I came across this from Gordon Keith today and thought it was great. Laughed a lot.
This instant-messaging stuff drives me crazy
By Gordon Keith
As part of my recovery, I must admit that I am the worst e-mail, IM, text message, phone-sex talker ever.
[Instant-message exchange]
GQuick: What' RU doin?
mdog22: nothing.
GQuick: whaz up?
mdog22: yeah?
GQuick: what RU wairin'?
mdog22: suit and tie.
GQuick: ooh dresed as man. I like that, baby.
mdogg22: I'm a man. My name is Mark Dogg, assistant district attorney.
GQuick: Sorry. wrong IM name. I feel horrible. This is Gordon Keith of Quick, please keep me anonymous. Oh, Gosh.
[E-mail exchange]
Betty: Hey Gordon. I liked your article on school finance.
Gordon: So did I. you sound pretty hot ...
Betty: My husband thinks so.
Gordon: [ignoring her nouns] why don't you send a pic
Betty: here it is. This is me holding our youngest son at his christening last month.
Gordon: wow, nice rack. Too bad that baby is in the way. Here's a pic of me.
Betty: ... well, I like your back yard. Is that a ball gag you are wearing? I take it you don't wear briefs.
Gordon: Thanks for the compliments. That's a lamp I'm using on myself. Wanna have lunch?
Betty: Actually I just lost mine.
Gordon: really? did you eat your food real hard for me.
Betty: I don't think you understood me.
Gordon: EPDAGR...
Betty: What?
Gordon: Easing Pants Down And Getting Ready
Betty: Freak! I am contacting your boss!
Gordon: Please don't! Oh my gosh, I am sorry! I misread this so badly! You sounded totally into it.
[Phone call]
Gordon: Hello?
Quick editor: Gordon, we need to talk.
Gordon: About what?
Quick editor: I've received several e-mails from readers and a couple of calls from cops about some unwanted conversations you've had with people that have bordered on threatening.
Gordon: I really don't know what you are talking about. And that Rachel girl is crazy.
Quick editor: Who is Rachel? Listen, I don't want to argue about it. You are on probation for one month.
Gordon: Hey, look, if I have been a bad boy, then I should be punished. Are you all dressed up as an editor right now? Hello?
[Dial tone]
Friday, June 08, 2007
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Disney Strikes Again
I have never known a production company like Disney to so consistently manufacture such delightful movies that are then followed up with lackluster, embarrassing sequels.
“Cinderella,” “Bambi,” “101 Dalmatians,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “The Lion King.” These are all great movies from our youth that have entertained multiple generations and stood the test of time.
“Cinderella II: Dreams Come True,” “Cinderella III: A Twist in Time,” “Bambi II,” 101 Dalmatians II: Patch’s London Adventure,” “The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea,” “Return of Jafar,” “Aladdin and the King of Thieves,” “The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride,” “The Lion King 1 1/2.” What a waste of time and money for everyone these straight-to-video releases are.
The “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy is another example of Disney cashing an enormous paycheck and laughing all the way home while giving little regard to the quality of work they had established with “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” is a blundering mess of a movie filled with lackluster action and a convoluted story of characters continually making and breaking multiple deals with the collection of pirates, monsters and bureaucrats the producers and writers have created and not been able to get rid of.
In the third, and possibly final (nobody knows for sure), installment Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) leads a crew, including Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly) and other familiar faces, to fetch back Captain Jack Sparrow from Davy Jones’ Locker. Chow Yun-Fat joins the cast as Chinese pirate Captain Sao Feng, but adds nothing to the film except an easy way out for the writers to move the story along to a point that they can place the characters they need in the spot they need them.
Beyond a handful of scenes showcasing Johnny Depp’s prowess as an actor and his comfort in the role of Sparrow, the entire movie left me uninterested, confused and questioning who would find any of this almost three-hour tripe interesting. I think I even heard a few 8-year-olds in front of me question how much longer was left, which isn’t a good sign.
Nothing about the special effects is remarkable or original and the audience is left wondering whom to root for as allegiances are tested and relationships are questioned. The set pieces are rather disappointing, if not shamefully absurd.
However, of all that is wrong with this movie, which is quite a lot if you haven’t figured it out, the worst part is the writers’ complete disregard for physics and realistic combat. Viewing Sparrow and Davy Jones clash swords while they easily balance on a ship’s beam while the boat rocks back and forth in a whirlpool doesn’t get the entertaining response wished for, but instead begs me to ask, “Are these guys seriously wanting me to ignore the laws of gravity and other sound science simply to be amused?”
For entertainment purposes I will accept a curse that can turn pirates into the walking dead or a captain that will cut out his heart after being scorned in love and become commissioned to the seas forever as his penance, but what I will not tolerate is that a person can swing above a ship’s deck high among the sails, fight others who have somehow ended up in this unlikely situation of playing Tarzan while a colossal battle is taking place below and then casually land ready to pick up the fight again. Curses and black magic is one thing I will suspend disbelief for, but unrealistic fights and ludicrous action sets I will not.
“At World’s End” lacks the breathtaking action, laugh-out-loud comedy and mind-blowing spectacle “Curse of the Black Pearl” delivered several years ago. It is just a continuation of the downward spiral Disney is taking with this series.
Walt Disney said it best: “I’ve never believed in doing sequels. I didn’t want to waste the time I have doing a sequel; I’d rather be using that time doing something new and different.”
The world was a better place when he was here.
“Cinderella,” “Bambi,” “101 Dalmatians,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “The Lion King.” These are all great movies from our youth that have entertained multiple generations and stood the test of time.
“Cinderella II: Dreams Come True,” “Cinderella III: A Twist in Time,” “Bambi II,” 101 Dalmatians II: Patch’s London Adventure,” “The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea,” “Return of Jafar,” “Aladdin and the King of Thieves,” “The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride,” “The Lion King 1 1/2.” What a waste of time and money for everyone these straight-to-video releases are.
The “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy is another example of Disney cashing an enormous paycheck and laughing all the way home while giving little regard to the quality of work they had established with “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” is a blundering mess of a movie filled with lackluster action and a convoluted story of characters continually making and breaking multiple deals with the collection of pirates, monsters and bureaucrats the producers and writers have created and not been able to get rid of.
In the third, and possibly final (nobody knows for sure), installment Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) leads a crew, including Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly) and other familiar faces, to fetch back Captain Jack Sparrow from Davy Jones’ Locker. Chow Yun-Fat joins the cast as Chinese pirate Captain Sao Feng, but adds nothing to the film except an easy way out for the writers to move the story along to a point that they can place the characters they need in the spot they need them.
Beyond a handful of scenes showcasing Johnny Depp’s prowess as an actor and his comfort in the role of Sparrow, the entire movie left me uninterested, confused and questioning who would find any of this almost three-hour tripe interesting. I think I even heard a few 8-year-olds in front of me question how much longer was left, which isn’t a good sign.
Nothing about the special effects is remarkable or original and the audience is left wondering whom to root for as allegiances are tested and relationships are questioned. The set pieces are rather disappointing, if not shamefully absurd.
However, of all that is wrong with this movie, which is quite a lot if you haven’t figured it out, the worst part is the writers’ complete disregard for physics and realistic combat. Viewing Sparrow and Davy Jones clash swords while they easily balance on a ship’s beam while the boat rocks back and forth in a whirlpool doesn’t get the entertaining response wished for, but instead begs me to ask, “Are these guys seriously wanting me to ignore the laws of gravity and other sound science simply to be amused?”
For entertainment purposes I will accept a curse that can turn pirates into the walking dead or a captain that will cut out his heart after being scorned in love and become commissioned to the seas forever as his penance, but what I will not tolerate is that a person can swing above a ship’s deck high among the sails, fight others who have somehow ended up in this unlikely situation of playing Tarzan while a colossal battle is taking place below and then casually land ready to pick up the fight again. Curses and black magic is one thing I will suspend disbelief for, but unrealistic fights and ludicrous action sets I will not.
“At World’s End” lacks the breathtaking action, laugh-out-loud comedy and mind-blowing spectacle “Curse of the Black Pearl” delivered several years ago. It is just a continuation of the downward spiral Disney is taking with this series.
Walt Disney said it best: “I’ve never believed in doing sequels. I didn’t want to waste the time I have doing a sequel; I’d rather be using that time doing something new and different.”
The world was a better place when he was here.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
EISD Chief Of Police's Arrest Getting National Attention
If you haven't heard about Kevin Haynes, the Ennis Independent School District's Chief of Police, then I will give you a brief synopsis. Haynes was stopped for driving while intoxicated Saturday night and during the incident he became violent and attacked an officer, sending the man to the hospital. He was charged with a DWI, resisting arrest and assault on a public servant.
Apparently this story and some video from one of the dashboard cameras of an Ovilla cruiser is getting national media attention. I haven't seen the video yet but I heard you can see Haynes swing at an officer and somebody tells Haynes his career is over, which it's beginning to look that way.
Haynes has been suspended with pay from the ISD until an investigation is completed.
Apparently this story and some video from one of the dashboard cameras of an Ovilla cruiser is getting national media attention. I haven't seen the video yet but I heard you can see Haynes swing at an officer and somebody tells Haynes his career is over, which it's beginning to look that way.
