Summer of Excitement: Independence Weekend - [a case of the summer]

As one might expect, the aforementioned excitement that occurred last week centered mostly around the activities of July 4th weekend.  I actually took off July 3rd (Thursday), although not for exciting reasons.  I had a dentist appointment at 10:00 (which I incorrectly thought was at 10:30, so I was a half hour late.  Oops), then dropped by my parents' house to do some laundry, and then finally went to the barber to get a haircut.  That evening I also decided to grab a few more things for the apartment (including a TWO TIER fruit bowl!) at which point it started to absolutely pour out.  Like, blankets of water falling from the sky.  Within minutes streets and parking lots were literally flooding.  I don't think I've ever gotten THAT drenched in such a short amount of time from just being outside for less than a minute at a time.  It was ridiculous.  Unfortunately, I was so massively uncomfortable that I couldn't meet a few friends later, so that ended up being a relatively tame night.  But that's okay, because there would be more fun later.

On Friday, my friend had people over for an intended BBQ.  However, since it was raining, we ended up having everybody inside (using the toaster oven in place of the BBQ), which was just fine.  However, when I walked in, I noticed three of my guy friends all wearing the USA World Cup Jersey with matching shorts, in addition to American Flag bandannas.  They explained that they went to the dollar store down the street and, on a whim, talked the guy down to $24 and got everything.  Not to be left out, I went to the very same dollar store and did the same.  He even remembered my friends, which meant I got the same discount.  And so we spent the whole afternoon wearing our matching outfits, and then went to the bar doing the same.  Somehow, we managed to pull it off and had a great time.

Saturday was our yearly tradition of taking my nephew and nieces to the boardwalk in Point Pleasant.  It was a beautiful day and a lot of fun, but holy hell was it crowded.  And I was exhausted, too.  Plus we didn't even eat until, like, 3:00, and I don't like to be kept from food.  But, of course, it was nice to have a beautiful day.

Sunday was a beautiful day as well, as we went to my aunt's house for a BBQ.  A day in the pool with lots of food (see, told you I like food) and family.  Oh, Margaritas too (those are American, right?)  A very nice time.  It was certainly a long, tiring weekend, though, and I didn't feel especially good on Monday!

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Summer of Excitement: Special Olympics - [a case of the summer]

Well, as you can see, I've been slagging off already.  I actually did have a Summer of Excitement post to report last week, but it was insanely busy and I didn't have an opportunity to do so.  Therefore, this post really refers to the week of June 22nd.  And as this Summer of Excitement feature is in an evolution process, I've decided to not "force things" even further.  If I have nothing to write, I won't.  If I write it late, so be it.  Maybe I should rename this the Summer of Relaxation?  Anyway, this week I'll discuss the excitement that was my volunteering at the Special Olympics games!

My workplace was one of the many sponsors of this year's Special Olympics (along with a little company known as WWE) and as a result, we were encouraged to volunteer if your schedule permitted.  I, along with the rest of the marketing team, devoted our day to the Flag Football competition.  Yes, it was rewarding.  And definitely a once in a lifetime experience, but man....was it grueling!

I joke that I definitely feel mislead about what I was getting in for.  My assignment was "ball retriever," which meant -- as I was told -- if the ball was overthrown I would have to run to get it so that they could begin the next play.  Unfortunately, that is NOT what it was.  Instead, I had to run to go grab the ball EVERY SINGLE PLAY and, once again, EVERY SINGLE PLAY I would have to run a fresh ball over to the line of scrimmage.  And if the line of scrimmage changed, I would have to reset it.  So I was running out into the center of the field every single play of every single game.  It was absolutely exhausting.  Not to mention that it was 100 degrees out (SLIGHT exaggeration) and I wore pants since I didn't know I'd be doing THAT much activity.  There's a girl I was working with who is about 100 times more active with fitness than I am, who didn't run as much as me, who was absolutely exhausted as well.  Imagine how I felt!

Finally, for the last two games, we had to switch with the people who were announcing because we felt so dead.  So there I was -- the guy who knows absolutely nothing about sports -- doing announcing on the loud speaker for a flag football game at the Special Olympics.  And I only got yelled at twice to stick to the script!

It was definitely an interesting experience.

Oh yeah, check back at 7:30-ish for my Money in the Bank LIVE thoughts!

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Summer of Excitement: New Apartment! - [a case of the summer]

Well this post is about a week late, and for that I apologize.  Yet the topic of the post is actually a big reason why I haven't been updating as frequently as I would like.  That's right folks.....I moved into a new apartment!  This whole process was actually very quick and relatively painless -- just a whole lot of work.  And, while the frame of time was relatively small, the commitment it took seemed to eat up all of that time.  But, the place is about 95% of where I want it to be at, so I'm happy.

Basically, I have been telling myself that I want to move for years now.  But there was always a reason to not do it.  For a long time, it was because I didn't see myself staying at my job for the long term, so I didn't want to move someplace only to get a new job, and suddenly the place I had chosen was really inconvenient.  Then when my position changed last year, I knew that I DID want to stay at my job for the long term.  The next excuse was that there was never a good time to do the research or check the place out.  Finally I decided, "let's just do this!" and from there, the ball got rolling.

The timetable is a bit fuzzy, as this all went down about a month ago, but basically I did an Internet search on a Monday, had visited the place by Wednesday, had committed to it by that Friday, signed the lease the next Tuesday, and began moving things in the week after that.  Because of a work trip and the fact that I really didn't have any of my own furniture, I did need to pay for the place for about two weeks without actually living there, but I've now been living here for a week (with practically all new furniture, which I love!) and have now gotten moving on hanging things up on the wall.  I'm really happy with how it's all coming together.

Funny side story:  I have basically been buying and saving things to use for my eventual apartment since college.  And now that I have a place that is 100% all mine, I can finally hang it up.  Problem is, a lot of it is very collegey type stuff (like tin signs that say "Beer Pong Champ") and I can't help but wonder where the line is.  I'm 32 now, hanging some of these things up kinda makes me feel like a douche.  The exceptions, for me, are if I actually made the thing I want to hang up (which is the case with a few items) or if I really like how it  works.  But I think the Beer Pong Champ sign might get cut from the line up.

Anyway, this is a really exciting move for me and I'm HOPING that I'll bring my percentage from 95 to 98 after this weekend (I'll have hung up all the stuff I brought, leaving me to decide what to do with the empty wall space).  I'll try to do a blog video to show all of you what the place looks like.

Oh, and once I'm more "moved in," I'll really work on updating the blog more.  I owe you all some season finale thoughts!

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Summer of Excitement: Memorial Day Weekend - [a case of the summer]

As promised, for the third year in a row, I'll be doing my Summer of Excitement installment!  I thought the first year was a huge success and the second year was a bit lame.  So how can I fix that?  Well, I'm basically just going to talk about the most exciting thing that week, instead of actively trying to do something and having it fall short.  Which is ironic, because the intent of the Summer of Excitement WAS to actively try to do things.

