Oh Happy Day!

While mid-February means Valentine's Day to most people, to the baseball starved throughout the nation, it means only one three-word phrase: Pitchers and Catchers. While there is nothing inherently exciting about some guys throwing a few bullpen sessions, it is the right of passage in to spring training that means baseball has returned. But this is not a baseball blog (or post) despite what it may seem sometimes; this is really about the return of happiness in to your life.

For me, spring training is that happy moment of the season because it brings something I love back in to my life for an extended period of time. Other things include the return of a family member from abroad, re-discovering that album you love but has been buried somewhere, a really good run, or whatever else may belong in your life.

There are lots of things that go wrong, often. Loved ones pass away, as seems to be happening to so many people our age, school or work makes life routine, or you get buried inside your house for a week because of monster snow storms (suckers). Spring Training is that happy place; if this were Peter Pan, it's that happy thought that makes you fly. It's the counter to the things that get you down, and it's back. And that makes me happy.

Per usual, thanks for reading.

Dis

Post script: I know it's been a while, and we'll see if this makes a return.

The Great Debate

First off, this is the background info you need for this post:

http://jezebel.com/5496714/march-madness-the-cake-vs-pie-tournament

There is a cake vs. pie tournament, and through the discourse among friends over the initial rankings in the bracket, we determined that their rankings are WAY off. We're talking astronomically bad. We'll start off with discussion, and end with a final rankings in the bracket- skip to the bottom to get straight to those.

The Cake Bracket:

Notes/Complaints:

1) Birthday cake is not a kind of cake, never mind one that deserves the number one ranking. That's like someone telling you they had a Tuesday sandwich for lunch. The adjective does not even begin to describe the type of cake.

2) Wedding cake: See Cake, birthday.

3) There are some key cakes missing. Chocolate. Cinnamon Pull-Apart/Monkeybread. Vanilla (which really, I think was meant to be covered under birthday).

Additionally, the rankings are way off. Carrot Cake as a 7 seed? I realize some people dislike carrot cake, but enough people like it that it should be higher than a 7. You're really going to try to tell me that German Chocolate Cake is better than Carrot Cake? You would be wrong.

So, I present the proper rankings on the Cake half of the bracket (new ranking) Cake Name (old ranking):

(1) Vanilla/Standard Cake (1/NR)- The classic. While a one seed is probably too high, consider this the Duke of Cakes. Not everyone likes them, we all get annoyed with it, and it gets too much credit. I'm not happy with this ranking.

(16) Coconut (14). Who orders a coconut cake, over anything? Easily the 16, and lucky to even make the tournament. This would have been the play-in game.

(8) Angel Food Cake (8)

(9) Pound Cake (9)

Both of these were about right originally. Both are middle of the pack, sort of boring, and should be facing off in the first round, so we can quickly dispatch of one of them.

(5) Carrot Cake (7). As noted above, it's normally a love/hate type thing. But, Carrot Cake deserves better than a 7 seed, and in my mind, cracks the top five.

(12) German Chocolate Cake (4). Different from the regular chocolate cake, and by no means a top five seed. I get that some people like it, which is why it's even this high up. Could be a standard 12/5 upset, but I doubt it.

(4) Ice Cream Cake (2). Pick your own kind of ice cream, I don't really care. Whoever thought to put it in cake form deserves an award.

(13) Chocolate Cake (NR). Another standby, originally left off the list. We'll allow this to include variations of chocolate cake, such as death by chocolate, or anything else similar. If anything, Chocolate Cake got screwed by the selection committee, and should probably be higher.

(6) Red Velvet (3). Yes, this may seem a little low, but the higher ranking of Chocolate really knocked Red Velvet's seed down a peg.

(11) Cinnamon pull-apart Cake/Monkeybread (NR). Call me a homer, but this should knock out red velvet. When your only ingredients are biscuit dough, sugar, cinnamon, and butter, what can be bad?

(3) Funfetti (13). The original ranking is just WAY too low. I am yet to meet someone who dislikes Funfetti. An easy final four pick, with good odds to go all the way.

(14) Strawberry Shortcake (NR). A surprise non-ranking in the original, but definitely distinct from your typical angel food cake. Could give Red Velvet a run for the money.

(7) Coffee Cake. A perennial underdog, but delicious in the right setting. Nothing screams PTA meeting quite like Coffee Cake, but despite the negative boring associations (pun sort of intended...) coffee cake can be a real winner.

(10) Spice Cake (15). I mean, it's cake, so it's still delicious, but in a bracket form, only one of Coffee or Spice deserved to move on. Spice Cake sees a boost as a result.

(2) Cheese Cake (Pie ranking: 2). Not a personal favorite, but it deserves top three consideration. It is not a pie, though, as originally ranked. C'mon, people. Cake is in the name. I am also a sucker for a good graham cracker crust.

