This dude's last name should be Jinx

Hey Patriot fans.....you see the guy above. I think it's safe to say you can blame him for your troubles.

Victor Thompson thought it would be a good idea to tattoo Tom Brady's helmet into his skull. American Flag, and flourescent green dot (that indicates the helmet has a mike) and all. Since then, the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and their perfect season, and Tom Brady had his MCL/ACL shredded.

For all the other fans in the NFL, I think we should all thank Victor Thompson....albatross of the New England Patriots.

J

Week's Vacation- One Weak later

Holy Carumba......the saying that you need a vacation from a vacation is quite apt indeed. But, I have something keeping me riveted.



Rock Band 2 is truly a great game. 84 new songs are on the disc. You can rip all the songs from Rock Band 1, and all the downloaded material from the first game applies here as well. Plus 20 free song download later on this year....means for me over 200 songs to choose from! That is crazy to say the least.

During a slow summer, my Xbox is about to get much busier. Thankfully my Xbox broke down earlier this year.....if it broke down now, I'd be a tad bit beside myself. In October, we'll see if Guitar Hero World Tour can one up Rock Band 2. (Doubt it) Saints Row 2, and most importantly.......GEARS OF WAR 2......November 7th. Can't wait for that one.

Now November 7th will be a crazy weekend for me. I get my first crown place in my mouth, GOW2, NFL, and the World Series of Poker live finale on Sunday......CRAZY. (Yes, I may need a girlfriend....but until then...bring on the Dork Candy.)

Have a great weekend,


Jason

Jerry Reed RIP

The Snowman is going east bound and down.......

Jerry Reed died today. I have always liked Jerry Reed. No, not because of his signing. Because of Smokey and the Bandit. If you don't know, Jerry played wingman to Burt Reynolds bootleggin' Bandit in the film. He was great, and it was a great film for a HBO watchin' 8 year old.

Jerry Reed entered my life again 13 years later. For my 21st birthday, me and my folks went to Jackpot Nevada. It was my first foray into gambling. We stayed at Cactus Pete's. The entertainment at the Casino was Jerry Reed. I thought that was great, but I wouldn't be catching the show since Country Music isn't my cup o' tea.

So that night, I found myself at a poker table, and lo and behold Jerry Reed was at the same table. We played about 3 hours.....and I managed to beat him pretty good. But he was a pure gentleman about it. When he was cashing out, I decided to ask him for his autograph. He smiled and obliged. I then made a mistake....I said I loved him in Smokey and the Bandit. I may have well said his fly was open. He must have preferred that I was a fan of his music. But oh well, he gave me the autograph, of which I gave to my Mom that night.

I will always thank Mr. Reed for Smokey....but more over, I'll thank him for being a pure gentleman to me in person.

Rest in Peace Jerry.


Jason

Bad Dates.........

We find ourselves kind of in the dead zone of entertainment. The Summer Movie Season is over, and the Fall TV Season has yet to begin. So I'm going to go a little off subject today.....and talk about bad dates.

I envy you folks who have a happy relationship with your significant other. It's tough out here, putting your self out there, when odds are it'll fail, and you need to start over again.

Bad dates come from many places. You get set up by friends, find someone online, etc. My experience has been that most of my "good" dates, have come from someone I met, and asked out. The odds of a bad date go way up when its blind. But darn it, the payoff is such, that the risk is worth it. Right?

There was a time when (GASP!) I sold cars. (Needed to pay off a lease for 6 months...seemed like the best thing to do at the time) The biggest soul sucking experience of my life. Anywho, I had a female customer who seemed normal and we kind of hit it off. I didn't say anything since she was a customer, but she called me 2 weeks later, and asked me out. Sweet!....or so I thought. So I invited her to a Seattle Sushi joint, and we met the following day.

I dressed in a nice shirt, fashionable jeans, and good shoes.....not dressy, but nice. She shows up late (Not good), in a decidedly non dressy fashion. Fine, whatever....I'll try and give her the benefit of the doubt, but c'mon! So we sit down and conversation is OK. We proceed to talk about books.....I tell her I've been reading the latest Harry Potter Book....and she tells me that she doesn't read those, because......Here it comes...(If you've ever seen the show Blind Date, they like to do a timed countdown to the end of the date...when one of them makes an unrecoverable gaffe) So 3....2....1....- "I don't read books about magic, because if I read about magic, I believe it comes true." I actually had to pause, and ask her to explain it. During which I ordered another round of drinks to dull the pain.