Haynes has been suspended with pay from the ISD until an investigation is completed.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Days Turn To Weeks
Not wanting to be called a zombie movie, “28 Weeks Later” falls into the rhythm of many zombie movies to come before it.
With more time since the rage virus infected the United Kingdom, splitting its populace into thoughtless, ravenous creatures chasing those yet to be turned and fighting for their survival, comes more gore and less imagination from the filmmakers.
A prologue starts the film showcasing a husband and wife holed up in a cottage tucked away in the English countryside trying to avoid being attacked by the throngs of creatures roaming Great Britain. In a moment of cowardice the husband, Don (Robert Carlyle), leaves his wife behind, knowing she is doomed to be torn apart by the creatures. A brief history of the virus and how it spread is offered, describing how its victims become cannibalistic.
Things begin to settle after the American military quarantines a portion of downtown London from the virus. It has been several months since the creatures died off from starvation and snipers protect the perimeters of a society that must be rebuilt gradually as citizens return from the safety of outside countries. The latest wave of homecoming refugees includes the daughter and son of Don, a duo who secretly possess a key part in potentially understanding and possibly curing the virus.
Following this all-too-brief opening that exhibits remnants of a sequel just as original and accomplished as its original the story falls into the trap of the zombie genre with a small group of survivors, including a sniper questioning his orders and a doctor questioning her superiors, trying to run, drive, swim or fly from the “zombies” as individuals are picked off one by one in death scenes that get more and more graphic as the movie progresses.
“28 Weeks” lacks the innovation and realism its predecessor “28 Days Later” had, which wasn’t just a horror movie about infected, brainless creatures turning Great Britain into a battlefield, but instead was a surreal look at the breakdown of a society when faced with a life-threatening epidemic.
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland step down as director and writer this time, into the roles of executive producers, and are replaced by director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and a new collection of scribes. This roster change is probably to blame for the disappointing results found in “28 Weeks Later.”
Instead of making a follow-up that could highlight the aftermath of such a heart-wrenching, but potential, event, Fresnadillo and his crew take their moment of filmmaking to show an assessment of American autocratic government. I should give “28 Weeks Later” a little credit for being able to constantly flop back and forth from replicated zombie movie and explosive action movie.
The one element from its predecessor “28 Weeks” is able to keep and use successfully is the music. The repetitive and haunting score is a welcome return to the franchise.
After the first two reels of the movie are gone, the movie begins to go from bad to worse. If this is the direction future “28 Time Periods Later” movies are going to take then fans of the original shouldn’t be too excited about the potential for another sequel, which Fresnadillo made sure to leave as a possibility with his predictable ending.
With more time since the rage virus infected the United Kingdom, splitting its populace into thoughtless, ravenous creatures chasing those yet to be turned and fighting for their survival, comes more gore and less imagination from the filmmakers.
A prologue starts the film showcasing a husband and wife holed up in a cottage tucked away in the English countryside trying to avoid being attacked by the throngs of creatures roaming Great Britain. In a moment of cowardice the husband, Don (Robert Carlyle), leaves his wife behind, knowing she is doomed to be torn apart by the creatures. A brief history of the virus and how it spread is offered, describing how its victims become cannibalistic.
Things begin to settle after the American military quarantines a portion of downtown London from the virus. It has been several months since the creatures died off from starvation and snipers protect the perimeters of a society that must be rebuilt gradually as citizens return from the safety of outside countries. The latest wave of homecoming refugees includes the daughter and son of Don, a duo who secretly possess a key part in potentially understanding and possibly curing the virus.
Following this all-too-brief opening that exhibits remnants of a sequel just as original and accomplished as its original the story falls into the trap of the zombie genre with a small group of survivors, including a sniper questioning his orders and a doctor questioning her superiors, trying to run, drive, swim or fly from the “zombies” as individuals are picked off one by one in death scenes that get more and more graphic as the movie progresses.
“28 Weeks” lacks the innovation and realism its predecessor “28 Days Later” had, which wasn’t just a horror movie about infected, brainless creatures turning Great Britain into a battlefield, but instead was a surreal look at the breakdown of a society when faced with a life-threatening epidemic.
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland step down as director and writer this time, into the roles of executive producers, and are replaced by director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and a new collection of scribes. This roster change is probably to blame for the disappointing results found in “28 Weeks Later.”
Instead of making a follow-up that could highlight the aftermath of such a heart-wrenching, but potential, event, Fresnadillo and his crew take their moment of filmmaking to show an assessment of American autocratic government. I should give “28 Weeks Later” a little credit for being able to constantly flop back and forth from replicated zombie movie and explosive action movie.
The one element from its predecessor “28 Weeks” is able to keep and use successfully is the music. The repetitive and haunting score is a welcome return to the franchise.
After the first two reels of the movie are gone, the movie begins to go from bad to worse. If this is the direction future “28 Time Periods Later” movies are going to take then fans of the original shouldn’t be too excited about the potential for another sequel, which Fresnadillo made sure to leave as a possibility with his predictable ending.
Monday, May 14, 2007
My Regular Season Has Begun
I started my summer movie-watching spree with Spider-Man 3 last weekend and this week I followed up with 28 Weeks Later. I will do a review of both, but I am going to start with Spider-Man 3.
After reading some fan reviews on the World Wide Web in the last week it has been decided that folks either loved this movie or hated it. I fall closer to the latter.
Sam Raimi really disappoints this time around with too many villains, a ridiculous display of the emergence of Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s dark side, pointless characters and laughable ways of cleaning up the mess Raimi made in trying to spin too long and complicated of a web.
The Sandman is a pointless character that is pushed upon Parker (and the audience) by changing the Spider-Man comic book history. According to the movie, Flint Marko/Sandman has a connection to Uncle Ben’s killing, but Raimi only does this because otherwise there is nothing to Sandman. He has nothing to give to the movie except some cool visual effects, which aren’t anything we haven’t yet seen in a Spider-Man movie.
Another villain, who is considered to be Spider-Man’s most anticipated and wicked adversary, is Venom. Venom is the creation of a symbiote alien goo and photographer Eddie Brock. Brock is angry with Parker for ruining his career and the goo brings out more anger from Brock. Thus Venom is born… and dead within 12 minutes of screen time. This creature is what every Spider-Man fan has been waiting six years for since hearing the news of a live-action movie. What a let down.
The final villain (that’s right, we’re still working on villains) is the new Green Goblin, a.k.a. Harry Osborn. Osborn is still on a rampage to kill Spider-Man, whom he now knows is former best friend Parker. The two have the best fight scenes of the entire movie, but it results in a lame result that has no originality and teeters on being a bad soap opera story. Even the outcome of Parker and Osborn’s friendship is resolved by a random character that mimics the form of Bruce Wayne’s conscious. Again, not an original idea from Raimi.
A character who is set up to play a large part in the film but fizzles out halfway through is Gwen Stacy. This will be another argument by Spider-Man fans because Stacy was a much bigger player early in Parker’s life in the comic books. She is introduced at the beginning of the film and consequently drives a wedge between Parker and Mary Jane, but then is dropped completely after a pitiful attempt at humor by Raimi when the alien goo begins to take control of Parker’s dark side.
I’m not sure of the running time for Spider-Man 3, but it feels way too long for a kids’ comic book film, which is what this series has been reduced to after this installment. The story drags and the final battle is so complex/unrealistic it becomes farcical. Spider-Man 3 is the worst of the entire series and a change needs to take place because it just feels tiresome now.
After reading some fan reviews on the World Wide Web in the last week it has been decided that folks either loved this movie or hated it. I fall closer to the latter.
Sam Raimi really disappoints this time around with too many villains, a ridiculous display of the emergence of Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s dark side, pointless characters and laughable ways of cleaning up the mess Raimi made in trying to spin too long and complicated of a web.
The Sandman is a pointless character that is pushed upon Parker (and the audience) by changing the Spider-Man comic book history. According to the movie, Flint Marko/Sandman has a connection to Uncle Ben’s killing, but Raimi only does this because otherwise there is nothing to Sandman. He has nothing to give to the movie except some cool visual effects, which aren’t anything we haven’t yet seen in a Spider-Man movie.
Another villain, who is considered to be Spider-Man’s most anticipated and wicked adversary, is Venom. Venom is the creation of a symbiote alien goo and photographer Eddie Brock. Brock is angry with Parker for ruining his career and the goo brings out more anger from Brock. Thus Venom is born… and dead within 12 minutes of screen time. This creature is what every Spider-Man fan has been waiting six years for since hearing the news of a live-action movie. What a let down.
The final villain (that’s right, we’re still working on villains) is the new Green Goblin, a.k.a. Harry Osborn. Osborn is still on a rampage to kill Spider-Man, whom he now knows is former best friend Parker. The two have the best fight scenes of the entire movie, but it results in a lame result that has no originality and teeters on being a bad soap opera story. Even the outcome of Parker and Osborn’s friendship is resolved by a random character that mimics the form of Bruce Wayne’s conscious. Again, not an original idea from Raimi.
A character who is set up to play a large part in the film but fizzles out halfway through is Gwen Stacy. This will be another argument by Spider-Man fans because Stacy was a much bigger player early in Parker’s life in the comic books. She is introduced at the beginning of the film and consequently drives a wedge between Parker and Mary Jane, but then is dropped completely after a pitiful attempt at humor by Raimi when the alien goo begins to take control of Parker’s dark side.
