So Brian Spilner… er, I mean Paul Walker is being courted to play Michael Knight or whoever the hero character ends up being in a Knight Rider movie…

As if they couldn’t do worse when it comes to finding someone to play the role.

Oh, I don’t mean to put down Paul Walker who I like regardless of the babble of a script that he was stuck with in 2 Fast 2 Furious, and the part he played in another mockery of another Crichton novel, Timeline. Regardless of all that, Paul Walker is the worst casting choice they could make for the movie — for both Walker and the Film itself for that matter.

As I started out this entry, Paul Walker is associated with Brian Spilner – the character he portrayed in the first two Fast and the Furious movies. Not only that, but Spilner’s character is supposed to be undercover law enforcement and a pretty good street racer (but he’s no Dominic Toretto – Vin Diesel’s character). Does he really want to be typecast into another Car flick? I mean, he was in a beat up car for most of Joyride” and the two Fast movies made big on the driving part…

And any role in Knight Rider would force him to further play the driver role. That being said, he’d be smart to turn the other cheek toward the project.

Now, whoever the hell is putting together the Knight Rider film does indeed want to cater a bit to the crowd of car fanatics that made the Fast movies big hits. They also want to distance themselves from the cheese of David Hasselhoff’s career. Fine, you can do that but dear god — if you want to imitate Fast and the Furious, don’t go so far as casting someone from those pictures to lead your film! You do not want Fast and the Furious fans coming into the theater expecting a third installment of the film series, only to find out that the flick is about a crime fighter and his talking, supped up car.

That being said, I still have hopes for a Knight Rider film, but they surely have to brain up unless this is going to be a spoof film all the way.

Would someone care to explain to me how this assclown still has a job? Charles M. LaMar the worst General Manager in Baseball and one of the worst in pro sports in general, has not been held accountable for years upon years of sub-mediocre play by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. How many times do people have to point out LaMar needs to be held accountable? John Romano did it years ago. David Egbert has done it several times and in different places. Of course I have done it more than once, on here and elsewhere. In the Times and elsewhere. And of course even the message boards get into it — I mean you can even find stuff on FanHome quite easily…. over, and over, and over again. And what do Rays fans get? They get LaMar for another two years thanks to him refurbishing the team with a new set of mediocre players. What’s even worse? The assclown even blames himself for the team being abysmal. It’s like he’s mocking those who don’t like him or how he’s run this team. “Yup, I’m to blame but there is absolutely shit you can do. Nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah!”

I have followed Tampa Bay’s quest for a baseball team, I have had high hopes when the team came together and how LaMar was doing at the begining…. but year after year, mistake after mistake – LaMar wore me down, he’s ruined my love for baseball by being the idiot who has been in charge of architecture of the league’s 30th franchise. He’s made me lose the pride I have in this area with a mockery of players that are also-rans, has-beens or never-will-be’s… And of course, when he does find a diamond in the rough – the player is assured to be traded for more questionables.

Yes, you can tell me that this is baseball and there is no such thing as a sure thing in this game… but after 8 years of LaMar at the helm of the Rays, 8 years of blunders, 8 years of mistakes, 8 years of zero accountability – it’s time to pull the plug and end this farce once and for all.

Fire LaMar. Fire LaMar now and declare this season over – as it has been since Opening Day for the Devil Rays.

Well, I have totally avoided the subject of sports for the most part — I don’t mean certain sports topics because I know I have left a couple of sports entries the past month but I haven’t written much of anything with concern of los deportes since October 2003 with the Marlins winning the World Series, and there is always a vast allotment of things to talk about with regards to Pro Sports that I have passed over for the sake of just being a lazy ass….

So let me get cracking with regards to sports and my sports world here in Tampa Bay. Where shall I begin?

I made a post in October regarding the Bucs vs. Indianapolis Colts and expect the Bucs to get a win and my friend Bill’s new born niece to get a “birthday present”. I never, however, posted the fact that Los Buccaneeros de Tampa Bay went ahead and blew the game. That game and the utter let down by both the offense and the defense basically summed up the Bucs season from that point on — full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. The once dominating Tampa Bay defense turned into a shell of itself. The over-hyped Jon Gruden offense was a disaster area, committing penalty after penalty in order to kill drives and kill chances of victory. Former University of Florida offensive lineman Kenyatta Walker was horrendous with regards to committing infractions at the worst times….

And this was just the start of things.

