Raiders Mid-Season Evaluation

Before I get into this, a quick 2LO update.  Once again, illness stood in the way of getting into the studio.  Brian just couldn't pull it off.  We'll try again, hopefully sooner than later.  But with the holidays coming up, you never can tell.

On to the Raiders.  Well, it looks to be another season of futility.  We're 2-5, & I can honestly only see one more possible win on the schedule.  Oh, what a glorious legacy we're building.

Let's start from the beginning, the preseason.  Things looked a little better, even though our record didn't show it, which was 1-3.  But one thing was evident, they were gonna have one hell of a running game.  Justin Fargas was coming off his first full, healthy season.  Looking like he was gonna pick up right where he left off.  Darren McFadden appeared to be as good as advertised.  And, Michael Bush, after missing his entire rookie season, recovering from a broken leg, looked to be worth that gamble of a late round draft pick the year before.  The passing game was something else entirely.  JaMarcus Russell was essentially starting his rookie season, having made only one start the year before.  And he looked just like it.  The receiving corps was old and/or injured, & it showed.  The defense was the only thing that looked the same, uneven.  Hope was, this would all come together as the season went on.

I'll break up the rest into two parts, pre-bye week & post-bye week.  Or, the Kiffin era & the Cable era.  Pre-bye record, 1-3.  Even though the record wasn't so great, the team showed promise.  The Raiders did get blown out in their opener by the Broncos.  But the other two losses came late in the game, with Raiders actually leading going into the 4th quarter.  The only problem, the defense got gassed.  The offense just wasn't able top stay on the field for any extended time, to let the defense rest up.  The main thing that you could take away from these first four games, was the Raiders were improving.  They were playing with more heart than I had seen since their Super Bowl run in 2002.  Lane Kiffin had these players buying into what he was selling.  But, nothing good is meant to last in Raiderland these days.  In only what could be called a "I'm taking my ball & going home" move, Al Davis fired Kiffin, going into the bye week.  Embarrassing himself, & his organization with his self-serving news conference & was once again stunting whatever growth his team could have made.  At this point, enter Tom Cable...

Post-bye week record, 1-2.  Every week, from here on out, will be an adventure.  I have no idea the identity of this team.  JaMarcus Russell, has hell of a cannon for an arm, but lacks the ability (so far) to make that soft, touch pass.  McFadden has been slowed by a turf toe injury & Fargas healthy, full season run ended at one.  He was out a couple weeks with a groin pull.  The aging receivers seem incapable of consistently catching a pass.  The defense is still uneven, & week against the run.  As far as the new coach goes, I'll just quote Mr. Davis from his news conference, "Who's gonna introduce Tom Cable?  I don't know that much about him."

Eight weeks down, nine more to go.  Just win baby...  please!

For Those About To Rock?

The time has come again.  Two Left Over is heading back into the studio on Sunday... maybe.  This time though it's not my fault.  Brian is the sick one this time.  He might be able to go, but he'll make that decision Saturday morning.  Knowing Till, he'll be a goer, regardless if he's 100% or not.

I have mixed feelings about recording.  On the one hand, we've got some pretty good new songs that I'd love to have a good, clean recording of.  A way to show that we're not just goofing around (which there is plenty of), but that we're a functioning band.  Also, it gives me the opportunity to share that music with other people, since we don't get out & play live very often.  On the other hand though, I hate the process of recording.  It's very sterile.  It lacks the fun & looseness of just jamming it out while practicing, or even performing for the masses.  Everything has to be exact.  Every little detail has to be there.  You can't cover it up by just playing louder.  The mics won't let ya get away with anything.  Which means, playing the same song multiple times to get a take that you can live with.

My attitude about the band, as whole, has changed since the last time I blogged about it.  I'm looking at the band in the way that I did when me & Brian decided to do it again as 2LO.  It's a release.  A way to get away from the usual bullshit, & just let it all go.  It's my bi-weekly therapy session.  I know my place in the band, & I know that Brian wants me in it.  Our last show wasn't what I hoped it would be, but it did rekindle the desire to do it again.  Hopefully this recording session will make that flame burn even brighter.  I'll keep ya in the know.

The Bourne Ultimate Supreme Identity

I recently just finished "The Bourne Ultimatum."  And let me tell you, every chapter felt like a punch in the face.  And the finale was like a big ol' kick in the crotch.  If you haven't read this & have plans to, stop reading now.  Becuase I will be spoiling the ending.  Still here?  Then let's move on.

