While working at 2 different stores in the local mall this past month, I've been listening to Christmas music. Unfortunately, most of it is bad, and all of it is repeated far too often! This has, however gotten me to think about my favorite Christmas music.
1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman ~ Mannheim Steamroller. The video version is THE BEST!
2. Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 ~ Transiberian Orchestra. Though it is a 'pop' pick, well... it rocks!
3. White Christmas ~ Bing Crosby. Another pop pick, but, it's well done. I like it.
4. Oh Come Oh Come Immanuel ~ I like this hymn, though can't think of any artist in particular for a performance.
5. Pat a Pan ~ Mannheim Steamroller. Another great song with an awesome video.
6. Lullay, thou Little Tiny Child ~ No artist in particular, though Mannheim does a decent version.
7. Silent Night ~ A good solid song.
8. Los Pesces en el Rio ~ Mannheim Steamroller. Plus it's funny to hear when I ask my Mexican friends to sing it :D
Well, that's my top 8. If I come up w/ any more, i'll make it 10. What are your top 10?
Istanbul/Mophia
Friday, December 22, 2006
Sunday, November 19, 2006
I Like the Rain
Here I begin the new musical focus of this blog with a poem that I in fact JUST wrote. Though I don't write poetry, really! How did it make it onto Crash-Riding? Because I happen to have come up with chords for it and intend to record it sometime... soon™ (which means sometime before I die).
I Like the Rain
It's WET. It's like a liquid net,
and it's catching me again.
I like, at night, the spikes
of light stabbing through the haze.
It's BEST. The splattering gives me rest,
the chiming of the drops on the ground.
It sprinkles, in the fall, the twinkle,
of tall buildings in the sky.
I like the rain.
-Istanbul
(It was written in-character as the saying goes. I have links to the story all about if you'd like to hear more about Istanbul ~.^)
I Like the Rain
It's WET. It's like a liquid net,
and it's catching me again.
I like, at night, the spikes
of light stabbing through the haze.
It's BEST. The splattering gives me rest,
the chiming of the drops on the ground.
It sprinkles, in the fall, the twinkle,
of tall buildings in the sky.
I like the rain.
-Istanbul
(It was written in-character as the saying goes. I have links to the story all about if you'd like to hear more about Istanbul ~.^)
Friday, October 27, 2006
The New Blabber Blog
Not that anyone would have guessed it, but... the new place for nonsense resides under the name Mophia. ^.^ http://mophia.blogspot.com is the place to catch up on the happenings of Philip. Take a look and tell me how much you like or dislike the colors :)
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Quick Update
Quick update in the four minutes i have left on lunch. I started a part-time job at Eddie Bauers. (It's true!) I'll be mostly in the stockroom. My data entry seasonal job has about 3 weeks left or so. I have an interview friday at Kirkland's, a gift shop, for part time now, holiday seasonal in a few weeks (like my EB job).
I've been playing guitar for 'Spanish Church'. I'm going to be the dedicated 'soundman' for a church 'worship band'. And stuff!
I plan on redoing this here blog thingy, and actually making it about the title, and opening a new one for my random spewing forth of nonsense that happens here sporadically.
Huzzah!
I've been playing guitar for 'Spanish Church'. I'm going to be the dedicated 'soundman' for a church 'worship band'. And stuff!
I plan on redoing this here blog thingy, and actually making it about the title, and opening a new one for my random spewing forth of nonsense that happens here sporadically.
Huzzah!
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Weddings
I'm currently standing here in the church sound booth, running sound for a couple of friends' wedding. It makes me feel a bit hopelessly romantic. Strange for a guy I know. But I'm getting old... but, I've been patient for 26 years, I guess I'll be patient a while longer yet. *Sigh*
Anyways, I read romance novels on occasion >.> but only GOOD ones, not those lousy cookie cutter ones. Currently, I'm reading The Cubicle Next Door. Check it out.
Anyways, I read romance novels on occasion >.> but only GOOD ones, not those lousy cookie cutter ones. Currently, I'm reading The Cubicle Next Door. Check it out.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
The Girl at the Bar
See the title? I'll get to it in a bit. First, an introduction...
You know what sucks about being 'artistic'? Well, some of you do, like my friend over at Mischevious Muse. What sucks is that 90% of the time, your ideas come while you're busy doing something else. Like working. Of course being busy is the surest bet to becoming inspired by something, so it kind of is a no-win situation. If you sit around the house all day doing nothing, you're probably not going to come up with any cool ideas and if you're busy, you're often too busy to do anything with them.
Anyways, today at work, I was hit with a blinding inspiration. I decided to do something about it, and wrote a little note, so that I wouldn't totally forget about it. (FYI, my artistic inspirations flow through three outlets: music, writing fiction, and photography). Inspiration follows, in the following beginnings of what could be a rather humorous and interesting story. If anything more ever comes of it that is >.> Anyways, here it goes:
You know what sucks about being 'artistic'? Well, some of you do, like my friend over at Mischevious Muse. What sucks is that 90% of the time, your ideas come while you're busy doing something else. Like working. Of course being busy is the surest bet to becoming inspired by something, so it kind of is a no-win situation. If you sit around the house all day doing nothing, you're probably not going to come up with any cool ideas and if you're busy, you're often too busy to do anything with them.
Anyways, today at work, I was hit with a blinding inspiration. I decided to do something about it, and wrote a little note, so that I wouldn't totally forget about it. (FYI, my artistic inspirations flow through three outlets: music, writing fiction, and photography). Inspiration follows, in the following beginnings of what could be a rather humorous and interesting story. If anything more ever comes of it that is >.> Anyways, here it goes:
The Girl at the Bar:
The Case of the Ghost Swordswoman
Salena swung open the door to the bar. The noise of the crowd and a loud blare of music greeted us. The interior of the bar glowed with mild amber lighting. The bar, Jackie's Draughts, is a 'happenin' spot, at the edge of downtown Melánville. So even though it was only a Tuesday, a chilly Tuesday in October, the bar was still crowded.
"Come on Jeff, I'll go grab a booth before this place fills up," Salena said.
I followed here as she threaded her way through the crowd towards the back of the the bar. There we found a booth tucked away in the corner with a small reserved sign on it. Salena slid into the booth with her back against the wall. I sat in the opposite side.
"Chandler should be here in about five minutes," I said, glancing at my watch.
"He's in the parking lot," she said. I figured she's right, she IS the psychic detective after all.
"We walked past his car in the parking lot. I waved at him if you recall." She said drily.
"Oh," I said. "That was Chandler?"
"Yes it was," said a comfortable tenor voice, coming from the man suddenly standing before our table. I didn't jump. After even a month of being the secratary for a psychic detective, you get numb to most surprises. Even so, it's tough not to jump when you look up and see a guy built like a linebacker, wearing black sunglasses, a lavender shirt with a magenta tie and khakis looking down at you. I slid out of my seat, so he could sit down.
"Well, I'm going to mosey on down to the bar, see you in a few." Salena shooed me off with a backhanded wave.
I had made my way only ten feet towards the bar when my heart stopped. Not literally, though it was close. I had just caught a glimpse of the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. The hit song by Mophia comes to mind: "Ooh... Ooh, I'm in love again, yeah-ah!" it goes. I got a couple more steps through the crowd and saw her... looking straight at me. She smiled.
I smiled.
I worked my way the last twenty feet through the crowd to where she was sitting at the bar, and conveniently, an empty stool next to her. She was staring studiously at a bottle of ketchup. I placed my order with the bartender, then glanced over at her.
She had long blond hair, down to her waist. She was wearing an interesting ensemble, a crimson blouse with designs in black embroidery to go along with her long, flowing pants. There was a strange sort of glimmer about her. She looked over at me then, so, I took the opportunity.
"Hi," I said.
"Hello," she replied. I was in love.
"I'm Jeff Stitcher."
"Joanna."
"Can I get you anything to drink?" I asked, seeing that she had nothing in front of her.
"No thanks." Some kind of emotion flickered across her face for an instant. A wistful look? She started to rise, so I tried a desperate ploy.
"Say, I was talking to a nice grey-haired lady in the grocery store the other day," I began. She stood. "She was telling me about her daughter and how beautiful and sweet she was. Funny thing is, her daughter's name is Joanna." She stopped. "What a coincidence, meeting a beautiful, sweet girl named Joanna just a couple days later, isn't it? Maybe she's your mom?" (I really had talked to this lady to, oddly enough.)
Joanna looked at me. "My mother is dead," she said in a matter of fact tone, "For ten years."
"Oh. Well, I do that sometimes you know. Talk to dead people that is," I said, mentally kicking my self five ways to yesterday.
