[a case of the blog]

LIVE Royal Rumble thoughts - January 29, 2012

2012-01-29T19:24:00.006-05:00

8:14 - A couple of weeks ago I noticed that every single PPV of 2011 concluded with a Raw match. This is strange, because WWE usually gives Smackdown the nod at least once throughout the year. But last year, they didn't. I'm now realizing that there was probably more than one PPV where the World Heavyweight Championship opened the show.

8:10 - Looks like Mark Henry is going to be in the match. Triple Threat Steel Cage matches drive me crazy. They are a logistical disaster. For example, when Big Show and Mark Henry are fighting, why doesn't Daniel Bryan just walk right out the door? Or when two guys are climbing up the cage, why doesn't the third one just walk out?

8:04 - Things are off to a GREAT start. Daniel Bryan is not only wearing his awesome ring jacket, he's also debuting a new attire design. Awesome. Still annoys me that he's essentially a heel now, and yet Michael Cole STILL tears him apart. At least Booker and King defend him.

8:03 - One immediate bright spot: WWE is FINALLY using "anniversary" correctly.

7:24 - Well, the show has been purchased and we're about 35 minutes away from the proverbial kickoff to the Road to WrestleMania. In my Predictions post, I noted that I wouldn't be surprised to see The Undertaker return. I clarified in the comments section that I didn't necessarily mean as an actual competitor, more just an appearance. Well, I'd like to retract that somewhat. If we are to believe that they're going to be doing Triple H/Undertaker again for WrestleMania (which I haven't subscribed to....that's purely speculation at this point), I think they'll hold off his return for tomorrow night, when Triple H returns for his evaluation of Johnny Ace.

I also came up with an interesting idea for Daniel Bryan, which I don't think will EVER happen. Imagine if Bryan retains his title in the cage match, and then goes on to win the Rumble. However, instead of unifying the titles like everybody assumes, Bryan says that he's decided to defend the title against himself, and then reveals that he's giving himself WrestleMania off and that there won't be a World Heavyweight Championship match. There's then a scramble to get the title off of him, but he keeps sneaking away with the title (and cheaply, at that, so that the audience doesn't sympathize with or root for him). He even manages to win the Elimination Chamber match. However, between that and WrestleMania, he DOES lose the title, and he's forced to use his title shot after all.

I know they won't do it, but I just thought it'd be a fun way to tease the audience with a unification match, only to snatch it away. And by having Bryan do something so cowardly, it cements his heel turn and makes everybody really look forward to his loss.

Royal Rumble Predictions

2012-01-29T13:08:00.002-05:00

Tonight marks my favorite specialty PPV of the year, the Royal Rumble. Incidentally, this is one of only two PPVs I am guaranteed to buy throughout the year (I think you all know what the other one is). The past few years, I think WWE has done a fantastic job of providing us with surprising and/or deserving winners. Until about 2002 or 2003, the winners of this event were so predictable and, dare I say, anticlimatic. It always seemed to be either the biggest star of the match, or somebody who has main evented WrestleMania numerous times in the past. After Benoit won, they seemed to return to my favorite formula by giving the win to a credible talent who needed that extra push to get to the next level. Yes, multi-time champions like Edge and John Cena also won in the past few years, but it was a fun surprise and they were also first time winners. And might I add, there were some great storylines going on throughout these matches as well.

I'm not particularly good at predicting the winner, but smart money is on Jericho or Orton. I'm rooting for Jericho, in that scenario, of course. Here are some other predictions, though:

Both Punk and Bryan retain. Bryan (but not Punk) enters the Rumble. He makes it to the final 4, but doesn't win. I wouldn't be surprised to see either Big Show, Randy Orton, or Sheamus eliminate him.

The Rumble also usually has a few milestones. The person who will eliminate a bunch of guys will probably either be Sheamus or Brodus Clay. The Marathon Man (the person who lasts the longest in the match) will probably be either Miz, Cody Rhodes, or Dolph Ziggler.

Surprise Entrants will likely include (and I didn't read spoilers, so don't let me know if anybody has been confirmed): Christian, Rey Mysterio, Kevin Nash, Goldust, Sin Cara (not necessarily the actual person, but the character) Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and possibly the Undertaker.

And Kofi Kingston will have some awesome new trunks. Have you guys seen his Riddler pair? Why is he wasting those on Superstars?

Oh, and one thing I do hope: That Kane participates! The guy has been in 13 consecutive Rumbles. Why end that awesome streak?

So, what does everybody think will happen at tonight's event?

Also, check back later tonight. I will be doing a LIVE thoughts blog post for the show.

Technological Question

2012-01-28T14:25:00.002-05:00

I have a question for anybody who knows more about this matter than I do.

I recently got a new TV which features significantly more input options than my last one. In the past, I just needed to hit the TV/Video button in order to view something on my DVD/VCR combo, opposed to the television. Now I need to hit the Input button, and select the "Video" option.

Anyway, when I wanted to record something on TV using my VCR (yeah, yeah) that wasn't a problem, because I assume the TV and DVD/VCR were on the same input. Now that they're not, how do I record something from my TV, onto my VCR? As it stands now, when I try, when I watch the tape there's just a screen that says there's no signal.

Anybody know?

Introducing....

2012-01-27T18:24:00.002-05:00

The newest addition of my family, my niece Sara Elizabeth! Funny story: My sister gave birth at about 4 or so in the morning. My parents were at the hospital and at about 5 my dad sends me a text with the baby's photo. Of course, it was a tasteful photo (which meant no genitalia), so I didn't even know whether I had a niece or nephew until about 7 in the morning when I spoke to my mom. But she's healthy, as is my sister, and actually she's the first baby in this generation to arrive before her due date! She'll be the punctual one, I guess.

Top Ten Cases: WWE 2011 Year-End Awards - Overview

2012-01-25T20:12:00.002-05:00

Interested in knowing the results of the 2011 Year-End Awards but don't feel like listening to me talk for five minutes? Well, here's an overview of the results!

SUPERSTAR OF THE YEAR

My pick: CM Punk; Your pick: CM Punk (100%)

BREAKOUT STAR OF THE YEAR

My pick: Zack Ryder; Your pick: Zack Ryder & Dolph Ziggler (33% each)

SUPERSTAR WITH THE MOST DISAPPOINTING YEAR

My pick: John Morrison; Your pick: John Morrison (50%)

SUPERSTAR MOST POISED FOR A SUCCESSFUL 2012

My pick: Dolph Ziggler; Your pick: Dolph Ziggler & Sheamus (33% each)

MOST SHOCKING STORY OF 2011

My pick: The Summer of Punk; Your pick: Edge retires (44%)

BEST SHIFT IN CHARACTER

My pick: Mark Henry; Your pick: CM Punk & Mark Henry (44% each)

SUPERSTAR MOST NEGATIVELY IMPACTED BY SOCIAL MEDIA

My pick: Matt Hardy; Your pick: Matt Hardy (62%)

GREATEST STORYLINE FUMBLE

My pick: Anonymous Raw General Manager; Your pick: Anonymous Raw General Manager (55%)

WILL THE WWE CHAMPIONSHIP BE REDESIGNED IN 2012?

My pick: No; Your pick: Yes (66%)

WILL THE WWE NETWORK LAUNCH BE A SUCCESS?

My pick: Yes; Your pick: Yes (88%)

Also: Click here to view the Year-End Awards Posters I created for my videos

LIVE Raw thoughts - January 23, 2012

2012-01-23T20:55:00.016-05:00

11:05 - To be clear, we're to be excited about Triple H returning next week, not the result of the Royal Rumble.

10:54 - Small touch that might not (probably won't) mean anything, but I loved the way John Cena brushed off Eve's accusation with his "it's not my fault."

10:42 - I'm willing to wait and see how the match plays out, but I think it's a big mistake giving away this match so soon (unadvertised on free TV no less). This could have been built for WrestleMania.

10:34 - Brodus Clay is committing one of my old pet peeves: Wrestlers who debut a new wrestling attire the show immediately before or the show right after a PPV.

10:31 - What is this, visit the announcers day on Raw?

10:24 - In fairness, the Miz turned on Truth and Morrison, not the other way around.

10:22 - How many times do Sheamus and Jinder Mahal have to fight before they realize we don't even care about their rivalry a little.

10:01 - Odd that the supposedly ultra popular Zack Ryder doesn't have anybody willing to help him other than John Cena. Would have been better if Johnny Ace threatened their Royal Rumble spot if they helped.

9:59 - While this match continues, let me bring up a thought I've had. AJ has not tweeted since her injury angle on Raw. And when Zack Ryder was selling the Kane beating, he wasn't tweeting either. It must kinda suck if you're a big time Twitter user, and you're forced to stay off for an extended period of time in order to sell an injury.

9:49 - You can always rely on that Royal Rumble video package being awesome. Interesting that they note that this year "for the first time ever," every single Superstar is eligible. What's that mean?

9:39 - Jericho speaks. Are you disappointed?

9:33 - Hey, the Jeritron 5000 has been repaired.

9:22 - First irksome announcer incident: Cole says that Ziggler pinned Punk three times over the past month. I don't believe that's the case, as at least one of their matches ended in a count out. Does Lawler correct this? No. Does he even know or remember?

9:13 - CM Punk is one of the most over and successful Superstars of the past 5 or so years because he pulled back the curtain ever so slightly and allowed the fans in. WWE had a marketable thing with Ziggler's "#HEEL." Why they feel that little word (which is recognizable to the general public as meaning something bad) is exposing the business and are forcing the far less interesting "#ShowOff" is beyond me.

8:56 - It's been a few weeks since I've done this, but I'm back. Raw begins in about 5 minutes, so check back in a couple for my LIVE thoughts. What do you expect from the last show before the Rumble?

Top Ten Cases: WWE 2011 Year-End Awards - Will the WWE Network Launch Be Successful?

2012-01-23T08:10:00.002-05:00

So after 10 days of having to watch my face and hear me speak, we finally reached the end. Deepest thanks to all those who participated in the survey and followed the videos. After a couple weeks hiatus, my LIVE Raw thoughts should be back tonight as well. Thanks again!

Top Ten Cases: WWE 2011 Year-End Awards - Will the WWE Championship Be Redesigned in 2012?

2012-01-22T14:18:00.001-05:00

We're in the homestretch. Go Giants!

Top Ten Cases: WWE 2011 Year-End Awards - Greatest Storyline Fumble

2012-01-21T16:07:00.002-05:00

Aside from the Halloween anomaly, today was the first snowfall of the year. And I couldn't be grouchier about it. At this stage of the game (a ripe age of 30), I do not enjoy shoveling or getting cold and wet. It was relatively light, overall, but I wouldn't complain if we went the rest of the season without the white stuff. Sorry.

Top Ten Cases: WWE 2011 Year-End Awards - Superstar Most Negatively Impacted by Social Media

2012-01-20T07:57:00.001-05:00

A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-12

2012-01-19T22:18:00.003-05:00

This was a strangely sweet episode of The Vampire Diaries, actually. Between Elena and Stefan, Bonnie and her mom, Alaric and Dr. Fell, and Alaric and Elena, there were several legitimately tender moments – more so than usual.

Continue reading "A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-12"....

I should probably start with Bonnie reuniting with her mother, since that was the story that drove the episode. I actually really appreciated the fact that they didn’t sugarcoat her mother’s abandonment and that they didn’t turn it into something noble and altruistic. Quite simply, she made an exceptionally selfish decision and left her daughter, forcing her to grow up motherless (and without an understanding of why). And while she did redeem herself near the end of the episode, it wasn’t without a price. While she was just protecting her surrogate son, her actions did allow Klaus to reclaim three of his four caskets.

Also, did anybody else expect a little twist regarding Abbey and the hybrid? Sweet, innocent looking Abbey answers the door, I thought we’d discover that she actually overpowered the hybrid and was holding him captive someplace.

In last week’s review I talked quite a bit about the development of Stefan’s character and how it relates to Elena. I thought this week did a great job of picking up the momentum, and for the first time since his emotions were “turned off,” we got a genuinely sweet Stefan/Elena moment (and it wasn’t without the new Stefan edge). When the episode began, the two were clearly adversarial. Stefan was annoyed that Bonnie involved Elena (why exactly did Bonnie need her to find her mom? I didn’t quite follow that) and Elena was still angry that Stefan had kidnapped her. From there Elena lied to Stefan, and Stefan responded with intimidation. Things changed when Stefan was shot and Elena was forced to rescue him. Yes, he was important to her survival, but you could tell there were some lingering feelings there. And for his part, that was also the first time post-turn off that I recall Stefan taking a moment to compliment Elena without provocation or motive. And when Elena (somewhat unapologetically) told Stefan that she had kissed Damon (important distinction – she did not say that Damon kissed her), you could tell that Stefan was really hurt and bothered by it. And when Elena confronted him about it (this time more apologetically), he didn’t respond with anger or guilt. Instead, he apologized to her, telling her that he shouldn’t have held her captive and used her as bait against Klaus.

It was with Damon, however, that he did show anger – and I have to say, I loved that scene. It was great how Stefan just hit him, and without saying a word Damon already knew what it was about (loved the way he simply said, “I guess you two had a heart to heart”). And instead of harping on it, or getting into a huge fight, they just move on to more important business. They might possibly have the most fun connection on television.

So, what does everybody make of Dr. Fell? They were laying on her devious acts pretty thick, so I suspected we would see a twist where she’s REALLY doing something good, but I’m beginning to think we’re in for a double turn, where we discover she really is slightly disturbed. But, like Jeremy last season, Alaric is a good guy and has been screwed around an awful lot in the love department. The guy deserves a break and some happiness.

And actually, perhaps my favorite “sweet moment” was the brief one at the end of the episode, with Alaric and Elena, where Elena gave Alaric her blessing for moving on. Alaric has stuck around to watch over Elena and Jeremy, and he really didn’t need to do that. And with Jeremy now gone, Alaric is probably the closest thing Elena has left that can be classified as family.

It was also pretty great seeing HRG back on The Vampire Diaries (for those of you who didn’t watch Heroes, I’m referring to Caroline’s dad). His Pavlonian outlook on supernatural abilities and limitations is clever and interesting. It’s also good to see that they’re making efforts of redeeming Tyler after turning off several of his friends.

Top Ten Cases: WWE 2011 Year-End Awards - Best Shift in Character

2012-01-19T08:05:00.002-05:00

Call Me Doctor

2012-01-18T20:26:00.001-05:00

"Still you comin' at me like, 'where you been?' You should be asking Mischa Barton" This is awesomely hilarious. And exactly why I love this girl.

Call Me Doctor with Rachel Bilson from Rachel Bilson

Top Ten Cases: WWE 2011 Year-End Awards - Superstar Poised for the Most Successful 2012

2012-01-18T08:08:00.001-05:00

HAPPY SOPA/PIPA PROTEST DAY!!!

Top Ten Cases: WWE 2011 Year-End Awards - Most Shocking Story of the Year

2012-01-17T08:04:00.003-05:00

I realize I skipped a question, which I will post tomorrow. Also take note that I reposted the Superstar of the Year video, which was blocked by WWE. Anyway, enjoy!

Top Ten Cases: WWE 2011 Year-End Awards - Most Disappointing Year

2012-01-16T08:13:00.002-05:00

No huge shock here if you regularly read my blog. Enjoy!

By the way, I have a family dinner to go to tonight, so my LIVE Raw thoughts post might be late (or non-existent). Just a warning!

Top Ten Cases: WWE 2011 Year-End Awards - Breakout Star of the Year

2012-01-15T14:07:00.001-05:00

Same warning as yesterday. Watch it now in case it gets blocked!

Top Ten Cases: WWE 2011 Year-End Awards - Superstar of the Year

2012-01-14T17:02:00.006-05:00

After much build up and delays, here's the first part of my 2011 Year-End Awards result videos! Over the next ten days, I'll be posting a different video.

Oh yeah, and watch it now. I already got an e-mail from YouTube saying I might be using content owned by WWE.

UPDATE (1/16/12): WWE did block the video, so I reposted it without the clip of CM Punk's shoot promo. But this is the promo I originally included:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OS9wZGb_3g

A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-11

2012-01-13T21:02:00.002-05:00

Wow, remember when people used to decorate their friends’ lockers for their birthday? That was one of those actual high school moments that most teen dramas don’t even think about. Well done.

So this was quite the interesting episode, wasn’t it? I felt like it built up to a number of epic moments, but ultimately left us essentially where we left off. It was like an hour long game of chicken, where bluffs were challenged and called. Of course, I don’t mean that as a criticism, because it was pretty exhilarating.

Continue reading "A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-11"....

Again, not a criticism, but it was a night full of threats with little repercussions. We thought Caroline might die, but Klaus ended up saving her. We thought Bonnie might tell Jeremy the truth, but she decided not to and let him go. We thought Tyler would completely reject Klaus, but he ended up (unwillingly?) biting Caroline anyway. We thought Stefan might turn or kill Elena, but Klaus gave in (although that one was obvious). Yet, I’m actually fine with all of those teases, because I legitimately believed any of those things might happen (except the last one, anyway). And even though I knew Stefan wouldn’t kill Elena, it did provide us with an awesome one-on-one Elena/Stefan interaction – something that’s been scarce this season.

Of all the “nasty” versions of Stefan we’ve seen the past season, this is by far my favorite. The season began with him pretending to be evil in order to protect Elena. Then he was compelled not to care, and he legitimately became evil and no longer seemed to care for Elena or anybody else for that matter. But now he’s free – completely so. He’s actually quite similar to Damon (who was forced into a softer role due to circumstances), he’s “bad,” but he still seems to care about the people around him. No matter how hard he tries to fight it. And this is really the first time he’s interacted with Elena, at length, since the transformation. And it was a really fun scene. While I legitimately believe Stefan wouldn’t have let anything happen to Elena, it’s undeniable that the real, “good” Stefan never, ever would have put Elena in that situation (and, as Elena noted, bringing her the very place that her parents had died was especially cold). Their argument afterwards was very telling as well. At the beginning of the season, Stefan acted monstrously and treated Elena poorly in order to protect her. Now he’s doing the same thing in order to protect himself (his emotions, more specifically). The motivation might be more selfish, but the cause is still the same: He still cares for her.

Oh, and yes, I did catch Elena use the plural when she said she didn’t think she’d grow up to be somebody who fell in love with “vampires.” And I do have to admit that I thought Damon’s line, when referring to them kissing again, “it’s not wrong. It’s just the wrong time” was pretty slick.

So it seems like the actress who portrays Dr. Fell is picking up right where she left off from her role on One Tree Hill, as the incredibly hot girl who seems too good to be true, but is actually a murderous psychopath. Oh Alaric, can’t you have any luck with love? I wonder what her story is.

Speaking of which, one thing I do really appreciate about The Vampire Diaries is how they go out of their way to explain the supernatural cover up. With the mayor and sheriff involved, law enforcement is obviously involved, but this episode gave us another touch by informing us that the medical examiner assists as well.

By the way, I really do love that Caroline actually brought up the fact that she’s technically dead and that, ya’ know, that’s sad. And like I said in the introduction, I legitimately believed the possibility that she might die. The cast is rather large (but not too large), so I could see them eliminating people outside of the core three in order to shock people. And, like Lost, they could do it at an unexpected time without any warning. I also like the way Klaus is slowly but surely charming Elena’s allies to his side.

Does anybody ever get the sense that Matt is just TOO good a guy? Elena breaks up with him and she shacks up with Stefan, and he’s cool with it. Caroline breaks up with him and she shacks up with Tyler, and he’s cool with it. He’s reunited with Vicki (as a ghost), but it turns out she’s evil, so he turns her off. He’s supposed to be a teenage boy – I sometimes find him to be a tad too noble.

Oh, and congratulations to Nina Dobrev, who won the People’s Choice Awards as a write in vote (a first ever). Very, very well deserved. I think her dual portrayal of Katherine and Elena has been exemplary. Well done!

Dive Bar Shirt Club: Billy Goat Saloon

2012-01-11T20:24:00.005-05:00

I sincerely apologize for having not posted any of my Year End Survey results yet, but I have been sick the past few days and haven't really done more than lie in bed and watch movies. However, my Dive Bar Shirt Club t-shirt FINALLY arrived (10 days into the new month -- still haven't received my WWE Magazine, though) so I figured this was as good a time as any to post about that. One thing that struck me about this one: The randomly and inconsistently colorful lettering. Odd. Oh, and this bar actually has a website, making this so, so, so much easier. That may have been worth the wait alone (strangely, the website features this t-shirt, minus the colored lettering). Well, here ya' go:

The Billy Goat Saloon has been an island for thirsty travelers, a refreshing watering hole for touring motorcyclists and a live music hot spot for the Four Corners area for 30 years. The building that houses the Billy Goat Saloon was originally built in 1952, and has served as a rock shop and a café in the aptly named Gem Village before becoming a bar in the late 1950's. It went by the names the Coloradoan, the Westerner, the Last Chance Saloon, and then finally the Billy Goat Saloon in 1982. The Goat will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2012.

Billy Goat Saloon Website: http://thebillygoatsaloon.com/

Dive Bar Shirt Club: http://www.divebarshirtclub.com/Default.asp

Dive Bar Shirt Club T-Shirt Gallery

Saturday Evening Video Flashback

2012-01-07T19:14:00.004-05:00

It's easy to forget what an enjoyable show NXT was (for me, anyway) the first couple of seasons. They had legitimate pros, unique and talented rookies, and everything felt very natural and real. It was the one show that didn't seem to be micro-managed. For me, it made it especially fun to watch the pros, who loosened their ties and seemed to have some fun. Which brings me to this clip, of Daniel Bryan's reaction to being eliminated. The best part is around the 2:00 mark when Daniel Bryan says he's better than Miz, and in the background William Regal and CM Punk (both heels at the time) nod in agreement, with Punk holding out his hands and lipping "by a lot." Great fun.

A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-10

2012-01-05T22:01:00.002-05:00

Surprise! Yep, I originally didn’t think I’d be able to catch this episode live, and that I’d have to watch it when CW gets around to posting it online (which takes approximately a week), but I got home earlier than expected. So, here you go!

In the interest of full disclosure, I did miss the first five or so minutes. But based on when I came in, I suspect it had to do with Jeremy and Tyler reconnecting. And everybody finding out that Jeremy had apparently been fired. Oh, and Bonnie is having nightmares.

Otherwise, things seemed to pick up pretty naturally from when we last left. Elena and Damon believe that Stefan had betrayed them. Meanwhile, Stefan and Klaus are each trying to get revenge on the other.

Continue reading "A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-10"....

First and foremost, Stefan and Bonnie seemed to join forces in order to hide Klaus’ family. Later on, Damon would offer his services, and Stefan reluctantly accepted after he promised to keep Elena out of it. I ultimately want Elena to end up with Stefan, but I do have to admit that I find this new dynamic intriguing. It’s a complete role reversal – Damon is the one making the Gilbert house visits, and when people have no other choice but to walk down the dark side, they turn to Stefan for help. When Jeremy’s life was in danger, Stefan quite coldly said that it’s not his problem. Damon sympathetically compelled him to leave town. Again, in the end I’m hoping for Stefan and Elena, but for the moment I wouldn’t mind if Elena and Damon continued to grow close (thus I thought the kiss scene was handled really well), while an uneasy alliance developed between Damon and Stefan. The Salvatore brothers are loads of fun to watch anyway.

While we’re on the topic of Jeremy, I’m not quite sure how I feel about his apparent departure. I’m not sure if it’s permanent or not (and I’d rather not be spoiled), but it’s a bit perplexing. On the one hand, I do appreciate that they’re avoiding having to kill off yet another person in Elena’s family, but on the other hand I feel like there’s a lot of life left in Jeremy’s character. He’s developed significantly since the beginning of the series, going from a dead end stoner to a caring, intelligent, and brave guy. Actually, he’s one of the only characters that figured out the whole vampire thing on his own. He wasn’t told and didn’t happen upon it – he actually pieced it all together. I’m not sure anybody else accomplished that.

I also feel strongly that supernatural shows need a strong supporting character that doesn’t have any supernatural abilities. Buffy had Xander. True Blood has Jason. Yes, this show still has Matt, but given his lack of natural connections to the other characters, it’s a lot harder to integrate him into the plot. Jeremy was really perfect for that role (and before anybody brings up Alaric, that guy is a bit too bad ass to fall into this category – and the fact that he was introduced as somebody who already knew all the secrets removes the innate innocence of his character as well).

Oh, and trust me, I was THRILLED when I saw that Alaric was wearing his ring and was thus not really dead, but whatever happened to “there’s nothing supernatural about a bullet”? I thought that established that the ring only protected people from physical acts committed by supernatural entities, but not mechanical weapons. Yes, I know that the Sheriff (a human) was the one who shot Jeremy, but it seems a little silly that the person pulling the trigger makes a difference between somebody living and dying. Now, being protected because a vampire was sucking your blood or breaking your neck or physically throwing you off a building? Yeah, I can buy that. But I don’t see how the ring would protect you from being crushed by an SUV, just because a hybrid so happened to have been driving (what luck!) Again, it’s great news because Alaric is one of my favorite characters….it just didn’t seem in line with how I understood the way things work. But maybe I’m wrong.

