I'm Engaged and 2 major issues going on in the World

The last blog I wrote was May 8, 2015. Oh how my life has changed since that day.  On May 8, the most important thing to write about was the worst Reds that came to my mind.  On May 9, my life changed.  I had my birthday party May 9.  I turned 30.  Yes, time flies, but turning 30 wasn't the reason May 9 was so significant (my actual birthday is May 12, but that's not relevant to the story). May 9 was significant because on that day, I asked the love of my life, Amy Moses, for her hand in marriage.  I did it after the crowd sang happy birthday to me, and I faked a low blood sugar episode.  I had the DJ play a song that was near and dear to us, and she was shocked he would know to play it.  I may have had something to do with that.  Anyway, to those of you who don't already knew, she said, yes (after saying 'What the hell' as I fell to my knee).

Photo Courtesy: Brad McIntosh

Since May 8, I have been busy getting my life together.  I miss writing and I planned on making a comeback, but I didn't know when the time would be right.  I had been working hard to get a promotion at my job, which finally came last month.  I have been busy with Amy running all over the place (not literally running as you can probably gather from my figure).  I have been really into the Bengals season this year, especially with their best start in history.  I could've written about any of those things, however during my hiatus, life as we know it has changed and the world around us has gotten a lot different.  The Republican race is lead by a reality TV star, Gay marriage got legalized, but I want to focus on two major issues our world is going through right now...

1. The ISIS Attacks

ISIS has been on our minds for a while now with the be-headings and all the videos where they talk a lot of smack to the U.S.A, but now with the Syrian refugees attempting to come here and ISIS trying to disguise themselves as those refugees to come to American soil, ISIS has been a major topic of discussion.  Paris was attacked savagely by ISIS. ISIS shot up and bombed several locations in Paris as you all know and there is nothing to say it won't happen here.  In fact, the San Bernadino shootings appear to have an ISIS link now. San Bernadino isn't a big city like Paris, but it happened there.  ISIS could come anywhere at any time.  I must say it frightens me now more than ever that I work at a large building in our city.  ISIS could potentially take it out or have a mass shooting. That scares me.  I am a sitting duck at the office.

My fiance, friends, and I went to see Creed and 5 Muslims walked in with backpacks and sat a few rows behind us.  When the opening credits began, the backpacks unzipped.  It was a scary moment.  It happened to just be food for sneaking in, but with the theater shootings lately and all of the ISIS fear, it wasn't easy to sit back and not profile.  I know it's politically incorrect to profile, but I'm not going to let politically incorrectness get me killed.  I am sorry, but these people looked like the bad guys on television.  They may be super good and friendly people, but look at San Bernadino, that dude was a co-worker who was considered friendly.  I have to keep one eye open now walking downtown.

I tend to stay away from political debates and any issues surrounding politics, because everyone is entitled to an opinion; however I must say I do not support refugees from Syria coming here until we can be sure that not one of them aren't an ISIS member.  I do not care about politics; I care about safety and being secure and even if they let one ISIS member in, he could potentially blow up the White House or Madison Square Garden or Great American Ballpark. How can we let people in knowing one could be a terrorist?  Does San Bernadino change the mind of the president and others?  I am not against helping out people who need our help, but not at the expense of jeopardizing other lives.  So if they can prove that 100% of these people have no connections to ISIS, let them in. If not, no one can get in.  Suspend. Now.

2. Racial Cop Shootings

We had a shooting here in Cincinnati where an unarmed black man was killed by a police officer.  The man was pulled over for not having a front license plate.  Needless to say, this is uncalled for.  The Baltimore riots was for a black man who died in transport.The Chicago video that just came out shows a very disturbing teenager getting shot over and over again and then the cop said the boy was lunging at him.  All of this is very inappropriate behavior and the Cincinnati Cop and the Chicago Cop deserve to be charged for murder. My take on the situation? Don't give them a reason to shoot. No, I don't know what it's like to be black and no I don't know the struggle.  I do, however know what it is like to be profiled.  I was pulled over just for being an 18 year old out at 3:00 a.m. The cop insisted I was coming from a party, which I wasn't. He insisted I drank, which I didn't.  I remained calm, and he wrote me a ticket, but I did not try to run and I did not try to argue even though I still don't think I did anything wrong.  

