Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in dtstratovarius' LiveJournal:

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Friday, July 3rd, 2009
7:48 pm	Single....YET AGAIN! And other thoughts.... Hey all, Well, as it stands, I’m single yet again, since Amanda has “changed” over these past two months since her divorce finalized. Pretty much, she’s “not ready” for a relationship and pretty much is too busy being the single gal, hanging out with her new friends and that, to deal or dedicate any time to her boyfriend, as “my friendship meant more to her than a relationship.” Needless to say, that didn’t sit well with me, as I openly wondered to her, “WTF was the first six months of our relationship then? A waste of time?” I just love how with the last few relationships I’ve had, that everything goes wonderfully, then out of left field…whammo! I should’ve thought something was up after the first email breakup, until we talked, then seeing her recoil when I tried to give her a goodnight kiss last Wednesday, after I had to be her venting board, since everyone else was seemingly crapping on her week. ( Lots of Random Thoughts... ) (Comment on this)
Saturday, June 27th, 2009
3:06 pm	Blues Draft thoughts and more Hey all, Here’s another periodic blog from the reclusive Matt again. First off, Blues draft thoughts…for a team that needs more scoring on the forward lines (namely power forwards), they went defense heavy yet again. First rounder, Swedish defenseman David Rundblad was rated in the Blues draft boards’ top 10, and many mock drafts had him being drafted in the 10-15 range, not last to the Blues at 17. One weakness we’ve had lately is a lack of good offensive, puck-moving defensemen (as Brewer’s regressed from his Edmonton days, Erik Johnson was injured last year, Jeff Woywitka wasn’t the answer nor was Stephen Wagner, and Alex Pietrangelo hasn’t made that next step just yet). Rundblad has solid size and ability. Meanwhile, in the second round, a lot of draftniks thought we might have reached for Canadian defenseman Brett Ponich, a massive 6’7” defensive stay-at-home type. We’ve always had pretty good luck with defensemen drafted out of the WHL (Jackman), and based on his stats, Ponich seems like he’d make some forwards pay with his checking. In the third round, the Blues went against their norm by going to Russia for RW Sergei Andronov. Andronov has some skills and goal scoring ability, BUT…the Blues have not had very good luck at all with Russian players since the early ‘90s (I mean, the last solid Russian we drafted was F-Alex Korolev, and after that was D-Alex Khavanov). IF we can bring him over and he doesn’t pull a Konstantin Zakharov (running back to Belarus TWICE), he might be something (or at the very least, maybe trade bait). In the fourth round, we took another WHL forward in Tyler Shattock, a forward who finally broke out (scoring-wise) this past year. With our final pick, we took another BIG defensemen, this time out of Erie in the OHL, with 6’3”, 220 lbs. David Shields, other developing, possible two-way defender. Honestly, I have to go with the line, “in Jarmo we trust,” as he’s seen David Rundblad more than anyone in the front office (other than our Swedish scouts). The other picks…are not as sexy as prior years, but trust Jarmo’s crew, they always find the gems (look at Brett Sonne, as he went from Dave Lowry-ish utility forward/checker to possible second-line power forward). In gaming, I’m nearing clearing a nice 2,000 GS gap between Frank and myself, as I’ve been playing the recent WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2009 game for the Xbox 360. The controls are easier than the prior two versions. I went through Career Mode with my created wrestler, American “Nuclear” Power. I got a pretty good design for my CAW, as it looks like I took a variation of the old MNM jeans, patterned it with the American flag and two logos (an American flag with a blue thunderbolt, and a dark red ninja star with a lighter red nuclear symbol). I pretty much won all the title belts through progression on the different title paths (they even have the Cruiserweight and Hardcore Titles on the title paths). After you win all the titles and defend 3 of the titles once, you’re a WWE Legend AND Hall of Famer. The game also has a pretty interesting Create-A-Finisher mode where you can chain up to 10 moves/taunts as they make sense/progress. My two finishers for American Power. 1-The “Chaos Theory” (aka the Meltdown, I chose Chaos Theory, as it was one of the finisher names you could choose and the announcers would say it). Here’s the moves for it: boot to the midsection => chokeslam clutch/360 taunt => torture rack setup => 360 torture rack taunt => Spinning uranage spike. Looks a hell of a lot better on video than description. I did do another one, that’s kind of similar but with a gutbuster and Albert’s old torture rack/neckbreaker finisher. I finally beat “Battlefield: Bad Company” on hard difficulty last weekend. I can honestly admit I didn’t get shredded as bad I thought I would on the very last level (compared to when I first played it on normal difficulty). Finally saw some video of the upcoming sequel, and wow…total destruction. GAMING UPDATE: MATT: 11,535 GS; FRANK: 9,852 GS (Frank’s GS won’t move up much, other than for “Halo Wars,” until “Lips” gets restocked on Xbox Retail. I don’t know which game I’ll focus on next, but I may keep on going with WWE: SvR ’09 for the story mode points.) Meanwhile…if you haven’t followed my Facebook updates, I’ve gotten my new Acer laptop back from service. It turns out there