Malik
(9/28/09)
Watching the first
quarter of the Seahawks game yesterday reminded me of why I love
this team. I mean even with just about every starting player injured
(well, nine starters were out), the Seahawks went out there and took
some serious advantage of the situations presented. The first
Seattle drive resulted in a touch down. The next two ended with
field goals. Then the first quarter ended...and apparently no one
bothered to tell Mora's 'Hawks that the game has three more quarters
to play.
That's when the Bears
went from being down 13-0 to being the victors with a final score of
25-19. Yeah...after a perfect starting quarter again a team that has
not beaten Seattle in Seattle since before I was born, Seattle
basically lied down and took a severe beating. While it would be fun
to say something like "at least the defense looked good," or "at
least the offense showed some potential," the truth of the matter is
something different. Seattle was bad looking no matter which side of
the ball they were on. Mare couldn't even kick a field goal
reliably. I mean Seattle just couldn't do anything, even when given
thirty free yards on back to back facemask penalties against the
Bears.
The Seahawks are
basically in the same position they were in last year. Unless they
can bring about some healthy playmakers in a hurry, the team will go
down another long and torturous season of pain and defeat. The team
is beaten up, with key gaps in the defense, the offensive line, and
at quarterback. In other words, all that's left is a group of people
(the receivers and rushers) who could be good if they had some
support and someone throwing the ball who was not too damned short
to see over the defense. I like Seneca Wallace, but he's too short
and too unpredictable. In fact, the only predictable part of the
Seahawks right now is Mora's play calling (although I guess he
leaves the offense to his underlings)...which looks a hell of a lot
like Holmgren got last year. In other words, the offensive plays are
looking more like the strategy of a guy who sees a long
vacation/retirement before him. This is not the strategy of a
seasoned and prepared coach.
Of course, I should have
expected something bad happening yesterday. After the Seahawks
started to play in a uniform that not even a mother could love,
things were destined to be bad. I mean the alternate
nearly-all-green uniforms are blindingly bad. I mean they were
probably causing epileptic seizures to many people who turned on the
game yesterday. I know, bad uniforms don't make for a bad team or a
bad game...but I think it's better to blame these uniforms than to
try to even analyze why the Seahawks are looking like crap in more
ways than just in a glow-in-the-dark way.
To round out the crap,
even UW lost on Saturday. Both big Seattle teams, on the cusp of not
being crap, failed to live up to any of their potential and decided
to let failure wash over them, again. I guess it was nice to see UW
ranked for the first time in way too many years...but now that will
be just another memory when the latest rankings come along.
Malik |
Malik
(9/29/09)
Today should be a good
day for Rock Band DLC. I mean, after way too damned long, Alice In
Chains gets a freakin' five pack of songs, including three classics
and two new tracks. This would be great news, except I'm stuck in a
work schedule that will probably keep me from having many coherent
thoughts until around Friday. I'll be running with about two hours
of sleep until Friday, and that doesn't lend itself well to both
playing RB and to writing some opinions on the new songs.
Anyway, as stress
levels overwhelm my sorry self, I'm expecting little in the way of
posts until at least Friday. Once this week is done, things should
begin to flow rather nicely. However, until then I'll only be able
to guarantee today's post.
So, I'll just
unload about something that is really getting on my nerves; the
iPhone. I don't have one. I don't expect I will have one or any
equivalent (like a Google Android phone or a Palm Pre) since it's
just not my style. I like my phone for calling people, serving as an
on-the-go phone book, and as a calendar (since I cannot remember
appointments without something vibrating and making a racket from my
pocket). Beyond that, I don't dig texting (I hate texting with a
passion), I don't need web on the go, and I don't need a bunch of
portable games that could be more enjoyable on a real portable
format like being on the DS.
However, this
isn't envy of some lame sort. Not even envy like the horrible "envy
green" Seahawks alternate uniforms (sorry, I had to add another
opinion on how much those uniforms sucked). I just don't want or
need something like the modern smart phone.
My complaint comes
from two main areas. The first being the annoyance of ads and the
perspective they add to life on how without one you're a loser. I
don't mind ad peer pressure. It's normal and expected in life. I
just hate the Pre commercials and the woman who stars in them and
reminds me of how some people in the real world are frightening to
behold. At least Palm eliminated her voice from the ads, but it's
both her voice and face that quite possibly scare the shit out of
me. It's like watching a train wreck...you want to look away, but
you also stare on in morbid curiosity as you see something that
should not be seen by the masses.
