What you are about to read is either going to send you into an outburst of "Ohhhh" and "How sweet" or you will use this as the final example in ousting my homosexuality.
Tonight at the Ennis Downtown Halloween Festival I will be playing the role of Dracula. You heard it right. I'm not covering the event, I'm in the event. They need a person to dress up as Dracula to spook the kids and I caved by saying I'd do it.
I figure it is for the kids and it will only take a couple of hours of standing near a cd player as it moans creepy music and a fog machine that lets loose a suffocating gas. This must be the ying to the yang of being allowed full access while walking around accident scenes and view dead bodies.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
The Bubble Boy Strikes Again
Well, we had yet another poker tournament this weekend. What made this one different wasn’t that it was only for guys or it had a special name or gimmick, but that we started with the most chips we have ever had before.
We used a slow blind structure, too slow in fact, with the addition of antes while every person was given $25,000 in chips. This gave us a lot of room to play poker while taking out long-term luck as a factor.
I started out playing a lot of hands and quickly dipped down into the teens, which is normal for me. For some reason in these deep stack tournaments I am always throwing away a small portion of my chips and then I have to start rebuilding. If I would just play the way I would once I lose for the first hour then I would have an even larger lead once I start to get in the zone.
I had pocket aces three times and won the pot with them twice. The third and last time I got the mother of all starting hands I mucked it on the river when it turns out it was the best hand. There were four cards to a straight and three to a flush on the board and I had enough chips left that I felt confident I could still play normal and win, which almost worked out in the end.
We paid the top three spots out of 16 players and I finished in the worst spot of all: fourth place. I was the bubble boy, which has happened to me a lot in the last few years of poker. I seem to be making a trend of it, like losing a fourth of my starting chip amount at the beginning of a tournament.
With $400,000 in chips on the table my peak with four players left was $180,000. One would think there was no way I could be the first person out, but alas that is what took place. After doubling up my opponents I was left with a mere $20,000 stack and started making my moves for about three rounds of hands, since the blinds were at $2,000-4,000 with a $400 ante. My tournament ended when I pushed all in pre-flop with 4-5 offsuit and Mike (not Steed) called quickly with A-K, which got Nick to fold a pocket pair (sixes I think). I didn’t improve and he did, turning me into the bubble boy yet again.
The tournament ran too long but the increase in chips gave everyone plenty of room for errors. I hope everyone had a good time despite the aching backs we all went home with afterward.
By the way, Nick won the event with Mike Steed coming in third place. Brooke’s Mike took home the second place finish.
We used a slow blind structure, too slow in fact, with the addition of antes while every person was given $25,000 in chips. This gave us a lot of room to play poker while taking out long-term luck as a factor.
I started out playing a lot of hands and quickly dipped down into the teens, which is normal for me. For some reason in these deep stack tournaments I am always throwing away a small portion of my chips and then I have to start rebuilding. If I would just play the way I would once I lose for the first hour then I would have an even larger lead once I start to get in the zone.
I had pocket aces three times and won the pot with them twice. The third and last time I got the mother of all starting hands I mucked it on the river when it turns out it was the best hand. There were four cards to a straight and three to a flush on the board and I had enough chips left that I felt confident I could still play normal and win, which almost worked out in the end.
We paid the top three spots out of 16 players and I finished in the worst spot of all: fourth place. I was the bubble boy, which has happened to me a lot in the last few years of poker. I seem to be making a trend of it, like losing a fourth of my starting chip amount at the beginning of a tournament.
With $400,000 in chips on the table my peak with four players left was $180,000. One would think there was no way I could be the first person out, but alas that is what took place. After doubling up my opponents I was left with a mere $20,000 stack and started making my moves for about three rounds of hands, since the blinds were at $2,000-4,000 with a $400 ante. My tournament ended when I pushed all in pre-flop with 4-5 offsuit and Mike (not Steed) called quickly with A-K, which got Nick to fold a pocket pair (sixes I think). I didn’t improve and he did, turning me into the bubble boy yet again.