wasn’t anything wrong with the hardware, but the OS/BIOS were corrupted. So, they had to do a full restore via the backup partition on the hard drive. I didn’t lose anything I put on there, but I am frustrated that after I installed my Internet Security on there, that it’s not allowing me to open Yahoo Messenger at all (stupid CA Parental Controls software). I even uninstalled and reinstalled Yahoo Messenger, but nothing so far. Odd. Oh well, I’ll figure it out. Saw “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” with Frank on Wednesday afternoon, after Frank got done with his Project Team shift at Manchester (while his car was being worked on at Elco in Ballwin). My thoughts on the movie: it’s definitely the big popcorn movie of the summer (I place it behind “Star Trek” for my movies of the year so far). One of my big gripes with the movie was that there were a LOT of Transformers scattered in the film that you didn’t know WHO they were at all. Major props to one of my fave anime voice actors, Crispin Freeman, on getting a voice part in the movie, as Demolisher (the big Decepticon at the opening Shanghai sequence of the film that NEST/Optimus/Sideswipe/Ironhide are chasing after). More to blog sometime later, Matt (Comment on this)
Friday, June 12th, 2009
7:53 pm	Welcome to Matt's week of suck... Hey all, I would say good evening, but honestly, it&'s been a pretty shitty week for yours truly. From an identity theft attempt on me to having my bank ledger being off by $200 (due to something I missed on my ledger book), it's been a pretty eventful week, up until this morning, when I read an email Amanda sent me last night. Needless to say, I'm single yet again (WTF is it about the time before my birthday, as this is the second F---ING year in a row this happens). In the letter, she has been doing a lot of thinking, and basically, needs some time to heal (from her divorce) as she thinks she's changing from the Amanda I met back in November to something else. At the very least, she values my friendship and wants that to continue (but honestly, it's extremely rare when that does continue, I know I still have two ex-GFs I'm still good friends with, but for the most part, the others don't want to talk to you & vice-versa);.but no word on if after she's done healing if there's a relationship to go back to. Wonder-f'n-ful. So, needless to say, I'm not feeling as crushed as I was when Danielle just flat out dumped me via email telling me not to contact her (blah blah blah, bitch still has a bit of my stuff and won't return calls/emails). However, I am feeling pretty blah and depressed right now, as this was something I really didn't expect, as we were happy together. *shakes head* Just when I think I find someone I could possibly spend my life with, this happens. I'll probably be scheduling something with Amanda next week (as she's busy this weekend) to pick up my Pioneer DVD player, a few of my DVDs over there, and my toothbrush/toothpaste/mouthwash I have over at her apartment. UPDATE: Talked with her briefly twice, when she was at work (once during a break of hers). And other than being very quiet;she didn't know the exact reason why she's doing this, but she's saying that none of it is my fault, it's all her. We'll either be talking or getting together (so I can get my stuff and we can talk more about this) tomorrow. Anyway, blah blah; and oh yeah, more blah, Matt (Comment on this)
7:46 pm	Welcome to Matt's week of suck... Hey all, I would say good evening, but honestly, it’s been a pretty shitty week for yours truly. From an identity theft attempt on me to having my bank ledger being off by $200 (due to something I missed on my ledger book), it’s been a pretty eventful week, up until this morning, when I read an email Amanda sent me last night. Needless to say, I’m single yet again (WTF is it about the time before my birthday, as this is the second F---ING year in a row this happens). In the letter, she has been doing a lot of thinking, and basically, needs some time to heal (from her divorce) as she thinks she’s changing from the Amanda I met back in November to something else. At the very least, she values my friendship and wants that to continue (but honestly, it’s extremely rare when that does continue, I know I still have two ex-GFs I’m still good friends with, but for the most part, the others don’t want to talk to you & vice-versa)….but no word on if after she’s done healing if there’s a relationship to go back to. Wonder-f’n-ful. So, needless to say, I’m not feeling as crushed as I was when Danielle just flat out dumped me via email telling me not to contact her (blah blah blah, bitch still has a bit of my stuff and won’t return calls/emails). However, I am feeling pretty blah and depressed right now, as this was something I really didn’t expect, as we were happy together. *shakes head* Just when I think I find someone I could possibly spend my life with, this happens. I’ll probably be scheduling something with Amanda next week (as she’s busy this weekend) to pick up my Pioneer DVD player, a few of my DVDs over there, and my toothbrush/toothpaste/mouthwash I have over at her apartment. UPDATE: Talked with her briefly twice, when she was at work (once during a break of hers). And other than being very quiet…she didn’t know the exact reason why she’s doing this, but she’s saying that none of it is my fault, it’s all her. We’ll either be talking or getting together (so I can get my stuff and we can talk more about this) tomorrow. Anyway…blah blah…and oh yeah, more blah, Matt (Comment on this)
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