The main problem I
have with smart phones is how they have opened the world to a new
type of mass jackassery (my nice way of calling the average smart
phone user a tool and a dumbass). For example, now instead of having
the person ahead of me in line, let's say at a store or a coffee
shop, partially absorbed into a phone conversation and taking way
too long to make a quick purchase, I have a smart phone user who is
so damned taken away from reality that I'm stuck wasting my time
while someone refuses to actually complete the transaction they came
to said store to make. Each and every person behind this ass is
stuck waiting extra long, possibly on a tight schedule as it is,
because someone feels their damned life can be a sensible obstacle
to the lives of others.
It also goes
further when you work or live around a major metropolitan area. I
drive to work, despite how un-green it is or whatever bullshit
reason I'm to be told I'm not giving enough back to the Earth.
Sorry, but I have to drive when I live in an area like the greater
Seattle region and it has no real mass transit options for people
who live outside of Seattle city limits. Now, with the typical smart
phone overuse, I'm stuck with a moral dilemma at each intersection I
come to. I hate violence and try anything in my power to avoid
harming another person (even an idiot who possibly deserves pain and
suffering). So, I'm stuck wondering if I should slam on my brakes or
hit the smart phone user crossing a major street against the signal
because he/she is too self absorbed in their web browsing to notice
that they are trying to win a Darwin award.
It's not too hard
to put the phone down for a minute to get back to reality. However,
on-the-go web browsing and iPhone app usage are apparently a drug
that cannot be quit. They must be too damned addictive since people
would rather blindly enter an intersection with a semi flying
towards them then to just stop walking or to stop iPhoning while in
public.
It only gets more
annoying as more companies encourage this shit. I mean Starbucks now
lets you have a Starbucks card on your iPhone (scan the barcode on
the screen to get your discount or added funds), car dealerships
have coupons that can be scanned and displayed on an iPhone for
discounts on maintenance, and it just goes on and on from there.
Might I also add, after being in a Starbucks line too many times
since their iPhone app came along, that it doesn't seem that the
glitches are out of the system yet as lines get held up by the thing
not working after the user takes too damned long as it is because
he/she cannot stop web surfing to order. There is no escape, and if
you're not with the "cool kids" you're sure not going to have any
fun when you seem to be thrust into an unfair position; take
responsibility for them or know they'll sue your sad ass when you
hurt them due to their negligence.
Blah...
Malik |
Malik
(10/1/09)
I'm back from a magical
land of sleep deprivation. I say it like that, since it's amazing
what happens to your mind when you get only a short two hour sleep
during 42 or so hours of adrenaline pumping work. In the end, I felt
a lot like Apu on the James Woods/"Apu Gets Fired" episode of The
Simpsons (when Apu was shown on video tape thinking he was a
hummingbird from sleep deprivation). I'm not 100% back in my mental
cognition, but I think about 50% is good enough until I can catch up
on sleep this weekend. Hopefully working three sifts in a day for a
single job doesn't become a regular thing.
Anyway, I did
manage enough free time to try out the Alice In Chains five pack for
Rock Band. I have to say the songs are, for the most part, a blast
on expert guitar. In mean they are all pretty easy. If you can
handle three note chords and whatever you find on Man In The Box
(not counting the solo), you can handle this AiC pack without a
problem on expert guitar. However, what makes this pack great is how
damned important sounding the guitar is for each of these songs. I
mean AiC has always done a great job of having the guitar used in
such crucial ways to make the song so much more than it could have
been.
Of course, if
you're one of those "hardcore" players, then this pack will
disappoint. I mean Rooster is the lowest tier, and nothing gets much
more than three dots on guitar difficulty. You even have, with
Looking In View, the longest song in the game to not feature a
guitar solo (no solo and about 7-8 minutes of music). There are a
few quick tricky parts, but nothing that will drive a challenge
fanatic into a manic state of pleasure.
I was thinking
about some of the other songs released this week. However, thanks to
the preview option in the music store, I was quick in my decision to
skip the other stuff. It might be fine for some people, but I just
heard too much whining and too much generic "nu-metal" for my
tastes. Still, it's not like I can complain since the AiC five pack
is great and I should save some money as the video game season
starts picking up steam this month.
Malik |
Malik
(10/2/09)
Short post today.
I'm off from all real responsibilities today, and I aim to apply
that philosophy to posting. I mean after spending too much
time this week without sleep and all that fun stuff, I think the
less I think (including thinking about what to type and how to avoid
typos), the better it will be for everyone.
So, with saying
that, I just need to say one thing on this post...Harmonix
is awesome lately! Once again, I have the need to spend
way too much of my money on Rock Band DLC next Tuesday. When
you have Flobots (Handlebars), Electric Six (especially Gay Bar, but
there's two more in their pack), Raconteurs (in a three pack), and
Alanis Morissette (for those who like her...I have to admit, Ironic,
which is DLC, is a guilty pleasure)...well, not much else can be
said beyond stating that Harmonix is awesome.
Malik |
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