Just got back from a weekend road trip down into America's Rust Belt chasing the fun that is Phish. It was a quick over and back this time for one show only. I was accompanied my my sister, a veteran of 8 shows now and 2 Phirst Timers. The boys did not disappoint.
We followed that up with a trip to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland on Sunday. In between and on the way there was eating and drinking and laughing and smiling and so forth. I will have a more detailed write-up posted shortly.
I've posted a few pics HERE.
Sorry for the lack of any writing and "Death Theme" the last few posts have carried. This isn't an Obit column God Damn It!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
RIP Dennis Hopper
Always one of my favs. Apocalypse Now & Hoosiers being the standouts for me. Obviously Easy Rider will always be The One that many point to and for good reason. The scene below is from True Romance where Dennis and Christopher Walken go one-on-one. It's a thing of beauty and my favourite Dennis Hopper scene of all time.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Ernie Harwell
His voice put me to sleep more nights than I can remember. My dad and I actually met him in a store just outside of Tiger Stadium in 1985, the year after they won the World Series. I have his autograph on a "Bless You Boys" pennant. Always classy and a true Legend.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
NHL Playoffs - Bold Predictions
A strategy to bet the opposite of everything I pick has an equal shot of doing just as well. That's a disclaimer for you all. Right up front too.
I'm on the clock here so maybe I'll try to summarize each series in one sentence. I'm also not going to try to predict how many games each series will go because that's one of the dumbest and most pointless predictions in sports.
EAST
#1 Washinton vs #8 Montreal
Washington had a goal differential of +85...Montreal was -6 on the season. If you're a Montreal fan watch as much as you can right now because this is it. Washington to advance.
#2 New Jersey vs #7 Philadelphia
I think Philly is better than the average #7 seed. They started so slow. They also still have no goal-tending. NJ is what you'd expect out of a #2 and they have Brodeur. I pick Jersey.
#3 Buffalo vs #6 Boston
Just like the old days in the Adams division. Boston did well to get in this year with all their injuries and lack of firepower. Buffalo is a young, solid, well-rounded team with and exceptional goalie. I take the Sabres in this one.
#4 Pittsburgh vs #5 Ottawa
Looking forward to this match-up. Ottawa is a little light on playoff experience, but they have Carrie Underwood now. Pittsburgh just seems a bit off. I may be carrying a slight grudge against Pittsburgh with this prediction. I pick Ottawa.
WEST
#1 San Jose vs #8 Colorado
Colorado is in a free fall. It was a great accomplishment that they got here this year. San Jose has something to prove in the playoffs. Beating Colorado won't prove anything, but it's the first necessary step to doing so. San Jose to move on.
#2 Chicago vs #7 Nashville
Another division playoff match-up. Nashville keeps getting a raw deal in the playoffs. 100 points again and they earn the right to play the mighty Blackhawks. This Chicago team is awesome as well as fun to watch. Nashville will have to steal this series with goal-tending which is the Blackhawk's area of weakness. Taking Chicago here.
#3 Vancouver vs #6 Los Angeles
This will be a good series. The Kings are going places in the years to come. H Sedin won the scoring title. You could have got some nice odds betting that before the season started. I'm going to take the team with the better goalie, the most experience, plays Phish during breaks in the action, and has the most annoying nation anthem singer. Vancouver.
#4 Phoenix vs #5 Detroit
Phoenix had 14 wins via the shootout. I could argue that their seeding is very inflated. Their goal differential, offence, defence is similar to Detroit's, but Detroit was decimated by injuries the first half of the year and their coach had a few other things on his mind. (Gold Medal). Detroit is on fire, has the experience and may fancy their position of underdog a little bit. The goaltending in Phoenix has been outstanding this year and it's really come along in Detroit with Howard in the second half. I don't see how anyone could pick Phoenix in this series. Detroit.
I'm on the clock here so maybe I'll try to summarize each series in one sentence. I'm also not going to try to predict how many games each series will go because that's one of the dumbest and most pointless predictions in sports.
EAST
#1 Washinton vs #8 Montreal
Washington had a goal differential of +85...Montreal was -6 on the season. If you're a Montreal fan watch as much as you can right now because this is it. Washington to advance.
#2 New Jersey vs #7 Philadelphia
I think Philly is better than the average #7 seed. They started so slow. They also still have no goal-tending. NJ is what you'd expect out of a #2 and they have Brodeur. I pick Jersey.
#3 Buffalo vs #6 Boston
Just like the old days in the Adams division. Boston did well to get in this year with all their injuries and lack of firepower. Buffalo is a young, solid, well-rounded team with and exceptional goalie. I take the Sabres in this one.
#4 Pittsburgh vs #5 Ottawa
Looking forward to this match-up. Ottawa is a little light on playoff experience, but they have Carrie Underwood now. Pittsburgh just seems a bit off. I may be carrying a slight grudge against Pittsburgh with this prediction. I pick Ottawa.
WEST
#1 San Jose vs #8 Colorado
Colorado is in a free fall. It was a great accomplishment that they got here this year. San Jose has something to prove in the playoffs. Beating Colorado won't prove anything, but it's the first necessary step to doing so. San Jose to move on.
#2 Chicago vs #7 Nashville
Another division playoff match-up. Nashville keeps getting a raw deal in the playoffs. 100 points again and they earn the right to play the mighty Blackhawks. This Chicago team is awesome as well as fun to watch. Nashville will have to steal this series with goal-tending which is the Blackhawk's area of weakness. Taking Chicago here.
