D-Bag...

How would you like to be a young student who finds out that he has won 2 make that 1 ticket to the NCAA tournament game between Butler and VCU for winning a leadership award. Then finds out he has to go with his assistant principal rather than take someone he wants to take...oh, like say his dad. Then, imagine after the fact you find out that the assistant principal was full of shit and made up the one ticket deal in an attempt to go to the game himself.

Well, imagine no more because this ass hole in Texas did just that one of his middle school students. Go here to watch the news story and judge for yourself what should happen....

Ebay

So I was trolling the wonder that is ebay the other night looking for, among other things, a copy of a couple of old Gram Parsons LPs.

Ebay, being the awesome monster that it is had just what I was looking for. But, there was a catch....it was a four week long auction. That's right, 28 days!

Now, since I really want a copy of this album I will keep an eye on it. But, what the hell is the point of a four week auction? Sure you can drum up interest, watch the price slowly creep ever so close to your dream high bid! In the end though you have a wait a damn long time to get your crap sold.

I guess if you were looking for a quick buck you could turn to a pawn shop or craigslist. But, four weeks seems like a long time to wait for something to sell that may only bring in $20-$30. Personally I'm more inclined to pay a stupid amount for an item if I get into a last second bidding war with someone.  If I have to remember to tune in a month down the road to find out what happened I'm probably going to forget about it.

To me the month long auction for anything that has a starting bid under $100 is a waste of time. Now, if you are unloading a car...or even this rare Elvis gem I can see letting it linger for a while. But, if you have a month long (or more) bid time on a used cd that you can get at your local record shop for $7.99 you're just kidding youself. Granted most of those have the buy it now price set at under $2...so I kinda get that. Still crazy in my book.

Things have changed since I was selling on ebay about 10 years ago....at least you don't have to pay a fee to start the auction (up to 50 auctions a month). But, you still get the honor of handing over a percentage of the final price to ebay, for their service!

If you are looking for cash, and have a ton of merchandise to drop, I can see this being a decent plan of attack. Me, personally, I just take the crap I don't need and walk into my local Zia Records, or Bookman's and take my chances that  I will walk out with a decent amount of cash or store credit.

But, I digress, what was the point I was trying to make at first? Oh, now I remember...there's some dumb ass auctions on ebay.

Enough said...now I need to get back to some last second bidding.

Games 21-23



10-13

Long story short the Cubs have finally separated themselves from the .500 mark, and not in a good way.

Three games since they were 10-10 and they now sit at 10-13 and two games back in the central. Could be worse...they had a game against the Rockies called to to weather today. So, I guess no game is better than a loss at this point.

There have been a few bright spots during this three game slide though. Most notably is the fact that Kosuke Fukudome has raised his season batting average to .458 with an average for the month of April over .500, including a career high 5-5 in game one against the Rockies. In that game Fukudome outhit the Rockies 5-4 (Cubs hitters collected 11 total hits) but the Cubs still found a way to lose 4-3.

Fingers crossed that a Thursday through Sunday series with the Arizona Diamondbacks is what the team needs to get back on track!

Games 19, 20

10-10

Game 19

Cubs and Dodgers open a three game weekend set at Wrigley in ugly fashion. Well, ugly if you are a fan of the boys in blue. Well, ugly if you are a fan of the boys in blue who are from Chicago.

The boy in blue from Los Angeles did alright for themselves. The Dodgers, on the day that Major League Baseball took day to day control of the club away from Frank McCourt, exploded for six runs in the third off starter Casey Coleman.  Then got two more runs in the fourth off Jeff Stevens out of the Cubs pen.

Remember a few days ago when I said that Coleman looked like the real deal? I take it back. He looked like a rookie. But, he still has showed more signs of life this season than Ryan Dempster (who we will get to for the next game).

Juan Uribe would have a big day for the Dodgers going two for four with two runs scored, four RBI's (including his second home run of the season). For the Cubs...nothing really other than Kosuke Fukudome going three for four to bring his batting average up to .417 through the first 19 games.

Game 20  -- Ryan Dempster (1-2) vs. Ted Lilly (1-2)

Ryan Dempster:  5.2 innings pitched, 9 hits, 7 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 3 Home runs allowed....

You'd expect a stat line like that to end with a Lose and a new record of 2-2 on the season. Well Ryan...bust out your checkbook you owe Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney a nice dinner.

