Vacation

Festy's back, back again.  Festy's back, tell a friend.

Festy's back Festy's back Festy's back Festy's back Festy's Back. BOOM!!!!

Lights camera action and I am back to my blog,

I've been idle for the past month like a Lincoln log.

Im back by popular demand, because demand is what I got,

You can count on me to lay a blog up in this spot.

This post is really long, its the longest I've ever done,

Mark my words as the truth, this post is tons of fun.

Im going to talk about my vacation, golf and movies I seen,

Your gonna love this post like a drug dealer loves a crack fiend.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy what you see,

Please turn off all cell phones, pagers and hold your poop and pee.

Vacation Part I - (06/27 - 07/04)

The first week of my vacation I felt was going by way too fast.  On Sunday, Simone, Murph, Porter and myself went golfing.  We didn't play for money, at first, but that soon changed when we decided to have 2 "closest to the pin" challenges.  Although Porter and Simone took home the best scores from that golf session, Murph and I each scouped up a challenge which net us free lunch that was paid for by those who lost the challenges.  So on behalf of Murph and myself, we'd like to thank you two for a wonderful bagel lunch.

Looking back on it now, Im surprised that what Im about to tell you actually happened.  On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I went to the movies and saw Transformers 2, The Hangover (again) and Public Enemies respectivitly.  I have never in my life seen back to back movies in theaters let alone 3 in a row.  My thought process was simple, "who gives a howling hoot, Im on VACAAAAAAATION".  Because I have a lot to get through on this post, Im gonna give you a quick movie review of the three I saw:

• Transformers 2 - I don't know why Transformers 2 got such a bad review.  There was tons of action and not one, but 2 smokin' hot babes in Megan Fox and Isabel Lucas.  I, nor should anyone else go into a Michael Bay movie and expect a killer plot.  The guy is an action movie genius and thats what his movies should be about.  So lay off of this poor guy and let him blow stuff up without having to worry about having an oscar worthy plot.
• The Hangover - I think its safe to assume if I had went to see The Hangover for a second time, its a pretty funny movie.  Just like it was a first for me to see 3 movies in a row, it's a first for me to see the same movie twice in theaters.  What made the movie so great for me was the 3 main characters and how well they worked together.  Bradley Cooper played the know-it-all group leader who was just way to optimistic about their little predicament.  Ed Helms play the role of a good man trapped inside a bad relationship.  He had weak men all over the world looking up to him for marrying a stripper while about to get engaged to Satan's offspring.  And then there was Zach Gallafanakis.  "Who let the dogs out, RUFF RUFF RUFF RUFF!!"  Im pretty sure there wasn't a sentence he said in that entire movie that I didn't find funny.  "It's not a purse, it's a sachet and Indiana Jones wears one". (see below for Stu's Song)
• Last movie I saw was Public Enemies.  The overall movie I thought was good.  Johnny Depp played a badass John Dillinger who had a never say die attitude that most of us bloggers live by everyday.  Unfortunately, Christian Bale was way underused in this film.  On the way out of the theater I said that within reason, anyone could have played his role.  That is nothing negative about Bale, but more the fact that his assets as a good actor were not used well or at all.  Few things I really enjoyed about the movie: The old school cars, gun battles and the opening & closing scenes (very important).

Vacation Part I concludes with Simones 4th of July party.  When good times are had, you don't mind revisiting some stories time and time again.  The story I am going to revisit now is when Simone jumped into his pool.  There was a good number of people there, about a 2:1 ratio of Simone's MHS crew to his South Side cronies.  Simone swore he would jump in the pool no matter how cold it was.  For us normal people, the temperature of his pool would be the last thing that worries us.  It would be the strange aquatic life that could grow at the bottom of that pool.  But the swimability of his pool is not up for debate here.  

After his promise to go in, it was finally time.  He gets prepared to jump in, probably thinking to himself "should I do a canonball, front flip or a classic olympic dive?" The reason I think that is what went through his head is because his jump in looked like a combination of all three of those styles along with what sounded like a loud grunt of disappointment.  "He meant to do that" Murph saaid to which I agree thinking that was just a cheap way to get some laughs.  But to our surprise, we couldn't have been further from the truth.  As though he was drowning and in his hand was a floatable object, he arose from beneath the deep end of the pool like a rocket, IPhone in hand.

I can't imagine his ride up from the bottom of the pool after taking his phone out of his pocket.  But as the good sport he is, Simone took quite the verbal beaten from everyone, starting and ending with Murph laughing so hard for so long that I started getting worried he wouldn't ever stop.  Some random highlights from the party for myself: jalepeno burgers, Yeeeeeeeee-Haw (drinking game Bingman brought state side from Spain) and Blueberry Crumb Pie.

Vacation Part II - (07/05 - 07/12)

The Sunday after July 4th was one of the best days of the summer with not a single cloud in the sky.  So my dear friend Michael Falcone decided he wanted to go to our pool (community pool in the development) and sit out to relax.  I felt like I could relax just fine inside but he was having none of that.  So we headed down to the pool, he had his back pack filled with magazines and an Ipod and I had my book and Harry Potter towel.  We were there for a grand total of 3 hrs and yours truly had a grand total of 0 SPF's on him.  I didn't think we would be down there that long and I paid dearly.  I don't wish the sunburn I got on anyone. 

I was burnt on my upper-arms, armpits, shoulders, chest, thighs and feet.  I was a walking Thanksgiving dinner disaster.  I couldn't reach my right arm over to apply aloe or cream to my left arm and visa versa for at least 5 days.  To put in perspective how bad it was, I turned down Yankee tickets the following day because I was afraid to be in the sun like a vampire.  It's now more then two weeks after this incident and Im just at 100% now.

Anyway, it's now Wednesday, 3 days after the roasting and I go to visit my brother for a fun filled few days.  So the first night we just hang out around his apartment playing Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune and Are You Smarter Then A 5th Grader? on his playstation.  I unfortunately lose almost every game but I don't get discouraged because the guy has a masters degree along with years of experience being a nerd (I can get away with calling him that because Im about 96% confident he doesn't read my blog).  

Thursday rolled around and we went up to Cooperstown, NY to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame.  I busted my parents chops for never taking me there when I was a child but Im glad they didn't because I don't think I would have appreciated it as much as I did now.  Some of the best things I saw there was Donnie Baseballs Gold Glove, all the championship rings over the years and the entire Babe Ruth section was awesome.  We had to have been there for 5 hours and I feel like I could still go back there and enjoy it.

After the HOF, we went to Turning Stone Resort and Casino.  The only thing I could report about this part of the trip that didn't involve me losing money was my favorite dealer of all time, Kong.  Kong was my boy, not because he dealt me out some winners because that surely wasn't the case, but because he loooooved the women.  Every time a good looking women passed he would be like "Daaaaaamn, you wanna play with Kong?" He even fooled us a few times by saying that to the lesser visually pleasing women.  He's the kind of dealer you just want to wrap up in a ball and take him on every casino trip.