#3 Vancouver vs #6 Los Angeles
This will be a good series. The Kings are going places in the years to come. H Sedin won the scoring title. You could have got some nice odds betting that before the season started. I'm going to take the team with the better goalie, the most experience, plays Phish during breaks in the action, and has the most annoying nation anthem singer. Vancouver.
#4 Phoenix vs #5 Detroit
Phoenix had 14 wins via the shootout. I could argue that their seeding is very inflated. Their goal differential, offence, defence is similar to Detroit's, but Detroit was decimated by injuries the first half of the year and their coach had a few other things on his mind. (Gold Medal). Detroit is on fire, has the experience and may fancy their position of underdog a little bit. The goaltending in Phoenix has been outstanding this year and it's really come along in Detroit with Howard in the second half. I don't see how anyone could pick Phoenix in this series. Detroit.
Monday, April 12, 2010
The Photo Project
Working where I do has a few perks albeit nothing huge like season tickets to sports teams or Christmas parties. (Yes, I'm serious about the Christmas parties). I guess there really are any perks except the ones we create for ourselves.
I began taking photos in the pre-digital age. That's just the way things were. I'm sure you can relate. I would guess that I have around 1000 photographs in various albums and/or just sitting in boxes in their original sleeves along with the negatives. (See pic below if you have no idea what a negative is)
I know that this sounds like a lot of photos and it does feel like it when I lift them all at once, but the one thing I remember thinking as I went through them is, "I can't believe I don't have more photos from my time there, or there, or there..." It's just so easy these days. Back when I was taking all these pictures I was spending money with every press of the button. And there was no preview screen. It was a hit-and-hope type of thing. Maybe that had something to do with my self perceived lack of pictures? My Cheapness?...Or Laziness? These days I can snap 13 pictures of the same and pick out the best one(s), do some cropping and then ditch the rest with the only cost being my time.
So I have begun the task of scanning all these photographs into digital form so I can burn them for safe keeping and have myself some fun organizing, cropping and posting them. I use our colour scanning machine to scan them in at 400-600dpi. This creates larger file sizes, but will allow me to enlarge any of them in the future without losing any quality that the original photo has. This won't, however, make a bad picture better. I have taken my fair share of bad pictures.
The scanner creates a PDF file of the scanned images. I usually build 50 pictures or so into one PDF file and then do the first round of cropping. Once they are cropped I extract the photos as individual TIF files. These can be quite large and they will be what I use in the future for any enlargements, specialty projects, etc. I take the same PDF file and extract all the photos as individual JPG files. These are much small than the TIF files and it is these ones that I will use for any uploading to my Flickr Photostream or to a site like Facebook. They are small enough that they won't take up too much of my allotted space or too much time during the upload.
Beyond self-organization and memory preservation that I'm interested in for selfish reasons, I am hoping that those I have shared in all of these wonderful, adventurous and wonky experiences in the past will enjoy the memories too. And maybe in turn they will add to these collections with their own photos from the past.
If you know keep checking back in here or to my Flickr Photostream. If you don't know me you still have access to said Photostream, maybe just not to as many pictures.
Beyond this project, I have even more pictures from my youth that document my growing up, my sister growing up and our family through the years that I would like to get to eventually. It's a very labour intensive project that would probably cost me an arm and a leg to have someone else do the scanning. As such, now is the time.
That's it.
~ MJS
I began taking photos in the pre-digital age. That's just the way things were. I'm sure you can relate. I would guess that I have around 1000 photographs in various albums and/or just sitting in boxes in their original sleeves along with the negatives. (See pic below if you have no idea what a negative is)
I know that this sounds like a lot of photos and it does feel like it when I lift them all at once, but the one thing I remember thinking as I went through them is, "I can't believe I don't have more photos from my time there, or there, or there..." It's just so easy these days. Back when I was taking all these pictures I was spending money with every press of the button. And there was no preview screen. It was a hit-and-hope type of thing. Maybe that had something to do with my self perceived lack of pictures? My Cheapness?...Or Laziness? These days I can snap 13 pictures of the same and pick out the best one(s), do some cropping and then ditch the rest with the only cost being my time.
So I have begun the task of scanning all these photographs into digital form so I can burn them for safe keeping and have myself some fun organizing, cropping and posting them. I use our colour scanning machine to scan them in at 400-600dpi. This creates larger file sizes, but will allow me to enlarge any of them in the future without losing any quality that the original photo has. This won't, however, make a bad picture better. I have taken my fair share of bad pictures.
The scanner creates a PDF file of the scanned images. I usually build 50 pictures or so into one PDF file and then do the first round of cropping. Once they are cropped I extract the photos as individual TIF files. These can be quite large and they will be what I use in the future for any enlargements, specialty projects, etc. I take the same PDF file and extract all the photos as individual JPG files. These are much small than the TIF files and it is these ones that I will use for any uploading to my Flickr Photostream or to a site like Facebook. They are small enough that they won't take up too much of my allotted space or too much time during the upload.
Beyond self-organization and memory preservation that I'm interested in for selfish reasons, I am hoping that those I have shared in all of these wonderful, adventurous and wonky experiences in the past will enjoy the memories too. And maybe in turn they will add to these collections with their own photos from the past.
If you know keep checking back in here or to my Flickr Photostream. If you don't know me you still have access to said Photostream, maybe just not to as many pictures.
