End of the Road

That about sums it up. The Nuggets are done. Best season ever, and it ended with a reminder... Hey, these are the Denver Nuggets [SMACK]. Despite the horrid exit, I couldn't be happier, we have an off season to get better (get rid of K-mart) and get ready to smack others around next year, like the THUGetts we are (minus K-mart). WOOOOO! I say we need to get rid of... K-mart, let AC go and of course resign the Bird man, just so we can see new tats and hair-do's.

Honestly, I'm still so ticked I don't want to think about the game. The Nuggets did a self-fulfilling prophecy with the officiating. They played like they would be whistled and it showed. They let Confucius and Kobe's Oscar worthy whining get to them. Here they are mocking us at the end.

After watching the game, in disgust I changed the channel to Discovery and said "I want to watch something die." What showed up? Salmon trying to get past big bad Grizzly Bears. PERFECT! The following picture from the folks at Despair sums it up even better.

Sad to see it end, but very hopeful for next year. GO NUGGETS!!

Milestone - 100 Posts!!!

Why am I excited about this? Its proof I've actually stuck to something for several years on a semi-consistent basis. Now only if I could apply such intestinal fortitude to other areas of my life... oh well one step at a time.

The 100th episode mark is frequently cited in entertainment industry and popular media as a key number for enabling a modern series to enter syndication. MWHAHAHAH! If only it were true for lowly bloggers. Let's face it. I'm only followed by a few family members so they can spare me feelings of rejection. Geez, talk about throwing a bucket of cold chum on my own party. Anyways, happy 100! and may I make it to 1,000,000,000 posts with the help of mechanical organs that will allow me to defeat the aging process and the seeds of death.

LOST - What Will Happen

Here are my prior predictions (among several) I made about Lost in my April 2008 Nostra-fletch-a-damus revelation. I'll comment in red on how my predictions are coming. SERIOUS SPOILER STUFF. DO NOT READ IF YOU EVER INTEND TO WATCH THIS SHOW ON DVD - WHICH I HIGHLY RECCOMEND YOU DO IF YOU DON'T FOLLOW THE SHOW.

5. LOST [Pounding Sound] - Here is what will happen ultimately in this show. Jack and Kate with the help of Ben and Sayid will break into Faraday's Oxford lab and take 3 super-humans who can see dead people, travel through time and dodge bullets back to the island for VENGEANCE. Hey, they did go back to Faraday's lab, the survivors have been traveling through time, dodging bullets, Hurley still sees dead people as do others on multiple occasions, Jake and Sawyer and Sayid take beatings like super-humans. Sayid takes Vengeance on Ben by shooting him. AM I A GENIUS OR WHAT????

There they will use all of the ancient Dharma fortresses to defeat the monster and the evil corporate Mr. Widmore. Many sort-of joined Dharma and now know the stations and will be able to do this in the finals season. Its all set up. WOOOO!!!

John Locke will die in the process while using all his powers granted by the Island. Ben will be killed by his own greed and fall into a pit of Lava like Gollum. John is still dead. Right? Wrong. He is still destined to make the ultimate sacrifice. Ben is still on the path of a Gollum death. [Yessssssss....]

In the aftermath, scientists will go to the island and discover the cure for cancer, the ability to render all atomic bombs useless, and how to time travel back to previous days in a person's life. But the most stunning result will be the key to picking lottery numbers. Once this happens, people will win the lotto so much that it will be closed. As the real source of public school funding, the educational system will collapse, the rising generation will become cannibals; and consequently, not solve global warming and the earth will be flooded by icebergs. Then Kevin Costner's vision of Water World will become a reality. I don't remember how that movie ended (because I shut it off) so you'll have to tell me how it ends. (I'm amazed you read this far....) Considering my prior successes, as outlandish as my "Water World" secnario is, it could still happen. Never fall asleep on NOSTRA-FLETCH-A-DAMUS!!!

New Predictions

Jacob has a very old mystery friend that wants to cut his heart out via a loophole. Want to know who he is? THE SMOKE MONSTER. [duh dun dahahahaha!!!]