I’m not sure of the running time for Spider-Man 3, but it feels way too long for a kids’ comic book film, which is what this series has been reduced to after this installment. The story drags and the final battle is so complex/unrealistic it becomes farcical. Spider-Man 3 is the worst of the entire series and a change needs to take place because it just feels tiresome now.
Monday, April 30, 2007
2007 Summer Movie Preview
These aren't all the big movies coming out this summer, but they are probably the seven films I am most likely going to get excited/brave the crowds for.
Spider-Man 3
Looking to start the summer off right, the third installment in the ongoing battle of juggling a normal life as Peter Parker and protecting the city from super evil as Spider-Man will hit theaters on May 4, most likely setting the tone for a huge money-making season.
This time around, things look to be going great for Parker as he has confessed his undying love for Mary Jane and plans to marry her, but turmoil is never far in the superhero world. Not only must Spider-Man face off against his newest adversary Sandman and an old friend in the form of the new Green Goblin, but he must also cope with an alien entity that bonds with Spider-Man's suit, giving him limitless powers and emotional instability.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Picking up where Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest left off, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann and the rest of the Black Pearl travel off the edge of the map in an attempt to rescue Capt. Jack Sparrow from a watery grave at the hands of Davy Jones. They traverse the seas and join newest cast member Chow Yun-Fat, as Sao Feng the Pirate Lord of Singapore, in a final battle that will decide the fate of all piracy.
The trilogy will come to a close on May 25, but talk of a fourth film has already started brewing even before the third one is released.
Ocean's Thirteen
Save the date of June 8 when Danny Ocean and his ragtag gang of oddballs attempt to pull off another heist with the help of their old opponent Terry Benedict.
Joining the crew this time around is Andy Garcia's Benedict and Ellen Barkin, supposedly as the love interest for thief-in-training Matt Damon. These two will take the place of Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones, who are not featured. Not much is known about the plot outside of Ocean and his team targeting their man for revenge, but the mark in the third crime caper from Steven Soderbergh is scenery-chewer Al Pacino.
Transformers
Growing up as an 80s baby, there were certain television shows that molded me: "The Smurfs" taught me about kindness and morality, "He-Man" gave me courage, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" were my comic relief and "Transformers" was just the guilty pleasure of my childhood.
Although a 1986 animated film was already released about the Transformers, explosion-happy Michael Bay is giving it another try, but this time using live-action actors and computer-graphic Autobots and Decepticons in his version of the universe's ultimate battle between good and evil.
The dueling alien races are traveling to Earth on July 4, which seems to be a popular day for alien species to decide to annihilate our planet. Although the movie is about the Transformers, which was simply a product-driven television series that led my generation's parents to spend small fortunes on Japanese-manufactured toys that could transform from cars and trucks into robots, it will most likely be a one-time viewer for me.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Despite never having read a single word of J.K. Rowlings' magical series about the wizardry school of Hogwarts or its students, I am a huge Harry Potter movie geek. July 13 is the release date of the fifth film in the series. After Harry's nemesis Lord Voldemort returns, Harry and Dumbledore are under fire from wizard authorities that are in denial of their warnings. As changes begin to take place and a dark, sinister evil reaches out across the world, are Harry and his friends prepared for the ensuing battle that lies ahead?
The Simpsons Movie
It has been more than 20 years since the Simpson family hit the airwaves on the "The Tracey Ullman Show." They have had 19 successful seasons as an award-winning animated comedy on FOX. Pop culture has certainly been impacted from Homer's idiotic antics and the English lexicon has also been influenced by the show's catchphrases. Plenty of merchandise has been sold and hundreds of millions of dollars made from television's middle-class royalty. So, why did it take this long for a movie to be made?
Moviegoers will finally be given a full two hours to enjoy their favorite hapless family on July 27, but little is known of what the movie is actually about. Besides the usual town regulars, frequent guest stars, such as Albert Brooks, Kelsey Grammar and Joe Mantegna, and new guest stars, including Minnie Driver and Erin Brockovich, will provide voices.
The Bourne Ultimatum
It is one of the greatest spy book series to finally be made into movies in the last several decades and the third film will be released on Aug. 3. Jason Bourne is an amnesiac who is slowly recalling his previous life as a government assassin. The Bourne Ultimatum will place Bourne everywhere from London, Madrid and Moscow to Paris, New York City and Tangier as he continues his search to find the truth about his life.
Spider-Man 3
Looking to start the summer off right, the third installment in the ongoing battle of juggling a normal life as Peter Parker and protecting the city from super evil as Spider-Man will hit theaters on May 4, most likely setting the tone for a huge money-making season.
This time around, things look to be going great for Parker as he has confessed his undying love for Mary Jane and plans to marry her, but turmoil is never far in the superhero world. Not only must Spider-Man face off against his newest adversary Sandman and an old friend in the form of the new Green Goblin, but he must also cope with an alien entity that bonds with Spider-Man's suit, giving him limitless powers and emotional instability.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Picking up where Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest left off, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann and the rest of the Black Pearl travel off the edge of the map in an attempt to rescue Capt. Jack Sparrow from a watery grave at the hands of Davy Jones. They traverse the seas and join newest cast member Chow Yun-Fat, as Sao Feng the Pirate Lord of Singapore, in a final battle that will decide the fate of all piracy.
The trilogy will come to a close on May 25, but talk of a fourth film has already started brewing even before the third one is released.
Ocean's Thirteen
Save the date of June 8 when Danny Ocean and his ragtag gang of oddballs attempt to pull off another heist with the help of their old opponent Terry Benedict.
Joining the crew this time around is Andy Garcia's Benedict and Ellen Barkin, supposedly as the love interest for thief-in-training Matt Damon. These two will take the place of Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones, who are not featured. Not much is known about the plot outside of Ocean and his team targeting their man for revenge, but the mark in the third crime caper from Steven Soderbergh is scenery-chewer Al Pacino.
Transformers
Growing up as an 80s baby, there were certain television shows that molded me: "The Smurfs" taught me about kindness and morality, "He-Man" gave me courage, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" were my comic relief and "Transformers" was just the guilty pleasure of my childhood.
Although a 1986 animated film was already released about the Transformers, explosion-happy Michael Bay is giving it another try, but this time using live-action actors and computer-graphic Autobots and Decepticons in his version of the universe's ultimate battle between good and evil.
The dueling alien races are traveling to Earth on July 4, which seems to be a popular day for alien species to decide to annihilate our planet. Although the movie is about the Transformers, which was simply a product-driven television series that led my generation's parents to spend small fortunes on Japanese-manufactured toys that could transform from cars and trucks into robots, it will most likely be a one-time viewer for me.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Despite never having read a single word of J.K. Rowlings' magical series about the wizardry school of Hogwarts or its students, I am a huge Harry Potter movie geek. July 13 is the release date of the fifth film in the series. After Harry's nemesis Lord Voldemort returns, Harry and Dumbledore are under fire from wizard authorities that are in denial of their warnings. As changes begin to take place and a dark, sinister evil reaches out across the world, are Harry and his friends prepared for the ensuing battle that lies ahead?
The Simpsons Movie
It has been more than 20 years since the Simpson family hit the airwaves on the "The Tracey Ullman Show." They have had 19 successful seasons as an award-winning animated comedy on FOX. Pop culture has certainly been impacted from Homer's idiotic antics and the English lexicon has also been influenced by the show's catchphrases. Plenty of merchandise has been sold and hundreds of millions of dollars made from television's middle-class royalty. So, why did it take this long for a movie to be made?
Moviegoers will finally be given a full two hours to enjoy their favorite hapless family on July 27, but little is known of what the movie is actually about. Besides the usual town regulars, frequent guest stars, such as Albert Brooks, Kelsey Grammar and Joe Mantegna, and new guest stars, including Minnie Driver and Erin Brockovich, will provide voices.
The Bourne Ultimatum
It is one of the greatest spy book series to finally be made into movies in the last several decades and the third film will be released on Aug. 3. Jason Bourne is an amnesiac who is slowly recalling his previous life as a government assassin. The Bourne Ultimatum will place Bourne everywhere from London, Madrid and Moscow to Paris, New York City and Tangier as he continues his search to find the truth about his life.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Adios Awesome Apartment
I spent my final night in my Ennis apartment last night. After two years in Ennis I am moving back to Arlington. Although everything is not yet quite packed up in boxes I have taken posters and pictures off the walls and boxed up all my books and DVDs, resulting in a very bare, colorless living quarters.
Despite moving back home into my grandmother’s house, which has been remodeled and almost completely restored by James, my mom and myself (mostly James though), I still have my journalism job in Ennis. I will be commuting everyday back and forth. Not the ideal situation, but it is better than being unemployed. Hopefully I will find a writing/photography/editing job soon in the metroplex that will put me closer to home.
Outside of working on the house I haven’t had much time to do anything else. I was able to get away for the weekend last week for some camping. That was quite an experience. I will go into greater detail later.
