State Of The Nation

I am not that much of a political guy. I don't try to say things because I feel I cannot really back up my talk about what I say most of the time when I talk about politics or whats going on. But I can no longer just hold back and turn a blind eye. This nation is on the down and I am just not sure if the damage George W. Bush has done can be overcome. I just feel this nation is going be on the down for a long time.  I really hope this is not the case but I just feel inside that will be. I try to tell myself that if Barak Obama is voted in he will be able to make a big change, but I think it would take him two terms to at least make some differences. 

I mean look at us. Seems that most everything is being owned by 10 or so compaines. The stock market thing is scary as hell, I bank at WAMU and I heard things like if they go down all my money would be cut in half. I have been saving up money for a car and school for years, seeing all that go away would change almost everything in my life. I really do not understand why the stock market is so down but I know it's really bad and scary.  I see my friends struggling to get stable jobs or careers, prices just keep going up for things, gas is still a joke, inflation continues to raise the prices of just about everything, health care seems to be a joke and I think it should be free to everyone, getting into college and then paying for it causes most students to go into many years of debt and never fully means you  can get a job/career afterwords, I think people have less time in their lives nowadays because they work too much and that means they have no time to enjoy the small things in life, children almost must feel things. I know a few people who just had kids and they had to go back to work a few months or so afterwords they cant be around because they have to work to make ends meet. Those are just a few things. I am still upset we are in a war we should not be in of course. Many people are dying and I am not sure we even know why. I think if John McCain was elected it would be less likely that he would try to end the war then Obama. 

Not to say it has all been bad but just mostly. We do have those awesome $5 footlongs from subway!! But if we dont get change in this country soon I am just scared to see how worse it can get. I want to be more political but I feel alone on that sometimes. I guess I just see all this going around me and it makes me want to say something. Remember to vote, maybe read up on the canidates and actually know who you like and have some reasons. Obama, to me, looks like a smart educated man who will try to use his brains and knowledge to make this country better. I could just be buying into the hype but I think we all want a change and McCain represents more of the same in my eyes. But then again what do I know?

Dvd's worth checking out

I know the blog has been football heavy, but hey who doesn't love some football, plus the niners are winning and we all know that might not last....er ok so I wanted to touch on some upcoming dvds because I think everyone should check these out, all 2 or 3 of  who you might read this blog. with the holidays coming up soon and coming off that huge summer which featured many blockbusters, the dvds will start coming out fast and furious before december 25th. so dig and if you have yet to see these yet, i suggest you go out to your local blockbuster or hollywood video and rent these bad boys. or if your using netflix add them to your queue. 

Sepetmeber 30 -

Iron Man  - this movie blew me away, good flick. Downey Jr was the perfect fit and Favreau did a great job and making this a fun and interesting comic book movie. Looks like it could be worth owning the 2 disc set for a good price, it will have a lot of features.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall - A sort of personal favorite of 2008 for me. I was going through a break-up after almost 4 years of being with the same girl, so I could just totally relate to the movie. But I think it stands well on its own and is hilarious. It also features a great cast and is Apatow-influenced. There is a 1,2, or 3 disc edition! wow! i already pre-ordered the 3 disc one since it was pretty cheap. I am looking forward to all the usual great extras that comedy films usually throw in. I would recommened you get at least the 2 disc.

October 7th-

How I Met Your Mother: Season 3 - This is one of the best shows on tv as far as comedies. It rivals the Friends run. If you haven't seen it I think its time to start, laughing will ensue. I missed a lot of this season so catching up will be the name of the game for me, plus no commericals....awe...wait for it....some!

You Don't Mess With The Zohan - It was an okay movie, pretty funny. I dont think I would watch it again but its worth a rental for sure.

October 14th-

Indiana Jones and The Kingdom Of the Crystal Skull - Indys back and in dvd form! I think I will just ask for this movie and try to aviod actually paying for it. The movie was fun but it just didn't fully feel like the other movies, I guess that could be asking a lot? Anyway I am hoping the 2 disc edition will show spielberg and lucas pickering so we know who really is to blame, I blame Lucas anyway.