That pretty much wraps up my two week vacation in a nutshell.  I just lounged around for the final weekend trying to recover from this sunburn before I had to go back to the daily grind of all work and no play.

Im sorry I took some time off from my blog but I assure you faithful readers, I am back!!!

In Festy We Trust

The Jacko & His Heart Attacko

Well here we are folks, the day The King Of Pop took his last breath.  Am I sad about the passing of Michael Jackson?  Do I wish he get cut some slack from all Jacko haters?  Will I do anything to commiserate his death?  The answer to all those questions are NO.  Im not going to pretend to be sad about what happened because Im not.  I obviously don't wish death on anyone because that would be wrong in so many ways, but there is nothing immoral about not caring when someone passes.

I grew up knowing who Michael Jackson was as a person, not as a performer.  When I was in my teens I then realized the huge influence he had in the pop world.  But as I sit here flipping through all the news channels, Fox News, CNN, CNBC, the residing questions is, Which Michael Jackson will be his legacy: courtroom Michael or music stage Michael?  For me, its going to be courtroom Michael.  For a number of my friends, it is the same.  And for those who have a problem with that, may I bring up a one Richard Nixon who will always and forever be connected to the Watergate Scandal in which he resigned for (probably would have been impeached if he hadn't).  His legacy isn't going to be the fact that he orchestrated a cease fire with North Vietnam which lead to the end of the Vietnam war or the fact that he started talks with China.  His legacy will always be Watergate and Jackson's will be his pedophile cases.

One thing that really bothers me about this situation is the quickness of the news reports.  Ever since I watched the movie Wag The Dog which is about how the government can shape the media, I have a hard time believing a little, if any of the information that is given by reporters.  Now, Im not saying there is a government cover up of the Michael Jackson death, because they would be a few years too late, but Im just saying to give the situation a little more time to pan out.  How many times have you heard of a car accident in which the first report puts two cars in a head on collision.  Then when you read it in the paper the next day or day after, it's a step above a fender bender.  The media in the US really sucks, but on the other hand, we could be Iran right now and no one would know about the death of Jackson.

In Festy We Trust

Customers Say The Darndest Things

Dealing with the public really nets me a lot of good material for this next subject.  Like many of my readers can verify, there are times in which awkward things are said and I am here to tell you about a few of the most recent ones:

"Oh Christopher, you remind me of my dead husband..."

I was a little confused at the moment because I didn't know if it was because I hadn't done my hair that morning or shaved resulting me not looking up to par so she compared me to a dead guy or my appearance on this day had no change of her overall opinion of myself as compared to her husband of long ago.  

"Your so nice to me hunny, if you were just a little bit older..."

How about you become a little bit younger and then we'll talk.  One of us is already one foot in the grave and there is no sense for me to go in too.  Plus, geriatric sex is overrated.

"Leave it like that because I do work all the time..."

When filling out a customer information sheet, this young guy had his cell number underneath the business number line.  So I asked if he wanted me to change it, and he returned to me Big Black's famous line from Rob & Big about doing work.  I tried not to be amused by this kid imitating him but his stupidity earned a chuckle from me, unfortunately.  

"Nice clock, did you get that for always being on time? HA HA HA HA"

My parents were nice enough to get me a clock with my name engraved on it for my work desk.  If they only knew how many dumb jokes I hear about time because its got my name on it, they would have probably gotten me a pen holder, not engraved.  I'd say if I only hear this joke 5 times a week, it's considered a slow week.  One of these days I'm gonna turn around and say "Nice face, did you get that for always being ugly??? ZINGGGGGGG" (and then I'd be fired)

"Sit down and behave or else this man is going to put you underneath his desk with all the other bad children..." (to her kids)

This situation I had a little bit of a problem with.  First, the only thing that goes under my desk is my feet, and the occasional candy wrapper that misses the garbage.  Second, I'm not in the business of disciplining your children, just here for your banking needs.  Third, I don't need this kid going back to his dad and say, "The man at the bank has children under his desk and he wanted me to go under there too".  And lastly, I don't want this kid to be scared of desks so badly that he is going to find me 30 years down the road after his therapist tells him he should confront his fears head on and kill me.

In Festy We Trust

Randomness

Over the past few weeks, I've been taking notice of something that I'm not proud of.  I guess when reading it, it sounds a lot more creeper then if I were to have a discussion in person about it.  What I'm talking about is how people hold their utensils while eating food.  Weird right?  The way I use my fork and knife is what I always thought was the norm, fork in the right hand (dominate hand) and knife in the left.  The more I creepily watch people eating, the more I notice that there really isn't a norm for using your utensils. 

I've seen people who cut with their dominate hand and fork it with their less dominate hand.  I've seen people cut with their dominate hand and then do a switch-a-roo so that the fork is now in the dominate hand and the knife moves to the other.  Very rarely do I notice someone who has the same utensil use procedure as myself.  I remember Bingman, Wieland and myself were out to eat and this was the first time I brought it up.  I was so convinced that Bingman was weird for cutting with his dominate hand and doing the switch-a-roo with the fork and Wieland for cutting with his dominate and forking with his less dominate.  When I brought it to the forefront of our dinner conversation, I was looked at like the weirdo; A. for watching people eat and B. for thinking that there was a norm.  In conclusion, I should be looked at as the minority in my utensil using exploration.

P.S. Im blogging right now while Simone and I watch Super High Me, starring Doug Benson which is a very good flick, and he cuts with his dominate hand and forks it with his less dominate.  Now we are graced by Mr. Murphy and he too follows the same templet as Simone.  Boo these men!!! BOOOOO!!!

EARTH.    I don't know how better to start this next topic.  I think we take for granted the knowledge that us normal folk know about what truly is the position of the Earth in reference to the universe.  My main question is what happens if the world turns upside?  If you hold up a tennis ball up, where is the ground?  When looking at the tennis ball, are all the continents sideways on the ball so that if the world was turned upside it would virtually have no effect?(If thats case then if we dig to the center of the earth then we would technically get to China!!)  And if thats the case of the case, is it gravity that holds us in place so that we don't fall down sideways?  So many question that might or might not have an answer, but that I am too lazy to research for you.

Im getting really sick and tired of watching or listening to commercials on tv or the radio to places that aren't near my current location.  First off we have Papa John's.  The only time I have ever had Papa John's was when I went to a college friends house in Massachusetts.  I've seen more commercials for this pizza joint then I care to remember but can't name one location close to us.  Im not saying there isn't one around, Im just saying they don't tell me where the hell they're hiding.  Second commercial Im annoyed with is Sonic.  This is a bitter sweet relationship because I am a huge fan of their commercials.  If there was any Sonic's closer to me, I am sure that I would go there based mainly on their commercials.  

