Wednesday, February 29, 2012

AZ Tidbits

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Carl's Jr

Well done Carl's Jr!  Bravo

Monday, February 27, 2012

POTpourri

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Saturday, February 25, 2012

2012 Academy Award Predictions

The Academy Awards are tomorrow night, Billy Crystal will host.

Here are my predictions:

Best Picture
   Who I think should win:  Moneyball
   Who I think will win:  The Artist
    ***Actual winner=The Artist***

Best Actor

   Who I think should win:  George Clooney/The Descendants
   Who I think will win:  Jean Dujardin/The Artist
    ***Actual winner=Jean Dujardin/The Artist***

Best Actress
   Who I think should win:  Rooney Mara/The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
   Who I think will win:  Meryl Streep/The Iron Lady
   ***Actual winner=Meryl Streep/The Iron Lady***

Best Supporting Actor
   Who I think should win:  Jonah Hill/Moneyball
   Who I think will win:  Christopher Plummer/Beginners
   ***Actual winner=Christopher Plummer/Beginners***

Best Supporting Actress
   Who I think should win:  Melissa McCarthy/Bridesmaids
   Who I think will win:  Octavia Spencer/The Help
   ***Actual winner=Octavia Spencer/The Help***

Animated Feature Film
   Who I think should win:  Rango
   Who I think will win:  Rango
   ***Actual winner=Rango***

Cinematography
   Who I think should win:  War Horse
   Who I think will win:  War Horse
   ***Actual winner=Hugo***

Director

   Who I think should win:  Martin Scorsese/Hugo
   Who I think will win:  Martin Scorsese/Hugo
   ***Actual winner=Michael Hazanavicius/The Artist*** 

For the record, I thought that The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was easily the best movie of 2011, how it's not nominated for Best Picture is beyond me.

One last thing, if there's a category for animated movies, why isn't there also a categories for comedies?   Comedies always get short shrift at the Oscars.    I can certainly think of 5-6 very funny movies from 2011 (Bridesmaids, Cedar Rapids, Bad Teacher, Horrible Boses, Crazy Stupid Love & The Muppets come to mind).

***Edited to add the actual winners.  I picked 6 of the 8 categories I selected correct BTW, including the all of the big 5 awards, not bad if I do say so myself***

Friday, February 24, 2012

Stockblockers

Here's just one reason to support the Occupy Wall Street Movement. 


Thursday, February 23, 2012

Yello Fever

I must admit, I'm a huge fan of Asian women, here are a few good websites to quench the fever.
  1. Top Asian Models
  2. Asian-sirens
  3. Import Icons
  4. Pacific USA
  5. Red Flava 
  6. SexyAsianWomen
  7. Blue Bird Asian Models
  8. Import Models
  9. AsianXmodels
  10. Asian Girls Tumblr

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Jessica Perez

IMO, Jessica Perez is the real standout in the SI Swimsuit Issue, she's HOT!

 

Those eyes just melt me.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

AZ Tidbits

Monday, February 20, 2012

Rodney Williams . . . .

. . . . Knows how to dunk! 

Sunday, February 19, 2012

POTpourri

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Melanie Iglesias

Hot girl, we need to see more of her!

Friday, February 17, 2012

RIP Gary Carter

Gary Carter's death got me to wondering who the best catchers of all time are and where Gary Carter ranked on that list.  I think he has to be in the Top 10.   I'd rank them as follows:  
  1. Johnny Bench 
  2. Yogi Berra
  3. Carlton Fisk
  4. Mike Piazza
  5. Mickey Cochrane
  6. Ivan Rodriguez
  7. Roy Campanella
  8. Gary Carter
  9. Bill Dickey
  10. Gabby Hartnett
Others:   Josh Gibson, Joe Mauer

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

2012 SI Swimsuit Issue Cover

Sports Illustrated revealed their 2012 Swimsuit Issue Cover last night on Late Night with David Letterman, Kate Upton gets the cover.  You can find more pics & videos here too.  Works for me.

Vegas Baby!

I love Las Vegas!!  I go every opportunity that presents itself.   Speaking of which, here are my 10 Favorite movies set in Las Vegas:  
  1. "The Hangover" - 2009 - Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms
  2. "Leaving Las Vegas" - 1995 - Nicholas Cage, Elizabeth Shue
  3. "Casino" - 1995 - Robert DeNiro, Sharon Stone
  4. "Very Bad Things" - 1998 - Jon Favreau, Christian Slater
  5. "Oceans Eleven" - 2001 - George Clooney, Brad Pitt
  6. "Oceans Thirteen" - 2007 - George Clooney, Brad Pitt
  7. "Vegas Vacation" - 1997 - Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo
  8. "Bugsy" - 1991 - Warren Beatty, Annette Benning
  9. "Honeymoon in Vegas" - 1992 - Nicholas Cage, Sarah Jessica Parker
  10. "21" - 2009 - Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey
Special mention to "Showgirls", so bad it was good!  I loved it!  