And the summer, of course, starts with Memorial Day Weekend!  And, despite each day being absolutely exhausting, I CAN say that I went out each night, with drastically different people, doing drastically different things.  And in fact, it ended up being a reverse journey through my life.  Friday night focused on the current stage of my life, as I spontaneously ended up meeting up with a work friend of mine and her sister.  This was pretty significant as I had woken up at four in the morning to travel home from Texas.  But I still made the trek to meet up and it ended up being a really enjoyable time.

Saturday night I ended up going to Rutgers to meet up with a college friend (the portion of my life prior to my work life) for some dinner and some drinks.  We even ended up going to our old hang out spot, and the manager of the bar remembered us!  Very cool, especially since it's been ten years.  Along with that, the bar has a skeeball now, and we totally got roped into playing the bartender and his friend, and we got absolutely killed.  That cost us four shots.  And, again, this was a pretty significant thing since I had a marathon shopping session that morning (not for fun reasons).  Five hours at the mall is NOT a good time.

Sunday night, I hung out with a high school friend (my life before college) and his girlfriend, along with their friends, and we traveled all around New York.  We originally went to Brooklyn in an attempt to go to a Mister Sunday party, but the line was so long that we opted against it.  Instead, we went to the pier and enjoyed a couple drinks as the sun set.  We then returned to Manhattan, where we went out for some more dinner and drinks (and got in trouble for doing a Saki bomb, not realizing that it wasn't allowed) before meeting up with a few others people he knows.  My friend and I ended up having to go separate buses home, as we were going in different directions.  Well, his bus came pretty much right away.  I, on the other hand, had to go all the way downstairs since our bus was actually going to an entirely different gate.  Then I had to wait nearly an hour for it to arrive.  And during that time, there were several REALLY drunk marines who made complete asses of themselves.  They were arguing, cursing, and physically fighting with each other.  It was REALLY unfortunate to watch.  And they were also EXTREMELY obnoxious when people told them to calm down.  And, of course, they ended up getting off at the stop right before mine.  And one was so drunk that he literally had to be carried off of the bus.  I appreciate their service, I truly do.  But that doesn't excuse disrespectful and obnoxious behavior.

And finally, on Monday I spent the day with my family -- the part of my life before high school, college, or work was even a thing!  We went to my aunt's house for a BBQ/pool party (although nobody went in the pool) and it was a really great time.

And honorable mention goes to my work trip to Austin, Texas!  I can't count it as a Summer of Excitement activity because it happened before summer officially started, but it was awesome!  I went with one of my favorite co-workers, and practically every second of the trip was full of SOMETHING fun and exciting.  An incredible time.....just awfully tiring.  The trip began Tuesday at 4:00 AM and ended on Friday at 4:00 AM.  Terribly, terribly exhausting.

Okay, now just check back in a minute or two for my LIVE Payback thoughts...

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Summer of Excitement: Inter-Office Softball Tournament - [a case of the summer]

Yeah, yeah, I know.  Summer has been officially over for a couple of weeks (and symbolically over for even longer), but I'm FINALLY getting around to editing and posting this final Summer of Excitement video!  The unhappy ending (SPOILER ALERT!) made it a bit more difficult to get motivated.  So, enjoy!



Oh, but the REAL fun happened after the softball tournament.  I went to Rutgers to meet up with some friends who had gone to the blackout game.  We had a great time hanging out at our old stomping bar ground (the group of friends that made it are now spread out across three states, so it's nice to finally get together).  We crashed at a hotel and then the following morning we went to the campus we had spent our first couple of years at.  Our campus had always been the red headed step child of the the Rutgers family, and now it's BEAUTIFUL!  They have a Starbucks!  A movie theater!  A Qdoba!  A beautiful dining hall!  With an ice cream bar!!!  Where the hell was this place when we were in college?!?!?

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Trending Topics: Once Upon A Time Season 2 Review - [a case of the summer]

Yeah, I know summer has officially been over for almost a week now, but I've been pretty tired and worn out, and haven't had much time to post the final Trending Topics -- which was supposed to be completed last week.  And my "go to" topic for the entire summer, should I have nothing to discuss, was always going to be a review of the second season of Once Upon A Time.  And since the next season premieres this Sunday, this is really the last opportunity for me to discuss what happened last season.

If you recall from my review of season one, I questioned the decision to break the spell within the first year.  While not a bad move, I felt like there was still fuel in the fire.  Perhaps have Emma realize the truth and have to spend the rest of the year trying to convince the others.  There could be some interesting scenes between her and Henry and the "villainous" in-the-know pair of Regina and Mr. Gold.  And there could be some humorous scenes where Mary Margaret attempts to get some love advice from gal pal Emma, who is grossed out knowing that her friend is actually her mother.  But after seeing how the season played out, I really didn't have a problem with the curse being broken.  The characters still had a certain level of complexity -- attempting to reconcile their heroic fairy tale personalities with their flawed Storybrooke ones -- which meant that the two stories being told (the present day storyline and the flashback from the Enchanted Forest) felt different, while still connected.

Even the introduction of magic -- another mini-criticism I had -- ended up being a wise decision.  Quite frankly, with everybody now in the "know," how on earth could somebody like Mr. Gold or Regina protect themselves from a town full of angry and justifiably vengeful former warriors?  Magic was a necessary evil in order to level the playing field, so to speak.  And the existence of magic in this world ended up being an important plot point as well.

This season also saw the introduction of some fun new characters, particularly Hook.  We also met Mulan, Sleeping Beauty, Cora (who appeared last season, but fleshed out a great deal this season), and of course Neal/Baelfire.

And while the Neal/Baelfire reveal was anything but shocking, it added a really fun, complicated level to some disturbing relationships.  Let's see....Regina is Mary Margaret's stepmother.  Mary Margaret is Henry's grandmother.  Regina is also Henry's adopted mother.  And Mr. Gold is his grandfather.  So deliciously twisted!  And, again, it created some fun new relationships.  I loved the scene, for example, when Regina came to Mary Margaret's apartment and Mr. Gold protected her, partially because favors were owed but also because she was family.

And I loved the deeper connection between Regina and Mr. Gold.  These two have always had a tense, complicated relationship, and this season really solidified that.  It seemed like a constant wrestling match to see which of these two were actually the lesser of two evils.  At the beginning of the season, it seemed like it might be Regina (who had mercy on Mary Margaret and Emma when they returned from the Enchanted Forest, while Gold didn't seem to have an issue with them dying).  However, as the season progressed, it was Mr. Gold who seemed more likely to see the light.  Between Neal and Belle, Mr. Gold had proverbial angels on his shoulders urging him to be good.  Regina, meanwhile, was being manipulated by her mother, who wanted her to be as dark as possible.  As a result of this evolution, these two had some fun scenes together.  I particularly enjoyed when Mr. Gold paid his respects at Cora's grave, and urged Regina to let go of her hate and to not seek vengeance upon Mary Margaret.  It seemed like.....friendly advice.  It was also interesting to learn that Mr. Gold was the one truly responsible for Regina's journey into the darkness.