Beyond this project, I have even more pictures from my youth that document my growing up, my sister growing up and our family through the years that I would like to get to eventually. It's a very labour intensive project that would probably cost me an arm and a leg to have someone else do the scanning. As such, now is the time.
That's it.
~ MJS
Saturday, March 27, 2010
My Umbrella
On Tuesday it was raining here in Toronto and as such I prudently grabbed my umbrella on my way out the door. I love my umbrella. I really do. It's actually a golf umbrella that I bought before my first round last year. I even talked them into a discount even thought it was threatening rain. I think you'd have the best chance of negotiating an umbrella discount on a sunny day, but I lucked out.
I never meant to start using it on the streets. It just ended up happening. It was so big and strong. Gusts of wind that would turn flip those other small, weak umbrellas inside out didn't even phase me. 3 people could smoke a cigarette under my umbrella. Spacious it was. People must have hated sharing the sidewalk with me and my big umbrella. I know I hated it when the shoe was on the other foot. Me with the dinky umbrella & others with the monsters. I didn't give a fuck though once I got a hold of the luxury model.
So, back to Tuesday. I got off the subway without my umbrella and didn't realize it until it was too late. There was nothing I could do. My name and number weren't on it so for whoever found it, it would be like finding a bill on the ground. No return address so you get to keep it.
The only thing I could think to do was to post an ad on Craigslist. I put my odds at less than one tenth of one percent which may have been too high. Either way it was better than my odds of doing nothing. This is what I posted...
I left my black golf size umbrella on the Bloor line Tuesday morning around 9:15am. It was leaning against an end door. It's a great umbrella. Holds up to a strong wind and keeps the drops off more than one person at a time. Although it seems like a small expense, times are tight for me right now and I could really use not having to rebuy this item. I know it's a long shot that anyone who found it would be reading this, but I gotta try.
If by any chance you do happen to read this and still decide not to contact me, I hope the next few months bring you nothing but bright sunny days.
Have a good one T.O.
For this to work out a lot of things had to fall into place. First, I needed the person who found and kept it to not be a bum with no Internet access. No Internet = no Craigslist. Second, I needed whoever found it to have a conscience and of course be a Craiglist user.
Wouldn't you know it. I got a response. I was SO excited to open the email and find out where I was to meet this nice person who had grabbed my umbrella, logged onto the Internet & then Craigslist to see if anything was posted in the Lost & Founds.
Hi
I just saw your account and it interested me enough.
You are very interest man and I like it.
I would like to pass my warmth, endearment with you.
I am unbiased, beautiful woman. Sometimes I am powerful, sometimes I am funny with the good sence of humour.
It looks like you are very romantic and authentic man.
I have a lot of space in my heart for kindness and love and
I am ready to give it to you. I do not care about the age.
I would like to get acquainted with you better and chat with you by the e-mail!
I will send you my photos and tell more about me.
That is my e-mail:skaelvira@yahoo.com
Best regards.
What a nice world where I can lose my umbrella and this woman is kind enough to offer herself to me. She took the time to not even mention my umbrella once but seems pretty enamored with me none the less.
"You are very interest man and I like it."
Hey, who wouldn't? There's a lot of adventure in searching for an umbrella or perhaps purchasing a new one.
"I am unbiased, beautiful woman. Sometimes I am powerful, sometimes I am funny with the good sence of humour."
I 'sence' I shouldn't believe you.
"I am ready to give it to you"
My umbrella?
"I do not care about the age."
I am balding. Of course you can't tell on Craigslist. Sucka!
"I would like to get acquainted with you better and chat with you by the e-mail!
I will send you my photos and tell more about me."
Wow! And I've been nurturing a relationship all these years where I could have just been posting about lost umbrellas.
As the weather warms we get closer to that first day of golf and I am dearly looking forward to that. I hope it's sunny. That way I will have some extra leverage when negotiating my next umbrella purchase.
I never meant to start using it on the streets. It just ended up happening. It was so big and strong. Gusts of wind that would turn flip those other small, weak umbrellas inside out didn't even phase me. 3 people could smoke a cigarette under my umbrella. Spacious it was. People must have hated sharing the sidewalk with me and my big umbrella. I know I hated it when the shoe was on the other foot. Me with the dinky umbrella & others with the monsters. I didn't give a fuck though once I got a hold of the luxury model.
So, back to Tuesday. I got off the subway without my umbrella and didn't realize it until it was too late. There was nothing I could do. My name and number weren't on it so for whoever found it, it would be like finding a bill on the ground. No return address so you get to keep it.
The only thing I could think to do was to post an ad on Craigslist. I put my odds at less than one tenth of one percent which may have been too high. Either way it was better than my odds of doing nothing. This is what I posted...
I left my black golf size umbrella on the Bloor line Tuesday morning around 9:15am. It was leaning against an end door. It's a great umbrella. Holds up to a strong wind and keeps the drops off more than one person at a time. Although it seems like a small expense, times are tight for me right now and I could really use not having to rebuy this item. I know it's a long shot that anyone who found it would be reading this, but I gotta try.
If by any chance you do happen to read this and still decide not to contact me, I hope the next few months bring you nothing but bright sunny days.
Have a good one T.O.
For this to work out a lot of things had to fall into place. First, I needed the person who found and kept it to not be a bum with no Internet access. No Internet = no Craigslist. Second, I needed whoever found it to have a conscience and of course be a Craiglist user.
Wouldn't you know it. I got a response. I was SO excited to open the email and find out where I was to meet this nice person who had grabbed my umbrella, logged onto the Internet & then Craigslist to see if anything was posted in the Lost & Founds.