Of course I'm not the only one with such theories. Here are few links that may be of interest.

http://www.docarzt.com/lost-discussion/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1870

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/lost/lost-who-is-jacobs-enemy-28664.aspx

Whew! That saved me from a bunch of typing. I don't think these guys are God and the Devil. I predict that Jacob really is the good guy (I know I'm out on a limb here) and Smokey is acting as a defense mechanism that hates Jacob for not protecting the Island from humans. I'm also convinced this is a Stargate-alien Egyptian thing going on. I predict that Jacob and Smokey are aliens that Egyptians believed to be gods. Here is a page about Jacob.

http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/egypt/osiris.htm

Now one about Smokey.

http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/egypt/seth.htm

CAN YOU FEEL THAT BUDDY? HUH? HUH???

YESSSS!!! I HAVE EXERCISED THE DEMONS!!!

Man I'm good!!!

Hope you all enjoy waiting FOREVER to see how it all ends [thudding sound].

Sign of the Apocalypse II

In 2007 the Colorado Rockies made an improbable run through the end of the regular season and swept the first two rounds of the playoffs. It was a miracle! Until they were destroyed by the Boston Red Sox in a world series sweep. Like Sports Illustrated, I called the run a sign of the Apocalypse that a team as historically bad as the Rockies could sweep two playoff series and make it to the world series.

Apparently they must have changed something major in the Denver Matrix because the same Deja-vu thing appears to be happening with our other historically bad franchise, the Denver Nuggets. Hot run to end the season, strong performance in two playoff rounds, now likely to face a serious title contender in the L.A. Lakers. Are the boys from Auraria Parkway headed for the same fate as the Blake Street bunch? I say no. Here are some reasons why this Nuggets team is different from the Cinderella Rockies.

1. Captain Obvious says: "Its a different sport!" To say the downfall of the Rockies is guaranteed for the Nugz is merely supported by superstition or bad sports pop-psychology. But I'll start rubbing my lucky blue rabbit foot from the 3rd grade just in case. If you are still not convinced, I'll provide 5 more reasons.


2. Playoff experience. The Nugz have been to the playoffs and dismissed for 5 years in a row. Yes, that stinks, but they were consistently making it to the big dance and competing with the best at the next level. The last time the Rocks were in the playoffs prior to 2007? 1995.


3. Regular Season. The Nugz just completed back-to-back 50 win seasons for the first time in franchise history. That is not a fluke. It reflects consistently good management, coaching and play during the season and off-season. The Rockies had to win 14 games in a row to make it to the post season, with a dramatic a dramatic 1 game wild card playoff win over the Padres to enter the post season. The Nugz had the 4th best record in the NBA and earned a 2nd seed in the very competitive Western Conference for the playoffs. Not exactly the stuff of miracles, just consistently good work.


4. Star Power. Matt Holiday. Good, but is he really at the same level in his sport as Carmelo? Todd Helton. Good, but at the end of his career. Did the Rocks have any playoff seasoned player like Chauncy Billups? The man has now been to the conference finals 7 years in a row. The only people in the history of the NBA to do more are guys like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabar from the Showtime Lakers. That's it. The man flat-out knows playoff basketball and earned the nick-name "Mr. Big Shot." By the way, he also was a Finals MVP on an under-dog team. I think our hometown hero offers significant leadership and credibility the Rocks were seriously lacking for a championship team.


5. Losses. Part of the Jinx for the Rocks was the "streak." Baseball is a mental game where stuff like that gets carried away. The Nugz have lost once in each series, bounced back and have no streak issues.


6. Margin of victory. In 7 playoff wins in 2007, the Rockies average margin of victory was 2.5 runs. Not bad, but they weren't killing anyone. In the Nugz eight playoff wins, their average margin of victory is 15.1 points. Wow. But guess what? That excludes the ridiculous blow-out of the Hornets on the road 121-63, a 58 point margin of victory. Include that win and the average margin of victory is 20.5 points per game. Astonishing. Effectively blowing out teams in two playoff series is a mighty feat indeed, and certainly no fluke. By the way, the two Nuggets losses? 2 points each.

Clearly, the Nuggets have significant advantages and have proven themselves worthy and capable of the moment. They didn't sneak into the dance, they were at the top of the guest list. They won't be running home at midnight, because they intend to own the palace when the dance is through. And for the first time in my life life, I think the Nugz have a chance to win it all. Getting past both Kobe and LeBron will be extremely difficult. But as the league loves to say: "This is where Amazing Happens."