My one criticism of the season was that the show came dangerously close to falling into a Sylar/Heroes situation.  Heroes suffered a great deal, in my opinion, because they couldn't commit to a direction with Sylar.  Sylar was the show's breakout character (although I still favor HRG) and it seemed like the showrunners wanted to capitalize on his popularity by featuring him more prominently.  Yet the evidently didn't want to make him such an explicitly evil villain, so as a result he kept wavering from one side to another.  It seemed like he might have seen the light, but then he'd do something incredibly evil (at a whim).  Then when it seemed like he'd returned to the darkside, he'd just as quickly show some compassion.  In the end, he just seemed like a sloppy character without any relatable motivation.  Once Upon A Time came extremely close to doing this with Mr. Gold and ESPECIALLY Regina.  Much like Heroes, these two were your breakout characters and the ones the audience seemed to most enjoy.  And much like Sylar, they both seemed to sway depending on the direction of the wind.  I would say Mr. Gold had slightly more motivation and, as a result, seemed more grounded.  But I didn't feel the same way about Regina.  She seemed at the peak of evil when the season began and then just as quickly seemed to try to integrate herself into the very group she had tried to kill.  Then, out of no where, she seemed to reconcile with her mom and went back to her killing ways.  And then, again, she's suddenly back to being selfless.  She just seemed to switch sides too quickly and without the strongest motivation.  And even Mr. Gold wasn't completely spared -- his war with Hook had me wondering who I should root for from time to time as well.

Ultimately, the show seems to have settled on both of them becoming reluctantly "good," and I think that's the wisest decision.  Having the curse broken dramatically shifted the relationships that were established in the first season.  And putting Mr. Gold, Regina, Hook, Emma, Mary Margaret, and David on a boat heading towards Neverland significantly changes things once again.  Hook stole Mr. Gold's wife.  Mr. Gold killed her and then cut off Hook's hand.  Regina had Mary Margaret's father killed.  Mary Margaret was responsible for the death of Regina's mother.  Emma is the birth mother of Regina's adopted son.  And now, they're all together in close proximity fighting for the same cause.  The possibilities are endless and intriguing.

I was disappointed to learn that Once Upon A Time had experienced some ratings woes, because overall I thought it was a strong season.  And I stand by my assessment that it's one of the most clever shows on television today.  While I won't be able to watch the finale "live" (the second hour conflicts with the series finale of Breaking Bad, which will be FAR harder to avoid spoilers from), I'm looking extremely forward to its return.  Here's hoping for another great season!

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Throwback Thursday: The defending champions - [a case of the summer]

Since this is the final week of my [a case of the summer] series, this will also be the last Throwback Thursdays.  I'm actually quite disappointed that I didn't devote more time to this feature, since it always got good hits and it was a lot of fun to do.  However, for whatever reason, Thursdays ALWAYS ended up being the toughest days for me to sit down and write.  Something always came up.  As a result, this feature definitely got the shaft this summer.  Having said that, I do think I might bring it back here and there.

The final edition will look back at a photo collage of my office's softball team.  In 2011, my firm started an Inter-Office Softball Tournament, with the six offices in the area competing against each other in a tournament.  In 2011, we won in dominant fashion (we suffered one loss, but mercy ruled in two games -- including the finals).  In 2012, we reclaimed the championship with an undefeated performance.  This year, our team has been split into two (our own little brand extension, if you would) due to a recent merge.  This complicates things, but I'm still eager to see if we're able to take home the trophy once again.  Let's hope!

Take a look back with the below photos:

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Summer of Excitement: Murphy's Law - [a case of the summer]

I don't want to short change the fun weekend I had or the exciting work week I experienced, but I just HAD to devote this edition of Summer of Excitement to Thursday -- the day that everything that could have possibly gone wrong most certainly did go wrong.  Let me give you a brief backstory.

On Tuesday my colleague received an e-mail from a partner saying that he would be giving a presentation on Thursday night and he wanted to know if she could help him set up for it.  She was unavailable, so I told her I could since I would be working in that particular office on Thursday.  On Wednesday all I was told was that we'd need to bring a projector and screen.

So I arrive at that office on Thursday and a little before lunch the partner asks me "So, do you have a projector?"  This was the first thing that went wrong.  I was (apparently incorrectly) under the impression that each office in our firm has their own projector.  As it turns out, this is the ONLY office that does not.  I reread the e-mail I sent and determined with a great deal of certainty that no reasonable person could have possibly interpreted from the wording of that e-mail that this office does not have their own projector to provide.  So I get on the phone with my office to see if we can have our projector and screen couriered to us within the next couple of hours.

And then the next hit comes.  My normal office does not have a portable projector screen.  We only have the one that comes down from the ceiling.  So following lunch, I had to run down to the local Staples and actually go out and buy their office a projector screen.  Sheesh.  But the pounding didn't stop there.  We plan to leave at about 5:30, and at 5:00 I'm told that they need 20 copies of this 56 page presentation.  Finally me and the partner decide that he'll stay and wait for the copies, while I head to the building that the presentation will be held at (about 20 or so minutes away) to set up.

So this building is part of a complex, where it and two other buildings share one underground parking garage.  I'm lugging my laptop bag and projector in one hand, and this fairly heavy projector in the other.  So I walk over to the elevator and take it up to the first floor.  I look around and am unable to see any names I recognize.  I then realize, of course, that I'm in the wrong building (thing that could go wrong #4).  I go outside, where it's rather hot and muggy (and I'm practically in a suit) and walk into the right building.  However, I quickly realize I'm in the wrong wing (#5) and must go back outside and walk around to the entrance on the other side of the building.  In the process, I apparently knock the keycard to my building off of my bag, so that's gone now (#6).  I get inside and find the right room, only for the partner (who had just arrived) to tell me "Why don't we just use the whiteboard on the wall?"  So we didn't even end up using the darn screen!  I'm counting that as #7.

The presentation went really well and it was actually quite interesting (and hey, overtime!)  But we could also hear a terrible, terrible storm outside.  So when everything ended at about 8:30 and I went to head home, I discovered that all of the essentially roads for me to get back to my house were closed due to flooding.  What should have been a relatively quick, 15 minute drive ended up being about a half hour.  Yikes!

Thankfully, it wasn't a bad day and I was dealing with extremely pleasant people.  So, I was able to have a sense of humor about it (although it did eat into a large part of my day and it was rather stressful).  But man, I REALLY could have used somebody throwing me a bone in at least ONE of those situations!

