i'm a twinkie. not.

after remembering these ads from my childhood ...



... almost 30 years later, here i am about to have my first taste of the much-maligned Hostess Twinkies (and with good reason).


so what's the verdict?


eeeeewwwww. that's disgusting. apparently, the fried version seems to be a kind of a cultural hit, despite the Twinkies's unhealthy rep.

well, that's my first and last one. i know we can't totally avoid it, but anything with HFCS - high fructose corn syrup - is bad for you (and the government knows this gleefully).

now hand me that Quaker Chocolate Crunch Rice Cake.

ads courtesy of tomorrow's heroes.

oh, for the love of ...

it has begun. prepare for an avalanche of Manning Brothers commercials for 2008.





next thing we know, Gisele Bundchen dumps Tom and hooks up with Eli. TMZ Alert!!!

post Bowl thoughts

i'm pretty much wiped out from last night ... but here are some thoughts i had while drifting off to sleep despite the honking and merrymaking outside my Brooklyn neighborhood.

1) the Boston area and Tiki Barber must be waking up feeling queasy this morning (to put it mildly)


2) your turn, Philip Rivers


3) never, ever, ever bring your celebrity girlfriend to a critical game (just ask Tony Romo)

4) with the Mets getting Johan Santana, and now this Big Blue upset, maybe things are turning around for NY sports. now if only they could fire both Isiah Thomas and Jim Dolan ...

5) will it be Manning vs Manning next year?


6) the vaunted SuperBowl commercials mostly sucked for the second straight year. i only liked a couple, and even Careerbuilder lost their mojo.


7) the best 27 yards ever


8) other people having a good time today - Drew Bledsoe, Lawyer Milloy, Bill Parcells, the entire '72 Dolphins team ...

9) God bless those who bravely picked the Giants to win, in the face of sheer odds and potential humiliation from conventional thinkers, big media and everyone else. yes, i didn't think they'd win either.

10) did Bill Simmons wake up today? i have to know these things.

bonus) i can't resist
i bet he'd open up more if he won. or not.


now i'm sneaking in a couple which has nothing to do with the game, but enriches my geek soul.

first off, good thing we got a new Iron Man trailer:


and also a new lean one for Wanted, which looks so good (although i can see where they stripped elements of the original Mark Millar story) i'm already salivating (well, ok, Angelina Jolie is in it, completely throwing me for a curve because the Fox is supposed to be a Halle Berry template).


old (longer) Wanted trailer

XLII running blog

(this is a running post on SuperBowl XLII. updates will be appended at the end)

i didn't want to be stuck on the bed all day (TV's in the room), but what the heck, i'll just check from time to time (like every 2 minutes).

earlier, my bro-in-law Eric called and pointed out to me that Pats linebacker Tedy Bruschi is half-Filipino. holy crap! really? must've dozed off on that one. can anyone tell me from what province do the Lacaps come from?


you mean, just because he looks like a Filipino?

1:48pm
they're showing Albert Haynesworth on Fox, touching on the Defense Minister Reggie White. what th-? ah, it's part of Howie Long's Tough Guys feature.

will somebody kill John Mellencamp already? how many more times will we be subjected to "This is Our Country"?

1:50pm
more Tough Guys: Mike Vrabel, Marion Barber, Ben (yes, the One named Ben).

i'll be sick of Howie Long's mug before long. too much Chevy commercials.

1:58pm
Ultimate Tough Guy: Jason Witten. what th-?

2:00pm
the girl is calling me for lunch. later.

2:40pm
the Fox guys in the studio gabbing as always. Best Team of the 60s: Packers. of course.

look for Rodney HGHarisson to be a zebra in the future.


2:51pm
nominees for Sweetness Award for Community Service: Jason Witten, Hines Ward, Brian Waters, and Jason Taylor.


a moment of silence for dead football players.

R.I.P. Marquise Hill

2:58pm
Frank Caliendo always cracks me up.

Ryan Gaycrest (what th-?) interviews Commish Roger Goodell.

3:02pm
Jints defensive front better cement their rep tonight. 53 sacks this season will mean a lot less if you don't finish.

3:15pm
a Tom Coughlin sighting, arriving at the stadium, which looks real spiffy.


Larry Fishburne a.k.a. Morpheus brings the house down and can't pick a winner.

Best Team of the 70s: Steelers. yeah.

3.30pm
a Bill Belichick sighting. cue in the Death Star song.


3:38pm
Sara Evans yum. Willie Nelson zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

3:45pm
money is everything.


SuperBowl parties: why are we not there???


Best Team of the 80s: 49ers.

3:57pm
Hugh Laurie brings down the House by predicting a Giants win.


a nice segment with Lynch, Merriman, Gonzales and Witten just shooting the breeze and making predictions: all Pats.

4:11pm
will you be a Patriot next year?


4:20pm
TMZ Alert! Paula Abdul is NOT drunk.