2012-01-05T09:13:00.001-05:00

Season Finale Thoughts: Terra Nova

2012-01-03T21:26:00.003-05:00

Unfortunately, this review could potentially be titled "Series Finale Thoughts." Have they made a decision yet about renewing this series? I would imagine there's a lot of overhead with a show like this, and since it wasn't a ratings juggernaut, I have to assume that it's an uphill battle. I guess we should keep our fingers crossed, though.

So, with new episodes returning this month, I thought I would discuss some of the season finales that took place while I still have the time. I figured I'd start with Terra Nova. Spoilers after the page break, so click the link below for the full column.

Continue reading "Season Finale Thoughts: Terra Nova"....

Out of all the new shows I've watched and continued to follow, Terra Nova is probably the weakest, simply because it expects you to take major leaps of faith, and thus far they haven't really explained many of the bigger issues (the biggest being, "Why go to prehistoric times instead of, say, 2005?) However, I really, really enjoyed the finale. It allowed me to overlook all of the inherent faults and despite being two hours, it went by rather quickly. I don't particularly recall it answering any big questions, but that's not what the episode was about.

I might as well get a t-shirt that has this phrase plastered across the front, but the episode was strong and compelling because I cared about the characters. Honestly, I never felt particularly attached to any of the characters in the Shannon family, but there were several scenes that really hit me. The scene where Zoe comforts Taylor after Washington's death actually had me tearing up. And while Josh has mostly been an ass throughout the season, I couldn't help but cheer when he attacked Lucas for harassing Skye. And Elisabeth tricking that dude into thinking she had infected him? Kinda bad ass. And after a few episodes where things may have seemed tense and distrustful between Jim and Taylor, it was a lot of fun seeing them work together to overcome their foe.

Even the side characters had their moment in the sun. I liked seeing Malcolm assist Jim and the rest of the crew in overthrowing the Phoenix group. And Boyland, who has mostly been portrayed as conniving, was made pretty likable by attempting to assist Josh during his beating. Skye managed to redeem herself by not only setting up Lucas, but also saving Taylor. And Washington's sacrificial death was powerful as well (made even stronger by having Taylor struggle with the decision to not save her).

The closing scene, which implied that there were other instances of time travel, was intriguing, but I'm not convinced it was strong enough to make fans demand that the show come back. I was actually more compelled by the fact that they cut themselves off from the future. I think that's interesting. Let's see what happens, though. I'd still watch next season.

LIVE Raw thoughts - January 2, 2012

2012-01-02T21:06:00.015-05:00

11:07 - So...hmmmm....another interesting segment that ended the show.

10:44 - Hmmmmmm, so what to make of that? The reveal itself? Aside from the hokey looking rumbling camera (which focused in on a very stable looking audience), I thought it was great. The extended cryptic video, followed by the pitch black (where the audience -- both live and viewing -- had no idea what was going to happen next) was great. The blinking jacket, revealing the classic Jericho pose, was great as well (although I would have included the countdown).

Then things got strange and took an unexpected turn. When Jericho came out, he was way too friendly and acting like a face. He left a heel, and his cryptic videos certainly had a heelish tone. Then after he went out of the ring for the third time, it became obvious that this was a purposely over the top act and that he would turn the audience against him. But then it became a question of how he would accomplish that. I was hoping it would be to tell the fans that they turned on him and cheered for a guy like CM Punk, who claimed to be the Best in the World, and now they're chanting his name like a bunch of hypocrites.

But instead it went on for a REALLLLY long time, and Jericho just left. To an extent, I appreciate their attempt to take it slow and build interest, but frankly they're not going to recapture that moment and energy. When Jericho comes out next, instead of having the live audience in the palm of his hand, they're probably going to be confused and a little frustrated. Let's see how it plays out, but I can't help but feel like they missed out on a moment.

10:28 - The post-match taunting was longer than the actual Divas match.

10:24 - How rich would the irony be if Chris Jericho returned during a Kelly Kelly match?

10:22 - I get a lot of heat for this because it's the shortest Rumble ever (by a large margin), but Royal Rumble 1995 is actually my favorite Rumble of all time. Creative booking, awesome ending, and it felt like the first time that an underdog, unexpected non-established main eventer won.

10:17 - I appreciate what they were trying to do with the booking of that match, but I didn't care for the execution. Punk turned his attention away from Ziggler for far too long -- it made him look like an idiot. And Punk's fall didn't seem brutal enough to warrant a count out.

10:02 - Figures. Dolph Ziggler wearing the energy band over his wrist tape was finally growing on me, and he stopped wearing it.

9:52 - I'm guessing that the 1-2-12 reveal comes during the conclusion of the WWE Championship match.

9:46 - If Vince McMahon wants ADR's offense to look more physical (a criticism I have often made as well), he might want to take lessons from Sheamus. His stuff looks brutal.

9:38 - R-Truth is awfully well dressed for a planned assault.

9:31 - This discussion was going on over at Scott Keith's blog, about wrestling uniforms and entrance attire. Back in the day, Hulk Hogan used to come to the ring wearing his t-shirt, and that was pretty much it. Everybody else had their own entrance attire. Nowadays, pretty much every single person comes to the ring wearing their t-shirt: John Cena, CM Punk, Christian, Miz, Santino, Barrett, Zack Ryder, Shawn Michaels, Big Show, Air Boom, Rey Mysterio....you get the point. Wade Barrett actually used to have a unique entrace -- the blazer over his shoulders, with a different colored English rose (later replaced with a pocket square). Even Daniel Bryan, who has a kick ass ring jacket, has been sporting the t-shirt lately. And how could you not miss Christian's gaudy hooded jacket and pants?

9:19 - Based on Cole's commentary during this Daniel Bryan match, I'm guessing WWE officials decided his announcing wasn't the problem with the ratings after all.

9:12 - If WWE already changed their minds about when they're having the WWE Championship Match, I'd say the chances aren't good for Brodus Clay actually having his debut tonight.

9:06 - I thought Punk vs. Ziggler was opening the show? Guess Punk gets bumped by Cena from opening the show, too.

Chris Jericho WWE Return - November 19, 2007

2012-01-02T18:15:00.002-05:00

It was difficult to recapture the magic of the original Countdown, but they did a pretty admirable job with the "Save Us"/"Break the Code" viral videos. Of course, WWE Magazine spoiled things somewhat by featuring Jericho on the cover of their magazine (with the headline that he was the one behind the videos) before his re-debut....and they made the questionable decision to show him on-screen before his appearance on the stage (didn't learn from Bischoff, I guess), but it was still a really fun return:

Chris Jericho WWF Debut - August 9, 1999

2012-01-02T16:29:00.002-05:00

So most people are hoping and predicting that 1/2/12 is indeed foreshadowing Chris Jericho's return. So, I thought it might be fun to look back at each of Jericho's big debuts. The first is back in 1999, the culmination of the Countdown to the Millennium, and arguably the greatest debut in wrestling history.

1-2-Who?

2012-01-02T12:05:00.003-05:00

So tonight's Raw will feature the highly anticipated reveal of the 1-2-12 cryptic videos. Smart money is on Chris Jericho, with Undertaker in a close second. Any other realistic options out there?

Anyway, check out this YouTube video featuring all five of the viral videos and let me know what you think:

My one question: What's the significance of the red kickball?

Down to the wire!

2011-12-29T19:13:00.003-05:00

There are only a couple days left of 2011, so if you haven't done so already please take my WWE 2011 Year End Survey!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JKHRDDS

I've been really happy with the turn out so far, but the more participants the better.

I decided that I'm going to do a short video for each question, with one posted each day, so I think I may need a week or so to prepare. So pencil in January 7th for your first video (but it could be earlier....it could be later). I'll stop counting votes after January 1st, though. So vote!

LIVE Raw thoughts - December 26, 2011

2011-12-26T20:47:00.016-05:00

11:05 - Really weak ending to Raw, mostly because the audience wouldn't seem to react the way WWE anticipated (or at least wanted). Along with that, it doesn't seem like Kane has quite grown comfortable in his new character. The odd speech pattern was something we weren't used to, which took away from the words he was trying to say. I still think they should have shown us one more 1/2/12 promo, just after the "WWE" logo appeared to end the show.

10:57 - So how long will Kane (the performer) continue to wear that outer mask before he gets tired of trying to take it off without removing the inner mask?

10:50 - Looks like I was right with my second prediction. So how do we end the show? With a Kane promo? With a super promo for 1/2/12? Let's see... Just odd to NOT end the show on Punk in Chicago.

10:34 - Alternative prediction: They surprise us and only go two matches, with Ziggler eking out the victory. My one issue with Henry being in there is that while they've allowed Superstars from both rosters to appear on each show, they've done a fairly good job of keeping the matches brand specific. Now we'd have a Smackdown guy challenging for Raw's top title.

10:32 - Prediction (obvious): Punk beats Swagger with little difficulty. He beats Ziggler after a highly competitive, semi-long match. He then loses to Henry due to outside factors (perhaps Johnny Ace interferes, while attempting to look innocent).

10:15 - If there's one Superstar who should only be used sparingly, I think it's the Big Show. People ride John Cena for being stale, but there's really nothing about Big Show that excites me. He'd be a great Special Attraction act. Making matters worse is that they seem to shift between him being a monster, a stand up comic, and an emotional mess on a weekly basis.

10:04 - I'm still not sold on Truth being a face. The dude was so incredibly awesome as a crazy heel. I always found him to be a bit stale as a face. Let's see how it pans out.

9:57 - To be honest, I'm a little surprised Cena doesn't get more respect in Chicago. Actually, I could see Cena slowly making his way back into the hardcore fans' hearts by becoming a respected, hard working wrestler.

9:53 - Cole, it's "Cenation" not "Cena Nation."

9:45 - What are the chances that Cole or Lawler even mention the Hart Dynasty during this match?

9:42 - Fun little story about Zack Ryder: For Christmas last year, he received that flip cam. Now one year later, that flip cam directly brought him to the most success he's ever experienced. Bravo to you, Zack.

9:21 - I have to agree with what many others are saying -- there's definitely at least one more "It Begins" promo coming tonight. Otherwise, why show one so early?

9:14 - So did that video answer any questions for anybody? The only think I kept wondering to myself was, "Why is Cody Rhodes in the background?"

9:03 - "This crowd has been booing him so loudly that he couldn't hear himself suck" - Lawler of Johnny Ace. Great line.

8:48 - We're about 10 minutes from the beginning of Raw and I hope everybody had a wonderful holiday weekend. I don't know about you, but Friday to today (which I had off) were far more tiring than your typical week of work. I am pooped!

Anyway, how about a quick pre-Raw discussion? Last week's show was universally regarded as a refreshing, rejuvenated episode. Yet, discouragingly, it not only did poorly in ratings, but it actually lost viewers as the show went on. What does this mean?

Personally, I wish wrestling fans steered clear of ratings reports altogether. First and foremost, people tend to only view ratings when it fits their argument. When the ratings are high and a Superstar they like is being showcased, it means that the person should stay on top. When the ratings are down and somebody they don't like is being highlighted, it means viewers are uninterested in the character. But when ratings are down and somebody they like is the star of the show, there are a million excuses that oddly don't apply to the other two scenarios.

Secondly, it's a truly archaic metric. For all we complain about the abundance of Twitter references, I honestly believe it's a far more valuable and accurate representation of your viewing audience. Consider this: If 10% of the wrestling audience is on the Internet, and Twitter is one of the top 10 visited sites on the Internet, that number is likely far more accurate than the LESS THAN 0.05% of viewers that Nielsen represents. When Michael Cole says "anal bleeding" once, offhandedly, and it's trending on Twitter, it DOES mean people are watching. Yes, advertisers care about Nielsen ratings, but I honestly don't know if that will still be true (or not as true) in 5 years.

The good news is that the show is in Chicago, which means the crowd should be electric and CM Punk should be at his best. Along with that, it's the last week before 1/2/12, so we're sure to see an awesome cryptic clip. Let's hope for Jericho!

True or False #2 - With Santa & Jesus (Christmas Edition)

2011-12-24T15:34:00.003-05:00

It's only the second edition of True and False and I'm already getting gimmicky! I apologize, but with today being Christmas Eve (which, for almost all of my childhood, I preferred over Christmas because I got gifts that night, and still had gifts to look forward to the next day), this seemed like an acceptable exception. So, using an online Ask Santa and Ask Jesus feature, I present to you a special Christmas edition of True or False, featuring the very representations of the holiday, Santa Claus and Jesus Christ. Enjoy!

1. Between Santa and the Easter Bunny, Christians have an interesting way of celebrating the beginning and end of Jesus' life.

Santa: I think it looks very possible.

Jesus: "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." - John 15:2

2. You are the true representation and spirit of Christmas.

Santa: Are you sure you want to ask that question?

Jesus: "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:10

3. The Jesus/Santa fight on South Park was better than the one on American Dad.

Santa: Mrs. Claus says yes.

Jesus: "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." - John 15:3

4. Beards, right?

Santa: Only with my Reindeer.

Jesus: "What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter." - John 13:7

5. At least one person will find this True or False offensive.

Santa: Everyone at the North Pole thinks so.

Jesus: "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:20

6. Most readers won't find this offensive, but they won't find it very funny either.

Santa: Well, it looks promising.

Jesus: "If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. " - John 14:7

Of course, my intent here is not to upset anybody so I hope you were able to enjoy this with your tongue firmly in your cheek. And no matter what your religious beliefs are, this holiday season often allows us the opportunity to spend time with family, friends, and other loved ones. Take advantage of this time. I wish the best to all of my visitors. Happy Holidays!!!

New Shows to Watch - Part 4: Once Upon A Time

2011-12-20T21:04:00.003-05:00

And now, the new show this season that I recommend above all of the others I've written about for this feature, Once Upon A Time. To be perfectly honest, I originally had no intention of watching this program. In fact, when I first saw ads for it, I assumed that it was just some mini-series. I actually didn't even catch the first episode until a month or so into its run. One Sunday I just plowed through, like, 5 episodes and became an avid viewer. So what turned me around? Well, I read a pretty interesting article in Entertainment Weekly, and it made me realize that this is a pretty clever and interesting show that combines the two great mythologies: fairy tales and Lost. I'm going to continue my review after the page break, which contains spoilers up until the last new episode.

Continue reading "New Shows to Watch - Part 4: Once Upon A Time"....

Admittedly, my knowledge of fairy tales is pretty rudimentary. I know pretty much what Disney taught me about 25 years ago. But I actually think that works to my advantage. I know all of the characters and their basic story, but I'm not so completely invested that I get up in arms when the show decides to make its own interpretation of a certain tale. For example, according to Once Upon A Time (and, to my knowledge, not the actual fairy tales), Jiminy Cricket was once a human who took advantage of innocent people through various scams. And Cinderella didn't actually get her wish granted by her Fairy Godmother. Instead, Rumpelstiltskin hijacked the moment and made a deal with her. Hey, I actually appreciate that the show isn't restricting itself to the accepted interpretation of the stories. They're allowing themselves to mold the characters and the story to their liking.

And the characters are pretty damn easy to get into. My absolute favorite, at the moment, is Rumpelstiltskin. I LOVE how, in the fairy tales, he's this bonkers, daffy loon that bounces around and speaks with pep. Yet in the real world, he's so incredibly dry and understated. He walks with a limp, barely raises his voice, and dresses rather conservatively. And I love how they're being so vague about whether or not he remembers his past life, and knows about the curse. And if he does, what are his motives? He doesn't seem explicitly evil in the real world (although his actions with Cinderella were less than chivalrous). When the Sheriff was coming close to remembering his past, Rumpel didn't stop him. And when Prince Charming began remembering his fake memories, Rumpel almost seemed pained (although he did crack a slight smile). If any character from this show is Ben, it's Rumpelstiltskin. And the actor does a fabulous job with the dual role.

I've actually really enjoyed all of the characters. The Evil Queen/Mayor is easy to dislike. Snow White/Mary Margaret is easy to root for. The Sheriff is awesome (but more on him later). Prince Charming/David is surprisingly bad ass. Jiminy Cricket/Dr. Hopper is just kinda cool because I found it funny when Henry so nonchalantly told Emma, "That's Jiminy Cricket" in the first episode. Emma has the unenviable task of being the one character without a familiar backstory, but she does an admirable job as the center of the show.

Come to think of it, the overall story is just plain fun. It turns out these fairy tale characters are real, but there's a curse on them and they can't remember their past. They've been trapped in the real world for the past 28 years (obviously they haven't aged, so there has to be SOMETHING preventing them from maintaining actual memories. Besides, how else would they comprehend that Cinderella has been pregnant for nearly three decades?) And there are a lot of places they can take this mystery. For example, how did Henry become so knowledgeable? Who gave him the book? How did he become such a firm believer?

Plus, I enjoy the little hints the throw at you to fill you in on these people's fairy tale past. Little Red Riding Hood, fittingly named Ruby, has a decorative wolf hanging from her rear view mirror. Her Grandmother runs a bed & breakfast called "Granny's House." The Mirror on the Wall runs a tabloid newspaper called, you guessed it, The Mirror. Sleepy the dwarf falls asleep while on security duty. Hell, even Pongo (of 101 Dalmatians fame) showed up! It's just cool seeing a character and wondering, "Who is that supposed to be?"

Not to mention, the Lost-esque manner of storytelling -- using flashbacks to fill in the character's past or explain their motives -- works great with its own spin (instead of traditional flashbacks, we see their fairy tale lives).

One thing that does make me furious, though, is that they killed off the Sheriff. This guy was my absolute favorite (good guy) character! In my opinion, they could have stretched out the mystery of which fairy tale character he is for the entire season. It's not even something the show needed to hone in on....it could have just been a fun question for the viewers to ponder. He was also a surprisingly complex character. He clearly cared about Emma, yet was carrying on a scandalous affair with the evil mayor. But despite this sordid relationship, he still always seemed to do the right thing. There was a whoooooooooole lot of fuel left with the Sheriff, and I really think they screwed the pooch by revealing his identity and killing him off in the very same episode. Big mistake, in my opinion (then again, I'm biased because I thought he was cool).

Now, let me pose the question that I've asked for the past few series in this feature: Does Once Upon A Time lend itself to a long shelf life? Honestly, I think it fairs a better chance than some of the other shows. If Lost taught me anything, it's that a show built on mysteries and secrets can shift and evolve rather easily. I highly doubt any of the characters will remember their fairy tale past by the end of season one. If anything, I imagine that Emma will become a firm believer. Beyond that, maybe a character or two, but certainly not everyone. And once all of the characters do believe, the story can move forward towards reclaiming their former lives. But in order to truly succeed, I think the show needs to have an end date in mind -- like with Lost -- to avoid any unnecessary stalling.

But, yeah, highest recommendation.

Could be worse, right? :)

2011-12-19T20:38:00.003-05:00

Also, please take a moment to fill out my WWE Year End Survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JKHRDDS

New Shows to Watch - Part 3: American Horror Story

2011-12-18T14:14:00.006-05:00

Like my last installment, I'll be doing a page break here for people who would like to avoid spoilers. I'll be discussing what has happened on the show since the last new episode, which I believe is the final one before the season finale. For those of you who haven't seen American Horror Story yet, I highly recommend it.

Continue reading "New Shows to Watch - Part 3: American Horror Story"....

When I first saw previews for American Horror Story, I wasn't quite sure what to think. If I'm not mistaken, they did a bit of a viral campaign, where the guy in the black rubber costume hid in various places (like a bathroom) and jumped out and scared people. I might be remembering things wrong, but it gave me the impression that the show would be a Punk'd type program, like Truth or Scare. Then I saw more traditional commercials and became intrigued. I'm a bit of a horror movie buff, and for the most part I enjoyed Nip/Tuck, so I figured it was worth a shot.

Anyone who reads my columns has probably pieced together that I tend to enjoy any show if I enjoy the characters, and this show is no exception. At the center of this series is the Harmon family. Right off the bat, there's just something about Dylan McDermott (Ben) that wreaks complexity. From his manner of speaking to his physical presence, there's just something about him that makes you want to equally like him and root for him, and punch him right in the face. He seems smug and arrogant, yet strangely likable. So he's perfect for this role, where he always WANTS to do the right thing, but just sometimes doesn't. And I appreciate that the writers don't always try to justify his bad behavior. Sometimes he just does bad things, even though he's not necessarily a bad guy.

Connie Brighton, who plays his wife Vivien, is much the same way. She looks and speaks so angelically, but you can tell that she's a hard edged, tough woman when she needs to be. Some of the things she does and says are downright ruthless. Yet all of that is forgivable, because of what she's had to endure. Even their daughter Violet, who plays the angsty teenager character that television audiences always hate, has been rather redeemable the past few episodes.

So, yeah, what makes this show work are its characters. Horror stories are notoriously polarizing, so that's important. And much like Lost, you don't quite know who's good or bad. "Old" Moira, for example, is always soothing and supportive. Yet "Young" Moira (the same character portrayed by a different actress) is constantly trading sexual deeds and generally stirring up trouble. Hell, she's even assisted in a few murders, if I'm not mistaken. Similarly, Adelaide seemed troublesome, yet when people broke into the house, her first instinct was to get help. And Constance....she's a complete mystery and thus one of the most interesting characters!

The series has also provided us with a surprising amount of revelations and twists during its short run. The first was that Tate, a troubled patient of Ben who has been sneaking around with Violet, is actually dead and is Constance's son. We also learned that he was the person running around in the rubber suit, raping Vivien and killing former homeowners.

Another major revelation was that Violet had accidentally killed herself and was also a ghost in the house. A lot of people had long suspected this truth, as she had been holed up in the house since her suicide attempt, but it was still a really major plot turn, and the actress (and Tate) did a really great job with the material.

Arguably, this twist was dwarfed by what happened in the last episode, where Vivien died during childbirth. This was, in my view, very unexpected and really turns the series on its head. At this point, all members of the Harmon family have finally accepted the truth about their house -- that it's haunted by those who have died on its property -- making the scene so much more powerful. Seeing Ben slowly accept the fact that these ghosts are real and helping him was visually and thematically great (particularly him going from yelling "Who are these people?" to asking the ghost doctor questions about his wife's well being, as you would in a hospital). Actually, Ben's slow realization that he was wrong about the house was one of my favorite parts of the entire season (particularly the scene where he seems Moira transform from young to old, with her telling him he's finally able to see things now).

Much like with some of the other shows in this feature, my one concern is whether this series can have a long shelf life. Where do they go from here? With Vivien and Violet already dead, and the whole family in on the mystery, has the series given us too much, too soon? Somebody had suggested that they just feature a new family living in the house each season, but can't that get repetitive? And can this story be retold any better the second time around? My advise would be to keep Ben alive and have him as your character that can roam the outside world and try to uncover the mystery of why the house is the way it is. He can maintain his family life with Viv and Violet, as they're ghosts in the house. They can even have Ben struggle with meeting somebody new, and wondering if continuing a life with his dead wife is fair to him and the rest of his life.

To those of you who do watch the show -- based on everything we now know (and that's a lot), where do you see the series going for season two?

WWE 2011 Year-End Survey

2011-12-15T19:34:00.002-05:00

I had mentioned this in my LIVE Raw thoughts post, and on Twitter several times, but I am once again doing a WWE Year-End survey. Please take a moment to fill it out (there are just 10 questions), because the results are a lot more fun when there are a plethora of people participating. Take a moment, it'd be very appreciated.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JKHRDDS

THANKS!

LIVE Raw thoughts (Slammy Edition) - December 12, 2011

2011-12-12T20:03:00.034-05:00

11:05 - I guess that answers that! Kane is back!! And he seems to be a hybrid or his past incarnations. His tights have both the stitching look, and the flames. I kinda like the mask he enters with, although it makes him look like the Predator. And the half mask underneath (the one that looks like the one I never liked) kinda works. This could be an interesting mini-feud to keep Cena busy.

10:57 - I don't know if any other readers (you're out there, right?) are checking out the comments section, but Kyle and I are talking about plans for Cena leading into WrestleMania. One question I posed was whether he was even on the card for this weekend's PPV. According to WWE.com, he's not, and there are already 6 matches scheduled. I assume a Divas match will be added as well. And to be honest, there's nobody left off of the card that he's even casually feuding with. I like Cena and I think I understand his value to the company, but personally I don't think it'd be a bad idea to leave him off of some of the PPV cards leading to Mania in order to build the story of his reaction to the fans turning on him. Allow that story to flesh out organically, instead of attempting to manipulate reactions (positive or negative) based on his opponents. Leave him off of TLC, use him at the Rumble, and then use the Rumble to Mania with pure build. Which means no match at Elimination Chamber.

10:45 - The universe has righted itself here. Congrats Punk. But do you agree? Take my survey!!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JKHRDDS

10:37 - Well it seems pretty obvious to me that CM Punk SHOULD win Superstar of the year. But since he's been laid out and thus cannot accept the award (since it would take away from the beating he took), I would say his chances aren't good. And considering that it'll probably lead directly to the last match, I'm guessing it'll either be John Cena or Mark Henry. Hey, maybe they'll shock us and give it to Henry. But it really should go to Punk.

10:26 - My guess is the Muppets win, since they probably already filmed something for them for Tribute to the Troops. Who should win? Hugh Jackman.