"I know you do."
"Uh..." I said, my years of experience and unflappability suddenly deserting me.
"You'll do," she said smiling again. She raised her left hand from where it had been resting... on the hilt of a sword! How had I missed that?! She touched my arm.
It was a strange sensation. Very warm, but somehow without substance. I saw her hand melding into my arm, followed faster and faster by the rest of her, as the warmth flowed into me. I blacked out.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
A little thought about the English language.
Isn't it interesting how being vindictive is bad, yet being vindicated is good? Just thought I'd share that little thought. ^^
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
woah...
It's been over a month since I said anything here >.> Oops.
Just to catch everyone up, my computer seems to be dying a slow death, so I haven't been using it much. I've been working at an asphalt company, in their office, entering driver's logs and other interesting things for a little over a month. It's seasonal, so it goes into November sometime.
I'll reactivate FFXI... soon™.
I've been reading Clive Cussler books the past couple weeks and playing Madden '07.
The Brewers dropped off the table.
The Packers are laughable. (I only mention them because I am in Wisconsin, not because I'm really all that much of a fan.)
Our softball season is over, but if you click on that Softball stats link, you can look at my stats (and there's a small picture of me too... @.o)
Ah well, that's all for now, back to work.
Just to catch everyone up, my computer seems to be dying a slow death, so I haven't been using it much. I've been working at an asphalt company, in their office, entering driver's logs and other interesting things for a little over a month. It's seasonal, so it goes into November sometime.
I'll reactivate FFXI... soon™.
I've been reading Clive Cussler books the past couple weeks and playing Madden '07.
The Brewers dropped off the table.
The Packers are laughable. (I only mention them because I am in Wisconsin, not because I'm really all that much of a fan.)
Our softball season is over, but if you click on that Softball stats link, you can look at my stats (and there's a small picture of me too... @.o)
Ah well, that's all for now, back to work.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Conversation With a Pirate
I was flying around Octavian Space today (in the game, JumpGate), and saw a public POS that looked interesting. It was an Arty selling shop, so I stopped in to check out the prices. When I docked, I was greeted by a pilot named ernie. "Not constantinople," he said. This was quite shocking. Why, you may ask. I'll tell you why. He's a notorious hard-case. A pirate with seemingly no morals, or care for fellow pilots! I was planning on logging out and going to another registration at the time anyways, so after saying that he was the last person I'd have expected to see there, and a short hi, how you doing. I logged out and switched.
Then I thought about it. Here was one of the more notorious bad guys in the universe, holed up for awhile after a strike he'd made, waiting for the people searching for him to give up, so he could cash in his stolen goods. What an opportunity! So, I immediately switched back to my Istanbul registration and found he was still there.
So I began a discussion with him. Mind you, my opinion of him has been rather low, as he doesn't communicate publicly with the rest of use pilots, and he has no qualms about destroying someone who is more or less defenseless if he feels it will fulfill his goals. My opinion was about to change though.
As you are all aware, I'm writing a story about JumpGate, so I asked him about how he got into piracy. What poured forth was a story, as compelling as it was heart-rending. It turns out that he had started his pilot career as an idealist, firm in the faith of his faction. Then along came a war, a war of the Quantar (his faction) versus Hyperial. I can't say that that little tidbit excited me, but, he was fighting for what he thought was right. I'm not gonna knock him on that account. Anyways, over the course of this war, TRI (The Reconstruction Initiative) and the government of Hyperial recruited muscle to overpower his squad. Slowly his squad started deserting him, until the end, when another squad from his faction apparently swooped in and took over the war and got all the credit for winning it. Then, after it was all said and done, one of his squadmates hacked into his registry, stole all of his property and money and reset all of his information, putting him into the Solrain faction as a recruit. His pleas to TRI went unheard.
At this point in time, he become enraged and violent. He went on a spree of desctruction, laying all in his path to waste, whenever and wherever he had the opportunity. Time passed and his rage cooled somewhat. But he would never again go in with a squad or fight for a faction or TRI. He had only one person he felt he could trust, Spacious. Blood makes for trust for them. They become privateers, hunting, threatening and stealing, causing methodical damage to pilots and the projects of TRI, more so for their profit than for a cause. They look out for themselves, to keep from being betrayed once again. Though, obviously this story is only from his point of view, I believe it is, at the very least, very close to what really happened.
Throughout this conversation, I was impressed by the manner of ernie's speech. He wasn't the despicable criminal I had once thought. He's not a monster, but a person on whom the circumstances of his life caused him to trust no one any longer, so he looks after himself instead. He's not a mindless killing machine, but a human with his own set of morals bred from the treachery he suffered from. Maybe someday he'll be able to work his way through the past, and learn to trust again. Mind you, I still consider him dangerous, but I will look on him now with new light of understanding.
These are the things you learn when you take the time to talk to, and listen to a person whom you may have judged from a distance as a reprobate. Even in space, there is always more to a person than meets the eye.
~Istanbul
Then I thought about it. Here was one of the more notorious bad guys in the universe, holed up for awhile after a strike he'd made, waiting for the people searching for him to give up, so he could cash in his stolen goods. What an opportunity! So, I immediately switched back to my Istanbul registration and found he was still there.
So I began a discussion with him. Mind you, my opinion of him has been rather low, as he doesn't communicate publicly with the rest of use pilots, and he has no qualms about destroying someone who is more or less defenseless if he feels it will fulfill his goals. My opinion was about to change though.
As you are all aware, I'm writing a story about JumpGate, so I asked him about how he got into piracy. What poured forth was a story, as compelling as it was heart-rending. It turns out that he had started his pilot career as an idealist, firm in the faith of his faction. Then along came a war, a war of the Quantar (his faction) versus Hyperial. I can't say that that little tidbit excited me, but, he was fighting for what he thought was right. I'm not gonna knock him on that account. Anyways, over the course of this war, TRI (The Reconstruction Initiative) and the government of Hyperial recruited muscle to overpower his squad. Slowly his squad started deserting him, until the end, when another squad from his faction apparently swooped in and took over the war and got all the credit for winning it. Then, after it was all said and done, one of his squadmates hacked into his registry, stole all of his property and money and reset all of his information, putting him into the Solrain faction as a recruit. His pleas to TRI went unheard.
At this point in time, he become enraged and violent. He went on a spree of desctruction, laying all in his path to waste, whenever and wherever he had the opportunity. Time passed and his rage cooled somewhat. But he would never again go in with a squad or fight for a faction or TRI. He had only one person he felt he could trust, Spacious. Blood makes for trust for them. They become privateers, hunting, threatening and stealing, causing methodical damage to pilots and the projects of TRI, more so for their profit than for a cause. They look out for themselves, to keep from being betrayed once again. Though, obviously this story is only from his point of view, I believe it is, at the very least, very close to what really happened.
Throughout this conversation, I was impressed by the manner of ernie's speech. He wasn't the despicable criminal I had once thought. He's not a monster, but a person on whom the circumstances of his life caused him to trust no one any longer, so he looks after himself instead. He's not a mindless killing machine, but a human with his own set of morals bred from the treachery he suffered from. Maybe someday he'll be able to work his way through the past, and learn to trust again. Mind you, I still consider him dangerous, but I will look on him now with new light of understanding.
These are the things you learn when you take the time to talk to, and listen to a person whom you may have judged from a distance as a reprobate. Even in space, there is always more to a person than meets the eye.
~Istanbul
Sunday, August 06, 2006
The Church of Baseball V
The Brewers haven't been doing so hot since the last update. Their record is now at 52-59, which means they've gone 17-23 since I last talked about them. Injuries have really hampered the team, especially injuries to their star pitcher, Ben Sheets. He's missed most of the year with shoulder tendinitis and had to come out of the last game due to 'pectoral tightness'. The folks over at Brewerfan.net are kinda worried that it's a more significant injury than that. We'll see. Besides Ben, Tomo Ohka and Rick Helling also missed significant time earlier this year.
Position players haven't been all that immune to injury either. J.J. Hardy, who began the year as starting shortstop has been out since May, after injuring himself sliding at home plate. Rickie Weeks just went down a week ago to a wrist injury, also while sliding. We couldn't forget about Corey Koskie either, who suffered a concussion while combining with Billy Hall on a great defensive play.