Castro and Barney would combine to go seven for ten with four runs scored and six RBI's (Castro would finish 4-5 and raise his batting average to .393).  Jeff Baker would drive in another two RBI's on a double during the Cubs late 8th inning rally.

Jeff Samardzija would pitch and inning and a third to get the win in relief (2-0). Carlos Marmol walked one and struck out one in the ninth to earn his fifth save of the season and help bring the Cubs back to even on the season at 10-10.

Games 17, 18



9-9

Let's Play Two...

Game 1 -- Matt Garza vs. Dustin Mosley

Both pitchers would look strong over six innings with Garza having the edge in strike outs (with nine to Mosley's four).

Garza and Mosley would both leave after six innings with the Cubs up 1-0. Garza looked like he was on his way to his first win as a Cub. But, Carlos Marmol gave up walk to Cameron Maybin who would proceed to score the tying run on a bunt single, all in the ninth.  The Cubs would notch the winning run on a Reed Johnson 11th inning walk off home run.

Garza, who's 0-2 on the season, lowered his ERA to 6.27 and added to his strikeout total which now sits at 25 through his first four starts.  But, he also allowed a season low for hits with just six.

Cubs batters fared no better against Padres starter Mosley (6innings, 5 hits, one walk, six strikeouts). Even the hot hand of Starlin Castro was cooled off by Padres pitching. Castro would go 0-5 and see his batting average drop below the .400 mark (.382)

Marmol got a blown save for the Cubs, Jeff Samardzija got the win (1-0). Luke Gregerson would give up the winning home run and take the game one lose to fall to 0-1

Game 2 -- James Russell vs. Aaron Harang

James Russell would make his second start of the season and last slightly longer this time than his last outing. Granted that wasn't hard when he didn't get out of the second inning in his last start.

This time around Russell would make it a four inning outing giving up seven hits and four runs on three home runs. According to his stat line over at CBSsports,  "Russell has now lost both of his starts this season. He has allowed 14 hits and nine runs (eight earned) in 5 2/3 innings during those starts. There was a reason why Russell was better suited to pitch out of the bullpen and didn't win a rotation spot this spring"

The Cubs would try to come back before falling 4-5 and splitting the double header with the Padres. A bright spot in the second game was another good day at the plate for Left Fielder, Alfonso Soriano who went 2-4 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBI's and a home run in the losing effort. Reed Johnson would also have good second game against the Padres, going 3-4 with an RBI.

Padres outfielders combined to go 8-15 with five runs scored, 4 RBI's and all three of the Padre's home runs. With Chris Denorfia and Ryan Ludwick gathering three hits each. Starter Aaron Harang would pitch six innings and get the win, his fourth of the season. Heath Bell would work the ninth for his fifth save.

With the spilt of the double header, combined with a lose by Cincinnati, Milwaukee and a win by St. Louis there is a four way tie atop the NL Central with all four teams at 9-9.

The Cubs have Thursday off before starting a weekend series with the Dodgers, who just got a complete game win from Jon Garland in a win over the Braves.

Games 15, 16



8-8

Game 15-- Vs. Rockies

Well, the Cubs dropped the rubber game of the series and two of three against the Rockies, thanks in part to a bad first inning and a total implosion by Marcos Mateo  in the 8th inning.

Things got off on the wrong foot when the Cubs fell behind 4-1 after Chicago starter Ryan Dempster gave up four runs in the bottom of the first inning.  From there the Cubs would battle back with one run in the second, two runs in the third and a go ahead run in the top of the fourth.

After the go ahead run was scored Dempster would give up one more run on a fielder's choice in the bottom half of the inning to tie the score at 5-5.  The two teams would remain tied until the bottom of the 8th inning when Marcos Mateo would give up four runs on six hits.

The only bright spot for the Cubs was another great performance at the plate by Starlin Castro who would go three for four with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored (raising his batting average to .418).

Mateo would take the loss and drop to 0-1. Rockies reliever Rafael Betancourt (1-0) would pick up the win. Closer Houston Street worked the ninth in a non-save situation.

Game 16 -- Vs. Padres

This was the kind of game that fans either love or hate. a ten inning barn burner that ended with the Cubs getting a walk off double from Tyler Colvin to secure their 1-0 win.

Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano had another really good game pitching eight innings of shutout, three hit baseball. In the end  'Big Z'  gave up three hits, walked one and struck out 10. Sadly, a win was not in the cards for Zambrano

Padres starter Tim Stauffer went pitch for pitch with Zambrano over seven innings. Stauffer would give up four hits, walk one and strike out four. Ultimately the day would end in a no decision for both starters.

Cubs closer Carlos Marmol would pitch an inning and a third to pick up his first win of the season, striking out two more batters in the process.

Starlin Castro, like many of the Cubs hitters, cooled off a bit in this game. Castro went one for four dropping his season average to .408.

Fictional Groups (that I wish were real)

When ever you watch movies, or read books, you always run across a group of people that just seem way to cool to be real. Most of the time...it's because they aren't real. But, that doesn't mean you wouldn't have a damn good time hanging with them if they were.

That got me thinking about the top five fictional groups that I would want to hang with if they were, you know...real.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen -- How seriously cool would it be to hang out, and kick butt, with explorer Allan Quartermain, Captian Nemo (I was going to say Captain Captain Nemo...but that would just be silly), sexy Mina Harker of Dracula fame, Rodney Skinner (AKA The Invisible Man), Dorian Gray, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Tom Sawyer. 

I have only one question about this group of awesomeness. What is Tom Sawyer doing here? I can understand Dorian Gray-as long as no one screws with his portrait he's essentially immortal. Mina Harker has experience with vampires. Captain Nemo has a cool sub. The Invisible Man is, well, invisible. Allan Quartermain is a kick ass hunter/explorer. Dr. Jekyll is a Doctor...Mr. Hyde is a freaking crazy man. Tom Sawyer...is...southern?? What the hell does he bring tot he group? What is his special power... that he can con people into doing stuff for him?

However you look at it, Tom Sawyer aside, that's a pretty cool group to hang out with.

Timelords -- Granted there is really only the one left. Unless you count the Master who seems to pop in and out of existence whenever he feels like it. But, lets face it....traveling with a Timelord like The Doctor would open many avenues to you. Heck you wouldn't have to worry about hanging out with any other groups since you could hang with them all! Shakespeare, done. VanGogh, done. Crazy alien cat people, done!

Another plus is that you've got yourself a posh spaceship-y time travel vehicle to use. The only down side is that you may never get exactly where you want to go. I once read an article that said The Doctor is actually lost 90% of the time. The Tardis seems to go where it wants or is needed more often then where The Doctor wants it to go. Granted that may be part of the fun and charm of traveling with him. Plus, I'm holding out hope that if I was able to travel with him it would be the one time that he had regenerated into a woman. But, I'd still know that he had been like 11 other dudes. I guess it would make a big difference how hot he...er...she was at the time. I'm sure that says something about me on a deeper level...but I don't want to think of that.

The crew from Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Again, how can you argue with hanging with a group this cool? A giant Milkshake, a freaking wad of meat, and a fuckin' floating box of fries that can shoot lasers from his eyes. Plus, from time to time they solve crime...but not really.

Living in a world where these guys are real means also dealing with aliens from the moon, the cybernetic ghost of Christmas past, and Carl. Come to think of it...I'd rather hang with Carl. He's got a pool, sweet sweat pants and he always has the ladies over. Wait, he never has the ladies over. Damn another situation where I would be hanging with a bunch of dudes. I really need to rethink this list.

Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita, Little Rock, Zombie Bill Murray - In a world over run by zombies he helps to hand with a neurotic dude with a laundry list of things to do to stay alive. A bad ass, gun carrying, Twinkie loving zombie killing machine. A hotty with a wicked sense of humor (and her little sister). Also, lets not forget zombie Bill Murray...gotta have a funny guy in the group.

I have a feeling that when not killing your way from town to town, in hopes of finding other survivors of the zombie Apocalypse, there would be some good conversation. Tallahassee could regale us with past zombie kills, while also playing the father figure role. Columbus would be just neurotic enough not to get killed or get anyone else killed. Wichita would either turn out to be your best friend of the biggest pain in the ass ever. Little Rock...well for a kid sister I'd say she would be pretty cool to hang out with.

In the end it would all come back to zombies. Which would be pretty cool. Unless you got bite taken out of you...then it would suck.

The Pentaverate -- It's a well know fact that there's a group of the five wealthiest people in the world known as the pentaverate, who run everything in the world, including the newspapers. They meet tri-annually at a secret country mansion known as, the Meadows. So who's in this pentaverate? The Queen, The Vatican, The Gettes, The Rothchilds and Col. Sanders before he went tets up.