6:43 pm	Reminiscing about the past and things.... Hey all, Let's start this blog with a few things. I know I don't post as often as I used to, as I was constantly blogging here/there (much to John/Maggie's sadness, along with a few other regular readers). The reasoning with this is that I honestly don't get online as much as I used to. I just don't feel the need to (and in August when my cell contract is up, I'm going to look into a cell phone with Windows Mobile on it, so I can just do all of my internet on that). *shrug* Also helps having a great girlfriend to keep my Friday/Saturdays occupied usually. ( Reminiscing on last year and more... ) (Comment on this)
Monday, May 18th, 2009
4:50 pm	A few things after a long day at work... Hey all, Well, needless to say, a lot of testy things happening at work. First off, had a bit of a chat with my Product Process Manager and Supervisor (ie. Mark & Michelle), and needless to say, we're all a bit miffed that the closing staff can't do RTS (return to store product) at all, leaving MORE work that us in Media Merch don't have time to deal with (yeah, let me tell you, here I thought I'd have time to farm 1/2 of the CD area today....and nope, yet another task the closers can't do....downstocking, as I had a 7 page downstocking report to deal with). After work, returned a few things to the library, and I picked up a new sheet set for my bed (as my old dark green fitted sheet is falling apart now. Gotta love a full sheet set (fitted sheet, flat sheet, and 2 pillow cases in that jersey t-shirt material) at Big Lots for the same price that Target wanted there most basic brand fitted sheet (and JUST the fitted sheet). Nearly picked up a second sheet set (microfiber material), but passed as that one's a regular item there). ANIME: Well, yet again, I'm chomping at the bit for a channel to get on the ball and hurry up and air the rest of a show. (First time round, it's Sci-Fi to finally get on the ball and air Season 2 of "Mobile Suit Gundam 00, but now...) I'm enjoying that Cartoon Network is going through the last 9 episodes of "Code Geass R2: LeLouch of the Rebellion." They just aired Episodes 19 & 20, and I can't wait, as these last dozen eps of this particular season (2nd season) has just been a rollercoaster of twists and turns. Definitely probably #2 or #3 on my all-time BEST-written anime series list. Beyond that, not much to chat about (sorry I'm not online as much as I used to be, but that's the trevails of having a job, reading a lot more now, and having a girlfriend)... Matt (Comment on this)
Sunday, May 10th, 2009
5:12 pm	Time to catch up on things... Hey all, Well, it’s been a pretty eventful week for yours truly. Amanda finally had her divorce go official on Thursday, though her ex decided to take Murray (Manda’s red golden retriever) for a week-plus (as part of the settlement, he’s able to get Murray for 6 weeks out of the year). Since she’s returned from her trip, she’s been a tad distant, but I understand that she’ll need some “me time” to get her things back in order (especially with as quiet and distant as she was Friday night). ( More to catch up with... ) (Comment on this)
Monday, May 4th, 2009
10:04 pm	a few things (as I try to slowly catch up on blogging) Hey guys, Well, here's a few quickie things... Watched a few movies over the past few days, and let's get some quickie reviews: -GI Joe: Resolute: A new, updated cartoon that seems to be more based on the recent comic series. THE GOOD: Absolutely tremendous action sequences (especially the showdown between Storm Shadow & Snake Eyes), the weapons/vehicle designs were updated and great, the tradition of whomever voiced Starscream does Cobra Commander continues, the new take on Destro VA-wise was interesting (as it's very Connery-esque). THE BAD: Two semi-major secondary characters killed in the first 10-15 minutes, then another semi-major secondary character killed later (all 3 fan faves, good guys & bad guys). Also, a grand total of FOUR voice actors (3 male VAs/1 female VA) to voice the ENTIRE CAST. And the entire male cast character models reminded me of He-Man, where everyone was absolutely/ridiculously ripped. -Zack & Miri Make a Porno: THE GOOD: A hilarious combo cast of Judd Apatow's usual suspects with Kevin Smith's crew & direction. THE BAD: Nearly enough deleted/extended scenes to do a 2nd movie. WOW. -The House Bunny: THE GOOD: Staring at Rumer Willis (Bruce's daughter) and Emma Stone. Not much else. THE BAD: A 2nd strike here for a non-Sandler-cameo'ing Happy Madison production (the first being "Strange Wilderness"). Anna Faris is VERY typecast now, as nearly every movie she does anymore is practically the same character. Sandler PA/great buddy Jonathan Loughran in drag, YIKES! More to blog about later, including Matt moving Amanda to Maryland Heights! Matt (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