Despite moving back home into my grandmother’s house, which has been remodeled and almost completely restored by James, my mom and myself (mostly James though), I still have my journalism job in Ennis. I will be commuting everyday back and forth. Not the ideal situation, but it is better than being unemployed. Hopefully I will find a writing/photography/editing job soon in the metroplex that will put me closer to home.
Outside of working on the house I haven’t had much time to do anything else. I was able to get away for the weekend last week for some camping. That was quite an experience. I will go into greater detail later.
Monday, April 16, 2007
House And Job Updates
The Norwood house is really coming together now. My mom, James and I have painted the nursery entirely, with James' room almost complete. The carpet will be delivered and installed a week from tomorrow. A wonderful man named Hugo came over and ripped up our jungle of a yard and even trimmed the hedges that were starting to grow into the driveway. He also pulled out the metal fence that was in the backyard. This has all been done without a mention of payment. It is great.
The best part of all this is that the hole in the roof has been partly patched. Mark, Clint, James and I put forth our best effort to fix it but couldn't seem to get the sheet rock to fit. After Mark left the three of us refused to let the hole defeat us so we gave it another crack. A few hours later the hole was closed up and insulation was installed. Now we just have to tape it up, plaster it down, shoot the popcorn on the ceiling and paint. Simple, right?
I have applied for a new job as a city government reporter for the Dallas Morning News. They are asking for a veteran reporter, but hopefully I can at least get an interview to show that I want this job. I doubt I will go from a small paper to a large publication like the Dallas Morning News in just two years, but I also didn't think I had a shot at getting the job in Ennis either.
I will be praying that God blesses me with this job, but if I don't get it then I will continue my search and make the hour drive to Ennis until then.
The best part of all this is that the hole in the roof has been partly patched. Mark, Clint, James and I put forth our best effort to fix it but couldn't seem to get the sheet rock to fit. After Mark left the three of us refused to let the hole defeat us so we gave it another crack. A few hours later the hole was closed up and insulation was installed. Now we just have to tape it up, plaster it down, shoot the popcorn on the ceiling and paint. Simple, right?
I have applied for a new job as a city government reporter for the Dallas Morning News. They are asking for a veteran reporter, but hopefully I can at least get an interview to show that I want this job. I doubt I will go from a small paper to a large publication like the Dallas Morning News in just two years, but I also didn't think I had a shot at getting the job in Ennis either.
I will be praying that God blesses me with this job, but if I don't get it then I will continue my search and make the hour drive to Ennis until then.
Friday, April 13, 2007
I Have The Right To Change My Mind
I just can't bring myself to delete this thing... again. It is going to stay up even though I don't update it, nobody checks it and there is nothing to talk about.
I did change the template so maybe that will inspire me to write a little more on it.
I did change the template so maybe that will inspire me to write a little more on it.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Say Goodbye
Since I haven't posted in quite a while and I don't have anything of interest to say outside of my poker playing I have decided to bring down the blog... again. Get your goodbyes in now.
Friday, March 02, 2007
February Statistics
Monthly Profit: $1,130
Yearly Profit: $2,752
Total Monthly Hours Played: 35 hours 45 minutes
Total Yearly Hours Played: 90 hours
Monthly Per Hour Rate: $31.61
Yearly Per Hour Rate: $30.58
Most Profitable Format: $1-2 No-Limit Hold'em
Least Profitable Format: $2-5 No-Limit Hold'em
Per Hour Rate For Most Profitable Format: $53.44
Day Most Played: Friday
Most Profitable Day: Friday (Played In Casinos Three Times)
Least Profitable Day: Saturday (Played In Casino Once)
Per Hour Rate For Most Profitable Day: $52.07
Yearly Profit: $2,752
Total Monthly Hours Played: 35 hours 45 minutes
Total Yearly Hours Played: 90 hours
Monthly Per Hour Rate: $31.61
Yearly Per Hour Rate: $30.58
Most Profitable Format: $1-2 No-Limit Hold'em
Least Profitable Format: $2-5 No-Limit Hold'em
Per Hour Rate For Most Profitable Format: $53.44
Day Most Played: Friday
Most Profitable Day: Friday (Played In Casinos Three Times)
Least Profitable Day: Saturday (Played In Casino Once)
Per Hour Rate For Most Profitable Day: $52.07
Session 17
My final game in February was a winning one. Not quite as large as my two previous games, but still a win.
I played for a little more than four hours and for about three of those hours I didn't go anywhere. I was actually down to $50 at one point and was considering adding on another $100 when I doubled up with pocket kings. I then felted the same guy about three or four hands later with pocket kings again.
Finally the two table bullies left and everybody was allowed to play a little poker. The only big pot I played was with pocket fours. I called a raise of $7 with my fours and one other player called behind me. The pot was at approximately $20.
The flop came 8-3-2. The original raiser bet $15 and I immediately raised to $45. This raise was partly to see how strong the original raiser/bettor was and to thin the field by getting the other guy out. This plan half worked because it did get the third guy out of the hand, but the original raiser/bettor called my bet. Not what I really wanted... until the turn. The pot now had $110.
The turn was a beautiful four. It was checked to me and I thought about how much to bet. I had another $120 in front of me and wanted to lure the guy in. I needed to bet something that wasn't going to leave me with so little that it was suspicious but enough that the bet wasn't suspicious. Not too little, but not too big. I settled on $50. The guy didn't take too long to call so we now had a $210 pot and I only had $70 left.
The river was a king and the guy checked again. By this point I put him on a pocket pair higher than eights. That means he has five hands that lose to me and one hand that now has me crushed. I'll take my chances. I took a long time to think about it, as if I was trying to figure out how to win the hand, and finally moved my remaining $70 into the pot. He thought for about 20 seconds and called. I showed my hand and he folded. Some guy at the end of the table asked the player if he had aces and he nodded. I don't know if that truly is what he had, but it makes sense.
I cashed out with $387. This moves my yearly profit up to $2,752. The most amazing part about all of this is that I met my goal of making $1,000 each month after starting $1,200 in the hole in my first three sessions.
I played for a little more than four hours and for about three of those hours I didn't go anywhere. I was actually down to $50 at one point and was considering adding on another $100 when I doubled up with pocket kings. I then felted the same guy about three or four hands later with pocket kings again.
Finally the two table bullies left and everybody was allowed to play a little poker. The only big pot I played was with pocket fours. I called a raise of $7 with my fours and one other player called behind me. The pot was at approximately $20.
The flop came 8-3-2. The original raiser bet $15 and I immediately raised to $45. This raise was partly to see how strong the original raiser/bettor was and to thin the field by getting the other guy out. This plan half worked because it did get the third guy out of the hand, but the original raiser/bettor called my bet. Not what I really wanted... until the turn. The pot now had $110.
The turn was a beautiful four. It was checked to me and I thought about how much to bet. I had another $120 in front of me and wanted to lure the guy in. I needed to bet something that wasn't going to leave me with so little that it was suspicious but enough that the bet wasn't suspicious. Not too little, but not too big. I settled on $50. The guy didn't take too long to call so we now had a $210 pot and I only had $70 left.
The river was a king and the guy checked again. By this point I put him on a pocket pair higher than eights. That means he has five hands that lose to me and one hand that now has me crushed. I'll take my chances. I took a long time to think about it, as if I was trying to figure out how to win the hand, and finally moved my remaining $70 into the pot. He thought for about 20 seconds and called. I showed my hand and he folded. Some guy at the end of the table asked the player if he had aces and he nodded. I don't know if that truly is what he had, but it makes sense.
I cashed out with $387. This moves my yearly profit up to $2,752. The most amazing part about all of this is that I met my goal of making $1,000 each month after starting $1,200 in the hole in my first three sessions.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Scorsese Triumphs, I Suffer Defeat (Sort Of)
Each year for the past few Academy Award presentations my family and I gather together and compete to see who can pick the most winners for the Oscars. With my superior movie knowledge, keen awareness of who has won what going into the event and handle on what the minds of Academy members are thinking I have always crushed my competition leaving the rest of the family to play for second place. This year was totally different.
Overall the event was pretty ho-hum. It wasn’t that Ellen DeGeneres wasn’t funny or the anticipation for who was going to win what wasn’t there. In fact, the collection of nominees in each category was so assorted – both in talent and nationality – it was a grand night to watch the moviemakers not linked with Hollywood reap the benefits of film’s greatest honor.
Director Martin Scorsese finally got what he deserved in a Best Directing award for “The Departed.” I think he definitely deserved one of these awards, but “The Departed” certainly shouldn’t have been the one to do it. “The Departed” also won the prestigious Best Picture award, which was also a mistake in my opinion seeing as “Little Miss Sunshine” was a far superior film overall.
The greatest shock in my opinion for the night was Alan Arkin winning Best Supporting Actor for his turn as a brash, drug-addicted grandpa in “Little Miss Sunshine.” It’s not that Arkin’s acting wasn’t good enough, but the hype surrounding Eddie Murphy’s performance in “Dreamgirls” made you believe he would end up second to none. I even considered Mark Wahlberg’s turn as a Boston cop not afraid to use harsh language was in the running for the award.
The night ran smoothly for the most part, aside from some “green” chatter concerning Al Gore and his award-winning documentary on global warming, “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Speeches were kept to a minimum time frame due to two different features. The first was a familiar one, with the orchestra chiming in if the winner started to run long, and they didn’t mind where you were in the speech when it came to beginning the first note. At one point the conductor started as the guy was in mid-sentence thanking his wife.