Jon Gruden and Keyshawn Johnson clashed and Jon Gruden deactivated Keyshawn at midway through the season. This caused a great deal of conflict in the Buccaneers front office, along with other problems that weren’t known to the average Buc fan. Rich McKay, Buccaneer General Manager and son of it’s first head coach, Jim McKay, ended up leaving the team because of conflicts with Gruden. Some people might have sided with Jon Gruden and his “Just win, baby” style that he picked up from Al Davis while he coached with the Raiders, but I’m someone who believes that McKay was the more-valuable between the two. McKay built the Buccaneer team that went on to win the Super Bowl in 2003. He helped turn the Buc franchise around from perennial losers to the winning franchise it has been the last 6 years.

But now he’s been shown the door…

He wasn’t very fond of some of the low-quality personnel that Jon Gruden was after — low quality when it comes to moral standards and length-of-rap-sheets and I am one that agrees on that. I guess it’s the fact that I saw Tony Dungy – a high quality person and a moral leader – come into the Bucs, change them into winners on field, and expect players to perform on field and be respectable off it as Dungy did. When players got into trouble while Dungy was head coach, it would mean that you would soon be shown the door if your infraction was big enough. I’m not talking about missing team meetings, I’m talking about crimes that players get away with so often in society.

The Bucs finished 7 and nine, there worst finish since 1998. Looking at 2004 with Gruden and Ray Allen, newly hired GM from the Raiders, in charge…. i don’t hold optimism toward the team for one reason or another. Maybe it’s parity alone that spoils my optimism for the club or perhaps it is the “Just win” attitude? The mystique is gone for the time being… When it returns for me is anyone’s guess.

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lightning seem on a rebound as of late after falling into the gutter through November and December. After a white-hot start, the team fizzled through the next 24 games and only now dseem to be turning the corner back towards winning – and even now, that isn’t certain. Looking at the problems the Bolts have faced, I have been somewhere in the middle with regards to firing John Tortorella or just making a trade to shake up the roster and bring in some new blood. I personally believe that a new player – an upper echelon type of guy, could have helped the team get back to winning but hindsight is 20-20… it also might have led to destroying the chemistry of the team…

Pete Rose is all over the news because he finally came out and admitted he bet on Baseball. It’s an awkward situation because Rose took the hoopla away from the Hall of Fame ballotting that happened this week and also hasn’t won over any traditionalists in baseball. The sympathizers (like myself) think Pete should be in the hall regardless… The traditionalists think the lifetime ban should stay in place because now there is proof Rose committed the cardinal sin of Baseball by betting on games…

Only time will tell if Pete gets his just due and gets enshrined in the hall.

I’ve forgone saying this to my (small) web audience — Happy New Year!

I had wanted to post a long piece of best-and-worst of The Stonegauge this past year… “Best Comment”, “Funniest Entry”, “Entry I most regret” and such — but that’d be no fun because me saying what I think is best and worse on this page doesn’t mean the sentiment is shared by everyone who is reading.

I’d invite you to VOTE for one or tell me what you enjoyed most on here — but then again, that’s a lot of work for you – the reader. I’ve posted a TON this year and not all of it was on my current Moveable Type setup for the journal – meaning you would have to sift through my old journal to find some of my fave (and least favorite) posts.

But if you wanna’ — please go ahead. Meanwhile – I’m going back to being blah and thinking about posts I still want to make on here in the near future.

Keith Asked

1. New York Yankees, or New York Rangers?
Rangers. They spend all that money and STILL suck!

2. If you were told you could be rich and famous, but would die in 10 years, would you want it?
I don’t know… Sometimes I feel like I only have 10 years to live anyway… So I’m really not sure. IF I could be rich, make everyone financially secure and better off financially and pass away in ten years – not knowing how long I had to live myself… I’d have to seriously give it consideration.

3. Rosie O’Donnell nude, or Oprah Winfrey nude?
Oprah nude… I don’t think I could take all the skin folds on Rosie

4. Would you rather be destitute and in love, or rich and in a meaningless relationship?
Destitute and in love, any day.

5. Onions are the root of all evil, explain why. :wink
Hmmm, this is a tough one, a good one at that. You see, Onions tend to cause gas in people and that adds methane to the atmosphere – from all the people breaking wind because of Onions in their meals. Methane gas helps global warming and making the earth a less hospitable place to live. If, because of all the onions we eat, we end up making the Earth unable to sustain life, we could put enough blame on Onions for it… And for one vegetable to cause that much death and destruction that would come from global warming, it could be easily concluded that Onions are the root of all evil.

