Forgotten joys of the movies
I think it had been about a year since I had actually enjoyed a movie in the theatre. Really. That's how pathetic I've become.
I forgot what a joy it is to have a nice theater only about 25 minutes away. The Warren is close, convient and always immaculate. It's an expansive theatre with 18 different screens, the majority of those being in stadium seating. Whoever was the genius that did theaters in stadium seating should be made a knight or something. It's a great concept as you don't have to fight the people in front of you.
All of the screens have digital THX surround sound. I think it's kind of done up in an Egyptian theme. You get the feeling that going to a movie at this theater is more of an event than just going to the Palace to catch a show for $1.50. They actually have a little restaurant/malt shop right off of the main entrance, so if one wishes to eat a sandwich or grab a shake before the movie starts, one can do so.
Of course the concession prices are astronomical but then again, what movie theatre doesn't have such markup?
But there is a difference about watching a movie in a theater. There is anticipation of a good movie, especially when your friends have hyped it for you. Throw in the added bonus of the previews for coming attractions, the THX sounder, the friendly reminder to turn off phones and such, and you're ready for the movie.
I really always have enjoyed going to the movies. Back in the day, Tim and I used to go to a movie about every other weekend. When the list of summer movies came out, we would circle the ones we wanted to go to. Now times have changed and I basically don't have anyone to go to movies with. So I don't attend movies as much as I'd like to. Maybe I'll have to see if I can't remedy that fact.
The movie I saw tonight was Batman Begins.
Outstanding.
Thankfully, I didn't see the Batman starring George Clooney. I'm thankful that I didn't. I saw the one with Val Kilmer and I was left with the feeling that I had just thrown up in my mouth a little. I absolutely loved the very first Batman. Dark and daring, it was right up my alley.
This one was a return to what makes Batman so good. Christian Bale could be the Sean Connery of Batman if he continues with the role. The film itself was darker, more realistic and less like the neon lime green and pink that gave me vertigo. The cinematography was superior to that crap of the last three, including set designs, atmosphere. Gotham definitely had the feel of a sinking town and Bale's portrayal of the Dark Knight was perfect.
I loved it. I won't give you any spoilers but it was worth every penny of my 8 bucks.
Taking the good with the bad
We played the top two teams in our league tonight. The first team hadn't been beaten yet. Of course we had to spot them 6 runs. Granted we're about to call bullshit on this because they can score just as many as an A team plus, they've got the sticks to hit more than three bombs a game. Anyways, we held them out of the gates and scored five in our half of the first. We thought that we'd be in for a battle.
It was like the floodgates opened and the circus cars came zipping out. We should have all been wearing funny noses and big red floppy shoes. It was awful as they jumped out to a 17-5 lead thanks to the Ringling Brothers out there. Anything that could go wrong did.
Coming off the field after The Inning From Hell, Brian yells "Let's go now. Stay positive. Keep those heads up." I think it did the trick for some reason. No one pointed fingers, no one yelled. We just went about our business in a workmanlike fashion. Three runs here, four here, hold them on defense.
Fast forward to the bottom of the last inning. We trail 19-17. The order goes, Dibbo, Castro, CKo, me. All we needed was five hits. Dibbo starts off with a base rip. Perfect. Castro comes up and hits into a fielder's choice where Dibbo was forced at second. Castro on first, Cko up. Cko has already had three doubles. What does he do? He does it again. Now there's Castro on third, Cko on second, and I'm coming to bat.
I wasn't nervous. In fact, I was whistling when I dug into the box. First pitch, ball. Second pitch, perfect. I blasted the ball deep into the gap between the left fielder and the left center fielder. Ball down and I'm on my horse. Both Castro and CKo score easily and I'm standing on third as the winning run with a two-run triple and two outs to get me home.
Now the third baseman was thinking about walking Kaegi and Enszy to get to Jon, probably our weakest stick. I looked at CKo and said "If they walk both those two, sub Jyo." Jyo had arrived late and was waiting for our second game to start. I figured if those dumb bastards wanted to play strategy, we could too.