My next topic is something that I feel very strongly about.  There are few things in the world I hate more then writing in cursive.  There really is no benefit for the average Joe Schmo because he probably hates writing in script as well.  Which brings me to my next point, why the hell do they have two names for the same style of writing: cursive and script?  Teachers don't say "Ok students, grab your number 2 pencils and write out the alphabet in lower case letters or smaller case letters, what ever you kids want to call it today" or "Spell out your name in upper case letters and if you write them incorrectly, you will have to re-do them in taller-then-lower case letters".  It's just dumb.  Connecting letters is way overrated.  It doesn't save time because you always end up getting stuck on trying to remember how to connect letters like "K, F & Z".

In Festy We Trust

Death in Teheran

I am currently reading a powerful book called Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.  I don't want to get into the book too much because I would like to post my review of it when it's complete.  However, I felt like sharing this small passage I just read which will leave you wanting more.

The book is broken up into 2 parts.  The first part is about his time in numerous concentration camps during WWII and the second part is about a theory of his called logotherapy.  This is the passage I'd like to share:

Does this not bring to mind the story of Death in Teheran?  A rich and mighty Persian once walked in his garden with one of his servants.  The servant cried that he had just encountered Death, who had threatened him.  He begged his master to give him his fastest horse so that he could make haste and flee to Teheran, which he could reach that same evening.  The master consented and the servant galloped off on the horse.  On returning to his house the master himself met Death, and questioned him, "Why did you terrify and threaten my servant?"  "I did not threaten him; I only showed surprise in still finding him here when I planned to meet him tonight in Teheran," said Death.

I am not afraid to admit that I re-read this small passage a few times before continuing on.  After reading it I came up with two theories regarding the passage and its connection to Frankl's experience in the concentration camps.  The theories are either the servant is allowing fate to take its course, no matter what the outcome is or being a servant is so bad that he would rather die.  In this situation, I really don't think there is a right or wrong answer, its all in how you interpret the situation they are in.

In this book there is a constant battle of fate vs reality.  While many prisoners give up on themselves, they are also giving up on life.  To be clear, I am not judging them for giving up on life and nor should anyone else.  But in a situation like a concentration camp or a servant to a rich a powerful persian, they think riding the "fastest horse to Teheran" is the only option they have.  Once you quit finding a reason to live, what you often find is death.  The thought of ones family often kept them alive because they had something to live for.  This is the same for professional artists or authors.  But the key to survival is keeping these thoughts at bay because if you loose them, it becomes very hard to search for meaning in your life. 

The other way to view this passage is through the eyes of fate, which is the way Viktor Frankl decided to live his life.  If the SS Officers had a list of numbers (which the prisoners in the concentration camps were known by) for people to get on a train to head to another camp, Frankl would go with no hesitation.  Even with the mystery of wether or not the new camp had gas chambers or a chimney, which was an indication of a crematorium, he went because if he were to die, it would be his fate.  In comparison to the Death in Tehran passage, one could see the servant fulfilling what his fate had planed for him.  Who is one to decide if to die or not when Death says its time?

If you could imagine what these people when through, where would your loyalty be?  Would you be a realist and give up on life when the life expectancy during the winter seasons is about 12-14 days? Or would you live your life and let fate decide ones life?

Last Week

Random thoughts from last week

American Idol

Something that really bothers me is when I hear people say that "American got it wrong, Adam should have won..."  We live in a democracy folks and that gives every eligible American the chance the vote.  So saying that America got it wrong is basically saying your a sore loser.  Technically, in these circumstances, the only way for that to happen is if America was to cheat and homey don't play that. 

We all have favorites.  I'm sure all the Danny Gokey Fans are saying he should have won along with all 15 Megan Joy fans said the same.  The fact of the matter is, America got it right.  More fans votes for Kris, not to be confused with Chris (the correct way to spell it for a man), making him the new American Idol.  To sum it up in 7 words and 5 !'s for all you fans of American Idol non-winners: SUCK IT UP YOU BIG FAT BABIES!!!!!

Yankee Stadium

On Tuesday I made it out to the new Yankee Stadium for the first time.  The tickets were comped for my birthday from Christopher Wieland and I'd like to formally thank him on my blog.  Talking about how nice the stadium was is a little cliche.  Every new stadium is going to be nice and Yankee Stadium was no different.  So what I want to talk about is the feeling I had when I was there.  When you walked into the old stadium, there was this sense of achievement and historic relevance.  After all, they did win 26 world championships while playing there.  On the contrary, when entering the new stadium there was a feeling of mystery, of what could and/or will happen under the bright lights of the new Yankee Stadium.  And this really intrigued me.  I'm not talking short term.  I'm not talking about what they are going to accomplish in the 2009 season but in a new stadium, a new "House that _ _ _ _ _ _ _  Built", anything is possible and we can see it happen from the beginning.    

Golf

On Sunday I went to the links for the first time this year.  Accompanying myself was Mr. Bingman and Mr. Murphy.  This golf outing was all weather permitting and at about 11am, I started making the calls because we caught a break in the weather.  Call Jon, call Murf, BOOM, already got 3 of the four missing parts.  Finding the last player to come golfing was probably the hardest thing we did all day.  No one could play. There were people sick, in Queens, having their phone stolen by their dumb manager as a dumb prank.  All we wanted was a forth to come smack some golf balls around and not one person took the bait. 

Enough about our forth man problems, let me talk about how I shot.  I shot 4 over the best score I ever had on that course which is very good for the opening round of the season.  But what I am most proud of is my first ever birdie.  It was hole 17, coincidentally the shortest hole on the course.  I have been hitting my 8 iron very well all day and this tee shot was no different.  I struck it pure and landed, from my estimations, 12-14 feet from the pin.  It was a left-to-right putt slightly down hill.  I was putting above average that day so this putt didn't phase me the least bit.  My main focus was not to over shoot the hole and just let the green carry my ball.  To my surprise, that is exactly what happened.  The green carried my ball into the cup and I let out a scream of joy only a man who made his first birdie ever could make.

P.S. If you are not yet a faithful follower of the What Would Festy Do? blog, please visit my follower section bellow Videomania at the bottom of the page to show your support.  In addition, please don't be shy to visit www.if-randomness-had-a-gun.blogspot.com/ and check out my friend Jon's blog.

In Festy We Trust

2 Long Years!!!

It was a warm, clear night and all I was thinking about was having a good time with my family.  We would all meet up for my cousins 25th birthday party at Lucky Strikes (1/3 Bar, 1/3 Restaurant, 1/3 Bowling Alley, 3/3 Awesomeness) in the Palisades Mall.  Good times and lots of drinks were had.  The night was Saturday, May 12, 2007, the last day I consumed a drop of alcohol.

That night, I can't tell you how many Blue Moons I had drank.  All I know is a few weeks after the party my uncle said to me, " I told the waitress we didn't order these (Blue Moons) and she said we did, specifically you and Bill.  And then I look at the number of Blue Moons and there was 17 of them GOD DAMN THINGS!!"  At first I felt really bad but then become funnier the more we talked about it.  Sorry Uncle Frank.