Just to add to the pile of things not going the Brewers way, they were unable to come to terms with All-Star slugger, Carlos Lee on a contract extension. So, a few days before the trading deadline loomed, the Crew made a deal with the Texas Rangers, sending Lee along with minor league outfielder Nelson Cruz south in return for Fransisco Cordero, Kevin Mench, Laynce Nix and A-ball pitcher, Julian Cordero. Though losing the powerful left fielder is tough to take, getting back a solid outfielder in Mench, as well as a much needed relief pitcher in Cordero (the first one) makes it easier to swallow. In addition to that move, the Brewers picked up infielder Tony Graffanino from the Royals for Jorge de la Rosa, and third baseman David Bell from the Phillies for Wil Laureano, a minor league pitcher, shoring up the Brewers infield for the rest of the season.So, now the Brewers have a 'new look' team. Unfortunately they face an uphill battle, just to regain .500, but, it's baseball; anything can happen! Here's hoping...
TTF
Mophia
Monday, July 24, 2006
MMORPGs
What is an MMORPG? It stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. That means that you are a character in a large environment, interacting with hundreds and thousands of other people from around the world in a virtual universe. They're a bit addictive, but lots of fun. There's MMOs that fit just about any niche or genre that you may enjoy, from fantasy, to science fiction. There's even sports MMOs out there. With that in mind, I'm going to post a list of MMOs that I have, or do, play. (Hopefully I don't forget any :D)
In order of when I first played:
Earth and Beyond
Final Fantasy XI
Ultimate Baseball Online
Legend of the Green Dragon (not quite an MMO really, but I'll list it anyways)
Asheron's Call
Gunz
OGame
E&B was a sci-fi game, with spaceships and such flying about the solar system and the galasxy. It has been defunct now for a couple years.
Final Fantasy XI is the online game of the Final Fantasy series. If you like MMOs and you like Final Fantasy, it's a pretty good bet that you'll enjoy this game.
Ultimate Baseball Online is... an online baseball game. It's in beta. Being a pioneer in the MMO field as the first sports MMO, it's beta has been very long, and still has bugs being worked on, but... it's fun.
Legend of the Green Dragon is an online text based game. I've played it through the DDZ website.
Asheron's Call is a rather old MMO. I tried it late last year, but... having played FFXI, it just didn't do it for me with it's extreme oldness, and really, just not being as good all the way around IMO. Of course, I generated this opinion by playing just a few days, but, that was enough for me.
Gunz is an online FPS (First Person Shooter), with a bit of a twist. The use of a katana, and special moves makes this a unique blend of dashing action, with gun toting warriors diving accross vast distances, shooting at blade wielding samurais flying through the air.
Ogame is a web browser based, sci-fi strategy game.
Currently, I'm playing JumpGate, under the name Mophia. I also play Ogame in galaxy 4, under the name Istanbul.
So, what games have and do you play?
TTF
~Moph
(Links finally added!)
In order of when I first played:
Earth and Beyond
Final Fantasy XI
Ultimate Baseball Online
Legend of the Green Dragon (not quite an MMO really, but I'll list it anyways)
Asheron's Call
Gunz
OGame
E&B was a sci-fi game, with spaceships and such flying about the solar system and the galasxy. It has been defunct now for a couple years.
Final Fantasy XI is the online game of the Final Fantasy series. If you like MMOs and you like Final Fantasy, it's a pretty good bet that you'll enjoy this game.
Ultimate Baseball Online is... an online baseball game. It's in beta. Being a pioneer in the MMO field as the first sports MMO, it's beta has been very long, and still has bugs being worked on, but... it's fun.
Legend of the Green Dragon is an online text based game. I've played it through the DDZ website.
Asheron's Call is a rather old MMO. I tried it late last year, but... having played FFXI, it just didn't do it for me with it's extreme oldness, and really, just not being as good all the way around IMO. Of course, I generated this opinion by playing just a few days, but, that was enough for me.
Gunz is an online FPS (First Person Shooter), with a bit of a twist. The use of a katana, and special moves makes this a unique blend of dashing action, with gun toting warriors diving accross vast distances, shooting at blade wielding samurais flying through the air.
Ogame is a web browser based, sci-fi strategy game.
Currently, I'm playing JumpGate, under the name Mophia. I also play Ogame in galaxy 4, under the name Istanbul.
So, what games have and do you play?
TTF
~Moph
(Links finally added!)
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Istanbul: Not Just a City
Chapter 3, Pt. 2 is up over at JSR! What's cool, I have a pretty good idea of how the next part goes too. Yay! Actually the next part, i've known fairly well how it was going to go this whole time. the hard part was getting from the end of the last chapter to this point. Cuz, though the last line of Chapter 2 makes a great hook. When i wrote it, I had no idea what the motivation was, or even who the nefarious scoundrels who would do such a thing were! I kept on trying to come up with ideas, terrrorists, flux huggers, government conspiracy, but none of them were really fitting the bill. But then, about a week and a half ago, after six months in remission, I had a blinding flash of insight (i'm still seeing spots from that!). An underground criminal organization! hehe. of course, it's still very nebulous to me, but, I have the important part down. the rest is just getting there and filling in the details ^^
Link
TTF!
~Ist.
Link
TTF!
~Ist.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Finally
After a month, I finally got at least a temp job, piling 30-50# boxes at a cheese factory for a few hours today, and a full day tomorrow, and maybe a half day on friday. It's kind of tough repetitive work, but, all things considered, it ain't bad. It's definitely a lifesaver right now.
TTF!
Mophia
TTF!
Mophia
Monday, July 10, 2006
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Around the Galaxy In 80 Days
Now, I know most attempts to redo classics in a modern/futuristic setting fail miserably. But, I think Jules Verne's novel, Around the World in 80 Days, is one that could be adapted in a science fiction setting quite well. It was, to an extent, science fiction, just set in it's time, rather than in the future. So, when I was diddling around with this idea for a story I've had for years and never done anything with (because I'm better at coming up with ideas than implementing them), I came up with another brilliant idea, Around the Galaxy in 80 Days. It has a ring to it, doesn't it? ~.^
TTF!
Mophia
TTF!
Mophia
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Monday, June 19, 2006
Game Recap III
Tonight, I played my first game in my career, in center field. A bit scary, since I don't have the greatest range, but, I'm a solid fielder. Only one ball came out to me, a solid line drive base hit, that I picked up and got back into the infield quickly. So I did fine.
We were up against a tough pitcher, who had a really high arc, and could land strikes quite regularly. My first ab, I hit a hard one hopper to the second baseman, who went to 2b for a force on the runner, but I hustled and got to first before the throw to keep out of a double play. Then a couple guys got out. My next ab, in the 3rd inning, I hit a liner over the first baseman's head (he nearly had a webgem, leaping grab on it, but it glanced off the top of his glove) for another base hit. Again, the side was retired. Then in the fifth, I got a pitch that I could pull, and hit a hard groundball past the third baseman down the line for another basehit. Again... the side was retired by the other teams good defense and pitching. Now don't get me wrong, we'd been getting hits and scoring runs here and there, just nothing out of the bottom half of the order pretty much (the guys after me, I batted 4th for the second game in a row). So, we got into the bottom of the seventh, with the game tied at 7-7. The leadoff hitter got out, but the #2 guy, hit a nice double. One of our great hitters, who had hit an inside-the-park-home-run in his previous at bat, unfortunately flew out to the centerfielder, but to shallow to let the runner advance at all. So, I was up, with two outs... I swung and missed at the first pitch, which was a bit short. Then the pitcher lofted one up, waaaay short, no way I was gonna swing at that. So, with the count 1-1, he let the pitch fly. It was coming down towards the outside and front part of the plate, my happy zone. I hit a hard shot past the second baseman, and got the walkoff victory! (I kept on running to second on the play to give myself credit for a double ~.^) So, I had another 4/4 day, with the one, important RBI :D
That's all folks. I promise my next post won't be about baseball. Ya just gotta give me a bit of a break, since it IS in the middle of the season.
-Mophia
We were up against a tough pitcher, who had a really high arc, and could land strikes quite regularly. My first ab, I hit a hard one hopper to the second baseman, who went to 2b for a force on the runner, but I hustled and got to first before the throw to keep out of a double play. Then a couple guys got out. My next ab, in the 3rd inning, I hit a liner over the first baseman's head (he nearly had a webgem, leaping grab on it, but it glanced off the top of his glove) for another base hit. Again, the side was retired. Then in the fifth, I got a pitch that I could pull, and hit a hard groundball past the third baseman down the line for another basehit. Again... the side was retired by the other teams good defense and pitching. Now don't get me wrong, we'd been getting hits and scoring runs here and there, just nothing out of the bottom half of the order pretty much (the guys after me, I batted 4th for the second game in a row). So, we got into the bottom of the seventh, with the game tied at 7-7. The leadoff hitter got out, but the #2 guy, hit a nice double. One of our great hitters, who had hit an inside-the-park-home-run in his previous at bat, unfortunately flew out to the centerfielder, but to shallow to let the runner advance at all. So, I was up, with two outs... I swung and missed at the first pitch, which was a bit short. Then the pitcher lofted one up, waaaay short, no way I was gonna swing at that. So, with the count 1-1, he let the pitch fly. It was coming down towards the outside and front part of the plate, my happy zone. I hit a hard shot past the second baseman, and got the walkoff victory! (I kept on running to second on the play to give myself credit for a double ~.^) So, I had another 4/4 day, with the one, important RBI :D
That's all folks. I promise my next post won't be about baseball. Ya just gotta give me a bit of a break, since it IS in the middle of the season.