10:19 - I love the fact that they're teasing that Kane will be wearing the mask again. And the videos have been cool, too. I just hate that they're using the mask I disliked the most. Why not go back to the classic one, or the black version of the classic one?

10:08 - I don't know if you caught it a moment ago, but Michael Cole just told people that JR released his rap on Twitter and urged people to check JR's Twitter page to read it. So WWE is now using their show to alert people to check Twitter. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

10:03 - So why exactly are Cole and King talking about how Punk doesn't even need to be involved in the decision to lose the title, and how Miz could pin ADR to win the title. They do know they're fighting in a TLC match, right? Where the only way to win is to grab the title from the ladder?

10:00 - Their tricky editing is how I would have ended the match in the first place. Orton chases off Barrett and Miz slips back in.

9:50 - I'm glad Cena showed a little hostility and edge towards Rock tonight. He's usually so pandering and respectful, but it's nice to see him stick it to the fans a bit for reminding them that they keep cheering for a guy that never shows up. Of course, as I write this, he's back to kissing up to Rock.

9:46 - I see Edge winning this one, especially with Christian presenting. I swear to Christ, if Nash wins it, though....

9:43 - I will say this, the Slammy Awards also provide us with some fun returns and reunions.

9:37 - Why was the winner's name in an envelope when the winner was determined during the match?

9:35 - Absolutely fantastic match, which helps make up for the lackluster in-ring action earlier. And c'mon, deep down we all knew Daniel Bryan was going to eat that pin, right?

9:31 - So the latest 1/2/12 video has been posted on YouTube and it's an interesting one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNdd9W5__TY&feature=player_embedded

I have wondered this since the last video, but who does the little girl in the video represent? The overall assessment seems to be that this is marking the return of Jericho, and I'm inclined to agree, but there really hasn't been any females in Jericho's past. Except for Trish, but this little girl actually reminds me more of Lita. Or is the girl something symbolic, like she represents 2012 or WWE or something. Thoughts?

9:25 - So according to my Twitter feed, both Ryder and Ziggler are trending, but Ryder is trending higher. Yet they're both below Tony Atlas!

9:22 - For those of you wondering, according to his Twitter page, this was the rap JR had intended on performing during the opening segment:

Michael Cole you're a damn fool.

King beat you like a government mule.

I should call Raw, you're not in my class.

You kissed King's feet, now you can kiss my ass!

9:19 - So what happens if none of them trend by the time the match ends? Do they just have them continue to wrestle until they get confirmation that somebody is trending?

9:17 - I mean, Zack Ryder has to win this one, right?

9:10 - Ah, gotta love Triple H. The one guy too cool for a Slammy. So why are we watching?

9:04 - Triple H's entrance has surpassed the amount of wrestling we've had tonight. Listen, I like the Slammy Awards, but this year has been disappointing. Aside from Punk, the winners have been pretty bland. Unfortunately, there hasn't been any action to counter that.

9:02 - I'm not surprised Undertaker/Triple H won.....honestly, I thought it should have.....until I saw that Punk winning the title was a contender as well. THAT was the moment of the year that everybody was talking about. That should have won.

8:57 - I like Kelly more than most people, but Beth's Glam Slam to Eve on the top rope was visually almost as great as the Mark Henry/Big Show slam.

8:54 - Is it me or has Lita's mic skills really improved since she retired? I don't know if the current crop of Divas just sound so manufactured and fake, but Lita seemed really natural and comfortable behind the mic.

8:44 - It's too bad they couldn't edit that opening segment into the Pipe Bomb montage.

8:38 - Road Dogg coming out is a nice little surprise, actually. Him coming out in an HBK/HHH DX shirt is funny.....didn't he and Billy Gunn rip them apart in all those interviews?

8:34 - Is it me, or did Big Show kinda crap on the concept of going through a table and getting hit with a chair? Just before a PPV built on that very premise.

8:31 - This "Holy Blank/Bleep/You-Know-What" nonsense is getting annoying. Obviously, you can't say what you want to say. And these cutesy ways of getting around it are not edgy. Just call it "Holy Cow" and get it over with.

8:23 - Told ya.

8:21 - Big Show/Henry will win this one. They LOVE that clip, and it'll push their PPV match. Don't even need to see all of the nominees.

8:20 - Foley looks pretty good in a suit, it's really too bad he doesn't dress better.

8:13 - Wow, pretty terrible opener. Why do I have a feeling that JR wasn't supposed to forget his lyrics like that? I have to say, Cole actually came close to saving that segment by interrupting JR when he clearly forgot the next line.

What I find frustrating, though, is that they keep bringing back JR, but it's to do things like dance offs and rap competitions and spineroonies. If they recognize JR's popularity and he's willing to participate, why not let him just do what he does best? Or at the very least, let him do something where he can contribute to the product? It's getting uncomfortable to watch.

8:03 - Well since it's a special Slammy edition of Raw, I thought this would be the perfect time to unveil my own yearly award nominations. Please take a moment to take my survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JKHRDDS

New Shows to Watch - Part 2: Ringer

2011-12-11T22:03:00.005-05:00

So welcome to the second installment of my new shows reviews. And being that I will be discussing major matters that have occurred so far on Ringer, I'm going to do a page break. Click the link below for my complete thoughts (spoilers up to the last episode that have aired within).

Continue reading "New Shows to Watch - Part 2: Ringer"....

I wasn't entirely sure if I was going to give Ringer a shot, but I like Sarah Michelle Gellar and the premise seemed interesting enough to give it an initial viewing. And actually, that was a mini-miracle in itself, because I don't think a lot of articles that previewed the series did them any favors (perhaps they didn't even fully understand the show). While I still don't necessarily comprehend the entire mystery, I really do care about the characters and I am invested in seeing what happens to them. It's the same reason I (and many others) stuck with Lost all those years.

What I like about Ringer is the role reversal and the overall theme of redemption. Bridget has always been troubled and has made some bad decisions, but we're never left to believe she's a bad person. Siobhan (which I would never be able to spell if I didn't look up) has always been put together and responsible, yet she cheated on her wife with her best friend's husband, and is currently involved in some conspiracy to apparently have her twin sister killed. To an outsider, Bridget seems "bad" while Siobhan seems "good" -- but the opposite is true. And in line with the idea of role reversals, in the past Siobhan was cleaning up after Bridget's mess. Now, Bridget is trying to fix the mistakes Siobhan has made with her life. And honestly, I'd really like to see her succeed.

One treat is that Sarah Michelle Gellar is incredible at playing savvy females. You can really believe that she's that quick on her feet and sly with her comments and actions. It's a lot of fun watching her in this dual role.

My one fear: Because I have really grown to like his character, I just have this sinking feeling that Andrew is going to end up being something somewhat sinister. He just seems a little TOO good, like the writers are deliberately trying to make us sympathize with and root for him before the other shoe drops.

Another thing I worry about with this show (and with all of the shows in this feature, except Terra Nova) is that I wonder what sort of shelf life it could have. How long can they keep this mystery going? How long can they have Bridget keep this secret, while continuing to make it interesting? I'm not saying it's impossible, but there is an inherent challenge to shift the focus of the show the longer it goes on.

Out of the four shows I will be writing about, this is the one that is probably the hardest to join in on at this point. But don't worry, it's in the midst of a winter hiatus, so you have a few weeks to catch up on the season (and since CW is pushing it pretty hard, I wouldn't expect a mini marathon to get new viewers up to speed.

New Shows to Watch - Part 1: Terra Nova

2011-12-09T22:02:00.002-05:00

This is going to be a four part piece, and I thought I'd start with the bottom (as harsh as that sounds). Terra Nova is a really fun show and the premise is clever, but I can't help but feel like it's the weak out of the four new shows that have joined my television line up. Ultimately, the thing that bothers me most is that they haven't bothered to explain why going back to that particular time -- to a period in which modern technology does not exist and, ya' know, dinosaurs are roaming around -- in order to save society. For example, 2011 appears to be relatively safe, environmentally and socially. Why not bring people to that period instead? And, naturally, this can't possibly be a long-term plan. It may still be several million years away, but there's the matter of the extinction and ice age coming. If the purpose is to save the human race, why go back to a time that we know extinction is an inevitability?

That's a pretty major criticism, but to tell you the truth, that's probably the only one. The effects, while not perfect, are passable for television and don't really detract from the viewing experience. The characters are mostly likable and its easy to root for the family the show is built upon. Plus, I think I have a slight crush on Naomi Scott.

There are some interesting mysteries, as well. Who's the spy (hinted at heavily in the last new episode, but I'm not sure that was a confirmation)? Are the Sixers truly the "bad guys"? Is Taylor really the "good guy"? I wouldn't be surprised if the Sixers don't end up like the Others (of Lost fame), where we learn that they're not actually bad, however their methods may be.

Speaking of Taylor, I'm wondering if they're going to delve into the fact that one man holds ALL of the power in this society. He truly is the judge, jury, and executioner (literally -- he played the role of all three in one episode). It sorta makes me understand why people would want to limit his power.

Overall, I do recommend this show. There are some kinks to work out, but it's an enjoyable hour and I am interested in seeing how things play out. And hey, I'm giving the show its own tag, so at least that means I plan on discussing it again in the future.

Dive Bar Shirt Club: Buckhorn Bar

2011-12-07T21:34:00.003-05:00

Stand back -- I think I have an official favorite Dive Bar Shirt Club t-shirt! I opened up the package and loved this thing. It's a faded red and has a distressed logo/design on the front. Very cool looking. It actually reminds me of the Old School t-shirts on WWEShop.com. Well, here's a thing or two about the bar itself:

When you're feelin' kinda parched in old downtown Laramie, you can mosey on over to the Buckhorn. It took more than a hundred years to get it like this, the perfect watering hole for the cowboy spirit that likes to range and ride. Mounted rifles and wildlife are caught in time. Art and artifacts pay their respects to the manly pursuits and the woodsman's blade carves out an adventurous history. There's something in every nook and cranny and each with a story. Some stories were punctuated with fistfights and guns. Random bullet holes remind folks what can happen when one too many meets up with love gone wrong. Upstairs you find the parlor for a different level of amusements. In the old days in this neighborhood the upper floors could mean female pleasures. It's no different at the Buck. You have your own bar, live music and a well-worn dance floor to find your groove with your gal. The night of the hunter is dark and dangerous and you might want to take care. This place can be a temptation to whip out that six-shooter.

Dive Bar Shirt Club: http://www.divebarshirtclub.com/Default.asp

Dive Bar Shirt Club T-Shirt Gallery

LIVE Raw thoughts - December 5, 2011

2011-12-05T20:57:00.024-05:00

11:08 - That was a satisfying ending to an overall strong Raw. However, I continue to find WWE's self awareness, but unwillingness to change, extremely strange. They seem fully aware that fans don't care for Michael Cole and want Jim Ross back. They'll tease us with the possibility of giving us that, but they won't. They make outward reference to Johnny Ace being boring, but they won't replace him. They know most people don't care for the WWE Championship -- to the extent that performers, on the air, will promise to change it -- but they won't give us a new design. It's very unusual.

11:03 - "If you say 'it's your destiny' I'm going to start drinking." Even better than the last line.

11:02 - "That was a lot of information."

10:51 - Bravo, Mr. Ryder, for appearing in three separate segments.

10:44 - Didn't Cole already use the "looking to play spoiler" line earlier tonight?

10:40 - Really? That's how they're reintroducing Evan Bourne?

10:36 - Alright, let's see how this goes...

10:28 - The booking for this Zack Ryder/US storyline is pretty brilliant. The secret, though, is having Zack Ryder actually win the title. This is the perfect example of why I disagree with people who say that wins and titles don't matter. The difference between Ryder winning the match and the title, and Ryder losing and failing to win the title are worlds apart.

10:24 - Gotta love the World Heavyweight Champion being a pawn in the US Title story.

10:18 - Johnny Ace is only MODERATELY interesting when he's acting heelish. Why not just have him be an out-and-out heel? The guy doesn't have the presence to pull off ambiguous.

Also, I love these Kane videos. It would look utterly awesome to have him bring back the towel and mask. I do hope for the full mask, though, not that crappy half one.

10:07 - I love the poetic nature of this match. John Cena has been the one pushing for Ryder to get his US title shot, and now he's the one who crushes those dreams.

10:02 - Did King just claim that Zack Ryder tried to use him to get the rub?

9:55 - I've enjoyed the these viral videos -- rumored to be Chris Jericho. I'm inclined to believe that, because they're so much in the style of Jericho's past two debut videos. Plus the narration of this video included those big words he loves to use.

9:47 - What also didn't help was having Cole point out that Bryan was unable to beat the injured Henry, and then for Lawler to use Bryan's injuries as an excuse for losing.

9:44 - And after Cole ripped him apart and called him a loser, WWE has Alberto Del Rio escape one of Bryan's submission moves, and then makes Bryan tap in a match that lasted about two minutes. So incredibly odd how they can do such a great job building him up, but then tear him down.

9:42 - Remember that highly competitive match that Daniel Bryan had with Mark Henry, where he looked great even in losing? Yeah, Michael Cole just did everything he could to destroy that for anybody who didn't see the show.

9:38 - I actually liked the announcement and implications of Cena vs. Ryder. Very clever, where two friends are forced to fight while both have something to lose. Plus I think Cena will go out of his way to make Ryder look good.

Oh, and that Ladder match is absolutely ridiculous. In a ladder match, both guys are legally allowed to use the ladder as a weapon. If you can just beat the crap out of somebody with a ladder, why even bother with the sledgehammer?

9:26 - That ending made Orton look like a real doofus. I didn't mind him running off and chasing Barrett, thus losing the match, because Orton didn't have anything to win. But why throw Miz back in the ring, allowing him to win?

Oh, and it looks like that WWE Network logo was legit.

9:23 - By the way, WWEShop.com released another line of Limited Edition t-shirts. This is one of my favorite collections, I wish they did them more:

http://www.wweshop.com/category/men/tshirts-limitededition

Orton's is probably the coolest looking (unfortunately, since I'm not a huge fan), but Punk's is pretty sweet also.

9:17 - I have to wonder, when numerous Superstars come out and say they deserve a title shot, the result is always an opportunity to get said title shot. So why doesn't everybody just come down?

And just once I'd love to see the General Manager single somebody out and be like, "Not you. You're completely unqualified."

9:11 - For some reason I thought the line "Who has the most entertaining match of the night......on purpose!" hilarious.

9:01 - And thank the Lord, it looks like CM Punk was FINALLY added to the signature at the opening of the program. About time.

8:57 - Raw starts in about 5 minutes, but before the show starts I thought I'd give some blog news: This week I'll be posting some -- gasp! -- non-wrestling related content! With The Vampire Diaries on hiatus, my television discussions have been extremely limited. As I like to have a diverse readership, that's been somewhat disappointing. Well throughout the week, I'll be discussing four new series that have joined my TV line up: Terra Nova, The Ringer, American Horror Story, and Once Upon a Time. So stay tuned!

2011-12-02T06:50:00.001-05:00

LIVE Smackdown thoughts - November 29, 2011

2011-11-29T20:01:00.016-05:00

10:36 - Sorry friends, I had some Internet issues. But I really enjoyed the Henry/Bryan match. Granted, I haven't seen any PPV's since Henry became champion, but I might go as far as to say it was Henry's best match to date. And Bryan looked fine in losing as well. Nicely done and great psychology.

9:46 - Relatively minor quibble, but I don't like Mark Henry coming to the ring with a t-shirt. Henry has an interesting build.....he's built like a house and strong as a horse, but he doesn't LOOK strong in the Batista or John Cena sense. So when he comes wearing a huge shirt, he just sorta looks fat.

9:39 - So since joining WWE AJ has had flings with Primo, Hornswoggle, and Daniel Bryan. And I'm jealous of all three of them. Oh, and Daniel Bryan's ring jacket is all sorts of awesome.

9:29 - I'm not saying that Sheamus should have squashed Hornswoggle -- since the audience is sympathetic towards the little guy -- but I'm also not sure how I feel about turning Sheamus into such a softy either.

9:26 - Michael Cole, of Hornswoggle: "If they're not careful, he could eliminate all four people." Excellently delivered.

9:02 - Wow.....John Morrison sure is going to look like a real wuss if David Otunga appears on Raw this Monday...

9:00 - Alright, who said what? That was an awfully long silent censor.

8:50 - Is there anything more dreadfully boring than those WWE backstage parties?

8:43 - Ever since Kofi abandoned the Jamaican colors and started modeling his attire after pop culture items, his coolness factor has risen significantly in my eyes (and I already liked him!) There's his Slimer and Stay Puffed from Ghostbusters. There's the Robin and Green Lantern trunks. There's the Stormtroopers pair, the U.N. one. Am I missing any other great designs?

8:28 - Out of all of the secondary Nexus/Corre guys (excluding Bryan), I honestly thought Justin Gabriel had the brightest future. He's got a great look, a unique but easy to understand accent, and he's got a style that the audience responds to. And with Mysterio and Sin Cara injured, and Morrison on his way out, why not take advantage of this talent?

8:24 - Here's a prediction I know WILL come true: That "Did You Know" is going to send fans into an uproar.

8:20 - Guess I was wrong. By the way, is it me or does Mick look a lot worse than usual? I don't know if it's his haircut, which doesn't really flatter the shape of his face, or if he's just put on a lot of weight, but his face looks really round.

8:17 - Prediction: There will be a spot where AJ has a chance to win, but can't reach the mistletoe.

8:09 - I like the Make a Wish battle royal idea. This reminds me of Team Bischoff vs. Team Austin, where Bischoff rewarded his winning team by saying he'd grant each member one wish. It lasted multiple weeks and was a clever device. Wouldn't mind seeing something like that again (on a grander scale than tonight).

8:03 - Referring to Daniel Bryan as "Tiny Tim"? Not doing him any favors....

8:01 - What the Hell, why not?

(Sorta) LIVE Raw thoughts - November 28, 2011

2011-11-28T20:20:00.005-05:00

9:30 - When they announced Morrison/Miz instead of Morrison/Brodus Clay, I figured they changed their mind on doing a total squash and decided to let Morrison go out with a spectacular match -- although losing. This seemed like a wasted opportunity to me.

9:26 - "Hey, you know that acrobatic guy? For his last match, let's severely limit his mobility." It's been nice, John. Wish things would've worked out.

9:17 - Yeah I I know that I said this wasn't going to be a full recap, and it won't. But I just had to comment on that opening -- it was fantastic. I don't know what they have planned for Cena, but this is a great way to develop his character. This isn't the first time they've explicitly referenced the boos, but this is the first time they've made it such a central aspect of the character and story. Cena's "Rise Above Hate" irks a lot of people, but it's good to know that it seems to be leading somewhere. Maybe Cena will snap and turn heel. Maybe he'll finally do what Piper wants, and he'll go off on the audience (perhaps turning into a Bret Hart type character, where he just hates a segment of the audience). Whatever it is they are planning, I'm eager to see what's next. I actually wouldn't mind if they took Cena out of the ring for a bit and just developed the angle behind the mic (give him a promo instead of a match at TLC). I'm eager to see where this is going.

8:21 - So there isn't going to be a formal edition of LIVE Raw thoughts tonight, because I'm not feeling very well and I have a lot going on this week for which I need to be healthy. However, there is one Pre-Raw topic of discussion I wanted to bring up. Over on WWE.com, there's a video of Johnny Ace in which he congratulates Punk on his title reign. Admittedly, I didn't watch the video (the character bores me to tears), but it did make me think of Johnny's promo last week where he said he has nothing against Punk.

Which brings me to the discussion: Did we learn nothing from the Triple H debacle? It's counter productive to Punk's character to make him an obnoxious jerk towards somebody who isn't outwardly against him. Much like with Triple H a couple of months ago, when Punk is an ass and the boss retaliates, it doesn't necessarily make the boss look like the bad guy. It makes Punk look like he's getting what he has coming.

Fans are already booing Johnny Ace. In all likelihood, they're NEVER going to cheer him. Plus, the natural progression of his character is to be a bad guy. What's with the resistance? The guy doesn't have the charisma of a Vince McMahon or Eric Bischoff, who can pull off the "gray area." Why not just turn him into an outright bad guy? Again, they're doing Punk no favors otherwise.

My proud Twitter moment

2011-11-25T17:12:00.003-05:00

I've been fortunate enough to have a few of my questions answered by celebrities on Twitter, which is really cool, but for the first time ever somebody actually got a real kick out of it! Somebody asked Lance Storm if he missed wrestling for WWE, to which he said, "Some parts yes, some parts no." I then sent a tweet to Lance saying "Some Parts Unknown?" He responded saying "Big Pop," which made me smile. The small things in life, folks.

Hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T12:07:00.002-05:00

I hope everybody enjoys the day and eats a lot of delicious food!

If you live in the New York City area, check out ABC news at 4:00 today. There MIGHT (big might) be a story on the firm I work at about our volunteer work this week.

Anyway, have a safe and happy day!

LIVE Raw thoughts - November 21, 2011

2011-11-21T21:04:00.011-05:00

11:05 - That was a really curious closing segment, and I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. Cena isn't typically shy about a large portion of the audience booing him, but it felt like an extra emphasis was placed on it for this promo. It's almost as if they wanted to hammer the point home that there are a lot of people that dislike him, which is an interesting decision (not a bad one, mind you, until we see how it plays out). And even his response seemed to have a bit of a short edge to it. Further, his actions of stirring the pot and then just leaving seemed unusual.

Regarding Miz and Truth breaking up, I thought it worked really well. It did seem a bit rushed -- I mean, in a matter of 2 minutes they went from tight and chummy to coming to blows -- but WWE has recently fallen into this trap where they take so long building up tension between partners that by the time one of them turns, the fans don't even care anymore. So I suppose this is the lesser of two evils.

Having said that, I think the concept of them breaking up happened way too soon. These two worked really well off of each other (and it was mutually beneficial, since neither was in the title picture). And if handled properly, this turn could've happened around the Rumble to build towards a WrestleMania match (and I do think people would have cared about the break up at that point). Perhaps most of all, I just don't think at this point in time, Truth can find success as a character if he's a face. His heel act has been BRILLIANT. His face routine was really, really bland. I don't think this was a great move for him at this point in time.

10:52 - Ha, it just occurred to me that Jonah Hill was supposed to be on the show. At least they're bumping him and not one of their Superstars. Unless you're Brodus Clay.

10:46 - I'm not upset that Barrett won, and it was a great match, but I hate how Kofi is used as enhancement talent in so many situations. Along with being a tag champion, he's also a really talented guy with a great upside.

10:32 - I'm glad Barrett brought back his long jacket. Much better than the overdone t-shirt entrance look.

10:23 - Interesting vignette hinting at Kane's return. I've said it before (and many others have as well) but I really think Kane needs to revert back to the mask. I actually wouldn't mind if they did a hybrid -- bald head, no shirt, but wearing the mask. One thing, though: Please, don't have him wear the last mask he wore, with the mouth section missing. I hated that mask, and it really took away a lot of the allure of him finally unmasking.

By the way, worth nothing that Kane seemed to be wearing the full glove he used to wear with the classic mask, and not the fingerless ones he wore later on (and now).

10:17 - Now that was a really great match. When I do my year end survey next month, Dolph has a legitimate shot at being the breakout star of the year. He began the year feuding with Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship, and since then he's really come into his own with some awesome matches against a variety of Superstars, and his personality has really come through. I wouldn't mind seeing these two feud legitimately in the coming months.

9:57 - Another new theme for Dolph?

9:51 - Looks like we're getting a Booker T/Cody Rhodes feud. I'm fine with that, as I like Booker and he's a talented guy. Plus, I'm sure he'll put Cody over and continue to make him look strong. My only issue is that there are plenty of people on both rosters that can't seem to break through -- so why not give one of them the shot? Like a Justin Gabriel, perhaps?

9:39 - I swear to God, if I see this Triple H/Nash segment one more time....

9:23 - Well, at least Ryder lasted longer against ADR than Morrison did. I don't have a problem with ADR going over clean, either. It was a competitive match, losing didn't hurt Ryder.

9:15 - An enjoyable Punk promo with just the right amount of snark. I'm glad he didn't harp too long on how there are people up top who are against him, because that potential story arc sailed away following the Triple H debacle. I'm also glad that they're not going to go the easy route and continue the ADR feud for another month (although they may). I was actually thinking about this earlier -- this has become such a repetitive crutch that it feels like these feuds never truly end, especially with such frequent title changes. From this point forward, why not say that the rematch clause is reserved for the live events following the title change? It would keep the main event matches fresh, and who knows, maybe it'll encourage some people to buy tickets to house shows.

9:04 - Good call starting the show with Punk. Right decision. Now, let us sit back and enjoy this promo.

Survivor Series Predictions

2011-11-20T17:08:00.003-05:00

I won't be ordering the show tonight. I might have been convinced to do so if there were a couple more traditional matches -- right now, it just feels like an ordinary PPV. The matches are incredibly tough to predict, if only because a lot of the decisions lately have been very questionable. I'll give it a-go, nonetheless.

WWE Championship Match:

Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk

I'd LOVE to see Punk take the title here -- and I'd say there's about a 50% chance that happens. I'm just not fully convinced. However, I don't see Henry losing his title, and I don't see Rock/Cena ending "happily." Even if Punk wins, though, I'm not sure he's going to get a super long reign. Which is too bad.