When most people quit drinking, it might be because of something that happened.  Maybe they drank too much and received alcohol poisoning or drank themselves into a chapel where the got married to their best friend by Elvis.  Thinking of the alternative, I am lucky that I stopped drinking on a good note.

I don't know how many people read my blog and of them, I don't know how many know why I really don't drink.  One of the reasons I stopped was because I found myself drinking too often.  I use to have a mini-fridge in my room that I stocked up with beers.  With a fully loaded fridge, I would have a beer whenever I wanted.  During the summer time when it's nice and hot, this is a normal thing to do.  But I would have them on nights when I didn't need them.  And this is all along with all the drinking my friends and I did at the bar.  Plain and simple, I just didn't want to be "that guy".

Another reason I stopped drinking was for some health reasons.  I don't want to get into a full medical history of myself, but I was doing all four of the main things that cause Acid Reflux Disease, including drinking alcohol.  Anyone who has or had acid reflux knows it sucks so preventing it was something I really wanted to do.  So at this point in my life, I felt like my alcohol consumption was more then a personal problem, but a health problem too.

I think in the first year, I did not miss drinking at all.  You get the cravings every once in a while but nothing like my second year.  This past year has really been a struggle.  I find myself wanting a cold beer or a nice glass of wine after work all the time.  And I have to say, there were times when I came close to having one.  I never had a beer in my hand, ready to chug, so it wasn't that close, but some serious consideration was had before I said no.

I hope by reading this post that my friends realize that it is nothing personal if I decide not to join you guys at the bar.  Sometimes it makes it harder for me if I am in that kind of setting to stay true.  However, the last thing I want is for them to change their plans to suit me.  I don't want that and I don't think they would either lol.  There are plenty of other things we do together that is in a more Festy Friendly environment. 

This post is not to show off what I've done.  I don't like to point myself out and say "Look what I did!!!!".  But what I accomplished today is something that I am very proud of and I wanted to share it with all my faithful blog readers.  Thank you all for your continued support during my journey.

In Festy We Trust

Greatness

The theory of greatness has always intrigued me.  Now with the access to tv and internet, finding out about the greatest professors, thinkers, presidents or kings, athletes or actors is only a click away.  

It is very easy for athletes to gage how great they are.  No one keeps better records then professional sports and you can probably attribute that to all the "great" record-geeks out there.  The reason why they can gage it so easily is because most of the time its a tangible record.  The athlete could be the youngest player to hit 500 home-runs, or a record I just heard this morning that Lebron James was the first MVP to lead his team in just about every category: points per-game, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks and probably a few more.  When you take the Yankees of the late 90's, they were slated as one of the greatest teams of all time.  They won 4 out of 5 World Series and if I remember correctly, most of them were in dominating fashion.  This kind of stuff can be seen and evaluated on the spot, in current time but there are other people who's recognition of greatness will have to wait.  

My main concern is for the professors and thinkers because they spend their entire lives devoted to coming up with theories that may or may not be socially accepted when it was presented, but has an enormous impact on today's society.  I can honestly say that I can not think of a theory that a person has come up with within the last 20 or so years that has changed my life.  By all means, please inform me if I have over looked something but as for now I stand tall in my comment.  The reason why I'm saying this is because when thinkers like Sigmund Freud and Viktor Frankl come up with the theories of the unconscious mind or logotherapy, respectively, how well accepted were they at that time.  In the present time, could we be looking over some of the greatest ideas and theories man has ever come up with?  And if we are, is it naive that we don't notice and/or accept it now?  

There is a question that I most often ask myself and I am using this platform to show the readers what goes through my mind.  I always ask myself if I am a leader or a follower.  And there is no clear cut answer.  Some would argue that if there is no clear cut answer then you can't be the leader and are a follower by default.  The reason why I am bringing this up is because I feel that this is one of the factors that helps suppress one's belief in something.  Freud, Frankl, our founding fathers, civil and women's rights activists and many other key figures are all leaders.  They all came up with a theory or stood up for a cause that would make them live on in history.  But these people weren't accepted by the public with open arms.  We'll take our founding fathers as an example.  Breaking away from Great Britain was something everyone wanted to do with none of the penalties (WAR!).  At that time, there was no national army for the 13 Colonies.  It was all individual militias running around with rifles or hopefully at least pitchforks.  So George Washington and John Adams who were both crucial parts in building our nation, had to convince the colonies that this was a good idea and that was no easy task.  

Even after the war, after we won our independence from G.B., the colonies struggled more then ever before because they didn't have a direct line of supplies, much of which came from the same country they just finished fighting with.  This weighed on a lot of people, wondering if it was the right choice to go to war with the proverbial hand that feeds you.  So before I go off the road here, lets recap.  The secession from Great Britain was something the the 13 Colonies had to do but was fought on by anyone who would listen.  Over 230 years later, looking back at what happened in 1776, we see how how special our founding fathers were to the making of this great country of ours even though it took them a while to figure it out for themselves.

I guess to wrap up this rant of a blog post, I want to leave the reader with a few questions about greatness that might not necessarily have a clear cut answer:

• How is greatness measured?
• How long does one take to be labeled great?
• How many people have to be influenced to be great?
• Is there an imaginary mandatory time line that one has to pass through before being great?
• Are you great?

Lets Pump Some Iron!!!

As I sit in my room trying to figure out what to do on my day off, I come to the realization that right now there are a lot of things to be pumped up for in my life.  Some of them are just in production while others are set in stone.  Let me explain:

• Casino Trip - Since I had such a positive trip to the casino a few weeks ago, I have decided to make another trip out there.  My father said he wanted to go because he scooped up $100 in gift cards to Michael Jordan's restaurant and wanted to spend them.  So I didn't lose last time I went, I don't need to drive up there and dinner is being paid for?!?!? There is no reason I wouldn't you be super pumped about this.
• Lost - Tomorrow is the coveted 100th episode of Lost, tv's best show.  I know first hand (Dirk), that this season has been hard on some Lost viewers but you can not doubt the creative talent this show has in direction, production, acting and writing.  Last weeks episode was a recap show of one of the many story lines.  This episode did get some heat from fellow bloggers and friends of mine, but I think it was just leading up to an explosive 100th episode.  Mark my words, this episode will be amazing!!
• Weather - This past weekend was so beautiful.  Saturday I had to work but it was closely followed by a good game of tennis.  The sun was beaming down her strong rays upon us and all we could do was smile.  This weather quickly carried over to sunday where I participated in the American Heart Association walk at Brewster High School for my job.  Even though I got roasted like a pig, I still enjoyed the walk on the gorgeous day.  If this is what we have to look forward to in the months to come, I really don't know how I'm going to make it through this summer with only 2 weeks vacation.
• Fish - No, not the kind you eat.  Common' guys, you know I can't eat fish!!!  I'm talking about the fish you have in a fish tank, the ones that swim through the water like a knife through warm butter.  I've wanted a cool fish tank for a while now but never pulled the trigger in getting one.  Well, let the research begin.  By the beginning of the summer I will be swimming with the fishes.  