However, that is where the second feature of the acceptance speech presentation came into play. Backstage winners were given as much time as they wanted to talk in front of a camera that would record the speech and be put on the Academy Awards website. Academy personnel said they would leave the speeches online until next year’s presentation. This gave winners the opportunity to give a more heartfelt speech onstage rather than go through a long list of people who aren’t known and probably don’t deserve national television credit anyway.
Well, by the middle of the evening I was in last place among my family in our “pick the winners” contest and in the lead was Kristyn, whose only knowledge of movies comes from People magazine photographs of the stars walking down Rodeo Drive with their babies in tow. Fortunately for me, her luck ran out and I began to pick up some steam coming down the homestretch. I ended the night tying Cint for first place, with ten correct predictions. This was an immense drop from last year’s record-setting selection of 18 correct predictions. This coming year I have vowed to return to my previous glory and slaughter my family with 20 accurate selections in next year’s game.
Overall the event was pretty ho-hum. It wasn’t that Ellen DeGeneres wasn’t funny or the anticipation for who was going to win what wasn’t there. In fact, the collection of nominees in each category was so assorted – both in talent and nationality – it was a grand night to watch the moviemakers not linked with Hollywood reap the benefits of film’s greatest honor.
Director Martin Scorsese finally got what he deserved in a Best Directing award for “The Departed.” I think he definitely deserved one of these awards, but “The Departed” certainly shouldn’t have been the one to do it. “The Departed” also won the prestigious Best Picture award, which was also a mistake in my opinion seeing as “Little Miss Sunshine” was a far superior film overall.
The greatest shock in my opinion for the night was Alan Arkin winning Best Supporting Actor for his turn as a brash, drug-addicted grandpa in “Little Miss Sunshine.” It’s not that Arkin’s acting wasn’t good enough, but the hype surrounding Eddie Murphy’s performance in “Dreamgirls” made you believe he would end up second to none. I even considered Mark Wahlberg’s turn as a Boston cop not afraid to use harsh language was in the running for the award.
The night ran smoothly for the most part, aside from some “green” chatter concerning Al Gore and his award-winning documentary on global warming, “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Speeches were kept to a minimum time frame due to two different features. The first was a familiar one, with the orchestra chiming in if the winner started to run long, and they didn’t mind where you were in the speech when it came to beginning the first note. At one point the conductor started as the guy was in mid-sentence thanking his wife.
However, that is where the second feature of the acceptance speech presentation came into play. Backstage winners were given as much time as they wanted to talk in front of a camera that would record the speech and be put on the Academy Awards website. Academy personnel said they would leave the speeches online until next year’s presentation. This gave winners the opportunity to give a more heartfelt speech onstage rather than go through a long list of people who aren’t known and probably don’t deserve national television credit anyway.
Well, by the middle of the evening I was in last place among my family in our “pick the winners” contest and in the lead was Kristyn, whose only knowledge of movies comes from People magazine photographs of the stars walking down Rodeo Drive with their babies in tow. Fortunately for me, her luck ran out and I began to pick up some steam coming down the homestretch. I ended the night tying Cint for first place, with ten correct predictions. This was an immense drop from last year’s record-setting selection of 18 correct predictions. This coming year I have vowed to return to my previous glory and slaughter my family with 20 accurate selections in next year’s game.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Session 16
Another very solid night for me gave my February a much happier ending than it did a beginning.
I played for five hours and was sitting pretty at approximately $450 when I lost it all on one single hand against an Asian kid who was getting lucky on key hands and then bluffing off a ton of chips so that his swings were all over the place. In the five hours I was with him at the table I saw him go from $70 to $900 in about four or five different up and down motions. When I left he had only about $300 left.
The hand that should have put me on eternal tilt was a set over set hand. I had pocket sevens and he had pocket nines. We both hit on the flop and bet all of our money by the turn. I couldn't river quads and was re-buying for $200.
The very first hand of my re-buy I doubled up. I had pocket fours in middle position and it was a straddled pot. I limped in and when it got back to the straddler he made it $25 to go. A player before me called and I decided to play a little more aggressive with my meek fours. I re-raised it to $100. Keep in mind I only have $200 total at the beginning of the hand. Everybody folded around to the straddler. He contemplated the play and decided to call. The guy between us folded. There was now approximately $235 in the pot.
The flop was K-8-5 rainbow. The straddler checked to me and I pushed my remaining $100 in. He called and I told him if he could call he most likely could beat me. He had A-9 offsuit and I won the pot when he didn't improve. Four hands later I doubled up again.
I had A-2 in the big blind. Six players called the two dollars and we saw a flop. The flop was A-Q-2 giving me two pair. Since nobody raised I figured to have the best hand right now and decided to let somebody else bet for me. I checked after the small blind checked, but everybody else checked. That stunk.
Then the turn came with a beautiful two, giving me a full house. I again decided to check and let somebody have something to bet with, but again it checked around. Stinks again.
The river was a three putting out on the board A-Q-2-2-3. I figured if anybody had anything then I would get called, otherwise I wasn't going to make any money anyway. So I led out with a $15 into a $14 pot. The Asian kid who felted me earlier raised it to $40. The player after him called for all of his chips, which amounted to $26. It folded around to me and I thought for about ten seconds and made it $115. The Asian kid almost immediately re-raised all in. Usually when I'm holding a full house and it has been checked to the river I am not reluctant to think I have the best hand, but since he had raised me and then re-raised when I re-raised him it made me a little nervous. I eventually told him I had to have the best hand and I called. He showed 4-5 for a straight and I took down the pot.
After this hand I pretty much just chipped my way up to the $1,000 mark and then some. A hand that helped me accumulate more chips was when I was in a blind and had an open-ended straight draw that a player gave me the odds to draw to, with the help of a girl who was calling his bet. I hit it on the river and was paid off. That pot netted me an additional $175 or so.
I left the table with $1,266 for a $866 profit. That puts me at $2,565 profit for the year. Pretty good for two months of work.
I played for five hours and was sitting pretty at approximately $450 when I lost it all on one single hand against an Asian kid who was getting lucky on key hands and then bluffing off a ton of chips so that his swings were all over the place. In the five hours I was with him at the table I saw him go from $70 to $900 in about four or five different up and down motions. When I left he had only about $300 left.
The hand that should have put me on eternal tilt was a set over set hand. I had pocket sevens and he had pocket nines. We both hit on the flop and bet all of our money by the turn. I couldn't river quads and was re-buying for $200.
The very first hand of my re-buy I doubled up. I had pocket fours in middle position and it was a straddled pot. I limped in and when it got back to the straddler he made it $25 to go. A player before me called and I decided to play a little more aggressive with my meek fours. I re-raised it to $100. Keep in mind I only have $200 total at the beginning of the hand. Everybody folded around to the straddler. He contemplated the play and decided to call. The guy between us folded. There was now approximately $235 in the pot.
The flop was K-8-5 rainbow. The straddler checked to me and I pushed my remaining $100 in. He called and I told him if he could call he most likely could beat me. He had A-9 offsuit and I won the pot when he didn't improve. Four hands later I doubled up again.
I had A-2 in the big blind. Six players called the two dollars and we saw a flop. The flop was A-Q-2 giving me two pair. Since nobody raised I figured to have the best hand right now and decided to let somebody else bet for me. I checked after the small blind checked, but everybody else checked. That stunk.
Then the turn came with a beautiful two, giving me a full house. I again decided to check and let somebody have something to bet with, but again it checked around. Stinks again.
The river was a three putting out on the board A-Q-2-2-3. I figured if anybody had anything then I would get called, otherwise I wasn't going to make any money anyway. So I led out with a $15 into a $14 pot. The Asian kid who felted me earlier raised it to $40. The player after him called for all of his chips, which amounted to $26. It folded around to me and I thought for about ten seconds and made it $115. The Asian kid almost immediately re-raised all in. Usually when I'm holding a full house and it has been checked to the river I am not reluctant to think I have the best hand, but since he had raised me and then re-raised when I re-raised him it made me a little nervous. I eventually told him I had to have the best hand and I called. He showed 4-5 for a straight and I took down the pot.
After this hand I pretty much just chipped my way up to the $1,000 mark and then some. A hand that helped me accumulate more chips was when I was in a blind and had an open-ended straight draw that a player gave me the odds to draw to, with the help of a girl who was calling his bet. I hit it on the river and was paid off. That pot netted me an additional $175 or so.
I left the table with $1,266 for a $866 profit. That puts me at $2,565 profit for the year. Pretty good for two months of work.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Session 15
I got back on that horse Tuesday night and drove to Choctaw to see if after breaking the losing streak in Shreveport I could perform well in Oklahoma. Greatest decision I ever made.
I played for my usual four hours and left with a profit of $951. It was a good mixture of great cards and well-timed bluffs. I did get caught bluffing once, but I got away with it on about three medium-sized to large pots so it was okay.
My initial surge to profits-ville was actually from a bluff. I had pocket threes in the big blind and called another $10 when it was raised from late position. Another player behind me called the raise and we went to a flop with the pot at $30.
