My Guitar Project

Way back in the day when I was a gigging drummer I used to have this idea that I would take a drum set and sand down the finish then take baseball cards and attach them to the drum frame and refinish it. The drum set would then have the cards as collage finish and I always thought that would be quite awesome. I still want to do this, but I know longer really play drums, so I have decided that I will do it to a guitar.

I will probably go with a strat body, one of the unfinished ones. The rounded edges will make it easier, and prevent me from having to cut a bunch of cards up with an exacto knife to get the precise fit needed. I will probably go with the 1987 Topps set as my source for cards.  The 1987 set as seen to the left has a wood grain look and I think it would look quite nice as the finish.  I will probably use all St. Louis Cardinals cards, and 1987 isn't a bad year to do that with since it was a world series team.  The other sets I am considering are 1983, primarily because I really like that set, and 1978, mostly because I have a complete set collecting dust.  It will be some work to get it done, but I think it will make a good project.  1970's and 80's cards will make a good base for this project because the card stock is so thin and they feature virtually no gloss on the card whatsoever.

The Losers Movie Review 6.5/10

So what is the difference between a summer pop corn flick that is enjoyable and one that makes you want to shoot the screen with a .50 caliber sniper rifle? Generally with me its how serious the movie takes itself. This is, of course, mostly due to who is directing. Some directors think they are creating a dramatic masterpiece no matter how crappy the premise and load it with dramatic chipmunk type shots and overly dramatic lines filled with gravitas like they are all being uttered by David Caruso in his most serious of moments. The converse is movies like The Losers. This movie is fun, and it knows what it is. A movie filled with over the top characters that quip one liners and blow crap up. Its fun, its quick, its mindless. Its not the best movie in the world, but its summer popcorn entertainment and its worth seeing. There are no Oscar winners in this movie, but the acting is good enough considering all they have to do is shoot stuff and do their best Spider-man one-liner impression. And Zoe Saldana, man, she is smoking. You know a girl is attractive when she still manages to look hot as a CGI alien, so of course she is good looking in this film. This movie is sure a heck of a lot better than any Miley Cyrus/Nick Sparks compilation.

Michael Bay's worst movies list!!

All of them.

Easiest blog ever.

Robin Hood Movie Review 7.5/10

So I really liked this movie. I am not sure why its not doing so well with the critics. Some of the reviews say that it isn't an original take on the Robin Hood legend (notice the proper use of the word legend rather than myth) but I question what they really mean by that. I am not sure what they were expecting, it not something that can have a numerous about of different takes. But I digress. To put it in today's comic book nomenclature perhaps this movie should be entitled Robin Hood: Origins. This is not a retelling of the events of Robin Hood and his merry men stealing from the rich to give to the poor, this is the story of the events and circumstances that put him there. This movie does have an excellent cast and they do a good job in this film. Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett are really good, and in all truth the movie would actually be better with more scenes of them interacting. The movie has freaking MAX VON SYDOW in it, how can you go wrong with that? Mark Addy is good, and frankly I have always wanted to see him play the role of Friar Tuck, although I certainly do wish that the movie had more of him. Denis Menochest made me smile in a small role, mainly because he was so good in Inglourious Basterds. And Mark Strong is his typical villain (go go Sinestro, is he even capable of playing a good guy?) William Hurt and Kevin Durand also do well in supporting roles as William Marshall and Little John (his line, "What are you getting at? I am proportional" which of course makes me wonder where an uneducated 12 century thug knows the word proportional)The action scenes are good, although not great, and the final battle really seems to be set up to look like a bit of a Normandy re-creation. I will admit that I am a Robin Hood fanboy, I have been since I saw the old Disney Robin Hood cartoon, and this movie is good enough to have kept me entertained and enjoy the retelling of one of my favorite legends.

If Howard is worth 25 million then Adam Dunn is worth 22 Million!!!!