10:53 pm	A quick update Hey again, Sorry I haven't been blogging as much as I usually do, it's just been really busy these last few weeks (especially with Physical Inventory this past Sunday night), and I've just not been in much of a mood to do anything online lately. Coming Soon: A blog post dedicated to Matt's thoughts on the Rams 2009 draft class, along with the 16 undrafted free agents they've brought in. Should be really interesting there. :) Gamer update: MATT: 10,350 GS; FRANK: 9,594 GS. Go me! :) -Played "Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3" and "Quantum of Solace" today. Definitely interesting. Quantum is a pretty decent game, as Activision/Treyarch used the Call of Duty 4 engine for this Bond adventure (a first-person shooter, with it switching to 3rd person when you're in cover). Follows the Quantum movie, with bits from Casino Royale as well. So far, so good w/Quantum. Red Alert 3 is definitely interesting, as I've been supremely skeptical of RTS games on consoles. After reading a handful of reviews, I gave it a shot, and the control scheme is surprisingly good. Gotta love the Hollywood'ing-up that EA/Westwood does for these games (you got Tim Curry, Peter Stormare, Andrew Divoff, and American Gladiator/MMA fight chick Gina Carano for the Russians; Jonathan Pryce, J.K. Simmons, UFC's Randy Couture, and Jenny McCarthy with David Hasselhoff as Simmons' VP for the Allied Forces; and George Takei, Kelly Hu, and Ron Yuan for the Empire of the Rising Sun). Great stuff, though at times cheesy dialogue. :) Check it out, even for the PC version (the expansion on the PC has Ric Flair as one of the subcommanders in the game, I believe for the Allies). More to come later, busy weekend (Amanda's move to the new apartment, and next week, she goes up to Wisconsin for two days to finalize her divorce and that), Matt (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 9th, 2009
4:28 pm	Matt's NFL Draft Predictions/Pre-Draft Thoughts... Hey all, Well, it sounds like the Lions (if they don't get a last second trade offer) will be picking Georgia QB Matt Stafford, which leaves the Rams in a nice position to be in with a handful of prime players to choose from OR if someone decides to trade up to snag USC QB Mark Sanchez. Anywho....if there's no trade-down....I'd LOVE to draft Wake Forest LB Aaron Curry, but it sounds like he may not translate into a 4-3 MLB like most want to shift him to (ie. where our need is, unless we keep him at SAM LB and shove Pisa to the bench). However, from the sounds and logic of it all....Virginia OT Eugene Monroe will be the Rams pick if they stay at #2. Reasons why Monroe's the pick: He comes from a college that produces SOLID O-Lineman; he was on a solid Virginia team; and athletically...he has way more potential. Other option: Baylor OT Jason Smith seems really iffy right now. I mean, his measurables at the Combine were impressive, but he was on a lousy Baylor team that really hasn't produced much in the NFL. He's got potential and size, but he was beaten a lot thanks to lack of weak-side help. Second round: Here's who I'm hoping for: Maryland WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (I know, wishful thinking here), Rutgers WR Kenny Britt, Ohio State MLB John Laurenitis (or if USC MLB Rey Manuaga falls, but after his Pro Day...I SERIOUSLY doubt he falls out of the 1st round), Utah CB/S Sean Smith (who'd be my 2nd choice after Heyward-Bey, with his size/speed/ballhawking combo). Another player I'd love here would be Connecticut RB Donald Brown, or even Cincinnatti OLB/DE/TE Connor Barwin (Vrabel revisited!). :) If the Rams surprise by not going with OT in the first round, Connecticut OT William Beatty. Third Round: Michigan State RB Javon Ringer, Richmond DE/OLB Lawrence Sidbury Jr, West Virginia QB/WR Pat White, Later rounds: (6th/7th) Fresno State QB Tom Brandstater (a name that pops up on a TON of full mock drafts as our 6th round pick). (4th) North Carolina WR Brandon Tate (a 1st round talent, but recovering from a torn ACL/MCL) (5th-7th) Sam Houston State QB Rhett Bomar (a definitely intriguing prospect). Other players I'd like to see: Mizzou DE/OLB Stryker Sulak, Boston College DT Ron Brace, Maryland CB Kevin Barnes, Mizzou S William Moore, Mizzou QB Chase Daniel (or Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell), Cal Poly WR Ramses Barden (huge redzone target!), Texas WR Quan Crosby (feel-good story, plus I think he'd be solid at returns). Course, Rams needs are: OT, WR, OLB/MLB, CB, DL, OG, RB, a developmental QB (to replace weak-armed Brock Berlin). More in a week, Matt (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
4:28 pm	More graphic novels, wrestling, and more Hey again, Well, work went well, even if I really wanted to get into a heated discussion with radio personality Kevin Slaten, who happened to be the first customer I helped today with some headphones and some headphone adapters. As much as I just flat out HATE Slaten's radio personality, he wasn't that bad as a customer (though trust me, I wanted to really rail into him otherwise for being a cancer in the St. Louis sports radio scene). Read a handful more graphic novels while waiting for Dad to get home. Chipped out the first volume of "Young Justice" (kind of a young Teen Titans, but not, with Superboy, Robin-Tim Drake, Arrowette, Wonder Girl-Cassie Sandsmark, Impulse, and Red Tornado in a supervisory role for 'em). Good stuff. Then, read 3 of the "Batgirl" novels, which focuses on the Batgirl after a then-paralyzed-turned-Oracle Barbara Gordon, Cassandra Cain. Very different, though I did like the added touches of Spoiler/Stephanie Brown being added in there, trying to be Cassandra's friend and having Cassandra train her to improve her fighting as Spoiler (and Steph will teach Cassandra to read). I read a bit on Wikipedia about Cassandra Cain after reading about Stephanie Brown's brief run as Robin...and man, of all the kids Bruce brought into things....Cassie was the worst and most dangerous (being trained until she was 8 to be an assassin by her merc/assassin father, David Cain). Started watching this past weekend's AAA Lucha TV, but really couldn't get into it, even an X-Pac/Alex Koslov vs. Teddy Hart/Jack Evans match couldn't spark any interest out of me. Blah. More to blog about later, I think I'm going to crash for a nap... Matt (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