The flop was Q-6-5 rainbow. I checked, the player after me checked and the raiser bet $20. I thought for a good thirty seconds about my options. I could either fold since I only held a small pocket pair. I could call to see what came later and see what the bettor did. I could raise since the bettor could simply be on a continuation bet.
While I was going through my thought process the bettor started to do some table talk and began hinting that he was afraid of me since I was in the blind and could have anything. I thought he wasn’t posturing for a call and actually didn’t want a call.
I decided not to fold and not get crazy. I wanted to see how the bettor reacted to a call. So I put in the money and expected to move on to the turn, but the guy behind me called. That’s not good. The pot now had $90.
The turn was a 2. This was good for me since it most likely didn’t help anyone and it gave me four more outs for an inside straight draw. I elected to check again and both players behind me checked. I now knew the pre-flop raiser was doing a continuation bet but I couldn’t figure out what the guy after me was doing.
The river was a 5, putting Q-6-5-2-5 on the board. I thought for a few seconds and figured I could bluff the best hand in this situation if I didn’t have the best hand and I led out for $60, which was about a third of what I had left. Both players instantaneously folded and the pre-flop raiser asked if I had a five. I said no and flipped up my threes. He said he had one of my outs and that probably means he had A-3. I don’t know what the other guy had.
My next big hand was a full house when I held pocket jacks. I called a pre-flop raise, flopped a set, checked to the bettor, called his bet, turned a boat and called his all in after checking to him. Pretty straightforward. Knocking him out gave me an additional $250 to work with.
Once I was up to $800 I knocked a player out by hitting one of my 15 outs with two cards to come. I limped in with 6-7 of clubs and the player two to my left raised it $10 more. Four others called the raise and I decided to speculate a flop. The flop came 8-5-2 with two clubs. I had an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw. I checked. The original raiser bet $15 (into a $70 pot). The player on his left said, “If I can’t win with this then I need to go home,” and he went all in for $95 total. It folded around to me and I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do. I figured the original raiser/bettor wasn’t going to call, even if he had a monster hand pre-flop like aces or kings. The only way he was calling the extra $80 if I called was with a set or A-K of clubs (which is still questionable). I figured it would end up heads-up so I called, not wanting to risk any more than I had to. Sure enough the original bettor folded and the all in player tabled top set of eights. I turned the flush and he didn’t fill up.
A few hands later I lost almost $100 when I called an all in pre-flop with Q-J offsuit. I was under the gun and raised it to $10. I usually don’t raise this early with a hand like this, but I hadn’t raised all night and with $900 in front of me I decided to show them I had this ability. I received two callers and then the big blind moved all in for $87 total.
On a normal day there is almost no way I am calling a $77 raise pre-flop with Q-J offsuit, but there are some details you need to know that influenced my decision. The big blind had in the last 10 minutes lost about $200 on some bad beats and loose plays. The hand before this one he had straddled the big blind, moved all in pre-flop and wasn’t called. When he did it again I had a feeling he wasn’t that strong, but I’ve been wrong before. He seemed very nervous, shaking his knee rapidly, and I just sensed his hand wasn’t good enough to make this kind of move. I also had to worry about the two guys behind me, but if they had just called my $10 raise and then face a re-raise and call from the original raiser I didn’t think they would play also. I called and the other two laid their hands down (one even said he had A-Q). The all in player had K-5 of diamonds (about the range of hands I figured him to have), but he hit his flush and I lost.
I made it over the $1,000 hump when my pocket queens were outdrawn on the turn and then hit a two outer for a boat on the river. It was pretty sweet. I was in the big blind and re-raised it after a player in late position made it $5 to go. The small blind called and I bumped it up to $20. Both players called. There was now $60 in the pot.
The flop was 8-7-6 rainbow. The small blind checked. I bet $40. The late position player raised the minimum to $80, leaving himself only about another $80. The small blind folded. I thought a while and after the guy stared me down for a few seconds I was sure enough that he didn’t have me beat. I said I was all in, which really put him all in and he put the rest out there. He flipped up A-8.
The turn was an eight, giving him trips, and the river brought one of my only two queens for a full house.
I played up the luck box mentality and let everyone think I was just this average player who was getting his fair share of cards until I snapped off a great bluff. Then I would show the bluff and it gave the others some doubt when I made big bets with big hands. I have to say that I was definitely in the zone last night. I was making great value bets and getting paid off with great hands. It was a good night.
The big profit from last night, along with the Shreveport trip, pretty much cancels out my string of losses from two weeks ago. My bankroll is back up to $2,699, giving me a $1,699 profit for the year. For the record, my hourly rate last night was $237.75. Much better than the $5.75 an hour I made in high school at Blockbuster Video.
I played for my usual four hours and left with a profit of $951. It was a good mixture of great cards and well-timed bluffs. I did get caught bluffing once, but I got away with it on about three medium-sized to large pots so it was okay.
My initial surge to profits-ville was actually from a bluff. I had pocket threes in the big blind and called another $10 when it was raised from late position. Another player behind me called the raise and we went to a flop with the pot at $30.
The flop was Q-6-5 rainbow. I checked, the player after me checked and the raiser bet $20. I thought for a good thirty seconds about my options. I could either fold since I only held a small pocket pair. I could call to see what came later and see what the bettor did. I could raise since the bettor could simply be on a continuation bet.
While I was going through my thought process the bettor started to do some table talk and began hinting that he was afraid of me since I was in the blind and could have anything. I thought he wasn’t posturing for a call and actually didn’t want a call.
I decided not to fold and not get crazy. I wanted to see how the bettor reacted to a call. So I put in the money and expected to move on to the turn, but the guy behind me called. That’s not good. The pot now had $90.
The turn was a 2. This was good for me since it most likely didn’t help anyone and it gave me four more outs for an inside straight draw. I elected to check again and both players behind me checked. I now knew the pre-flop raiser was doing a continuation bet but I couldn’t figure out what the guy after me was doing.
The river was a 5, putting Q-6-5-2-5 on the board. I thought for a few seconds and figured I could bluff the best hand in this situation if I didn’t have the best hand and I led out for $60, which was about a third of what I had left. Both players instantaneously folded and the pre-flop raiser asked if I had a five. I said no and flipped up my threes. He said he had one of my outs and that probably means he had A-3. I don’t know what the other guy had.
My next big hand was a full house when I held pocket jacks. I called a pre-flop raise, flopped a set, checked to the bettor, called his bet, turned a boat and called his all in after checking to him. Pretty straightforward. Knocking him out gave me an additional $250 to work with.
Once I was up to $800 I knocked a player out by hitting one of my 15 outs with two cards to come. I limped in with 6-7 of clubs and the player two to my left raised it $10 more. Four others called the raise and I decided to speculate a flop. The flop came 8-5-2 with two clubs. I had an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw. I checked. The original raiser bet $15 (into a $70 pot). The player on his left said, “If I can’t win with this then I need to go home,” and he went all in for $95 total. It folded around to me and I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do. I figured the original raiser/bettor wasn’t going to call, even if he had a monster hand pre-flop like aces or kings. The only way he was calling the extra $80 if I called was with a set or A-K of clubs (which is still questionable). I figured it would end up heads-up so I called, not wanting to risk any more than I had to. Sure enough the original bettor folded and the all in player tabled top set of eights. I turned the flush and he didn’t fill up.
A few hands later I lost almost $100 when I called an all in pre-flop with Q-J offsuit. I was under the gun and raised it to $10. I usually don’t raise this early with a hand like this, but I hadn’t raised all night and with $900 in front of me I decided to show them I had this ability. I received two callers and then the big blind moved all in for $87 total.
On a normal day there is almost no way I am calling a $77 raise pre-flop with Q-J offsuit, but there are some details you need to know that influenced my decision. The big blind had in the last 10 minutes lost about $200 on some bad beats and loose plays. The hand before this one he had straddled the big blind, moved all in pre-flop and wasn’t called. When he did it again I had a feeling he wasn’t that strong, but I’ve been wrong before. He seemed very nervous, shaking his knee rapidly, and I just sensed his hand wasn’t good enough to make this kind of move. I also had to worry about the two guys behind me, but if they had just called my $10 raise and then face a re-raise and call from the original raiser I didn’t think they would play also. I called and the other two laid their hands down (one even said he had A-Q). The all in player had K-5 of diamonds (about the range of hands I figured him to have), but he hit his flush and I lost.
I made it over the $1,000 hump when my pocket queens were outdrawn on the turn and then hit a two outer for a boat on the river. It was pretty sweet. I was in the big blind and re-raised it after a player in late position made it $5 to go. The small blind called and I bumped it up to $20. Both players called. There was now $60 in the pot.
The flop was 8-7-6 rainbow. The small blind checked. I bet $40. The late position player raised the minimum to $80, leaving himself only about another $80. The small blind folded. I thought a while and after the guy stared me down for a few seconds I was sure enough that he didn’t have me beat. I said I was all in, which really put him all in and he put the rest out there. He flipped up A-8.
The turn was an eight, giving him trips, and the river brought one of my only two queens for a full house.
I played up the luck box mentality and let everyone think I was just this average player who was getting his fair share of cards until I snapped off a great bluff. Then I would show the bluff and it gave the others some doubt when I made big bets with big hands. I have to say that I was definitely in the zone last night. I was making great value bets and getting paid off with great hands. It was a good night.