World Heavyweight Championship Match:

Mark Henry vs. Big Show

I see Henry retaining here. No cash in from Daniel Bryan.

Traditional Survivor Series Match:

Team Orton vs. Team Barrett

I see Orton and Sheamus as sole survivors.

United States Championship Match:

Dolph Ziggler vs. John Morrison

I see Zack Ryder getting inserted into the match, making it triple threat. If that happens, I could see them pulling the trigger and having Ryder win it. If it remains as a one-on-one match, Ziggler retains.

Divas Championship Match:

Beth Phoenix vs. Eve

I really like Eve, and she's probably the best option of all the babyface Divas, but I would keep the title on Beth.

Rock/Cena vs. Miz/Truth

There are a lot of options here, and I'm sure they'll go with the least inventive. Rock and Cena win, and Rock gives him the Rock Bottom afterwards. Some other possibilities: Rock abandons Cena, and Miz/Truth win; Cena abandons Rock, and Miz/Truth win; purely happy ending with the good guys winning and celebrating; Rock and Cena win, and Cena gives him an AA.

What do you think will happen? And will you be ordering the show?

LIVE Raw thoughts - November 14, 2011

2011-11-14T19:49:00.025-05:00

11:03 - To his credit, Boots to Asses is now trending. Then again, so was Mason Ryan at one point tonight.

10:53 - I'm looking at my Twitter page right now. Boots to Asses ain't trending.

10:46 - The size of The Rock disturbs me. Was he ever this big throughout his entire career?

10:37 - I still hope they'll add one more Survivor Series elimination match. There are still plenty of guys who aren't scheduled for matches yet. Ryder, Morrison, Bryan, DiBiase, just to name a few.

10:24 - Speaking of beards, I guess Orton's is gone now.

10:21 - Kevin Nash definitely looks better with the full beard. That thin goatee thing was creepy looking.

10:00 - So what, we don't take off our shirts when we wrestle anymore?

9:52 - I say this every week but ADR has the absolute worst looking beat downs. Nothing about his attacks look brutal.

9:51 - What a coincidence! My brother was wearing the shirt Miz is wearing right now, and I really liked it. Just today I was trying to find it (affordably).

9:48 - So they can't even fit in Brodus for a 3 hour show? Yikes....

9:43 - Told you.

9:40 - Natalya will lose. Natalya always loses. When you consider that Kelly is also on the cover of Maxim, I'd say that her chances are even slimmer. I do love Kelly, though.

9:31 - I am firmly willing to predict that Sheamus and Orton are the survivors of their team.

9:19 - So how many segments are they going to end with the participants explicitly stating that this has been a waste of time? I mean, I'm not really sure what the point of that segment was. I did get a BIT of a kick out of Foley's attempts at a good gesture continually backfiring, but quite honestly Cena and Foley don't have the history that Rock and Foley had to make the comedy of errors work.

Was the whole point to get Cena to give a rousing speech about how the fans can boo him? If so, we've already seen that a bunch of times before. And on top of that, the segment only gave the audience more reasons to boo Cena.

Rock coming in to Rock Bottom Foley was kinda funny and unexpected, though.

9:12 - How did I not know Bull had this accent?

9:07 - I suspect they're purposely going over the top here, but there's no way this music gets the audience supporting Cena.

8:54 - Doesn't wearing one of those balance bands over your wrist tape defeat the purpose?

8:50 - So, could Ziggler be doing double duty two PPVs in a row?

It strikes me as odd that WWE is so incredibly willing to anger their audience with this JR/Cole thing, with seemingly no plan to have it end happily (with JR getting his job back).

8:39 - I know I'm in the vast minority here, but I haven't necessarily been set on fire by the Rock since his return. Granted, I was NEVER a massive Rock fan -- more than any other main eventer, I felt he did as little as possible in the ring in order to get a reaction. Likewise, he relies on catch phrases more than most behind the mic. I am by no means discounting his talent or success -- both are immense. I just feel like, often, he does as little as possible to get a reaction.

Having said that, my issue with the Rock/Cena feud is the same as my issue with the Triple H/Kevin Nash feud. Very, very little of the issues have occurred on-screen. You're expecting your audience to know all of this backstage information. I wish they would show an old interview where Cena badmouthed Rock, because at the moment all we've seen is Rock and Cena talking about all the things they've said about each other.

8:28 - At least JR is doing the announcing, for now.

Hunico went from a potentially marketable Sin Cara impersonator to a stereotypical Konnan impostor. The Black Sin Cara gimmick had some potential, and I think they gave up on it WAY too quickly.

I'm also really disappointed that Cody has abandoned the mask. Sure, the shelf life may have been limited, but the Dr. Doom look was awesome. Cody is great, but there's not a whole lot about him that stands out. The mask set him apart and really let him shine.

8:21 - Usual spiel. Loved Punk, the rest was blah. Honestly, they should have ended it with Punk giving Cole the GTS and then pulling the announce chair out for JR. That would have made Punk a God to the audience.

Nice to see Foley again, by the way. My feelings on Mick as a performer has wavered over the years, but I think his talent is innate and I'm excited to see what he has to offer.

8:16 - Could this be the return of the CM Punk crazy beard?

7:59 - So Twitter has been advertising that the Cole Challenge would kick off Raw. I don't think the future is bright for JR. If they had planned on doing something as drastic as removing Cole from the booth and giving the position back to JR, I don't think they'd be so casual about postponing the match for several weeks. If Cole wins, nothing changes. He remains as the announcer and JR stays gone. So postponing it, if the end result is Cole winning, is a "no harm, no foul" situation. Not looking good for Mr. Ross, although I hope I'm wrong.

7:49 - We're about 10 minutes from a supersized Super Show. I'll do my best to keep this coverage going for the whole three hours, but I hurt my back today and my chair, while comfortable, is not quite as alluring as my bed. Plus I may need to run out for a bit.

How about a quick pre-Raw discussion? Christian is officially off of, eck, Team Barrett. Who replaces him? The easy answer is Epico or Primo, who have aligned with Hunico against Sin Cara. But do they want to waste a spot on people so low on the card? My bet is on Brodus Clay, who dominates in his "debut" match tonight, and immediately gets picked up by Barrett. What do you think?

Family Guy: Why last night's episode wasn't (too) controversial

2011-11-14T14:07:00.007-05:00

If you were watching my tweets last night, you'll know that I found last night's episode of Family Guy absolutely hilarious. I absolutely LOVED seeing the sleek, high definition animation interact with the crude drawings from the pilot episode. The meta references were great as well, like Brian bringing up Stewie's early unusual manner of speaking and Stewie remarking that the TV wasn't even plugged in. Plus, the glimpse into how animation may look in a few years was fun as well. I thought it was great -- one of the rare moments where Family Guy clearly dominated against the usually stellar American Dad.

Yet when I came online today, I was shocked to see a mini-uproar over the references to 9/11 (unfortunately, even Inside Pulse joined in on the act). Why? Why was this a controversy? First and foremost, the jokes that were made were relatively tame compared to what we're used to seeing (I mean, c'mon, a song about somebody having AIDS?) Secondly, I really think that people are missing the point regarding the whole 9/11 thing -- both on a comedic and philosophical level.

On the comedic level, the fact that Stewie and Brian were high fiving about 9/11 happening IS the joke. They discovered that something far worse happened when they prevented 9/11 (millions of people, opposed to thousands, were killed in a Civil War). In order to prevent that catastrophe, they had to allow the original to happen. Within the context of the show, 9/11 was the lesser of two evils, so yes, they were happy about it. But to the viewer -- who knows that this future Civil War is fake -- the dark humor is seeing these two characters cheering for an awful thing that really happened.

On a philosophical level, it's worth noting that 9/11 was the one thing that they attempted to prevent. For all the discussion about them making light of what happened, how about the fact that it was the one event that, if given the ability to go back in time, they would try to stop from happening?

Make no mistake about it -- 9/11 was a tragic event and many, many people lost somebody dear to them. But I honestly don't believe last night's episode was ABOUT allowing 9/11 to happen. It just feels like people are trying to find controversy where there isn't one.

Top Ten Cases: Best Mustaches in Wrestling (Movember Special)

2011-11-13T19:42:00.003-05:00

Enjoy!

Inside Pulse Relaunch #7

2011-11-11T14:33:00.002-05:00

http://insidepulse.com/

Today marked the relaunch of Inside Pulse (the website I contribute to) and overall I think it looks great. This is the most uniformed the site has ever been, in my view, which I actually appreciate. There was a time that I liked how each zone had its own identity, but now I think websites typically look more professional and "cleaner" when the appearance is more or less universal. Also, be sure to check out my author page (I'll get around to updating the graphics shortly):

http://insidepulse.com/insider/mattbasilo/

So, what do you all think of the new look?

A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-9

2011-11-10T22:33:00.004-05:00

Since none of my friends watch The Vampire Diaries, and I don’t frequent message boards (in order to avoid spoilers), I’m really not sure what the overall perspective of this season has been. But, for my money, the third season has been on fire! It’s really been one great episode after another, and even the “filler” episodes have provided some fun moments and/or interesting character development. None of the storylines have seemed rushed or illogical, and the character shifts have not only been fun, but they’ve also made me care more about each individual character. Am I alone here, or has everybody been enjoying the season thus far?

Continue reading "A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-9"....

Alright, with that (straightforward) gushing out of the way, this week was the mid-season finale and it was a pretty explosive episode (and that would be gushing that isn’t straightforward). In its final few seasons, Smallville relied heavily on the “___ days/hours ago” manner of storytelling and it usually worked, even though it was entirely unnecessary at times. I was a tad worried this episode would fall into that category (I mean, why begin with Stefan on the phone with Klaus, only to flash back mid-discussion to the preparation for the phone call?) but looking back (ha!) it was actually a really fun, exciting way to tell the story. Yes, that initial example may have been a bit much, but not knowing how things were going to play out – and then fully understanding why things happened the way they did – made for a pretty thrilling hour.

Remember what I said in the introduction about how I cared about all of the characters? Well, that was an important aspect of this episode, as everybody played a part in the night’s events. And through it all, their motivations made sense, and you truly understood their nature. It quickly became obvious that Mikael is NOT a good guy. As Rebekah noted, he was the one who made the family into monsters, and he was the one who had mistreated Klaus throughout his life. And when push came to shove, he had absolutely no qualms about murdering Elena – an innocent, powerless girl who was on his side. For her part, Rebekah ended up being a relatively sweet girl who was willing to kill her brother, despite loving him, because she knew it was for the best (and for that matter, Elena staking Rebekah was a pretty shocking, bad ass moment). Tyler showed that he was still willing to do whatever it took to protect his friends, even though he was under the control of Klaus.

Probably my favorite character performances, however, were Stefan and Katherine. When Damon oh-so-casually mentioned that Katherine told him that Mikael feeds on vampires, I grinned ever so slightly, as it confirmed that she survived the attack. After hearing that, I did suspect her to play a role in the conclusion (and I loved that Mikael didn’t realize it was Katherine and not Elena). And Stefan continued his fun turn as a guy who doesn’t really give a damn, but still has a soft spot for his brother. And, like last week, it was his loyalty to Damon that led to Klaus’ survival (likewise, it was Elijah’s loyalty to HIS family that caused him to save Klaus last season).

In fact, the flashback between Katherine and Stefan, where their portion of the plan was revealed, was perhaps my favorite part of the entire episode. Since Katherine’s return, most of her scenes have been with Damon (which I’ve enjoyed), but her interaction with Stefan this episode was a lot of fun. I loved how Katherine disappeared from the party to wake Stefan, so that – unbelievably – she could knock him out of his senses so that they could save Damon. And in the car, she finally revealed to Stefan that there is a piece of humanity in her, and that she did truly love both of them. It was actually a really great series of scenes, adding a great deal of complexity to all of the characters involved. Actually, Stefan and Katherine as a bad ass pair that don’t give a damn (but kinda sorta do) could be a whole lot of fun over the second half of the season.

Well, that’s it for the mid-season finale. See you guys in January! In the meantime, be sure to visit my blog and, of course, follow me on Twitter!

Wrestling Rushmore

2011-11-09T20:44:00.003-05:00

Over on Twitter, somebody asked former WWE writer Seth Mates who he would include on his wrestling Mount Rushmore. I disagreed with Seth's answer (Vince, Undertaker, Cena, and Rock). If I was forced to choose, I think I'd go with Vince, Hogan, Austin, and Flair. Vince because he's the pioneer of wrestling and the only genuine constant. Hogan because he was the face behind the first wrestling boom, and at the end of the day he's THE MOST recognizable person in wrestling history. Austin because he rejuvenated the industry and brought upon arguably the biggest boom, pop culture wise. And then there's Flair, an absolute legend and perhaps the most respected wrestler ever by his peers.

It remains to be seen what impact John Cena will have on wrestling history, but I'm not sure how you could include him (or Taker or Rock) and not Austin and Hogan. What do you guys think -- who would be on your Wrestling Rushmore?

LIVE Raw thoughts - November 7, 2011

2011-11-07T20:22:00.022-05:00

11:08 - That was the right ending but an incredibly lame one as well. The kick looked weak, the camera barely caught it, and Truth holding down Cena's leg really shouldn't have had any impact on Cena lifting his shoulder. I didn't expect it to be clean, but it shouldn't have been THAT fluke-ish. I still don't feel like they've presented a story that leads us to think Cena truly needs Rock -- to the extent that they're putting their rivalry on hold.

11:02 - I hope Ryder doesn't eat the pin tonight. Again, it won't create suspense that Cena needs help.

10:47 - Gotta admit, that was pretty cool how they filmed the Rock/Cena teaming up Survivor Series bus, and then panned up to the Rock/Cena opponents against each other at WrestleMania banner.

10:41 - So are they ever going to mention that Punk and Otunga were both in the Nexus? And another bait and switch by putting off Brodus' debut?

10:37 - So why isn't Punk coming out? Shouldn't he still want to take out Nash?

10:35 - Further, why are people surprised that Nash attacked Triple H? Why wouldn't he? In storyline terms, Triple H sided with Punk over him, punched him in the face, and then fired him.

10:34 - No matter how many times you show me the replay of the Nash/Triple H attack, I still won't care.

10:25 - I wouldn't mind the Divas of Destruction retreating so often if they at least won most of their matches. Natalya almost always jobs and Beth loses just as much as she wins. Let these girls kick a little ass, so that the fans can rally behind a babyface Diva to take them down. I just don't see them as much of a threat at the moment.

10:17 - Why was AJ's music playing as Kelly Kelly was walking through the hallway?

10:14 - Is it me or does Jack Swagger look exceptionally tan tonight?

10:04 - Great segment with Punk. It occurs to me that, aside from that brief interaction with Nash, this is really the first time since Punk's face turn that we've seen him let loose on the mic against a heel. Think about it -- his victims up until now have primarily been Cena and Triple H, both babyfaces. It's refreshing seeing him against somebody where a segment of the audience doesn't have to wonder whether or not it's okay to cheer. Oh, and is it me, or does ADR have the worst looking beatdowns out of anybody in the main event/upper midcard scene? His attacks look awful.

9:51 - Over on Twitter, Gregory Helms just called the heel announcer routine "old" and I'm inclined to agree with him. One of my favorite commentating teams of the modern era was Michael Cole and Tazz, and neither of them explicitly played a heel or face. They were just two guys who sometimes agreed and sometimes didn't, and their views always seemed consistent and real. It's a routine that works and doesn't annoy or insult your audience.

9:42 - Still wondering why Wade Barrett is the captain of his team.

9:30 - Granted....my contacts dried out so I had to switch to my glasses, but I'm PRETTY sure I just saw John Morrison win a match! Wow! Let's hope this is a turning point for Morrison. I've been saying it all year, but John Morrison is a truly unique talent and unlike anybody else they have. Backstage politics aside, they're wasted a special talent.

9:15 - WWE gets a lot of criticism -- and trust me, it's well deserved -- but in the past year guys like Dolph Ziggler and Zack Ryder have really made a name for themselves. And guys like CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, and Christian have had incredible years -- probably the best of their careers. That doesn't excuse their mistakes, but still...

By the way, we now have Morrison against Ziggler. A year or so ago Morrison was beating Ziggler consistently in their feud. Let's see how long he lasts before losing clean to Ziggler this match.

9:10 - A year ago -- hell, even a couple months ago -- would you have imagined Zack Ryder getting the hot save (with theme music) for John Cena in the opening segment of Raw? Great moment for Ryder and you can't help but be happy for him.

9:07 - I admire the fact that they're digging themselves out of their own grave regarding Cena beating Miz and Truth last week, but I can't help but wonder why they didn't just avoid that altogether when they had the chance.

9:01 (seconds later) - Yep, there it is.

9:01 - They're in England? Guess we'll be seeing the old school phone booth.

8:22 - Raw starts in less than an hour. I haven't read the spoilers -- nor do I plan to -- but I thought we might jump into a Pre-Raw discussion. WWE.com recently announced that a traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series match would happen at the upcoming PPV. Hopefully this isn't the only one. Anyway, it'll be Team Orton (Randy Orton, Sheamus, Sin Cara, Kofi Kingston, and Mason Ryan) vs. Team Barrett (Wade Barrett, Christian, Cody Rhodes, Hunico, and Jack Swagger). Aside from the fact that they need to bring back those goofy team names (I hate these "Team Enter Last Name" names), I can't help but be surprised that Wade Barrett is considered the captain of his team. His push isn't even that strong, and up until a few weeks ago he was getting his ass handed to him by John Cena. As this alliance emerged, it seemed like Christian was the mastermind/instigator. Plus he's a former World Champion. And then there's Cody Rhodes. He's getting a pretty strong push as well, and he's the one who's feuding with Orton (the other team's captain). Barrett just seemed like a really strange choice, given the options. What do you all think?

Dive Bar Shirt Club: Friar Tuck

2011-11-06T20:17:00.002-05:00

Just a few days after receiving my October shirt, my November shirt has arrived! And perhaps in tribute to everybody's favorite wrestler, this bar comes straight from Chicago! I wonder if I was there when I visited a couple of years ago. Anyway, here you go....

This 40-year-old neighborhood bar is literally a hole in the wall. It serves up a heaping helping of ye old atmosphere while celebrating the monk's holy-est water....beer. Dark walls are covered with photos of past patrons "tucked" behind Plexiglas doors. You'll discover decades of awesome bar going fashion like 70's bell-bottoms and beards and 80's mullets and mustaches. Beyond that you'll find a crackling fire and Friar Tuck himself raising his glass to the star of the show....a sheep. Many places have embarrassing birthday traditions and friends just love forcing them on you. You might say Friar Tuck holds the trophy for the best or most humiliating depending on your point of view. It's a very popular tradition to drink a birthday shot out of an inflatable sheep's butt while the whole bar sings happy birthday to you.

Dive Bar Shirt Club: http://www.divebarshirtclub.com/Default.asp

Dive Bar Shirt Club T-Shirt Gallery

A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-8

2011-11-03T22:35:00.002-04:00

It feels like only a couple of episodes ago I was remarking that The Vampire Diaries resorted to flashback in order to tell their stories a few too many times. Yet, I have to admit, I really enjoyed this episode (although I was initially skeptical). In fact, it may have been the best flashback episode yet.

So, why was I skeptical? Well, when we saw Alaric going through the cave and realizing that the symbols represented everything they had dealt with, conceivably tying it all together, I couldn’t help but have bad Heroes flashbacks of my own. When the writing of Heroes really started falling apart, they seemed to discover something from their past that seemed to conveniently rewrite their own mythology. On a fairly consistent basis. Thankfully, The Vampire Diaries hasn’t experienced the same writing struggles, so this episode avoided that fate.

Continue reading "A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-8"....

Truth be told, I really liked the flashbacks because they provided a clear cut explanation about the origins of vampires (something I don’t think they did last season) and they managed to do it in a very personal manner. The original witch wasn’t just an ordinary person – it was the mother of Klaus, Rebekah, and Elijah. And Mikael isn’t some vampiric vampire hunter – he’s their father. And vampirism in itself wasn’t some diabolical affront against God – it was a parent’s desperate attempt to keep his children and family alive. Until the reveal at the end, I wondered if they were going to realign the season’s story arc because Klaus was coming across as so sympathetic. I thought they were perhaps going to have all of them band together to take on Mikael. In the final moments, however, we learned that Klaus was actually the one who killed his mother, and that he had been psychologically keeping Rebekah and Elijah hostage for thousands of years. It was a really well told story, and for the first time I cared about these new characters as something more than just antagonists.

I often applaud this show for giving us odd or different pairings, but if there’s one twosome that’s always a homerun it’s Stefan and Damon. These two characters just bring out the best in each other, and this was really the first time we saw “bad” Stefan with “good” Damon, in a non-adversarial capacity. And it worked really, really well. When Damon told Stefan that he likes the edge, Stefan just needs to learn to stop falling off of it, I sensed that he wasn’t just “playing” his brother – I really think Damon would be in a state of bliss if Stefan was just like him. Yes, he wants Stefan to go back to his Boy Scout ways because he wants what’s best for him and for Elena, but I really do believe that Damon would be perfectly happy if Stefan was a dick who showed some restraint.

And I really did enjoy the fact that Damon’s life being in danger was what (kinda sorta) made Stefan come to his senses. While it was meant to sound somewhat tragic, I actually found it sweet when Elena remarked (possibly correctly) that Stefan’s love for Damon will be what saves him, not his love for Elena.

This was really a two story episode, so there’s not much else to say about the episode. Which is odd, because so much happened and I really did like it. Oh, I still hope that Katherine isn’t dead!

Anyway, next week is the show’s mid-season finale and it looks pretty thrilling. See you then!

LIVE Raw thoughts - October 31, 2011

2011-10-31T20:40:00.011-04:00

10:42 - So there's only about 20 minutes left and we have the Triple H update (which will be entirely too long), the JR/Cole bout, and Miz/Cena. A lot of show to pack in for a relatively short time. Anyway, I don't mean to leave you guys hanging, but I'm going to lie down. I have to wake up about an hour earlier than usual tomorrow, so I want to pass out pretty much right after the show ends. If that fails, I'll see about updating my post. But enjoy the rest of the show! And of course, comment below.

10:41 - Good for Zack Ryder. If he's able to maintain this momentum -- and I hope he does -- he's a legitimate self-made Superstar. Again, good for him.

10:13 - I'm a bit surprised they had Big Show beat ADR, especially in such a clean fashion. I enjoyed the CM Punk segment, though. By the way, I couldn't make out the design on Punk's tights earlier, but I think I figured it out: They're spiderwebs. And the black and orange is for Halloween.

10:06 - This is a surprisingly competitive match. And pitting the Big Show and ADR against each other does, to an extent, excuse the Punk/Henry match from earlier in the night. Then again, let's see how the match plays out.

9:48 - A six man feud between Christian, Barrett, and Cody against Sheamus, Kofi, and Bourne could be a lot of fun. However -- and I'm not the first one to say this -- I hate when they kick off a feud for the title by having a challenger beat the champion in a non-title bout. Lacks all originality.

9:34 - I'm glad they did the logical thing and put Sheamus and Beaker in a skit together. So I guess the Muppets are real in this universe?

9:25 - The Muppets stuff was pretty harmless. I'm not sure what the reaction will be overall. But I did laugh at Miss Piggy's "Is she a cowboy or a pirate?" comment. And it's a fair question!

9:15 - I hate when they use the World Heavyweight Champion as fodder to advance the WWE Championship story. If they wanted to put Punk up against an unstoppable monster, how about using Sheamus (and if they wanted to avoid a face/face match, how about a debuting Brodus Clay, who already has a history with ADR)? By the way, will WWE EVER let Punk fight his own battles? First Triple H takes out Nash, and now Mark Henry gets the best of Ricardo. Sheesh.

9:07 - I didn't talk about this at length last week, but I didn't quite care for the manner in which they had Cena pick Rock as his partner. I didn't buy his motivation. Why can he trust Rock more than, say, CM Punk -- who has fought by his side and who has also been at the receiving end of a Miz/Truth beatdown? and what motivation does Rock have to help him? It just didn't make sense to me. And the way it played out, it seemed like Cena was reaching out for Rock's assistance -- and Rock got to look cool and bad ass by telling him no (and then got to look like the hero when he changed his mind and said yes). This did Cena no favors.

Instead, I would have had Cena show a little edge and go on and on about how he has been getting brutally attacked week in and week out, while Rock is out filming movies and having a stunt double do all of the physical work. So to even the odds, he's asking Rock to put his money where his mouth is and fight alongside him. That way Cena and Rock get to team up while still reminding the audience that they're fighting at WrestleMania, and neither person has to look bad at the expense of the other.

8:41 - No pre-Raw discussion today, however I do hope that WWE takes advantage of this opportunity and delivers us something special. Between Halloween and the Muppets -- who, it seems, has quite an audience -- WWE has the chance to do something fun and different. Last time they had that shot, with the walkout, they blew it. I hope they come through this time around.

By the way, I had intended on posting a Top Ten Cases video this weekend. It's got a Halloween theme, but due to the big snow storm that hit us I didn't have a chance to work on it. And plus, I'm not done with the rankings yet. So please bear with me when I post a Halloween-centric list days after Halloween. Thanks, pals.