Now this is not near what a black person goes through when they get pulled over and gosh there are so many racist cops out there who want to blow their heads off for no reason, but don't give them any reason.  Stop running.  Let them pull you over, just remain calm and it gives you a better chance to survive.   I can say all of this, but some blacks may respond with "Well you aren't black, you don't know the struggle." That's not the point. The point is Black Lives Matter endorse hating whites. Blame whites for your struggles, blame whites for the cop killings, blame whites because you haven't made it. Always blame someone else, because you are black. If you cant rap or play basketball you are screwed right? It's funny because watching Mike Tyson get out of poverty, it wasn't white people holding him back, it was the thug drug dealers on every corner. He was dealt a crappy hand but he worked hard every day, trained twice as hard as a white boxer with his talent, because he had to, and he made it out and he's unstable. If he can do it, you can do it. Life is what you make it. It's the situations you put yourself in. Don't talk back to the cops and you may get a warning. Don't give them a reason to arrest you.  I'm sorry but to blame whites is a cop out, maybe you were dealt a crappy hand, but guess what we all have problems and doors shut on us, doesn't matter the color of our skin or how much money we make, we all have struggles we deal with. I have to fight to live every day, and I hate it sometimes and sometimes I don't feel like taking medicine, but I do it, because I have to. This isn't much different. It may suck being black. It may be the worst thing to be (black in America -- I'm sure its not the worst but let's say it is) --but its as simple as getting up and persevering, don't make excuses, because excuses make you seem weak. "I'm black so life is so hard." Well I have news for you, life is hard and we all have different challenges but to make a simple excuse, because I'm black, is a cop out.

I'm not saying there are dirty cops that will shoot these people anyway, but not all cops are racist, and not all of them have our best interest at heart.  Their job is to protect and serve and several incidents lately show they are taking the law into their own hands, which is not right and those men are bad people, but to blame an entire race is exactly what slave owners did in the 1800's and Hitler did in the 30's.  It's not an entire race causing you harm. It offends me that people think all whites are the problem.  We aren't.  You can't lump an entire group of people into one group.  That's stereotyping and exactly what the people complaining don't like.

The Franchise Fails

The big thing in baseball this year is The Franchise Four where each team will elect four players from their history who best represents their respective teams.  You can vote for them here: Vote for the Franchise Four. In light of this and as requested by the legendary Goodness Gracious James Ball of fire, I decided to do the Reds' Franchise Fails as I am a Reds fan.

We all know the legend of the Big Red Machine and the great 8 and all that.  The Reds have a great history: Rose, Bench, Morgan, Perez, and Concepcion (among others) from the Big Red Machine and even before that, Frank Robinson and The Great Ted Klusewski, or Big Klu as Dustin Hoffman would say in Rain Man.

After the Big Red Machine players like Larkin and Davis showed how the Reds were best represented, so there are no shortage of players to pick for the Franchise Four.  My picks if you are curious are:

1. Johnny Bench (who was a key component of the machine and possibly the greatest catcher of all time, and George Clooney is a big fan so he's doing something right)

2. Joe Morgan (also a B.R.M. guy and a badass, the elbow twitch he did at the plate made all the ladies ga ga in the stands)

3. Barry Larkin (the last captain for the Reds.  He had big shoes to fill after taking over for Davey Concepcion, a fan favorite and boy he did.  He helped the Reds win a 'wire to wire' World Series in 1990 and played his entire career in his hometown)

4. Pete Rose (I know he bet on baseball and all that but the dude lived and breathed Reds baseball.  He was a hometown kid who had hometown grit and played the game how it was supposed to be played.  He played the game with attitude in a blue collar city that appreciated it)

Now to the point you've all been waiting for, the Franchise Fails.  As you know, this year's Reds team has a pitcher on it named Kevin Gregg. He was a non roster invite to Spring Training and somehow made the team.  On Opening Day, he gave up a game-tying two run homer and hasn't looked back since then.  He is the inspiration for this list.  He will not make it as he's only been a Red for 2 months.  His tenure is already a gigantic fail though. He doesn't even deserve the effort in typing this up.