8:50 pm	The Konnan purge of AAA continues... Well, more of the old-guard in AAA are being fazed out. Add the Minis-Mixed Tag Champs: Albreije & Cujie to the departing-AAA list. Jesus, Konnan....way to completely GUT your undercard & midcard talent. I mean...sounds like all of the Brazos (except for Brazo de Plata Jr. who's one of the Psycho Circus clowns) are gone. The Vipers, except for the soon-to-be-regimmicked Black Abyss, are gone now. Los Infernales/Diabolicos (Mr. Condor/Angel Mortal/El Gallego) have been gone for awhile, and seems like the Night Queens (other than Polvo & periodically for house shows Yuriko) are gone too. Geez....WTF? Hell, it'll be a matter of time before Latin Lover flakes again...so there's that to look forward to. (Comment on this)
6:14 pm	Jury duty cancelled Hey all, Well, first things first....called the hotline and my juror group was cancelled and I don't have to call back or anything this time around. So, I'm 2 for 3 in terms of actually having to go in for jury duty (#3: cancelled; #2 went/wasn't called to serve; #1: got out due to vacation trip). With the jury duty out, I took a vacation day instead of going into work (since Dan already filled in my shift). Read a few more graphic novels today. "The JLA: Tornado's Path" was another great Brad Metzger story. "Batman: Hush" was an interesting start to possibly a series, as Bruce had to go to Metropolis to work with Superman on this one. Finished "Batman: Dark Victory," which was a great setup and introduction with Robin. Not much more today. *YAWN* More later, Matt (Comment on this)
Monday, April 6th, 2009
6:41 pm	Lots o'random thoughts Hey all, Well, first off, used the free Redbox rental on "City of Ember," and so far, it's a really good family adventure (gotta love Bill Murray as a villain). :) I am kicking myself for not using the freebie on "Bedtime Stories," but Amanda would murder me if I saw it w/o her. Interesting to read about the recent trade with the Rams & the Falcons, as we switched draft spots in the 5th and 6th rounds, and acquired '07 3rd rounder WR/KR Laurent Robinson out of Illinois State (I believe). A guy with loads of speed (4.3/40), size (6'2", 193), and some starting experience. Robinson's has had some minor dings that has kept him from breaking out. He's competition for the #2 WR spot with Keenan Burton, unless...they bring in a veteran hand to teach the kids. However, Robinson will definitely get a shot to take one of the two return jobs. The big ouch to this trade is that we traded down in both the 5th and 6th rounds about 20 or so spots in each round. Kinda hoping we do a trade down or two to pick up some more picks. Read most of (if not all, since I read it got cancelled on the writers) of the Jaime Reyes version of the "Blue Beetle" comics that the library had. Very good stuff (especially when the Reach hire Lobo to try to take out a rocket with anti-Reach tech on it, and Jaime (and Robin & the Teen Titans) happen to be there)), and makes me appreciate the character more on "Batman: Brave and the Bold." I kind of hope they delve a bit more with Batman/Blue Beetle on that show (use his friends Brenda & Paco, his magic-wielding international-traveling girlfriend: Traci 13, and have some good interactions with his parents and little sister....or at least incorporate the Reach storyline they did in the comic). Also read what seems to be the "introductory" volume of the Nightwing comic (at least with this you see why Batman sent Dick to Bludhaven, the introduction [or re-introduction, in a sense] of Blockbuster/Roland Desmond, the background on corrupt Det. Dudley Soames, how Dick got his apartment/met his landlord/possible love interest-Clancy, etc....). Definitely enlightened me on stuff I missed in the 2-3 collections I read. I finished Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One," and that was definitely a different take on things (how Batman won over Lt. Gordon, and how Gordon's life was really falling apart on him). Presently, I'm reading Jeph Loeb's "Batman: Dark Victory," which so far has a pretty intriguing plot to it (as it's just after Harvey Dent was turned into Two-Face, and now-Captain Gordon had his wife leave him with their son, James Jr.). On the reading plate, 4 "New Teen Titans" collections (including the one WB is supposedly working on as the next Teen Titans direct-to-video release/movie), 3 collections of Kelley Puckett's "Batgirl," a collection of DC's "Young Justice" (kind of a Teen Titans as younger kids thing), Brad Metzger's "JLA: The Tornado's Path," and Jeph Loeb's "Batman: Hush," which should be interesting based off everything I've read about the Hush character, and finally, a collection with the "Starman" character (as I always was interested with the Shade character from JLA). More to blog about later, Matt (Comment on this)
Saturday, April 4th, 2009