The tournament ran too long but the increase in chips gave everyone plenty of room for errors. I hope everyone had a good time despite the aching backs we all went home with afterward.
By the way, Nick won the event with Mike Steed coming in third place. Brooke’s Mike took home the second place finish.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Back To The Daily Grind
I just returned from visiting my dad in Minnesota. It was a fun, relaxing trip that didn't require rushing all day long to hit up tourist attractions. I did see the Mall of America and rode a cool rollercoaster inside the mall (I rode it in Steed's honor). I saw closer to where the Mississippi begins. We drove a few miles east to Wisconsin. That trip made me decide to list all the states I have set foot in.
So here we go:
Texas
Hawaii
California
Oregon
Idaho
Utah
Nevada
Arizona
New Mexico
Colorado
Kansas
Oklahoma
Louisiana
Arkansas
Missouri
Illinois
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Alabama
Georgia
Florida
Maryland
West Virginia
New York
I may have left some out due to not remembering a road trip as a kid or flying into a state for a stop over, but those are the ones that I definitely remember.
So here we go:
Texas
Hawaii
California
Oregon
Idaho
Utah
Nevada
Arizona
New Mexico
Colorado
Kansas
Oklahoma
Louisiana
Arkansas
Missouri
Illinois
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Alabama
Georgia
Florida
Maryland
West Virginia
New York
I may have left some out due to not remembering a road trip as a kid or flying into a state for a stop over, but those are the ones that I definitely remember.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
First Outie Open Over
Clint McWilliams bested the Weatherford gang again taking down a first place finish in tonight's First Annual Outie Open. Here are the final results.
1st - Clint McWilliams
2nd - Mike Steed
3rd - Larry Atkinson
4th - Jim Anderson
5th - Brent Stapleton
6th - Joey Manire
7th - Joe Lajone
8th - Jay Beavers
9th - Bob Carter
10th - Chad Latham
11th - James Miller
12th - Matt Cook
Going out first worked out because it gave me my full attention to deal the final table and speed the game up. I think it went very well outside of there only being 12 people playing.
1st - Clint McWilliams
2nd - Mike Steed
3rd - Larry Atkinson
4th - Jim Anderson
5th - Brent Stapleton
6th - Joey Manire
7th - Joe Lajone
8th - Jay Beavers
9th - Bob Carter
10th - Chad Latham
11th - James Miller
12th - Matt Cook
Going out first worked out because it gave me my full attention to deal the final table and speed the game up. I think it went very well outside of there only being 12 people playing.
I Guess I Got What Was Coming To Me
In the first annual Matt Cook's Outie Open I finished in an impressive last place. Less than 75 minutes into the tournament I was outside thinking over my mental state and then surfing the web for information I have yet to learn about any subject available.
I was unfortunate enough to have my Kings run into Aces after a seven-high flop and it was all in the middle after a bet, raise and re-raise all in. I maybe could have laid the hand down, but I had already lost two or three pots to the guy where he was holding hands that were not that stellar and I didn't figure him for a higher pocket pair than my cowboys. Oh well, there will be a cash game soon and maybe I will make up my money and then some afterward.
I was unfortunate enough to have my Kings run into Aces after a seven-high flop and it was all in the middle after a bet, raise and re-raise all in. I maybe could have laid the hand down, but I had already lost two or three pots to the guy where he was holding hands that were not that stellar and I didn't figure him for a higher pocket pair than my cowboys. Oh well, there will be a cash game soon and maybe I will make up my money and then some afterward.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
It Is Time For A New Curriculum
After reading a headline in the Ennis Daily News about North Korea recently testing an atomic bomb underground, it started the cogs in my mind moving as I recall all the countries, governments and radical factions who would love nothing better than to see our country disintegrated by means of a nuclear threat.
Not to discredit the American educational system, but while I was growing up, the farthest students ever made it in the history books was World War II. Every American history class would begin with the pre-Columbus Indians and end with the closing of the Second World War. I don’t ever remember studying the Korean War, Vietnam War or the Cold War. The only memories I have of Desert Storm are from newscasts and those memorable videos of missiles slamming into the heart of structures in the Middle East so wonderfully covered on CNN. It certainly wasn’t discussed in our Social Studies class the next morning.