The Franchise Fails have to be more impactful than a journeyman reliever like Gregg.  They have had to have sucked so badly that the franchise actually suffered because of them and that leads me to another pitcher:

Franchise Fail #1: Jimmy Haynes.  Haynes won 15 games for the Reds in 2001.  That was amazing compared to the awfulness of the pitching staff at that point.  That got the Reds to give him a 2.5 million dollar deal to re-sign for one year. Haynes made only 5 appearances in 2002 while compiling a 9.6 ERA (pretty terrible for an ace).  Jimmy Haynes stunk so bad, you'd think he was the stinch from a pair of Haynes worn 3 days in a row.

Franchise Fail #2: Eric Milton. Milton had a pretty good reputation before joining the Reds.  He even pitched a no-hitter in 1999 for the Twins. After the 2004 season, he signed a three year deal worth $25 million dollars.  The dude went on to have an 8-15 record with a 6.47 ERA (one of the worst ERAS for a full time starter in NL history).  That's what happens when you put a fly ball pitcher in GABP. He gave up 29 homers in 26 starts the next season, and finally after 4 starts in 2007 had Tommy John surgery.  ESPN named him to the all-overpaid team and he deserved that.

Franchise Fail #3: Willy Taveras. Taveras had an okay career before signing a two year deal worth $6.25 million dollars in December 2008.  During his 2009 season with the Reds he had the lowest slugging percentage (.285) and worst on base percentage (.275) for all National League players with at least 350 plate appearances. Thankfully they traded him before 2010.  Jeeze, he made you miss Corey Patterson (who should be an honorable mention himself) and that's saying a lot. 

Franchise Fail #4: Brandon Larson. Larson was one of the most sought after infielders after his solid 1997 season with LSU.  He was drafted in the first round (14th overall) by the Reds in the draft. The dude was a monster in the minors, winning Reds minor leaguer of the year in 2003.  In 2004, he was brought up to the big leagues with tons of hype.  The guy only played in 40 games for the Reds and hit .212.  He was never heard from again.I don't even know how they managed to make an action baseball card of him.

So those are just a few of the fails.  There are plenty more. Paul Wilson comes to mind, along with Gary Majewski, Roberto Kelly, and others.  If you want to read a related blog I wrote regarding the Coolest Reds of all time, click here: 50 Coolest Reds, including starting lineup, 25 + 40 man rosters. Maybe this will take the bad taste out of your mouth of these fails of men.

Song of the Day: In honor of James Ball, Big Balls, AC/DC

A Tribute to Lauren Hill

She didn’t allow a goal in soccer and got cut the next year,
She picked up a second sport, bring on the basketball gear.
She was recruited by the Mount, and she had a decision to make,
She called to accept the offer, the day she cut her 18^th birthday cake,
Not long after, she got the news that could be the end of the story,
Cancer was the diagnosis, but this wasn’t the end to her glory,
She had a dream to play and score in a college basketball game,
Little did she know that everyone in America would know her name,
She was told she wouldn’t last more than two years,
She stayed strong and didn’t buckle to her fears,
She practiced every day and went to school on top of that,
She still made time for anyone who wanted to chat,
Local 12 covered her battle from this moment on,
They were what she needed to  tell her story, before she was gone,
She said she had DIPG, a rare deadly brain cancer,
There isn’t enough funding to help doctors find the answer,
She wanted to be the face for this deadly disease,
Hoping the message would spread like pollen with bees,
She stayed positive as she awaited her moment to shine,
She could have been selfish about the but never said, “mine”
The Mount’s doors couldn’t hold all the support she had,
They moved the game to The Cintas, and her fans were glad,
Over ten thousand saw her take the floor for her first tip,
Hundreds of thousands tuned in from home to see just a clip,
On the Mount’s first possession, she was passed the ball,
Could she get her first ever layup in college to fall?
She shot a left handed layup and the whole arena froze,
And you can only imagine how the rest of the story goes,
The basket was good and the crowd went wild,
The story could have ended there, but it’s not all she had dialed,
She hit another layup in that game and played in a few more,
When she could no longer play, she coached to help her team score,
She started The Cure Starts Now for future children who hope for a cure,
The Layup For Lauren challenge helped bring in money not only for her,
But for everyone she represented until the day she passed away,
So please give to The Cure Starts Now and help somebody today,
It didn’t save Lauren Hill, but it may save someone just as sweet,
To give them more time before they walk next to God’s feet.
Lauren, you were larger than life and we were lucky to have you here,
There will be days I look up to Heaven and I will shed a tear,
It felt like I knew you even though I did not,
But I know one thing is for sure, this planet will miss you a lot.