4:32pm
Michael Strahan's Video Diaries are much better than Cloverfield.


more classy fans.


4:44pm
Best Team of the 90s: Cowboys

5:00pm
time for Mass. be back for the game.

6:31pm
and they're off.


two 3rd down completions for Eli Baby. hah-hah.

let's start listing the ads.
- Bud Light firebreather date
- Audi/Godfather beheaded horse scene

Ahmad Bradshaw motors on.


a timely completion to Steve Smith.

argh. Plax is covered on the end zone.

Law Tynes makes it 3-0, Giants.

ad:
- What is Love? Pepsi Max. Joe Buck looks stupid.

6:50pm
Brady goes down. but Maroney is like a rocket.

Welker gets free again!


Madison trips Faulk. hah!


Antonio Pierce gets flagged for pass interference - argh.


ads:
-screaming animals/Bridgestone
-Kina Grannis wins the Doritos contest showcase for new talents (i think we had a post on her on the zero blog)

7:00pm
Pats get in the end zone. Boston erupts.


go see Danica Patrick expose herself at godaddy.com.

Gostkowski kicks it out of bounds. that means the Giants start at their 40. that means he'll get chewed on the sideline.

ad:
-Tide Stain during interview

the Bundchen is at the Superbowl!

Amani catches the long heave!

7:11pm
INTERCEPTION!!! Steve Smith loses the ball to Ellis Hobbs!


ads:
- Budweiser/Clydesdale in "Rocky"
- new Iron Man trailer!!!!

7:18pm
3 and out. New England punts? hah.


ads:
- Toyota Corolla/Badgers
- Garmin GPS/Napoleon

7:20pm
Eli gets sacked for the 1st time

Fumble!!! Giants recover but are now becoming the Giants of old. a case of the heebie jeebies?

Screen play goes awry. and out goes the punting team.

ads:
- careerbuilder.com/follow your heart
- LifeWater/lizards/thriller

7:27pm
Brady gets sacked!!

ad:
- Bud Light/Mencia

Giants running game making strides.

Adalius Thomas pops Eli but Smith recovers. but they get a 10-yard penalty. 3rd and 18 is way too difficult. do they kick or punt?

ads:
- Planters/can take my eyes off you
- t-mobile Fave 5/Barkley/Wade

7:40pm
Giants punt. Pats start at own 11 with 3 timeouts.

ad:
- Pepsi/Timberlake sipped
- Doritos/mouse trap. huge mouse.

Giants make two great stops. 3rd and 13. 1:35 left in 1st half.

crap. Pats get a first down.

still no completion to Randy Moss; Big Blue still lucky.

7:50pm
opps. now he does, at the 44 yard line.

BALL IS LOOSE!!! Giants got it!


10 seconds. hail mary nets nothing

Pats lead, 7-3.

halftime means Tom Petty and dinner!


free fallin'


8:28pm
2nd half begins ... Pats start to get 1st downs and move down the field.

Giants D-Line holds. now punt, New England.

ads:
- cars.com/witchdoctor
- Vitamin water/Shaq jockey
- Bud Light/wheel
- Icebreakers/Carmen Electra

Pats win 12 man on the field challenge. 1st down via penalty.

Giants are giving all they got. but Pats still got their four leaf clover. 3rd and 7 at the Giant 25.

8:40pm
... Brady gets sacked again!!! (TY, Strahan)

Belichick elects to throw on 4th down and that goes nowhere.

ad:
- Pixar/Wall-E trailer

a Toomer catch. and another.


but Burress can't get any. damn. punt again.


ad:
- E*Trade/baby

Welker saves Brady again. Tommy can't just complete a really long one.


you can tell he's frustrated. Giselle won't get any tonight if this keeps up.


Stallworth can't get the 1st down. on to the 4th Q.

9:04pm
Giants start at their 20

ad:
- Coke/Stewie and Underdog fight over a bottle of Coke but Charlie Brown wins.

a Jeremy Shockey sighting


tight end Kevin Boss runs away!! Smith too!!!


Eli hits David Tyree for their first TD!! NYC explodes!!!!


ad:
- Coke/Bill Frist and Jim Carville are BFFs


9:23pm
what's this?? an Eli scramble turns into an incomplete because Plax didn't run too hard??? what the hell-!?!

and you're punting on 4th and 1???

9:31pm
now the Pats are at the Giants 45. uh-oh.

Wes Welker is making Great Escapes. uh-oh.

now they're at the 20. uh-oh.

Brady just missed Moss at the goal line. uh-oh.

one more stand, Giants ... 2:45 remaining.

Brady hits Moss!!!! TD!!! 14-10.


now we don't need to see the bad Eli. no first down, no chance.

Toomer is inches short?? GO FOR IT!!!

Brandon Jacobs gets the inches.

Eli scrambles and keeps the ball.

Asante Samuel almost gets an INT!