Hi
I just saw your account and it interested me enough.
You are very interest man and I like it.
I would like to pass my warmth, endearment with you.
I am unbiased, beautiful woman. Sometimes I am powerful, sometimes I am funny with the good sence of humour.
It looks like you are very romantic and authentic man.
I have a lot of space in my heart for kindness and love and
I am ready to give it to you. I do not care about the age.
I would like to get acquainted with you better and chat with you by the e-mail!
I will send you my photos and tell more about me.
That is my e-mail:skaelvira@yahoo.com
Best regards.
What a nice world where I can lose my umbrella and this woman is kind enough to offer herself to me. She took the time to not even mention my umbrella once but seems pretty enamored with me none the less.
"You are very interest man and I like it."
Hey, who wouldn't? There's a lot of adventure in searching for an umbrella or perhaps purchasing a new one.
"I am unbiased, beautiful woman. Sometimes I am powerful, sometimes I am funny with the good sence of humour."
I 'sence' I shouldn't believe you.
"I am ready to give it to you"
My umbrella?
"I do not care about the age."
I am balding. Of course you can't tell on Craigslist. Sucka!
"I would like to get acquainted with you better and chat with you by the e-mail!
I will send you my photos and tell more about me."
Wow! And I've been nurturing a relationship all these years where I could have just been posting about lost umbrellas.
As the weather warms we get closer to that first day of golf and I am dearly looking forward to that. I hope it's sunny. That way I will have some extra leverage when negotiating my next umbrella purchase.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Furthur & Furthur
The bus came by and I got on....
Leading up to this trip I the inside joke was all about what a beautiful winter destination Utica, NY was going to be. Especially deep into February. We met up on Friday night at Sammy's place where we hunkered down, had a few brews, a delicious meal and watch the Olympics. Our goal was to be on the road by 8am and beat the rush out of the city. The 3 of us were showered, fed (toasted bacon, egg, cheese, onion & mayo sandwiches) and were on the road by 8:45am. Not bad. Not bad.
We had little to no traffic all the way to the border where we crossed without incident or delay at Lewiston, NY just north of Niagara Falls. We stopped at a Tim Horton's along the New York State Thruway (I-90). I had the chili. The portion sizes are way bigger in the US. The Timbits and donuts are twice the size and the coffee sizes are all one size up from in Canada. I ordered a large and got what would have been an extra large here.
We arrived in Utica at around 2pm. It would have been sooner but a NY State Trooper wanted to discuss our speed so we stopped and obliged. Less than 20 miles from our destination too. When we finally rolled into town we did a quick drive around to gather a lay of the land. Utica has a brewery district centered around Vanick Street that we thought would be a cool spot to start things off. The show was happening at the AUD and was right near our hotel, the Radisson.
There were 2 tour buses parked in front of our hotel and they were in fact the band's. As we were walking in from the parking garage to check in Bobby Weir walked out the front door a got onto one of the buses. He looked like he just woke up. A paparazzi would have got the shot. Since I think paparazzi should be spit on and maybe even water boarded I didn't even make a move for my Sony Cybershot.
We ended up at the Nail Creek Pub (pictured) where it wasn't too full when we walked in but was completely blocked by the time we left. They were playing Grateful Dead and serving up $2.50 pints. How could you go wrong? We snagged a nice corner seat and watched it all unfold. Along with the beers we had some cheese and artichoke dip. Our bill came to less than $30 for what we consumed. I think in Toronto we would have been pushing 3 figures. We were also able to score a nice bud for cheap which is huge for us border challenged folk.
We three amigo headed out of the pub at around 5pm and lit one up for the walk over to the Utica AUD and Shakedown Street. The lot was buzzing and hissing too. We grabbed some beers and some balloons and wandered around. I'm glad it wasn't a really cold Feb day because hanging around outside would have been unbearable. As it was we were out there for about 1 - 1.5 hrs and it wasn't too bad although the feet got a little numb by the end. We were able to grab some chocolates right before going in and they turned out to be game changers.
The Utica AUD is an amazing old hockey arena. Madison Square Garden (as it now exists) was influenced by this building. Also the scene from Slap Shot where the Hanson Brothers got into the crowd after a fan hits one with a set of keys was filmed here. I would say there were 4000 people or so and it was general admission. Beers inside were only $5 and the vibe was relaxed, happy and friendly.
We started the first set down on the floor near the front on the left. I emptied my coat of any valuables and stuck it in a guard rail near the front. I wasn't too concerned if I never saw it again, but I really wasn't worried. The chocolates kicked in fast (for me at least) and as the first set progressed I was glad I only ate 1/2 to start. I like to test the waters first :)
Set 1:
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl >
Promised Land
Cumberland Blues
Ramble On Rose
Foolish Heart >
Reuben & Cherise >
Dear Prudence
Satisfaction
So things started melting for me around the mid-way point of Promised Land. Bobby seemed to be singing a lot better than the last time I saw him with The Dead. Cumberland was fun as always, but Ramble on Rose was just perfect. A huge sing-a-long and smiles everywhere. I was feeling superb at this point. This was just an amazing 1st set. Jerry was all over it. Foolish Heart into Reuban & Cherise...yessir! That R&C is a must listen. We went out into the concourse as Dear Prudence started and this was a mistake for me at least. I was in no shape to be milling about. We hit the head where weird things were happening with one of the urinals. It sounded like it was a huge vacuum. So loud. I was confused and needed to bail immediately. I couldn't find the boys when I left the washroom although I would discover they saw me as they stood in line for beer. I had to get back out to the music. I walked up to the upper level and stood along the rail overlooking everything for the end of Dear Prudence and a great version of the Stone's Satisfaction.