-Mophia
Church of Baseball IV
Well, the Brewers lost tonight to the Detroit Tigers. But it's been a great week all around. Early in the week, Brewerfan.net had a give-a-way for their last open seat to their FanFest 2006, which I signed up for. Thursday, they held the drawing, and lo and behold.... I WAS THE WINNER!!! wOOt!
So, saturday morning, after softball practice, two hours in humid 90+ degree weather, I zipped home, showered and changed, and headed down to Milwaukee. A few minutes in line and I got parked, then spent a few minutes finding their party tent. I introduced myself and got my ticket and chilled for a couple minutes. There was about 25ish folks there. I went and played catch with one of the kids for a little while while waiting for the food to get ready. The food was great, grilled and cooked by various staff members of the website. I helped with the cleanup, since everything had to be taken care of by game time.
Well, after that we headed in to our seats, and the game was on! It was an excellently pitched game on both sides. Dave Bush had a spot of trouble in the 2nd inning. Jake Westbrook gave up only a run on an error. Then, finally, in the bottom of the 9th inning, against the Indians closer, Bob Wickman, the Brewers started mounting a rally. After Corey Koskie struck out to start off the inning, Carlos Lee drew a walk, as did Prince Fielder following him. Bill Hall got a bloop single to drop in, loading the bases for Geoff Jenkins. The entire crowd of 42,000+ people were on their feet cheering. Then he ripped a line drive down the right field line for a walkoff two run base hit and the stadium erupted! So, now i'm 3-0 in Brewer games i've attended and I had a great time!
Here's a link to some pictures (including one of me >.>) for those interested.
Here's a link to the thread discussing FanFest.
So, now for the week in review...
When last I updated y'all on their progress, they were 31-34. Including tonights loss, they are at 35-36, which is a 4-2 record last week. They swept the Indians, and won a series against the Reds, as well as the series before that (part of which includes the last update). Good luck to the Crew for this week.
So, saturday morning, after softball practice, two hours in humid 90+ degree weather, I zipped home, showered and changed, and headed down to Milwaukee. A few minutes in line and I got parked, then spent a few minutes finding their party tent. I introduced myself and got my ticket and chilled for a couple minutes. There was about 25ish folks there. I went and played catch with one of the kids for a little while while waiting for the food to get ready. The food was great, grilled and cooked by various staff members of the website. I helped with the cleanup, since everything had to be taken care of by game time.
Well, after that we headed in to our seats, and the game was on! It was an excellently pitched game on both sides. Dave Bush had a spot of trouble in the 2nd inning. Jake Westbrook gave up only a run on an error. Then, finally, in the bottom of the 9th inning, against the Indians closer, Bob Wickman, the Brewers started mounting a rally. After Corey Koskie struck out to start off the inning, Carlos Lee drew a walk, as did Prince Fielder following him. Bill Hall got a bloop single to drop in, loading the bases for Geoff Jenkins. The entire crowd of 42,000+ people were on their feet cheering. Then he ripped a line drive down the right field line for a walkoff two run base hit and the stadium erupted! So, now i'm 3-0 in Brewer games i've attended and I had a great time!
Here's a link to some pictures (including one of me >.>) for those interested.
Here's a link to the thread discussing FanFest.
So, now for the week in review...
When last I updated y'all on their progress, they were 31-34. Including tonights loss, they are at 35-36, which is a 4-2 record last week. They swept the Indians, and won a series against the Reds, as well as the series before that (part of which includes the last update). Good luck to the Crew for this week.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Fun Times
For those of you who do not know, I joined the ranks of the unemployed Thursday, June 8th. So, I have had one thing that I haven't had in years, in plentiful supply this past week, time.
Thursday, the day I was fired, I went home and finished filling out a couple of applications I had picked up the day before and talked to various people, family and friends and let them know the news. I went through careerbuilder.com for a few hours. Took a swim in the pool. Did cleaning around the house, washed dishes for my sister, organized my desk and did various other things.
Friday, I turned in said applications, did more online job surfing (which activities are standard every day events, so I'm going to stop mentioning it now). Cleaned out my car. Mowed the parents lawn. Went out with mum, pop, sis and our former across the street neighbors.
Saturday, I had softball practice for a couple hours in the morning. Then went to my Grandma's (Dad's side) old farm and helped mow the lawn and do a few miscellaneous things. Hung out, ate supper, etc.
Sunday was church, a big shindig kids service with a big carnival outside. Everyone had fun. We rocked out at spanish service with me on the drums.
In short, I had the best weekend i've had in several years! Here's to me gettin a job soon. ^.^ PM
Thursday, the day I was fired, I went home and finished filling out a couple of applications I had picked up the day before and talked to various people, family and friends and let them know the news. I went through careerbuilder.com for a few hours. Took a swim in the pool. Did cleaning around the house, washed dishes for my sister, organized my desk and did various other things.
Friday, I turned in said applications, did more online job surfing (which activities are standard every day events, so I'm going to stop mentioning it now). Cleaned out my car. Mowed the parents lawn. Went out with mum, pop, sis and our former across the street neighbors.
Saturday, I had softball practice for a couple hours in the morning. Then went to my Grandma's (Dad's side) old farm and helped mow the lawn and do a few miscellaneous things. Hung out, ate supper, etc.
Sunday was church, a big shindig kids service with a big carnival outside. Everyone had fun. We rocked out at spanish service with me on the drums.
In short, I had the best weekend i've had in several years! Here's to me gettin a job soon. ^.^ PM
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Mumu of Sevenths (or something)
1st off... what in the world is a meme??? In spite of not knowing what one is, I shall embark upon this great adventure, a meme of sevens... (they appear to be lists, though how they got called 'memememememes' is beyond my grasp of culture ^.^):
(None of these are in any particular odor, in fact they all smell quite nice, i think. They also aren't in order.)
Seven Things to Do Before I Die:
1. Fly in a fighter jet.
2. Hit a HR OVER the fence.
3. Get married.
4. Have kids.
5. Have a band.
6. Have a GOOD band.
7. Record an epic CD.
Seven Things I Cannot Do:
1. Swallow pills.
2. See without my glasses.
3. Play guitar like Joe Satriani (maybe someday, but no time soon).
4. Write in cursive (yes, I learned in elementary school, but never continued practicing and have forgotten how to write it (though I can read it oddly enough), I can sign my name like a doctor though ;D).
5. Hit a HR OVER the fence.
6. Wire a house for electricity (another maybe someday).
7. Eat cow lung/stomach/any other organs that Hispanics seem to like...
Seven Books (or series) I Love:
1. Bobby's Girl - J.D. Austin
2. The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
3. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron Series - Michael A. Stackpole/Aaron Allston
4. Star Wars: The Lando Calrissian Adventures - L. Neil Smith
5. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
6. The Phule Series - Robert Asprin (Phule's Company, Phule's Paradise, A Phule and His Money, Phule Me Twice, No Phule Like An Old Phule)
7. The M.Y.T.H. Series - Rober Asprin (12 Books, I ain't listin 'em all ~.^)
8. The End of Eternity - Isaac Asimov
9. Armageddon 2419 A.D. - Philip Francis Nowlan
10. The Trixie Belden Series - Julie Campbell (First 6 Books), 'Kathryn Kenny' (several in house writers at Western Publishing)
Hmm... I GUESS I'll stop with this list here... :P
Seven Movies I'd Watch Over and Over Again
Well, most movies I watch over and over again, are due to my sister watching movies over and over again. One time a month or so is usually good enough for me ~.^
1. The Princess Bride
2. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
3. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
4. LOTR series.
5. The Chronicles of Narnia (both the new LW&W and the ole BBC/Wonderworks productions).
6. Joe Satriani: Live In San Francisco
7. The Original Star Wars Trilogy
People to tag?
Sorry, I only know one person with a blog... >.>
Well, that's all folks! Hope yer happy :D
(None of these are in any particular odor, in fact they all smell quite nice, i think. They also aren't in order.)
