Good Afternoon Ladies &
Gentlemen,
So
do you think I did okay with the birthday surprise on the last entry? Dizzy
thinks so… I’m humble in my awesomeness but I think that I did pretty good… and
the comments have been good on the Facebook. Maybe I am pretty good at this
dating thing… or at least the presents part. Aside from that, Father’s Day was
pretty cool. I talked with my stepdad for a few minutes and wished him a happy
father’s day. He’s a good dude & I feel like he doesn’t get the respect that
he should most of the time. He’s soft-spoken and… let’s face it, easily mockable
most of the time… but he’s a great guy, very nice & most importantly makes
my mom happy. When he married into the family, he basically went from a kind of
snooty, arrogant “upper class” family into a gaggle of rednecks… and I know it
wasn’t easy. Hell, I was the good one & I gave him plenty of grief… but I
was a teenager, what do you expect? My brother though has never been a treat to
anybody… and even his own son has ended up siding more with the other side of
the family & staying away from him… which is unfortunately because he really
loves that red-headed stepbrother of mine (as he should). So with that, thanks
for putting up with all of us, Lavar! You’re a good
sh*t…
As
for my dad, he’s been recovering from his torn MCL & ACL since Easter when
it happened, but he’s back at work with crutches. I got him some books as a
present, one is an encyclopedia about Harley-Davidson motorcycles… and the other
was a nice little one I found on Amazon about a man who basically went through
his dad’s journal about a great road trip across America just before WWII on his
Harley… called “The Old Man & the Harley” or something like that. He said
that he has it next to his seat at the house so he can read it… and that’s cool.
He & I are a lot a like… and apparently that means difficult to shop for.
Anything that we particularly need or even want, we’ll basically take care of it
or build it ourselves… so usually we get things like gift certificates, movies
that came out for the holidays that we may or may not already have, sports
memorabilia, stuff like that. Sure it can be frustrating for those trying to get
gifts… but honestly, as long as we get a quick phone call or letter or something
that just says “Hey, happy birthday” or whatever, we’re pretty good with that.
Cash works too. Anyway, I gave him a call last weekend because… well, I thought
it was Father’s Day… but also this last weekend when it was… and he’s in high
spirits & I can’t wait to see both of them in about a month. Happy Father’s
(or Not-A-Father’s) Day EVERYBODY!!!
So
for the past week or so, I’ve been playing a new video game “NBA 2K13” and yes,
I’m about a year behind everybody else in the world when it comes to video games
because… unless it’s “Assassin’s Creed 5” or about every third “Madden” title,
then I can wait a few months until it drops from $60+ to $20. Basically, this is
game may have been made specifically for me just from an introductory
perspective… it’s a basketball game… produced by Jay-Z… has past greats
involved… and has a number of different play modes including a mode called My
Career where you basically make a character & take them through their
career. From rookie camps to draft day to riding the bench to making your way to
starter to endorsement deals to answering media questions to free agency to All
Star games to playoffs & championship to maybe even the Hall of Fame. Pretty
cool, right? Well, like I said, I’m a week into it… and it’s my first time
playing a 2K game (usually an EA Sports guy) and there’s a bit of a learning
curve… but I’m liking it thus far, even if it’s frustrating at some points.
Seriously guys, I’m not going to miss wide open layups just so you can keep me
under 20 points a game off the bench… and the whole free throw system seems
really off to me… still have no idea where & when I’m supposed to release it
because the realistic way always seem wrong… but I get it. Gotta walk before you
ball. The soundtrack is bangin’… the play for the most part is pretty smooth
though there are a few things that irritate me… like how I suddenly turn ghost
from time to time & people can pass right through me on defense… and again,
the layups that just won’t go in (for that matter they won’t let a 6’9” small
forward with a dunk rating in the mid 60’s dunk either, WTF?). I’ll keep you
posted but I really like the game thus far.
Current Status: After an average showing at the Rookie
Showcase, Steve Love was drafted #14 by the Milwaukee Bucks (though real life
#14 pick John Henson is also on the team). After producing decent numbers on 5-6
minutes of the bench for the first ten games or so. I’ve moved into the starting
lineup… so I get about 15 minutes a game (5 minute quarters) and… basically the
hardest part for me getting points… is getting the ball away from Brandon
Jennings & Monta Ellis, the two ballhog guards… but Ellis is injured now so…
yay, I’ve stepped into the two-guard spot where I can drain threes a few times
before they play tough on me. Starting to get a feel for the defensive controls
& post moves too & always dishing out dimes so it’s going pretty good.