Things settled down for me during set break and I met up with the boys back at the original floor spot we had. The second set was approaching and we needed a plan.
Second Set..."Buy the ticket, take the ride." ~ HST
Man I love 2nd sets. We decided to get off the floor and to head up to the seats. We found a spot along the rail in the aisle where you can choose either to go down to seats or up to seats. The rail was quite useful and no one was in our line of sight. In addition, security was non-existent and smoking was not an issue. Below was our vantage point for the 2nd set. Great little venue, as I said.
Set 2:
China Cat Sunflower >
The Wheel >
I Know You Rider
Magnolia Mountain,
Unbroken Chain
Comes A Time >
Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad >
Touch Of Grey >
And We Bid You Goodnight
Encore:
One More Saturday Night
I haven't re-listened to the show yet, but I do know I had a grin from ear to ear for that China>Wheel>Rider. The place was lit and so was I. It was sometime during that madness that I decided to eat the other half of my psychedelic chocolate and off we went again. Magnolia Mountain was a bit of a buzz kill for me (literally). I don't know why they feel the need to cover Ryan Adams with the size of their own songbook. Plus he's an asshole. Whatever. Unbroken Chain was the highlight of the night for me. What a gonzo tune. I went back up the elevator during that one. Comes a Time was perfectly placed and played. You could close your eyes and feel the presence of Garcia. Beautiful, beautiful song.
Things got cranked up again with GDTRFB > Touch of Grey and I won breakfast when they played We Bid You Goodnight. Indeed! All of us wrote 5 songs down on a piece of paper and that was the only one to hit between us. We didn't check the previous night's set list so we had no idea what was coming song-wise which is just how I like it. The One More Saturday Night encore was so much a given that we actually excluded the song from out little game. Maybe we need to stop going on Saturdays, eh?
We sat for a bit after the lights came up and just tried to gather ourselves. Did a bit of people watching. I had to run up close to the stage to grab my coat. It was still there and unmolested. Sammy & I were separated from Andy but we had a pre-arranged meeting spot in the lot which was key. We grabbed some balloons & kept a lookout. Eventually the Triacta was reformed. I grabbed a cheese & salsa burrito and a t-shirt and we ambled around the lot a bit longer.
We left the lot and went to look for a bar called The Dog House. I think. We heard about it from a guy at the show. Joe? John? Either way...We ended up walking straight past it and back to the area where we originally began the day. Sammy was hungry but food was hard to come by. No bars served anything. No wings, fries, onion rings. Nothing. There was a pizzeria but they ran out of food just as we walked in. There was not a lot of 'Big Picture Thinking' going on in Utica. Maybe this is why the town is slowly dying. We also stumbled upon a strip bar that served no booze. This could be because of some local law or maybe it's a New York State thing. Whatever the reason for this non-booze issue, the place was completely empty and I can't help but think the lack of available libations was a contributing factor in this. I mean it was Saturday at midnight. You gotta figure that's a pretty busy time for a gentlemen's club. Now they could have been selling crack and blow jobs in the back, but we beat it on down the line as soon as the words "No drinks" were uttered.
We eventually found The Dog House. They wanted to charge us $5 cover. I have no idea why. I thought they should just be thankful we wanted to step inside and have a drink. I asked for leniency on the cover and the door man obliged. This was my only Blue Moon of the trip and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Alas, we were beat and headed back to the hotel after our pint where we hustled the vending machine out of about 8 mini bags of chips. This was literally the only food source in Utica at the time.
I don't remember falling asleep. Breakfast was at Denny's. I had the Country Fried Steak & white gravy with eggs over easy, grated hash browns (my favourite) and brown toast courtesy of those who lost the bet. I did leave the tip though. There was a woman sitting beside us (her back to us) who had an ass that stretched over a meter across when she sat. If you're going to have a world in which there is Country Fried Steak with the white gravy you are going to have mega-asses. And sometimes they will be staring you in the face. Sometimes you gotta take the good with the bad.
Utica Photos
Leading up to this trip I the inside joke was all about what a beautiful winter destination Utica, NY was going to be. Especially deep into February. We met up on Friday night at Sammy's place where we hunkered down, had a few brews, a delicious meal and watch the Olympics. Our goal was to be on the road by 8am and beat the rush out of the city. The 3 of us were showered, fed (toasted bacon, egg, cheese, onion & mayo sandwiches) and were on the road by 8:45am. Not bad. Not bad. We had little to no traffic all the way to the border where we crossed without incident or delay at Lewiston, NY just north of Niagara Falls. We stopped at a Tim Horton's along the New York State Thruway (I-90). I had the chili. The portion sizes are way bigger in the US. The Timbits and donuts are twice the size and the coffee sizes are all one size up from in Canada. I ordered a large and got what would have been an extra large here.
We arrived in Utica at around 2pm. It would have been sooner but a NY State Trooper wanted to discuss our speed so we stopped and obliged. Less than 20 miles from our destination too. When we finally rolled into town we did a quick drive around to gather a lay of the land. Utica has a brewery district centered around Vanick Street that we thought would be a cool spot to start things off. The show was happening at the AUD and was right near our hotel, the Radisson.