PPH Asked:

1. What’s your favorite color?
Blue or green

2. When do you give up on someone?
You only give up on someone when they have given up on you or stopped showing interest, or pushed you away so much it’s quite visibly their move. If someone turns a blind eye towards you or stops talking to you or just puts you off in general, you get to the point where you might have to just give up on them because the hurt that it causes becomes too much. Then again? When you love somebody, you it’s hard to bring yourself to stop trying. It’s gotta be mutual in the end, though. This goes for friendships too.

3. Paper or Plastic?
Paper. Renewable resource that biodegrades. Call me a eco-freak.

4. Skankiest entertainer?
Madonna with Christina Aguilera a runner up. Britney is coming up the back awfully fast too.

5. Will Howard Dean win the election? )
He sure better. We need him.

Sarah Asked

1. What’s better, rambling or silence? Rambling, but conversations that go on and on and everything else falls away during them isn’t rambling.

2. If you want to speak to someone, what reasons can you think of not to?
Depends on what the deal is with that someone. If there are things left unsaid, or things that were never apologized for, that might be a reason… If a person won’t get back to you, that might be a reason. If you’ve been treated poorly and that’s been unacknowledged, that might be a reason… You can still very much want to talk to someone, but when they build a wall to keep you out of their life, you’ve got to build a wall of your own to keep your sanity.

3. When things go wrong, who’s fault is it most of the time?
It’s not about blame but it’s about making things right again – and that takes an effort from all parties. That’s the problem in this country because people won’t take steps to make things better (government, corporations, people in relationships)… They can assess blame and finger point real well, but they can’t rectify situations – or chose not to because it would compromise their ambitions or their ego. Why get involved in the muck of trying to fix things when you can keep going and come back to the problem after it’s been fixed by itself? Why not try to fix it or get involved in resolving the situation instead of avoiding it?
When someone avoids dealing with a situaiton, that’s when blame gets dumped on them.

4. Life’s ________ so __________. (fill in the blank)
Life’s a song, so sing. Life’s but a dream, so someone’s having a nightmare. Life’s a journey; so don’t treat it like a destination.

5. Who’s closer to the truth, the scientist or the religious man?
I think it’s right in the middle between them where the truth lay – both men are close to the truth, but only to a point. There is only so much physical before the spiritual comes into play and only so much spirituality before the physical explanation comes into play. I think God has a helping hand in Science and Science has a helping hand in God.

Melanie Asked:

1. Out of all the Shakespeare plays, what is your favorite tragedy AND your favorite comedy??
I haven’t read that much Shakespeare in order to give you a good answer but I know my favorite tragedy is Hamlet. Comedy? It’s tough to say this because I don’t have much to gauge but 12th Night.

2. Who in your opinion was the greatest president of the US? And Why?
I thought you didn’t do politics? :p This is a tough one because I don’t know everything about every president who has been there. There’s Clinton who lead us through prosperity, but he had partisan politics and scandals malign his term in office… We had Abe Lincoln who did his damnedest to preserve the Union and had his life tragically taken from him. We had JFK who taught us to aim high and to try, and also had his life tragically taken from him… But I think the greatest president in US history is one that others might think of as the worst president of US history – Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He presided over the toughest time of the 20th century – the great depression and World War 2. He handed the US a new deal and did what he could to bring the nation back from the depression. It was a long hard road, but it eventually happened. He overcame disability to achieve this, and was elected for more terms than any previous US president, showing the People were behind him.

3. Would you rather pop a can of Pringles or pop a cherry?
“Once you pop, you can’t stop.” It just depends on who, and what type of Pringles. To decide between a person and some potato chips, that’s pretty pathetic right? That’s how I work though, I guess.. It’s not the body part but who it’s attached to…

4. If you could be any age, what age would you be and why?
18. That or sometime in my teens. Everything was in front of me and I just had so much optimism how it would play out, I was angry and yet I was interested in finding my niche. Being able to look forward more and not look around and feel like a failure, it would mean the world to me.

5. If you were a hamburger, what toppings would cover you?
Anohter patty so we can have some meat on meat action, spread some ketchup over both of us for added sensuality, and then onions to further prove that they are the root of all evil – not only do they help spread methane gas, they are a key part of burger-on-burger carnal pleasure. Put a bun on and take a bite and you will taste the pure ecstacy brought on by the hot burger patty action.