It turns out that they didn't try to walk Kaegi. Kaegi hits a fly ball, I tag up and get in for the ball game. Final Score Team RPG 20 Woody'z 19.
There was about a five minute lull between as the other teams switched out. Our next game was a lot different as we were into a defensive struggle. I also became a statistic as I was flat DRILLED by a batter. I threw the pitch and Gary just hit it almost as hard as he could.
The ball never got more than three feet off the ground as it just crashed into my thigh above my knee. It was hit so hard that the collision with my leg caused it to bounce to the shortstop who was able to throw the batter out at first. Granted, it hit me so hard in the leg that I saw stars, but it didn't hurt. It didn't even knock me off of my feet. Gary came up to me checked on me, worried that I was really hurt, plus he was apologizing for hitting me. He said he didn't mean to go up the middle, nor would he ever go up the middle intentionally. I told him not to worry because I knew he didn't try to hit it up the middle, I was fine and it was all part of the game.
Of course I looked down and it was already turning purple. But it really didn't hurt.
Now, we were up 7-3 in the top of the 7th, when the Inning From Hell raised it's ugly head. They scored six to take a 9-7 lead. There were a couple of errors, and two bombs, but they were only up two. I knew that coming to the plate it was Castro, Cko and myself. Surely we could get something going.
Castro grounds out. CKo flies out. Now it's up to me. For some reason, I say to myself, "I'm going to start this." So I hit a line shot for a single. Enszy follows me up with a single and now we're on first and second with two down. Kaegi comes up and rips a drive that the second baseman barely gets leather on. I'm off for third as fast as I can go, and CKo is coaching third and I hear as i'm rounding third "GO! GO! You're scoring. GO! STAY! STAY! STAY!" So I pull up, wheel around and freaking Enszy is standing on third. I turn to head home even though the catcher has the ball, hoping i can force some type of rundown, but he's already all the way up the baseline. Brett tags me and that's it. Ball game. A loss to the number two team in the league 9-7. That drops us back into the middle of the pack with a record of 4-4.
Why not new balls?
So I filled in for my boys in Wichita last night. It wasn't bad as we were missing the upper echelon of our talent pool, i.e. most of the best regulars. So Timmy made his career debut at third while I pitched.
We got beat 10-5. I blame two things, our lack of hitting and very, very shitty balls. They were squishy and it sounded like hitting a canteloupe. Just a dull thwack when the bat made contact with the ball. For example, I went one for four (yes, i know, really piss poor) but two of them were flyouts that backed the left fielder up. Had we been using normal hard balls, they would have been piss rockets to the fence. Softballs shouldn't be squishy.
Of plastic bats and balls
So, the 3rd Annual Brian Arellano Memorial Wiffleball Tournament has come and gone.
Overall it was a success as 22 teams turned out. I was expecting good things from our team of Jyo, Jon, Steph, David and myself.
Our first game was at 9:30 on Saturday morning. Bases are set up at 50 feet and they have snow fence at about 125 feet. We were playing five inning games and like normal wiffleball, you could throw it at them below the shoulders to get them out along with normal baseball outs. Our team name? Team Defective.
Game one- Us vs. Whiskey Tango. It's always hard to start off as the wiffleball is coming in so slow. We were able to score three runs through the first four innings and held a 3-1 lead going into the top of the fifth. Unfortunately, our defense broke down as they scored 5 runs to take a 6-3 lead. So Jyo gets up and promptly strikes out again. We manage to load the bases with two outs after scoring one run, but Jon flies out to end the game. Jyo set a new record for futility with four strikeouts in one game
Game two- Us vs. I can't remember the name. This team literally wore me out and i was pitching/lobbing the ball in there. They had two girls who waited for the perfect pitch to hit. One girl just stood and watched. She wouldn't swing the bat. Granted she was pretty hot in her little green shorts and her short little top, but still. This game wasn't much as we trounced them 13-3 to advance.
