Elliott Smith RIP

Five years ago today, the world lost a conflicted genius. We're all a little sadder for it.

Philadelphia Freedom

As anyone who knows me is well aware of, the Philadelphia Flyers kicked off their season yesterday with a fizzle. They lost to the Rags 4-3, and looked horrible in the first period. This was the biggest disappointment I could think of with how much I'd been looking forward to hockey these past couple months, but I am happy about one event last night.

As part of the opening night festivities, Flyers' owner and big-time Republican Ed Snider invited Alaskan governor and GOP vice president candidate Sarah Palin to drop the puck as the most famous hockey-mom in the United States. Cheap political stunt as this was, it thankfully backfired as Snider evidently didn't realize that the city his team played for was a staunch Democrat stronghold and that its fans were know for their vocal tendencies.

As soon as voice of the Flyers Lou Nolan announced her name, the boos began to cascade down. The Flyers' faithful were so loud as to necessitate an increase in the music's volume to drown them out.

This one part of the evening was nearly enough to make up for the utterly disgusting play exhibited by the Flyers during a first period that saw them give up 4 goals to the hated Rangers. Over the next two periods, the Flyers tried to climb back and eventually scored 3 times to make it close at the end. It was all for naught, though, as the Rangers managed to hold on for the win.

Welcome to the Working Week

After a little over a month, the PA State Gaming Control Board have finally approved my application for a gaming license. It took them such an extended amount of time because they are a pack of phenomenal idiots and honestly can't communicate with their different departments. Fuck them.

If all goes well, I should start training at work next week, and then I hit the ground running. After all this, I find myself optimistically apprehensive about starting work at Harrah's; I can't help this, I am a worrier when it comes to new things.

One thing that must happen within about the first month, if not week, of starting work is the purchase of a new car. My dad and I will not be working hours that would allow us to share one car well, so something has to give. I am loathe to start using public trans for the simple reason that there is no direct route to Harrah's Chester from my house. All public trans routes will take nearly an hour and a half, and require changes at different intervals.

I've resolved that my first car will be a Honda of some variety, as they are fuel efficient and cheap (two of my three main criteria for buying a car, the other being a CD player). The two different cars I'm going between are as follows: the Civic and the Fit. The victor will be the cheapest one I find.

PS: FLYERS vs RAGS SATURDAY!

Flyers Update

Bryan Berard has been let go. There goes my thought that he'd do well with the team this year. The link follows: http://flyers.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NHLPage&id=18891

There is now less than one week until the home opener against the Rags. I cannot wait.

If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It

Over the period of time that this blog was inactive, a friend (Scott) and I made a curious discovery in the Granite Run Mall. On a whim we walked into the one store that has become the punchline of every scenester joke--Hot Topic. Inside, we found something... strange. Amazing, but still perplexing.

The reasoning behind entering the epitome of all trendy bullshit merits a little explaining. While sucking in almost every regard, there is one good thing about Hot Topic--band tees. There are a lot of cool band shirts to be had there, one in particular is a classic Misfits logo, but I digress.

Once inside, we both were confronted with the normal aesthetic and auditory torments that the store presents (bad tunes, and just offensive design and colors). Walking up and down the store looking up at the shirts, trying not to make eye contact with the clientele or pierced workers I decided that there were no shirts worth buying this time around. That's when it caught my eye.

An album on their new release listening station piqued my interest with it's garish and bewildering album art, which is pictured below. The band name: Austrian Death Machine, the name of the name of the album is Total Brutal. Intrigued, I picked it up and glanced at the back. First thing I noticed, was a sticker on the front attributing the album as a side project to the frontman of all Christian hardcore act As I Lay Dying. Instantly I resolved myself to hate this band, but fate had something else in mind. The tracklisting consisted primarily of lines from Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. A quick peak at the front sticker again revealed that the entire work was a tribute to the muscular one.