There were 2 tour buses parked in front of our hotel and they were in fact the band's. As we were walking in from the parking garage to check in Bobby Weir walked out the front door a got onto one of the buses. He looked like he just woke up. A paparazzi would have got the shot. Since I think paparazzi should be spit on and maybe even water boarded I didn't even make a move for my Sony Cybershot.
We ended up at the Nail Creek Pub (pictured) where it wasn't too full when we walked in but was completely blocked by the time we left. They were playing Grateful Dead and serving up $2.50 pints. How could you go wrong? We snagged a nice corner seat and watched it all unfold. Along with the beers we had some cheese and artichoke dip. Our bill came to less than $30 for what we consumed. I think in Toronto we would have been pushing 3 figures. We were also able to score a nice bud for cheap which is huge for us border challenged folk.
We three amigo headed out of the pub at around 5pm and lit one up for the walk over to the Utica AUD and Shakedown Street. The lot was buzzing and hissing too. We grabbed some beers and some balloons and wandered around. I'm glad it wasn't a really cold Feb day because hanging around outside would have been unbearable. As it was we were out there for about 1 - 1.5 hrs and it wasn't too bad although the feet got a little numb by the end. We were able to grab some chocolates right before going in and they turned out to be game changers.
The Utica AUD is an amazing old hockey arena. Madison Square Garden (as it now exists) was influenced by this building. Also the scene from Slap Shot where the Hanson Brothers got into the crowd after a fan hits one with a set of keys was filmed here. I would say there were 4000 people or so and it was general admission. Beers inside were only $5 and the vibe was relaxed, happy and friendly.
We started the first set down on the floor near the front on the left. I emptied my coat of any valuables and stuck it in a guard rail near the front. I wasn't too concerned if I never saw it again, but I really wasn't worried. The chocolates kicked in fast (for me at least) and as the first set progressed I was glad I only ate 1/2 to start. I like to test the waters first :)
Set 1:
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl >
Promised Land
Cumberland Blues
Ramble On Rose
Foolish Heart >
Reuben & Cherise >
Dear Prudence
Satisfaction
So things started melting for me around the mid-way point of Promised Land. Bobby seemed to be singing a lot better than the last time I saw him with The Dead. Cumberland was fun as always, but Ramble on Rose was just perfect. A huge sing-a-long and smiles everywhere. I was feeling superb at this point. This was just an amazing 1st set. Jerry was all over it. Foolish Heart into Reuban & Cherise...yessir! That R&C is a must listen. We went out into the concourse as Dear Prudence started and this was a mistake for me at least. I was in no shape to be milling about. We hit the head where weird things were happening with one of the urinals. It sounded like it was a huge vacuum. So loud. I was confused and needed to bail immediately. I couldn't find the boys when I left the washroom although I would discover they saw me as they stood in line for beer. I had to get back out to the music. I walked up to the upper level and stood along the rail overlooking everything for the end of Dear Prudence and a great version of the Stone's Satisfaction.
Things settled down for me during set break and I met up with the boys back at the original floor spot we had. The second set was approaching and we needed a plan.
Second Set..."Buy the ticket, take the ride." ~ HST
Man I love 2nd sets. We decided to get off the floor and to head up to the seats. We found a spot along the rail in the aisle where you can choose either to go down to seats or up to seats. The rail was quite useful and no one was in our line of sight. In addition, security was non-existent and smoking was not an issue. Below was our vantage point for the 2nd set. Great little venue, as I said.
Set 2:
China Cat Sunflower >
The Wheel >
I Know You Rider
Magnolia Mountain,
Unbroken Chain
Comes A Time >
Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad >
Touch Of Grey >
And We Bid You Goodnight
Encore:
One More Saturday Night
I haven't re-listened to the show yet, but I do know I had a grin from ear to ear for that China>Wheel>Rider. The place was lit and so was I. It was sometime during that madness that I decided to eat the other half of my psychedelic chocolate and off we went again. Magnolia Mountain was a bit of a buzz kill for me (literally). I don't know why they feel the need to cover Ryan Adams with the size of their own songbook. Plus he's an asshole. Whatever. Unbroken Chain was the highlight of the night for me. What a gonzo tune. I went back up the elevator during that one. Comes a Time was perfectly placed and played. You could close your eyes and feel the presence of Garcia. Beautiful, beautiful song.
Things got cranked up again with GDTRFB > Touch of Grey and I won breakfast when they played We Bid You Goodnight. Indeed! All of us wrote 5 songs down on a piece of paper and that was the only one to hit between us. We didn't check the previous night's set list so we had no idea what was coming song-wise which is just how I like it. The One More Saturday Night encore was so much a given that we actually excluded the song from out little game. Maybe we need to stop going on Saturdays, eh?
We sat for a bit after the lights came up and just tried to gather ourselves. Did a bit of people watching. I had to run up close to the stage to grab my coat. It was still there and unmolested. Sammy & I were separated from Andy but we had a pre-arranged meeting spot in the lot which was key. We grabbed some balloons & kept a lookout. Eventually the Triacta was reformed. I grabbed a cheese & salsa burrito and a t-shirt and we ambled around the lot a bit longer.