What I take from Howard's contract is that Adam Dunn is apparently worth 20-25 million dollars, or the Phillies drastically overpaid. The Nationals are getting Dunn on a two year 20 million deal, and I think they are getting the far better deal. Firstly, to spoil the popular impression of people saying that Howard is worth 25 million because of his age, he is not a young player. For some reason it seems that he is, but he is not. He is 30 years old. Adam Dunn is also 30 years old. It seems like he should be much older, but he is not, he just started young. I keep bringing up Dunn because they are excellent comparisons. Dunn is also a first basemen now, and they are both slow, poor fielding first basemen, who strikeout about 200 times a year. In fact Dunn was the perennial leader until Ryan Howard burst onto the scene and wrestled first place from him with a 199 strikeout performance. No doubt they would be battling out for first every year now, but of course Mark Reynolds is in fact in the league and the reigning strike out king. Alas, but I digress, back to the subject at hand. To take a look over the last three years, Howard and Dunn's offensive numbers are incredibly similar. In 2009 Howard put up percentage numbers of .279 .360 .571 for an OPS of .931. Dunn put up a .267 .398 .529 for a .928 OPS. That’s 3 points different and Dunn played in a park that was much, much less hitter friendly than Howard. To abbreviate a little in 2008 Howard put up an .881 OPS to Dunn's .898. In 2007 Howard had a .976 and Dunn had a .940. Howard's 2006 was much better than Dunn's as that was his MVP year. Howard does have an MVP which I guess is worth something, but Dunn has 5 more years proving that he is good for a .900 OPS pretty much every year. This players are nearly identical with Howard having a slight edge in percentage numbers, and a huge edge in RBI's. But folks, RBI's are a stat dependant on your teams offense, and looked out with little value in today's baseball. And Howard has played in the middle of the lineup for an EXCELLENT offensive team. And I am not advocating that Dunn is a better player than Howard. But it’s a TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE contract by Howard. At best he is a worth 2-4 million more a year than Dunn, and NOBODY in baseball believes Dunn is worth 20 million. Then why in the heck does Philly think that Howard is worth 25 million?

The Season in Review - April

AHHH, the long wait is over, baseball is back and all is right with the world. So far we have put about 15 games underneath our collective belts and in the relatively small sample sizes there have been a few surprises although none of them earth shattering.

Firstly, Ubaldo Jimenez is good. I don't think anyone is surprised he pitched the years first no-hitter. The kid has some absolutely filthy stuff and when he is on he is practically unhittable. He followed up his no-hitter with another dominate start. His name should be in the mix at the end of the year for the Cy Young even though he pitches half his games in Coors.

I wonder if the Cardinals increased strikeouts and higher reliance on home runs is a side effect of Big Mac being the new hitting coach. Honestly, I don't really know what wisdom he has to impart, he wasn't a very good hitter honestly. He swung as hard as he could at pitches in the strike zone and missed them at a fairly high rate. I am not sure that his approach to hitting works for anyone without super human strength or a super soldier serum running through his veins. If his work was in evidence throughout that 20 inning exercise in futility then its going to be a long year for the Cardinals with runners in scoring position.

Anybody surprised by the Rays being good? I am not, they have a ton of talent. Nor am I surprised by the fact the Nats can at least play .500 ball. I am equally not surprised that the Mets are terrible. How much longer can Omar blame Steve Phillips? The Mets are just lucky that they fired Steve Phillips before the got Kris Benson. I am sure the Steve Phillips Anna Benson combo would have been tabloid worthy. Also is there any question that the Padre's aren't pretenders?

Jim Edmonds can still hit boys and girls. His Gold Glove certainly has some tarnish on it, but his swing is looking pretty sweet after sitting out a year. My guess is that he wants to play at a decently high level for this year and maybe one more so that he can eclipse the 400 career homer mark. He is 17 homers short and although it is a relatively minor thing it would increase his chances of making the Hall of Fame. His percentage numbers are excellent with a career OPS of .906. Oh yea, and this just in, the Brewers may not have any class, but they sure can hit the baseball.

The AL East could be the most exciting division in baseball this year. There are three high quality teams in that division, with only two possible playoff spots. A good team is going to get left out in the cold. And yes folks, the Red Sox aren't going to struggle like this all year, they just haven't started hitting yet.


The Astros may not have the best team in the world but few teams would end up with a winning record after running through Lincecum, Cain, Wainwright, plus others. They aren't going to be a contender in the Central but they aren't nearly as bad as their 0-8 start indicates. Carlos Lee has been terrible and Lance Berkman has been injured so the middle of their lineup will only get better from here on out.

How To Train Your Dragon Movie Review, 8.5/10!!!

There isn't really much to write about this movie. Its animated, its not deep, there isn't much to analyze. But it is a darn fine movie. The animation is excellent, the dragons are ridiculously cute, the voice acting is sharp, the jokes are funny, the characters loveable, the ending storybook. Its a good diversion to go and see a movie like this. A well made movie without the sadness and bad endings that seem to be the Hollywood norm nowadays. I enjoyed just going to see a movie that made me laugh without raunchy humor, gimics, and didn't make me feel sad at the end. All in all time well spent at the theatre.