Laughing, I put the headphones on and hit play on the first track. I nearly laughed hard enough to vomit at the introduction, done entirely in a spot-on impersonation of Ah-nold. The album is sort of a throwback to 80s thrash metal, and never fails to beguile smiles with its Arnie gimmick.

When I got home, I simply had to have this music on my computer. It demanded to be heard and played over Halo matches. It is the greatest tribute Arnold will ever receive in my eyes.

Flyers Thoughts

So it's now October, meaning that my beloved Philadelphia Flyers will be taking the ice for the regular season soon. I figure now is as good a time as any to commit my thoughts on this year's team to the wondrous internet.

Offense
The Flyers' strength last year was the depth up the middle, led by Mike "Captain" Richards who had a banner year in almost every regard. The scary thought for the rest of the league is this: he's still getting better as a player. He's just now getting to his prime, and he will remain an elite talent in the league for years to come--barring injury of course. Another centerman that looks to improve on an impressive 2007-08 campaign is Jeff Carter, who missed 30 goals by an inch last year.

Danny Briere looks to rebound from a season in which he put up 30 goals and a minus 22 performance. The return of winger Simon Gagne and a move to Richards' wing himself could be a big help. I'm looking for a big year out of Danny. Ditto for Lupul, who has been locked up for another 4 years.

Coming into the offensive fold, hopefully, is Claude Giroux. This kid is going to be exciting to watch, since he lit up the minor leagues for big points. I see him as a second line winger with Jeff Carter.

Defense
A big question mark for the Flyers last year was their defense, which allowed the most shots on net in the league. They also led the league in shots blocked, but I'm not so sure that's a stat to brag about since it just means you're good at hiding your defensive fuck ups. To remedy this, the Flyers made a conscious effort to be more mobile on the blue line, signing Steve Emminger, Osi Vannanen, and offering a trial deal to Bryan "Cyclops" Berard.

The obvious top pair is Timonen and Coburn, who were just spectacular in the playoffs. Look for Stevens to break them up on occasion to spread the wealth then throw them back together when it doesn't work.

Goaltending
Martin Biron shut every critic saying he's unproven in the playoffs up. I think there's no reason to doubt that he'll be just as strong to start the season. Niittymaki was injured in preseason, so the Flyers brought in J.S. Aubin to mind the backup role while Niitty recouperates.

Prediction
The Flyers improved their blueline, and maintained an offense that is downright scary. The rest of the Atlantic Division did not improve substantially. The Flyers take the division and second place in the Eastern Conference. Another deep playoff run is written on the wall. And I couldn't be more pumped.

It Happened.

I knew this would happen. I predicted it when I clicked the "Publish Post" button on the very first entry. I completely neglected this thing for the majority of the summer. I feel so lazy and careless now.

I suppose I should mention that I managed to secure a job in the interim, since a good deal of the SEVEN entries of this blog deal with me being depressed over my nagging unemployment. I am now an employee of the local casino (Harrah's Chester). My job title is IT Support AV Specialist, and I'd give a greater and more comprehensive description of what it is that I actually do but there's one simple problem: I haven't been able to work yet.

There's this silly little rule in this funny sovereignty known as the USA that dictates that one cannot work for a casino in any capacity without first possessing a Gaming License. The process for acquiring one of these is only slightly less daunting than Frodo's odyssey to destroy the One Ring (fuck you, it's still a relevant reference). After what's seemed to be an interminable amount of weeks, the fucking thing finally seems to have gone through and I shall be receiving it within the week.

My self-imposed deadline of working before the first game of the Flyers' season seems like it will be made. This means I might actually get to go to some early games. Neato.

In other news, I've appropriated a "new" desktop computer for myself. It's a Dell and it comes courtesy of Widener University (where I've found myself more times than I could've predicted since graduating) for the all-too-numerical price of just $75. Soon to come will be a webcam and a digital camera. This might still become a photoblog yet!

Until we meet again, I bid thee all a fond farewell.