Seven Things to Do Before I Die:
1. Fly in a fighter jet.
2. Hit a HR OVER the fence.
3. Get married.
4. Have kids.
5. Have a band.
6. Have a GOOD band.
7. Record an epic CD.
Seven Things I Cannot Do:
1. Swallow pills.
2. See without my glasses.
3. Play guitar like Joe Satriani (maybe someday, but no time soon).
4. Write in cursive (yes, I learned in elementary school, but never continued practicing and have forgotten how to write it (though I can read it oddly enough), I can sign my name like a doctor though ;D).
5. Hit a HR OVER the fence.
6. Wire a house for electricity (another maybe someday).
7. Eat cow lung/stomach/any other organs that Hispanics seem to like...
Seven Books (or series) I Love:
1. Bobby's Girl - J.D. Austin
2. The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
3. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron Series - Michael A. Stackpole/Aaron Allston
4. Star Wars: The Lando Calrissian Adventures - L. Neil Smith
5. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
6. The Phule Series - Robert Asprin (Phule's Company, Phule's Paradise, A Phule and His Money, Phule Me Twice, No Phule Like An Old Phule)
7. The M.Y.T.H. Series - Rober Asprin (12 Books, I ain't listin 'em all ~.^)
8. The End of Eternity - Isaac Asimov
9. Armageddon 2419 A.D. - Philip Francis Nowlan
10. The Trixie Belden Series - Julie Campbell (First 6 Books), 'Kathryn Kenny' (several in house writers at Western Publishing)
Hmm... I GUESS I'll stop with this list here... :P
Seven Movies I'd Watch Over and Over Again
Well, most movies I watch over and over again, are due to my sister watching movies over and over again. One time a month or so is usually good enough for me ~.^
1. The Princess Bride
2. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
3. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
4. LOTR series.
5. The Chronicles of Narnia (both the new LW&W and the ole BBC/Wonderworks productions).
6. Joe Satriani: Live In San Francisco
7. The Original Star Wars Trilogy
People to tag?
Sorry, I only know one person with a blog... >.>
Well, that's all folks! Hope yer happy :D
The Church of Baseball III (with Game Recap II)
A bit long in coming, this is the third edition of, The Church of Baseball!
Over the course of these past few weeks, the Brewers have fallen to 31-34. Losing two of your starting pitchers, and their top replacement has a tendency to do that kind of thing. The merry-go-round of minor league replacements helped the Crew to an 8 game losing streak, and a record of 12-15 since I last updated you. Of course, if you factor out that losing streak, they haven't done too bad ~.^ Rick Helling, the replacement starter, is due back soon, and the pitching staff as a whole has rebounded some. Here's to good luck for the Brewers until I post again!
Now, I'm sure you're desperate to know how my softball season has been going since my first game. Well, it's been alright. I did well my second game (which was actually in a work league that was pretty sappy, but still fun). My line in that game was, 3/4, 2b, 2 R, 4 RBI. Had a few snappy plays on the defense too. Yay!
Game 3 was back in the normal league. Was fun, but not quite so good. We lost. Boohoo. ~.^ I didn't hit so well, 1/3, and even my hit was kinda icky. On the defensive side, a few balls were hit my direction, but none within my range to catch.
Game 4 was last night, and it was great all the way around. Due to a shortage of players, I actually ended up playing 3b. I've barely had any infield practice so far this year, so I was pretty rusty there. But, the I improved steadily as the game went on. The first ball that was hit to me, I kinda shied away from, and missed (really bad). The second ball, I stayed on better, and at least got a glove on and slowed it down (not too bad). the third ball, I picked up (good!) then proceeded to make a boneheaded mistake and not get any outs (bad). The fourth ball, I picked up, and got a force out at 3b (great) and attempted to throw to 1b quickly for a double play, but was a bit wild, but the 1b got in front of it and stopped it (not bad). The fifth ball, was a line drive hit to my backhand side (my right) which I snagged (great!). The sixth ball was also a line drive, this time a bit to my left, and at my feet, which i also caught quite niftily (really great!) Now, for my hitting: 4/4, 2b, 2 R, 1 RBI. First couple hits were pretty blah, but my last two were really quite good. Yay again!
Ok, that catches up the church of baseball and game recap editions. I solemnly swear to do that mumu of sevenths in the next couple days. really!
Oh yes, my season totals, which i'm sure disinterests you all greatly ;D :
9/12, 2 2b, 1 3b, 5 R, 6 RBI, .750 Avg., 1.083 Slg., 1.833 OPS.
Over the course of these past few weeks, the Brewers have fallen to 31-34. Losing two of your starting pitchers, and their top replacement has a tendency to do that kind of thing. The merry-go-round of minor league replacements helped the Crew to an 8 game losing streak, and a record of 12-15 since I last updated you. Of course, if you factor out that losing streak, they haven't done too bad ~.^ Rick Helling, the replacement starter, is due back soon, and the pitching staff as a whole has rebounded some. Here's to good luck for the Brewers until I post again!
Now, I'm sure you're desperate to know how my softball season has been going since my first game. Well, it's been alright. I did well my second game (which was actually in a work league that was pretty sappy, but still fun). My line in that game was, 3/4, 2b, 2 R, 4 RBI. Had a few snappy plays on the defense too. Yay!
Game 3 was back in the normal league. Was fun, but not quite so good. We lost. Boohoo. ~.^ I didn't hit so well, 1/3, and even my hit was kinda icky. On the defensive side, a few balls were hit my direction, but none within my range to catch.
Game 4 was last night, and it was great all the way around. Due to a shortage of players, I actually ended up playing 3b. I've barely had any infield practice so far this year, so I was pretty rusty there. But, the I improved steadily as the game went on. The first ball that was hit to me, I kinda shied away from, and missed (really bad). The second ball, I stayed on better, and at least got a glove on and slowed it down (not too bad). the third ball, I picked up (good!) then proceeded to make a boneheaded mistake and not get any outs (bad). The fourth ball, I picked up, and got a force out at 3b (great) and attempted to throw to 1b quickly for a double play, but was a bit wild, but the 1b got in front of it and stopped it (not bad). The fifth ball, was a line drive hit to my backhand side (my right) which I snagged (great!). The sixth ball was also a line drive, this time a bit to my left, and at my feet, which i also caught quite niftily (really great!) Now, for my hitting: 4/4, 2b, 2 R, 1 RBI. First couple hits were pretty blah, but my last two were really quite good. Yay again!
Ok, that catches up the church of baseball and game recap editions. I solemnly swear to do that mumu of sevenths in the next couple days. really!
Oh yes, my season totals, which i'm sure disinterests you all greatly ;D :
9/12, 2 2b, 1 3b, 5 R, 6 RBI, .750 Avg., 1.083 Slg., 1.833 OPS.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Another Quiz From Peer Pressure
| You Are Iceman |
 Powers: turning self and others into ice, making ice weapons, becoming nearly invisible |
Which of the X-Men Are You?
hmmm... not toooooo far off i guess ^^
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Sweet Talking Woman - The Electric Light Orchestra
This is one of my favorite songs ever, which I first heard as a cover done by Five Iron Frenzy. Hearing there version, and reading their liner notes, introduced me to the band ELO. Here are the lyrics:
I was searchin' SEARCHIN' on a one-way street,
I was hopin' HOPIN' for a chance to meet.
I was waitin' for the operator on the line.
SHE'S GONE SO LONG What can I do?
WHERE COULD SHE BE? No no no,
don't know what I'm gonna do,
I gotta get back to you.
You gotta slow down SLOW DOWN sweet talkin' woman SLOW DOWN
You got me runnin' RUN RUN you got me searchin'.
Hold on HOLD ON sweet talkin' lover HOLD ON
It's so sad if that's the way it's over.
I was WALKIN' many days go by,
I was thinkin' THINKIN' 'bout the lonely nights.
Communication breakdown all around.
SHE'S GONE SO LONG What can I do?
WHERE COULD SHE BE? No no no,
don't know what I'm gonna do,
I gotta get back to you.
You gotta slow down SLOW DOWN sweet talkin' woman SLOW DOWN
You got me runnin' RUN RUN you got me searchin'.
Hold on HOLD ON sweet talkin' lover HOLD ON
It's so sad if that's the way it's over.
I've been livin' LIVIN' on a dead end street,
I've been askin' ASKIN' KINDLY everybody I meet.
Insufficient data coming through.
SHE'S GONE SO LONG What can I do?
WHERE COULD SHE BE? No no no,
don't know what I'm gonna do,
I gotta get back to you.