The Cure Starts Now

Bae Gifs from David's Youtube Collection

So over the weekend my friend Stu came over to my girlfriend's house and we watched some old youtube clips.  I have put several things on youtube over the years which you can see at https://www.youtube.com/user/whudey0512.  I thought it would be fun to take some gifs from these and do some "bae" gifs.  No, I do not like the term bae, but I do find some of the bae humor on the internet funny, so without further adieu, here are a few gifs made from my youtube channel. 


When you see bae talking to another dude or chick.

When another man talks to bae.

When bae says her parents aren't home.

When bae pays.

When bae looks smokin' hot.

When you show bae your hot new moves in da club.

When bae mad at you.

When you don't agree with bae on something.

When bae lets you pick the movie

When you try to impress bae by saying you are in a band.

When you ask to go to a different restaurant than what bae wants.

When bae asks you to wear your Sunday best.

38-1 One of the best teams not to win: the day after the loss

Andrew Harrison said something wrong, Cauley-Stein walked off early, and some fans chanted and burned stuff. There are more UK fans so in turn more bad ones. It's just the way it is. All teams have bad fans but there are good ones too. It's lazy to say all fans are one type. In regards to not shaking hands, that is disrespectful but I will say when a team has all that pressure all year and they lose it's hard to stand up like a man and shake hands of guys that will be rubbing it in your faces. Not an excuse, he should've shaken hands but I understand why. The dude is 20 years old. Judge if you want but I bet you weren't perfect at 20. And in regards to Andrew, that was just stupid, but he did apologize so forgive him, or just call everyone on UK thugs because of it, but that is just blind, because these are good guys. Louisville and Duke kicked people off for rape. No one on UK has ever been in trouble. They just lost the biggest game of their lives and did it with everyone wanting to write something bad about them that wasn't a fan. Some of them gave the media something but overall they are good kids and if you don't realize that, you are lazy. Do research. I'm proud of this team and it's been my favorite to watch since I started cheering for the team in the early 90's. Big blue nation is strong and we will regroup. This is still the best team of this year and 38-1 will be the best record this season. The best team doesn't always win the championship. I am still a Wildcat fan.

Bailey covers Adele, The Academy Awards, & Top 10 favorite Best Picture Nominees Not to Win since 1990

The Pre-Blog Promotion Because It Is So Good

I want people to see this girl sing, so before you get into reading my blog, please go watch my girlfriend's daughter, 11 year old Bailey, sing.  She performs 'Right as Rain' by Adele while playing cups.  Please watch the video and share it because I'm so proud of her for doing it and it's so amazing for someone her age to sing this well.  She made this video not even realizing anyone would see it so it is very genuine.

The Actual Blog

The Academy Awards were this past Sunday.  I make it a point to watch it every year although they seem to be a train wreck of a live broadcast. Jokes fail, opening numbers get worse each year, and hosts, no matter how funny they are, seem to look like the are in awkward pain on stage.  This year was no different with Neil Patrick Harris hosting.

The show was almost unwatchable and dragged out.  The show went 40 minutes over and most awards, let's face it, no one cares about.  To the Oscar people: PLEASE GOD SHORTEN THE BROADCAST.  Most of the awards people care about are at the end and we all have to work the next day.  Why is BEST PICTURE airing at midnight?  The only reason I stayed and watched was because I love movies.  Congratulations to Birdman on taking home the biggest award of the night.  So who is the real Birdman?  Is it that big tatted up dork from the NBA (Chris Andersen)?  Is it Baby/Number 1 Stunner from the Big Tymers and Ca$h Money Millionaires?  Maybe its Michael Keaton who is also Batman and you can't be both.  I have no idea what I'm blabbing about.