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Trending Topics: Breaking Bad - Why (SPOILER) is screwed.... - [a case of the summer]

And here's Part 2 of this week's edition of Trending Topics!  And since it's extremely spoiler-worthy, I'm going to be doing a page break.  This post will discuss the happenings of last Sunday's episode of Breaking Bad, but nothing beyond that (I don't read spoilers).  So if you want to have a hearty discussion on the final moments of the 9/8 episode, click below!

Continue reading "Trending Topics:  Breaking Bad - Why (SPOILER) is screwed.... - [a case of the summer]"....

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Trending Topics: AJ's Tattoo - [a case of the summer]

I was originally going to do this week's Trending Topics about the latest episode of Breaking Bad, but then another matter came up that I wanted to discuss.  But then I realized that it was a REALLY big episode and that I still wanted to talk about it.  So instead of doing a Throwback Thursday this week, I thought I'd do TWO Trending Topics!

This first edition is about AJ Lee's curiously controversial tattoo.  For those of you unaware, the current Divas Champion tattooed the date of her title win, in tick marks, on the back of her neck (shown above).  Joey Styles sung her praise on Twitter and personally I thought it was pretty cool.  Then JBL and Jerry Lawler made fun of her, publicly, on Raw and it really bothered me.  Why are you trying to make your Divas Champion feel like a fool for being proud of her title win (right before a PPV where the entire premise of the show is that prestigious championships are being defended), while simultaneously trying to build up the credibility of their reality television show?  It came across, to me, as mean spirited bullying and as a fan of the girl (since her NXT promo video), it annoyed me a lot.

Then I visit the Blog of Doom to discover that dirt sheet guru Dave Meltzer rather obnoxiously criticized her as well, saying that "people within the industry" look down at people who get excited about "secondary" title wins, and that they're referred to, in a derogatory fashion, as "belt marks."  And Meltzer himself took a rather holier-than-thou stance on the matter, looking down on her as well.  So THAT annoyed me even further.

But what made things worse?  While the majority of people sided with AJ, there were actually people who sided with Meltzer.  Are you kidding me?  Apparently we now need to check with others to see if it's okay to be proud of something?  So what if wrestling is predetermined, it was still an exceptionally proud moment for her.  And why shouldn't it be?  This is one instance, I believe, where they actively decided to put the championship on the best person on the roster.  And since winning the title, as a heel, she's achieved clean, submission victories over Kaitlyn, Natalya, Naomi, and Layla.  She's actually perhaps the ONLY champion who doesn't lose regularly.  As a lifelong wrestling fan and as somebody who had an uphill battle in achieving success (due to her size and less-than-traditional good looks), why shouldn't she be extremely proud of all she's accomplished?

Personally, as a wrestling fan, I appreciate that there's a competitor out there who loves what she does and is proud of what she's achieved.  We sit here, getting riled up by Edge and rooting for Daniel Bryan because they're lifelong fans who want to be there, and then we judge AJ for essentially being the same?

And frankly, who are any of us to decide what anybody else should or should not be proud of?  And certainly it's not the silliest thing any person in the wrestling industry has tattooed onto their body.  On CM Punk's DVD, he insinuates that he once got a tattoo of a waffle because he had really good waffles that morning.  And even if that's not true, how about the fact that he has a giant Pepsi logo tattooed on one arm, and a giant Cobra logo on the other?  Or how about the Undertaker, whose entire body is pretty much a tribute to his character?  Or Mysterio, who has symbols from his mask on his chest?  Personally, I think all are fine (again, I think each has a lot more personality and significance than some stupid tribal design), but the point is that she seems to be put under a microscope that others are not.

And if this is a matter of "this is fake, why does she care about a nonathletic accomplishment?"  Others have brought up the Emmy Awards comparison, and that's accurate.  But how about the fact that there are several actors out there who have gotten tattoos to commemorate "fake" things.  The lead actors of Lord of the Rings got tattoos to commemorate their role.  Likewise, Kiefer Sutherland got a tattoo for his role as Jack Bauer.

So, yeah, I'm Team AJ.

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Summer of Excitement: New York Renaissance Faire - [a case of the summer]

This weekend I finally went to the New York Renaissance Faire, which was a nice little combination of Medieval Times and Oktoberfest.  It may sound odd that I said I "finally" went, but that's actually the case.  Actually, the first year we went to Oktoberfest only happened because we intended to go to the Renaissance Faire, only to find out that it stopped in September.  We ended up doing the Oktoberfest celebration each year instead, but I happened upon a bulletin for the Renaissance Faire and said, "Hey, let's give this another shot!"

To be honest, I had no idea what to expect.  It was $22 just to enter (which already put it behind the extremely free Oktoberfest entry) and the crowd that had assembled for this thing pretty much covered the entire gambit of society.  You had young couples with kids.  You had tattoo covered bikers.  You had people in very elaborate costumes.  You had middle aged people.  You had older couples.  It seemed like any and every one came to this thing.

Inside was an equally puzzling experience.  Like I said, there were people in these extremely expensive and elaborate costumes....yet they didn't seem to do a whole lot.  My friends and I settled for much of the day at one of the outdoor bars they have there, and we were pretty surprised to see that these people who dressed up essentially did the same thing.  They'd grab some beers, sit at a table, and just drink and talk.  I don't mean to imply that they're not "regular people," but I'd expect them to be a bit more into the novelty of the gathering.  I'm not sure what I expected them to do, but I guess I thought they'd do more.

The authenticity was also surprisingly inconsistent.  You had cool "hold fashiony" things like steak on a stake, turkey legs, and Mead.  But then right next to that they'd have pizzas, fajitas, and a frozen banana stand.  And to be perfectly honest, there seemed to be a lot of employees who were there in costume, but didn't seem to do or say anything that committed them to any sort of role.

Having said all of that, it was a pretty cool experience.  It's a huge park with rustic looking buildings to at least appear to be from that time period.  And they did have cool things like jousting and shops that offered unique jewelry and, yes, deadly weapons.  Perhaps coolest of all, though, is that they had a rotten tomato throwing booth!  That's right.  They had a guy standing inside of a building, and one wall had three holes in it -- for his head and hands.  And he'd stand there and yell insults at you as you threw tomatoes at him.  When I went up, he immediately called me "Justin Timberlake" (which means what?  That I'm a pretty boy?) and then told me that I was "very angry."  I guess I threw the tomatoes with extra intensity.  I have to say, though, that this dude really must feel it when he takes a shot directly to the face from a full grown adult.

And you think you have a bad job.

But hey, overall it was a really fun and interesting way to spend the day.  And plus, it was beautiful out and who doesn't enjoy having some beers while outside on a nice day?  I also can't get "Huzzah!" out of my head.