Happy Valentine's Day

POTpourri

Monday, February 13, 2012

Adele

Adele was the big winner at the 2012 Grammy Awards, she won 6 awards, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year & Song of the Year.  Well deserved, I love "Rolling In The Deep".   



I really enjoyed "60 Minutes" story on her too, she seems like a very likeable, down to earth lady.

AZ Tidbits

Sunday, February 12, 2012

RIP Whitney Houston



RIP Whitney Houston.  

Lying Liars

I love the Daily Kos, I think it should be required reading for all conservatives.  Mark Sumner gives a nice summary of the 2012 election season today, he's pretty much spot on.  Give it a read.  Here are some highlights:  

"It's not even that what's now coming from the right consists of 100% emotional, fear-based appeals without a factual basis. In 2012, a campaign of suggestive fear-mongering seems almost quaint. . . . . . . . . . It's that the Republicans have staked out a position that requires that they lie, 24/7, 365. Not shade the facts their way. Not put their own spin on the situation. Lie. Big, sloppy, and constantly. . . . . . . . . . The lies go beyond instantly dismissible claims like President Obama being the "food stamp president" (why you have to go back one whole administration to discover that more people joined the food stamp ranks under Bush than Obama, but then the Republicans don't seem to remember Bush in any case).  The blatant lies extend through every aspect of the Republican platform, such as it is. The simple reason is that the Republicans have no ideas left, and least no ideas that have not been tested and proven to be failures again, and again, and again. . . . . . . . . . The economy didn't just crash under a Republican president, it crashed under Republican policies. It crashed with low taxes. It crashed with deregulated markets. It crashed with huge restrictions on union activity. It crashed with massive cuts in environmental regulations. It crashed with lowered trade barriers. It crashed with big fat Pentagon spending. . . . . . . . . . They got what they wanted. They got CEOs with no limits on their wealth. They got banks with no limits on their "creativity." They got trade agreements that guaranteed manufacturing could be moved to the dirtiest, cheapest, most desperate source available. They got massive cuts in capital gains taxes and equally large boosts in the wealth they could pass along in estates. They got everything they said would make us all wealthy. They got record oil and gas drilling. They got record giveaways of public land. They got everything they said would create jobs. They got the middle class to shoulder more, more, more of the burden so that those beautiful job creators would be free to work their magic. . . . . . . . . . They can't say the economy crashed because taxes went up, because they didn't. They can't say that the economy crashed because there was a raft of new regulation, because there wasn't. They can't blame it on "union thugs" or Saul Alinsky or the guy who writes Happy Holidays cards at Hallmark. They can't blame it on a president who was elected when the world was already in free fall. Only, of course they do. They say it because they have no choice. . . . . . . . . . For the same reason that they have to maintain that global warming is the creation of a conspiracy of scientists, and that evolution is a conspiracy of other scientists, and that gay marriage is a threat to "traditional" marriage. They have to lie about the threat of illegal immigrants. Lie about the state of the national debt. Lie about the effects of the President's health care plan. They have to lie, because lies are all they have left. . . . . . . . . . They certainly can't admit the truth about the economy. They can't admit that they did it. Own it. That their policies directly caused the worst economic failure in American history. Strike that. Make it "the greatest failure in American history since the last time that these same policies were tried." But then, they've been lying about that bit of history for years. . . . . . . . . . The truth is that the Republicans have nothing to offer. Not even anything that looks like a governing philosophy. Instead they have to try to rewrite history, rolling lies back and back as they try and justify their deeds by turning the founding fathers into ardent supporters of the free-market system that they loathed. Tricorner hats are the new tinfoil. . . . . . . . . . The real danger isn't that someone might listen to the Republicans -- anyone who lies long enough and loud enough can always find an audience, especially when that someone has half the television media and ninety+ percent of radio. The danger is that we might forget that they're lying."

The whole blog post can be found here.  Give it a read, check out the whole site while you're there, it's great reading this election season. 

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Friday, February 10, 2012

POTpourri

Random Hot Girl Dancing

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Denzel Washington

"Safe House" with Denzel Washington opens this weekend.  I usually love Denzel Washington movies so I'm looking forward to it.   Here are my Top 10 Denzel Washington movies:
  1. Training Day - 2001
  2. American Gangster - 2007
  3. Remember the Titans - 2000
  4. Crimson Tide - 1995
  5. The Hurricane - 1999
  6. Philadelphia - 1993
  7. Anwone Fisher - 2002
  8. The Great Debaters - 2007
  9. Unstoppable - 2010
  10. Malcolm X - 1992

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Blake Griffin . . . . .

. . . . . knows how to dunk!