Game three- Again, facing elimination, we played in our most thrilling game of the tourney. We trailed 2-1 heading into the top of the fourth inning. We were able to score one run to tie the ballgame at 2-2. In the fifth and final frame, we scored one to take a 3-2 lead. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, they had a runner on first. The batter hits a fly ball to Jyo who should have had it, but slipped just a little bit while trying to catch it. The batter on first gets all the way around the bases to score and tie the game. We force extra innings by making the third out. In the sixth, we score one again to take a 4-3 lead. We manage to get two outs, but then they get two on. I make my personal best play of the tourney as someone hits a grounder along the third baseline. With a sliding one-handed grab and backhanded flip to Jon covering on the force, we escape with a 4-3 extra inning win.
In our final game, we never got things rolling as we were trounced 17-9. A big eight run first inning stopped us and we never recovered. Steph didn't hit as well as she had the day before, plus she was annoyed at the other team because they were obnoxious. As we figured it out, we finished fifth overall.
Jim ( the umpire and also Brian's father) thanked us for coming out and playing. I went to the organizational tent and thanked them all for allowing us to come and play. I also told them, we'd be back next year. One of these years, we're going to play for a trophy.
Gosh I love softball
Especially when we're winning.
Last night was a confidence builder that we needed as we played the local high schoolers who are the whipping boys of the league. Of course, we had to spot them 6 runs because of the difference of divisions so it was 6-0 before we started. They scored two on us as the outfield was playing too deep. After they made their adjustments, the Possums didn't come close to scoring a run. We ended up trouncing them 27-8.
Nothing heals slipping confidence like a good old-fashioned ass kicking.
To dream or not to dream
Sometimes I don't remember my dreams. However, last night's was so vivid, I thought I should blog about it.
The dream started at my former middle school where my sister is a student. Not much has changed in the way of the school itself as you walk in and the office is on your right and the commons/lunchroom is straight ahead. The gym is through twin doors. This is your old old school gym as it has a massive stage on the south. Underneath the stage is the band room and also where everyone would go for the tornado shelter during practice drills. It's quite large to be able to house all of the middle school population.
Anyways, for some reason, Jarrett and I were at the middle school. There was a basketball game going on at the time too. The curtains on the stage were closed as there seemed to be some kind of surprise concert coming up. I had press credentials for some reason and we were kind of milling around amongs these giant speakers. Jar was looking at some speakers stacks and I wondered off and saw two guys rolling around on the stage laughing and just involved in good natured wrestling.
When the two grapplers seperated, I was shocked to find myself face to face with none other than Edward Van Halen. For some reason I managed to introduce myself and it was as if we were old friend. During a handshake, he even managed to slip me about 30 of his guitar picks. I told him that my brother from another mother was milling around and would just die to meet him. Eddie said to trot him over.
After finding Jarrett, I practically drug him over to where Eddie and the boys were hanging out. I introduced Jar to Eddie, and there were stars in Jar's eyes. Jar happened to have a program or something and got Eddie to sign it. I also think his brother Alex was there and he was signing it too. I was laughing as if I had some pull in this whole thing. I left them to all the signing of things so I could go check something along the east wall. I can't remember why I had to check it. At that time, I thought to myself that I probably ought to get Eddie and Alex to sign something for me, just so I had something other than the 30 guitar picks to remember this by. About ten minutes later, I scrounged up a program so the guys could sign it for me. I trudged back up on the stage into a crowd of people surrounding Eddie and Alex.
"Eddie, I hate to be a bother, but could you sign this for me?" I asked somehow thinking that I was on a first name basis with him. He laughed and said of course, if I was in your position I'd have a signature or two as well. He scribbled a short message, then he passed it around to the group who was surrounding him. For some reason Jar was nowhere to be found. I believed that he had passed out from actually meeting one of his idols.