None of the above has anything to do what I originally wanted to blog about except that the Academy Awards happened.  I have decided to give you my 10 favorite movies nominated for Best Picture, at the Academy Awards, that didn't win.  I decided to not go past 1990 in my list because doing my research I discovered there are so many that I want to add, if I kept going back the list would get longer and longer.  I was amazed to find out Tombstone was not nominated as it is my favorite western film.  Training Day is also a movie I really enjoy that was not nominated for Best Picture even though Denzel won best actor for it.

I was inspired to make this list by someone I may call my friend.  I haven't decided yet.  He is my cubical neighbor and my coworker, Jason Brigger.  This was actually a topic on his podcast, linked here: http://historyofbadideas.libsyn.com/episode-60-babe-3-pig-in-a-blanket -- I told him I'd give him credit so I buried it way down in my blog.  Most people probably don't even read this far...but anyway, here's my list: (Don't forget: a movie must be nominated for best picture and not win to get on this list)

10 Favorite Movies Nominated For Best Picture Never To Win An Oscar (from 1990 to current)

Almost made honorable mentioned but didn't so summaries in 5 words or less:

-Dallas Buyers Club (2013)- 2 Academy Award Winning Actors

-Finding Neverland (2004)- Best Johnny Depp movie (other than What's Eating Gilbert Grape)

-Ray (2004)- Jamie Foxx looks dead on Ray Charles (irony is Ray Charles could never see the resemblance) 

Random question: Who would win a fight between Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles? (I may have asked this before).  Stevie would have the sway to dodge punches and Ray has the legendary violent past, so I'd say Ray but it's a toss up.

Honorable mentions, or since it is bracket season. First Four (well 5) Out Didn't made the cut so no gifs:

-Up (2009) This movie tugs at your emotions as it entertains adults and children at the same time.

- There Will Be Blood (2007) I have always been a fan of Daniel Day Lewis and he definitely doesn't disappoint in this film.  He deservedly took home the best actor Oscar.
-Little Miss Sunshine (2006) This was an incredibly enjoyable film which kind of was a surprise to me.  I strongly thought to put it in the #10 spot, but it narrowly lost out.  But who can resist the underdog in the child pageant scene with a dose of gay, suicidal Steve Carrell? No one--it's the same formula for Honey Boo Boo or whatever.
-The Pianist (2002) I really liked this movie but it was mainly one actor through the whole movie and that's why it didn't make the cut. That and Roman Polanski directed it and with him being a pedophile I'm sure the Academy didn't want him winning.
-Precious (2009) Almost as depressing as The Pianist but not as quite.  I saw this movie in a theater by myself and as depressing as it is I wish I had a shoulder to lean on because I teared up pretty hardcore.

Finally the Actual List

10. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)- Bradley Cooper didn't have to shy away from his usual role in films, where he plays pretty much a dick.  Jennifer Lawrence grew up in this movie as she was his sex-crazed girlfriend (she won best actress for her role).  It is one of the best love movies of all time and David O. Russell's directing was fantastic.  This movie lost to Argo, and I actually think Silver Linings Playbook may be a better movie.

9. Mystic River (2003)- Kevin Bacon, Sean Penn, Lawrence Fishburn, and Tim Robbins.  Throw in a murder of Sean Penn's daughter and you have yourself a pretty excellent movie.  This movie lost to The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, which I think was more of Peter Jackson getting rewarded for all three movies. Mystic River should have won in 2003 (the year I graduated from Bellevue High School by the way).

8. Traffic (2000)- I am a little biased with this movie because part of it takes place in Cincinnati.  The movie is actually really good, however and it tells several intersecting stories about drugs and what they do to people.  It shows it affects rich parts of town (Indian Hill) and the poor parts of town (OTR) but also throughout the USA and Mexico.  It lost to Gladiator, which you could have argued either way as I enjoyed both movies for different reasons. Only one movie, however, had Luis Guzman.