By far my number one group. Money, power, fame, CHICKEN....who could ask for anything more. For just a taste of what awesome power would come with membership to this group check out The Queen's twitter page @Queen_UK .

You would never need to pay for anything, I would assume. Plus you've got an in at the Vatican, for whatever that would be worth (relocation costs and what not). The Queen has the hook up on the gin...read her Twitter account and you'll understand that one. Finally, we all know that Col. Sanders is not really dead. If he can find a blend of spice that makes you crave his chicken forte nightly...he surely knows the secret to ever lasting life!

P.S. -- How do these guys not have a wikipedia page or even a crappy photo shop produced photo? How is that even possible?

Games 13, 14

7-7

The Cubs, on Friday, opened up a weekend series with the hottest team in baseball....the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies, winners of ten of their first twelve games, own the best record in baseball at the start of the game. They would only improve on that record by the end of the game.

The Cubs sent Matt Garza (0-2) to the mound. According to Len Casper and Bob Brenly's twitter account, "Since 1946, only Rick Sutcliffe had more strikeouts (23) in his first two starts than Matt Garza (20)."

So, even though Garza is mowing down opposing hitters, he still has yet to pick up a win. This game would be no different. The tough luck for Cubs pitchers continued with Garza getting tagged for four runs in the second inning on a base clearing triple by Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta, who would then score on a Starlin Castro throwing error. The Rockies would hang another earned run on Garza when Todd Helton hit a fifth inning RBI single for the games final run.

Rockies pitcher Jhoulys Chacin (3-0) went the distance for his first major league shut out. Chacin's line for the game: 9 innings, 6 Hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts.

Garza (0-3) settled down after the second inning but the Cubs bats never caught up. Garza's final line: 6 innings, 7 hits, 5 runs (all earned), 2 walks, 5 strikeouts.

Game two of the series

Casey Coleman (0-0) vs Jason Hammel (1-0)

The theme song for this Cubs season should be "Roller Coaster of Love" (version of your choice)

Casey Coleman may be the real deal...either that or the Cubs are destined to only win every other day! The second year pitcher came out and held the streaking Rockies to only one run through his five and two third innings of work on the way to this first win of the season.

Cubs bats got working early and often in this one. Alfonso Soriano started the scoring in the second inning with a double to center field, one of three hits on the day, that scored Carlos Pena.  Soriano would add a solo home run in the sixth inning, his fifth of the year.

Darwin Barney who is batting .313 on the season had an RBI ground out in the fifth driving in Starlin Castro. After Soriano's sixth inning shot Castro would connect for a three run bomb off of reliever Felipe Paulino. Aramis Ramirez would then drive in Darwin Barney on a single and then come home on a single by Koske Fukudome for the Cubs final run of the game.

The Rockies would get two final runs in bottom of the 8th inning on a Chris Iannetta 2 run home run off John Grabow.

Carlos Marmol worked the ninth in a none save situation to help end the Rockies eight game winning streak. He would strike out one, while giving up one hit.

Rockies drop to 11-3 while the Cubs hit the .500 mark again at 7-7.  Through fourteen games the Cubs have only lost two in a row one time (Brewers) but have only managed to win twice in a row one time (Diamondbacks).   Casey Coleman improves to 1-1 on the season. Jason Hammel drops to 1-1.

Zombie Hunter Arrested....

How did I miss this story during my recent Zombie Week?  Taken directly from the SyFy Blaster website (via NY Post)

You'd think that, with all the strange things on display in New York City's infamously skeevy Port Authority bus depot, a heavily armed dude with a vacant, hollow look in his eyes wouldn't necessarily strike one as being "out of place." Apparently, some things will still get you arrested.

Namely, walking around strapped to the teeth. According to The New York Post, two Port Authority cops became wary of self-described "zombie enthusiast" Christopher Rodger because he was wearing a trench coat on a warm night.

Then they spotted the camouflage duffel bag. After the officers questioned him—during which Rodger admitted that he was carrying a gas-powered pellet gun—they searched the 25-year-old and discovered five samurai swords, three daggers, night-vision goggles, burglar tools and hand-drawn blueprints.

The partridge, apparently, wouldn't come down from the pear tree. It heard there might be zombies.

Record Store Day

Make sure you get up early this Saturday and walk/run/drive to your favorite independent record store to experience the goodness that is....