History teachers never went into depth about the fact that we are the only country ever to use nuclear weapons in battle or that we always stick our noses in other people’s business where, sometimes, it does not belong and is not wanted. This led many youth to believe that everything was wonderful in the world and that nobody hated us. Youth today are sometimes under the same impression. How wrong that line of thinking is.
The list of countries that would like to see the fall of America isn’t endless, but it certainly isn’t short enough for a Post-It note. Currently, people from countries that wouldn’t mind seeing us fail miserably – whether it be our economy, society or military – include North Korea, Vietnam, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, any other Muslim or Communist nation I might be unaware of and the many hundreds of terrorist groups throughout the world. This doesn’t even take into consideration those who proclaim publicly to be allies but not-so-secretly wish for our demise, which most certainly includes China.
I’m not up with politics and world affairs enough to go into great detail about why all of these people wish to see us wiped from the face of the earth, but what I can say from an observer’s point of view is that I don’t ever remember it being like this before. I’m not exactly sure when everyone in the world began to despise us, but it has to have taken place in the last 20 or so years.
Defenders of our country proclaim all of the good deeds America does for those around the world. We always send food and military aid to those in need. However, on the flip side of that there are misdeeds attributed to Americans that can’t be overlooked. For each country we say we are helping, there is another one we are attempting to aid in its overthrow for, our leaders say, the betterment of its people.
I don’t judge what our government does and how it validates all of the acts it allows, but I wonder if our approval rating as a nation is currently at an all-time low because of what we are presently doing throughout the world. Or is it, perhaps, a result of similar decisions made over the past 40-60 years of decisions.
Did the superpower reputation we were so proud of in the 1940s backfire on us? A variety of historians has identified our nation as a present day Roman Empire and just about everyone knows how that ended. The British also had a stranglehold on the world at one time, but it didn’t last.
With so much hatred in the world for the United States it makes me wonder whether it has always been like this and I just missed it, or if this is a recent development. The one thing I am sure of is that Sept. 11 was a wake-up call for history teachers to start teaching their students about the critical viewpoints of other nations toward America.
The days of others looking toward America as the beacon of hope for a happy future seem to be long gone and the next generation needs to be taught about what is in store for them.
Not to discredit the American educational system, but while I was growing up, the farthest students ever made it in the history books was World War II. Every American history class would begin with the pre-Columbus Indians and end with the closing of the Second World War. I don’t ever remember studying the Korean War, Vietnam War or the Cold War. The only memories I have of Desert Storm are from newscasts and those memorable videos of missiles slamming into the heart of structures in the Middle East so wonderfully covered on CNN. It certainly wasn’t discussed in our Social Studies class the next morning.
History teachers never went into depth about the fact that we are the only country ever to use nuclear weapons in battle or that we always stick our noses in other people’s business where, sometimes, it does not belong and is not wanted. This led many youth to believe that everything was wonderful in the world and that nobody hated us. Youth today are sometimes under the same impression. How wrong that line of thinking is.
The list of countries that would like to see the fall of America isn’t endless, but it certainly isn’t short enough for a Post-It note. Currently, people from countries that wouldn’t mind seeing us fail miserably – whether it be our economy, society or military – include North Korea, Vietnam, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, any other Muslim or Communist nation I might be unaware of and the many hundreds of terrorist groups throughout the world. This doesn’t even take into consideration those who proclaim publicly to be allies but not-so-secretly wish for our demise, which most certainly includes China.
I’m not up with politics and world affairs enough to go into great detail about why all of these people wish to see us wiped from the face of the earth, but what I can say from an observer’s point of view is that I don’t ever remember it being like this before. I’m not exactly sure when everyone in the world began to despise us, but it has to have taken place in the last 20 or so years.
Defenders of our country proclaim all of the good deeds America does for those around the world. We always send food and military aid to those in need. However, on the flip side of that there are misdeeds attributed to Americans that can’t be overlooked. For each country we say we are helping, there is another one we are attempting to aid in its overthrow for, our leaders say, the betterment of its people.