Eli escapes, and makes a hail mary sling to David Tyree!!!


50 seconds left and Giants burn their last timeout, at the Pats' 25.

Steve Smith goes out of bounds at the 11.

Eli to Plax!!!! GIANTS LEAD!!!!


AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!!!!!

35 seconds to go ...

quick, Tom Coughlin's face is melting this time!


Brady gets sacked, 19 seconds ...


quick break:



GIANTS HOLD ON FOR THE WIN, 17-14
(one more SuperBowl, Eli)


Spygate comes home to roost, Goodell avoids getting his hands dirty, and someone must make sure Bill Simmons doesn't kill himself.


somewhere out there, Bridget Moynahan is smiling.

bowling for fun

wow. this is the first season i haven't blogged much about football, and the only one i had was even before the season started. since then, we had another copy of Pro Football Prospectus, Spygate, HGH, steroids, broken records, Sean Taylor R.I.P., dogfighting (i wonder if my Madden 2004 would fetch any value in eBay someday), Bootgate, and my brother-in-law catching up with me in football and is ready to kick my ass every Madden game we play.

now SuperBowl XLII is almost upon us, and either way, history will be made for one team - the New England Patriots completing a much-dissected and hyped lossless season, or the New York Giants pulling off a colossal upset. the latter could trigger a spike in suicides among the betting sort. obviously the Pats are the prohibitive favorite, although the current line is just minus 12 for the Boston juggernaut.

i started out with the usual teams to root for (Jets, Chargers, etc) but then we all know how that turned out. Gang Green never made it out of the gate (Man-Genius has been laid to rest), and the Chargers couldn't stop yapping without even really doing something (well, relatively, winning 2 playoff games with Norv Turner is already something).

recently, i procured a copy of Michael Holley's 2004 book, Patriot Reign, going for half price at Strand Books. quite an informative book - i've learned the names of the personalities behind Darth V- er, Bill Belichick - names like Ernie Adams and Mike Woicik - who helped make the Patriots what they are. and how could i have missed that "F.U. Tom Jackson" thing?

"19-0? i have no comment on that."

the Pats continue the current streak of Boston sports excellence by defeating all comers and make their 4th SuperBowl in 7 years. but in doing so, their transition from populist darling to conscienceless machine turned off a lot of people, when it was clear that their reassembled 2007 team was heads above everybody else. league parity was exposed as a myth, and you either rooted for the machine or for someone to take them down. for myself, it would be historic to witness a 19-0 season, which would be a notch above Michael Jordan's 1996 72-game winning Chicago Bulls.

on the other hand, the surprising Giants have defied all expectations and are back in the big game after 7 years. Tiki Barber must be choking himself. if they win, it would be a fitting end to Michael Strahan and Amani Toomer's careers. but admittedly, the infighting got to me early and it was pretty easy to get soured on them; plus am not an easy Manning convert (it took me around a dozen Peyton commercials). like i told my cousins, i'll finally respect Babyface (below) when he wins at least two Lombardi trophies.

"is this the Manning face you want?"

ah, well - one thing to look forward to (no, i still don't have HDTV) is the game food. this is the third SuperBowl my wife would be preparing for, and she's probably okay with it because she only cooks for one person. imagine if i had a group of (imaginary) friends who'll watch the game with me (an American pastime) ... maybe somewhere down the road.

"i don't know what vinegarette is but hey, am sure it tastes as good as vinaigrette."

ok, it'll be another 6 months before the next season (except the Draft of course). so what's to feed the hunger till then? oh well, there's the DVDs. and a paperback copy of Michael Lewis' The Blind Side.

XXVI

off the ledge

yes, yes, i know, this has been beaten to death ad nausea um. like anything i write here will be appreciated as an honest tip of the hat to someone we barely know of, much less know. 48 hours is already an eternity in the blogosphere/internet time, and by next week, it will be back to Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse and all that crap. by the way, i'm not alone in my wish that either of those two mentioned should have passed on instead to the Great Beyond.

but when i read things like these, it does make my skin crawl. profiteering is the norm and theme in these times. not to stay on the high horse, but my only sin was to ask "did they finish filming The Dark Knight?", selfish and geeky as it is. that does not compare to profiteering.

then we have things like this, where it kinda reeks of ... i don't know, mayabang at feeling? that they rubbed elbows with him, and we didn't? that we're just spectators and they're not? that they had the privilege of seeing him for the last time, and we're just dumb schmucks who just read it on CNN? gee. i could have gone to Broome Street and be an usisero and take a bunch of pics to share on the Web, but ehhhh ....

so when was the last time i saw Heath Ledger? well, that would be in a Park Slope cinema in 2006. like i noted, i didn't actually find his apartment.

whatever your demons were, hope you're at peace. i'll see you this summer. and don't worry, i'll keep watching A Knight's Tale till i grow old with my kids.

zzzz .... wha -? it's 2008 already?