Chaplin-  I thought this was already out on dvd, I have been wanting to see it again for a long time. I guess with Downeys return to the hollywood elite made this movie get a new dvd release. He also was nominated for best actor but lost for his role as Charile Chaplin. 

October 21st

The Incredible Hulk- Ever since it was released Edward Norton and director Louis Leterrier have been upset with the scaled down version of the movie they filmed. I am waiting to see the extended cut that they thought was better. The movie is pretty good, nothing ground breaking and coming out between Iron Man and Dark Knight made it some what forgettable, but I am sort of waiting to see the movie  version that could be better. The 2 disc is a must.

The Strangers - I really dug this movie about two people who are being stalked and terroized by some random serial killers. The movie is creepy as hell and a sort of return to the older ways of horror movies. I think the movie will gain an even more cult following on dvd. The dvd doesn't have that many extras but its ok. The movie stands on its own.

October 28th - Nothing of Note at this time.

November 4th-

Reaper Season 1 - A show that reminds me of the good days of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It has that wit to it (Kevin Smith helps out on the show) and is interesting. It is about a kid whos parents sold his sould to the devil, and the devil now uses him as his pawn to pick up souls who need to get sent back to hell. And the guy is just some college kid who works a home depot like store. Worth checking out, I liked it but lost it amid the writers strike and its time shifting. 

Star Wars Prequel Trilogy - Wow it took Lucas a long time to make this one. You could before only buy the movies seperate but now you can get all three prequels packed together. So when you buy it make sure to throw away the first one. It never amazes me how Lucas will get all the money he can out his audience, which my count is diminshing of late.

Novemeber 9th-

Kung-Fu Panda - I guess its so special it gets its own release date? I never saw Kung-Fu Panda but have heard great things and I am dying to see it. Why? Well because Jack Black plays a panda who kicks some ass! Thats gotta make it worth a rental right there. 

November 18th-

Wall E - I am pretty stoked to see Wall E again, I think disney and pixar hit gold with this movie. Wall E is cute as hell and the movie is just plain awesome. Good story and amazing visuals. I hope I have a BluRay player when this comes out because I am not sure if regular dvd can do it justice. This is a must see movie from kids to 8 to 80 yrs old. Another personal favorite of the year, and the dvd will be jammed pack with great extras. 

November 25th -

Hancock - I mostly put this up here because I want to see it bad and missed its run in the theatres. I have heard varying thoughts on the movie, some say its good and some say its bad, I guess I will finally be able to judge for myself on nov 25th.

Fred Clause - Ok, didnt this movie come out like a year and a half ago? It seems like they just took forever to release it, i guess I can see why they wanted to wait until the holidays but come on, will people even remember this movie by November 25th?

December 2nd-

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - I dug the first one as a kids LOTR, I never saw this one but I think dvd will be worth peeping. Not much to say about it just something that I think will be fun.

Step Brothers - Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly must have a commentary on this? If so it will be worth the price of the dvd right there! But this was a funny movie, I bet the outtakes will be worth renting it alone. 

December 9th -

From here on out things get sort of fuzzy on release dates. It does say that Lost Season 4 is due out this day, that will be worth checking out, the show had an awesome late season run last year and it will be nice to watch all the shows in a row and not waiting like they have been making the viewer due. I cant confirm it yet but I have heard that The Dark Knight will be coming out on the 9th as well. If so that will be a must own dvd for myself. 

Well thats all for now, keep checking back for more!

49ers Recap Week 3

This time niners took on the lowly Detroit Lions and beat then 31-13,the Lions are a team that has a worse front office then the 49ers. And to change this up I actually attended this game so I was part of the crowd, it gave me a better insight to a few things. One thing is that the fans are falling for JTO. The crowd was always screaming his name and giving him praise, which he truly deserved for his effort in the game. I think once you see how bad a QB is (Alex Smith) you just totally go for anyone who shows any signs of being an NFL qb. The crowd was really into the game, not sure if it was because it was a win over a mediocre team or what, but hey a win is a win, we have been the bad teams plenty of times and got stomped over. Anyway the nfl is open, in a league where Miami can beat New England anything can happen. Bad teams always have a chance and even though the Lions look bad they have many good players and they all want to win. Good win, good overall play and okay coaching lead to the nice win.