I don’t judge what our government does and how it validates all of the acts it allows, but I wonder if our approval rating as a nation is currently at an all-time low because of what we are presently doing throughout the world. Or is it, perhaps, a result of similar decisions made over the past 40-60 years of decisions.
Did the superpower reputation we were so proud of in the 1940s backfire on us? A variety of historians has identified our nation as a present day Roman Empire and just about everyone knows how that ended. The British also had a stranglehold on the world at one time, but it didn’t last.
With so much hatred in the world for the United States it makes me wonder whether it has always been like this and I just missed it, or if this is a recent development. The one thing I am sure of is that Sept. 11 was a wake-up call for history teachers to start teaching their students about the critical viewpoints of other nations toward America.
The days of others looking toward America as the beacon of hope for a happy future seem to be long gone and the next generation needs to be taught about what is in store for them.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Where Are We Going, And Why Are We In This Handbasket?
Somehow, and I haven't quite figured out how this happened yet, we have a poker champion who never won a poker game.
Linda is the latest TOC Champion, adding her name to the plaque along with Chad Boase, Josh Bishop and myself. She was able to scrounge up three second-place finishes and never did worse than seventh or eighth place, which is impressive but not so impressive she deserves a championship.
Her style of play, which is to fold almost everything pre-flop and the few hands she does play to a flop fold to any aggression, has obtained the highest honor our group can bestow upon someone without ever proving she could play the game.
Obviously I am bitter about this. I was in second place going into the night and played my usual game, which involves calling, raising and folding certain hands (something Linda wouldn't know how to do), and actually was playing really well. I made only one or two mistakes all night and that was because I was trying to knock Linda out to give me a better chance.
The hand that knocked me out was against Mike when he moved all in after my flop bet of almost half my stack and I called with a higher pocket pair than his. Mike could have had the decency to hit one of his nines to make a full house, but instead he went for the dreaded runner-runner flush to send me out sulking. I'm not mad at Mike at all. He made a play that he thought was best and he did so because he was tired of me pushing him off hands when he had the better holding. He had done this same move earlier with the best hand and I laid it down. This time I didn't and I got unlucky.
Despite my anger about not being the champion and Linda actually being the winner, without being the winner, I still don't think I should have taken home the championship. Honestly I think Slope played better than anyone during this TOC. He had a moment of relapse into old Slope during one of the games, but otherwise he was a strong contender. He won two games and had several respectable finishes. Also, his play was very decent for most of the weeks. I saw a major change in the way he played and it was for the better.
Well, something is going to have to give if we can have a system where a person wins the entire event without ever winning an individual game. I don't know what that change is going to be, but it will need to be significant in order to clear the blemish that will always be known as TOC IV.
Linda is the latest TOC Champion, adding her name to the plaque along with Chad Boase, Josh Bishop and myself. She was able to scrounge up three second-place finishes and never did worse than seventh or eighth place, which is impressive but not so impressive she deserves a championship.
Her style of play, which is to fold almost everything pre-flop and the few hands she does play to a flop fold to any aggression, has obtained the highest honor our group can bestow upon someone without ever proving she could play the game.
Obviously I am bitter about this. I was in second place going into the night and played my usual game, which involves calling, raising and folding certain hands (something Linda wouldn't know how to do), and actually was playing really well. I made only one or two mistakes all night and that was because I was trying to knock Linda out to give me a better chance.
The hand that knocked me out was against Mike when he moved all in after my flop bet of almost half my stack and I called with a higher pocket pair than his. Mike could have had the decency to hit one of his nines to make a full house, but instead he went for the dreaded runner-runner flush to send me out sulking. I'm not mad at Mike at all. He made a play that he thought was best and he did so because he was tired of me pushing him off hands when he had the better holding. He had done this same move earlier with the best hand and I laid it down. This time I didn't and I got unlucky.