(15) Black Forest Cake (10). Like chocolate, but with gross jelly, right?

First one out:

Pineapple upside down Cake (11). What is this, 1972 home economics class? In 23 years of cake eating, I am yet to ever see this in a restaurant/bakery setting. And for good reason, I would imagine. The last time I saw one of these was on the battle of the sexes episode of Saved by the Bell, where Zach out-bakes the girls. Yeah, I went there.

The Pie Bracket:

Notes/Complaints:

- My main issue was including cheese cake as a pie. The rest of the field is actually pretty decent; Chocolate Cream Pie will replace Cheesecake in the field.

- I love fruit pies. I do not love cream pies, or that other nonsense. The rankings sort of take this in to account, because I feel like I'm not alone.

(1) Apple Pie (1). The old stand-by is hard to mess with. A la mode, with cheese, or otherwise, it's a slice of delicious any time of the year. A personal favorite to cut down the nets with a pie slicer, and raise the baking tin trophy.

(16) Brown Sugar (15): I don't even know what this is, but it's going against Apple, so it's irrelevant.

(8) Rhubarb (11)

(9) Boston cream (12)

Two pies that got slightly undercut by the original committee. Rhubarb has it's lovers (don't we all...), and Boston Cream is one of those pies you get when they've run out of anything else. A solid match up.

(5) Peanut Butter (5)

(12) Banana Cream (9)

Let's be honest for a moment, shall we? There aren't that many good pies out there after the top four. Peanut Butter is delicious, but it's at the point where after more than a slice or so, you're knocked out. It sits more like a cake in that respect. Likewise, Bananas are a morning food, and don't belong in pie.

(4) Lemon Meringue (13). Lemon Meringue got screwed in the original rankings. This is a top 5 pie. Even Jason Biggs would agree.

(13) Sweet Potato (14). Delicious, but not really belonging in the dessert pie category. I think of it more as a side dish; however, we could see an upset here.

(6) Pecan (8)

(11) Chocolate Cream Pie (NR)

I'm not the biggest lover of Pecan Pie, but it definitely has it's advocates. Consider it the Carrot Cake of the Pie Bracket. I was in a pie eating contest once, with Chocolate Cream Pie. Never again- that thing sits heavy. 11 is generous.

(3) Key Lime Pie (3). They had it right. Delicious, but not more than Apple or the two seed.

(14) Grasshopper Pie- an amalgamation of stuff, put in to a pie. Made with real grasshopper, if it's good.

(7) Cherry (7). I don't dislike Cherry pie, but I also couldn't justify it as any higher than a 7.

(10) Blueberry. (6). It's messy, and better as a cobbler than a pie. This hurts it, according to the committee.

(2) Pumpkin. Don't even try to argue- Pumpkin Pie with a touch of whipped cream is good morning, noon, or night. Not just for the fall, anymore.

(15) French Silk (15). See Sugar, Brown. It just doesn't matter- it's not winning.

I won't play this bracket out- not enough time on my hands, and it would cause too much fighting among all 17 readers. Feel free to let me know your thoughts.

Thanks for reading,

Dis

The Strip Club

I went to The Strip Club last night. It's sort of tucked away downtown; a 21+ place. I'd never been to a place like this before. Needless to say, the experience was definitely something different, and to be honest, sort of unexpected. The decor was... classy. And the food was absolutely fantastic.

Why hadn't I ever been there before? Fair question. I am 23, after all. I'd been meaning to try, especially since my mom had gotten me a gift card there for Hannukah. But, restaurant week provided the perfect opportunity to check it out. The Strip Club is a grill-your-own steak place in downtown San Diego (c'mon, you think I'd really blog about that?), and the Restaurant Week menu provided a nice little sampler of the cuisine for only $20.

I went with a buddy of mine, and we quickly realized the one flaw with the grill-your-own methodology. No, not that we messed it up- I ended up with a nice seared ahi, and Phil's steak was good- but standing around the grill, watching everyone else cook their dinner, turns in to a self-conscious pissing contest. You're sort of afraid of messing up your own dinner, not only because if it sucks there's no one else to blame, but also because you don't want to embarrass yourself in front of a grill full of strangers. The old guy to our right was definitely giving us sidelong glances like we were amateurs; meanwhile, we were commenting to each other about how it looked like the third guy at the grill was burning his steaks. While there is actually a nice community feel to standing around the grill with strangers and sparking up conversation, we found it funny the potential for disaster if big personalities stepped up to the plate. Plate of food, that is.

All kidding aside, dinner was great, and I dig the concept of a grill your own place. Portions were more than generous, and for our case, the price was definitely right. So, definitely a good first venture in to The Strip Club.

Per usual, thanks for reading.