Offense - The unit looked good. They could run and pass very easily against the bad Lions defense. O'Sullivan was passing with much ease and was mostly able to do so with good protection or his ability to make things happen by using his feet or arm. O'Sullivan finsihed  16-23, 189 yards, 2tds, and 32 rushing yards. So far he reminds me of Jeff Garcia and the number he used to put up when he was here. He wasn't flashy but he got the job done (he had better WRs) and won games. Frank Gore had a big game finshing with 130 yards and a TD as well as 4 receptions for 32 yards. We really spread the ball around well and 8 players finished with a catch. The O-line was mostly good, better at running, O'Sullivan did get some pressure but was able to step up in the pocket and make good three step throws and hit his recievers in stride. Overall the team has scored more then 30 points two games in a row and that shows something. 

Defense- We had good pressure on Kitna for most of the time and we held the awesome duo of Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson in check. The Lions did do us some favors, they Lions WRs did drop a lot of balls but I like to think they were bad passes from the pressure the 9ers were putting on Kitna. We finsihed with 4 sacks and 2 interceptions, not too shabby. The Lions were not able to move the ball through the air but for another week in a row an average Rb ran for more yards then they should have. Rudi Johnson had some nice runs and finished with 83 yards,he could have been even more effictive if they Lions had a lead or were in the game. Niners need to address the problem with not being able to stop the run. But we held them to some long field goals and the one TD they did have has a great effort from Johnson. 

Special Teams-  The unit was mostly solid. Nothing huge as far as bad or good. Nedney did miss what was a easy field goal, which makes 2 weeks in a row, I hope its not a trend here. Andy Lee had 4 punts 3 of which landed within the 20 yard line. We were able to get the onside kick and Arnaz Battle looked like he was going to take it for a TD but was stopped short by the last guy in his way. I guess its is good when you don't have to talk about the special teams too much, it means they did enough. 

Coaching- Martz was on his A game, I think he had a grudge and wanted to tear apart the Lions, which he did. Good game by the coaching staff. Getting an early lead means you don't have to do much besides not blow it and they did not blow it. Nolan still called time outs when he shouldn't have and I liked that he went for it on the fourth and one, and so did the crowd. They really wanted his to do it and he had the balls to try. An end around on fourth and goal took some balls, so I give him credit for that. When you win 31-13 you get a good coaching grade. 

Overall Grade: A

49ers Recap Week 2

Well a win is a win, it was a fun game to watch for the most part. I tuned after the score was 14-3 Seahawks and thought we had little chance. Mostly because I wasn't sure the offense could come back from that much down. It sure was a wild game, 49ers end up winning 33-30 in OT. Nedney missed a potential game winner in regulation with :03 seconds. Here is my grades for Offense, Defense, Special Teams, and coaching.

Offense - The team did score 33 points, one TD was on Defense and a Interception set up a small field for a TD run by Gore. I sure was impressed with O'Sullivan. He can throw the ball with nice touch and also has an above average long throw. He finished 20-32 for 321 yards and a TD. He looked like he knew what to do when passing. I thought he could have taken the ball and run a few times, but overall he was pretty much perfect. He is also the 49ers first guy to throw for 300 yards since Tim Rattay in 2004, now that is sad. Gore had some troubles with a fumble (two weeks in a row!) that lead to points for the Seahawks. Bruce and Johnson looked really good at WR. Bruce kind of came out of nowhere and had some very long catches, one of which should have been a TD if he was 5 years younger. But I cannot complain, Vernon Davis did not even show up with a catch. Johnson looked liked a solid #2 WR. He was making good catches and scored a TD on a short pass. Gore also had 5 catches to go along with his 61 yards rushing and a TD. It was nice to see the niners be able to pass and pass well. If O'Sullivan can keep this up only good things will happen. 