5:09 pm	More updates Hey all, Well, after helping out Amanda putting up new signage at her work, then showing her parents the "display apartment" where she's moving in 3 weeks-plus, Amanda and I ran around today. Before the apartment visit with her parents, we swung by Chesterfield to snag her a new microwave (which was a few dollars more than the one she bought Sunday, but was more compact at the same cubic feet/power wattage, and was stainless steel), along with getting Murray (her red golden retriever dog) a soft-compression softball. We ate at Jimmy John's after the apartment visit, then swung by my house to snag my spare softball bat (to use to hit said softball for Murray). Back here, even though Amanda's been on a testy/abusive streak lately....smacking me repeatedly with her remote last night, and then today, poking me with her sharp fingernail. *shrug* So...in other things: -Thanks to "Lego Batman," I'm now 405 GS away from Frank in the battle of Xbox 360 profile GamerScore. So, as it stands presently: ---FRANK: (still) 9,315 GS; MATT: 8,910 GS. -The Rams moved on from Gus Frerotte's demands, and moved to go younger with former Ravens' QB Kyle Boller, who newly-signed C/OG Jason Brown probably gave Coach Spags the thumbs-up. At least with Kyle, he'll throw the ball away or toss an INT, instead of taking a sack. Boller's got a solid gun for an arm, and has starting experience. He should be a solid improvement as a backup in case something happens to Bulger again, unlike "Concussion" Trent Green's pathetic-ness. More later, Matt PS: Anyone know anything about Affinity Golf? Seems like they are affiliated with Intech Golf. Reason I ask is that there's a driver (the Affinity Mega Launch) that I'm eying over here at Play It Again Sports in Fairview Heights. I couldn't find a whole hell of a lot of info online other than a sales listing at a store called Boscov's with not a lot of specs on it. Honestly, it's the best feeling club I've ever swung (in terms of weight and waggle). (Comment on this)
Friday, April 3rd, 2009
10:30 pm	Take some time to blog... Hey all, Well, just finished watching "Marley & Me" with Amanda, and that was a good, yet sad movie. Anywho....let's get to some randomness... -Joined the "Next-Generation" DVD age again yesterday....well, I've had an HD-DVD drive for the XBOX 360 for awhile now (I believe I got that Oct. '07?), but Thursday, I picked up the Samsung BD-UP5000 "combo" (it plays Blu-Ray DVDs & HD-DVDs, along with the usual CDs/DVDs). Pretty much, it's the display unit that's been on display (and at times in use in Magnolia) for awhile now. I've been waiting for it to hit on one of the End of Life sendbacks for Mark to give me a good deal on it. However, I mentioned that I was eyeing it to my old grade/high school classmate Jeff, who said he'd talk with Dave (since it's been on Home Theater's At-Risk Report FOREVER) about a deal. They had it currently marked at $199 open-item price (off of a "new"/clearance price of $299.99, with an MSRP originally of $799.99). So, Jeff gets back to me and asks me if I want it for $100. DEAL! Sure, there's no manual (which is easily fixed, as I downloaded it from Samsung's site tonight here at Amanda's, along with the 1.4 version of the firmware, with the BD 2.0 profile on it) AND there's no remote, but I'll be ordering that sometime this weekend from work's PartsSearch website ($36 for the remote, but honestly, a combo player w/ext. warranty and remote for less than $150...can't beat that). Tested it out at home, and it works perfectly (as the upconvert chip in the system is considered to be one of the best made). No clue on which Blu-Ray will be the first I snag, but that won't be for awhile. -Ever since putting on the new Security Suite (CA's Complete Internet Suite, got it from Circuit before they died), my Internet has been bogged down speed wise, along with the flat-out slowness of the computer now. Gotta get some more RAM for this sucker. More to blog about later... Matt (Comment on this)
Monday, March 30th, 2009
9:56 pm	More AAA issues.... Hey all, Well, as if Abismo Negro's passing AND the whole Juvy/Konnan/Jack Evans things weren't bad enough....seems like a handful of veterans are walking (including the most-over technico AAA HAS being told "best wishes, we don't have anything for you"). So, add what's left of the Vipers (Histeria & Psichosis II), along with the remaining Piratas (Pirata Morgan & el Hijo de Pirata Morgan), AND the legendary Super Porky (who was given his walking papers). Now, I can understand cutting Porky, as his matches have become absolutely gruesome to watch (especially anything involving a cage, as you have to put El Elegido in there to help push him out)....but you just lost a damn good chunk of your rudo mid-carders here. Histeria's been a damn good worker for the past decade-plus, Psichosis II...is good in short spurts, el Hijo de PM has improved a LOT over the past two years, and Pirata Morgan Sr. is still enjoyable. Sheesh, what groups are left? The Mexican Powers are just down to Crazy Boy & Ultimo Gladiator. La Secta still has all 4 guys, but doesn't use 'em all. Real Fuerza Aerea is really make shift after Super Fly/Aerostar/Laredo Kid (El Angel has kind of taken a mentor role for 'em, along with periodically El Gato Eveready). You have the new-on-the-scene Poder del Norte, who have taken over the low-card atomicos group (possibly growing if they toss Escorpion Negro back to 'em, OR have Billy Boy take 'em and run). We haven't seen the Night Queens in ages, nor Los Infernales Diabolicos. It's a shame as a year-plus ago, the Atomicos Titles feuds were enjoyable to watch with La Secta feuding with the Mexican Powers, RFAs, Vipers, and more. Anywho, gotta love the bilingual promos now. Jack Evans opened up this weekend's AAA TV with one, and Zorro (anytime he's with Jack/Teddy/Nikki) has been doing 'em too (which is just cool). Only down side...Konnan's bilingual ones. Blah. More tomorrow, Matt (Comment on this)
Monday, March 23rd, 2009