Come back at 9:00 for my LIVE thoughts.

Dive Bar Shirt Club: Koz's Mini Bowl

2011-10-29T16:25:00.003-04:00

Better late than never, right? It's October 30th and I FINALLY got my Dive Bar t-shirt for the month of October. And with this crazy snow storm hitting us, and it appearing like I won't be able to go out for Halloween (leaving last night's festivities as the only one on my schedule), this is as good a time as any to post the photo and description:

Vintage duckpin bowling is hard to find these days which is why Koz's takes reservations for lanes over the phone. This makes sure kids in the neighborhood are on site for pin setting. They're employed to frantically reset the game before the next ball speeds down the alley. This granddaddy of today's bowling is popular because no matter how you've scored in the past, you will have great improvement over regular bowling. You're a powerful contender when you take on smaller balls and pins and a shorter alley. You'll feel like a giant. This will be an important advantage when you enjoy great lakes of what made Milwaukee famous.

Dive Bar Shirt Club: http://www.divebarshirtclub.com/Default.asp

Dive Bar Shirt Club T-Shirt Gallery

Halloween Weekend Begins!

2011-10-28T18:46:00.002-04:00

Well, I'm off to the first (and hopefully not last) costume/Halloween party of the weekend. I'll admit, a Friday party makes it a lot more stressful to get everything prepared, but I'll make it work. And thankfully, I'm even able to catch the last American Horror Story before I go.

I won't reveal what I'm dressing as quite yet (although there's a fairly major clue at the top of the page), but I thought you might enjoy taking a look back at my some of my past costumes. What will you be dressing up as? Anyway, enjoy:

http://s653.photobucket.com/albums/uu256/acaseoftheblog/Halloween%20costumes/

A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-7

2011-10-27T23:23:00.004-04:00

Believe it or not, I actually almost missed this week’s The Vampire Diaries. I didn’t recall seeing a preview following last week’s episode, and I noticed that quite a few shows were airing repeats this week. As such, I took my time getting home from work, even making numerous stops to find the final touches to my Halloween costume. I got home pretty much exactly at 8, and figured I might as well double check to see if it’s on. And lo and behold, it turned out to be a pretty great episode.

Continue reading "A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-7"....

As speculated from last week’s episode, the ghosts of the characters we’ve seen killed since the beginning of the series all made their grand return. I actually really enjoyed the way they were introduced, jumping from character to character, with each one being confronted by somebody from their past (Bonnie and her grandmother, Stefan and Lexi, and Alaric and Damon with Mason). One thing I didn’t quite get, though. They went out of their way to explain why Lexireturned (Elena was just thinking about her), but why was Mason back? I find it hard to believe that Damon or Stefan were thinking about him, and there’s no reason to believe that Tyler was either. What gives? For what it’s worth, I expected to see Isobel return when Alaric and Damon were at the bar together.

So Mason returned, but we would come to learn it wasn’t for revenge. Instead, he had plans of saving Tyler from the fate he had suffered. There were a few hiccups along the way, as we (and Damon) wondered if Mason could truly be trusted. It turned out he was a man of his word, and he came to discover a cave with hieroglyphics (presumably from the original vampires).

Speaking of reunions, we also saw Damon reunite with Lexi. She attempted to “detox” him in order to rid him of his Ripper ways. I found it interesting that she was able to compel him, though. They seemed to make a big deal out of the fact that the original vampires were capable of compelling fellow vampires – it seemed odd that an ordinary vampire like Lexi could do it. Nonetheless, I thought they did a good job of further establishing their history and how much they care about each other – as well as how far Stefan has gone. Even though you could telegraph it a mile away, I liked how Lexi vanished before she could finish the job, leaving Elena and the viewers wondering if this rehab had any impact on Stefan. By the way, I was glad that Elena echoed the words she had said earlier to Jeremy, about holding onto a ghost, because I was somewhat disappointed that he didn’t call her out on it. I mean, what lengths has Elena gone to in order to keep Stefan? For all Jeremy knew, Anna was back for good.

Remember my disappointment a couple weeks ago regarding the fact that we never got to see the softer side of Vicki? Well, I feel the complete opposite about Anna. During her initial run, I wasn’t immediately sold on Anna, but by the time she was killed, she had really grown on me. And this season alone, I’ve really enjoyed her brief appearances. This episode, however, did an incredible job of genuinely making me care about her, to the point that I really, really wanted her to have a happy ending. They also did a fantastic job of not making Anna unlikable (given her relationship with Jeremy, who’s in a relationship with one of the main characters). When she talked about being all alone, I felt bad for her. It’d be too bad if she’s gone for good, but I was left satisfied with the ending of her story (the reunion with her mother). It’s also pretty cool that Anna’s good bye was the last and most significant, especially given the semi-big characters that returned.

Speaking of Anna and Jeremy, while I understand that Caroline’s allegiance is to her friend and not Jeremy, I found it strange that she couldn’t think of a lie when Bonnie asked about the boyfriend ghost drama. I mean, Jeremy is essentially being haunted by his ex-girlfriend – that’s pretty dramatic in and of itself. Why couldn’t she just leave it at that instead of revealing the kiss? Seemed a bit contrived.

By the way, I forgot to ask this last week, but did Katherine die? I kinda hope not….

LIVE Raw thoughts - October 24, 2011

2011-10-24T20:46:00.023-04:00

11:07 - Another "curveball" by having Johnny Ace stop Miz & Truth from assaulting Cena. I wish they would just out and out show us that he's helping these guys, but they just can't prove it.

11:02 - "The patented waterbottle to the skull." Never thought I'd hear it.

10:50 - Here's another problem with WWE's writing lately: It's all build with no proper payoff. They spent weeks building up Nash and the text situation. Was it directed at Punk? Was he sent by Triple H? Was it about getting the title on Del Rio? All of this time went into this mystery, only to discover that he sent it himself -- something that made absolutely no sense and didn't pay off any of the possibilities. Then there was the Punk/Triple H feud, about whether there was some sort of conspiracy. Again, for weeks they were building up this idea, only to discover, "hey, nope, there's no conspiracy!" So Punk looked like a jerk, and they fought for no reason. Now we have Miz and Truth making all of these random attacks, but who are they with? Are they in cahoots with Nash? With Ace? With Del Rio? And at this point, there have been so many twists and turns -- most of them illogical -- that there wouldn't really be any impact from any revelation.

10:42 - So this whole thing is leading towards Cole vs. JR for the announcing job? What are the chances they just let JR win this thing? Or is it just another opportunity to humiliate JR? At this point, Cole would be better off as a heel manager or authority figure anyway.

PS - that Greatest Rivalries DVD looks f'n AWESOME!

10:29 - By the way, for what it's worth, I don't think it's Melina's fault that Morrison is getting jobbed out. If anything, I think his Twitter rant about how incredible she is did him in. It's really too bad, though. I've often said that Morrison is a truly unique talent. I legitimately believe that there's nobody else like him on the roster.

10:27 - Where is all of this JR/Cole stuff going? And why is it even an issue? Is there anybody out there who wouldn't prefer that the announcers just sit back and call the match? If Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon had announced during this era, how many times would they have wrestled by this point?

10:25 - I'm shocked John Morrison can even bring himself to smile when he comes out at this point.

10:20 - For the most part, I think Beth Phoenix and Natalya have lost more than they've won since turning heel. Especially Nat.

10:12 - Not to sound fanboy-y, but CM Punk nailed it out of the park (while Cena and Triple H both struggled). That was great stuff (and great Back to the Future and Simpsons references). However, the question remains -- if Punk is moving onto a feud with ADR, and Triple H is dealing with Nash, why oh why did Punk eat the pin? Yes, they incorporated the loss into the storyline, but it would have worked even better if Punk's loss was held against him when he wasn't even the one pinned. I really, really hope this means they're back to building up Punk and letting him do what he does best. And for the love of God, keep him as far away from Triple H as possible.

10:01 - You know, that WWE Championship gets a lot of criticism, but damn -- it does look like it would REALLY hurt if you were hit in the face with it.

9:52 - Just think, a year or so ago Dolph Ziggler was having losing feuds with John Morrison and Daniel Bryan. He was jobbing to them on a weekly basis. Now the two of them are losing matches like it's going out of style, while Ziggler is setting the company on fire. What a difference a year makes.

9:44 - I defend John Cena a lot, but I didn't really enjoy that promo either. He was a bit too all over the place, and his mix of humor and intensity didn't work. And he tried to get too many jokes in at once. By the way, I like the black shirt color-scheme, but I'm surprised he debuted it at Vengeance and not at the much bigger event, Survivor Series.

9:41 - That was a pretty damn exciting match. I suspect that Sheamus was supposed to connect in the face with that kick, but I'm glad he didn't try to pin him when it didn't work. Great awareness from Sheamus -- way to think on his feet.

9:30 - Odd observation but I'm disappointed that Christian is spiking his hair again. The flat, slightly messy hair worked well with his heel character. He looks a bit too neat now.

9:25 - This entire show has been action, replay, new action, replay of everything, new action. Seriously, it's not even 9:30 and we've seen TWO replays of something that happened at 9:15.

9:24 - It occurs to me that a couple of weeks ago, Raw had a really fresh and interesting feeling during the walkout. That was interrupted rather prematurely by Vince McMahon. Yet the entire opening half hour of Raw has been devoted to the Triple H/Kevin Nash saga. Has anybody else even appeared on the show?

9:20 - I love how casually security asked, "Does he have a pulse?" Like, was that supposed to insinuate that Nash killed him?

9:14 - So are we supposed to feel bad for Triple H here? He's constantly hitting people with sledgehammers. I kinda felt that was a weak opening segment. I don't want to sound overly anti-Triple H here, but it just felt like it was a lot of rambling. He seemed unfocused and unsure of what to say (which isn't surprising, the script probably dramatically changed mid-promo). And again, do fans have an emotional attachment to the Triple H/Kevin Nash friendship? Everything we've heard about them being close has happened years ago, off camera. Therefore, the betrayal doesn't connect with many fans (myself included).

And is it me, or has ANOTHER CM Punk storyline been absorbed by Triple H? Wasn't Nash supposed to return to put over Punk? Now he's feuding with Triple H, with absolutely no resolution with Punk.

9:07 - The problem with this Triple H/Kevin Nash story is that the two have never been allies on screen. It doesn't resonate the way Triple H/Shawn Michaels and Triple H/X-Pac has.

9:03 - It occurs to me that Kevin Nash has returned, I believe, as many times as Triple H has wrestled this year. I think we can stop pretending that it's this super shocking thing.

8:46 - After a one week reprieve, I'm back! Before getting to our pre-Raw discussion, here's an anecdote. Have you ever gotten really, really stressed and high strung, but really for no reason whatsoever? I feel that way right now. Nobody did anything to me and nothing bad happened, yet I can't help but feel really high strung at the moment. All day, really. I needed to relax a bit, even if it's just psychological, so I stopped by a couple local places to see if I could find one of those relaxation shots (similar to 5 Hour Energy). I couldn't find one, so I thought a beer would help. So now I'm drinking a beer. Thank you, places that don't carry the relaxation shots, you've now driven me to drink (just one beer, though).

Now, onto the pre-Raw discussion. I didn't see last night's show, but it exemplifies what many have been saying for quite some time. Namely, that CM Punk's treatment has been less than stellar. You'll remember, I've defended his storylines quite frequently, nothing that we should wait to see how everything plays out. Yet, in this storyline, he seems like the ONE person who's not being protected -- yet he's the one who should be protected most. Triple H, Miz, R-Truth, Nash, even Johnny Ace....they're all being protected more than Punk. I understand the need to build strong, intriguing heels, but they have a rare opportunity to make a mega star out of Punk, yet they're not presenting him as the star. Triple H came out second (tradtionally -- but not always -- the spot reserved for the bigger star), Punk ate the pin, and the post-match action focused on Nash's attack on Triple H. Pathetic.

On an unrelated note, to prove that things are being booked with no logic whatsoever, how about Miz and Truth helping Del Rio win last night? Are we supposed to forget that they beat the tar out of him last month?

Let's see what happens on tonight's show. Check back in 10 minutes for my LIVE thoughts.

A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-6

2011-10-20T22:17:00.004-04:00

Has everybody read the first edition of True or False? No? WELL GET TO IT!!!

Last week I voiced my disappointment that we didn’t see the good bye between Matt and Vicki, saying that it deprived us of the opportunity of seeing a softer side of the departed vampire. It’s now clear that this was done deliberately – we weren’t supposed to see a lighter side of Vicki because she’s a dark character.

Continue reading "A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-6"....

Now, why can Jeremy and Anna touch? And how is Mason back? My guess is that is that something went awry with either Matt or Bonnie’s spells (or perhaps both?) and that brought back these dead characters. But I’ll ask the same question I asked when we discovered that Jeremy was seeing vampires that he loved: Will we see Jenna return as well?

I do enjoy the new dynamic between Stefan and the various characters, particularly Elena. Their interactions are fun and different, with him not wanting anything to happen to her due to Klaus’ orders, and Elena not wanting to give up on him because she loves him. While I do hope they end up together, and I always thought they worked, not much changed with them over the past two years. This is at least fresh.

I’m also glad that they didn’t go overboard with the Damon/Elena stuff. Sure, there was a longing gaze – which may or may not have been done as a continued ruse against Stefan – but for the most part things were pretty innocent and typical. They’ve got plenty of time to tease that relationship, it’s good that they’re pacing themselves.

Big fan of Alaric’s training of Elena (especially his brutal truth assessment of her weaknesses and limitations). I’m curious, though, why they’re so insistent on making Alaric such a mess. Was he supposed to be hung over the morning they were training (hence why he brushed off her greeting)? It seems like they’re going out of their way to make him seem like a wreck. Oh, and the dude-vorce between Alaric and Damon is kinda funny, too. It’s amazing how forgiving everybody is towards Damon. These two were, like, best friends, even though Damon murdered him with his bare hands, not knowing that Alaric would come back to life (by the way, if anybody in Mystic Falls ever offers you a ring, TAKE IT!)

I am slightly disappointed that they’re already creating tension between Jeremy and Bonnie, because it barely feels like we got to enjoy them being happy. In last week’s review I noted that I enjoyed seeing the budding platonic relationship between Matt and Bonnie. I’m now wondering if they are building a romance between them after all (for the second week in a row, their storylines coincided and climaxed together).

On the other hand, for whatever reason, I do like the dissention between Tyler and Caroline. I just find the idea that Tyler is not bad, but feels a connection and loyalty to Klaus because he is his creator intriguing. It’s actually quite reminiscent of the relationships on True Blood. Makers always have a special, intensely close bond with their creations (and vice versa). Suddenly things aren’t so cut and dry as far as allegiances go.

True or False #1 - With Kevin Sullivan

2011-10-18T13:03:00.006-04:00

Welcome to the first edition of True or False, with my very special guest Kevin Sullivan. No, not the Task Master, but he does have quite a storied history with professional wrestling. Kevin accepted a position with World Wrestling Entertainment’s web site, WWE.com, in 1998 and over the next 10 years, split time working with both the web site and WWE Magazine. His most recent position was Director of Content Development for WWE.com. Despite electing to leave the company in 2008, Kevin's contributions to the world of sports-entertainment have continued; he has authored several WWE books, including the 2009 New York Times Bestselling WWE Encyclopedia.

Kevin offers some great insight into professional wrestling and I strongly encourage you to visit his blog and follow him on Twitter. Be sure to also check out the books he's authored, particularly the in depth history of the WWE Championship.

Continue reading "True or False #1 - With Kevin Sullivan"....

1. The WWE Championship will be redesigned by WrestleMania 30....

Kevin Sullivan: True. However, I don’t think wrestling traditionalists will necessarily adore the next version of the WWE Championship either. From a business standpoint, the current “spinner” WWE Championship is a cash cow when it comes to replica sales … that’s because its appearance is so different from all the other titles. With that in mind, you would think the next WWE Championship would also have a unique look. At the end of the day, WWE is a business and the main goal of every business is to make money.

Matt: The easy answer here is "true," since WrestleMania 30 feels like it's so far away, but I really don't think this is a gimme. Consider that they've had actual storyline reasons to replace the belt (like Miz's alteration and CM Punk's promise) and they didn't do it. They also didn't do it when the gaudy design clearly didn't fit the personality of the champion (Triple H, Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio). You know what? I'm going to take a risk and say False. If anything, it'll change AT WrestleMania 30, but not before.

2. The "Winged Eagle" design was the best incarnation of the WWE Championship....

Kevin: False. My favorite was the green title that The Iron Sheik passed on to Hulk Hogan. I loved that it had all the champions’ names on it, similar to the Stanley Cup. In reality, though, there’s no right or wrong answer to this question … it’s all about personal preference. That’s what’s so great about sports-entertainment today. For example, some people love the current John Laurinaitis angle, while others hate it. But the best part about the whole thing is that these fans have so much passion about it that they spend hours debating it with friends or online. It’s that passion that’s best for business.

Matt: FALSE! I'm in the minority here, but to me, the "Winged Eagle" championship belt was a little too understated. It always looked dimunitive and small, surely not something that should represent the most prestigious prize of the most successful wrestling organization. It looked smaller than the classic Intercontinental Championship, and it looked like the Big Gold Belt could just eat it up. If I had to pick one design that they should revert back to, it'd be the Undisputed Championship (the larger one, which Brock Lesnar wore). This thing actually had the McMahon family crest on one of the side plates! That's pretty awesome.

3. Cody Rhodes will be the next first-time WWE/World Champion.....

Kevin: True. Although, it’s going to be tough for him to accomplish this while a member of the SmackDown brand. I’m assuming Mark Henry will have a somewhat lengthy reign … hopefully up until WrestleMania, where he defends against Daniel Bryan in a David-versus-Goliath match. But if you’re a Bryan fan, don’t get too excited … I’m never right when trying to predict what WWE will do next.

Matt: A year ago I would have pegged Wade Barrett as the next first-time World Champion -- now that seems like a significant longshot. Once upon a time, guys like Kofi Kingston and John Morrison seemed like possibilities, too. Point being, WWE can be so incredibly stop-and-go when it comes to major pushes, it's tough to say whether Cody will fit this role. I'm going to say true, although it does depend on how the Daniel Bryan/Money in the Bank story plays out.

4. Money in the Bank has surpassed the Royal Rumble as the most prestigious gimmick match in the WWE....

Kevin: False. A few weeks ago, however, I made an argument on Twitter that Money in the Bank was more prestigious, considering every Superstar that has ever cashed in the briefcase has won the title. But I was really just trying to kick off some compelling conversation. In my opinion, the Rumble is slightly more prestigious than the briefcase because it leads to a WrestleMania main event match. In today’s landscape, headlining the biggest pay-per-view of the year has the potential of being more prestigious than the gold.

Matt: Most successful? Yes. Most prestigious? No. I think there are a lot of Superstars who look back and wish they had won a Royal Rumble. Or they fondly remember winning the Royal Rumble. To me, it seems like a career achievement, whereas Money in the Bank is the precipice for their first big push. So, false.

5. Daniel Bryan will lose the Money in the Bank briefcase before WrestleMania 28....

Kevin: False. At least I hope it’s false. I just don’t see a situation where Daniel Bryan loses the briefcase and somehow manages to maintain his momentum. At this point, WWE could really use a strong Daniel Bryan and the briefcase is a good way to keep him strong.

Matt: I waver on this one. I'm going to say false. That's not to say I think Bryan will actually cash it in at WrestleMania. I wouldn't be surprised if they just lost interest in having Bryan walk around with the briefcase and having him cash it in early. But I don't see him losing the briefcase altogether.

I'd like to once again thank Kevin Sullivan for taking the time to participate in the inaugural edition of True or False. This was an exciting "catch" for me, and I hope you enjoyed it. Once again, be sure to visit Kevin's blog and follow him on Twitter. And, of course, buy his books!

And feel free to comment below and let us know whose opinion you agree with!

No LIVE Raw thoughts tonight

2011-10-17T18:51:00.003-04:00

Sorry, but I've got dinner plans tonight, so I won't be able to do a LIVE (taped) review of Raw. If I do catch the tail end, I'll post my streaming thoughts on Twitter.

However, I AM very happy to announce that tomorrow I will be posting the inaugural edition of True or False. And I'm really, really excited about the featured guest. So be sure to visit tomorrow for the first edition!

A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-5

2011-10-13T22:05:00.002-04:00

When last week’s episode ended with Klaus bringing Stefan back to Mystic Falls, I worried that they might be rushing a storyline that could be stretched out for half of the season. I have to say that I was happily wrong. This was a pretty well thought out and exciting episode that climaxed one central storyline, while setting the season in another direction. And I like where it’s going.

One question about Senior prank week, though: What the hell were they doing in the gym? Covering the floor with cups? Good one?

Continue reading "A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-5"....

I enjoyed the “Sophie’s Choice” type situation that Klaus created. We all know that nobody would sacrifice Elena’s life, no matter how dire the situation was. Yet by “killing” Tyler, they were forced to make a decision. If they help Klaus, Elena dies. If they don’t, Tyler dies. The action itself was quite exciting as well. I liked how Elena refused to give up on Stefan, and Stefan’s incredible restraint in attempting to not follow Klaus’ orders. It was effective stuff

I was actually quite impressed with the manner that they set the seeds for Bonnie rescuing Matt, by having them reminisce about their lifeguarding days. I commented on this at the beginning of the season (with Matt and Jeremy) and its true here too, but it’s nice to see some unfamiliar interactions. I’m sure there have been numerous Matt and Bonnie scenes, but none really strike me as particularly memorable. This was the first time I really noticed them sharing special moments together, and it was nice. Actually, there are very few opposite sex relationships on this show that aren’t designed to build up a new relationship, so the idea of two friends – one a girl, the other a girl – just being there for each other is rather refreshing. It’s another reason why I liked Stefan’s friendship with Caroline last year.

I also enjoyed the discussion between Bonnie and Matt at the end. Matt obviously feels like the odd man out – the normal person in this group of vampires, werewolves, doppelgangers, and witches – but it’s easy to forget how lucky he is. Caroline is going on and on about how this is their senior year, yet she’ll never grow up in the traditional sense. I also appreciated Matt’s level head in a dire situation. Like I said, he’s able to live a normal life, and it was that regular perspective that helped them. Bonnie’s immediate reaction is “gotta use magic.” Matt brought her down to earth by saying, “you just need CPR.” Damon and Katherine are always fun to watch – it’s great seeing Katherine going crazy about the fact that Damon isn’t crazy about her (I especially liked his line about how he wouldn’t have stupidly gone to rescue her). The added element of Jeremy was icing on the cake.

One thing that disappointed me, though, was that we didn’t actually see the Matt/Vicki good bye scene. Throughout her entire run, Vicki has devious at worse and troubled at best. This was a scene that could have softened her image considerably, but they took the easy route by not showing it.

I do hope this is the end of Matt seeing dead people, though, because it at least makes Jeremy’s story unique. For that matter, why doesn’t Elena see dead people? She was dead for a while and came back. Actually, Jeremy died, too (with his ring on). As did Alaric. What are the rules here?

I especially enjoyed the two mini twists at the end. The first being that Klaus actually needs to keep Elena alive in order to create hybrids (he actually looked pretty clever in figuring that out) and the other being the apparent role reversal in the Stefan/Elena/Damon love triangle. Regular readers should know that I’m a fan of Stefan and Elena, but I do think it could be fun seeing Damon as the caring, protective one and Stefan as the obnoxious, sarcastic one. Stefan’s behavior in the house was decidedly Damon-esque, while Damon acted very much like Stefan. It was a fun turn.

But, again, I’m rooting for Stefan and Elena.

LIVE Raw thoughts - October 10, 2011

2011-10-10T20:56:00.018-04:00

11:08 - Alright, from a storytelling viewpoint, I understand the booking of Triple H and CM Punk tonight. After a bitter war, CM Punk is one of only three guys to agree to stand by Triple H, and at the end of the show, Triple H saves CM Punk from a beatdown. It's somewhat poetic. However, you just have to have a bad feeling about it. I mean, the night ends with whose music playing? And you have to believe that they're going to revert to the modern day DX formula. If Triple H's team wins, he makes the pin. If his team loses, his partner takes the fall.

I hope I'm wrong.

10:54 - The Miz and R-Truth are back. This is actually a fun development. Although I can't help but wonder why they would put ADR in a situation where he would be a face. But this does perhaps answer what CM Punk will be up to at Vengeance.

10:41 - I do have to say that the show has flown by pretty quickly, though. It's already 10:41? Okay, so assuming that Cena and ADR do face off in a one-on-one match, what becomes of CM Punk for Vengeance? Has he even casually feuded with anybody other than the WWE Champion and Triple H?

10:34 - Odd, but I never noticed how expressive Michael Cole is with his hands when he speaks. That was A LOT of hand movement there.

10:17 - When JR was called to the ring, you just KNEW something bad was going to happen. Do you think he's legitimately being removed from the announce table? Or is this just setting up for a babyface, permanent GM to save his job? If it's the former, man, stop toying with the guy. And really, why are you toying with your product? He's clearly the best at what he does, and the audience loves him. Why keep removing him from the announce table? In a pretty heartless manner, as well.

