What January 21st-23rd Means To Me: Weekend Thoughts

Some basic thoughts from a weekend mostly spent in front of the computer.  However, I did manage to lift my head long enough to notice a few things.


MY GOD THE ARCLIGHT FINALLY HAS PRETZELS

When people ask me my weekend plans, I often just tell them what I plan to eat.  "That's cool that you're going skydiving, jetskiing, and visiting Grandma in London all at the same time. Me? I think I'm just gonna eat some sweet potato fries."

For 8+ years, I've watched movies at the Arclight in Hollywood and, for 8+ years, I've been unimpressed by the concession stand. That's right, unimpressed. Every time I've approached the counter with a friend, I've mentioned how much a soft pretzel would enhance the experience, while simultaneously wondering why in the hell they didn't have them. A pretzel!  What can be simpler? Well, the movie gods finally heard my prayers, and the Arclight has been visited by the pretzel fairy.  I was so excited by the prospect of pretzels that I fumbled through my order, while also expressing my gratitude to the guy behind the counter for finally putting them on the menu.  Unfortunately my...

was met with ...

Oh well, it's a victory for me.

Also, if in a few months you are looking for a DVD copy of the film, "We Need To Talk About Kevin," check for it in the "Family Planning" section next to the condoms at Rite Aid.  Seriously, its a fantastic argument for never having children.

Good Football Games!

Two evenly matched football games both decided by special teams gaffes.  While both the Ravens Billy Cundiff (who missed a chip shot field goal that would have sent the game into overtime) and Kyle Williams (who turned the ball over TWICE on punt returns) do deserve criticism, it's also important to remember, and I agree with Bill Barnwell, that humans have a tendency to only blame players who fuck up late in the game, while ignoring missed opportunities that could have been converted to avoid those late situations entirely.  I've been incredibly critical of Joe Flacco, but I must admit he played pretty well in tough circumstances against the Patriots.  However, Flacco made two critical errors earlier in the game, and both probably would have led to touchdowns.  After a bad first quarter, Ravens cornerback, Ladarius Webb, made a great interception which was immediately followed by Flacco hitting Torrey Smith for a 42 yard bomb that finally put the Ravens within striking distance.  A decent play, sure, but due to blown coverage, Torrey Smith was WIDE OPEN and, because of Flacco's bootleg, it appeared Smith was his first option (meaning he should have noticed he was open RIGHT AWAY).  Flacco was WAY late on the throw, and threw an off-balanced duck that was good enough for a long completion, but had the throw been earlier and more accurate, it's an easy touchdown. Unfortunately for Baltimore, the drive ended in a field goal.  In the 3rd quater, near the goal line, the Ravens called another bootleg that left Flacco with two options in his line of sight: his tight end in the endzone and his fullback in the flat.  Without even looking at his WIDE OPEN fullback who would have walked into the endzone, he instead tried firing a pass to the covered tight end that fell incomplete.  This drive, too, ended in a field goal.  That's eight points left on the field that they could have used.  After the game, Flacco was back to his douchy, whiny self, insinuating that the media is unfair to him.  Wah, wah, wah, go home and count your money.  Regardless, Cundiff has to make that field goal.  As far as Kyle Williams is concerned, he's a bit more to blame because his mistakes really changed the the outlook of the game.  Check Barnwell's article for more on how much his gaffes, statistically speaking, cost the Niners.

Incidentally, after Cundiff missed that field goal, this past post   got a bunch of hits.  I wonder why. 

On a side note, I have lots of friends who are Giants fans, and no, I'm not happy for you:)  At all:)  When it comes to sports, I'm definitely in the "misery loves company" camp.  After all, you did nothing to earn this happiness other than make an arbitrary choice years ago.  Does that make me a Bitter Barry?  You bet.  Does it change my mind?  Not a chance.

And Finally....ATT, you've outdone yourself.

5 Months ago, I moved and cancelled my DSL service through ATT.  This month, it magically reappeared on my bill, along with a 30 dollar reconnection charge.  I kind of shrugged it off as an obvious mistake, until I called ATT and the representative condescendingly said, "Well, sir, we connected the service, so (duh) you have to pay for it (laugh)." 

And the curses were flying.  Listen, I know those representatives are just doing their job, and I'm generally cognizant of that and am very patient.  If I do get angry, I always qualify it with "I know this isn't your fault, but allow me to vent.  I'm not yelling at you, I promise."  That all goes away if you, unprovoked, start treating me like an idiot.  Of course, after my cuss filled rant, his response was an annoyed "we don't need to use curse words, sir," which made me more angry because I've long considered these "curse" words to be benign if they are not specifically directed at someone.  I wasn't calling him an asshole, a cunt, or anything, I was just using some "fucks" to make my rant a bit more colorful.  Anyway, that saga will continue when a manager calls me in 24 hours to start another argument. 

Anyway, let's enjoy the week?  Cool.