2:57 pm	Hey all, Well, the wrestling biz is getting nuttier by the day. In AAA this past weekend, seems like on-again/off-again star Juventud Guerrera and his valet (and supposed girlfriend), Lizzy Valentine, quit during their 2nd show back in AAA, due to Konnan's attitude. Apparently, Konnan make a #2 in Juvy's bag, which disgusted Lizzy to a point where she quit on the spot. Meanwhile, Juvy (being Juvy) confronted Jack Evans and Konnan about it, and Jack kicked Juvy's ass (leaving him with a busted nose, and back to ply his trade in the Mexican and international indies). Okay...Konnan, seriously....way to turn a practical joke gone wrong. If that's the way you're going to treat your talent (even if Juvi is an egomaniac and an a--hole)....you're never going to keep anyone (let along deal with your asinine booking centering around you). *shakes head* So much for that. And in a bit of major AAA/Lucha news, AAA luchador Abismo Negro was found dead yesterday, after leaving a bus due to a panic attack (which turns out it might be a heart attack, but other rumors have it possibly being a mafia hit, who knows...). Negro got lost and was found drowned in a nearby river. It's a shame, as Abismo was really one of the historic faces of AAA, and he was a steady worker and mic worker throughout (even having an appearance in TNA for one of their World X Cups). It's a real shame, as AAA loses one of their top technicos now. Prayers and thoughts go out to Abismo's family. Speaking of wrestling...Ring of Honor had their premier 1-hour TV show on HDNet on Saturday night, and if you don't have HDNet already....GET IT! Best wrestling TV show in AGES! Here's the results: 1) Jerry Lynn defeated Delirious with the cradle piledriver (3/5) 2) Kenny King defeated "the New Whore" Sami Callihan with the "Coronation" ("Burning Hammer" into a swinging DDT; 3/5) 3) Brent Albright defeated "Addicted to Love" Rhett Titus with the Crowbar (high-angle Fujiwara armbar submission; 2.5/5) 4) MAIN EVENT: Tyler Black defeated Jimmy Jacobs with a flip rollup out of Jacobs' "End Time" (guillotine choke) submission (3.5/5) NEXT WEEK: "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen wrestles Eddie Edwards of the American Wolves; Sara Del Ray wrestles St. Louis' own Daizee Haze, and HEYYYYYYYYYY! Claudio Castagnoli wrestles "Sugarfoot" Alex Payne. In the main event, ROH World Champ Nigel McGuinness wrestles Jay Briscoe. FOLLOWING WEEK: Erick Stevens wrestles "Sterling" James Keenan; The Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis & Jon Davis; regular FIP team) wrestle "Up in Smoke (Cheech & Cloudy; periodic team in ROH); Chris Hero (with Larry Sweeney & Sara Del Ray) wrestles the Necro Butcher; and in the main event (and it should be a really good one), "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson wrestles rival Austin Aries. Week 3-6's TV tapings were this weekend, and all I can say is...it's definitely going to be a great Saturday night watching!!!! (Repeats are twice on Tuesdays). Meanwhile, this week's AAA TV on Galavision was pretty mediocre. 1) El Gran Apache/El Gato Eveready/El Angel defeated Poder del Norte (Tigre Cota/Tito Santana II/Rio Bravo) by DQ when Billy Boy ran in and clocked Daddy Apache with a chair. ----Pretty yawner of a match, as Angel did something to get himself hurt, as he had to be carried out mid-way through the match. I'm thinking concussion. 2) AAA Tag Champs: La Hermandad 187 (Joe Lider/Nicho el Millionario) defeated Real Fuerza Aerea (Laredo Kid & Super Fly) when Lider hit a Package Driver on Laredo after Laredo missed a top rope twisting 450 splash. ----Solid match, 'til Lider nearly killed Fly with a top rope flipping chokeslam (looked like Fly crashed onto his own face). 3) Black Abyss defeated (the now late) Abismo Nego with a marinete with help from Legion ref El Hijo de Tirantes. ----Nice bit of continuity with the Abismo/Hijo de Tirantes stuff, as Tirantes didn't forget that Abismo tormented him a year or two ago. :) Interesting post-match touch, with Abyss spraying flame on Abismo twice. 4) Hart Foundation II (Teddy Hart/Jack Evans w/Nikki) defeated The Mexican Powers (Crazy Boy/Ultimo Gladiator) when Jack rolled up Gladiator after a low blow by Nikki. Only match worth watching, as it was a good one. Hilarious moment with Nikki flashing Gladiator, but Jack wasn't able to get the 3 then. Also, great moment when both MexiPowers were down, Jack/Teddy stood on top of them, got Hijo de Tirantes in for the nice group photo op. :) Then, after Tirantes moved, Jack/Teddy with stereo moonsaults. NICE! Also, the continued idiocy of Teddy Hart continues, as he no-sold (recovered WAY too fast) after a cradle piledriver by Gladiator. *shakes head* Um...Teddy, piledriver = KO/stretcher job in Mexico, dumbass (unless it's a Canadian Destroyer, like Teddy's butterfly one OR Ozz's one). 5) La Parka Jr. defeated Silver King ----Eh, fast forwarded through this one. 6) Charly Manson/Latin Lover/X-Pac defeated Electro Shock/Konnan/El Zorro when Charly got Electro to tap to "El Pozo" (rolled Indian deathlock). ---Good match, but I kept wondering if the Charly was a fake as he didn't do ANYTHING 'til he finally got tagged in the last like 3-4 minutes. Plus Konnan must have gotten Charly hooked up with Jeff Hardy's body paint supplier. I do find it hilarious that Electro (who happens to be Charly's older BROTHER) took the job. -All in all, other than Hart Foundation 2/MexiPowers, a pretty piss-poor show. More to blog later or so, Matt (Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