This had to be some of the worst dialogue I've ever read.  Who talks like this?  Ever!?!  Every year I read a classic novel, & the old world english in those books was often easier to swallow.  It never felt like I was reading a conversation.  It felt like someone who had listened to a conversation, took out all the slang & warmth, & regurgitated it back on the page.  Using affectations like "Darling."  Darling!?!  Who calls the significant other darling in the 20th century that doesn't star on "Leave It To Beaver"?  Other times, it was like listening to people who felt they were too smart for the room they were in.  It often felt like the author was talking down to you.  Throwing in dialogue in foreign languages, without ever offering a hint at the translation.  "Oh, you don't know French?  How droll the commoners can be.  Well, you better ask some of your more educated colleagues to read it to you."  And these so-called "conversations" would go on far too long, without character identifiers.  Sometimes they would be between three characters, & you could no longer tell who was saying what.  Add all of this together, & you get constant frustration on the readers part.

Here come the spoilers.  If you've seen the movies, you still don't know how this book ends.  Because other than having an amnesiac killing machine named Jason Bounre as the main character, they have absolutely nothing in common.  While in the movie, you often feel sympathy, even empathize at some points, for what Jason Bourne goes through.  You never make that connection with the book version.   That Jason Bourne is a whiny, self-serving dick.  Through all three books, his main nemesis is a master assassin called Carlos the Jackal.  In "The Bourne Ultimatum," the final showdown between the two was to take place.  Throughout the book, Jason Bourne has one, never-ending mantra.  "No one else can, or will kill the Jackal!  Only I can do it!"  He constantly turns away help, & alienates those that have the audacity to offer it.  But that never stops him from complaining that (excuse me while I paraphrase Danny Glover) that he's getting to old for this shit.  Regardless of his dwindling skills & refusal of aid, which gets him almost killed a number of times, he finally tracks down Carlos.  And with all his grandstanding of being the sole person on earth who could kill him...  HE DOESN"T FUCKING KILL HIM!!  Someone else does it!  All that build up for some very minor character to get the glory?  WTF!?!

I truly enjoyed the first two books in the series.  But, it really felt that Robert Ludlum had lost all interest in the character by the time he got to this one.  He no longer cared for the character & didn't want you continually bugging him for another installment.  So, instead of killing off Jason Bourne, he tried killing off your desire to read about him.  Well, congratulations.  Job well done Mr. Ludlum.  Well done.

What Do Ya Think?

Didn't really have a lot to say this week.  So instead I spent my time changing up the look of the blog.  What 'cha think?  Leave a comment & share your opinion that I'll more than likely ignore.

Where'd September Go!?!

Wow! It's been over 3 weeks since my last blog. But there is a good reason for that.

I. WAS. BUSY!!

The month of September was insane. I could count on one hand the number of free nights I had to sit down blather at you about a bunch of nonsense. I'll do my best to catch you with my, much less exciting than it sounds, life.

On September 9th, Liz & I had our 1st wedding anniversary.  I can hardly believe it's been that long already.  It has been an amazing year.  Since the the 1st year is paper, we exchanged tickets to an Angels vs. A's game.  We also went out for dinner that night at Ruth Chris.  Good food, & probably the best bleu cheese dressing I've ever had.  That weekend, we headed down to San Diego for a little getaway.  Went to the San Diego Zoo, & saw one of the best things ever. The had a habitat that was shared by some monkeys & otters. One monkey had decided his goal was to mess around with one of the otters. Grabbing at it, chasing, even swimming behind it. Eventually, the otter went to the others for protection. Soon, the chase had been reversed. I could have watched this species war all day! We also visited the Gaslamp Quarter & overall had a real nice time.

The following weekend involved another road trip.  This one in the opposite direction & about 4 times as long.  We were off to Sacramento to attend a friends wedding.  Stayed at the Grand Sheraton Sacramento.  Very nice hotel, but horrible pillows.  Got to go to one of my favortie places up there, Fanny Ann's Saloon.  Love the Thunder Humper!!  Visited the California State Railroad Museum & did some shopping in Old Town Sacto.  The wedding was fun & unique.  It also made our 20 minute wedding service seem like a congress filibuster.  It had to be about 10 minutes long.  No messing around & right to the point.  The best part was the remote controlled car that shot down the aisle when the rings were asked for.  Classic.

Then, this month was my turn to host Bad Movie Night.  A small turn out this time, due to everybody else having crazy schedules this month as well.  But good times were still had.  I shared two of my favorites, "Cutie Honey" & "Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins."  Both are live action versions of Japanese animes.  Both are crap-tastic!

Add in band practices, a dinner for the OC Ronald McDonald House, seeing "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" & a trip to the LAC Fair.  Those combined with what I've already detailed, & other things that have slipped my mind equals to busy to sit down to do this.  But October looks much less crazy.  So hopefully I'll be back on schedule.  See ya next week!