The NBA Playoff song is "Every Day" on the left if you care to listen, or the Bulls Warm-up music if you need to get pysched. "Can you feel it?" Yes. I finally can. For a few good laughs on the Nugz playoff run, check out this link:

http://www.drewlitton.com/blog/basketball/

To Catch Osama

Clinton failed to do it. 'W' failed to do it. The most wanted man on the planet is still hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan. But not for long. In this post I will reveal a secret weapon the military doesn't realize they have at their fingertips:

A-LAMB

That's right, Adam Lambert. Why? In a prior post, I established him as the greatest metal singer of all-times. How could we use his talents? A little history lesson is in order:

In December of 1989, Bush the Senior invaded Panama to capture the "infamous" (more than famous) General Manual Noriega. The good general had fled to the the sanctuary of the church. In order to get him out, the army sent in a secret weapon: HEAVY METAL!

I know. It sounds ludicrous. Check out this link:

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/DOCUMENT/950206.htm

Want to know what our boys played to drive this man to prison?

http://bigpicture.typepad.com/writing/2004/09/the_rock_n_roll.html

Here are my personal favorites. If A-lamb were to sing these with a 1,000,000,000 watt amplifier at the foot of the mountains, Osama would surely beg for execution.

1. Hangin Tough - New Kids on the Block
2. Ironman - Black Sabbath (no doubt OBL has seen the movie and hated it)
3. Naughty, Naugty - Danger Danger (Oooooooo)
4. Now you're messin with an S.O.B - Nazareth
5. Run to the Hills - Iron Maiden (note my prior post. A-lamb singing this is destiny!)
6. Star Spangled Banner - Jimi Hendrix (I know, A-lamb will just imitate the guitar sounds)
7. They're coming to take me away - Henry VIII
8. Youth gone wild - Skid Row
9. Screaming for vengeance - Judas Priest

Surely with this secret weapon the war on terror will permanently swing in our favor. The planets will align and hot fudge sundaes for everyone... forever and ever. Now that's a military operation I can cheer for!

Seeing the Future and Star Trek

I used to consider going to the movies alone as a sign of social dysfunction. But now that my life has reached new chaotic levels, going alone to a movie was a refreshing siesta from interpersonal communication. Especially when I'm attending the Landmark theater in Greenwood Village. Let me just say: this is the place in town to watch a movie. Slightly higher ticket price, but that includes unlimited popcorn and soda, very comfortable leather seats, and best of all, a classy, intimate setting that makes me feel like I'm an individual experiencing art; rather than lemming being fed a corporate product designed to return favorably to investors.


This evening I took in the new Star Trek film. As I predicted, this is the type of space-action film George Lucas should have made with the Star Wars prequels. This movie had good buzz going in and it lived up to and in some cases exceeded my expectations. Perhaps the greatest feat was the fresh but familiar portrayals of the characters, especially Kirk and Spock. Daunting task well met. Despite the fast pace of the film, the emotional tension was taut from start to finish. This movie had the human touch that the prequels lacked. The writers created a good vehicle for future films, that will allow freedom for new ideas and stories, without being slavishly bound to prior Trek work. In one word: Bravo. Two more? See it.

Being alone after a movie with no one to discuss the my thoughts, I got carried away on a recurring internal idea about the future. What if I could see (not meet) my future self in 20, 30 years? This hits me occasionally when driving around the place I grew up and now call home once again after a 12 year break. What if I could see myself now, when I was 10? Would it change the way I act? Of course. I'd take my faith, math and several other matters much more seriously. But to what end? If I outperformed my future self would it be cheating the game of life? Perhaps I would be overzealous to improve my apparent future weaknesses and develop others instead? If I've learned anything in my short life, trials come regardless of our efforts to avoid or prepare for them.

Then my thoughts turned to what I would not change if I saw my future self. Surprisingly, I found this to be rather enjoyable as it made me realize how much I appreciate the people in my life. For starters, I would not attempt to change the sudden death of my father. Painful as it was, it undeniably shaped and deepened my character. I've learned things from him through our separation that I don't think I would have any other way. An easy second would be my lovely wife and our children. Friends along the way have been many and supportive, inspiring me to be better. Each relationship has a unique happiness. I'm sure I could achieve similar results in alternate futures, but I find I'm content with what I've been given. People and how I treat them matters most, not my career, pride or other accomplishments. Truly on Judgment Day my relationship with God or better put, with my family, friends and neighbors will be the primary focus.

Until then... Time to sign off of this entry in my Captain's log and wonder how you could have read this far on such an unusual post composed in the wee hours of the night.