Honestly, God bless her. She thought enough of me to ask me out, and was honest with me......but that doesn't qualify for a 2nd date. I spoke to her one more time afterward, and that was that.

The thing about a bad date, is you go into it with the best of hopes. Maybe this time, I'll meet a cool person to have fun with. But then, you're stuck with someone for 3 hours, when you'd much rather be ANYWHERE else.

Bad Dates are a fact of life....and until I cancel my membership to Bachelor's R Us, I think I'll be having more of them.

Do you have a bad date story? Please share.

I promise to have more pop culture talk next time (Hey, I did mention Harry Potter and Blind Date!)

Have a good week,

Jason

Can You Smell the Fall in the Air!

Yes sir, bring on the fall. This, for me, is the best time of year. For most, Spring is the time of renewal, but Fall does the trick for me. My internal clock, still says its time to be getting ready for the school year. I guess it's a bit like the salmon heading home to respawn. I will be returning to my Alma Mater soon with the start of the football season at the University of Washington.

Fall brings many things that for me are great. (Yes, I know, the Autumnal Equinox is on September 21st....but Fall begins on Labor Day in actuality....so there) First off, football. I'm sorry to all the football widows out there....but football is so delicious, I can't stand it. College and Pro.....bring it on.

It's also time to start planning for the holidays. Oh the glorious holidays. I pretty much get into a trance around holiday time, because I am so absolutly jazzed about the feeling. Halloween kicks it off. One of my favorite stories comes from a chance encounter I had way back when. I was chatting up a lovely girl at a party, and I asked her what her favorite holiday was. I expected the usual, Christmas or Thanksgiving...but it was Halloween. I asked her why.....now here's an answer. She loved the sounds of the dogs in New England. HUH? She explained that the dogs were used to the streets being empty in the cold evenings of October, but once the streets were packed with Trick or Treaters, the dogs went crazy. I'm not sure I understand her answer, but darn if it wasn't memorable.

So, from now to New Year's Day.....I'm going to pretty much be a happy camper.

Happy Fall Everyone!


Jason

Memories of 90210

I need to admit something. I am a huge Beverly Hills 90210 fan. Proof you need? I named my cat after the actor, Joe E Tata, who played the owner of the Peach Pit.

Why am I bringing this up. Being that its the TV doledrums of summer, I was scanning through my channel guide, and Soapnet was running a documentary on the show. Oh the memories. (Side note, tonight (Tuesday 8-19) SoapNet is starting the show from the beginning.)

I was in college when the show kicked off, and me and my friends loved the so bad its good quality, until we actually fell for the characters.

My man in the show, was Brandon Walsh. He was the bedrock for the 8 or so seasons it ran. Imagine my delight, when I was on hand for a Good Morning Northwest interview with Jennie Garth (Kellie Taylor), and had the host ask if she prefered Brandon or Dylan. After some thought, she came to the right answer, Brandon! Me and my friends were always stoked when Jason Priestly directed as well, because you could count on wackiness to ensue.

The show wasn't always good, but it was usually memorable. Tori Spelling was horrible. Dylan was cool. Brian Austin Green (BAG) was OK, unless he was singing. Brenda was not missed when she left. Emily Valentine (My Sister?) was nuts....and so on.

What a great show.....and I'll be tuning into SoapNet for reruns 'til the fall season starts.

Jason

The Dark Knight Bashing Begins

Well you knew this was coming. Whenever any pop culture event goes super nova, there is a group of society who feels it important to let us know they didn't like it.

I believe there are many people who see themselves as non-conformists....and if they like something the masses do, they are conforming.

Let's see what the list of complaints are. Batman's voice. Too Long. The Plot is too complicated. The Joker is almost omnipotent at times....etc.

Whatever. Dear fans, we are seeing the pop culture explosion of the decade. If you liked it, enjoy it. If you didn't, that's cool....and say so. But don't do so just trying to be cool.

Sidenote- I think Bats will get to the low $500 million range, coming short of beating Titanic....but its crazy the conversation is even coming up.

Jason