In Festy Wii Trust

Things That Annoy Me For $400 Please, Alex

Birds

When birds are in trees or picking at McDonalds bags on the side of the road, they are bearable.  It is when they are in their natural environment that annoys me, in the air.  I don't know about you, but whenever birds are flying over me all I can think about is one of them dropping a marshmallow colored turd on my head.  I am constantly clinching my shoulders upward, as if that actually does anything, all while keeping an eye on those winged creatures.  It really puts me in a frustrating position because it makes fun situations like a wiffle-ball game or a BBQ a lot more stressful. 

Birthdays

Let me be a little more specific, Pre-Birthdays.  By all means, invite me to your party or shin-dig and throw me a reminder about a week in advance.  But please don't give me a day to day countdown of your stupid birthday.  "Hey Chris, did you know its my birthday on wednesday?...".  "Yes I do know that.  I know that mainly because you reminded me yesterday, the day before, put a countdown on your away message and posted a comment on the Facebook wall of your entire friend list".  I don't want to go through this with everyones birthday.  I have my palm pilot with everyones birthday I need to know.  If your not in there then you better try harder and not by telling me 20 times about your birthday.

Pickle Juice

I would say that this is probably one of the weirdest picks on my list.  Lets set the record straight.  I like pickles.  I can eat them out of the jar or on a sandwich and burger.  But for some odd reason, if I take the last bite of the sandwich and its mainly bread and pickle juice, I might as well have never eaten because now the sandwich is ruined.  There is really no redeeming qualities about pickle juice.  Plain and simple, it just sucks.

Short List

1. Erasable Pens - Just write in pencils
   
2. Left Golf Clubs, Scissors, Guitars, etc - Become a righty, everyone else is
3. New Jersey - NY's ugly step sister
4. Transvestites - Just pick one and run with it
5. Paula Abdul - I would say dumb as bricks but that would be an insult to bricks world wide
6. Political Correctness - America needs to take the stick out of her ass
7. Smelly People - When you fart and smell, its all good but not when your unaware of your smelly scent
8. Punching Bag - Any one want a punching bag?
9. Cops - Not the ones that protect and serve but the ones that try to catch me riding dirty
10. Nicolas Cage - See IMDB - Friend or Foe? post in March 2009

P.E.T.A. Bread

It seems like almost everyday I run into another story about someone's pet.  "Did I tell you what Oscar did the other day when I walked in the door?" or "You wont believe how cute Cheesy is when he is running around in his hamster ball".  No matter who talks to me about their creatures, I just don't understand the love they have for a pet.  I'm sure they feel the same about me, not knowing how such a kind hearted person like myself can be so cold towards animals.  Fortunately, I'm the one with the blog so you animal lovers can get an insight into the head of Festy.

Communication

I am no genius for pointing out that there is a communication barrier between pet and human.  Just like most of human to human interaction, without some sort of mutual communication, a real problem can occur.  Thats how I feel with every run in I have with a dog.  No matter how many times I walk away from it, or how many times I tell it to leave me alone, the mutt keeps coming back for more.  For someone who has a dog and has already developed a mutual communication, it is very hard for you to understand where I am coming from.  I don't want to meet someone and then try and develop a form of communication with them.  It's the same with dogs, if I can't talk to you when I meet you, then our relationship is doomed.  Sorry dog.

Mind

To go along with communication, it is very hard to determine what's on the pets mind and that is very scary.  For this, I turn to my expertise in the field of felines.  Cats are the most boring pet in American Households to date.  All they do is walk around quietly, nuzzle up against your leg when your not paying attention and stare at the window meowing until they try to randomly climb up the closest wall.  What I feel most dangerous about these cats is the fact that they can attack at any minute, from any direction, without being detected.  I've stared into the eyes of a cat before and I couldn't get any emotions out of her.  She just stood there with her tail straight up like she's about to attack her prey.  Luckily enough for her, I retreated sparing her life if she tried anything.  These are the things you have to worry about when knowing what's on your pets mind is out of the question.

Pointless

I've touched upon barriers with cats and dogs but I can see why people have them.  Cats can be cute and cuddly and dogs can be playful and smart.  But some pets are just plain dumb to have and they go under my pointless category.  Any pet that goes in a tank, that is not a fish is pointless.  Gerbils, hamsters, mice, snakes, iguanas, turtles, all pointless.  Name one fun thing you can do with any of these pointless things that you cant see while searching on the internet.  "Ohhhh, I have so much fun watching my turtle Michelangelo walk around my living room going 0.0038 MPH".  There is no way you have any level of enjoyment watching that.  Same things with gerbils, hamsters and mice.  When they are not in their cage, they are running around in a stupid plastic ball like an American Gladiator.  Again, not fun.  Fun would be spinning that ball around like a dreidel and then letting poor little Harry try and find his way back to his dumb converted fish tank.

In Festy We Trust

Disclosure

No matter what I have said in the past or what my actions might have said for me, I sincerely do not wish harm on any animal.  But as an act of precaution, I always have my guard up ready to defend myself if harm shall seek me or someone I love out.

Murphys Law

 

Greetings-

 

The following will be one in a series of articles I plan to contribute festys blog chronicling awesomely bad movies and maybe some other things I decide to rant about. Until festy forces me to get my own blog. But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

 

We’ve all been there. One night you come home from a long night of barstooling, you find yourself watching a movie you know is bad, but you know every line to. All of a sudden the sun is rising and you’re still watching the same movie until the end. These movies can be marked by a number of characteristics-

 

1. Terrible nicknames
2. Quotes that are meant to be serious but end being hilarious
3. Over the top action sequences
4. Poor acting

 

Awesomely Bad Selection #1

 

The Fast and The Furious

 

Nicknames-The Mad Scientist

 

Quotes-“I live my life a quarter-mile at a time”

 

Action sequences-Last scene involving a drag race jumping through a train

 

Poor acting- Every Asian in that movie couldn’t act. Paul Walker wasn’t anything special either.

 

I saw this movie when it first came out in 2001. I didn’t have much movie critiquing skills back then. Over the next few years I would catch it whenever it was on tv. Lately it has been on a lot due to the release of the 3^rd sequel in theaters. I found myself watching it and appreciating how awesomely bad it really is. The action sequences are fun, the characters are enjoyable (especially jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez in scantily clad clothing) and the dialogue is always entertaining. Vin diesel might not win an oscar anytime soon, but he can carry a film on his shoulders. Hopefully he can get back on top after a few bombs.

 

Not a cinematic masterpiece, but one that you might find yourself watching next time its on tv and theres nothing else on.