Suddenly the lights flickered in the gym. The sounds of the basketball game were still going strong. Jar suddenly appeared and said "Dude, you probably ought to come look at this." So the two of us went outside.
It was the most bizarre sky I've ever seen. It was green, black, navy, orange and white all swirling around. Immediately, I thought "Holy snikees, this has got to be a tornado brewing." The skies opened and it was a deluge of water pouring down. We went back inside, yet still the game was still going strong with us in the lead 48-37. I ran into another guy I know. He was talking on a cell phone and mouthed the word "Tornado" to me. I nodded grimly and opened the door to the commons.
It was unnaturally bright. The light fixtures were sparking, yet they were lit up with almost an unholy bright glow. There was also this horrible sound like metal twisting under tremedous strain. I also realized that water was dripping from all over the ceiling. The sound of the metal got even more pronounced to the point of almost being abled to drown out my own thoughts. The strange thing was that there wasn't a person to be found in the commons. That turned out to be a good thing as the roof came crashing down in a tremendous clatter.
What was once common ceiling was open straight to the massive black swirling sky. A huge vortex was bearing down on the middle school as if there was a gigantic target on the gym floor. I slammed the doors shut. The basketball game was still going strong, yet the score still stood at 48-37. Jar was beside me and the two of us rushed onto the gym floor in the middle of the game. The players, coaches, refs and spectators looked at us as if we had lost our heads. Using my announcer voice I said something to the lines of "Ladies and gentlemen, there is a tornado bearing down right towards us. Everyone must stay calm and orderly and proceed to the band room for safety. Half of you go to the right, and half of you go to the left."
Amazingly they followed our directions. As soon as everyone was downstairs, the power went out and all that was left was emergency lighting. People started screaming until Jar yelled "HEY!" at the top of his lungs to get their attention. The turned to me and I said "Okay folks, remember to get in the safety postion. Around and down for you kids. Show the parents how to do it. Around and down. That's it. Exactly. Good job." Jar and I were walking around showing the parents how to go around and down to protect one's head from flying debris. What made it seem so typical was that the two of us, didn't take our own advice and we went out to check what was going on. We didn't get far as it sounded like a jet engine was parked on top of us. We decided without ever exchanging a word to go back into the band room. It was funny because everyone was listening to what we were saying and we were a calming influence on these people. Eventually the roar died down. We told everyone to sit tight as we were going to check out if it was safe to come out. The two of us climbed up the east stairs that empty into the back entrance of the gym. The parking lot looked soaked and we couldn't see a lot of damage. Somehow I ended up home and in bed. The next part had me waking up telling myself that I had to go help because there was a tornado. My cell phone rang and it was Jar asking what the damage was like. I told him, I wasn't sure but I was going out to check it out. I'd love to know where exactly Eddie and the gang went during the tornado. We went out and sure enough a tornado had cut a swath through town, but yet missed the high school, the retirement community and one of the two manufacturing plants. The roof of the middle school had collasped in from the weight of the water that had accumulated. There was a design flaw during the remodel job and it nearly cost a bunch of people their lives. I went back to the middle school and was looking for my guitar picks given to me by Eddie. I managed to find them along with the now-soaked autographed program. Along with Eddie and Alex's John Hancock's was this one from a local DJ with his contact number saying he had heard me doing games. I was pissed because of the 30 picks, I only had about 10 left and they were all sandy too.
It was so strange.
There was another dream mixed in there about a pool owned by this woman, her attractive daughter and the suspicion of a crime, and some cops, a road blockade. That one, I can't remember except that I had permission to swim in a pool and the daughter and I were in the process of getting to know each other well enough to go on a date when there was all kinds of cops action and I just was allowed to leave. I hate having dream snippets like that where it's just wisps of a potential storyline that you know you were involved in. I don't know what I ate, or what I didn't but it was surely surreal.