Dis

Suspended Disbelief

I'm on break from school (which is more than nice) and I have had more than enough time to watch more movies than anyone should in a short period of time. I've come to notice that there is a point in many movies where I sort of say, "well, that's just not possible/reasonable," no matter how ridiculous anything in the movie was before that. For instance, there could be a movie where dogs talk, cook, and a house floats on balloons, but I only don't believe any of it when dogs fly planes. You know, little things.

That said, a few of the points that caused me to shake my head:

1) Up: See above. The talking dogs and house lifted by balloons was totally Ok with me. Only when the dogs were flying planes did I shake my head in disbelief.

2) Eagle Eye: While I somehow got over Shia LeBouf with a mustache (I really don't care if I spelled his name wrong), and I was OK with a supercomputer being able to access/control any piece of media or information, the point when an un-manned drone flew in to a tunnel to chase down the protagonist was my point of disbelief.

3) Harry Potter: Just kidding! All of it is totally believable.

4) Live Free or Die Hard: Many moments here, but the one that got me was crashing the car in to the helicopter. 'nuff said.

5) Spiderman 3: Emo spidey scene. This isn't where I stopped believing in the premise; it's where I stopped believing that this movie had any redeeming value. it's close enough, and I needed a fifth.

Which movies did you lose your belief in, and at what point? Comment below.

Thanks for reading,

Dis

The Black Friday Rule

Having listened to the Dropkick Murphy's in my punk phase, I thought for a very long time that Black Friday was some obscure Irish thing I just knew nothing about. Then I figured out the Thanksgiving weekend version, where a lot of crazies skip lots of sleeping in an attempt to go save money by spending lots of money. The logic behind it seemed absolutely contrary to anything rational. And then I tried it.

My first Black Friday experience was last year, at Toys R Us. I wanted to get Guitar Hero for cheap, and I did. The whole ordeal was relatively painless- no huge crowds, just an orderly line with people who were friendly enough to one another. No mad rush for any one item, no one getting trampled, and no fist fights. In short, it was a disappointment. Kidding.

This year, I had a more desirable item in mind- the very computer with which I am sharing this story with you. The original target was a $200 Best Buy promotion. I decided to be one of the crazies, and got to Best Buy around 3:30 for its 5:00 opening. Failure. A full parking lot, and a line around the building. No way in hell I was sticking around for that, so I went to option 2- the Office Depot by my place, which about 23 total people know exists.

This was a much better scene. Two cars in the parking lot, including mine. After a nice little nap in my car, I got in line around 4:15. The beauty of this line is that it was 6 people long; the British would have been ashamed in the lack of a queue. It was so short that I was able to drag my dad out of bed to come get a computer for himself as well, at a remarkably good price.

The best part of the whole experience- the Office Depot manager came out around 4:30 with coffee for everyone. So, it can pay to be a crazy. You get cheap goods, and free coffee. And is that worth a lack of sleep? It wasn't then. It is, now that I've slept again.

Happy post-Thanksgiving, and thanks for reading.

Dis

Stealing Riha's Spotlight

Allow the title to be a shameless plug for my friend Riha, over at Riha Reviews, found here. He focuses mostly on pop music, which isn't quite my forte. But check it out.

Instead, I wanted to talk about the Band of Skulls album, entitled 'Baby Darling Dollface Honey,' which is also one of the highlight tracks. While the band sounds great, and explores a variety of sounds utilizing both male and female vocals, what has impressed me so much throughout listening to their album is the track ordering. The album begins upbeat, and slowly winds down as you approach the end.

The album gets in to the good stuff quickly, as track 3, 'I Know What I Am' has been featured as the iTunes single of the week, and is on the New Moon soundtrack. Death by Diamonds and Pearls, the preceding track, also has seen some radio play, and it is followed by Fires, another great track. The album is solid throughout, without any dull track of the 11 laid down on the album.

For fans of bands like Manchester Orchestra, The Black Keys, Glasvegas, The Kooks, even Granz Ferdinand or The Dead Weather, Band of Skulls is definitely worth a listen.

TFR,

Dis

I hope I wasn't this dumb....

A snippet from a real conversation on the shuttle this morning:

The scene: Guy 1 is holding a copy of Bridget Jones Diary (the book). It has a picture of Renee Zellweger's face on it. Guy 2 is oblivious to anything, ever. Guy 2 is asking Guy 1 about his morning classes.

Guy 1: ...yeah, I have British literature at 11:15. I have to go read the book, though.

Guy 2: What book?

Guy 1 (gesturing with his book): Bridget Jones' Diary. I've read all the books in the class so far, except this one. I couldn't do it.

Guy 2 (not joking): Yeah. Is that Victorian?

This just had to be shared.

Per usual, TFR.

Dis