Oh, slow down SLOW DOWN sweet talkin' woman SLOW DOWN
You got me runnin' RUN RUN you got me searchin'.
Hold on HOLD ON sweet talkin' lover HOLD ON
It's so sad if that's the way it's over.
Slow down SLOW DOWN sweet talkin' woman SLOW DOWN
You got me runnin', you got me searchin'.
Hold on HOLD ON sweet talkin' lover HOLD ON
It's so sad if that's the way it's over.
Slow down SLOW DOWN sweet talkin' woman SLOW DOWN
You got me runnin', you got me searchin'.
Hold on HOLD ON sweet talkin' lover HOLD ON
It's so sad if that's the way it's over. (repeat & fade out)
30 second sample from amazon.com
Anyways, me likeys ELO. You could do a movie soundtrack with just their songs... and it would be good!
IstanbulTaye/Mophia/Philip/Whatever name you may know me by ^^
I was searchin' SEARCHIN' on a one-way street,
I was hopin' HOPIN' for a chance to meet.
I was waitin' for the operator on the line.
SHE'S GONE SO LONG What can I do?
WHERE COULD SHE BE? No no no,
don't know what I'm gonna do,
I gotta get back to you.
You gotta slow down SLOW DOWN sweet talkin' woman SLOW DOWN
You got me runnin' RUN RUN you got me searchin'.
Hold on HOLD ON sweet talkin' lover HOLD ON
It's so sad if that's the way it's over.
I was WALKIN' many days go by,
I was thinkin' THINKIN' 'bout the lonely nights.
Communication breakdown all around.
SHE'S GONE SO LONG What can I do?
WHERE COULD SHE BE? No no no,
don't know what I'm gonna do,
I gotta get back to you.
You gotta slow down SLOW DOWN sweet talkin' woman SLOW DOWN
You got me runnin' RUN RUN you got me searchin'.
Hold on HOLD ON sweet talkin' lover HOLD ON
It's so sad if that's the way it's over.
I've been livin' LIVIN' on a dead end street,
I've been askin' ASKIN' KINDLY everybody I meet.
Insufficient data coming through.
SHE'S GONE SO LONG What can I do?
WHERE COULD SHE BE? No no no,
don't know what I'm gonna do,
I gotta get back to you.
Oh, slow down SLOW DOWN sweet talkin' woman SLOW DOWN
You got me runnin' RUN RUN you got me searchin'.
Hold on HOLD ON sweet talkin' lover HOLD ON
It's so sad if that's the way it's over.
Slow down SLOW DOWN sweet talkin' woman SLOW DOWN
You got me runnin', you got me searchin'.
Hold on HOLD ON sweet talkin' lover HOLD ON
It's so sad if that's the way it's over.
Slow down SLOW DOWN sweet talkin' woman SLOW DOWN
You got me runnin', you got me searchin'.
Hold on HOLD ON sweet talkin' lover HOLD ON
It's so sad if that's the way it's over. (repeat & fade out)
30 second sample from amazon.com
Anyways, me likeys ELO. You could do a movie soundtrack with just their songs... and it would be good!
IstanbulTaye/Mophia/Philip/Whatever name you may know me by ^^
Sunday, May 14, 2006
The Church of Baseball II
Well, this edition will be short due to the weather in the area since thursday (and going through tuesday). My favorite MLB team, the Brewers, went 3-3 this week, holding them at .500 for the year with a record of 19-19. Using pink bats, to support mother's day, and breast cancer awareness, the Crew defeated the Mets 6-5. Yay! Go pink bats! Down with breast cancer! There will be no game recap this week, because even if they get a game in somehow, I will be working tomorrow night. See all of you on Tuesday when I think of another song to ramble about. ~P
Friday, May 12, 2006
The Movement...
Apparently there is a strong underground women's movement to end their suffrage... see this video.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Istanbul: Not Just a City
Well, let me introduce this subject by mentioning a unique MMORPG, Jumpgate. It is a cool sci-fi, space combat sim, which is totally cool. (The dev likes Firefly :P) I will now link you to a 'fan-fic' story that I started writing last year, and occasionally add to. It resides at Joystickrequired.com which is a really cool forum run by a guy named JumpDemon. Here's the story. Enjoy!
Monday, May 08, 2006
Game Recap I (5/8/06)
Well, our team won, so that's kinda cool. Our bad attitude boy only had one little eruption (which is good for that guy). As for me: As I wasn't able to get there until right as the game was starting (work), I subbed in later in the game. In my first and only AB, I hit an RBI triple! wOOt! Then I scored a run on a groundout by the next batter. So, I guess it went well :D
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Song of the UUOT: Grammatrain - Rocketship
For my initial song of the Unknown Unit Of Time, I will pull out the song that absolutely rocked the socks off of any other song I've ever heard. It's by a band that no longer exists (sadly) called Grammatrain. They were one of the coolest bands ever, and I never got to see them *cries*. The song is called Rocketship. Here's a link to amazon.com where you can listen to the 30 second demo to at least get a feel for it.
Heres the lyrics (or at least close, I'm not sure where I lost my CD case to, so I can't look in the liner):
Do you have a rocketship I could fly?
We could watch the world grow small from the sky.
Set a course and leave this place for a while,
we could leave, we would see the world a different size.
Chorus:
Let's fly our rocketship off of the ground.
C'mon and break thru the speed of sound.
Sometimes I feel caged inside my lifespan.
If i saw the earth as a distant land,
all my problems would feel like grains of sand
sifting through, sifting through, sifting through my hand.
Bridge:
Jesus holds space and time.
My soul will never die.
Now, whether you are religious or not, or of a different religion, I'm sure you can identify with wanting to get away. The ability to see things with a different perspective can make what were humongous problems seem so much smaller and more managable. So, besides absolutely rocking, the song has really good lyrics too. Hope ya like it!
Heres the lyrics (or at least close, I'm not sure where I lost my CD case to, so I can't look in the liner):
Do you have a rocketship I could fly?
We could watch the world grow small from the sky.
Set a course and leave this place for a while,
we could leave, we would see the world a different size.
Chorus:
Let's fly our rocketship off of the ground.
C'mon and break thru the speed of sound.
Sometimes I feel caged inside my lifespan.
If i saw the earth as a distant land,
all my problems would feel like grains of sand
sifting through, sifting through, sifting through my hand.
Bridge:
Jesus holds space and time.
My soul will never die.
Now, whether you are religious or not, or of a different religion, I'm sure you can identify with wanting to get away. The ability to see things with a different perspective can make what were humongous problems seem so much smaller and more managable. So, besides absolutely rocking, the song has really good lyrics too. Hope ya like it!
The Church Of Baseball
Since I seem to be posting about my baseball exploits and whatnot on sundays, I'll start calling this segment: The Church of Baseball.
First, a Brewers update:
They've gone 2-4 for the week (which isn't all that great) but they're still in 4th place, 4 games behind the Reds. Ben Sheets (their ace pitcher) has been battling a cold (which can lead to worse things with him), but he's been cleared to pitch today, giving the Brewers a good shot at avoiding a sweep out in LA.
Now, my softball practice report:
I spent most of my time in the outfield. Muffed the first ball hit to me (which happens when i'm still rusty) but, over the course of the morning, I made most of the plays hit to me, and a couple pretty good plays. One in particular was a hard hit line drive, that I had to run to my left and in and made a rolling catch of. Why a rolling catch, you may ask. Well, i'm no good at diving, so I basically just get down to where I have to to catch the ball and whatever happens after i catch the ball happens. In this case I ended up rolling, but I held onto the ball. Also made a few catches that I had to run quite a ways for. As for my hitting, i'm still not in a groove that I like, and our first game is tomorrow night :( I think some of it has been the BP pitching though, because the guy who was pitching, wasn't doing a particularly good job of it (no worse than what i'd be able to do though, i'm not good at pitching slow pitch).
I'll do a feature called Game recap after tomorrow nights game, so that all of you can know how badly (or goodly) I did. :D (who are 'all of you' anyways?)
First, a Brewers update:
They've gone 2-4 for the week (which isn't all that great) but they're still in 4th place, 4 games behind the Reds. Ben Sheets (their ace pitcher) has been battling a cold (which can lead to worse things with him), but he's been cleared to pitch today, giving the Brewers a good shot at avoiding a sweep out in LA.