About 18 games into the season, we’re 11-7 but 6-1 since I was in the lineup
(tough loss to the Spurs, who “magically” went on 12-0 runs whenever I was out
of the game) and even though my stats aren’t AMAZING due to a sub-40% free throw
and/or layups being very iffy, I’m doing pretty decent. Here’s a shot of my
billboard & magazine cover…
Speaking of basketball, I decided to watch my first full
game of the year… since it was Game 6 of the NBA Finals and my San Antonio Spurs
(fan since David Robinson’s rookie year) were ready to wrap up their
5th title against the
Miami Heat. So I went down to Café Prague to watch the game & Dizzy met up
with me at halftime. Tim Duncan OWNED the first half, posting a career high with
25 first half points… but the Spurs were up by only six. They extended that lead
to 10 at the start of the 4th… and then apparently LeBron James removed his headband…
not unlike Clark Kent removing his glasses… and he brought them back to a good
close game… a few no calls that would’ve been for the Spurs but hey, that’s how
it’s played in the playoffs… then for some reason they decide to leave wide open
in the corner, not a great three-point shooter… but THE GREATEST THREE-POINT
SHOOTER IN NBA HISTORY, JESUS SHUTTLESWORTH HIMSELF… RAY ALLEN!!! So… of course
he made the tying shot… hard fought overtime… and now there will be a Game 7
tomorrow night. The only catch… I have a work outing tomorrow night in honor of
my new Boss Man. All I have to say is… if they don’t have a TV with the game on…
then I’ll be excusing myself to go to the bathroom A LOT during the night.
“Excuse me, nature calls… at the bar across the street… I’ll be back in… 35, 45
minutes. Oh… and I’m taking this beverage with me.” Anyway, first world
problems… here’s the news…
Whining About Wine - Award-winning chef Charlie Trotter
is being sued by two New York wine collectors who say he sold them a bottle of
wine for more than $46,000 that wasn't what it said on the label. (GASP!!!) The
federal lawsuit filed Thursday in Chicago accuses Trotter and one of his wine
experts of duping them into buying what they thought was a magnum of 1945
Romanee-Conti from the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti winery in June 2012. The
collectors, Bekim and Ilir Frrokaj (Beh-KEEM' and ih-LEER' FRO'-kuh), say an
appraisal firm concluded the bottle was counterfeit. They are seeking damages of
more than $76,000 (emotional distress I’m sure). They accuse Trotter and his
company of violating Illinois consumer fraud laws. An attorney for Trotter, John
Riccione, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Friday.
Here’s the thing… you’re buying a bottle of rotten grape juice. I mean… think
about it. I’m a huge fan of wine, don’t get me started… and having a winery down
the road would basically be a dream come true… but why would anyone spend
$46,000 on a bottle of wine as opposed to… I don’t know, a luxury sedan? Does
this sh*t cure cancer? No, wait… they’d add a few zeroes if that was the case…
but still, it’s f**king grape juice. You got conned! Probably after Chuck
Trotter got conned! After somebody else conned a fellow hustler & so on
& so forth. Drink Mangria!
Birthday Suit – Speaking of ridiculous lawsuits, a
production company making a documentary about the song "Happy Birthday to You"
is challenging the copyright to the famous jingle. Good Morning To You
Productions Corp., which is working on a film tentatively titled "Happy
Birthday," argues in a lawsuit filed Thursday that the song should be "dedicated
to public use and in the public domain." The company is seeking monetary damages
and restitution of more than $5 million in licensing fees collected by
Warner/Chappell Music Inc. from thousands of people and groups who've paid it
licensing fees. "More than 120 years after the melody to which the simple lyrics
of Happy Birthday to You is set was first published, defendant Warner/Chappell
boldly, but wrongfully and unlawfully, insists that it owns the copyright to
Happy Birthday to You," the lawsuit states. Warner/Chappell, based in Los
Angeles, claims exclusive copyright to "Happy Birthday to You," which Guinness
World Records has called the most famous song in the English language. The
company, whose artists include Aretha Franklin, Barry Gibb, Rob Zombie, Madonna
and Michael Jackson, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment
Thursday. Good Morning To You Productions argues that evidence dating to 1893
helps show the song's copyright expired around 1921. It says four previous
copyrights to the melody of the similar-sounding song "Good Morning to All,"
filed in 1893, 1896, 1899 and 1907, have expired or been forfeited. The class
action lawsuit says that Warner/Chappell claims the exclusive copyright to the
song based on piano arrangements published in 1935 but that the copyright
applies only to the piano arraignment and not to the melody or lyrics.