The big profit from last night, along with the Shreveport trip, pretty much cancels out my string of losses from two weeks ago. My bankroll is back up to $2,699, giving me a $1,699 profit for the year. For the record, my hourly rate last night was $237.75. Much better than the $5.75 an hour I made in high school at Blockbuster Video.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
My Vacation (Including Sessions 13 & 14)
The Nacogdoches/Shreveport trip was worth it just for the drive down Friday morning. I left Ennis at about 9:45 a.m. and for half of the three-hour drive I listened to 1310 The Ticket’s Norm talk about the Mavericks and Cowboys. The scenery was beautiful and I decided to take the longer, more scenic route to Nacogdoches, which was definitely the right decision. East Texas is a beautiful piece of countryside that is overshadowed by the dry, barren half of West Texas in the minds of the national public.
After arriving in Nacogdoches at 1 p.m. I drove around the city to look at my old house where I have countless great memories of the good times I had in college. I made my way to Peking and savored my favorite dish. General Sao’s Chicken is still as good as I remembered it. Following lunch I went to the campus and walked around a bit. They are making a lot of changes, particularly in parking. I saw two new parking garages on campus, my dorm was torn down to build new apartment-style dorms and the University Center is being remodeled. I bought two SFA shirts and a hat. I also saw my favorite professor from the journalism department, who I think had a small for of turrets syndrome or was just a kooky old man that loved his job. He was across campus and I didn’t get a chance to talk to him, but I doubt he would have remembered me anyway so it was for the best.
After the shopping and campus tour I played a round of Frisbee golf. I shot a –2 for the course, which is pretty great since I haven’t played the course in years and I haven’t played Frisbee golf in several months. I was bogey free until hole 16 where I missed a 10-foot putt that cost me par. It was even more defeating because I was so close to going the entire game without a bogey and it occurred on a hole I usually birdie.
Once I finished my game I took a little more time to see the town and what had changed (a few new restaurants and some businesses had closed down). I finally hit the road for Shreveport.
Once I arrived in Shreveport, instead of finding a place to spend the night I immediately made my way to El Dorado (formerly Hollywood Casino) to begin my poker comeback. I played for seven hours and finished with a profit of $189. I had to put in a $160 add-on to keep going, but it was worth it in the end.
I lost with pocket queens... again. This seems to be the hand of my demise lately. The only good thing to come out of losing with the queens was I stopped putting money into the pot once I knew I was beat. I raised pre-flop and got two callers. The flop came out with three lower cards than my queens. I bet about two-thirds of the pot and received one player. The turn was an ace and he checked to me again. I checked behind him and the river was insignificant. He checked again and I flipped up my hand. He showed his A-J and won the pot. He had nothing on the flop but decided to call with his overs. Oh well, that is what I want in the long run.
The second session came Saturday when I played at the Horseshoe Casino. I won $135 at this game, but it was just as bad as WinStar, except I wasn’t surrounded by 19-year-olds.
One guy at the game raised pre-flop to $55 on several occasions with nobody yet voluntarily entering the pot. By the way, I was playing in a $1-2 no-limit game, not a $2-5. After frustrating the table with his bets he started to get action but unlucky for us he hit the hands he needed. He was raising with K-J and Q-9 and would either hit and win a big pot or miss and bet all in forcing the other players out. He left with a profit of about $450 and we were all glad to see him leave. Actually, he did tone it down a little for a while, only making it $20-25 pre-flop but eventually made his way back up to the $45 range near the end.
I also played against the most annoying player I have ever been around at this session. He was a loud-mouthed, cocky, ignorant, jobless man from Arkansas who only talked about how we were a bunch of donkeys who he was going to roll up, felt or ride back to Arkansas. I was only given one opportunity to double up through him when I semi-bluffed the turn with a straight draw and flush draw. I hit the straight on the river and bet $35 (with the pot sitting at about $55). He thought long and hard about raising and finally folded. He said he folded top pair and was going to raise me but he couldn’t pull the trigger. I told him he should have because I missed my flush and only had ace high.
A big hand for me came when I elected to speculate a flop with 6-7 suited and flopped a straight. A player with Kings raised pre-flop and after the limpers got out of the way and another player called I decided to see what happened. If I didn’t hit two pair or better I was gone. When I flopped my straight both myself and the other caller checked. The raiser went all in for $30 more (with about $40 in the pot). The first player called the bet and I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do. There were two diamonds on board (which was not my suit) and I elected to raise another $60. I figured if the caller had a draw he would let it go and if he hit something decent he might hang in there. The caller folded and I flipped up my hand. The river would have made a higher straight for the caller so it is good I did what I did. By the way, the table proceeded to discuss how bad I was because I played junk hands like 6-7 suited in a raised pot. Eh, maybe they are right, but I stand by my decision. I would certainly complain about losing to 6-7 suited when I had pocket kings.
Overall the trip was great and I had a really good time. For anyone going to Shreveport anytime soon I recommend El Dorado’s card room over the Horseshoe’s room. It is more spacious and the game is not as wild. My bankroll was bumped up to $1,748 after my two winning sessions and I will be making my return to Choctaw soon.
After arriving in Nacogdoches at 1 p.m. I drove around the city to look at my old house where I have countless great memories of the good times I had in college. I made my way to Peking and savored my favorite dish. General Sao’s Chicken is still as good as I remembered it. Following lunch I went to the campus and walked around a bit. They are making a lot of changes, particularly in parking. I saw two new parking garages on campus, my dorm was torn down to build new apartment-style dorms and the University Center is being remodeled. I bought two SFA shirts and a hat. I also saw my favorite professor from the journalism department, who I think had a small for of turrets syndrome or was just a kooky old man that loved his job. He was across campus and I didn’t get a chance to talk to him, but I doubt he would have remembered me anyway so it was for the best.
After the shopping and campus tour I played a round of Frisbee golf. I shot a –2 for the course, which is pretty great since I haven’t played the course in years and I haven’t played Frisbee golf in several months. I was bogey free until hole 16 where I missed a 10-foot putt that cost me par. It was even more defeating because I was so close to going the entire game without a bogey and it occurred on a hole I usually birdie.
Once I finished my game I took a little more time to see the town and what had changed (a few new restaurants and some businesses had closed down). I finally hit the road for Shreveport.
Once I arrived in Shreveport, instead of finding a place to spend the night I immediately made my way to El Dorado (formerly Hollywood Casino) to begin my poker comeback. I played for seven hours and finished with a profit of $189. I had to put in a $160 add-on to keep going, but it was worth it in the end.
I lost with pocket queens... again. This seems to be the hand of my demise lately. The only good thing to come out of losing with the queens was I stopped putting money into the pot once I knew I was beat. I raised pre-flop and got two callers. The flop came out with three lower cards than my queens. I bet about two-thirds of the pot and received one player. The turn was an ace and he checked to me again. I checked behind him and the river was insignificant. He checked again and I flipped up my hand. He showed his A-J and won the pot. He had nothing on the flop but decided to call with his overs. Oh well, that is what I want in the long run.
The second session came Saturday when I played at the Horseshoe Casino. I won $135 at this game, but it was just as bad as WinStar, except I wasn’t surrounded by 19-year-olds.
One guy at the game raised pre-flop to $55 on several occasions with nobody yet voluntarily entering the pot. By the way, I was playing in a $1-2 no-limit game, not a $2-5. After frustrating the table with his bets he started to get action but unlucky for us he hit the hands he needed. He was raising with K-J and Q-9 and would either hit and win a big pot or miss and bet all in forcing the other players out. He left with a profit of about $450 and we were all glad to see him leave. Actually, he did tone it down a little for a while, only making it $20-25 pre-flop but eventually made his way back up to the $45 range near the end.
I also played against the most annoying player I have ever been around at this session. He was a loud-mouthed, cocky, ignorant, jobless man from Arkansas who only talked about how we were a bunch of donkeys who he was going to roll up, felt or ride back to Arkansas. I was only given one opportunity to double up through him when I semi-bluffed the turn with a straight draw and flush draw. I hit the straight on the river and bet $35 (with the pot sitting at about $55). He thought long and hard about raising and finally folded. He said he folded top pair and was going to raise me but he couldn’t pull the trigger. I told him he should have because I missed my flush and only had ace high.
A big hand for me came when I elected to speculate a flop with 6-7 suited and flopped a straight. A player with Kings raised pre-flop and after the limpers got out of the way and another player called I decided to see what happened. If I didn’t hit two pair or better I was gone. When I flopped my straight both myself and the other caller checked. The raiser went all in for $30 more (with about $40 in the pot). The first player called the bet and I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do. There were two diamonds on board (which was not my suit) and I elected to raise another $60. I figured if the caller had a draw he would let it go and if he hit something decent he might hang in there. The caller folded and I flipped up my hand. The river would have made a higher straight for the caller so it is good I did what I did. By the way, the table proceeded to discuss how bad I was because I played junk hands like 6-7 suited in a raised pot. Eh, maybe they are right, but I stand by my decision. I would certainly complain about losing to 6-7 suited when I had pocket kings.
