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

Supernatural

My favorite television show for the last two years has been Supernatural.

Supernatural is a show about two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, that are on a road trip to find their father. However, their father John Winchester is a demon hunter, and like John, the brothers are hunters as well. John became a hunter after a powerful demon, who is simply known as the man with yellow eyes, killed John's wife for reasons yet unknown. Since then, John has been missing for quite some time. The only lead that Sam and Dean have in order to find their father is a journal that he left behind, which is full of details of his various hunting encounters. The brothers have decided to continue their fathers work by hunting demons and other things that go bump in the night. Each week, the brothers encounter a different demon or creature that will hopefully have some sort of lead to their fathers whereabouts. Their ultimate goal is not only to find John, but to kill the demon known as yellow eyes, that not only killed their mother, but Sam's girlfriend Jessica, who he was about to marry, as well.

I think that the show is very entertaining and well written. Every week there is a new twist to the plot that keeps you interested in the storyline and makes you want to know what will happen next. The show is currently in its third season and the storyline has improved since the first season. As far as the main storyline goes, the brothers were able to find John, but he was killed by the yellow eyed demon. Dean manages to kill the demon with the yellow eyes, but the only problem is that yellow eyes was able to open the gates of hell prior to his death. Yellow eyes was able to unleash around two hundred demons before the brothers were able to close the gates. Sam and Dean have their work cut out for them, and what happens next is unknown, but very intriguing. I think that Supernatural is a top notch show and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Photo Credit: www.sharetv.org

Rock on!

Are you ready to rock?

Since the 1980's, I have been fortunate to have lived through hearing some of the best rock music from some of the best bands of all time. To put it simply, I love classic rock music. Some of my favorites include Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, KISS, AC/DC, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dio, Van Halen, The Doors, Green Day, Queen, Led Zeppelin, and many more great rock acts. Many of the current rock bands do not even come close to the same quality in music or lyrics that many of the classic rock bands had. What ever happened to the great guitar solo's? Why are there no more guitar heroes such as Slash and Eddie Van Halen? Why do all of the lead singers now seem more like wimps? All we have now are Emo bands that sing about slitting their wrists and about how much life sucks. What happened to rockin' and rollin' all night, and partying everyday? There are still a few good bands today such as Linkin Park or Nickelback, but even they can't compete with the best from the past.

If I had to pick my favorite rock band of all time, it would probably be a tie between Guns N' Roses and Metallica.

Both of these groups have put out some of the most memorable rock classics ever recorded. "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Enter Sandman" are two songs that are easily recognizable by many people around the world. I would personally love to see the original Guns N' Roses have reunion, but there is a better chance that gas will be one dollar tomorrow than seeing that band reunite. It's unfortunate because I would love to hear how they would have sounded today if they put an album out. Metallica, however, is putting out a new album in a few months, and it is highly. It is supposed to have an emphasis on middle eastern tunes and guitar riffs, so that could possibly generate a very interesting sound.

Here is hoping that the next wave of bands will have the same impact that some of the great rock bands of the past have had. Until then, I think I'll stick to the classics.



Photo Credit: www.gunsnroses1.com

The results are in...

The new WWE Champion is Randy Orton.

This is more of an update regarding my last post, but it is an interesting one. Randy Orton did become the new WWE Champion at the No Mercy Pay Per View. Unfortunately, he did not beat John Cena for the title. John Cena was injured prior to the event. He somehow completely tore off his right pectoral muscle during a match on the WWE show "Monday Night RAW". This happened a week before the Pay Per View event. There was footage shown on the WWE website of his immediate surgery. John Cena is now out of action in a time frame of six months to a year. I can't help but feel bad for the man. After reading my previous post, I almost feel guilty about it.

OK, now I am over it. As for what happened with the scheduled title match, Randy Orton was simply handed the title, being that he was the number one contender for the belt. I thought that was fantastic, until the unexpected occurred and veteran wrestler Triple H made an appearance. Triple H challenged Randy Orton to a title match that moment, Orton accepted and lost the title. Since Triple H was already scheduled for another match, he had to fulfill his obligations and compete in that match as well. Later on that night, Randy Orton enacted his rematch clause. Triple H then had to defend his newly won title against Randy Orton in his third match of the night. Randy Orton defeated Triple H, and left him beaten and bloody on the canvas.

Randy Orton won the title twice that night, and is now the WWE Champion.

Photo Credit: www.allposters.com

Lets go R.K.O!

Randy Orton is the "Legend Killer" of World Wrestling Entertainment.

This Sunday at the "WWE No Mercy" Pay Per View, Randy Orton has a chance to once again become the WWE champion. Professional wrestling needs a new champion because John Cena, the current WWE champion, is stinking up the joint. John Cena has held the title for over a year now and it is time for a change. The last match up between these two WWE Superstars was a joke. It was over too soon and it was a disqualification victory. A match with so much hype should not have ended that way. This Sunday, the real showdown is bound to occur, unless the WWE wants to take more heat from the critics and the fans.

Orton has had fantastic matches in his career and holds victories over some of the best wrestlers in the business. He has defeated Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Ric Flair, the Rock, Mick Foley, and many more. All of them have felt the sting of the R.K.O, which is Randy's finishing maneuver. It is only right that he gets his chance to shine once again and bring back the entertainment to World Wrestling Entertainment.

This Sunday, hopefully a good match will take place, and John Cena will feel the fury of the R.K.O!

Photo Credit: www.kuppywrestlingwallpapers.info