There Will Be Blogging

I've hemmed and hawed for a good week or two about how to start off my blog. There are 6 unfinished posts sitting in my archive folder right now, each one beginning with promise only to slowly turn into an uninspired mess. I now remember why I was never a big fan of English class. With no direction in sight I was ready to give up on my blog. That's right. I was going to quit. Before I have even put out anything to read I was going to put the kabosh on "That's Amore". (For the record "That's Amore" happens to be my official Chris Berman nickname and the title of my critically acclaimed Cheshire Rampage series a few years back.) I was disappointed with my lack of ideas to say the least. I was then hit with some advice from a fellow blogger and good friend of mine, Matt Zucker. Matt told me to just be patient and something will come to you. While this is a very simple idea it rang true to me. Surely I have enough interesting things occur in my life that would be good fodder for one of my classic profanity laden rants or humorous musings. Well so far the well is still dry. But I happened to get an idea from good ole mother Zucker's latest post on his blog. I'll give you some reviews of things I've seen lately and I'll delve into the sports world a little bit. So here goes nothing:

Movie of the week: There Will Be Blood. Never have I left a theater with as much mixed emotions than after this sweeping oil epic. I mean seriously what the hell happened in that movie? There Will Be Blood was at once brilliant, frustrating, compelling, ridiculous, funny, and just plain fucking weird. Daniel Day Lewis turned in a memorable performance that I still cannot shake. His portrayal of oil man Daniel Plainview is extremely disturbing and should net him an Oscar. That being said I enjoyed the performances and characters more than the movie itself. Trust me when I tell you this film is all over the place. I'm never quite sure what the tone of the movie is supposed to be. There are times when it is haunting and unnerving. But then 10 minutes later it is almost hilarious. Is it worth seeing? Certainly. Is it the bold masterpiece that critics are hailing it as? Nah, it's just a good movie. It wasn't as good as No Country For Old Men and left me very perplexed with a morbidly funny ending that almost needs to be seen to believed. At over 2 and a half hours There Will Be Blood is worth a matinée viewing if only to catch it before the big awards ceremony, but don't expect to be blown away.

Album of the Week: "Sticks And Stones" by moe. "Sticks And Stones" marks the first album of completely new, non road tested songs by venerable jam band moe. I became a moe.ron. after attending a September concert at the Oakdale in Wallingord. I was immediately drawn in by the throwback sound powered by the two amazing guitarist Chuck Garvey and Al Schneir. It was really unlike any show I had ever seen before. Filled from beginning to end with long mind blowing jams and smooth and surprising segues, the show was like a carnival of music. Traditionally moe. has a very loose rocking sound. That being said the new album shows a more mature softer side of the band. Filled with melodic grooves like the opening "Cathedral" and the somber "Darkness", the album is a bit underwhelming but shows that moe. can bring a variety of different sounds. Much like "Stadium Arcadium" was a departure from the Chili Peppers classic funk, "Sticks And Stones" abandons the long jams and crazy guitar solos for a more mainstream rock sound. There are no significantly long songs but rather much more tight and focused numbers that shows a new level of song writing for the group. "All Roads Leads To Home" is an unmistakable Rolling Stones homage and one of the better tracks on the album. "Queen of Everything" best exemplifies this new sound with a good batch of lyrics and a great laid back feeling. This album is much different than past moe. efforts but is definitely worth a listen. While it doesn't have the raw energy of "No Doy" or the brilliant song selection of "Tin Cans and Car Tires" it is a worthy new addition to the band's catalog.

Note: I'm listening to "Who Are We Living For?" by Dispatch as I write this article. Damn this is a good album. Maybe their best and that is saying something. The Zimbabwe show last summer was one of the most memorable nights of my life and I can now relive it everyday with the DVD. You couldn't possibly understand the full sense of joy and euphoria at that show unless you were present to be a part of it. Amazing.

Sports News of the Week: Being Super Bowl week and all I will touch on a bunch of different topics that have peaked my interest in the sports world right now.

• I think the Super Bowl will be a great game. The media intentionally tries to portray the Giants as some huge underdog. Don't buy that hype. The G-Men are playing better than anybody going into the game and have a new found confidence. This will not just be a Patriots coronation ceremony. If they want 19-0 they are going to have to earn it.
• That being said my prediction: Patriots 28 Giants 24
• How ridiculous is the two weeks between the conference championships and the big game? It is just a means for the media to overhype a game that doesn't need the buzz to begin with. The Super Bowl is always the most watched event of the year. And it should have happened last week.
• Are the Minnesota Twins serious? They might as well given Johan Santana up for a bag of Doritos. What a steal for the Mets.
• On a side note, even though I am a Yankee fan I think it is good for the game that Santana went somewhere other than the Bronx of Boston. There needs to be constant reminders that the MLB extends outside of New York and Massachusetts

• My beloved Redskins are starting to really make me worry. After the surprise retirement of legend Joe Gibbs a good month ago the team has yet to name a head coach. They have however assembled a whole coaching staff. Congratulations to owner Daniel Snyder for continuing to do things ass backwards. I can only hope that this wait will be worth it. I'm not sure it will be if Jim Fassel is the guy.
• Tiger Woods is unstoppable. He is actually bigger than the game of golf. Can you ever take a tournament serious if he doesn't compete?
• The NBA bores me.
• So does college basketball. Wake me up when it's March and I'll be interested. The regular season is so insignificant knowing that the majority of big teams will just be ousted by some no name within the first three rounds of the tournament.
• Why does congress give a shit that Chuck Knoblauch took steroids? Don't we have some issues in this country that are a little more pressing than a washed up second basemen sticking a needle in his ass? Maybe we should be a little more focused on the economy which is falling faster than Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign.
• There is no bigger ass on television than Skip Bayless. What a pompus, arrogant, self centered jerk. He is contradictory and represents the growing negativity that is prevalent in sports media today. I secretly wish that somebody would hit him in the head with a hammer every time he opens his mouth.
• The sporting dead zone begins immediately following the Super Bowl with a month of nothing to look forward to. Damn you February.

Watch to Watch this Week:

1. The Wire, HBO, Sunday @ 9. The best show on TV. If you aren't watching it you're missing out big time. It's the last season so it's time to catch up.
2. Lost, ABC, Thursday @ 9. Solid premiere episode last night. It should be really interesting to see where this season goes.
3. Nip/Tuck, FX, Tuesday @ 10. What a wacky show. They keep coming up with disgusting things I never thought I'd see on television. Hats off, keep it going.
4. Family Guy, Peterotica. If you have the DVD's this episode is a must. Hearing Peter's erotic novel's title's and content almost bring me to tears ("Catcher in the Eye", "Captain Leroy Hotdog Zanzibar and Gina from my work totally did it, and if I was there I would have been like, awesome.")
5. Super Bowl XLII, Sunday 6:30. Duh.

That concludes this blog. I hope you enjoyed it and please comment and leave me feedback. Lord knows I can use all the help that I can get. Until next time....