Overall the trip was great and I had a really good time. For anyone going to Shreveport anytime soon I recommend El Dorado’s card room over the Horseshoe’s room. It is more spacious and the game is not as wild. My bankroll was bumped up to $1,748 after my two winning sessions and I will be making my return to Choctaw soon.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Weekend O' Poker
I am taking the day off from work tomorrow and since I have nothing to do with my weekend, except entertain the children on Sunday, I have decided to travel east and spend the night in Shreveport. Before arriving at my destination though I will be making a pit stop in Nacogdoches in order to take a trip down memory lane.
I will play some frisbee golf at the greatest course in Texas, better known as Pecan Park. In order to cancel out one of the things I am "out" on I will be purchasing some Stephen F. Austin gear. I am out on people who own more clothing from a school they didn't attend than one they did, so this trip should balance me out.
The best part about stopping in Nacogdoches is I will be getting my favorite meal ever, General Sao's Chicken from Peking Restaurant. I haven't had it in so long and am salivating already for the great taste.
Once I have spent enough time in my college town I will then finish my road trip to Shreveport where I plan to play either two or three sessions of poker. One Friday night and either one or two on Saturday. Depends on if my slump continues or not.
I am really excited about the trip and will let you know how it goes. I may even try to beat the record Chad has at Pecan Park for lowest score, but I doubt that happens considering I haven't played frisbee golf in at least eight months.
I will play some frisbee golf at the greatest course in Texas, better known as Pecan Park. In order to cancel out one of the things I am "out" on I will be purchasing some Stephen F. Austin gear. I am out on people who own more clothing from a school they didn't attend than one they did, so this trip should balance me out.
The best part about stopping in Nacogdoches is I will be getting my favorite meal ever, General Sao's Chicken from Peking Restaurant. I haven't had it in so long and am salivating already for the great taste.
Once I have spent enough time in my college town I will then finish my road trip to Shreveport where I plan to play either two or three sessions of poker. One Friday night and either one or two on Saturday. Depends on if my slump continues or not.
I am really excited about the trip and will let you know how it goes. I may even try to beat the record Chad has at Pecan Park for lowest score, but I doubt that happens considering I haven't played frisbee golf in at least eight months.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Session 12
I have almost negated an entire month’s profits in four consecutive and disappointing losses. Tuesday night’s game was another $400 loss and a huge blow to my self-esteem. I felt demoralized and dejected after losing two buy-ins in about two hours.
What made this loss the worst of the last four was I actually played very well. It was probably the best I have played in several games.
My first big hit was when I turned trips and had called a bet on the flop and led out on the turn from the button. While facing two opponents on the river and holding a three kicker I elected to check, which was a good decision because I lost the hand to K-10.
Another large loss was when my K-9 lost against two guys who were all-in with K-Q and A-7. The K-Q had me beat the whole way when we both paired a king on the flop and the A-7 player, who was a beginner and had no clue as to what was going on, sucked out on the turn with a third seven. I should have checked the turn and let them show their strength on the river, which would have saved me $50, but both players checked to me on the flop and turn. This hand was probably my only true mistake in the night.
I lost my first buy-in when holding A-K and elected to go all in pre-flop after the under-the-gun player raised it to $15 (at a $1-2 game). He received two callers and I felt the pot was big enough that I could try to take it down then and even if I was called I might not be in too bad of shape. I pushed my $64 in the middle and was then re-raised by James, who was holding pocket kings. This got everyone else out, one of whom was holding Q-Q. We both hit a king on the flop and I was out.
My second bust out was with A-J suited. I called a $20 pre-flop raise, along with the beginner, from an early bettor. The flop brought three low cards and two spades. The raiser checked and I felt it was a good opportunity for me to try and win the pot. I moved all in for $94 (into a $60 pot). The button folded and the original raiser called. He had K-K and I didn’t improve.
This loss knocks me down to a $1,422 bankroll. My February is going very poorly and I really need a win soon, otherwise I may take the Mike Steed approach to the game.
What made this loss the worst of the last four was I actually played very well. It was probably the best I have played in several games.
My first big hit was when I turned trips and had called a bet on the flop and led out on the turn from the button. While facing two opponents on the river and holding a three kicker I elected to check, which was a good decision because I lost the hand to K-10.
Another large loss was when my K-9 lost against two guys who were all-in with K-Q and A-7. The K-Q had me beat the whole way when we both paired a king on the flop and the A-7 player, who was a beginner and had no clue as to what was going on, sucked out on the turn with a third seven. I should have checked the turn and let them show their strength on the river, which would have saved me $50, but both players checked to me on the flop and turn. This hand was probably my only true mistake in the night.
I lost my first buy-in when holding A-K and elected to go all in pre-flop after the under-the-gun player raised it to $15 (at a $1-2 game). He received two callers and I felt the pot was big enough that I could try to take it down then and even if I was called I might not be in too bad of shape. I pushed my $64 in the middle and was then re-raised by James, who was holding pocket kings. This got everyone else out, one of whom was holding Q-Q. We both hit a king on the flop and I was out.
My second bust out was with A-J suited. I called a $20 pre-flop raise, along with the beginner, from an early bettor. The flop brought three low cards and two spades. The raiser checked and I felt it was a good opportunity for me to try and win the pot. I moved all in for $94 (into a $60 pot). The button folded and the original raiser called. He had K-K and I didn’t improve.
This loss knocks me down to a $1,422 bankroll. My February is going very poorly and I really need a win soon, otherwise I may take the Mike Steed approach to the game.
Session 11
The plan was to play for an entire eight hours on Saturday, but I wasn’t lucky enough to make it that long. I started off playing $1-2 no-limit but moved to the $2-5 game after about 30 minutes of play. Big mistake on my part.
I peaked after about another hour at the “big game” at $600. After that I was knocked down to $70 after two big losses.
My first loss came when my A-Q couldn’t shake a guy holding A-J. He rivered a flush on me after flopping top pair. I don’t blame him for calling my bets on the flop and turn, it just sucked to lose the hand when I was betting it very hard to get him off the flush draw. When he did river his flush and I checked to him he decided not to bet and I saved some money there, even though I would have folded to any bet knowing he had me beat.
My second loss was with 5-6 offsuit. I was in a blind and the flop came Q-6-3. I checked and called a bet that was approximately three-fourths the size of the pot. The turn was a five and I checked to the bettor again, wanting to check raise. He bet $50 and I raised him another $75 on top. He thought for a bit and then called. The river was a nine. I bet $150 and he quickly called with Q-9. I was very disappointed that the river brought such a disgusting card.
After being down to $70 I doubled up with A-J offsuit, almost doubled up again with pocket tens and then was busted when I flopped a flush draw with bottom pair. I took my stand and missed when the guy was holding top two pair, which nullified some of my outs.
I lost $500 for the day and that knocked my bankroll down to $1,822, which amounts to a $1,000 loss in less than a week. Yeah, it sucks.
I peaked after about another hour at the “big game” at $600. After that I was knocked down to $70 after two big losses.
My first loss came when my A-Q couldn’t shake a guy holding A-J. He rivered a flush on me after flopping top pair. I don’t blame him for calling my bets on the flop and turn, it just sucked to lose the hand when I was betting it very hard to get him off the flush draw. When he did river his flush and I checked to him he decided not to bet and I saved some money there, even though I would have folded to any bet knowing he had me beat.
My second loss was with 5-6 offsuit. I was in a blind and the flop came Q-6-3. I checked and called a bet that was approximately three-fourths the size of the pot. The turn was a five and I checked to the bettor again, wanting to check raise. He bet $50 and I raised him another $75 on top. He thought for a bit and then called. The river was a nine. I bet $150 and he quickly called with Q-9. I was very disappointed that the river brought such a disgusting card.
After being down to $70 I doubled up with A-J offsuit, almost doubled up again with pocket tens and then was busted when I flopped a flush draw with bottom pair. I took my stand and missed when the guy was holding top two pair, which nullified some of my outs.
I lost $500 for the day and that knocked my bankroll down to $1,822, which amounts to a $1,000 loss in less than a week. Yeah, it sucks.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Pre-Oscar Exciting News
I just read today some AMC Theaters (Theatres?), the Arlington Parks included, will be giving movie goers and Academy Award enthusiasts like myself a chance to see all the Best Picture nominees before the big night on Feb. 25. The day before the movie chain will show all five nominees back-to-back, with bathroom breaks in between of course, throughout the day. Although I have already seen two of the nominees (The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine) I will still take part in this rare occasion.
I received my Academy Award poster in the mail the other day and have already had it framed. This is the second of the last two award ceremony posters that I now own. Last year's poster is more elegant and nicer than this year's, but I still like the new one. They are both far better than anything the Academy has come up with in years past.
I am counting down the days until the big night when I get disappointed certain people and movies win awards that shouldn't and the ones I think are better are snubbed by the Academy. I'm excited!!!
I received my Academy Award poster in the mail the other day and have already had it framed. This is the second of the last two award ceremony posters that I now own. Last year's poster is more elegant and nicer than this year's, but I still like the new one. They are both far better than anything the Academy has come up with in years past.
I am counting down the days until the big night when I get disappointed certain people and movies win awards that shouldn't and the ones I think are better are snubbed by the Academy. I'm excited!!!
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