Zombie Movie Trailer

Check out my roommates new Zombie movie trailer: Halloweeen 2009

Softball Runner-Ups

Earlier in the year, our softball team "Jim's Orphans" went from last-to-first to win our summer softball league.

For the Fall League, we came in 2nd place. The trophy was almost better than our first place trophy (except for the lettering), and the fact we didn't receive t-shirts this time.

But hey, we went from being the worst team in the league for the past three seasons to finished first and second this year with a combined record of 18-3. Yes, I will take that.

Until next spring

Pearl Jam: They Still Got It!

Let me take you back...

Freshman year in high school in 1993, I was a 14-year old in
Kennewick, WA just 200 miles away from the center of all music at the
time: the Seattle grunge scene. Nirvana was changing everything on
MTV. Pearl Jam's "Ten" was kicking trash all over. In fact, people
were anxiously awaiting their sophomore album "Vs." more than
Nirvana's album "In Utero."

"Vs." was very well received by the critics, but since it was
following up arguably the greatest rock album of my lifetime, the fans
were expecting so much more. Plus, Pearl Jam decided to stop making
music videos. Basically, Pearl Jam decided to do their own thing and
go against the social norm and Ticketmaster very early on in their
career. They started hanging out with Neil Young, and he pretty much
ruined them in the prime of their rock careers.

Granted, going with the entire mantra of rock n roll, they fought "the
man" and did what they wanted to do: perform awesome live concerts.
They have become a band for the fans, and alienated all the
fair-weather fans (like myself).

They became this generation's Led Zeppelin and will go down as one of
the greatest quintessential rock bands of our time, but with all the
secrecy and doing things their own way, they pretty much lost me by
the wayside.

I respect Pearl Jam as being the best of my time -- with "Ten" being
the best rock album I can think of, but unfortunately I didn't become
one of their hardcore fans that did whatever they could to follow them
through their own methods of communication with the fans.

Eddie, you still rock....HARD. To rock arenas the way you always wanted
to in your 40s is quite the success story. May rock and everything it
stands for still live on through you and your bandmates. Your vocals
were incredible last night!

My First Home Runs!

Let me start this out by saying: I am a terrible baseball/softball player. I never played little league as a child (not even tee-ball). When I was in 7th grade, I decided to try out for the baseball team. I was the first one cut.

When I was a junior in high school, I didn't have a spring sport to play so I asked the baseball coach if I should play. He asked if I had ever played before. I said "no". He said it wasn't a good thing to try and play this late in the game. I took up tennis. The baseball team won the state championship.

Our friend Jim is an all-star softball player. He let us play on his team a while back. I started out at 2nd base, but eventually moved to pitcher. I liked pitcher because all I had to do was throw the ball straight (like skee ball at Chuck E .Cheese). I didn't have to do any special defensive fielding, so I liked it.

After one season, Jim abandoned us to play with real players (and I can't say I don't blame him). The rest of us castoffs formed our own team called "Jim's Orphans" and we would lose about 80% of our games for the next three seasons.

For three years, I was lucky to hit the ball out of the infield and get a single. I had never even hit a double until this spring. I actually got two triples in the summer league. Well the other night, I hit a good shot right to center field. The guy misplayed the ball and I was booking it around and the third base coach waived me in. I beat the tag by a nano second and had my first "inside the park" home run! FINALLY!

Well, two at-bats later, I walked up to the plate and the pitch looked a little inside. I swung anyway (because the poor pitcher had walked like 5 people already). I knew I hit it good because I was booking it around 1st base. I look up and the ball went over the fence. I couldn't believe it.

I would have told you that I would have dunked a basketball before I ever hit a softball over the fence. The swing felt normal, I just got a piece of it. What a glorious feeling. Not one, but two home runs in the same game!

It's about time, it only took me 30 years :)