LAWYERED!!! The film company filed the lawsuit after having to pay
Warner/Chappell a $1,500 licensing fee and sign an agreement to use the song in
a scene — or face a $150,000 penalty. What does it mean? Some lawyers are gonna
get paid… and you can keep singing happy birthday dozens of times a year without
looking over your shoulder for Big Brother… at least for a few more weeks. All I
gotta say is… Cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake,
cake…
Diary of Not-Anne Frank - U.S. officials on Thursday
unveiled the 400-page diary of Alfred Rosenberg, a top aide to Adolf Hitler, who
oversaw the genocide against Jews and others during World War Two. The diary
disappeared after the Nuremberg trials in 1946, sparking a nearly 70-year hunt
that ended on April 5th in the upstate New York town of Lewiston, at the home
of an academic named Herbert Richardson. The diary pages, hand-written in German
and not yet completely translated into English by scholars, offers a broader
look at the Third Reich's policies and practices, as well as an unvarnished
account of a Nazi leader's thoughts, authorities said at a news conference on
Thursday. "These 400 pages are a window into the dark soul of one of the great
wrongs in human history," said John Morton, director of U.S. Immigrations and
Customs Enforcement, which investigates cases of missing cultural property.
"It's significant because, as time marches on, there are fewer living witnesses
of what happened during the Holocaust. We still don't know the full extent."
Pages of the diary, which will eventually be turned over to the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., were shown to reporters, including one
entry dated April 1941. Rosenberg describes walking alone after "an important
meeting" with Hitler, who told him: "Your great hour has come." Museum senior
adviser Henry Mayer, who had been searching for the diary for 17 years, noted
Rosenberg did not elaborate in the entry. "What Hitler described was so great,
he couldn't put it down," Mayer told reporters. U.S. officials have long
suspected that a prosecutor, Robert Kempner, smuggled the diary back to the
United States after the Nuremberg trial. Born in Germany, Kempner fled to
America in the 1930s to escape the Nazis, only to return for post-war trials. He
is credited with helping reveal the existence of the Wannsee Protocol, the 1942
conference during which Nazi officials met to coordinate the extermination of
the Jews, which they termed "The Final Solution." Kempner cited a few Rosenberg
diary excerpts in his memoir and in 1956 a German historian published entries
from 1939 and 1940. But the bulk of the diary never surfaced. After his death in
1993, heirs to his estate agreed to forfeit his possessions to the U.S.
holocaust museum, but that agreement hit road blocks and the diary was never
found. However in 1999, when cleaning out Kempner's home in suburban
Philadelphia, a man found 40 boxes of documents, including papers outlining the
Nazi's "aggressive war against and the plundering, spoliation and the economic
exploitation of the Soviet Union by the Nazi regime," according to a 2003 court
filing. But the diary was not among the materials. "That was what we were
looking for, that's what was so frustrating," said Robert Wittman, the founder
of the FBI's Art Crime Team, and now a private art security consultant. In
recent months, Wittman and his son, Jeffrey, helped ICE locate the diary in New
York. The diary offers Rosenberg's recollections from the spring of 1936 to the
winter of 1944, according to an analysis by the Holocaust museum. Most entries
are written in Rosenberg's looping cursive, some on paper torn from a ledger
book and others on the back of official Nazi stationery, according to a U.S.
government analysis obtained by Reuters. "Although it is a reminder of a dark
time, the Rosenberg Diary is important to our understanding of history," said
U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly. "Our hope is that it will provide valuable
insight to historians." Why do I mention this? It’s history. First hand accounts
of what transpired during this horrible time of history… and maybe some insight
into how such a tragic thing came to be. I’m pretty intrigued by what the
content of those pages may be… but it also seems like it might be a big buildup
to a disappointing book based on the descriptions that the guy is giving… so we
shall see. I’m guessing that it’s not going to sell quite as well
as Anne Frank’s Diary though. Just a hunch…
Anyway, that should do it for tonight. Gotta make some
tough decisions about tomorrow night… do the work thing… or watch Game 7…
hopefully it’ll work out so I can just do both… and the Spurs win the
championship ring for the thumb… and maybe Tim Duncan retires… or maybe he stays
for a few more trips. Who knows? That’s why we all play the game I guess… have a
great game everybody!!!