I’m angry — the Bucs just played the worst game I have seen them play since the early 1990′s. Too many penalties, no real fire in them…

12-9 the final. One word: UGLY

This song is so appropriate right now (ok, the title more than the verse)…

Cure me… or Kill me
By Gilby Clare

When the last car hit the wall
Was the guilt still in or head?
In your magic crystal ball
Is the power that made you mad

You can’t save yourself,
it’s a pleasure cruise
You’re damned for a million years

There’s a viper in your bedroom
Under the sheets is tarantula fuzz
When she bites, she bites for murder
I bleed the Addams Family blood

There’s a spell on me that I can’t reverse
It’s a sympathy cross you burn

Cure me or kill me..
But don’t leave me here for dead again
Cure me or kill me..
But don’t leave me here for dead again

This is your last happy Christmas
Your worst Birthday party
The cyanide in your poison ring
Wouldn’t cure my misery

Don’t bury me when I’m history
I think you’ll find an easy way out

My great aunt Cassie died yesterday and my mom is very broken up about it. Her and my father are planning on leaving for Massachusetts for four days to attend the funeral 00 that’s if they don’t drive up there – and either that leaves me home (mostly) alone or gives me the chance to get out of town for a few days.

Not really the circumstances I want and not really what I want right now.

My legs aren’t doing well at all and being home alone now is not my ideal. Niether is going on a trip 1500 miles to mingle with people I don’t know and be stuck with my parents more than I am as it stands. I am planning on staying home but Miguel is harping that I should go with them because he won’t be around in case something bad happens.

Yeah, like being 1500 miles from home is going to keep me from having something bad happen to me? I’d be alone in that case as well as alone by staying here… and by staying here, at least I’d be entertained and be able to get in touch with those close by if something bad happened. There? I’d be alienated and have to deal with the ‘Rents too much.

I’m opting for staying here. Worst that can happen is getting in an accident and struggling to a phone and calling 911.

Sure it will be lonely but it’s a sight better than being annoyed all the time.

This is one of those days where I’ve had a bunch of thoughts come to my mind and pass on into oblivion.

I did more reading of Stupid White Men today and it made me think to run for political office this time.
It wasn’t the fact that Michael Moore said bluntly that you should run for office, it was the fact he ran for political office at the age of 18 – and won. Most of his platform was by addressing the teenagers who were like him. He ran against five adults. That’s a way to assure election – not addressing the issues as-so-much the fact that you address who you are specifically aiming for. Of course candidates have done that for years but at the same time they have exploited those groups to no end.

I also tried my hand at writing my non fiction piece again… I have four different topics that I started
working on, the “worst” of these is a journal entry lifted from here that I was going to edit (ironically enough, it’s The Phantom Edit Part 2 entry) as a possible article to submit to Lou and Long Ridge.

Bill’s been able to get in touch with me from Orlando and I’m really excited for the guy now – well, not too excited seeing he’s sitting next to the receptionists mother at work while he has a liking for the receptionist. At any rate, he has his apartment mostly hooked up to basic services now, he’s going to start moving this weekend
(he’s been living with Helene and Jim so far this week). I can’t stress how happy I am for him because he’s needed this change of pace in his life for a While.

So I’m sitting here thinking of various things and various actions and various people and various topics and various various and realizing I am using various too often and should get a thesaurus Worrying about
various various as well but I don’t want to get into that shit on here.

The Dodger Boy is back again with yet another epic tale of sausages having their way with your intestines….

Yes, it’s another journal entry. Feel free to move on to the new web page that actually provides content besides my daily life…..

……

What? You’re still here? Shame on you! :smile

So I have a full work week in front of me — which is sort of cool and sort of bothersome… Bothersome because Bill quit Target in a hissy fit and I feel like I am getting –

Getting ahead of myself with negative thoughts. BAD BAD BAD. I want to have this job and I need this job and I need something to do every day instead of sitting at home on my ass in front of the computer, waiting for Bill to tell me another story about his niece Jillian and her life sus-far, or about his dog Bradley becoming Ernie-the-Hound-dog’s bitch….

Then again, I could also write. I started working on a story again that I started pre-9-11…. 9-10-01 to be exact. I had plans to finish it the next day but you know how that went…

I also had thoughts about a cool concept business that I do not have the capital to start up. I like the concept that I pieced together but I don’t know if it would work or not. Basically it’s a charter van that drives between downtown Tampa and a fixed location (locations? plural?) in Pinellas County. It can be used to commute to downtown Tampa or as a way to get to St. Pete Times Forum and other venues nearby. I figure it can be hired out by retirement homes and local associations (or schools?) to shuttle people around to fixed areas too….

At a flat cost compared to a Cab, though.

Meanwhile, I want to make note that Tampa/St. Pete is the second worst metro region for Pedestrians in the US of A…. How many times have I found this out to be the truth in person? :sad