We left the lot and went to look for a bar called The Dog House. I think. We heard about it from a guy at the show. Joe? John? Either way...We ended up walking straight past it and back to the area where we originally began the day. Sammy was hungry but food was hard to come by. No bars served anything. No wings, fries, onion rings. Nothing. There was a pizzeria but they ran out of food just as we walked in. There was not a lot of 'Big Picture Thinking' going on in Utica. Maybe this is why the town is slowly dying. We also stumbled upon a strip bar that served no booze. This could be because of some local law or maybe it's a New York State thing. Whatever the reason for this non-booze issue, the place was completely empty and I can't help but think the lack of available libations was a contributing factor in this. I mean it was Saturday at midnight. You gotta figure that's a pretty busy time for a gentlemen's club. Now they could have been selling crack and blow jobs in the back, but we beat it on down the line as soon as the words "No drinks" were uttered.
We eventually found The Dog House. They wanted to charge us $5 cover. I have no idea why. I thought they should just be thankful we wanted to step inside and have a drink. I asked for leniency on the cover and the door man obliged. This was my only Blue Moon of the trip and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Alas, we were beat and headed back to the hotel after our pint where we hustled the vending machine out of about 8 mini bags of chips. This was literally the only food source in Utica at the time.
I don't remember falling asleep. Breakfast was at Denny's. I had the Country Fried Steak & white gravy with eggs over easy, grated hash browns (my favourite) and brown toast courtesy of those who lost the bet. I did leave the tip though. There was a woman sitting beside us (her back to us) who had an ass that stretched over a meter across when she sat. If you're going to have a world in which there is Country Fried Steak with the white gravy you are going to have mega-asses. And sometimes they will be staring you in the face. Sometimes you gotta take the good with the bad.
Utica Photos
Monday, February 15, 2010
Lazy Daze
Wow. I didn't even write about Super Bowl. I did a lot better on my SB betting than I did in the previous couple of weeks. I met my girlfriend in New Orleans and I had had some very fun times in that city so I think it goes without saying that they were my sentimental choice. Throw in the trials and tribulations the city has faced over the last 5 years and I think you had a lot of people's sentimental choice. I had them at +5.5 for 3 Units and it turned out I didn't even need the points. Special Teams, eh?
I don't usually bet the props for SB but I did bet a few this year with good results. I had the anthem going over 1min40sec. I didn't do any research on this although I probably could have. My thoughts were that whoever was doing it would want a good amount of face time. It came in at about 1min55sec. I also bet New Orleans to win the toss. The NFC had won 12 in a row. Ride the wave. So the game hadn't started and I was already up a couple of props. I lost one when Manning threw an interception, but I broke even (less the juice) when Brees kept a clean sheet. 2/4 players I picked to score a TD did, so I was ahead on that even though I only picked 50% right. Odds. I picked a random long shot bet when I chose a particular player to score a TD in a certain quarter. I forget who now, but it didn't happen. I think I got around 14:1. It was an ill advised suckers bet. I really should have bet on a defensive TD. Vegas probably lost a lot when Manning threw the Pick-6.
So that's another season in the books. As a Lion's fan I'm coming into the most important time of the year - The NFL Draft. We have fucked so many of these up. Last year's was good though. We found 4 starters and 6 contributors. Matt Millen never did that sort of thing. Another couple of drafts like that and we'll be on our way. At this point if the Lions leave the draft with anyone other than McCoy or Suh in the 1st round I'll be very surprised. That is of course unless they trade down for an extra 2nd rounder and grab a left tackle in the 1st. They need to protect Stafford. They are really still so bad that they can't draft for need yet. They just need to take the best player on the board and go from there.
So the Olympics are here. It's amazing how many cynics they bring out. Maybe people just don't have enough to write about. It's reporter bitching about this and whining about that. Mainly the Op Ed mother fuckers. Now don't get me wrong. I am a firm believer that everyone should be able to write and express anything they want, but give it a rest already. For 2 weeks just shut the fuck up. You don't like how corporate that games have become. Fine. You don't like how much public money has been spent that will eventually go on to benefit private enterprise. OK. You don't like how you can't even get into your precious local coffee shop for your daily bullshit yuppie coffee. Whatever.
There is SO much shit going on in the world today and all of the pundits have had years leading up to and will have the rest of your lives to go on berating the decisions made involving our (Canada's) hosting. I don't care how much anything cost. I don't care that the Opening Ceremony didn't go off without a hitch. Maybe if we were all robots I would care, but since we humans have a natural Human Element, shit will always happen and lo and behold the sun came up the next day. Everyone's here. Everyone's watching. Enjoy it. Take from it what it's giving you for free. Inspiration. Sportsmanship. Honour. Friendship. Fuck everything else. I love that this is the first really true High Definition Olympics. These sports that we (most of us) never watch on any sort of a regular basis look absolutely amazing in this clarity.
Yesterday Canada won its first Gold on home soil. Alexandre Bilodeau in Freestyle Moguls. Both Canadian and American broadcasts did a really nice job relaying this story. I know a lot of people were disappointed this result didn't come a day earlier in Speed Skating, but the story that comes along with this kid is really fantastic. He has a brother with Cerebral Palsy that has been his inspiration throughout his life along with a real down-to-earth attitude that is probably a result of this relationship and experiences with his brother. Canadians should be very proud that Alexandre will carry this honourable distinction with him and for us going forward.
The unfortunate death of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the men's Luger from Georgia provided a lot of ammunition for Olympic haters. No matter how much good comes from these Olympics this incident will never be forgotten. It will be an unfortunate tag that will be forever attached to these games, but it shouldn't DEFINE them. Freak accidents happen all the time and there was absolutely no malice or intent here.