TPSG NFL Mock Draft 2.0

The Super Bowl has has been played, we've passed the deadline for underclassmen to declared for the NFL draft and the week of Senior Bowl practices has come and gone, that must mean that it's time for the TPSG NFL Mock Draft 2.0.   Here goes:
  1. Colts - Andrew Luck - QB - Stanford
  2. Rams - Justin Blackmon - WR - Oklahoma St
  3. Vikings - Matt Kalil - OT - USC
  4. Browns - Robert Griffin III - QB - Baylor
  5. Bucs - Trent Richardson - RB - Alabama
  6. Redskins - Morris Claiborne - CB - LSU
  7. Jaguars - Dre Kirkpatrick - CB - Alabama
  8. Panthers - Michael Brockers - DT - LSU
  9. Dolphins - Riley Reiff - OT - Iowa
  10. Bills - Quinton Coples - DE - North Carolina
  11. Chiefs - Jonathan Martin - OT - Stanford
  12. Seahawks - Whitney Mercilus - DE - Illinois
  13. Cardinals - Michael Floyd - WR - Notre Dame
  14. Cowboys - Janoris Jenkins - CB - North Alabama
  15. Eagles - Luke Kuechly - LB - Boston College
  16. Jets - Courtney Upshaw - LB - Alabama
  17. Bengals - David DeCastro - OG - Stanford
  18. Chargers - Nick Perry - DE - USC
  19. Bears - Kendall Wright - WR - Baylor
  20. Titans - Melvin Ingram - OLB - South Carolina
  21. Bengals - Mark Barron - DB - Alabama
  22. Browns - Zach Brown - OLB - North Carolina
  23. Lions - Mike Adams - OT - Ohio State
  24. Steelers - Devon Still - DT - Penn St
  25. Broncos - Chris Polk - RB - Washington
  26. Texans - Alshon Jeffery - WR - South Carolina
  27. Patriots - Peter Konz - C - Wisconsin
  28. Packers - Dontari Poe - DT - Memphis
  29. Ravens - Vontaze Burfict - LB - Arizona State
  30. 49ers - Mohamed Sanu - WR - Rutgers
  31. Patriots - Jared Crick - DE - Nebraska
  32. Giants - Cordy Glenn - OG - Georgia
You can find the TPSG NFL Mock Draft 1.0 here.

Risers:  Whitney Mercilus, Courtney Upshaw, Mike Adams, Chris Polk & Michael Brockers.

Fallers:  Ryan Tannehill, Alonzo Dennard, Jerel Worthy, David Wilson & Dwayne Allen.

I have a feeling that RGIII will be going top 3 when all is said and done, I think someone's going to try to jump ahead of the Browns to get him (perhaps the Redskins). 

Look for TPSG NFL Mock Draft 3.0 after the scouting combine.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

K-Love Stomps on Luis Scala's Face

C'mon K-Love, stomping on someone's face will not be tolerated. 



I wonder if that was payback for this.

Monday, February 6, 2012

AZ Tidbits

Best Super Bowl Commercial

Overall, I was a bit underwhelmed by the Super Bowl commercials, this one was probably the best of the lot though.



That's Catrinel Menghia by the way.   AutoTrader apparently liked it too. 

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Super Bowl XLVI

New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17

The NFL proves once again why it's the most popular sport in America with another 4th quarter comeback victory.   I can't recall the last time we've had a bad Super Bowl.  Perhaps the Giants and Patriots should play every Super Bowl.  I don't think the Giants will go down as one of the greatest Super Bowl winning teams, but they did go on quite a run when they needed to, they had a 7-7 record at one point this season before running the table and winning all of their remaining games.  It just goes to show, you just need to get hot at the right time.  

Observations:
-Amazing catch by Mario Manningham, easily the play of the game.  
-2 Super Bowl wins & 2 Super Bowl MVP's now for Eli Manning, he is some rare air. 
-The Giants are the first team in a 16 game regular season to win the Super Bowl with fewer than 10 regular season wins.
-The Giants defensive line is good!  
-At 65, Tom Coughlin is the oldest coach to win a Super Bowl.  He's won 2 now.  
-Madonna was ok during the halftime show, isn't it time they book someone a little more relevant though?  
-Kelly Clarkson did a nice job on the national anthem
-Bring on the NFL Draft!  April 26, 2012.  
-From all reports, Indianapolis did a nice job hosting the Super Bowl, props to them.
-2013 Super Bowl will be in the Superdome in New Orleans, LA.

POTpourri

Ronald Reagan on Unions

Perhaps the current crop of Republicans could learn a thing or two from their idol Ronald Reagan.



"Where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost"

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Mitt Gore? Mitt Kerry?