Now, my softball practice report:
I spent most of my time in the outfield. Muffed the first ball hit to me (which happens when i'm still rusty) but, over the course of the morning, I made most of the plays hit to me, and a couple pretty good plays. One in particular was a hard hit line drive, that I had to run to my left and in and made a rolling catch of. Why a rolling catch, you may ask. Well, i'm no good at diving, so I basically just get down to where I have to to catch the ball and whatever happens after i catch the ball happens. In this case I ended up rolling, but I held onto the ball. Also made a few catches that I had to run quite a ways for. As for my hitting, i'm still not in a groove that I like, and our first game is tomorrow night :( I think some of it has been the BP pitching though, because the guy who was pitching, wasn't doing a particularly good job of it (no worse than what i'd be able to do though, i'm not good at pitching slow pitch).
I'll do a feature called Game recap after tomorrow nights game, so that all of you can know how badly (or goodly) I did. :D (who are 'all of you' anyways?)
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
The Battle of Yavin IV
by Philip Morey
Quickly and silently rose thirty silver birds, to embark upon a mission which the others called absurd.
Divided into groups, one of red, the other gold, into space these fighters sailed, their pilots ever bold.
These rebels had a mission: to protect their jungle moon, and a hero was required, for in the sky a terror loomed.
Now deep within the fauna was a very secret place, for in these ancient ruins stood the hidden Rebel base.
And there in a cluster, the Rebel leaders stood, prepared to fight and lose their lives for what they thought was good.
The fighters were heading out and flew beyond their planet, and when they cleared that ball of gas, the Death Star they discovered.
In the Massassi temple Princess Leia watched them go, and with her was a droid, the famous 3-PO.
Ahead the steel gray orb did lay with officers awaiting a black-cloaked giants orders to launch their eager fighters.
The Rebel fighters made it through the perimeter defense. It was nothing but a magnetic shield causing a shaky ride at most.
Finally over the surface they raced amongst the towers, shooting orange laser burst creating explosions in bloom like flowers.
Onboard the shaking Death Star a massive figure spoke, "Our turbo lasers can't hit them, we'll take them ship to ship."
As rickety TIEs poured from their hangers, the Rebels on the moon called warning, "The Death Star's launching fighters, don't get caught and fail."
The fighter pilots acknowledged and Red Leader made an order, "Gold Squadron, we'll draw their fire, keep watching for other fighters."
Three Y-wings dove straight down, deep into the trench, as that massive, cloaked dark figure launched with his wingmen.
The three Imperial fighters, chasing the Y-wings, were led by Darth Vader. He was on a killing spree.
He shot down all three Y-wings in what seemed no time at all. The Y-wings didn't even take a shot; Darth Vader was on the ball.
Red Leader called to Luke, who was Leia's special friend, "Hold your group back to make the run again.
"For we may fail just as easily, as the martyrs of Gold Squad just did formerly."
With that aside, Red Leader dove, followed by two others. Down inside the trench they raced to eliminate a bother.
As before Darth Vader came from behind to kill and maim and save his giant terror of galactic high acclaim.
His wingmen gone, Red Leader fired. His shot hit on the exhaust port! The Death Star rocked as it never had before.
But no! It didn't go in, "Just a peckin' on the surface, Luke, you'll have to do the run again, or of Yavin 4 there'll be no trace."
And then Red Leader died, in a gigantic globe of flame, as Darth Vader did his job that brought him lot's of fame.
Luke, Wedge and Biggs dove low! Down to deliver the Death Star's fatal blow.
The three X-wings, with brave pilots flying, were going fast to try to keep from dying.
But Vader and his wingmen jumped behind again. The Dark Lord fired and scored a hit on Wedge.
Wedge pulled out in pain. He wished he could fight back. But with his damaged ship he couldn't make an attack.
Vader got a shot again and Biggs disintegrated, causing Luke to find that Vader he surely hated.
Then a calm came over Luke, for Obi-wan came to visit. He then told Luke, "The computer, you don't need it."
Luke switched his computer off. The Rebels asked, "Luke, what's going on?"
Luke replied, "Don't worry I'm okay." Vader shot again. R2's power faded away.
Then out of nowhere the Falcon came and shot down the fighter next to Vader the topgun.
The other wingman tried to leave and clipped Darth Vader's wing. He hit the canyon wall in spectacular flame ongoing.
Han Solo, the scruffy smuggler, called to Luke, "Let's hury! Blow this thing before it lets loose it's fury."
Luke fired two red flaming arrows from his speeding craft. They hit the port and went on through causing Vader to look daft.
The surviving Rebel spacecraft escaped it rapidly. Vader went on spinning, deep in space, a marvelous sight to see.
The Death Star blew in a massive ball of flame as the heroes who caused it sped on to galactic fame.
Well, that's all folks. Hope it's not too long for a blog post. I could always post it somewhere else and link to it i guess. ^^
I am the State of
You're Tennessee!
A vibrantly musical individual, you probably know how to play multiple
instruments. At the heart of your love for music is the guitar, though you have a soft
spot for violins, which you refuse to call anything but fiddles. Fiddlesticks aside,
you are very thin and have excellent posture. If you ever run for elected office, you
won't even be able to get your hometown to support you. I guess that's why they call it
the blues.
Take the State Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.
Tennessee??? Though it's fairly close. just take out the part starting with fiddles until the part about running for office.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Baseball
I find it hard to believe that I have gone the entire first month of the MLB baseball season without even mentioning baseball here. Well, I've been so busy that I've only had time to watch parts of two games and listen to a few others... *sighs*
Well, I am a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers. So far this year they've been doing pretty well. 14-11 to start the season off.
Along with baseball season... I'm back playing softball (slow pitch). The team I play for had it's first practice yesterday morning. I practiced some 2b, and did ok, as well as some OF where I also did ok. Considering the first ball I had to try for in the OF was hit well over my head so that I had to turn my back to the ball and run for it... I think that almost catching it and bobbling it was pretty good! (going back on fly balls has never been my strong suit). I took a few swings of Batting Practice before I had to run off to work, did ok. I'm still getting into the 'swing' of things ~.^
Well, I am a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers. So far this year they've been doing pretty well. 14-11 to start the season off.
Along with baseball season... I'm back playing softball (slow pitch). The team I play for had it's first practice yesterday morning. I practiced some 2b, and did ok, as well as some OF where I also did ok. Considering the first ball I had to try for in the OF was hit well over my head so that I had to turn my back to the ball and run for it... I think that almost catching it and bobbling it was pretty good! (going back on fly balls has never been my strong suit). I took a few swings of Batting Practice before I had to run off to work, did ok. I'm still getting into the 'swing' of things ~.^
Friday, April 28, 2006
Movies
I have done it.
I have watched Firefly: Serenity. It actually took me a few minutes to get into, having never seen the series due to my unculturedness. But, once I started figuring out what was going on, it was cool.
Which Firefly character are you?
So, I took Anniina's quiz... I guess I'm actually dead now.
On to the second movie, Bride & Prejudice.
At first, I disliked it, but it grew on me. I had too much of the orignal Pride & Prejudice on my brain, but once I just came to grips with the fact that it is really just a totally seperate movie, with eery similarities to Jane Austen's book, I was won over. It is actually hilarious. I have only one thing to say more, "No Life Without Wife."
(I'd say the movie is worth watching just for that song, it's pretty funny).
P®M
I have watched Firefly: Serenity. It actually took me a few minutes to get into, having never seen the series due to my unculturedness. But, once I started figuring out what was going on, it was cool.
Which Firefly character are you?
So, I took Anniina's quiz... I guess I'm actually dead now.
On to the second movie, Bride & Prejudice.
At first, I disliked it, but it grew on me. I had too much of the orignal Pride & Prejudice on my brain, but once I just came to grips with the fact that it is really just a totally seperate movie, with eery similarities to Jane Austen's book, I was won over. It is actually hilarious. I have only one thing to say more, "No Life Without Wife."
(I'd say the movie is worth watching just for that song, it's pretty funny).
P®M
Thursday, April 27, 2006
My Setup
Well, I better do this just in case some musician type person strolls through. They'd think I was a fake if I didn't talk about my kit at all.
I use:
Taye Drums
10-12-14" Toms (2 Rack, 1 Floor)
14x5.5" Snare Drum (Taye throw-offs are killer awesome)
16x22" Kick Drum (don't quote me on that, my mind is a bit numb)
for cymbals,
14" Sabian Paragon Hi-Hats (Neil Pert Line of cymbals)
20" Zildjaan Ride Cymbal (a late 70's early 80's cymbal I'm pretty sure)
17" Zildjaan A Custom Thin Crash
15" Istanbul Medium Crash
12" Zildjaan K Custom Dark Splash
for sticks,
Vic Firth Dave Weckl model sticks
Vic Firth T1 General Timpani Mallets
Vic Firth brushes
Hardware is mostly Taye, with a Tama cymbal stand.