8:02 pm	Wishing the weather would stay like this 'til fall... Hey all, Well, took advantage of the weather and worked a bit on my golf short game with my two MacGregor Grass'N'Sand System Lob Wedges (60 degree & 64 degree), as I found my golf cup/flag to put in the yard. Sucked that I could not find my chipping net that I haven't used in a few years (which I SWORE was in the garage last time I checked). With the exception of a few shanks and skulls, I felt really confident with the results. As usual, my shots with my 60 degree LW were solid, but I'm still having problems maintaining consistency with the 64 degree LW. All in all, pretty fun, especially watching Wags chase the golf balls around after I hit 'em (thankfully, after biting on one, decided not to do that again). In other things... -Getting very close now to Frank: FRANK - still 9,315 GS; MATT - 8,130 GS. My co-worker, Robert, may be helping me out with this, as he's going to loan me a few games to bump up the GS. :) -Read another "Teen Titans" compilation (this one written again by Geoff Johns with "Green Arrow" current writer, Judd Winick) earlier today (where Lex Luthor and Brainiac activated something with Conner Kent/Superboy & Indigo from the Outsiders group by turning her into Brainiac 8), and so far, it's definitely been an interesting read. I'm definitely a DC Universe guy, and now finding out seeing the Outsiders pop in....I'm definitely more curious about the original Speedy, Roy Harper, who is Arsenal now (and becomes Red Arrow later). -Rams have been making some interesting minor re-signings and street free agent signings. They resigned backup DE Eric Moore for depth, and former starting LG Mark Setterstrom as depth at OG/C. Meanwhile, they signed a handful of former practice squadders from other teams: local native/former CBC QB Jeff Otis, CB Markus Brown, TE Eric Butler, and C Tim Mattran. Then, today, they add former Bucs WR Chad Lucas (who could be an interesting special teams add) and former undrafted Giants DB Craig Dahl (who'd be interesting if he didn't tear each ACL his past two seasons). -Also, the Blues are making some interesting moves, as a few of their draft picks are signing Amateur Tryout Contracts with Peoria. First off, last year's 3rd rounder, RW James Livingston, joined up after his OHL team didn't make the playoffs. And the Blues scored a coup, by being able to bring over C/LW Jori Lehtera for the rest of this season (as he's in the 2nd of a 3 year deal with his SEL team). Lehtera will be a steal! I kind of wish we still had LW Charlie Linglet, so we could have a Triple-L line (Linglet/Lehtera/Livingston). :) More later, Matt (Comment on this)
Friday, March 13th, 2009
4:48 pm	Books, games, and more Hey all, Well, knocked out two new release books this week from reserves from the library (I was #1 on the one book's reserve list, and #3 on the other). :) First off, on Monday before/after my dreaded dentist bi-yearly check-up/cleaning (which was my first visit to the dreaded dentist in years), I got the newest Robert B. Parker novel featuring Jesse Stone called, "Night and Day," which I finished that night. Later in the week, on Wednesday after work, I tagged the recent Clive Cussler/Jack Du Brul co-authored Oregon Files novel, "Corsair," which I finished earlier this afternoon. Finally, Thursday after work, I read 3 of the "Teen Titans" graphic novel collections by Geoff Johns, along with a post-Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)'s death "diary" focusing on his little-known best friend/sidekick/mechanic. A really good short story there that gives a tad bit more into what the heck Hal was thinking then. :) As for "Night and Day," it's a pretty solid novel as Jesse has a handful of things to deal with, but all-in-all, a very enjoyable read (especially Suit's "undercover" assignment). Very recommended for fans of mystery thrillers. GRADE: A-, while good, I thought the last novel, "Stranger in Paradise" was one of the Jesse Stone series' best. As for "Corsair," it's another novel (in the last few NUMA/Oregon Files novels) that kind of proves that Cussler isn't doing a damn thing anymore than putting his name on the novel (while collecting the royalties) and maybe conceptualizing the story, as you can tell it's all Du Brul here (in terms of the writing style). It's definitely a great story (and surprising that for the second novel in-a-row that Juan Cabrillo doesn't get the gal). Good stuff, and can Cussler release his grip from Du Brul so he can write a new Mercer novel please (we Mercer fans haven't had a Mercer novel since '06)! Again, recommended for the techno thrillers out there, GRADE: A- Rented "Appaloosa" for my free Redbox rental o'the week here (from the March Madness promotion), and watched it with the parents. Interesting opinions abound: Dad hated it (go fig). Mom loved it. I thought it was good, not great. It was very well cast (Ed Harris/Viggo Mortensen were perfect as the lead, as was Jeremy Irons as the villain. Only casting gripe, the bland Renee Zellweger as love interest, Allie. Worth the rental, as it's the rare decent and recent Western. In good news for us children of the '80s....Hasbro in conjunction with Universal Studios (though Vivendi and Shout Factory) has announced a June 16th release day (either right before or after the release of "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen") for the 25th Anniversary release of the First Season of "Transformers" animated series. 'Bout f'n time! :) More to come later, since no one has called about going to Ring of Honor with me (and the fact I'm not feeling too hot right now), I'm either crashing here, or going to offer a hug for Amanda (as her ex's lawyer sent a reply to her lawyer's stuff, and needless to say, she's not a happy camper right now, even though she got approved for her new apartment today: ETA move-in - May 1). Matt (Comment on this)