 

Be Well

 

-Murph

Casino Trip '09

Well folks, it only took about 3 and 1/2 months for Casino Trip '09 to take place and it was well worth the wait.  Luckily I had off on saturday which made the departure time to Mohegan Sun a lot more convenient for everyone.  So, we leave Mahopac around noon time in the pouring rain.  It wasn't until we got 15 minutes to The Sun that it stop raining which made the trip a little annoying.  But we got there with no problem and that is all that matters.  Like any functioning democracy, we huddled up before hitting the casino floor to decide on a plan of action.  The Plan: 2 hour gambling session, meet for dinner, 3 hour gambling session, leave for home.  Pretty standard plan of action for any day trip to a casino.  We broke the huddle and away we went!

My first stop was Let It Ride table.  I had a pretty lame table, nobody was really talking.  When I would congratulate someone on a good hand they would barely smile.  The table was boring and painful to play at.  Thankfully, that changed when my new friends Nicky and John came to sit down next to me.  Now your probably thinking, Nicky and John, who are these characters?  They are bikers from New York and had the spark this table needed to become alive again.  They were smokers, like all my biker friends are, and that was the main controversy at the table.  We had an idiot dealer who was not very friendly and when ever people smoked, he would complain about.  But John was not having any of that especially in the smoking session.  "You hear this guy? (nudging me on the elbow) Who the f*** is this guy?"  Yeah, pretty intimidating, I know.  So when the dealer left for break, John told him as he was walking away that he should go suck on a respirator to get clean air.  It was quite an experience that I wish more people could be a part of.  Chip count: bought into table with $200 and left for dinner with $200.  EVEN

Feeling pretty good at this point, I headed up to Michael Jordan's Cafe, the meeting place for dinner.  It was already known how great this dinner is going to be prior to even stepping foot in the restaurant.  For an appetizer we had BBQ Chicken Spring Rolls with jalapeno ranch dressing.  OMG!!!  Words can not describe how satisfying these rolls of spring were to our already hungry stomachs.  It was the perfect amount of crusty spring rolls mounted on a double layer of BBQ sauce and jalapeno ranch dressing.  My complements to the chef.  I must say that my dinner choice was not solely mine.  I heard what Simone was ordering and quickly changed it over to what he spotted, the Knife and Fork Ribeye Steak Sandwich.  Bottom layer was a piece of toasted garlic bread with melted swiss cheese.  On top of the garlic toast was a healthy piece of ribeye steak with a layer of mushrooms and onions.  Oh, but thats not the best part.  On top of the garlic bread, swiss cheese, steak, mushrooms and onions was a layer of onion strings.  It really tied the sandwich together.  Appetite count: came to the table really hungry and left completely satisfied.  AWESOME

Post dinner, we hit the tables again and I went back to the same table game, Let It Ride.  I was very swingy again.  I was down and then made a good run back up.  Two hours later I had found myself back to the same $200 I bought in for.  At that point, I had got up from the table for a few reasons.  1.  I have been teaching Dirk how to play the game and he was interested in playing  2.  I was getting pretty bored at that table  3.  I wasn't making much headway in my bankroll.  I have still be playing with the same $200 I started with (when you break even at the casino, it should really be considered a win).  So Dirk and I were at that table for a little while until we decided to hit up the Video Poker scene.  What a dumb idea.  It wasn't dumb because I dropped 40 bones on it, but because it provided about as much excitement for me as a wrist watch exhibit at a museum to an amputee.  Dirk didn't mention his excitement level at this point but I'm sure he was on board with me.  Chip Count: bought into table for $200 and left with $200.  Bought into video poker for $40 and left with my dignity.  Down $40

Something I like to do before leaving the casino is hitting the roulette table.  When I am losing it is a quick way to win back some money (obviously if you get lucky).  When I am winning, I don't feel bad spending more money on the table.  So I threw down one of my $100 chips and played for a while, hitting some numbers and missing a bunch.  As fate would prevail, I lost the money after about 30 min.  I could have walked away at that point down $140 but I was there to gamble and gamble is what I did.  I pulled out the second $100 chip and went off to the races, not alone.  Dirk jumped on the ride with me calling me a evil temptress, but if it wasn't for this evil temptress, he would not of had a positive run on the roulette table.  So your welcome Dirk Hartog.  So we played countless spins of the wheel, hitting numbers after numbers.  The good thing about roulette is when you have a bankroll that if you lose $100 or $200, you can still put up more money and make it back relatively quickly.  I play the same numbers every spin: 13,14,17,18,21-24 combo and 31.  Two of these numbers came out a bunch of times, 13 and 17 and those are the ones that made the stop at the roulette table so profitable.  Chip Count: bought into table for $200 and left for home with $500.

Overall, I won $260 at the casino yesterday ending my 3 time casino trip losing streak.  I am happy to say that I am back on top of my gambling game and I hope to stay on top for a while to come.

It has come to my attention that a number of my faithful blog followers were a little concerned about my absence from last weeks posting.  I assure you that I am alive and well.  I can only promise to make it up to you all by double posting this week.  So stay tuned.

In Festy We Trust

Reading is easy when you have 4 eyes!!

January 1, 2009 came along and I still haven't secured a New Years resolution.  For as long as I can remember, my resolutions have been like my birthday wishes, you do it because everyone else is but you don't expect anything to come of it.  That is of course till I came up with a fairly easy resolution to keep up with in 2009, reading.  I hated reading from elementary school through to college (as well as most other kids).  But to my surprise, it comes a lot easier when your not forced to read something you don't want to.  

So far I have completed 3 books in 2009 which doesn't seem like a lot to the average Joe, but is a lot for someone who hasn't completed a book in the last 2 years.  The books I have completed are:

• Little Teal Book of Trust: How to Earn it, Grow it, and Keep it to Become a Trusted Advisor in Sales, Business & Life     By Jeffrey Gitomer
• I Hate Your Guts     By Jim Norton
• Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid     By Denis Leary 
  

It comes to no surprise to me that 2 of the 3 books I've read are books authored by comedians.  Jim Norton happens to be one of my favorite comedians.  When I started listening to Opie & Anthony in the mornings going to school (at the time) and work, Jim Norton was the third leg in the show.  O&A made it their jobs to have on comedians all the time to help promote their gigs, and Norton ended up staying on full-time.  This gave him the platform he needed to promote his book.  

In I Hate Your Guts, he touches upon a lot of the issues that effect people from all walks of life.  The one chapter I couldn't wait to read was titled, Yankee Announcer John Sterling Should Be Arrested for Auditory Rape.  I've been telling the story for years about Sterling and every time I think about it, it makes me sick.  I was driving home from night class when I was listening to a Yankee playoff game.  Its bad enough I had to listen to Sterling, but Suzyn Waldman was blabbering her big mouth along with him.  Anyway, I was down the road from my house when Sterling starts his pre home-run rant.  "...and that's a well hit ball, to DEEEEEEEP left center, it is high, looks like it's got the legs, and its caught in the beginning of the warning track... that makes 2 outs here...(initiate Sterling and Suzyn sigh sequence)".  When I entered my house, it was just in time for the end of the inning where they show a highlight that had previously happened.  That ball looked like it was hit off a tee by Hillary Clinton.  Im surprised it even went that far and to think that Sterling had a feeling it was going to be a home-run?  You can say I was a little more then just happy to see Norton bash this guy for a few pages.  