Sunday Bloody Sunday
I love to fish on the boat. It's really that simple. Why? Because I am a Pro from Dover, and also a BOBB.
A pro from Dover is what we ( my dad, Jim, Don and myself) have always been known because we can catch fish. A BOBB? Well that's different. We have a set order in the boat, Jim drives, Dad sits co-pilot, Don sits behind Jim, I sit behind Dad. Don and I are a little less than sane so we coined the term BOBB, because we drink the most beer back there and get a little goofy. (No becka, I wasn't driving the boat, and yes you can get a DUI while on a lake in Kansas). We are Back Of Boat Buddies.
Mostly we troll at the lake. Occasionally, we've been known to drift a little, but 98% of the time we troll. Yesterday it was absolutely goregous save for one little fact. The lake was up about five feet higher than normal because of recent rains. However, we didn't let that deter us as we fished anyways.
It was a slow day. I only caught five fish, but however, 4 of mine were keepers. Dad caught the only keeper walleye of the day, a perfect sized 19.5 incher. I caught three wipers, not to badly sized, and one white bass.
Yes, I broke the law again. The law in Kansas, states that you can only keep two wipers per person. Technically we were well under the limit for our boat.
What is a wiper you may ask? It's a freak of nature. It's almost like the mule of the fishing community as it is a cross between a white bass and a striped bass. However, they cannot reproduce directly. They did get the best of both worlds as they could be the most aggressive fish in kansas waters, as well as one of the strongest pound for pound fish. My lord, they are not broke to lead. With white bass and small walleyes, we won't even shut the boat down to bring them in.
A wiper over 15 inches, you shut the boat down and hold on. They are so much fun to catch, it's unbelievable.
Anyways, we finished up fishing about 3 ish. By 3:45 we were home. I cleaned the fish in about 7 minutes, with time to relax a little before softball.
So then the softball game. We won, 10-11. Yes, that wasn't a misprint. We won 10-11 because the ump....COULDN'T READ THE SCOREBOARD. As you can perhaps tell, I was less than thrilled with the umpiring yesterday. In fact, a call will be placed about the horrendous quality of umpiring.
Anyways, I'm off to shower.
Pilfered from Bev
What do you do on a Saturday before you're supposed to go work on the boat?
You fill out SURVEYS!!!
*Name: Rusty
*Nickname: RJ, Rust, Rus, Duece and that one bad one, plus an old school one raised its ugly head, dweech
*Single or Taken: single
*Sex: male
*Birthday: 02/02/77, yes, i know how old i am, blogger doesn't automattically update
*What are you wearing right now: shorts and a wiffleball tourney tee shirt and a backwards baseball hat.
*Where do you live: South central baby, south central kansas that is
*Righty or lefty: right, except if i play hockey
~Relationships~
*Who are your closest friends?: Timmy and Jar, then probably that one who edits my page with mexican stuff
*Best place to go for a date: I don't have time to date so why worry about such trivial matters
~Fashion Stuff~
*Where is your fav place to shop: WalMart and Gart
*Do you have any tattoos or piercings? No Tats. No piercings
~Faves~
*Color: green
*Number(s):2
*Food: Mexican or chinese
*Boys name: Read the part about the first date, so if you think it through, i'm not picking a boy's name
*Girls name: Jesus, who writes this stuff? didn't they see my answer on the last one?
*Animal: dogs
*Drink: water or margaritas
*Celebrity: I don't have one. Screw the lifestyles of the rich and shameless
*Sport: Basketball, then football, then baseball, but to play, it's softball, followed by golf
*Veggie: green peppers
*Fruit: nanners
*Fast food place: BK,
*Place to visit: Nebraska. sad to say, but it's so much relaxing fun
*Month: November. time to kill things baby, October is a close second
*Juice: Apple or orange
*Finger: how can anyone have a favorite finger? but since i have to choose, the middle one. damn the wichita drivers
*Ice Cream: chocolate chip cookie dough
*Breakfast: if i ate breakfast, probably a western omelette
*Perfume/Cologne: anything woman catching that smells good.