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Trending Topics: Ariel Castro - [a case of the summer]

So the big news of today (other than John McCain playing poker) is that Ariel Castro -- the man who kidnapped and raped three women for over a decade -- committed suicide while imprisoned in a correctional facility in Ohio.  What I want to discuss, though, is a troubling interview I heard this morning with Castro's lawyer.

The lawyer stated -- and I'm paraphrasing here -- that Castro's family received the news of his death not from the correctional facility or any medical examiner, but rather from the media.  And Castro's lawyer called that "disturbing."  Yes, THAT'S the disturbing thing about this whole situation.

Listen, I get it.  You're the guy's lawyer and you have a legal and moral obligation to look out for his interests, even in death.  But certainly there's something to be said about common sense and general decorum.  This is a man who kidnapped three women and kept them imprisoned for over a decade.  During those ten plus years, he raped them and even murdered numerous unborn children.  He physically abused these women, to the extent that they sustained permanent damage.  How immensely distasteful for this lawyer to judgmentally voice his opinion on the actions of media and the correctional facility considering everything that his client had done.

I'm not saying two wrongs make a right.  But I do think that lawyer should have shown a bit more discretion when deciding how to respond to this circumstance.

Oh, and my thoughts on the media are aimed squarely at the fact that most of them don't seem to realize that it's "hanged," not "hung."

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Summer Of Excitement: Irritating Bar Flies - [a case of the summer]

So while Labor Day Weekend is the recognized end of summer, it's not actually the official end of summer.  That isn't until late September.  As a result, I will continue my [a case of the summer] series until the weekend of September 21st.  I'll try to keep things exciting.

This week's Summer of Excitement installment isn't devoted to one particularly thrilling event.  Truth be told, a lot of little things happened that throughout the week -- some professional, some personal.  Professionally, I had to overcome one major obstacle (I hope I did) and I had to undertake some tasks that I had never done before.  It was challenging and took a lot of work and perseverance (and perhaps thick skin) to get through it.  But I did.  And I also began to build some new work relationships, which is exciting as well.  The promotion hasn't been all sunshine and jellybeans, but it's been fulfilling.  And, yes, exciting.

However, if I were to pinpoint anything for this installment, it would be what happened at the bar last night.  I ended up having to work late Friday (see above paragraph) despite the office closing early, so I didn't end up doing anything that night.  On Saturday, I had a delicious home made seafood dinner at a friend's place and then checked out a few bars.  I was supposed to go to the beach on Sunday, but the weather prohibited that.  I ended up watching numerous hours of Arrested Development and Beyond Belief:  Fact or Fiction (day well spent, in my view).  I really wanted to catch the new episode of Breaking Bad, as well.  But once the episode was over, I still wanted to go out, since I didn't have a chance to do anything Friday night.  So a friend and I went to our local pub -- a place where, genuinely, everybody does know our name.

Yet, for some reason, things weren't quite right.  Perhaps it was that it was a Sunday night.  More probable, perhaps it was because it was the "last" night of summer celebration.  But when we walked in, the music (while rather good) was absolutely blasting.  You could barely even converse.  It was far louder than it ever had been in the past.  Second, practically everybody there was obnoxiously drunk.  My friend and I were sitting at a booth, and another group of people were sitting at a tall table in the corner of the bar.  These guys (part of their group) would walk several feet away from their table and would start dancing, somewhat graphically.  That's all fine and good, except for the fact that they were doing it RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR TABLE.  And then a couple of their friends would join, and all of them would be dancing loudly and annoying practically in our laps.

The annoyingness wasn't limited to that group, either.  I went up to the bar to get a refill, and while waiting for the bartenders' attention some guy started walking by.  I moved over slightly, figuring he was trying to pass through the crowd to get to the nearby bathroom.  Instead, he stands right in front of me so that HE could get a beer.  Despite the fact that I was clearly standing there waiting.

And then worst of all, there was a bar fight.  Actually, more accurately, there were THREE.  The same two guys -- a middle aged man and a somewhat elderly looking guy -- got into an actual, legit bar fight on three separate occasions, within the span of ten minutes.  Like, they had to actually be broken up each time.  Yet, for some reason, they were allowed to come back inside each time.

I went out.  I had a couple of beers.  And it was a fine enough time.  But it wasn't worth being around people that I found obnoxious.  So, yeah, I got home around midnight and just watched some more TV.

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Throwback Thursday: Of Skaters & Jaters (3/23/10) - [a case of the summer]

So I had intended on doing a repost, with the usual hindsight, of one of my prior Lost columns.  Yet many of the good ones were already written in hindsight, so that didn't really work.  And then I came across this column -- a discussion on the recent backlash I received from loyal readers of another website -- over comments I made seemingly against the Kate/Sawyer pairing.  It was INTENSELY angry stuff.  And it all came down to "shippers" not liking somebody siding with the other couple.  Even though I ended up being right about who she ended up with!  But as I read the column, I thought to myself, "I still experience this -- to a lesser degree -- in my Vampire Diaries reviews.  My pro-Stefan/Elena stance gets me occasional flack from the Stefan lovers.  When I make a point, it usually gets written off as just liking the other relationship more.  No matter how strong the argument may be.  I guess that's what happens when the writers develop a strong love triangle.  Anyway, enjoy this 2010 column!

Of Skaters & Jaters

Wow, so my Revisited column sure garnered some interesting backlash, huh?

Basically, I attempted to make a point and, in the process, used some inaccurate information. And the way I’ve planned on responding has changed dramatically over the course of the day. Initially, my reaction was “Oh, I guess I was wrong about those episodes. My bad.” And maybe a little bit, “I don’t remember Creed being that harsh.”

As the comments and insults started filtering in, I did start to get a bit bothered. I simply couldn’t understand how so many people could harp so much on a single paragraph of my column – less than 200 words of an over 1,000 word episode review. I could understand people pointing out my error, but not people starting getting downright nasty, calling me a moron and a dummy. By no means were my feelings hurt, as it was obvious that this backlash was excessive, but it absolutely boggled my mind. I mean, seriously, think about it: I incorrectly recalled two episodes that aired a few years ago. And I openly admitted going into the column that I may be remembering things wrong.

And then something occurred to me. Call it my “aha” moment. It happened when two very sad words were uttered: “Skaters” and “Jaters.” At that point, my response settled at a permanent spot: Pity. This onslaught of insults had very little to do with my inaccurate information. It was that, in their eyes, I was attempting to disprove that Sawyer and Kate were soul mates, and that she belongs with Jack.