Sorry for the story there, let me get back to the book.  He talks about idiots with media platforms like Al Roker, Dr. Phil, Jesse Jackson and Steve Martin to name a few.  If you don't mind some vulgar language and enjoy laughing as your reading, then I highly suggest this book.  It was my first book of the new year, and I'm glad I started with it.

The second book I read was the Little Teal Book of Trust.  This is the second book I've read by Jeffrey Gitomer, even though I own 4.  His books are so easy to read and are jam-packed with so much information.  I really think self-help or self-guided (don't know if there is a difference) books get a bad rap sometimes.  This book really just challenges you to step back and evaluate your life.  Are you Trusting?  Do others Trust you?  Do you work for a company who trust you or visa versa?  There are some parts of this book that didn't apply to me as it might not apply to you.  But like all other works of art, you can naturally substitute your life situation and see if it works.  

The last book I've read is Why We Suck.  I like Denis Leary and I think he is a great actor even though he was in some really big bombshells for movies.  I'm just not ready to jump on his book-bandwagon.  I don't doubt his writing skills by any means.  A lot of the content in this book is funny.  He has great stories about his family, run-ins with bullies, and my favorite, hatred towards cats.  The thing he lacks in his book is structure.  I feel like he goes off on tangents about miscellaneous subjects in the middle of talking about something totally different.  It makes for interesting work because it seems as though he is writing as if he was speaking off the top of his head, but very hard for the reader to pick up on and stay with.  However, if you are of Irish decent, I recommend this book to you.  There is a lot of Irish family stories you might relate to, or even understand more then I did for the most part.  

In Festy We Trust

The 3 Stooges

As I usually do at night, I open up my macbook and take a ride on the World Wide Web.  First stop on Wednesday night was Yahoo.com.  On the home page in the featured section, to my very surprise, was a picture of Jim Carrey next to the picture of Curly (nyuk-nyuk-nyuk) from The 3 Stooges.  I instantly clicked on this story and began to read:

"MGM and the Farrelly brothers are finally slapping together their high-profile cast for "The Three Stooges," a comedy project the filmmakers have been developing for years. Sean Penn is set to play Larry, and Jim Carrey is in negotiations to play Curly. Benicio del Toro is a rumored possibility for the brothers' taciturn leader, Moe."

WHATTTTT!!!! Ok, so let me get this straight.  Jim Carrey, who happens to be the only comedic actor in the bunch, is still in negotiations but you have already locked in Sean Penn to play Larry?.  This is the same Sean Penn who played a gay elected official in the movie Milk, a gangster in Mystic River, and a man on death row in the movie Dead Man Walking.  The reason why I picked these three flicks is because he either won or was nominated for an oscar for his performances.  I happen to really like Mystic River and Dead Man Walking but that doesn't mean this guy can just turn on his comedic button and become funny.  This reminds me of a quote from The Office when Ryan told Michael that being a cook doesn't mean you can open up  your own restaurant.  In which Michael's response was that he's not a cook but he is opening up a restaurant called Michael's Cereal Shack.  Take a lesson from Michael Scott, just because your a good actor and you've made a mark in the history of film, doesn't mean you can take a part in a movie you obviously have no chance of entertaining people in.  My choice to play Larry is Paul Giamatti.

Now it brings me to my next cast member who thankfully is only "rumored".  Benico del Toro is rumored to play Moe and for those of you who are not familiar with The 3 Stooges, Moe is the leader of the bunch.  He is the one that comes up with the ultimate schemes to get into and out of trouble.  Moe being the more serious of the 3, you can probably get away with a little more serious of an actor, but del Toro?!?  This guy has a hard enough time speaking in plain english, imagine if he had to start wooble woobling and nyuk nyuk nyuking?  This poor guy would have more tongue ties then George W. Bush in ANY PUBLIC ADDRESS HE MADE IN HIS 8 YEARS IN OFFICE.  My choice to play Moe is Gary Sinise.

On the brighter side of things, I believe Jim Carrey is the perfect fit for this film.  This kind of over the top, slap schtick comedy is right for him.  And I think that surrounding him with the right cast will only make the movie better.  Jim Carrey, Paul Giamatti and Gary Sinise, in my eyes, will do this film justice.  That is until I think of another 2 actors I can slip in there instead of Giamatti and Sinise.  But for the time being, Carrey is a definite stay in my book.

Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro?!?!?!?

In Festy We Trust

Greatest Food Combos

PB&J - White bread, bagels or even ritz crackers, you throw peanut butter and jelly onto one of those and you will have the best breakfast, lunch or dinner one could ask for.  Don't be foolish either by putting substitutes for jelly like jam.  Jam is red headed step-child of jelly, no body likes it.  And another side note, only acceptable flavor jelly is grape, strawberry and any other flavor is a big no no.

Mac & Cheese - What is better then Mac & Cheese.  Macaroni is one of the best food on the face of the earth: penne, elbows, ziti, fettucini etc etc.  Made from the utters of a cow, cheese can top any sandwich, cracker or macaroni.  When you put these two together, Bon Appetite!!

Wings & Blue Cheese - I don't know why, but blue cheese on salad is not so good.  But if you dip a wing into it, it becomes gold.  The hotter the wing sauce, the better the dip will be.  If you ever find yourself with extra wings with no more blue cheese, the ultimate sacrifice might be in place.  No, giving up that last wing is not, its getting up to get more blue cheese.

Arnold Palmer - On a warm summer day, I always enjoyed  cold glass of iced tea.  Oh wait, maybe it was a glass of lemonade.  Luckily, the Arnold Palmer is a little bit of both.  With a combination of lemonade, iced tea and greatness, the Arnold Palmer tickles the fancy of anyone who has a monster thirst to be quenched.

Smores - Toasted marshmallows and milky chocolate Hershey bar squished in between two graham crackers. WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?  Enough said!!!

The Power of the Parm - You throw sauce and cheese on top of just about anything, and you have what I like to call, The Power of the Parm.  I might have exaggerated a little by saying just about anything, but the standard veal, chicken, meatball, or eggplant choice can just be "parmed" and instantly more enjoyable.  

This Is England

This Is England is an English film (obviously) that was released in 2007 about a young boy trying to deal with the death of his father during the Falklands War (1983).  While dealing with the death of his father, he befriends a group of teenage Skinheads.  Weak and bullied around school, this group of Skinheads took in little Shaun as one of there own.  But as he ran with the group, thinking he's fighting the same war as them, he became well aware of who they really are.