Despite my anger about not being the champion and Linda actually being the winner, without being the winner, I still don't think I should have taken home the championship. Honestly I think Slope played better than anyone during this TOC. He had a moment of relapse into old Slope during one of the games, but otherwise he was a strong contender. He won two games and had several respectable finishes. Also, his play was very decent for most of the weeks. I saw a major change in the way he played and it was for the better.
Well, something is going to have to give if we can have a system where a person wins the entire event without ever winning an individual game. I don't know what that change is going to be, but it will need to be significant in order to clear the blemish that will always be known as TOC IV.
Friday, October 06, 2006
TOC IV - Game Eight
Tonight's Game:
1st - Slope - 0 points
2nd - Mike II - 11 points
3rd - Wayne - 21 points
4th - Linda - 30 points
5th - Danny - 38 points
6th - Matt - 45 points
7th - Brian - 51 points
8th - James - 56 points
9th - Nick - 60 pints
12th - Brooke - 66 points
12th - Hector - 66 points
12th - Mike I - 66 points
Overall Standings:
1st - Linda - 230 points
2nd - Slope - 262 points
3rd - Mike - 262 points
4th - Matt - 266 points
5th - Danny - 312 points
6th - Nick - 328 points
7th - Wayne - 347 points
8th - Brooke - 364 points
9th - Brian - 400 points
10th - Hector - 406 points
11th - James - 421 points
12th - Mike I - 455 points
1st - Slope - 0 points
2nd - Mike II - 11 points
3rd - Wayne - 21 points
4th - Linda - 30 points
5th - Danny - 38 points
6th - Matt - 45 points
7th - Brian - 51 points
8th - James - 56 points
9th - Nick - 60 pints
12th - Brooke - 66 points
12th - Hector - 66 points
12th - Mike I - 66 points
Overall Standings:
1st - Linda - 230 points
2nd - Slope - 262 points
3rd - Mike - 262 points
4th - Matt - 266 points
5th - Danny - 312 points
6th - Nick - 328 points
7th - Wayne - 347 points
8th - Brooke - 364 points
9th - Brian - 400 points
10th - Hector - 406 points
11th - James - 421 points
12th - Mike I - 455 points
Thursday, October 05, 2006
My Outgoing Address
I write this with only a little more than a day as the reigning TOC Champ. That is not to say I can’t be the champion again. I am currently in second place and there is a decent chance I can pull out another victory.
The past few months as champion have been nice. There were no red carpets rolled out or engaging fans attempting to touch me in order to obtain some luck for their own game, but it was always pleasant to look down at my championship bracelet for inspiration and keep on keeping on when my chip stack was dwindling.
Having my name on the plaque forever is probably the best thing about my championship. Whenever I feed my fish I glance at the plaque and think about the excellent run of cards I had during those eight games. I think about the great plays I made (usually in the form of folding weaker hands, but sometimes cracking another player’s dominating hand) and the horrible beats I took. It reminds me of a happy TOC, unlike the previous event where nothing seemed to go right.
If I pull out another win tomorrow night and take down the championship I will be extremely proud of myself and feel even more confident in my game, which could be either a good or bad thing.
One championship can be a stroke of luck, but two championships must be regarded as something being done right.
The past few months as champion have been nice. There were no red carpets rolled out or engaging fans attempting to touch me in order to obtain some luck for their own game, but it was always pleasant to look down at my championship bracelet for inspiration and keep on keeping on when my chip stack was dwindling.
Having my name on the plaque forever is probably the best thing about my championship. Whenever I feed my fish I glance at the plaque and think about the excellent run of cards I had during those eight games. I think about the great plays I made (usually in the form of folding weaker hands, but sometimes cracking another player’s dominating hand) and the horrible beats I took. It reminds me of a happy TOC, unlike the previous event where nothing seemed to go right.
If I pull out another win tomorrow night and take down the championship I will be extremely proud of myself and feel even more confident in my game, which could be either a good or bad thing.
One championship can be a stroke of luck, but two championships must be regarded as something being done right.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Scorsese Has Been Robbed
This is not a news story that just broke involving the legendary director having his home burglarized or car taken from him. This is about his lack of an Academy Award.