Defense -  It was bad news/good news with this group. They made up for the points lost on offense (gore fumble) and special teams (blocked punt, led to a td) by getting key turnovers. Patrick Willis, shall I say anything else? The guy is amazing. He took a tipped pass and returned it 86 yards for a TD. Probably will be the most amazing play of the year for the 49ers (yes I DO realize they still have 14 games to go). They also picked off Hasselbeck once more and showed they could stop the pass. Of course the Seahawks had virtually no good WR's on the team. But their loss is our gain. The D-line was pretty sad. They couldn't get a push and stop the run. The Seahawks ran all over us! They had around 170 yards rushing and they Seahawks were getting 5 yards a carry in after the half. While they did only get one sack, they had enough pressure to make Hasslebeck throw those errant passes which were intercepted. I am shocked we gave up so many points, but Seahawks scored some by defense and special teams. 

Special Teams - Nedney did win the game, but he needed two tries. We had a punt blocked which lead to a short field TD, and the Seahawks had a lot of good kick off returns which gave them good field position. Add to the fact that Nedney kicked a kick off out of bounds and it was not a great day. But Nedney did make 4/5 field goals, and was able to hit on the game winner when it mattered, that alone almost makes up for the all the bad stuff that happened. Rossum had good kick off return average of 27.2 yards a return with a long of 44 yards. It was another good news/bad news situation here. 

Coaching - Nolan was terrible this week. I guess I am just a fan and don't know football but watching his decisions make me upset sometimes. He is the worst clock management coach I have ever scene.  Niners called uncessary time outs when they shouldn't have needed too. And choosing to let the clock run out with 20 seconds left and 2 time outs makes no sense, lets say they get some yards and turn that potential  game winning field goal into a 30-35 yarder instead of the 41 yarder, which was missed. I can see why he wouldn't go for it but it could have made all the difference if we didn't march down the field and get that OT game winner. Overall the coaching seemed pretty bad and I think they got lucky that Martz was able to get some points.

Overall Grade: B-

I found the Next 49ers Head Coach

Jim Mora rules! 

or

Its time to make some decisions!

49ers Game Recap

I think I will try to do a short game recap of the 49ers games. Lets hope they dont make the game almost unwatchable like some of the games last year. Well we lost! It was close for a while and most of the first half, after half time the Cardinals just were able to convert all of their 3rd downs, and had a few lucky calls go their way. 

The 49ers hurt themselves. Frank Gore fumbled the ball near his own end zone, he usually fumbles while near the opponents endzone! Then the next play Zack Keasey the new fullback fumbles after he catched the ball. Not good! O'Sullivan had flashes of good play. He was able to take the pressure and actually complete some passes under pressure, much different then the usual Alex Smith fall down, or run to the side line and throw a ball that is uncatchable.  And word is that Smith will be out for the year. Ok here is my thought, let it be done with. We made a mistake. We wasted a #1 pick on him. Sure it could be the 49ers fault for having no one to surrond him with but what done is done. I wish him well eslewhere but I see a David Carr career for Smith.

Anyway back to the game. The D was good for the most part, but they couldnt get a turnover. The Cardinals had the ball for almost all of the 3rd quarter! Overall they had the ball for 15 minutes longer then us, that is a full quarter.  It was so annoying watching them just keep driving. We had a three sacks which was nice to see finally!  We also had more total yards then the Cardinals had, so why did we lose? Easy..turnovers. We had 5 damn fumbles! We lost 4 of them and O'Sullivan threw one interception that was terrible. The D cannot be out there so long and still expect them to stay fresh.  The Cardinals trick kick offs were pretty lame. One time they kicked to Spikes the LB and he fumbles, so they do it again on the next kick off. Wow I thought that that was pretty weak, sure it worked but trying it twice? Reeked of desperation.  And last I heard Anquan Boldin said he wouldn't play for the Cardinals? When did this all get smoothed over? I wish he would have stuck to his word like a man and not decide everything is now ok, so he could come and tear us up like usual. 

Highlight of the game was Gore and his td run. It was an awesome sight to see him break that 41 yard run. Old man Edge was grinding it out and was effective, more so then he was last year. I think if we had cut down the turnovers and maybe stopped that grueling drive we could have taken this game. But its over ,we lost. Next week only gets harder and not getting a win at home against a beatable team hurts. I guess the only good news is that its early and we were not the worst team in the league. We scored as many points as the Colts and scored more points then 5 other NFL teams. 