I like single ply coated heads for my toms, and I'm not all that picky about the brand on them. Usually use Remo, just cuz. My snare still has the original Taye head on it. I should probably change it sometime soon, but it still sounds really good (might just be because the only other snare I hear often is tuned like dung, so mine might just sound good compared to that lol)
I also have a Cort Katana guitar that is pretty good to me and my amateurish guitar playing.
-Phil
I use:
Taye Drums
10-12-14" Toms (2 Rack, 1 Floor)
14x5.5" Snare Drum (Taye throw-offs are killer awesome)
16x22" Kick Drum (don't quote me on that, my mind is a bit numb)
for cymbals,
14" Sabian Paragon Hi-Hats (Neil Pert Line of cymbals)
20" Zildjaan Ride Cymbal (a late 70's early 80's cymbal I'm pretty sure)
17" Zildjaan A Custom Thin Crash
15" Istanbul Medium Crash
12" Zildjaan K Custom Dark Splash
for sticks,
Vic Firth Dave Weckl model sticks
Vic Firth T1 General Timpani Mallets
Vic Firth brushes
Hardware is mostly Taye, with a Tama cymbal stand.
I like single ply coated heads for my toms, and I'm not all that picky about the brand on them. Usually use Remo, just cuz. My snare still has the original Taye head on it. I should probably change it sometime soon, but it still sounds really good (might just be because the only other snare I hear often is tuned like dung, so mine might just sound good compared to that lol)
I also have a Cort Katana guitar that is pretty good to me and my amateurish guitar playing.
-Phil
Sunday, April 23, 2006
'Bout That Title
I figure it's time for me to explain the title of my blog.
First, if you didn't realize it yet, I am one of the sect of the scruffiest of all musicians. In fact, we are so scruffy, that even musicians look down on us, and don't like acknowledging that we are part of that category of people. I am a drummer.
Sadly, there is just cause for musicians to look down upon our group these days. In the nineties, a phenomena which I call "Crash-riding" grew in popularity to extreme heights. You may wonder what this is. Crash-riding is playing the 'beat' on a crash cymbal, which is a cymbal designed for accenting, making a strong declaration in the song. When used as the time-keeping cymbal, it leads to excessive noise and even worse... cymbal breakage!
Now, I would be the first person to admit, that crash-riding does have merit to attain a certain sound and feel. For instance, there is a song by Offspring, the title of which I can't remember (I might get off my mental behind and look it up), that would not be the same without the drummer crash riding during certain parts of the song. The key word, however, is 'certain'.
Crash-riding can create a powerful sound within a song, musically. But, too many bands these days are using it to extremes. Rather than building their songs, and their collections of songs (I think a CD should be a group of songs that go together as a whole, but... that's a different blog), to create an entire experience, they milk the intensity for all they can, too the point that they cheapen it's effect.
Let this be a plea to all drummers.
Use the whole range of dynamics! Please!
-P®M
First, if you didn't realize it yet, I am one of the sect of the scruffiest of all musicians. In fact, we are so scruffy, that even musicians look down on us, and don't like acknowledging that we are part of that category of people. I am a drummer.
Sadly, there is just cause for musicians to look down upon our group these days. In the nineties, a phenomena which I call "Crash-riding" grew in popularity to extreme heights. You may wonder what this is. Crash-riding is playing the 'beat' on a crash cymbal, which is a cymbal designed for accenting, making a strong declaration in the song. When used as the time-keeping cymbal, it leads to excessive noise and even worse... cymbal breakage!
Now, I would be the first person to admit, that crash-riding does have merit to attain a certain sound and feel. For instance, there is a song by Offspring, the title of which I can't remember (I might get off my mental behind and look it up), that would not be the same without the drummer crash riding during certain parts of the song. The key word, however, is 'certain'.
Crash-riding can create a powerful sound within a song, musically. But, too many bands these days are using it to extremes. Rather than building their songs, and their collections of songs (I think a CD should be a group of songs that go together as a whole, but... that's a different blog), to create an entire experience, they milk the intensity for all they can, too the point that they cheapen it's effect.
Let this be a plea to all drummers.
Use the whole range of dynamics! Please!
-P®M
Friday, April 21, 2006
The Weather
I was inspired to compare the weather of Wisconsin and Finland by a dear friend of mine. Very dear. So deer that she almost has antlers... huh? Sorry, wrong dear for a second there.
My preliminary research seemed to indicate that Finland has a longer winter by about two weeks on average, while also being a couple degrees colder. Finland actually seems rather comparable to the most northern parts of Wisconsin. Finland would probably be much colder than Wisconsin based on latitude, but has the advantage of being right off of an ocean and a sea, whereas Wisconsin has only an extremely large lake (which would probably qualify as a sea if it wasn't a lake, and a really large lake. Also, Wisconsin's great bodies of water are on the opposite side of the state from the prevailing wind, so they don't have quite so much affect, except for right along the coast.
I'll put together some 'hard' data in an easy to read form a little bit later. Those meterological websites aren't quite as easy to read as they think they are.
Philip®M
My preliminary research seemed to indicate that Finland has a longer winter by about two weeks on average, while also being a couple degrees colder. Finland actually seems rather comparable to the most northern parts of Wisconsin. Finland would probably be much colder than Wisconsin based on latitude, but has the advantage of being right off of an ocean and a sea, whereas Wisconsin has only an extremely large lake (which would probably qualify as a sea if it wasn't a lake, and a really large lake. Also, Wisconsin's great bodies of water are on the opposite side of the state from the prevailing wind, so they don't have quite so much affect, except for right along the coast.
I'll put together some 'hard' data in an easy to read form a little bit later. Those meterological websites aren't quite as easy to read as they think they are.
Philip®M
Monday, April 17, 2006
Keeping up with the Leos.
Anniina made me do it.
I wonder what that all means..
| The Keys to Your Heart |
 In love, you feel the most alive when things are straight-forward, and you're told that you're loved. You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring. You would be forced to break up with someone who was ruthless, cold-blooded, and sarcastic. Your ideal relationship is open. Both of you can talk about everything... no secrets. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred. In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted. |
What Are The Keys To Your Heart?
I wonder what that all means..
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Here's the Scoop
I spent a wonderful night in indescretionary violence.
It all started when a beautiful young lady mentioned that she was in need of seeds. Her name was Alaydhien. So, I packed my bags and headed of to Tahrongi Canyon where we spent some quality time beating up little plants that walk around and some other extraordinary beasts.
I wrote a stanza:
Quickly, I go to Tahronghi Canyon.
Soon, my dear Alay, you will see me there.
I will run as if I were Paul Bunyon.
(He's so big, he can run just like a hare.)
Hmm... maybe I should stick to drumming.
I now confess to being an FFXI addict, especially when my friend Alaydhien (her in game name) is around.
On a side note, I played drums today for the first time in almost a month and did surprisingly well in spite of the layoff and an exceedingly painful shoulder. (I think I strained it by throwing ice cubes :D)
It all started when a beautiful young lady mentioned that she was in need of seeds. Her name was Alaydhien. So, I packed my bags and headed of to Tahrongi Canyon where we spent some quality time beating up little plants that walk around and some other extraordinary beasts.
I wrote a stanza:
Quickly, I go to Tahronghi Canyon.
Soon, my dear Alay, you will see me there.
I will run as if I were Paul Bunyon.
(He's so big, he can run just like a hare.)
Hmm... maybe I should stick to drumming.
I now confess to being an FFXI addict, especially when my friend Alaydhien (her in game name) is around.
On a side note, I played drums today for the first time in almost a month and did surprisingly well in spite of the layoff and an exceedingly painful shoulder. (I think I strained it by throwing ice cubes :D)
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Here I Am
Dear Readers,
The above is somewhat of a leap of faith... will there be any? I guess that's up to me to decide...
I'll start off with an introduction. My name is Philip. I don't hate horses, but... I don't think the meaning quite applies to me. I am however a drummer. My 'screen-name' derives from that, because I use Taye drums and prefer Istanbul cymbals. I play several online games of the MMO variety for fun and work as a restaurant manager for an Italian restaurant.
That's all I've got for tonight...
Philip
The above is somewhat of a leap of faith... will there be any? I guess that's up to me to decide...
I'll start off with an introduction. My name is Philip. I don't hate horses, but... I don't think the meaning quite applies to me. I am however a drummer. My 'screen-name' derives from that, because I use Taye drums and prefer Istanbul cymbals. I play several online games of the MMO variety for fun and work as a restaurant manager for an Italian restaurant.
That's all I've got for tonight...
Philip
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