Have You Ever
*Given anyone a bath: No
*Smoked: yes back in the day for a summer. i'm such a quitter.
*Bungee jumped: no
*Broken the law: I'm not allowed to talk about this under advisement from my attourney
*Made yourself throw-up: yes, but that was because alcohol was involved.
*Gone skinny dipping: yes, a long time ago
*Been in the opposite sex's bathroom: yes. I was hiding during a game
*Eaten a dog biscuit: i'll plead the fifth
*Put your tongue on a frozen pole: Do I look retarded? Wait, don't answer that.
*Loved someone that made you cry?: No. Love is the blood of life, yet women are vampires. ( I can't wait for the shitstorm on this one.)
*Played truth or dare: yes
*Been in a physical fight: yes. a couple of them, i broke my brother from another mother's arm. does that count?
*Been in a police car: yes
*Been on a plane: yes
*Been in a sauna: yes
*Been in a hot tub: yes
*Swam in the ocean: yes
*Fallen asleep in school: yes
*Ever had a sex dream: yes
*Broken someone's heart: not to my knowledge
*Flashed someone: yes
*Lied: again, that relates to my attourney
*Laughed so hard you fell off your chair: oh most definitely
*Sat by the phone all night waiting for a call: no. A. no one calls me. B. if they do, they can reach my cell phone
*Saved e-mails: only if they're funny or if i'm too lazy to put the address in my book
*Wished you were a member of the opposite sex: no.
*Made out with JUST a friend?: yes
*Been rejected? yes
*Been in love? no.
*Used someone: hehehehe yes. but it wasn't for sex.
*Been cheated on? no
*Done something you regret? DUH, i'm human.
First Thing That Comes to Mind
*Red: Huskers
*Blue: Sky
*Happy: usually am
*Autumn: fave season
*Cow: steak
*Greenland: cold
*Stupidest thing you have ever done: St. Patty's day. coming home.
*Your crush: i've got a couple, but i've got ZERO chances
*Your most prized possession: i don't know.
*Last thing you ate: a cheeseburger
*Fave song: Too many to think about.
*Best thing that has happened to you this year: I finally got to eat at King's Inn
Have You Ever Had
*Chicken pox: yes
*Sore Throat: yes
*Cold: yes...
*Stitches: yes. which probably doesn't come as a shock to anyone.
*Bloody nose: all the time
*Crabs: thankfully no.
Do you
*Believe in love at first sight: somewhat
*Enjoy parks: sure, but i'd rather fish or golf
*Like picnics: yes. who doesn't? plus that can give me a chance to show off my mad washer game skillz
*Hate anyone: Hate is such a strong word..i prefer loathe
*Who: those two asshole from the softball league.
*Who is the last person that called you: let me check my history....Chris K did to see if i was coming to drink
*Makes you laugh the most: Jar or Tim
*Makes you smile: all of my friends (i like that answer so i'll leave it)
*Can make you feel better no matter what: I rarely feel rotten so i don't know
*Was the last person you touched? Jar, I gave him a high five
*You talked to last: my pops
*You hugged?: can't remember that far
*Massaged: been a while since anyone has wanted my backrubbing skills
*You Kissed?: wow. that's been even longer
*You yelled at: my mother
Do You/Are You
*Do you like yourself: yeah.
*Do you get along with your family: yes we're all a bunch of loons
*Do you do drugs: Never. I have never done any drugs.
*Color your hair?: yeah sometimes. it helps hide the gray
*Piercings below the waist?: NO.
*Obsessive: nope
*Compulsive:nope
*Anorexic: nope. i like food
*Depressed?: nope
*Suicidal?: only in the morning.
Rain Rain
Go away,
I want to play ball today.
However since you're here to stay
Rain rain, FUCK OFF!!!