And the thing that made it so much worse and more pathetic was that they completely missed the point I was trying to make, instead harping on two facets of my argument in an attempt to discredit everything else I had said. I mean, for a group of people who were so incredibly critical of my error, the majority of you REALLY need to work on your reading comprehension skills. At no point did I criticize this Fishbiscuit person – in fact, I’d say my comments were overall complimentary – nor did I ever say I would try to go toe-to-toe with the person. Hell, I never even stated that I disagreed with the points she was making. For goodness sake, she has fancy screencaps to prove her point! My contention was merely that this connection that exists between Sawyer and Kate is a moot point, as these same bonds exist between countless others as well. Quite simply, I was just saying that there’s nothing special about the fact that Sawyer and Kate have some sort of tie in their past, future, and sideways world. The fact that this is true for most of the characters is sorta the theme of the show. So fret not, “Skaters,” I wasn't arguing that Jack and Kate were destined to be together (but for what it’s worth, they HAVE had a sex scene. Remember the disturbing angry sex they had the night before the Ajira flight?), nor was I claiming that Sawyer and Kate AREN'T destined to be together. I just don't buy that they're destined to be together because they share a bond in the most obvious, straightforward way possible.

I thought it was obvious that I was being facetious with my examples here. I clearly was not trying to prove that every one of Kate’s actions were motivated by Jack. Then again, this is a group of people who apparently need a car crash and chase scene to hammer a point home.

And the irony, of course, is that these people that commented did a far better job of proving my other point than I did in my original column, and that’s the idea of selection bias. This idea often comes up in numerological claims (popularly exhibited in the movie The Number 23). Basically, people ONLY look at the evidence that supports their point (which is what I was attempting to prove in my Jack/Kate counter to the Kate/Sawyer examples). As noted above, the people who left a comment completely harped on a single paragraph of my column. Within that paragraph, I made three references – two of which were incorrect. Nearly every single person pointed out how incredibly stupid and idiotic I was for making those two errors, while conveniently ignoring the correct point I made. Only one person brought up my correct point, but brushed it off, noting that Jack is a doctor, so who else would Kate bring Sawyer to? Yet that logic doesn't seem to work both ways. Since Jack is a doctor, it was a logistical choice for Kate to seek his aid. Yet when she needs a gun and goes to Sawyer (who, ya' know, is hiding the guns), it's because they're destined to be together forever and ever?

So, yes, these visitors did a rather remarkable job of proving that certain viewers only see things that prove the point they want to make. Forget the fact that I complimented Fish's column and had no issue with the examples she laid out. To these people, since I dared question the Sawyer/Kate bond, I'm just an idiot trying to go toe-to-toe with another writer as I worship Juliet and have delusions about Jack and Kate. It absolutely boggles my mind that anybody could read my column and come to that conclusion.

But Creed (the real one) is right about one thing – one of the best things about Lost is the fact that it encourages such discussion. I’m certainly not always right and I’m willing to admit when I’m not (Aaron/Oceanic Six debacle, anybody?) But to be quite honest, I have absolutely no interest in discussing the show with most of the people who posted on my Revisited column. I was going to offer the invitation as long as they can be civil and respectful, because I love talking about the show with people who share my passionate, but it's abundantly clear the majority of those people aren't capable of that. One of the posters said that I should do a little research and it would save me from embarrassment. I can honestly say that there's nothing about my prior column – or any of my reviews – that I'm ashamed of. The only thing that would embarrass me is if people read those comments and say, "So this is what Lost fans are like?" To me, that's the only embarrassment.

So from this point forward, all of these angry, hateful comments will be ignored. I have no interest in having debates built on negativity and rudeness. My advice is to cool your jets. This is a show we're all supposed to enjoy, so there's no reason to get angry or nasty.

And just so everybody understands, I’m not going to “rewatch” over 100 episodes for a weekly column. While I think that might be a fun little exercise once the series concludes, I simply don’t have the time to do that now. So, for the time being, I’ll just resort to using my memory and relying on you kind folks to point out my errors. Trust me, I have no interest in being a genius or hell, even being credible (I'm not a journalist). I'm just a guy writing a column about a show I enjoy.

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Trending Topics: Breaking Bad - [a case of the summer]

Similar to my Walking Dead marathon viewing a little earlier this year, I finally bit the bullet and decided to give Breaking Bad a try.  I always knew I had wanted to watch it, but with the series nearing its end I had told myself that I would just wait for the finale, and then go crazy and watch the entire series at once.

Well, a couple of weekends ago I wasn't feeling well and stayed in for much of the weekend.  I had Netflix readily accessible and with the Breaking Bad premiere coming up, the intrigue was beginning to get the best of me.  So I thought, "Hey, let me try to get all caught up and then I can watch the rest of the series in 'real time.'"  Unfortunately, unlike Walking Dead, these are long seasons.  And there's five of them.

However, as of last night, I FINALLY finished watching the episodes and am now caught up to the one that aired this past Sunday.  Thus, this edition of Trending Topics will discuss the ENTIRE season.  So, if you're not all caught up, don't click the link below.  But, if you are, I'm curious to see what you think.

Continue reading "Trending Topics:  Breaking Bad - [a case of the summer]"....

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Summer Of Excitement: McSorley's Old Ale House - [a case of the summer]

I apologize for missing my Trending Topics and Throwback Thursday posts earlier this week, but it was a REALLY busy week and I ultimately decided not to force it.  But I do have a legitimate Summer of Excitement bit to talk about, so let's call it even.

At the beginning of last summer, a few work friends and I went to McSorley's Old Ale House in New York City.  For those of you unfamiliar with this establishment, it is the oldest Irish tavern in New York City and was one of the last "Men Only" pubs (it was legally forced to allow women in 1970).  Although the actual year that it was established is a little sketchy, most agree that it was sometime in the middle of the 1800's (1860-1865 seems likely).  So, yeah, the place is old.  And it was visited by famous figures such as Abraham Lincoln (!!!), Teddy Roosevelt, and many others.

The place is pretty damn unique, too.  They brew their own beer and only serve two kinds:  light and dark.  And the servers bring them to you, typically, with six mugs in each hand.  And then they just slam them on the table, making a huge mess.

Oh, speaking of the table, seating is pretty limited....so you typically end up sitting with a group of strangers.  If you and your group are at a table, but you're not using all of the seats, they'll just sit another group with you.  Last year we ended up sharing a table with these two women, who had to be 50-60 years old, and we ended up hanging out with them all night.  And time, we ended up sharing the table with a guy from Texas, and then later a married couple from Milan.  This place is a true landmark -- people who come to New York City often make it a point to visit.  And I do suggest it, as it's quite a fun and interesting place.

And now to my specific adventure.  I took the train from Morristown, NJ (where I work) to New York City at 3:40.  It's not a fast train, mind you.  It actually goes pretty much the speed of a car and takes numerous stops, so I got to the city around 5:00.  I was already tired, hungry, and had a bit of a headache, so I stopped at a shop in Penn Station and got a 5 Hour Energy, a bag of M&M's, and some Advil.  I jumped in a cab (I was tired of dealing with trains) and chugged the 5 Hour Energy.  I arrived at the bar where three of my co-workers were waiting (along with the random kid from Texas).  What proceeded was a lot of beer drinking.  And, strangely, a fair amount of cheese and crackers (which they also serve).