I am doing research into the man's past in preparation of a movie column for Monday. Since his new film, "The Departed," is being released this weekend I figured I would discuss his failure to enter the winner's circle at any Academy Awards presentation. During said research I have decided he was robbed of a statue in 2005 for "The Aviator."
You may disagree that "The Aviator" is not as good of a film as "Million Dollar Baby," which took home the Oscar, or the other nominees, including "Ray," "Sideways" or "Vera Drake." Well, you are wrong. Especially if you think "Vera Drake" should have won.
This goes against my original thinking at the time of the presentation that Eastwood deserved the win for Director and "The Aviator" should have won for Best Picture, but I have since changed my mind. Scorsese deserved both categories.
The only true opposition Scorsese had for the Best Director category was Clint Eastwood for "Million Dollar Baby." Although "Ray" and "Sideways" are good movies and shined in certain areas, such as acting and writing, they lacked in the other areas necessary for a Best Director win.
The same could be said for "Million Dollar Baby." Eastwood was able to pull out some great acting from this devastating story about a female boxer and her trainer, but besides the acting "Million Dollar Baby" couldn't produce any wins, besides the two most coveted categories of director and picture.
"The Aviator" was nominated in 11 categories and won for five of them. They were Supporting Actress, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design and Film Editing. Where it lost was the aforementioned Director and Picture, along with Actor and Supporting Actor (which I would agree that those weren't the best in those categories, although Leonardo DiCaprio did a better than fine job with his performance), Sound Mixing and Original Screenplay.
The director is in charge of the entire production of the movie, from the acting and camera work to the lighting and costuming. Although Scorsese only produced one winner in the acting group, which Eastwood did for two of the three nominations he had in acting categories, it is my belief that he still got great performances out of DiCaprio and Alan Alda and the wins in five other categories should have made him the clear winner that year.
This is all my opinion of course and there is nothing that can be done now, but if Scorsese didn't win in 2005 for a clear winner then I don't think he will ever win. Hopefully "The Departed" will finally be his success, but I don't see how he can possibly do a better job than he did with "The Aviator."
I am doing research into the man's past in preparation of a movie column for Monday. Since his new film, "The Departed," is being released this weekend I figured I would discuss his failure to enter the winner's circle at any Academy Awards presentation. During said research I have decided he was robbed of a statue in 2005 for "The Aviator."
You may disagree that "The Aviator" is not as good of a film as "Million Dollar Baby," which took home the Oscar, or the other nominees, including "Ray," "Sideways" or "Vera Drake." Well, you are wrong. Especially if you think "Vera Drake" should have won.
This goes against my original thinking at the time of the presentation that Eastwood deserved the win for Director and "The Aviator" should have won for Best Picture, but I have since changed my mind. Scorsese deserved both categories.
The only true opposition Scorsese had for the Best Director category was Clint Eastwood for "Million Dollar Baby." Although "Ray" and "Sideways" are good movies and shined in certain areas, such as acting and writing, they lacked in the other areas necessary for a Best Director win.
The same could be said for "Million Dollar Baby." Eastwood was able to pull out some great acting from this devastating story about a female boxer and her trainer, but besides the acting "Million Dollar Baby" couldn't produce any wins, besides the two most coveted categories of director and picture.
"The Aviator" was nominated in 11 categories and won for five of them. They were Supporting Actress, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design and Film Editing. Where it lost was the aforementioned Director and Picture, along with Actor and Supporting Actor (which I would agree that those weren't the best in those categories, although Leonardo DiCaprio did a better than fine job with his performance), Sound Mixing and Original Screenplay.
The director is in charge of the entire production of the movie, from the acting and camera work to the lighting and costuming. Although Scorsese only produced one winner in the acting group, which Eastwood did for two of the three nominations he had in acting categories, it is my belief that he still got great performances out of DiCaprio and Alan Alda and the wins in five other categories should have made him the clear winner that year.
This is all my opinion of course and there is nothing that can be done now, but if Scorsese didn't win in 2005 for a clear winner then I don't think he will ever win. Hopefully "The Departed" will finally be his success, but I don't see how he can possibly do a better job than he did with "The Aviator."
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