7. Saving Private Ryan (1998)- This is directed by Speilberg and stars Tom Hanks.  How does a movie with that star power lose to a movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow? Shakespeare in Love was the winner in 1998, which was actually a decent movie but shouldn't have beaten Saving Private Ryan. Interesting fact: While in college I took a class called Sexy Aesthetics in Film, and I wrote a 10 page report on the sexiness of Shakespeare in Love. And I'll tell you, I know way more than one should ever know about the sex life of William Shakespeare and the fake story of Shakespeare in the movie.

6. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)- On many people's list, including my expert colleague Jason Brigger, as one of the greatest films of all time.  It just came out the wrong year.  1994 was a stacked year with Forrest Gump winning. Forrest Gump isn't aging as well as Shawshank for me.  Forrest Gump won, because the Academy loves movies about people with disabilities, but Shawshank, to me, was an overall better movie.  Quiz Show, Pulp Fiction, and Four Weddings and a funeral were all other great movies that were up that year (foreshadowing possibility).

5. Good Will Hunting (1997)- Ahh, what a coming out party for Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.  They took home Best Original Screenplay this year, but Titanic took home the big award of the night.  Good Will Hunting was up against a titanic movie, so there was no way it had a chance in hell to win, but I will tell you what, only one of these movies aged well and it was the one without big gay Leo. Robin Williams was stellar in this movie and final took home Oscar himself, for Best Supporting Actor.

4. Fargo (1996)- Now, I love the Coen brothers, almost as much as Scorsese and Tarantino (the rest of the movies left are from those two dudes, not to spoil anything).  This was a movie about Fargo, ND. It better have some strong movie quality to be a movie about that town and make it into a conversation about an Oscar.  Steve Buscemi is outstanding but Frances McDormand is spectacular with her accent and her skills, taking home the best actress Academy Award. The movie lost to the English Patient which I haven't seen, so I can't compare, but it is definitely better than Jerry McGuire which was also up that year.

3. Gangs of New York (2002)- Now this movie was pushed back as it was supposed to be released in 2001, but due to the Trade Center attacks it was pushed back.  It lost to A Beautiful Mind which was an eh movie that won because it was about a disabled genius (two things the Academy loves).  This movie is directed by Scorsese and he directs many other movies that would be on this list if I expanded past 1990 (Taxi Driver and Raging Bull to name a few). He does a fantastic job with capturing the time and Daniel Day Lewis and big gay Leo are amazing in the lead roles.  Bill the Butcher is one of the greatest villains in movie history.  Lewis won for My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood, and Lincoln, but in my opinion this is his strongest role and if it weren't for Adrien Brody and his huge ass nose starring in The Pianist, Daniel Day Lewis would add to his record with 4 best actors to his name.

2. Goodfellas (1990)- Another Scorsese directed movie, another loss.  I used to like Casino more than this (with most of the same cast) but I changed my mind after watching it over and over.  It gets better and better each time.  It is now my second favorite movie ever and very close to taking over the first spot, as I love Pesci and DeNiro and even Ray Liotta.  It lost to Dances with Wolves which isn't close to as good of a movie as this movie.  Pesci won Best Supporting Actor and had like the shortest speech ever which is awesome.  The movie is basically about being a gangster which to all guys is bad ass. It opens with such an iconic line too.  Ray Liotta, narrating as Henry Hill, says, "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster." That of course, after the opening scene which shows a part of a scene later in the movie.

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)- Yeah it was in a tough year.  It went up against the mighty Tom Hanks, but no one had ever told a story like this in film.  It was all in the wrong order, yet made sense.  Tarantino was revolutionary.  So he did something like this before, kind of with Resovoir Dogs, but not like this.  My boy Ving Rhames was in this with Uma Thurman, the resurgant John Travolta, Bruce Willis, and of course Jules himself, mother fu*king Samuel L. Jackson.  It is an iconic piece of cinema and my favorite movie ever.  It has drama, action, and comedy, and basically shows you gangsters have weird conversations like I do.  Forrest Gump doesn't age as well and I'd love to see who won a race between the Wolf from Pulp Fiction and Gump because both are pretty damn fast.

If you want to see more of my favorite movies 247 of them (none from this year added yet), click here.  I haven't updated in a year though and things definitely changed.

Below is the last Top 25 I did, but that was done August 15, so things have changed from that date.  Some of these movies are in in though.