In addition to the cheese and crackers, they also provide you with this REALLY spicy mustard.  Two of my co-workers decided that they would try to "one up" each other with their tolerance.  One would put a dab on the cracker.  The next would put a bit more.  Then one would cover an entire side.  By the end, one of them had covered both sides of the cracker with mustard AND squirted Tabasco sauce on top of it.

We ended up hanging out at McSorley's until about 9:00 (I think?), at which point we made our way over to our friend's (surprisingly swanky) hotel room.  We had a couple of beers there before heading to ANOTHER bar -- where there were beers and shots.  Finally, at about 2:00 AM, I decided I would leave as I knew that the bus I needed to take home was only leaving every two hours, with the next one going out sometime after 3:00.  So I took a cab to the bus terminal.

When I arrived at the bus terminal, I noticed that the door was locked.  There was a long line of cabbies outside, and one of them immediately comes up to me and says that the bus terminal doesn't open back up until 5:00 and that I will have to take a cab.  He asks me where I'm going and says he'll look in the book to see how much to charge me.  He checks, and it's about $67 .  He notes that there's a $13 toll, but all together he'll charge me $70.  Something seemed sketchy -- I KNOW I've taken a 3:30 bus back, so I ask him if he's going to be here for a little while because I need to get something to eat.  He tells me, "Well, I don't know how long I will be."  In no mood to deal with him and feeling somewhat confident (liquid confidence!) I simply say, "Fine, then I'll go to one of these other guys" as I point to the long line of cabs.  He quickly changes his tune and says, "Yeah, I'll be here."

Then, a moment after I walk away, ANOTHER cabby goes to me and says "How much was that guy going to charge you?" And I said "$60" (blatantly untrue).  He asks me where I'm going, and I tell him.  He says, "Okay, tip included, how about $65?"  Meanwhile, the original cabby is right on our tail.  So I tell him the same thing -- that I need to get something to eat.  As I cross the street, YET ANOTHER cabby goes to me and asks me where I'm going.  I tell him, but tell him, "but those guys over there are only charging me $50."  As we're talking, I notice that we're in front of the Greyhound station.  I go inside and see that there ARE buses going back to my home town, right at the time I thought it was.  So it's a good thing I didn't just go with the original cabby's offer of $70.  The bus ended up costing me $5.50.

I finally got home around 5:00 in the morning and suffice it to say, I was exhausted.  I woke up the next morning feeling like absolute death.  I was hungry but really not able to get out of bed yet.  And then I remembered it:  My bag of M&M's.  I hadn't eaten then yet!  So I went into my jacket, grabbed the bag, and laid in bed eating them.  It was a sight, I am sure.

It's not 11:00 PM on Sunday night and I'm still tired.  But it was a great time.

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Summer of Excitement: New York City Work Adventure - [a case of the summer]

So this installment of Summer of Excitement is actually for last week.  Sorry for the lateness -- my Internet was out all of Sunday (which sucks, since I was intending to spend the entire day watching Breaking Bad!), and then I was too busy yesterday to churn one out before doing my LIVE Raw thoughts.  Plus, I had to catch the True Blood finale and catch a few episodes of Breaking Bad.  I'm a busy man!

Anyway, one of the new additions to my recent promotion at work has been my increased travel schedule.  No, I'm not going anywhere ultra exciting (not yet, anyway), I'm mostly just traveling to the firm's other offices.  Well, this past Thursday I had the opportunity to work in our New York City office.

As I've often said, despite living -- literally -- about 15-20 minutes from the city, there is NO convenient way for me to get in if I have to take public transportation.  There's no train (silliness), so I have to take a bus.  And the bus, despite being advertised as "Express," stops at virtually every street corner for several towns.  This is a big reason why I never worked in the city (while it would have been more lucrative).  Quite frankly, I didn't want to spend over an hour traveling a distance that is, in reality, about 20 minutes.  So at the ripe age of 31, this was going to be my first endeavor doing the working man's city commute!

Truth be told, the ride in went wonderfully.  I didn't hit any traffic and the bus arrived moments after I got to the bus station.  And the office is within walking distance of the bus terminal (and I found a Dunkin Donuts along the way, which I was craving!)  I also had a lot of fun during the day, working alongside my marketing colleagues (who I don't get to see often, as we're divided among the various offices) and even grabbed a couple of drinks at a nearby bar afterwards.  Not too shabby.  The real excitement came during the journey back, however.

After grabbing a couple of beers I arrived back at the bus terminal.  Not knowing how long I would be waiting for the bus, and how long the ride back would be, I wisely decided to use the bathroom.  So while at the bus terminal urinal, I suddenly hear some yelling.  Near the stalls, an old homeless guy (white) had said some highly inappropriate things to a young man (black).  Understandably, the young man got angry and the two started yelling at each other.  It quickly turned physical, with the young man LITERALLY doing a Sweet Chin Music crescent kick right to the old man's chest.  The old man's backpack falls to the ground and his flask slides across the bathroom floor.  The young man then picks up one of those plastic yellow "Caution:  Wet Floor" signs and throws it down on the man.  He then walks out before inflicting any more damage.  About 90% of that happened right behind me.  While I was peeing.

I purchased my ticket and made my way to the gate.  Where there was a long line.  After waiting about 15-20 minutes, a bus arrived, but it filled before I could get on it.  Another arrived a minute or two later and I was able to sit!  Which is good, because as we're heading towards the tunnel the driver slams the breaks, nearly knocking over those standing.  We move forward a little bit and then stop again, and I hear some yelling.  I look out the window and see that our bus driver is YELLING at two police officers standing at the street corner.  Evidently they were responsible for slowing down traffic, which is why he needed to stop short.  Yes, this guy was YELLING at police officers.  Who does that?  And then, about a block away from my stop, some dude flies through a stop sign and nearly hits us!  What an ordeal!

It was a fun day.  And it gave me plenty of stories to tell!

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Throwback Thursday: Money in the Bank Possibilities and Predictions (7/17/11) - [a case of the summer]

It's a bit odd.  The Throwback Thursday posts are getting perhaps the most hits out of any of my [a case of the summer] features -- and they're relatively easy -- yet i can't seem to find the time on Thursday to post them.  This is my way of apologizing for missing last week.

Anyway, this Sunday is SummerSlam, with the highly anticipated John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan WWE Championship match.  While the Triple H interception as guest ref seems to recall the John Cena/CM Punk match from SummerSlam 2011, I think the build for the story actually more closely resembles their Money in the Bank match.  Like this Sunday's contest, fans desperately hoped against hope that the Internet fan favorite would overcome the company's golden boy -- while also fully expecting the dream to be immediately snatched from them with a devastating Money in the Bank cash in.