10:14 - John Cena vs. ADR? Again? Really? Why not just move onto the real Punk vs. ADR feud?

10:03 - On the one hand, I'm glad they're moving Randy Orton into a new (non-World title feud) with Cody Rhodes. That should be a fun feud. But why make it seem like Orton had Henry beat? The one thing Henry has that nobody else does is that Orton can't beat him. And Cody, that "disturbed" laugh was just awkward and terrible.

9:54 - It occurs to me that this is probably an episode of Raw that is potentially a lot of fun for the home viewing audience, but dreadful for those in attendance. That entire segment was almost entirely entrances and videos.

9:49 - Another issue I have with Mark Henry. His promos are much of the same. Yes, 15 years. Yes, you're angry. He's a fresh face and I'm grateful for that (and good for him for making the most of this opportunity). But he's not the highlight of the show.

9:46 - It's too bad this is happening to John Morrison. The guy isn't the total package, but as I've said countless times before, he's unlike anybody else they have on the roster. The things he can do are absolutely remarkable. I don't know if he's being punished for the Melina thing, or for being a jerk to Trish, or maybe if he fell out of favor with a supporter backstage, but they're REALLY missing out on an opportunity here. He's got a great look, and he's an awesome talent. Take advantage of him.

9:39 - I do feel somewhat cheated that we didn't even get a full match with Punk on commentary. In less than an hour, we're back to usual. And for some reason I think Johnny Ace releases Morrison after the match -- and then releases him for real tomorrow.

9:35 - It also strikes me as disappointing that Triple H essentially buried the entire roster in his promo refusing to quit (making himself like great, of course) and all that heat was capitalized by Vince and Johnny Ace for removing him anyway. All of the wrong people benefited from this.

9:32 - So why do they need an Interim General Manager when they already have one -- the Anonymous GM? Why not just reveal that Johnny Ace was the GM the entire time? It would at least connect the dots between the GM sending e-mails, and Johnny Ace sending texts.

9:29 - I'm glad they got this entertaining nonsense out of the ring so that Vince and Triple H could deal with their issues.

9:23 - Okay, my criticism of the opening segment is obvious -- pretty much everything Triple H said. Did he really need to bury the entire roster? Was it necessary for him to say that he could wrestle a literal broomstick and still perform better than most of the guys out there? Yes, this coalition was pretty much led by top heels like Christian, ADR, Dolph Ziggler, and guys like that, but you have to remember that popular faces like Air Boom were involved as well. And they've been relatively vocal, too. Why make them look like a bunch of babies? Honestly, NOBODY came out looking good in that segment. Well, except for Triple H.

Things DID pick up, however, when the rest of the crew came out. One problem with Cena's portion, though: If he really did support Triple H, why not come out and defend the guy when 55 individuals were laying into him and walking out?

I'm glad the segment ended with CM Punk (and not Orton, as I feared after Punk came out) because he really is the person who started it all. It needed to end with him. The eventual booking was clever, though, with Sheamus and John Cena fighting, with Triple H forced to ref, and CM Punk as commentator. Which is, in a word, Incredibly Awesome!

9:08 - I'm glad they took advantage of the opportunity to do a unique opening to Raw. No sound and just an aura of confusion. One thing I would have changed, though. When the camera followed Triple H walking through the halls towards the entrance, I would have shown him hit a switch to play his theme music. Would have been an easy explanation for everybody's music playing throughout the night (since we are to assume the vast majority of backstage personnel walked off as well). I'll get to the actual content of the promo when the segment is over.

8:55 - Raw starts in about 5 minutes. What will be the fallout of the walkout? As you ponder that -- and wait for the show to begin -- read yesterday's post wondering why the protest is restricted to Raw.

The Walkout: Why was it limited to Raw?

2011-10-09T20:23:00.003-04:00

So the big storyline being pushed by WWE right is that 55 Superstars walked out on Raw, and that they refuse to return to the show until Triple H steps down. Until then, they'll presumably only be appearing on Smackdown and at live events (where Triple H has agreed to stay away from). My question is, from a storyline standpoint, why is this protest limited to Raw?

It has been established that Triple H is the COO of WWE. He appears on both Raw and Smackdown, and makes judgments and decrees for both brands. He is not the General Manager of Raw. Further, the "chaos" that seemingly broke the camel's back occurred at Hell in a Cell, when the Miz and R-Truth attacked Air Boom backstage, and then stormed the final moments of the main event. That didn't even happen on Raw, so why protest that program specifically?

I do understand why they can't keep their Superstars off of both shows (how would they fill the time?) but from a storyline perspective, it doesn't quite make sense to me.

Attic Treasures

2011-10-09T15:04:00.003-04:00

Crazy the stuff you find in the attic while cleaning (not fun, by the way). I came across this little nugget, I'd say it's from third grade (based on the cursive writing), titled "Good things about Matt":

"I'm cute. I'm good at baseball. I'm funny and kind. I run fast, I'm a good swimmer. Good at bike riding. I'm good artist. I'm good at basketball and I'm a good boy."

I evidently forgot "humble" and "inflated sense of self-worth."

View the awesomeness (full size):

http://imageshack.us/f/84/img1361m.jpg/

A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-4

2011-10-06T22:08:00.002-04:00

As a quick aside, one of my readers commented about how Elena was wearing her necklace and thus could not be compelled by Stefan (I noted that I thought Stefan would force her to forget him). I did notice that, however, can’t he just tear the thing off? I mean, even if we’re to assume touching the pendant will harm him (which we know isn’t the case since Damon was holding it), how about the chain?

So it seems that things are beginning to come to a head now. They’re finally addressing Elena and Damon’s closeness, Klaus is about as close as he could possibly be to finding out that Elena is still alive, we learned more about Jeremy’s ability to see his dead girlfriends, and Bonnie is back in town.

Continue reading "A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-4"....

Starting with the first point, the seemingly innocent flirtation between Elena and Damon is starting to get a lot of attention, particularly from Caroline and Alaric – both of whom are wary of the budding relationship. Speaking of which, I love Alaric, but really, who says “take a beat”? If it wasn’t bad enough that he used that phrase, he actually repeated it several times! And then it was said again, by Damon, at the end of the episode. Yikes! We need more of that bad ass Alaric who strong armed himself onto the founders committee.

Oh yeah, Elena and Damon. Well, in typical Damon fashion, just when things seem like they could happen between him and Elena, he turns to the dark side and goes on an asshole spree. And for some reason, Alaric keeps dying when that happens (I did get a kick out of his “you might want to get that ring checked out” line, though). I will say this, though: They have to be careful how often they have Damon do these unforgivable things, because each time Elena forgives him and it really makes her look like a sucker. I mean, does she not remember that this guy essentially murdered her brother? Without reluctance or provocation, and without realizing that he had his ring on? I recognize that he does some truly heroic and selfless things, but still.

Last week I noted that it would be fun to see Stefan torn between the two loves of his life, but it seems that they’ve nipped that in the bud by telling us right off the bat that his heart still fully belongs to Elena. Although I have to say, is the fact that he’s not in love with Rebecca irrefutable evidence that he’s not with the team? Sure, his questions were a little suspicious, but they weren’t really out of line. If the last time I saw an ex-girlfriend she was running scared from somebody, I’d probably ask about it next time I saw her, too. I do have to say, though, that the idea of Elena, Rebecca, and Katherine all up to something is pretty nifty, too.

Oh, and I still love how Stefan can always tell the difference between Elena and Katherine, but Damon always initially struggles.

We finally got a bit of information as to why Jeremy can see Vicki and Anna. It seems that it’s a dual effort and that both sides need to be actively attempting to communicate with each other. Here’s something to consider, though, when it comes to this Anna vs. Vicki war. Anna mentioned feeling alone, so I take it that she can’t actually see Vicki. My guess is that she feels the darkness, and based on Jeremy’s actions (she can see him even when he can’t see her), she deduces that Vicki is there. Therefore, she assumes that Vicki is the darkness. But is that necessarily a safe assumption? There may be any number of spirits there that none of them can see. So who knows what might be responsible for the darkness (although it could be Vicki. She was always trouble).

So I’m guessing Caroline revealed in an early episode that her dad was gay? Because I don’t recall any reference to that and Damon mentioned it numerous times throughout the episode. Incidentally, isn’t Jack Coleman also playing a gay guy on The Office?

For what it’s worth, the complex nature of Caroline’s relationship with her father was interesting – and I am curious to see what other mind-induced abilities he has. I also liked the “I’m stronger”/”but I’m angrier” fight between Caroline and Damon.

Uncovered Lost Survey

2011-10-05T13:28:00.004-04:00

After one of my co-workers moved across the country, I had the (fun) task of cleaning out his office (as seen in my Birthday Diary). While going through some of the paperwork he had attached to his wall, I came across a Lost survey that was circulated amongst several other co-workers, all of whom watched the series. Based on the questions, I'm guessing that it was sent out after the fifth season premiere. So here, for your enjoyment, are the results of that survey. And I will let you know if I agree or disagree with the masses.

Which death of a character were you saddest about?
Winner: Charlie (9 out of 11 votes)

Agree or disagree?
Agree, obviously. The other choices were Boone (who received the two other votes), Mr. Eko, Shannon, and Alex (Ben's daughter). This one was an absolute no brainer. Charlie remains one of my favorite deaths in all of television.

Which of the following characters would you most trust to help you if you were in a dangerous situation with them?
Winner: Sayid (7 out of 11 votes)

Agree or disagree?
Hindsight is a beautiful thing, so I'd have to say I disagree here. The other options were Jack (who received the remaining four votes) and Ben. I would go with Jack.

Which camp would you have sided with? Jack's or Locke's?
Winner: Jack's (9 out of 11 votes)

Agree or disagree?
This is a really tough question. I mean, the barracks were really, really comfortable looking.

Do you "trust" any of the following people? Daniel, Miles, Charlotte, None of the above
Winner: None of the above (6 out of 11 votes)

Agree or disagree?
Call me a sucker, but I trusted Daniel from the get-go. Beard? Tie? Sounds like my style.

In your opinion does Hurley actually see dead people or is he hallucinating?
Winner: Actually sees dead people (8 out of 11 votes)

Agree or disagree?
I agree, only because he wasn't the only person who saw dead people. But this question isn't mutually exclusive -- isn't it pretty irrefutable that he did hallucinate his fake former psych ward friend?

Do you think you understand the situation involving Flight 815 at the bottom of the ocean and the other Flight 815 that crashed on the island?
Winner: Widmore staged it (9 out of 11 votes)

Agree or disagree?
I'm not going to use hindsight here. If I had more time, I'd go back to my reviews to see what I actually predicted, but I do think I had assumed that it was staged to stop people from trying to find them.

Do you feel there is still a story line concerning the fact that during Season 1 we were lead to believe Walt might be psychic in some way and also that Aaron's birth was of significance?
Winner: Yes, there's still a storyline

Agree or disagree?
It's particularly tough avoiding hindsight here. Liberally speaking, I do think there was a storyline with Aaron's birth -- just not as grand or significant as people assumed. Quite simply, he was a baby born on an island where people die giving birth. Walt, well, we know how that went.

In your mind is there any possibility Jin and/or Michael may have survived the explosion on the freighter?
Winner: No (5 out of 11 votes)

Agree or disagree?
Disagree! I long argued that Jin survived. My mentality was always that if you didn't see it happen, it didn't happen. They wouldn't imply such a significant death. Michael I always knew died.

So, what do you think? Do you agree or disagree with their/my thoughts?

More on Mark Henry

2011-10-04T22:05:00.003-04:00

Frequent contributor Kyle left some great comments during my LIVE Raw post, but I thought I'd respond with another post instead of leaving it in the comments section:

First, Mark Henry: People may be exaggerating it. BUT, let me see if I can make the point as to why I, who have never enjoyed Mark Henry's work (he seems like a good guy who works hard, just never liked him) have really liked his current run. #1, it's DIFFERENT than what we've been seeing. Every heel lately is the same. Cowardly, weak heels who aren't in the same league as Cena and Orton. Punk had to essentially turn face to be booked like that. Christian came close but as he went more and more heelish he was less and less in Orton's league, until he only one via a crazy stipulation and trickery. Miz, Truth, Del Rio, all booked as cowardly weak heels. Cena openly said Del Rio sucks and isn't in his league, then proved that to be correct by beating him at Extreme Rules and only losing here due to a triple threat stipulation and Cena being locked out of the cage. Mark Henry, meanwhile, just went out there and kicked Orton's ass, beating him clean. WWE hasn't really done that in a VERY long time. Sure, sometimes heels will beat up Cena or Orton, but that's always through dastardly sneak attacks and usually involve multiple people. In the context of a match, they never get beaten down like this. It's incredibly refreshing to see.

First and foremost, I completely agree on the freshness front. I admire the fact that they've pushed somebody new and, it seems, actually gone through with the push without pulling back. I also commend Mark Henry for taking the ball and running with it. He's definitely made the most of this opportunity, and good for him for that. However, I still don't think he's the highlight of the show, and I think people go a bit overboard with his routine just because it's new and unexpected.

And honestly, there's a bit about this push that frustrates me. Yes, Mark Henry has done a great job with this material, but it's also a push that nobody was really asking for. The fact that they've successfully pushed him shows how "easy" it can be when you book to the talent's strength and actually get behind him. Naturally, Christian couldn't have done the dominant monster bit, but imagine if WWE actually got behind him the way they have Henry. Or how about ADR? Or hell, even CM Punk. Each of those guys have the goods, yet there's been a definite resistance to play to their strengths with the full support of the powers that be.

I certainly don't blame Henry for that, but I can only imagine what others would do with this chance.

As far as why people are saying the WHC is higher on the food chain now, I don't think it is either, BUT, the argument is based on the fact that Orton and Henry actually seem to care about the title. That's what they're fighting over. Meanwhile, on Raw, it's a mess of inside references and lawyer angles and whatever. Punk lost the title to Del Rio and didn't even seem to care. Cena seemed much more concerned with whether or not Del Rio knew what his car was called as opposed to wanting the title (save for a brief promo about how Del Rio doesn't deserve the title because he sucks). There was some crappy buildup to Hell in a Cell, Del Rio won, which was immediately pushed aside for the Miz/Truth angle. And what happens on Raw the next night? It's pretty much ignored save for a few brief mentions. I'll get to this in my next post but we had literally no movement on the WWE title front last night. I don't mean no movement like the World Heavyweight title had, where we're not sure if Orton and Henry will fight again due to the pull apart brawl or not because Henry said he was done with Orton...I mean LITERALLY no movement. Nobody asked for a title shot. Cena didn't demand a rematch or overly seem to care that he lost his title last night. Punk didn't demand another shot. Just...nothing. With the next PPV 3 weeks away. Now the buildup has been cut down to "Hell in a Cell" time because the extra week between the PPVs is gone without even the tiniest bit of movement. At least Henry and Orton act like they care.

I have long felt that those that have held and competed for the World Heavyweight Championship have treated the title with more prestige than those who have fought for the WWE Championship. Edge was completely obsessed with the World Heavyweight Championship. Christian was so desperate to hold the title that he went over the deep end. Same goes for Batista, Undertaker, Kane, Triple H, and most recently Randy Orton. For the most part, these guys were fighting to be the champion -- there was little need to add a super personal aspect to their story. They just wanted the title.

The WWE Championship, on the other hand, has often been treated as a vanity object. Even CM Punk, who did a fantastic job of building the prestige of the title before Money in the Bank, responded with a "eh, oh well" when ADR nabbed the championship from him after SummerSlam.

The Smackdown writers have done a phenomenal job of making the World Heavyweight Championship seem like the most important title in wrestling. WWE, not so much.

LIVE Raw thoughts - October 3, 2011

2011-10-03T20:18:00.023-04:00

11:08 - That was an intriguing ending to Raw. Perhaps deliberately, Triple H's defense was weak and flimsy. He basically blew everybody off. And, thankfully, the writers didn't have the Superstars/Divas/referees back down. They didn't bring up a valid point and just back down when Triple H answered. They challenged him, to the point that Triple H had no option but to blow them off.

What I found odd, though, was that Jerry Lawler was the voice that ultimately tipped the scales. This guy has been getting physically involved at the announce table for years now. How was the Mark Henry situation any different?

The walk out was good, with it happening in segments. And WWE must certainly realize what a valuable asset they have in Jim Ross now. No other personality could have filled that role. Having JR be the last person to walk out was fitting and appropriate, and it hit the right note. There were a lot of nice touches as well, like having the cameramen leave as well.

The question is - where do we go from here? What do you think?

11:03 - Was Michael Cole walking out with the Raw GM Laptop?

10:57 - Let the Internet go crazy that -- gasp -- referee's names were mentioned!!

10:55 - Wade Barrett brings up some good points. Triple H's counterargument was weak. He said himself that when he wasn't the man in charge, he created chaos, but things are different when you're the one making decisions.

10:50 - I didn't notice, are Punk and Cena out there?

10:47 - So the WWE and World Heavyweight Champions came out to their show's music, but the play-by-play guy got his own entrance and theme? Yipes.

10:39 - I say this every week, but "The Great White" is the worst nickname ever. And the fact that they go with "Team Cena" and not "Team Punk" or even "Team Cena & Punk" is rather telling.

10:25 - It's never a good sign when you have to explain the legal mumbo jumbo to your audience. I try not to be overly negative, especially towards the people that Internet fans seem to take aim at, but it truly does amaze me -- and not in a good way -- that the red hot anti-authority CM Punk angle turned into a Triple H power struggle. Who in their right mind thought that was a good idea? Who could have imagined that the story would take that sort of turn.

10:17 - So does anybody remember the New Nexus? There hasn't been a single reference to the fact that CM Punk was the one who brought in Mason Ryan in the first place. Or the fact that they used to team with their opponent, David Otunga. I didn't see Hell in a Cell last night, but did that even come up during Otunga and Punk's backstage segment?

10:11 - Is it a bad sign when they don't even show the WWE Champion's entrance?

10:05 - I still don't really care for CM Punk's ice cream t-shirt. It's just too cutesy for his character. It's something that would work for Cena, but not Punk. Stick to the awesome Best in the World style shirts.

10:02 - This is a complaint Seth Mates (another former WWE writer) always makes, but it's a fair point. If Vince McMahon was removed from his position for his irrational actions -- namely, questionable decisions and firing personnel -- then why hasn't Triple H faced the same consequences?

10:01 - I know they're not scissors, but running with bolt cutters can't possibly be safe.

9:44 - I don't even know what to say about that Kelly Kelly segment. It was not good.

9:33 - It is remarkable how much louder the crowd gets for Vickie the second she begins speaking.

9:26 - I also suspect that Mark Henry is a genuinely good guy, because the former WWE writers on Twitter are constantly singing his praises (to, I believe, an excessive level). One says that he's making the WWE Championship seem secondary to the World Heavyweight Championship. I disagree. Generally speaking, the WHC has always seemingly switched hands less times than the WWE Championship. And, in my opinion, the champion and contenders have all acted like the WHC is a genuine prize as well. Another writer says that having a monster heel champion who can talk is unprecedented. How about Kane last year? The Big Show at various points? Batista? Yeah, there were Yokozunas and Undertakers out there, but c'mon, Mark Henry isn't breaking ground here.

9:22 - So do I need to turn in my IWC card if I say that Mark Henry isn't setting my world on fire? The truth is, we've seen mean, tough, angry Mark Henry countless times before. This is nothing new. The only the different is that he's getting a really, really strong push. And I'm happy for him, and I'm glad we're getting some fresh blood in the main event scene (then again, we DID have that with Christian also). Having said that, I don't think he's the highlight of the show and I don't think he's creating this perception that the World Heavyweight Championship is THE title in wrestling. Sorry.

9:17 - On Twitter I had joked that I wanted to see Drew McIntyre and John Morrison face to see if the bookers could find some way to job them both. Well, McIntyre jobbed to Orton (although gave a stronger showing than I expected) and who's going to do the deed for Mark Henry? Mr. Morrison! Let's see if it's competitive.

9:08 - Drew McIntyre lasted much, much longer than I expected him to. I thought we'd see an RKO immediately to end the match.

9:00 - I didn't notice, but has CM Punk been added to the opening signature yet? I only ask because I did see Mark Henry is on there now. Punk certainly should.

8:18 - As we prepare for the beginning of Raw, how about a pre-show discussion? One of the more talked about happenings from last night's show was Cody Rhodes debuting a redesigned Intercontinental Title. It's almost identical to the classic IC title, except the edges and levels seem a bit more refined, and the main plates seems to have some etchings instead of being a smooth surface. And, of course, it's updated with the new WWE scratch logo. I do wish they had modified it to include a name plate as well, since all of the championships (minus the new tag titles) have them.

It looks pretty damn cool, I must say, although I am surprised by two things: One is that they're using the white strap, only because none of the other titles have used a different color strap since the early days of the Attitude era. And the second is that the Intercontinental title is the one that got the redesign treatment. Sure, most people prefer the classic look (it ranked #5 on my Top Ten Cases list), but was anybody really demanding that this belt get a facelift? Especially when the WWE Championship has been in desperate need for a redesign, and people HAVE been really outspoken about that. Even John Cena, on Twitter, said he wants the belt to get a new look.

On the topic of the WWE Championship, everybody seems to want the Winged Eagle style back. I'm in the minority here, but I never much cared for that belt. I always thought it looked too small and diminutive. When I was younger, I thought the Intercontinental Championship was the more prestigious title because, physically, it looked bigger. And Lord, did it pale in comparison to the Big Gold Belt. Maybe if they increased the size by 25-50% I'd feel different, but overall I think I'd either want them to go back to the Undisputed title or to a new design altogether.

So, what do you think of the "new" Intercontinental Championship and whether the WWE Championship will get a redesign as well?

VIDEO: Birthdays, Briefcases, and More!

2011-09-30T16:30:00.002-04:00

And as a side note, do you like the new style of the blog banner? The briefcase is obviously and update, but I changed the layout title and type of font as well.

A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-3

2011-09-29T23:04:00.003-04:00

So whenever The Vampire Diaries does a flashback episode, I equate it with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy did a fantastic job of shedding light and developing some of their core characters. The secret was in moderation, though, and that’s one thing I think The Vampire Diaries hasn’t realized yet. It feels like last year alone we had flashbacks for Klaus, Elijah, Katherine, and Stefan. That might not be entirely correct – I honestly don’t recall – but it does feel that way. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not a criticism. I’ve enjoyed the flashback episodes, and although I was initially worried that this wouldn’t give us any new information (yes, we get it…..Stefan used to be a cruel, brutal, monstrous murderer), but thankfully that didn’t turn out to be the case.

Continue reading "A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-2"....

The big reveal of this episode was that, during his most vicious days, Stefan not only knew Klaus, but he was in love with the original’s sister. The three had grown so close that Klaus had considered Stefan a surrogate brother, and Stefan felt the same way. However, for reasons that weren’t made immediately clear, Klaus was forced to erase Stefan’s memory of ever knowing either of them – and he staked his own sister when she chose Stefan over him. At the episode’s conclusion, Klaus made Stefan remember all of those hidden memories. One would assume Stefan’s feelings for Rebecca will return, as well.

That would actually be a really interesting story arc, with Stefan torn between his two loves. He was clearly emotionally impacted by Rebecca (once his memories were restored), but he still protected Elena when the topic of the necklace came up. We don’t know enough about Rebecca to know if she’s outwardly evil, or if she’s got a softer side like Lexie, but there are a lot of interesting possibilities here.

Speaking of Elena, I actually really enjoyed her silent connection with Stefan in the closet. It hit just the right notes. It lasted just the right length, and I’m glad they didn’t have either of them say anything. I’m also glad they resisted the temptation of having them touch (although I didn’t mind when it happened later). It was a really great, tense moment. Speaking of Elena, I was surprised about something, though. Following the revelation that Klaus compelled Stefan to forget about him and Rebecca, I thought Stefan would do the same to Elena in order to get her to stop looking for him. It seemed like an organic advancement to the story, and the intensity of the scene seemed to call for something fittingly dramatic.

I’m glad they didn’t drag out Caroline’s captivity longer than necessary. It was an interesting story and it’s always super awesome to see Jack Coleman, but this wasn’t an arc that should last more than a few episodes. The notion of forcing the vampirism out of you through Pavlovian methods is interesting, actually (and not to sound controversial or unintentionally offensive, but is that what happens at those anti-gay camps?) It was also kinda awesome to see how far Sherriff Forbes has come since last year.

Oh, and it was fun seeing Katherine again, too. It’s odd – even though she’s portrayed by Nina Dobrev, it still felt like a “guest appearance.” What’s she up to? And who’s hunting Klaus and Rebecca?

LIVE Birthday Diary!

2011-09-28T07:36:00.012-04:00

Yeah, it's a bit (a bit?) narcissistic and self indulgent, but today is my 30th birthday and I want YOU to know how I'm spending the day! So, throughout the day, I'll be updating this blog with an ongoing birthday diary -- with photos! Enjoy.

7:22 - After several unsuccessful attempts at a number of different functions, I FINALLY manage to get a nice shot of my two godchildren together! A great birthday gift, I'd say.