Check out Jacob Weisberg's recent article in "Slate", he argues that Mitt Romney's problem may that he too closely resembles Al Gore and John Kerry.  I was recently thinking the same thing.  Considering that Gore won the popular vote back in 2000, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, still, it's an interesting read.  Some highlights:

"He's too handsome, too rich, and too pompous to win the hearts of ordinary Americans. . . . . . . . . .Republicans are doing something quite strange at the moment. They are in the process of choosing a candidate whom hardly any of them actually likes. Though Mitt Romney won the Florida primary handily yesterday, rumbles of dissatisfaction with him continue.  Romney isn’t so much winning the Republican nomination as having it default to him for lack of any compelling alternative. . . . . . . . . .The case for voting for Romney goes as follows: Of the Republican presidential candidates, he is the only one with any real chance of defeating President Obama in November. . . . . . . . . . Seldom, however, do his half-hearted supporters evince any affection or enthusiasm for the man himself. They generally acknowledge Romney to be an insipid, somewhat blank personality, who is almost absurdly variable in his positions and core beliefs. . . . . . . . . . In this respect, Romney strongly resembles two similarly unloved Democratic nominees from the recent past, Al Gore and John Kerry. Gore and Kerry both suffered from the same characterizations that get applied to Romney—too wooden in person while too flexible in their views. Their supporters often argued that qualifications were what mattered. But ominously for Romney, both Gore and Kerry lost winnable races because of their flawed personalities. George W. Bush, on the other hand, got elected and re-elected, despite his enormous, substantive shortcomings, because ordinary people found it easy to relate to him at a personal level. They felt he wasn’t trying to be someone different from who he was. . . . . . . . . .Romney, Kerry, and Gore are all, in a way, versions of the same political type. Statuesque, handsome, from privileged backgrounds and impeccably credentialed, they have no log-cabin stories to humanize and ground them. Unlike a Lyndon Johnson, a Richard Nixon, a Ronald Reagan, a Bill Clinton, or a Barack Obama, they didn’t overcome humble origins or broken families. . . . . . . . . .In his attempt to overcome his privileged origins, the unloved candidate struggles to establish his plain-folks ordinariness in ways that inevitably backfire. He touts his plebian tastes—pick-up trucks, country music, trashy food—and inevitably overdoes it or gets the background music wrong. Al Gore’s attempt to look less like a Washington politician yielded the “earth tones” fiasco. John Kerry asked for his Philly cheesesteak with Swiss cheese, and was photographed nibbling at this alien object rather than tucking in, as one does. Romney defended his claims as a sportsman by asserting that he had gone out hunting for rodents and varmints “more than two times” . . . . . . . . . .The public usually picks up on this authenticity gap—the space between who the candidate really is and how he wants to be seen." 

Good read, the entire article can also be found at Financial Times

Friday, February 3, 2012

Wooderson Lives!



Wooderson from 'Dazed and Confused' has to be one of the all time classic movie characters

Thursday, February 2, 2012

POTpourri

February Flavor of the Month ....

.... is Brianna Frost.  Hot!  Check out her website here.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

2012 GOP House Agenda?

Nice blog post by Steve Benen on the obstructionist GOP House majority in The Washington Monthly, you should give it a read.  Some highlights:

"House Republicans, both the leadership and rank-and-file members, are not unaware of their circumstances. After massive wins in the 2010 midterms, GOP officials started 2011 with high hopes. . . . . . . . . .  Things haven’t exactly gone according to plan. Republicans have seen their popularity deteriorate; they’ve failed to persuade much of anyone as to the value of their policy agenda; and most independent projections suggest the GOP will lose quite a few seats, if not their majority, in November . . . . . . . . . . With this in mind, Republican leaders realize 2011 was a horrid year, and have sketched out a game plan for 2012, sharing a legislative agenda with its caucus. Jake Sherman reports today that rank-and-file GOP members have seen the plans and think it’s “lame" . . . . . . . . . . "Staring nervously at a high unemployment rate, with the November elections around the corner, GOP lawmakers are concerned that what their leadership is revealing for this year’s work is simply not enough. . . . . . . . . .  We need to get more done. . . . . . . . . .  And with Congress’s approval ratings in the gutter, Republicans are sick of blaming the Senate for their inaction. They want real legislative victories, not just GOP bills that pass out of the House and go nowhere on the other side of the dome. . . . . . . . . .  Granted, Republicans won’t be eager to hand the White House any election-year victories, but at a certain point, self-interest also kicks in — voters are probably more inclined to like lawmakers who can point to some accomplishments. “Look at all the bills that didn’t go anywhere” makes for lousy campaign commercials. . . . . . . . . . "We can’t blame everything on the Senate. The average American doesn’t realize that,” Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) said. “We need to quit passing bills over here and cheering for ourselves when we know they’re dead on arrival over there.

Again, the whole blog post can be found here, give it a read.