win.

I want to make it clear that Alex Rodriguez is a phenomenal baseball player. His stats speak for themselves. The problem is that every team that A. Rod has been on since his early days in the league, has lost. The best example would be his time spent on the New York Yankees. The Yankees were champions prior to his arrival and they wanted to win another championship and felt that by signing A. Rod, they would be able to do it. After all of the hype that came with A. Rod joining the team, the Yankees failed to win another championship. The New York Yankees have not won a championship since 2000. They have fallen on hard times and have not only released their championship winning manager Joe Torre, but now A. Rod has been let go and is a free agent as well.

The Giants have the money to make this signing happen, but I think that it could be better spent on another player. Hopefully they will keep their options open and not make any rash decisions in the near future.

Photo Credit: www.bullz-eye.com