As such, I will look back at my Money in the Bank 2011 Predictions.  My present day comments are in bold italics, within the parentheses.
Money in the Bank Possibilities and Predictions

So tonight is Money in the Bank, which may very well be the first non-Big Four PPV I’ve ordered since the beginning of the brand extension (I would argue that Money in the Bank, since the 2011 event, has actually surpassed some of the Big Four PPV's in terms of specialness and anticipation). I honestly haven’t a clue what’s going to happen, and the possibilities are endless, so I’m not going to do a traditional “Predictions” post. Instead, I’ll post some possibilities, what I’d like to see happen, and what I think will probably happen. And I’ll really only talk about the four big matches.

Smackdown Money in the Bank Ladder Match:

Smart bet: Probably Sheamus

Good chance: Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett

Long shot: Justin Gabriel

Runner Up: Sin Cara or Daniel Bryan

I originally pegged Cody Rhodes to win it, because Money in the Bank works best with somebody who hasn’t been to the big show yet, but could use a little bit of a shove into the title picture. However, if Christian wins the World Heavyweight Championship, then I could see Sheamus winning it to continue the three way feud they began building a few weeks ago (My runner up prediction ended up being correct, as Daniel Bryan won it.  Kinda crazy seeing Sin Cara as a legitimate possibility to win).

Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match:

Smart bet: Alberto Del Rio

Good chance: R Truth

Long shot: Alex Riley

Runner Up: Rey Mysterio

I don’t see Miz reclaiming the briefcase here because the storyline has been done, and it was done pretty perfectly the first time. Alberto Del Rio seems like the best shot here, because it would perpetually keep him in the main event picture, plus they seem willing to job him out if the situation presents itself (The smart bet was the right bet here, as Del Rio walked away with the briefcase).

World Heavyweight Championship Match:

When the match was first announced, my prediction was that Christian wins the title and then immediately loses it to the Money in the Bank winner, probably Sheamus. But then as things progressed with the Cena/Punk storyline, it seemed like something like that might happen in their match. What I want to have happen, of course, is that Christian wins the title (it can be through shenanigans, that’s fine). He’s really brought it throughout the feud and to be honest, his storyline with Orton isn’t as boring as the typical Orton feud and I wouldn’t mind seeing it continue. The only way it could continue and keep its steam is if Christian wins. I still think my initial prediction is possible, depending on how things play out in the WWE Championship match (Christian did end up winning.  And thankfully he got more than a one day reign this time.  I'm glad Christian is back in the World Heavyweight Championship picture this Sunday, but I can't help but feel like he's just fodder before Del Rio transitions back to Dolph Ziggler or somebody else).

WWE Championship Match:

Where do I begin? The possibilities are endless here. Everybody is predicting a Punk victory and I think that’s possible, but to be honest I think WWE could conceivably keep the title on John Cena until his WrestleMania match with Rock. But I really think this all boils down to whether Punk signed a new deal with WWE, and my gut tells me he has. It’s not just that WWE has put Punk in a position to be a star following this feud, it’s also that he’s absolutely red hot right now. What does WWE benefit from making Punk such a massive star if he’s leaving? To spike one buyrate? It doesn’t make sense (of course, we all know now that Punk did resign with the company).

And if Punk HAS resigned, I think they’d be making a mistake by not putting the title on him. Punk leaving with the belt and Cena getting fired builds far more intrigue than Cena retaining, which is something everybody has already seen. So let’s talk about some of the possibilities.

One is that Punk wins, the Raw MITB winner cashes in (let’s say ADR), but loses (amazingly, the first part of my initial prediction is the EXACT thing that happened). Then the Smackdown MITB winner cashes in immediately thereafter (which is, I assume, against the rules, but McMahon allows it as a last ditch effort to keep the championship) but Punk again retains (maybe he purposely gets himself disqualified) (this part didn't happen, of course). This is also interesting because it’ll be the first time the MITB winners fail, and it’ll immediately take the briefcases out of the equation for the first time since their creation. You can also reverse the order (which doesn’t make sense to me), and have the Raw guy win it. One way to accomplish this is by having the Raw winner initially reject McMahon’s request to cash in the briefcase (but deciding to do it anyway after seeing how beat up Punk is), and perhaps even have new World Champ Christian convince the Smackdown winner to cash in on Punk (that actually would have been intriguing.  Having the heel Christian try to manipulate McMahon into allowing the blue briefcase to be cashed in on the WWE Championship in order to protect his own reign).

Another possibility is that you have Punk win with the assistance of McMahon, and it turns out that the renegade Punk sold out to ensure that he wins the championship (this, of course, is what everbody fears will happen Sunday with Bryan). For what it’s worth, I think this would be a mistake. Punk already has heat as a heel. Why turn away the atomic reaction he’s getting in his current role (for what it's worth, I could see Punk evolving into a face. In his interaction with Vince -- decidedly a heel -- they were clearly on opposing sides. His discussions with Cena were far less hostile) (I also believe it would be a mistake to do it with Bryan)?

And, of course, there’s the possibility that Cena wins clean. And honestly, if Punk really is gone, I don’t think this is a bad option. Think back to the Hogan era, and to a lesser extent even the Austin era. During those periods, the big face almost always overcame the odds. If Punk is gone and there isn’t money to be made off of him (that is to say, they CAN’T make money off of him), why not do what you can to continue to build up your top star? I hope it doesn't happen, because there are more exciting options, but if it does it won't be the end of the world (and imagine if they go this route Sunday?  With a clean Cena win?).

So….what do you see happening?

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Summer of Excitement: The grease trucks last hurrah - [a case of the summer]

With the grease trucks being transported this Thursday, I decided to venture down to Rutgers last Saturday evening to get my last fat sandwich before they get moved away.  Unfortunately, the camera ran out of space so it sorta ends abruptly.  The only thing you really miss me saying is that the people running the grease trucks don't yet know where they're going, so that second article I posted might have been slightly optimistic.  Anyway, enjoy!

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Trending Topics: Grammar Slam! - [a case of the summer]

Well, I was originally planning on doing a follow up of last week's Trending Topics discussion about the Rutgers Grease Trucks (Good news!  Here's a more detailed and optimistic article: http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2013/08/after_21_years_in_one_location_rutgers_grease_trucks_may_be_harder_to_find_this_fall.html), but then I came across the absolutely hilarious CM Punk Grammar Slam videos, provided by Nerdist for YouTube's Greek Week.

Those of you who follow Punk on Twitter know at least two things:  (1) he doesn't mince words, and (2) he's a stickler for grammar.  These videos focus on some of the most frequent errors, such as "Your" vs. "You're," "Than" vs. "Then," "Literally" vs. "Figuratively," and the always popular difference between "There," They're" and "Their."  And he does so with a great deal of zest and vigor (and Lewis Black-level anger)!  Absolutely brilliant stuff.  As an English major, I truly appreciated all of these rants.

Check out all of the videos here (be sure to hit the "Playlist" button at the bottom):

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