6:38 - Shockingly, I arrive at Charlie Browns close to 6:30. However, upon going inside, I discover from the hostess that the reservations are actually at 7:00. Evidently my mom took my advice about having no chance of getting there at 6:30, however she forgot to tell me about the change of plans. Nonetheless, this gives me an excuse to sit back at the bar and enjoy a couple of birthday Miller Lites. Could be worse.

5:30 - The workday comes to a close (trust me, it was busier than it looked!) Now I just have to rush back to Bergen County in hopes of making it in time for dinner with my family (6:30 reservations? Yikes!) Hey, maybe I'll even be home in time for Modern Family.

4:27 - Unfortunately, it isn't all celebration and fun (and diary updating) here, as I've spent the vast majority of my day going through files of a former employee so that somebody else can move into his office. Not so much the fun (although the CM Punk imitation is a plus)!

3:10 - Getting a MUCH needed burst (hopefully) of energy with some delicious pumpkin spice coffee. Also, through e-mails, text messages, and Facebook, I've heard from a bunch of people. Thanks, all, for your birthday wishes!

12:38 - Good read? Good! And with that in mind, it's now time for lunch. My work friends ordered one of my favorites -- Tito's Burritos. Big lunch crew today.

12:00 - As I prepare for lunch, I take a moment to visit my buddy's blog -- Tween at 28 -- where she discusses her adult perspective of Harriet the Spy. It's a fun read. Go visit the site, I'll wait.

9:30 - It was a hellacious ride into work, between A LOT of traffic (moreso than usual) and rain (boo). But when I did arrive, I found some very humorous decorations in my cubicle. There's an "Old-Timer Crossing" sign up front, and a "30" tiara inside. Plus a couple of throughtful cards. Thanks!

8:15 - Since blue is my favorite color, and today is my birthday, I decided to go with a blue theme for today's attire. Blue watch, blue bracelet, and blue pants. Unfortunately, my suspicions have also been confirmed: The live diary is making me late for work. :)

7:36 - Per usual, I had a bit of a tough time actually rolling out of bed. However, I do see that I received at least two birthday wishes (a voicemail and a message on Facebook). The first thing I'm doing, though, is putting on a new necklace. When my niece was born, I made a "Godfather necklace" which featured the initials of my two godchildren (my niece and nephew). I've been wearing it for the past month and it's pretty beat up. So this is the second version, which features the initials on a necklace with a cross and rose pendant. And now....shower time!

LIVE Raw thoughts - September 26, 2011

2011-09-26T20:42:00.021-04:00

11:02 - It's odd, I don't even remember if Ricardo Rodriguez even did anything on this edition of Raw to justify that beating. Nonetheless, all things considered, I suppose that was the best ending possible. Punk goes over clean, but Del Rio got some measure of revenge by beating both men with a chair. But overall this was a strange episode of Raw. The Pay-Per-Views were definitely scheduled way too close to each other this go around.

10:54 - I REALLY hate how they keep pushing the Hell in a Cell match as the first triple threat match in history. It's such an arbitrary distinction. There's been tag matches and six ways. It just so happens that there hasn't been a three way up until now.

10:48 - My guess is that this match ends with shenanigans between Punk and Cena.

10:36 - Annnnnnnnnnd it's another video.

10:30 - Kofi Kingston's reaction to Mason Ryan's attack on Dolph was great. So where do they go from here? Is Mason Ryan going to feud with Dolph, or is Zack Ryder?

10:24 - Really? They aren't going to use a sixth person?

10:20 - Why should Vickie worry about finding one person? Triple H found 9 with no problem.

10:15 - Another video? Is it me or have we seen WAY more of these than usual? We always see a lot, but this seems excessive.

10:07 - Why is CM Punk the best in the world? Because he once again brought up the spilled Diet Soda when Cena through Christian onto the announce table. That man is brilliant. I defend Cena A LOT, but for the life of me I don't know why they don't want to take advantage of Punk right now. People want something new, people want Punk, and Cena doesn't need to be WWE Champion to be "the man." They're REALLY missing out on an opportunity here.

10:04 - You know why John Cena is constantly in the main event? Because this is the most alive the crowd has been all night.

By the way, Punk is great. "I look like a clown? You're half naked!"

10:03 - Gotta love Punk's announcer's jacket. Although, Michael, I do believe he debuted it on NXT.

10:00 - So after all those weeks of pushing the title of "Undisputed WWE Champion," we're now told there's still a controversy over who is the actual champion?

9:58 - Odd use of clips for tonight's show. Does it seem like they're using more videos and clips than usual? Like, what was up with the Hell in a Cell poster close up in the middle of John Cena's promo?

9:49 - So what, exactly, was the purpose of the Khali heel turn? It's not as if he's in a better place now, as a face, than he was before the heel turn. And it's not as if he was setting the world on fire as a heel either.

9:33 - "Anal bleeding"? Are we supposed to take that seriously? I couldn't tell based on any of their reactions. Cole played it straight, Booker looked shocked, and JR looked embarassed.

Also, it looks like David Otunga is debuting a new gimmick.

9:24 - That was a fun opening segment that not only helped build up Hell in a Cell, but it also promoted much of the rest of the tonight's show, as well as Smackdown this Friday. Pretty well done and entertaining. Eager to see how this Battle Royal plays out (looks like Cody will retain).

9:05 - If I ever get fired, I hope my former employers take the time to make a clip show of the events that led up to my termination.

9:03 - It should shock no one that they cut the clip before the infamous "cart incident."

9:00 - This is the first time I've noticed that they added Smackdown Superstars to the Raw opening.

8:42 - First and foremost, happy birthday to the incomparable Masked Emotions. And speaking of birthdays, mine is this Wednesday (turning the big 3-0). This evening I got a new TV as a gift, but it won't actually be hooked up until I get an HD cable box (that's right, the TV I've been watching Raw on for all of these reviews has been from the Stone Age -- standard definition!)

So CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio has been announced for tonight's Raw. This is one of those no-win booking decisions that I detest. Both of these guys are coming off of angles that they not only lost, but they ended up looking not too hot in. Neither man can really afford to lose here. ADR already looks out of his league, and they should be protecting Punk at all costs. Why not just book Cena, ADR, and Punk in singles matches that they can win and look good in?

Anyway, check back in about 15 minutes for my LIVE Raw thoughts.

A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-2

2011-09-22T22:45:00.002-04:00

I’ve got three words for you: Horn. Rimmed. Glasses.

That’s right, the absolutely awesome Jack Coleman (of Heroes fame) made a surprise (for me, anyway) appearance in the season’s second episode, where he revealed as some sort of vampire handler (amongst other things, but more on that later).

Continue reading "A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-2"....

I initially viewed this episode as a set up for things to come. I don’t want to refer to it as “filler” because of the negative connotation associated with that word, but the purpose of the episode was to advance the story of the season. However, upon reflection, there was an ongoing theme of family throughout the hour. We had Elena reaching out to Alaric, attempting to get him to join her family. We had the ongoing struggle between Stefan and Damon – two brothers unable to let each other go. We had Tyler revealing to his mother that he (as well as his father and uncle) is a werewolf. We had Matt recollecting his memories of Vickie. And, finally, we discovered that HRG is Caroline’s father (that’s sorta his M.O. – the discovery that he’s the father of the people he’s seemingly against). Did anything earth shattering happen? No, not really. It’s still the episode that gives you the necessary information and puts the characters where they need to be for a later point, but it was still fun and entertaining.

Last week I noted my disappointment with Alaric moving out of the Gilbert household and that I hoped it didn’t mean his role was being downsized. Thankfully, they picked things up right where they left off and quickly resolved that issue. Elena finally got through to Alaric, telling him that both of them have essentially lost their entire families and that they need each other. In the end, Alaric decided to stick around and even moved into their house. Hooray!

I’ve also continued to enjoy the interaction between Jeremy and Matt. While Vickie was the first semi-major character to get killed, in a lot of ways her death was glossed over. The memory was erased from Jeremy’s head, and everyone else just assumed she went missing. This episode did a great job of delving into the emotional impact of her death, and the feeling of loss from those who were left behind – particularly Matt. And I’m now extremely intrigued by the dueling messages. Vickie claims she can come back, while Anna urges Jeremy not to trust her. Who does he believe? Both have lied and manipulated to him in the past. Who is the lesser of two evils here?

It seems like Klaus may soon be putting the pieces together that Elena isn’t really dead. He knows he killed a vampire and he knows he killed a werewolf. At some point he may realize that Elena’s death was the most inconclusive of the three. I also liked Stefan’s attempts to protect Elena, Damon, and Alaric in the midst of trying to act like a heartless badass.

Before closing this up I have to confess that being a big fan of both True Blood and The Vampire Diaries can often be confusing. One show says “Glamour” while the other says “Compel.” In one series, the vampires are susceptible to silver, while in the other their weakness is vervain. And to be honest, a lot of the times I forget which one is which (example – when Caroline grabbed her purse and burned her hand, my first thought was that it was a silver purse). But there’s one thing both shows love – having their vampires rip people’s hearts out with their bare hands.

Blog Exclusive: A Case of the.... True Blood - Season Four Review

2011-09-20T21:28:00.005-04:00

A couple of weeks ago True Blood completed its fourth season and I have to say, it was probably their best season yet! I don't know what it is about True Blood, but I tend to enjoy each individual episode, yet my enjoyment of each season as a whole varies greatly. For example, before this season, I typically viewed season two as my favorite, followed by season one. For whatever reason, season three felt like the weak link. But overall, I thought this was a really, really strong season. In an effort to not reveal any spoilers, please click the link below for my full thoughts on the season. As one might infer, spoilers are within.

Continue reading "Blog Exclusive: A Case of the.... True Blood - Season Four Review"....

My one criticism of the season is a pretty major one, though: I had a really difficult time buying into the Eric/Sookie relationship. I just had a really tough time believing that she would fall in love with her so easily and so quickly. Yes, I could understand that she felt hurt and betrayed by Bill, and that she was taken aback by his suddenly innocent persona, but still. I was never invested in that relationship. Seemed very, very forced to me. And is it me or is the whole "woman chooses herself over two lovers" thing a massive cliche?

But other than that, PHENOMENAL season!

I was sad that they killed off my favorite new character, Jesus. When he debuted last year, I wasn't entirely impressed. He just seemed like yet another dark, sketchy character introduced onto the show. But this season, he developed into a really great character. His death was obvious, once Lafayette became possessed, but I found myself legitimately disappointed when it actually happened.

I was handing out cigars when Tara was killed, on the other hand. There's a lot of people guessing that Bill or Eric or somebody will turn her into a vampire, but I'm hoping that the fact that her head was shot off is dead enough to not bring back. Good riddance.

While I wasn't a huge fan of the Eric and Sookie together, unusually I did enjoy the love triangle. And while the ending was a bit of a cliche, I think the bad ass tandem of Eric and Bill kinda sorta kicks a whole lot of ass. Their slaughter of Nan and her goons was, in a word, incredibly awesome. "We're not f'n puppy dogs!" These two can be awesome together.

Jason & Jessica ">" Hoyt & Jessica

I'm glad they drifted away from somber, drunk Sam after a few episodes, because he's one of my favorite characters. It's strange how he manages to stay away from the "A" story, yet maintains interest in his own arc. His up and down relationship with Tommy was complex, but ultimately rather sweet. I especially loved the fact that he didn't blame him for the outburst directed at Sookie.

The Marnie story arc was surprisingly interesting as well. I loved the reveal that Antonia wasn't actually the one going crazy with power and vengeance -- that it was actually Marnie. And the end, when she was (somewhat) forgiven and vindicated, that was nice as well.

The big story of next season may be the return of Russel. Who's responsible? Pam, out of vengeance against Sookie/Eric? Nan, to retaliate against the Authority? Somebody else? I'm not sure -- but I'll be watching.

LIVE Raw thoughts - September 19, 2011

2011-09-19T20:20:00.022-04:00

11:05 - Intriguing ending to Raw. Surprised to see Miz and Truth fired, but loved their facial reaction (especially Truth). I'm guessing Johnny Ace scoops up and hires all these guys Triple H is firing. This red hot CM Punk/John Cena feud has morphed into the world against the heroic Triple H quite nicely.

10:59 - For a moment there, I thought we might see Punk refuse Cena's tag, and reveal to be in cahoots with Miz/Truth. I'm glad we didn't see that, though. And I'm glad Punk is the one who got the hot tag.

10:45 - Compare CM Punk's entrance to John Cena's, and it's pretty obvious who the front office considers their big star. Not taking anything away from Cena, but I really wish WWE understood what they have in CM Punk. He's something special.

10:36 - I hate these obscure "first time in history" labels. We've had six man matches in Hell in a Cell, and tag matches too. What's the big deal that there's never been three people?

10:29 - Pretty cool moment for Zack Ryder. And Hugh Jackman is a great host. It's great when these visitors come to play.

10:16 - Beth Phoenix is slowly turning into the female version of Christian. Keeps losing, but keeps getting title shots.

10:08 - Hearing the people in the audience yell, "get Michael Cole!" really says it all, doesn't it?

10:01 - I like how the back of the World Heavyweight Championship's strap is red now. Adds a little flavor to the title.

9:51 - Wow, VERY sloppy camera work by not only showing the trampoline, but also panicking and showing nothing in an effort to look away.

9:43 - Hugh Jackman is a good sport. He seemed unsure of how to react in certain instances, but I thought he did a great job out there.

9:42 - Yeah, I definitely own that tie.

9:39 - I think I own that tie that Dolph is wearing.

9:37 - I have to admit, Hugh Jackman is quite the score for them. He seems like a pretty upstanding guy, too.

9:35 - Wow, tapped clean in under a minute. I'm not saying Morrison is the total package, but he's unlike any other person they have on the roster. They were doing a magnificent job of pushing him before his injury, I wish they hadn't given up on him.

9:30 - How sad is this? When ADR came down, I thought to myself, "They're going to have to give him a strong win." I then sighed and thought to myself, "They'll probably put him up against John Morrison." So what do you think the deal is with Morrison? Is this punishment for Melina?

9:18 - Do you think anybody will remember that David Otunga and Wade Barrett don't like each other?

9:13 - Well, once again, Triple H does everything right and one could argue that Punk looks like he's whining.

9:06 - By the way, thank God Punk is wearing his Best in the World t-shirt (which is awesome). That ice cream bar t-shirt was clever, but it was just a LITTLE too cutesy and kiddie. Something John Cena would wear, not CM Punk.

9:01 - Okay Punk is starting off the show. Let's see which direction this all goes.

8:20 - Raw isn't starting for another 40 minutes, but I thought I'd open the floor for some discussion. There are two things people are upset about -- John Cena winning the title back and Triple H defeating CM Punk. I'm pretty indifferent to the former, but the latter bothers me a lot.

Don't get me wrong, I don't actually mind that CM Punk lost to Triple H. In a lot of ways, it was the right ending. But only under one circumstance -- that Triple H turns heel and we learn that Punk was right and that there was a conspiracy against him and that Triple H is the one orchestrating it. Not only would it vindicate Punk's not-very-likable behavior, but to be honest it would make a rather lucklaster feud somewhat worthwhile.

Instead, everybody looks bad except for Triple H, who comes out smelling like roses. Punk is a paranoid jerk who horribly harassed an innocent man. Nash is an illogical sociopath who attacked people and ruined careers for no discernible reason. And then there's Triple H -- the guy who always did the right thing, always acted professional, and then successfully defended his honor's family after being wrongly accused of a conspiracy. And people call John Cena a boy scout?

Another argument people are making is that Punk doesn't really look bad, because there was outside interference. Normally I'd agree, except for the fact that Triple H was the victim of that very same interference, but managed to win.

And where do they go from here? It seems like Punk and Triple H may start an uneasy alliance, which isn't good for Punk's character either. The guy is supposed to be anti-authority, yet you're going to team him up with the authority figure?

Frankly, this entire angle has been poorly written. Punk is screaming conspiracy without hard evidence and we're supposed to cheer him, yet Miz/Truth do the same thing and we're supposed to boo them? The problem is, they never gave Punk a leg to stand on. They never gave the character Punk -- or the audience -- any real concrete reason to believe that Triple H was in on the conspiracy. Therefore, the only way the story COULD have ended and made as many people as possible look good was for Triple H to turn heel.

So, where do you all see the story going tonight?

VIDEO: Night of Champions Predictions

2011-09-18T20:25:00.002-04:00

Yeah, I know the show already began, but I got a late start to editing this video. Nonetheless, let's see how I do!

A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-1

2011-09-15T22:35:00.002-04:00

The Vampire Diaries is back with its third season, which means I’m back for another year of reviews! And, for the first time ever, it’s without Smallville. It feels kinda odd, to be honest.

I actually quite enjoyed the way the premiered eased into everything. A whole lot happened in last year’s finale and to be honest, it took a while to remember everything that happened to each character. They took things slow, but not to the point that it was boring or tiresome. And best of all, they built up certain stories and actually paid them off by the end of the hour. What did Klaus want with Simon Camden? Why was Tyler’s mom giving Caroline the stink eye? Would Jeremy reveal his secret about seeing dead people? And how far would Stefan go in his journey down the dark side? A lot of shows make the mistake of drawing out storylines/mysteries too long, to the point that fans no longer care or the payoff doesn’t meet the expectations built up in the viewers’ imaginations. Thankfully, The Vampire Diaries didn’t fall into that trap tonight.

Continue reading "A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-1"....

Let’s start with the first question. So it seems that Klaus and Stefan are scouring the globe so that Klaus can build an army of vampire/werewolf hybrids. It seems Caroline’s mother, who now knows her daughter’s secret, is helping them track Stefan (in addition to Damon and his news reporter “girlfriend”). We’d also come to learn that Stefan is willing to go quite far to protect Elena and Damon, in his own twisted way, by actually forcing Damon’s girlfriend to kill herself. Bringing that character back for this moment was actually quite brilliant, as it allowed Stefan to kill somebody close to Damon without having to sacrifice a major character. And since she had been instrumental in assisting Damon in his search for Stefan, the audience had an actual reason to care about her death. Well done.

I thought they did a pretty nice job with Elena and Damon’s relationship, as well. Thankfully, they didn’t push the tension too much and decided to play it smart. There was one thing that bothered me, though, and this is something I don’t get about women (okay, one of many things)….why exactly did Elena need Damon to put the necklace on for her? I understand it was to create a tense, romantic moment for them, but this happens on television often and I just don’t get it. Am I to believe she is unable to reach behind her neck and clip the necklace together? Talk about helpless….

One of the things I didn’t quite remember from last season’s finale was whether or not Caroline and Tyler ended up together. As we learned this episode, no they did not, but they sealed the deal before the end of the hour. However, for whatever reason, Tyler’s mother has it out for her. Since she’s in the know, I’m guessing it’s because Caroline’s a vampire. Speaking of Caroline, I did laugh out loud when she casually picked up that guy and moved him aside when she needed to get by.

The interactions between Jeremy and Matt were nice, and it wasn’t until I saw them that I realized that these characters very rarely seem to share screen time. So, what do you think Vickie (and I presume Anna) need help with? And will Jeremy be seeing any other characters? Like Jenna, perhaps?

I was actually a bit saddened to see Alaric move out, as I enjoyed the fact that he became a surrogate guardian to them. I hope this doesn’t mean he’s being phased out, or that his role as a “father figure” will be minimized.

Although I’m glad The Vampire Diaries didn’t fall into that other TV trap – namely, getting too gloomy for too long after something tragic happens – if I did have one disappointment it was that aside from Alaric, none of the characters really reacted to Jenna’s death. Elena and Jeremy were clearly in disarray, except Elena was all mopey and depressed because she couldn’t find Stefan, and Jeremy was a wreck because he was haunted by dead former girlfriends. The only one who even mentioned Jenna was Alaric, and that was borderline tongue-in-cheek. Out of all the deaths we’ve seen thus far, this was probably the saddest, yet it felt somewhat glossed over.

So, what did all of you think of the season premiere?

Dive Bar Shirt Club: Which Shirt Was Your Favorite?

2011-09-14T21:06:00.005-04:00

Now that I've received a full year's worth of shirts, I thought I'd let you guys vote on which one was your favorite! Vote in the poll below, and click the link to view each shirt! Your input is appreciated.

View the Dive Bar Shirt Club Photo Gallery

Dive Bar Shirt Club: The Kingfish Pub & Cafe

2011-09-13T20:14:00.002-04:00

Well, this marks the final t-shirt of my first year with the Dive Bar Shirt Club. Should I re-up my subscription? Right now, I'm leaning towards "yes." It was a pretty worthwhile investment. And this one is from California! And it revolves around shuffleboard, so that's cool with me.

They say this San Francisco Bay neighborhood watering hole got its name during Prohibition when it pretended to be a bait and tackle shop. Of course the catch of the day was 80 proof. Now it's a man cave that's solidly powered by testosterone. There's a fever on the mound as the walls celebrate champion ball players while TVs give you the warm glow of live streaming action. In the back of the vintage scoreboard lights your way as shuffleboard offers to take your puck on one incredible super long ride. When the mood strikes you can add your own thoughts to the decades of beer-inspired philosophy that has erupted into chalk talk on every available space. Low ceilings? Perfect. Just don't go nuts looking up. There's nothing quite like the salt life and this sportman's dream when you want to put out your own sign: gone fishing.

So with a full year of t-shirts to look at, is anybody interested in me posting a Poll so that you can vote on which shirt looked best?

Dive Bar Shirt Club: http://www.divebarshirtclub.com/Default.asp

Dive Bar Shirt Club T-Shirt Gallery

VIDEO: The Tie Clip: Where does it go?

2011-09-13T09:14:00.001-04:00

Do you know the answer to this mystery? View the video and let me know!

LIVE Raw thoughts - September 12, 2011

2011-09-12T20:53:00.017-04:00

11:10 - I know I'll sound biased, but I feel like CM Punk definitely carried that promo -- and it probably was their strongest one yet. Triple H just sounded super repetitive and his arguments continually came up short. Most wrestling fans are smart enough to realize that they've been rooting for CM Punk for far longer than this summer. Along with that, there are loads of people out there they are cheering for that aren't getting an opportunity. Triple H came off as pandering and disingenuous, and I don't think that was intentional. Having said that, I do think that this promo did a much, much better job of establishing who the "good guy" is and who the "bad guy" is. Punk's the guy you're supposed to root for, I'd say, and this segment at least explained why he's so hostile towards Triple H (who, on screen, has been nothing but professional). The mic mysteriously cutting out did add a little mystique as well, leading you to believe that there might be something to Punk's conspiracy idea.

Oh, and I must say that I did hate that Punk brought the real names into the deal. It's just a pet peeve of mine, whenever wrestlers use their real names, it always takes me out of the moment and reminds me that I'm watching a TV show. Obviously, I know that "CM Punk" isn't his real name, but why remind the audience that anything about what they're watching isn't real? The one misfire Punk has shot this entire run.

10:53 - CM Punk and Triple H -- as a unit -- have been hit and miss (unlike Punk/Cena, which was home run city). Let's see how they do leading into Night of Champions.

10:45 - For what it's worth, I hope that Cody doesn't abandon the masked look. His whole Dr. Doom thing is a lot cooler than the Dashing gimmick.

10:36 - Mark Henry will be playing the role of A.C. Slater tonight.

10:33 - Who do you see Cody defending his Intercontinental Title against at Night of Champions? Ted DiBiase? Or do you see them going a similar route as the U.S. title and having him defend in a multi-person match? Perhaps a fourway with DiBiase, Sin Cara, and Daniel Bryan?

10:28 - You know it's funny, the former creative writers who are on Twitter (and who are, for the most part, very entertaining) pretty frequently rail Vince and his Yes Men for not understanding pop culture and what his target audience wants, yet when it comes to this Mark Henry push, most of them are rallying behind the big man and saying how much he deserves it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking away from what Henry has accomplished over the past few months, but I don't think anybody in the audience actively wanted this push -- yet the former writers act like they've been campaigning for it for quite some time. Point being, they're not necessarily much better at knowing what the audience wants.

10:11 - I'm sure many would say that the 9/11 video was self indulgent -- and perhaps they'd be right -- but I thought it was a rather beautiful, touching tribute. And this is another reason why John Cena is their poster child -- not many Superstars could pull off that narration.

9:59 - Wow, they're not having Bret Hart come down to his own theme music in Canada? That's REALLY odd.

9:52 - If McGillicutty and Otunga couldn't beat Zack Ryder, why would we think they have a chance against Sheamus?

9:49 - Cole is calling Lawler the best ever (which is odd), and in the very next sentence he's saying that the former Nexus might finally shut Lawler's mouth. That criticism aside, the announcing has been SIGNIFICANTLY better this week, since they cooled off on the bickering.

Oh, and like I said last week, "The Great White" is a terrible moniker. It sounds incomplete. The Great White what?

9:46 - You know, when you think about it, it's rather remarkable how incredibly different Edge and Matt Hardy handled their injury-induced early retirements. I can't take credit for this observation, but Lita's decision is becoming more and more understandable.

9:40 - Told ya. If I were Kofi, I'd weep every time I saw that I was booked against the Miz. That guy CONSTANTLY has his number.

9:27 - Is Kofi ever booked to beat Miz? I'm guessing he's staring at the lights again tonight.

9:21 - Could these four guys face each other for the United States Championship at Night of Champions?