The men's hockey starts tonight and I know the Olympics are much, much more than this event. Unfortunately this is going to over-shadow a lot of other events and athletes. It's the tie that binds us all together from coast-to-coast-to-coast and it is important. Very important and yes when we get close (if) the country will stop and it will watch. Everyone. Young and old. Male and female. Fans and casuals. It really shouldn't define us. Canadians have so much to offer. But ask anyone if Silver is OK in this event. It just isn't. Right or wrong. When our women play the Americans in the Gold Medal Game a loss will be much easier to handle. I could argue that a loss would be inconsequential. The US Women's team is fantastic and the match-up goes back and for all the time. But for the men it's different. And the weird part is that we have all of these expectations after only having won one gold medal since 1952 (Salt Lake 2002). Who do we think we are with these expectations? Well, we're Canada. And we play hockey. From the time we can walk. Inside. Outside. On the road. On ponds. Is it fair? No. But it is what it is. Maybe some of the other athletes can use their lack of media spotlight to their advantage. Regardless it's going to be fun to watch.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
NFL - Divisional Playoff Picks
So I wanted to get these out early enough in case you wanted to jump on board for the potential fiery crash that can be my football picks. This also gives you good lead time to ponder the exact opposite of everything I'm saying here. That's the disclaimer. Read beyond at your own risk.
First, an update of the mrjackstrawSays ESPN Gridiron Challenge standings after week 1 of the playoffs...
1 Sparty Rules - 133
1 PEI Phantoms - 133
3 mrjackstraw - 121
4 Ken Brown727 - 120
4 tr3k3l - 120
6 The Hook and Ladder - 116
7 Peter North Starts - 113
8 Victorious Secret - 99
The competition will really be Heating as we go forward. The winner receives a non-Blu-Ray DVD of Heat starring Pacino & De Niro.
I can't remember a time when it seems so little faith has been had in the Bye Teams. I know they are all favored, and I think Vegas is pretty much obligated to do so but we have a week where some of the bye teams didn't finish off the season too well going against underdogs who can play on the road and really seem to be firing on all cylinders. Of all the 8 teams I don't see one team that can't go out and win its game outright. Now a statement like that is a good indication that I will be accepting points this weekend. Let's break it down...
Arizona +7 over NEW ORLEANS
New Orleans has done nothing of consequence since beating New England. In fact they've looked pretty regular. And they also haven't played what you would call a "must win" game all year. Sure they have a lot of weapons, but in their last 2 games in which their starters played they couldn't even put up 20 points. If Arizona can establish a ground attack, things will really open up for Warner & the aerial attack. The Cards D needs to play better than last week for sure, but I think GB's offense is a different animal than NO's right now. The crowd will be pumped in the Superdome and the libations will have been flowing all day so the atmosphere should be great. I have to admit I have a soft spot for New Orleans. I've had some great times there and I met my girl there 1 year to the day before that bitch Katrina showed up. New Orleans fans deserve a pay-off and hey maybe they'll win, but I'm taking the points for
Baltimore +6.5 over INDIANAPOLIS
For a lot of the same reasons as mentioned above. Manning and the Colts have never excelled after a late season rest + a bye. There is something to be said about maintaining game edge and you can't tell me they have it. The Baltimore D is nasty even as it ages. They held the Colts to just 17 in Baltimore earlier this year. Ray Rice is going to pound it too. And pound it. And pound it. Then they will give it to Willis McG. And he too will pound the rock. They will try to dominate time of possession and keep Peyton off the field. Flacco just needs to play steady and protect the ball. The Colts D is not scary at all. GIMMIE DA POINTS PLEASE!!! 4 Units.
MINNESOTA -2.5 over Dallas
This was a hard one for me. Dallas is playing great and they have so many weapons on both sides of the ball. Romo has cleared a few mental hurdles in the last few games and he's got to be thinking it's all gravy from here. I expect him to be fairly relaxed. On the other side we have the Vikings who have not been great down the stretch, but they did play out the season to earn the #2 seed. Maybe the time off healed a few nagging injuries? This game will come down to turnovers. A couple of stupid throws by either guy and one side will be trying to come back against the other's above average D. Favre is the most likely to "chuck & hope" but he's also the most likely to lead either team on a late 4th quarter drive when it's all on the line. Which AP will we see? The 1st half AP or the 2nd half AP? This is one of the few home field advantages left in the NFL according to Bill Simmons. He picks worse than me. 2 Units on Minny.
New York Jets +7.5 over SAN DIEGO
I booked this bet for 2 Units as soon as the line came out. It's dropped to 7 points and it wouldn't surprise me if it fell another half point. It was probably a knee jerk reaction by me after the Jets hosed me last week, but I'm glad I got in when I did since the spread was only ever going to move in one direction. If the SD defense has any sort of success stopping the Jets running game we'll see what the rookie QB can do in another road playoff game. If he starts turning it over SD is going to make the Jets pay. As good as the Jets D is will they be able to stop Rivers and his giant WRs + Gates? What if LT reemerges? If SD can control time of possession I think they win the game. I don't think this is necessarily so for the Jets. I'm really not convinced in my hasty pick here, but I don't hate it either.
I'm not condoning it, but if you must place a wager to get any enjoyment out of your sports fetish I place all my bets at SPORTS INTERACTION
.Recap:
Arizona +7 for 6 Units
Baltimore +6.5 for 4 Units
Minnesota -2.5 for 2 Units
New York +7.5 for 2 Units
Good luck people!
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