Week 1 Grade:  D+

Why Dwight?

Just a few words on Kindergarten Ninja (1993).  I like watching cheesy movies and getting some laughs but this one was just terrible. Yes I did laugh and so did my friend but mostly at how utterly terrible the acting, directing, and the constant montage fighting scenes.  Best of all the movie stars Dwight Clark, yes that Dwight Clark, the legendary San Franscisco 49ers Wide Reciever. I think he did the movie because it was for D.A.R.E. and he wanted to get the word out about getting kids off drugs, in fact the start of the movie you get an actual San Leandro Polic Officer inform you about D.A.R.E. Anyway back to the movie Clark is Blade Steel and he likes to date more then one woman at a time and drive around town drinking. When a cop pulls him over he is so cool he offer the cop a beer! That takes balls! Somehow he winds up teaching kindergarten ? Anyway he gets help from an angel named Bruce (who is suppose to look like Bruce Lee) but you cannot tell since they never show his face, its fucking weird! But there is a badass Bruce Lee vs Elvis and George Washington in heaven scene. So the bad guy is called Hector Machette, awesome name! But he is making kids deal Buzz, the newest way to get high. Anyway i do not wish to ruin the greatness that is Kindergarten Ninja. 

If you are ever in the mood for some ultimate cheesy movie and want to waste 82 min of your life then see this movie. It holds more meaning to bay area fans. You even get a part in the movie were Blade Steel aka Clark, mentions his resturant and they actually have some text scroll saying where his own resturant Clarks by the Bay is located and give out an actual fucking phone number to call to make reservations! I guess this was one more reason he did the movie besides helping with the DARE program. I was able to find one clip on YouTube of the bad guy Machette kick ass and and taking names, he sure can beat up little kids good. The scene like most of the movie makes no damn sense. Enjoy, btw you can rent the movie on netflix if you ever want to, Why is this on dvd and not good movies like Night of the Creeps? Enjoy! 

Trailer Park

First off is the new movie from Kevin Smith. Zach and Miri make a porno. I like the cast for sure. Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks both star and the movie has a sort of Apatow meets Smith look and feel to it from the preview. BTW, the poster here to the left is actually banned. Not really sure why, I guess because the two heads at the bottom? But anyway you will not be seeing this poster in the U.S. So here is the trailer. I am so ready for some Star Whores!

The next movie I have been waiting around for for many years. It is the new Bruce Campbell movie, well not so new anymore. It is My Name Is Bruce and it is all about a small town that needs a hero and they think Bruce Campbell is an actual hero not just a movie star. The trailer looks pretty campy but I think the movie will be fun, and if anything else it has Bruce Campbell in it.  Here it is:

My NFL Predictions

I do this every year, here is my predictions for how the outcome of the NFL season will go.  The best thing about football is that any team can win the superbowl (ok not the Falcons). 

NFL 2008 

AFC 

East

---------

New England Patriots  14-2

New York Jets  10-6*

Buffalo Bills  6-10

Miami Dolphins  5-11

North

------------

Pittsburgh Steelers  10-6

Cleveland Browns   9-7

Cincinnati Bengals  8-8

Baltimore Ravens  6-10

South

-----------

Jacksonville Jaguars   11-5

Indianapolis Colts  10-6*

Tennessee Titans  9-7

Houston Texans  6-10

West

------------

San Diego Chargers  12-4

Denver Broncos  8-8

Oakland Raiders  6-10

Kansas City Chiefs  5-11

NFC

East 

---------

Dallas Cowboys   12-4

Philadelphia Eagles  10-6*

New York Giants  9-7*

Washington Redskins  8-8

North

-----------

Minnesota Vikings  10-6

Green Bay Packers   8-8

Chicago Bears  6-10

Detroit Lions  6-10

South 

---------

New Orleans Saints  9-7

Tampa Bay Buccanners  8-8

Carolina Panthers  7-9

Atlanta Falcons  5-11

West

-----------

Seattle Seahawks  9-7

Arizona Cardinals  7-9

San Francisco 49ers  7-9

St. Louis Rams  5-11

*- Wild Card Team