Thomas Turgoose is the very talented young man who played Shaun.  Barely a teenager, he was able to steal the screen away from the other actors in the movie.  Rightfully so, he won Most Promising Newcomer at The British Independent Film Awards for his debut performance in this movie.  My only fault with him would have to be his teeth.  This kid has got some really crazy chompers.  I don't think this is a good enough reason for not hiring this kid for upcoming movies, but I figured I'd point out the obvious.  

British Films intrigue me because as similar as the USA and England's beliefs are, we are still millions of miles apart (in theory).  The movie jumps around on the major plot line a little bit, but nothing to worry about.  I just think that the transition could have been a little more smoother.  On a good note, the background plot of this film about the Falklands War has so much relevance to the current status of the US.  Many people in America feel like the war in Iraq and Afghanistan should never of happened, that we shouldn't be there.  But America never turns on their troops and that is exactly what happened in this film.  Shaun got upset because he was told that his father, who died in the war, had died for nothing and that is not true.  The British people never wanted to go to war, much like most of the American people.  Other similarities between England then, and America today: high unemployment rate, illegal immigrants taking jobs (that the unemployed "don't want") and hatred toward Middle Easterners. 

All in all, I would definitely recommend this film to anyone.  As long as you don't mind paying extra attention to the dialog because sometimes it is extremely hard to understand those blokes.

In Festy We Trust

Top 5 ....

Top 5 Musicians/Bands

• Dave Matthews Band
• Mark Broussard
• Notorious BIG
• James Taylor
• The Beatles

Top 5 Books

• Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
• I Hate Your Guts - Jim Norton
• Little Gold Book of Yes! Attitude - Jeffrey Gitomer
• Little Teal Book of Trust - Jeffrey Gitomer
• Recapturing the Trust - Dr. Robert Schachat

Top 5 Movies

• The Departed
• The Sea Inside
• Schindler's List
• The Usual Suspects
• Dr. Strangelove

Top 5 Actors

• Robert DeNiro
• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Matt Damon
• Brad Pitt
• Edward Norton

Top 5 Places To Visit

• Rome
• Alaska
• Dubai
• Egypt
• Australia
  

Top 5 Edgar Allan Poe Works

• The Tell-Tale Heart
• The Raven
• Annabel Lee
• The Cask of Amontillado
• Eldorado

Top 5 Cereals

• Cinnamon Toast Crunch
• Frosted Flakes
• Apple Jacks
• Cocoa Pebbles
• Lucky Charms

Top 5 Video Games

• Super Mario Bros 3 - NES
• Sonic the Hedgehog - Sega Genesis
• Mario Kart - N64
• GTA Vice City - PS2
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Xbox 360

Top 5 Influential Speeches (Real & Fictional)

• I have a Dream - Martin Luther King Jr.
• Inch by Inch - Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday
• The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch
• Freedom - Mel Gibson in Braveheart
• F*** You - Edward Norton in 25th Hour

Top 5 Quotes

• You have to live the life you choose
• The only way to finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them to the impossible
• Your moral compass can only show you where to go, but does not take you there
• Constant dripping hollows out a stone
• The glory is not in never failing, but rising every time you fall

Top 5 Sport Moments

• 2001 World Series - Yankees vs Diamondbacks 
• Michael Phelps 8 Gold Medals - 2008 Beijing Olympics
• Derek Jeter Leaps into the Stands - 07/01/2004
• Don Mattingly Day - 08/31/1997
• Any Roger Federer vs Rafa Nadal Match

Top 5 Hero/Villain

• Batman
• The Joker
• Flash
• Wolverine
• Goro

IMDB - Friend or Foe?

The wheel, the yo-yo, alcohol, modern medicine and IMDB are just a few of the many great inventions ever to be used by The Festy.  One in particular has impacted my life the most.  Some of you might think its alcohol because I haven't drank in almost 2 years while others say modern medicine, because who doesn't pop some pills everyday (...take some Prevacid Christopher and keep your head down!!).  For those non-observant readers the answer is IMDB, The Internet Movie Database.

Some positives and negatives of using IMDB

IMDB is a website I use almost/if not everyday.  Any question I have about a film or tv show, actors or actresses, directors or producers, I can find the answer on IMDB.  For example, I obviously read the info for an upcoming episode of The Office (sorry Murph) and noticed that they will be introducing a new actor to the show.  His name is Idris Elba and I had no idea who he was. So like the smart little Festy I am, I IMDB'ed him and to my surprise, it's the same guy who is playing Stringer Bell in the HBO series Im currently watching, The Wire.  

IMDB is not always going to work in your favor though.  Case in point, 976-EVIL. 976-EVIL was one of those awesomely bad horror films of the 1980's that we had to watch one night.  After the film, we were so intrigued by the main character's acting skills, and by intrigued by his acting skills we meant were pretty bad, we proceeded to IMDB to search Stephen Geoffreys' filmography.  Prior to 976-EVIL, it looks like he did a few more low budget films, nothing to crazy.  Its post 976-EVIL that's the crazy part.  Mr. Geoffreys film credits after his remarkable work in 976-EVIL consist of the following: Latin Crotch Rockets, Just 18 and Gay, Transsexual Prostitutes I & II, and Gay Men in Uniform just to name a few.  After staring in the awful film 976-EVIL, Mr. Geoffrey must have felt that there was no way he was going to make it in Hollywood if he didn't start dabbling in the gay porn industry.  Poor guy :-( 

It is of no surprise that Nicolas Cage is one of the most overrated actors ever to grace the big screen.  A few movies have caught my eye that I've actually enjoyed.  A few.  But I'm not here to talk about what movies I liked him in.  Im going to make sure my faithful viewers don't get suckered into watching one of his bad films.  A short list of bad Nicolas Cage movies are:

• The Wicker Man - 2006 (one of the worst movies I have ever seen  **SEE BELOW**)
• National Treasure 1 & 2 - 2004 & 07 (never going to place the fate of the world in his hands)
• Windtalkers - 2002 (Nicolas Cage in a WWII film?  I can't see him in it either)
• Knowing - 2009 (only thing he knows is how to be a bad actor)
• Next - 2007 (his character spells his name Cris.  The correct spelling is CHRIS.  Enough to not like this movie)
  

I have to say that Nick Cage really drove into a storm because he was not making this blog entry.  Maybe down the road his failure of film appearances would have been talked about, but for the IMDB portion he would have remained out.  That is until we went to Dirks house to find that his mother was watching National Treasure 1 or 2, no way of knowing.  So if Mrs. Hartog were just sitting there with no tv on knitting away, poor Nick Cage would have never been brought up.  Poor guy :-(

I hope this has shed some light on what a website that has "database" including in its title can do for you.  I encourage all of you, if not familiar with the website already, to go and visit IMDB at www.imdb.com and tell them Festy sent you.

In Festy We Trust