9:14 - The opening segment felt a little flat, to be honest. After weeks of such "real," passionate, true promos from CM Punk and John Cena, it's a little rough getting back to such character-centric promos like the ones from Alberto Del Rio (and by extension, Cena too). And further, WWE really shot themselves in the foot by teasing ADR vs. Cena for the title, and then ADR vs. Bret Hart for the title, before giving us a tag team match that was far less desirable.

9:09 - Honestly John, no matter how much you push it, NOBODY cares whether or not Alberto Del Rio knows the names of the cars he drives. Let it go. It doesn't matter.

8:53 - Is everybody ready for tonight's Raw? I just picked up quite the concoction at Red Mango, so I'm rearing to go (and appropriately, Fruity Pebbles are one of the toppings I went with!) Check back in about 5 minutes for my LIVE Raw thoughts!

REPOST: September 11

2011-09-11T13:44:00.005-04:00

WE WHO ARE TRULY BRAVE WILL NEVER LIVE IN FEAR
Today marks 10 years since the shocking and dreadful attacks on September 11th. The story of how I spent that day hasn't changed, so I thought I would repost the message I wrote two years ago, on September 11, 2009, with my recollection of that unforgettable day. My thoughts and prayers are with everybody that was impacted by that day. Be strong.

It's often said that the attacks on September 11, 2001 is our generation's JFK assassination. As in, you'll never forget where you were that day when you received the news. And in my case, that's true.

I was a sophomore at Rutgers and I went to class that morning just like any other day. As I was walking through the halls, I faintly overheard two teachers discussing the World Trade Center, and an attack. I didn't think much of it. I obliviously assumed that it was the anniversary of the 1993 bombing.

Class progressed as usual, until one student came in late -- probably more than halfway into the period. He reported the news that the South Tower had collapsed. Everybody was naturally shocked. After all, the Twin Towers is an American landmark -- just about as recognizable to New York City as the Empire State Building.

At the time I didn't have a computer in my dorm room, so I immediately rushed to the computer lab to find out what in the world was going on. It was still early in the morning -- before the North Tower collapsed -- so phones and Internet access hadn't yet flooded. As I sat there constantly refreshing the news page, I would quickly discover that the second tower had fallen. I was inundated with IM's (remember those?) as I read people's worried and depressing away messages.

Shortly thereafter classes were canceled and I returned to my room, where everybody continued to be in a state of shock. We would spend the next couple of days glued to the TV watching the news. Believe it or not, my freshman year roommate -- who lived on the fourth floor of our dorm building -- could see the billows of smoke coming from the city.

It's been eight years, and while I remember that day so vividly, it also feels like a lifetime ago.

Blog Exclusive: A Case of the.... Louie - Season Two Review

2011-09-10T20:37:00.003-04:00

So as I've probably mentioned before, I'm a big fan of stand up comedy and even though I rarely (if ever) get to see actual performances, there are a handful of comics that I find absolutely hilarious and will go out of my way to see, no matter the forum. Louis CK is at the top of that list, so I've been an avid viewer of his FX program, Louie.

When it premiered last year, I (like virtually everybody else) compared it to Curb Your Enthusiasm. Both shows had the lead character playing a fictionalized, exaggerated version of his actual self, and both programs took advantage of awkward, every day humor.

Last year the show was phenomenal. This year, it was simply good. I think the problem lies in the fact that, as strange as it sounds, Louis CK forgot the make the show funny. Last year had dramatic episodes with a deep message, like the Bully and Crucifixion episodes (both favorites), but for the most part it was a genuinely hilarious show. I appreciate Louis CK's artistic capabilities -- he's rather talented from a production stand point -- but this year I think he just got a bit too "artsy" for his own good. And as a result, the humor suffered.

Don't get me wrong, it's still an enjoyable show and I do recommend it (if only because it's something that dares to be different), but my initial feeling is that it didn't quite measure up to its freshman year. This is not unusual, as shows tend to struggle to get comfortable in its own skin, and the second year suffers because of it (the infamous "sophomore slump"). I'm more than willing to see where things go season three, and Louis CK remains one of my favorite comics.

Did you watch this season? If so, what did you think?

True or False: Coming Soon!

2011-09-07T21:19:00.004-04:00

I've got some new ideas for the blog, and the one I'm most excited about is an interactive feature titled "True or False." It's not an original idea, admittedly, as it's based on "Fact or Fiction," and actually WWE.com did a feature by the same name several years ago.

The way it works is simple: Another person and I will receive five or so statements, and we'll each say whether we think the statement is true or false, and why. Each edition will have a central theme, whether it's wrestling or Lost or music or movies or cartoons or whatever.

I've wanted to do this idea for a while, and it was actually some recent Twitter interactions that got me motivated to make it a reality. Quite simply, Twitter made me realize that there's a whole community of people out there that like to interact and discuss/debate things. And through this medium, I may actually be able to reach out to people with some credibility, as well.

So who are the potential guests? Well, people I follow on Twitter, of course. But chances are I won't be able to reel in somebody like CM Punk or Conan O'Brien. So some editions it may be me and an old friend, and I'm actually rather hopeful that I can convince some of you, my readers, to participate as well.

Stay tuned for the first edition, hopefully in the near future!

LIVE Raw thoughts - September 5, 2011

2011-09-05T20:54:00.025-04:00

11:27 - And for those of you interested, here is some (brief) additional information the new WWE Network:

http://www.wwe.com/inside/wwe-network-announced

11:12 - I'm sure most people are going to say this is just another example of Super Cena overcoming the odds, but I found it relatively inoffensive. Cena was out of the match until the way end, so he was completely fresh. And the entire match was built around making Swagger and Ziggler (especially Swagger) look good. And of course, there was some hijinx that led to Cena beating the two of them. Thankfully, he sold after the match a bit more than he did at SummerSlam last year.

11:06 - The camera shot of Christian slapping Sheamus, and the zoom in on Sheamus shooting darts at Christian, is one of the MANY things that separates WWE and TNA. You'd never see that sort of thing from TNA.

11:01 - I don't care for the nickname "The Great White." It feels incomplete. The Great White What?

10:55 - Yeah, I probably should have guessed that Morrison would be the first eliminated....

10:49 - I LOVE elimination matches because I love reading into the order of elimination. Here's my prediction -- Alex Riley, Wade Barrett, Jack Swagger, John Morrison, Dolph Ziggler, Christian, and Cena and Sheamus survive.

10:44 - John Cena is REALLY pushing this whole thing about ADR not knowing the names of the cars he's driving. Does he think this is going to get people riled up or something?

10:37 - Kyle, thanks for returning to the blog, your insight was missed. Regarding the WWE Network, you're right on -- they have TONS of material that they could do any number of things. Then there are specials, like their Wrestling Roundtable show (I've seen a few episodes and love it. The fact that it's On Demand, instead of a channel on a network, turns me off however). And like you said, there are shows like NXT and Superstars that would benefit significantly if it were on television, opposed to their website (plus it gives them original, new content to air). There's tons they could do and I'm excited to see what they have in store.

10:33 - So did anybody, other than Punk, get out of the Nexus/Corre with anything other than dreadful theme music?

10:24 - Nice that they gave Zack Ryder a victorious moment.

10:19 - Gotta love the fact that the former Nexus don't get an entrance, yet King -- who sits at ringside -- does. Good to see them giving Ryder some legit exposure, though.

10:14 - Somebody on Scott Keith's blog said that the WWE Network would never happen. Looks like it may, after all. That was a pretty solid indication, huh?

10:11 - I loved Punk's "you've been hitting people in the head with sledgehammers for ten years and you haven't killed one yet" line, but you could hear the audience groan when Punk mentioned his stipulation -- which I'm sure had a lot of people thinking that Triple H would win. This falls into the "booking yourself in a corner" category. If Punk wins, the entire WWE power struggle storyline crumbles. If Triple H wins -- even by nefarious means -- it could jeopardize Punk's ascension into super duper stardom.

10:08 - I'm glad they gave Punk the win. Truth be told, they should have given him the win last week against Miz, too. I was a bit worried, though, when he had his back turned to Truth for no less than 15 minutes.

9:54 - I have to admit that I actually enjoyed the interaction between Miz and R-Truth (it usually feels forced to me). And, as expected, they're going to be competing for the Tag Team Championship. Odd that they didn't give Punk a full blown entrance, though. I'm guessing he's giving the live audience a promo, perhaps to wake them up a bit.

How do you see the rest of the Night of Champions card playing out? Maybe Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Title. And perhaps Dolph Ziggler and Swagger for the United States Championship? Is anybody else competing for that title? And is Orton vs. Henry official yet?

9:47 - It's a bit surreal seeing Christian and Del Rio paling around so casually. How about their multi-month feud? How about Del Rio putting Christian out of action? Granted, I missed last week's promo, but it seems awfully quick for them to just kiss and make up. Even Edge and Jericho remained hostile towards each other when they were both heels, until ultimately putting their past behind them.

9:36 - Wow, Kelly dropped "BS," huh? And doesn't Natalya hate Michael Cole?

9:29 - I've been meaning to do a full blog post about this, but for years people have been pleading with WWE to redo the WWE Championship. Yet with their last redesigns, are we convinced that the new one would be any better than what they have now? There was the silver ECW Championship, which I didn't hate but was certainly polarizing. Then there's the silver, butterfly shaped Divas Championship, which has pink and purple jewels all over it. And then there are the bronze, circular WWE Tag Team Championship, with gladiator helmets on it. When was the last time a championship was created that wasn't dreadful or polarizing?

9:23 - I noted in my LIVE Smackdown thoughts post that the Great Khali has to abandon those bright red "Punjabi Playboy" pants if he's going to get over as a monstrous heel. On WWE.com, they posted photos from WWE's recent tour of France, and in photo 7 Khali is wearing far superior navy pants. Yet, sadly, he's back to the red ones tonight?

9:18 - So you all know that I like to keep things positive and I don't typically subscribe to backstage rumors and reputations, however I can't help but get a bad taste in my mouth following that opening segment. The red hot CM Punk/John Cena feud led to a Triple H/Kevin Nash feud? And Kevin Nash attacking and beating up CM Punk for weeks on end results in Triple H punching out and firing Nash? I'm sure the story isn't over yet, but what SHOULD have happened is that Punk should have hit the GTS on Nash as the camera panned out and showed that he's still in the ring. This whole thing did nothing for Punk, and it certainly didn't add to the tension of CM Punk/Triple H at Night of Champions.

9:15 - PS - Can that loud ass woman in the front row, near the camera, shut the hell up?

9:14 - Kevin Nash sent the text to himself? This is like the episode of Lost where Dharma Miles babysits Baby Miles. What exactly did the fake text prove?

8:54 - I hope everybody is enjoying their holiday weekend. After a brief hurricane-related hiatus, welcome to another edition of my ongoing LIVE Raw thoughts. Good news! I added a new tag so that these posts can be easier to follow. And it's also been a while since I've received any feedback throughout the show. Where are my usual readers? Let's get an interaction going!

Another indication of the nWo returning...

2011-09-05T19:33:00.003-04:00

Since Kevin Nash's return, WWE has repeatedly hinted at the resurrection of the nWo. In some ways, it's actually been rather clever -- for example, having Kevin Nash wear a t-shirt that was very similar to the one he first wore when the nWo debuted. Well, there's a new indication that the classic stable may be returning, and it's right on WWE.com's WCW Competitors page.

If you check the page, you'll see that all of the competitors that didn't join the nWo are X'd out in a spray painted fashion, while all of the people who were in the nWo have a spray painted message written next to their photo. Plus, the "real" Sting's photo has been replaced by one of the nWo Sting.

Of note, the Wolfpac is apparently not included, as Lex Luger's photo is X'd out. Nor is the WWE's version of the nWo, as Booker T's photo is crossed out as well.

Also, be sure to check back at 9:00 for my LIVE Raw thoughts....

Facebook Privacy: One Step Forward, Five Steps Back

2011-09-03T21:35:00.002-04:00

I'm not one of those people that harp on Facebook's privacy policies and I really don't hide much of what I do on there either. There are certain features that I hide from certain people, either for professional or personal reasons, but for the most part it's a pretty open book.

However, I can't help but be REALLY frustrated with Facebook right now. In case you haven't noticed, they have now customized their privacy features, which allows you to control who can view individual photo albums and Wall posts. In theory, this is great. However, for whatever reason, the "standard" privacy setting didn't really translate, so now many people that previously couldn't see my wall now can. And it seems that there is no longer an option to hide ALL albums/Wall posts, instead you need to set each one individually. If you're like me, and you post a lot of photos, that's a HUGE undertaking.

And actually, I did find an option that is supposed to cover all Wall posts, but the individual settings override that. So let's say I have it set so that John Doe and Jane Doe can't view my Wall on my universal settings, but the individual settings only block John , then Jane Doe can still view my Wall. And of course, Facebook doesn't have a direct "Contact Us" link so that you can actually speak to somebody about this.

Truthfully, in my case it's more of a frustration/annoyance than a real issue. I keep my Facebook page relatively clean, so there's nothing that can get me in real trouble. But there ARE people out there who take this very seriously, and I have heard stories of being getting in professional trouble because of things on their Facebook page. In that sense, this is something Facebook should be concerned about.

REPOST: My interview with Jenni Baird - June 25, 2007

2011-09-02T10:04:00.004-04:00

This was the second celebrity interview I conducted, and in many ways it was actually my favorite as well. Jenni Baird, who was new to the series, was exceptionally friendly and personable. In many ways, it was the most personable and talkative of my interviews, and I do believe it was the only one which ended with the person telling me that I should call back once the season had ended. I particularly enjoyed our dialogue regarding American phrases that are unusual to those from other areas (now that I think of it, "lucked out" is a strange way of saying you're fortunate). And she very happily answered my question about Heroes stealing their thunder, which would be important later on. Jenni was a really friendly person, and most recently could be seen in the Sci-Fi comedy Alien Trespass. Enjoy the interview:

http://insidepulse.com/2007/06/25/68355/

VIDEO: No Internet, No TV, No Hope

2011-08-31T13:34:00.001-04:00

See, Matt Hardy, THIS is how you make light of a personal plight. Enjoy....

The Matt Hardy Suicide Hoax

2011-08-31T09:11:00.002-04:00

Shortly after I posted last night's entry, it became apparent that Matt Hardy's "GOODBYE" video was some sort of twisted publicity stunt. What he was trying to get out of it is unknown. Perhaps this was some ill-conceived way of saying he's been "reborn" (a Matt Hardy favorite), or maybe he just wanted to be the center of attention. Whatever the motivation, his actions are absolutely deplorable.

I resisted being overly harsh last night, because I wanted to make sure everything WAS a hoax. Sure, Shane Helms and Matt's sister-in-law indicated it wasn't legitimate, but these are the same people that seemingly refuse to acknowledge (publicly, anyway) that anyone in their crew has a problem. I didn't want to chastise the guy, only to wake up and find out he did kill himself. Well, the video has since been removed and there are newspaper articles indicating that he's just fine.

Listen, I know somebody who has committed suicide. Worst off, Matt Hardy knows countless people that have committed suicide. I have a pretty tasteless sense of humor, and if things are clearly put in the context of comedy, I'm willing to laugh at just about anything. But that wasn't Matt Hardy's intent. He clearly wanted people think that he was going to kill himself last night. For what? What was the intent? To bring more attention to himself and his "brand"? That's sad, disgusting, and pathetic. This guy is EXCEPTIONALLY disturbed.

Honestly, I feel foolish. I don't even like Matt Hardy, but when I saw that video I thought back to the friend I couldn't save, and I just started sending wrestlers messages on Twitter, hoping that they would reach out to Hardy to stop him from doing something so permanent. I became invested in his survival, and when it turned out to be a ruse, I felt embarrassed -- for him and for me.

And while I agree with Shane Helms that he (meaning Shane) shouldn't be bashed for the actions of his friend, I was also a bit taken aback by the nonchalant manner he blew it off. And it made me think, "yes, you can support your friend....and yes, you can refrain from ridiculing him in public....but you don't need to comment on every single one of his actions." And that's a big issue I have with Helms -- he never keeps his mouth shut. Anytime anything happens, instead of not commenting on it, he attempts to "defend" it, and then gets bent out of shape when people judge him for it.

What now? I say we just draw a line in the sand and deprive him of the one thing he fuels himself on -- his fans. And that begins with unfollowing him on Twitter. Please, everybody just do that.

Matt Hardy, you're a sick man. I hope you get the help you need, and then you just disappear forever.

Troubling Matt Hardy Message

2011-08-30T22:21:00.005-04:00

The following video, titled "GOODBYE," was posted on Matt Hardy's YouTube page. I don't think it's entirely appropriate to embed a guy's suicide message on my blog, so I'll just include the link. But here's what it says:

"Goodbye, World....

My time here is

Almost complete....

I only have a few

Hours & minutes....

I loved you all....

Regardless of how

You felt about me....

I'll miss you all....

September 23, 1974 -

August 31, 2011"

http://www.youtube.com/MATTHARDYBRAND

Listen, I've certainly been critical of Matt Hardy. Probably more than most people. But nobody wants to see him take his own life. I sincerely hope that if he is suicidal, that somebody can reach out to him and stop him before he does anything. I really don't want to be posting about his death tomorrow.

God look after you, Matt.

LIVE Smackdown thoughts

2011-08-30T20:00:00.028-04:00

10:05 - A really great match between Orton and Christian, and I can't help but wonder what's in store for Christian next. If nothing else, I think we should all be happy that this feud had Christian headlining Smackdown since WrestleMania and had him winning the World title on two occasions. Not to mention, he's back to being a heel, where his character is far more comfortable. And we got six really great matches.

Overall, WWE did a good job of incorporating the Raw Superstars without having them take over the show. Bravo.

9:58 - Love the continuity of Christian faking the move that originally lost him the championship.

9:56 - Remember how I said the steel cage inherently defies logic? When Christian is climbing up the cage and Orton sprints across the ring to stop him, why doesn't he just walk the same distance (or less) to the door? He can clearly exit the door quicker than Christian can climb the cage. The ONLY explanation is that Orton is the face, and would rather unleash punishment than end the match. But still....

9:55 - Christian.....the first guy smart enough to realize that if you take your feet off the ropes, Orton can't DDT you.

9:47 - So in Booker's eyes John Cena has limited skills but Randy Orton is extraordinary? Sigh. Just sigh.

9:43 - Love the way they're booking Christian in the early goings of this match. They rarely have anybody do the logical thing to win a cage match -- Christian is doing that now.

9:38 - Is it me or did Christian's music play a little early? I say it all the time, but I HATE that Christian (and to a lesser extent, Orton too) has abandoned the multi-colored tights in place of the basic black with the different colored accents. I also wish Christian would bring back his super awesome hooded entrance gear.

9:31 - Why is Triple H coming out of prison in all of his movies?

In all seriousness, that actually doesn't look like a terrible movie.

9:24 - If I were Sheamus, I'd be thinking about how quick I was to rescue John Cena last night when HE was getting double teamed....

9:21 - So is the Great Khali a full blown heel or is he still a reluctant heel? Because if he's a full blown heel, he REALLY needs to abandon the bright red pants that say "Punjabi Playboy." Not very intimidating.

9:13 - That was an effective and passionate promo, and I'll be honest -- I have no idea what the end game is. My gut tells me that we'll be seeing Punk/Nash at Night of Champions, but why tease the "big match" for the sake of promoting the "preliminary match"? The end game SHOULD be Punk/Triple H, but it should be at an event far bigger than Night of Champions.

If Nash really is unable to wrestle, and this was a last resort, I think the smarter move would have been to insert Punk in the title match. It seems rushed, and a waste, to have Punk/Triple H now.

9:05 - I have to say, I liked Triple H's portion of the promo. It ran the risk of getting a little too "corporate" -- do we need to know the inner workings of bands charging people to use their theme music? -- but it came together quite nicely.

9:01 - Why is the General Manager of Smackdown overseeing a contract signing between a Raw Superstar (somebody he has no authority over) and the COO (somebody who outranks him)?

8:57 - Is it me, or is that a nicer than usual table for the contract signing?

8:53 - Well, looks like I owe everyone an apology. Looks like the contract signing will close out the first hour.

8:49 - I love Kelly Kelly, but this seems as good a time as any to duck out for some family time. If AJ were in the ring, maybe I would've stuck it out.

8:42 - My guess is that the Punk/Triple H contract signing ends the show. So with Cena opening the show, and Punk/Triple H closing it, this is what you're in store for with the "re-merged" brands.

8:39 - I've enjoyed the Orton/Christian feud, but I'm not sure I'd refer to it as "balanced."

8:32 - Daniel Bryan's repeated losses have been defend-able. Again, he's been facing champions and top challengers -- guys who SHOULD be winning (my argument, though, is that they should have avoided booking him for those matches in the first place) -- or against guys who "need the victory" more than him (Wade Barrett). But what was the excuse here? Sin Cara isn't even in a feud -- why is he being put over your Money in the Bank winner? Further, the post-match booking (Sin Cara's attack) would have made more sense had Sin Cara lost.

8:26 - I personally preferred the white/gold attire that Sin Cara wore at Money in the Bank. I didn't see Raw last night, but apparently they're acknowledging the lineage of Mistico, when the former Mistico isn't even portraying him anymore. That's curious. This is sure to be a good match, but I'm anxious to see if they'll actually allow Bryan to get the victory. Unlike the past few weeks where he's faced the champion or top challenger, this is somebody at his level -- and somebody who doesn't need the win.

8:17 - This match, while inoffensive, really shows how far Wade Barrett has fallen in the past six months or so. Don't get me wrong, Cena should have won, but the fact that it was so decisive is such a stark contrast to their matches last year.

8:10 - Is Tony Chimmel getting a push or something?

8:07 - WWE needs to hire somebody whose sole job is to check up on wrestlers' Visa issues.

8:04 - Wow, did Booker T just say that John Cena has "limited skills"? Ouch, that's rough.

8:00 - Yes, that's right -- my TV and Internet are back! Since I couldn't do my LIVE Raw thoughts last night (indeed, I didn't even see the show!) I thought I would give Smackdown the stream of conscious treatment. However, I do have family over, so I might have to run in and out. But I'm going to watch the show and update as much as possible!

VIDEO: Championship Belts, Irene, and a New Feature

2011-08-28T11:36:00.002-04:00

Natural Disaster #2 for the Week

2011-08-27T13:25:00.004-04:00

As I noted on my Facebook page earlier this week, I feel like the villain in a disaster movie, constantly assuring people (in a rather headstrong fashion) that everything is going to be okay and that there's nothing to worry about, despite the urgent warnings from far more qualified individuals. I still think this storm will be nothing compared to what they're predicting (in my area anyway), but nonetheless I know that many of my readers live in the tri-state area (as do I), so I urge everybody to be safe and careful this weekend. I know people that have been evacuated from New York City, Hoboken, and the beach, so they clearly anticipate something major.

Please check out http://72hours.org/ to ensure that you are properly prepared! Be safe :)

REPOST: My interview with Patrick Flueger - September 12, 2005

2011-08-25T20:20:00.004-04:00

I thought it might be fun to repost the interviews I did a few years ago with several cast members of The 4400. And now that the show has been canceled, I guess I can be a little more open about my experience with each person. My first opportunity was with Patrick Flueger, who played Shawn Farrell, and I was pretty excited. In addition to it being my first celebrity interview, he was also one of my favorite characters. And to my delight, he actually ended up being a really cool, laid back guy. He was really relaxed and down to earth, which certainly helped me out a lot. The one thing that went wrong was that my recorder stopped working mid-interview, which meant I had to write down what he was saying. That took some of the enjoyment away, because I was suddenly really stressed. Thankfully, he handled the mishap with understanding and class. Here's to continued success, Patrick was a talented guy on the show. Enjoy the interview:

http://insidepulse.com/2005/09/12/42621/

"Did you feel that???"

2011-08-23T16:05:00.003-04:00

Well, I can now say that I've survived my very first earthquake. And, thankfully, it was personally undramatic, which I deeply appreciate. Growing up, my visions of earthquake (other than a hairy fat guy in a blue singlet) were straight out of sensationalist Michael Bay movies. I imagined a huge crack in the ground opening up, and people falling in to their deaths. I'm happy to say my experience was nothing like that (not to minimize anybody who was in a less safe situation).

I was working here in Morristown, NJ and sitting at my desk when the ground and my surroundings most certainly began to shake. Honestly, I thought nothing of it. The feeling wasn't much different than when we get heavy winds hitting the windows. We've also got construction going on downstairs, so it easily could have been the result of some heavy machinery. However, the shaking occurred for too long and at a sustainable rate. Finally, one of the women in the office asked, "Is that an earthquake?" It's as if she just said what we were all thinking. Suddenly we all stood up -- ground still shaking a bit -- and agreed that that's what was happening. We glanced out of our suite and saw that the rest of the building was evacuating, so surely it wasn't just our floor.

When we got outside, and everybody started talking, we learned that DC/Virginia had been hit with a 5.8 scale earthquake. It seemed strange to us that we would feel that, though. When we re-entered the building about 20 minutes later, I checked my Facebook page to realize that people from all parts of the tri-state area (and beyond) had felt the tremors.

I've reached out to family and friends and it appears that everybody is okay. I hope everybody else, as well as their families, are safe as well.