RECORD STORE DAY!!!

What makes this day different than any other day of the year at you local store? Well, if they are participating they will probably have a ton of Record Store Day promo items, in store contests and possible live music or appearances by local and national artists.

If I was back in Illinois I would be spending my hard earned cash at Exile on Main Street in Champaign. If you are in the Champaign area I say stop in since Talib Kweli will be doing an in store appearance before his show that evening at the Canopy Clubs.  But, since I am in the Valley of the Sun I will be dropping into my local Zia Records to avail myself of some of the great deals.

The one item that I have my eye on is a 7" vinyl that has Gram Parsons and EmmyLou Harris with the Fallen Angels band on the A side doing "Love Hurts" and Jenny and Johnny on the B side doing the same track.

Other great Record Store Day items include: more Gram Parsons in the form of the International Submarine Band's "Safe at Home", Mumford & Sons / Laura Marling  full LP and many more...

Basically, it's a fun excuse to head to the record store, act like the true music snob you are, pick up some killer tunes on vinyl, and support those independent record stores that keep on keeping on!!

British TV

Many times I've wondered, out loud even, why British TV seems to kick American TV's ass. For some reason it seems the quality is higher on foreign TV than most shows in the states. Of course there are exceptions to this rule, but for the most part I am going to stick to my guns on that statement.

As a foreign viewer the only hard part to deal with is that there are FAR less episodes that comprise a series. Even when you take into consideration that most dramas have a run time closer to an hour, while their American counterparts clock in at around 43min. The run of a series is far less for most shows.

An average US show will run anywhere from 13 episodes (the new gold standard for cable shows) to 24 episodes for broadcast shows. A show like Spooks, which I talked about the other day, has had a run of anywhere from 6 to 10 episodes for a series. Other shows like the new Sherlock series run in an almost movie of the week format at 90min and only three episodes for series one.

That got me thinking....what are some of the longer running British TV shows? You really have to get a long run in order to have the episodes pile up. When Spooks finishes it's 10th series run it will have a total of 86 episodes, or approximately a four season run in the states. With only a few exceptions I could only think of a handful of shows that may have had a longer run...so I went to the web and found the following.

Soap Operas: as weekly shows go these are always going to have a bloated episode count. But, when you can get to the follow two numbers who can argue!?

Coronation Street - 1960-present, over 7565 episodes to date it
According to wikipedia (fine source that it is) on 17 September 2010 it became the world's longest-running TV soap opera currently in production.  Daily soap opera or not...if you can come up with story lines for 50+ years you are the gold standard!

EastEnders - 1985-present.  4185 episodes to date
"Currently ranks as one of the most watched shows in the UK. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End of London." --Wikipedia

Drama- Usually anywhere from 45-65 min. per episode.

Monarch of the Glen -  2000-2005, 7 series, 64 total episodes
Walking a fine line between Drama and comedy this show was a success for it's five year, seven series, run on BBC One.  With a final series of six episodes, Monarch never topped more than 11 episodes in a series.

Hustle - 2004-present, 7 series,  currently 69 total episodes
With a cast headed by the great Robert Vaughn this shows has been a hit since it broke on the scene back in 2004. From one of the producers of Spooks, Hustle focuses on a group of con men who specialize in the long con, or the grift. To American audiences this may seem a lot like Leverage. Except consider the Leverage crew more of the A-Team of con artists....while the Hustle crew are more...well...hustlers!

Sci-Fi - only one king here...and the format has fluxed from 20min to almost an hour

Dr. Who - 1963-89, 2005-present, 26 total series, and 770 episodes to date
Over forty-eight years and 11 different Doctors (William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davidson, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGuinn, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith), Dr. Who has blazed forward as one of the greatest sci-fi series of all time. The only US sci-fi show to come close was Stargate SG-1 which, when it ended it's 10 seasons and 214 episodes, holds the title of the longest running North American series (surpassing the X-Files, 9 season and 202 episodes). Part of the charm of the original Dr. Who was the almost flimsy set pieces and monsters. A high mark of the new series is the coupling of great story telling with great (but still cheesy at times) special effects.


Comedy -- mostly half hour formats, can be upwards of 45 min. from time to time

'Allo 'Allo! - 1982-1992, 9 series and numerous specials, 85 episodes
Not since Hogan's Heroes or M*A*S*H has wartime been so funny. Set against the backdrop of a German occupied French town during world war 2. Similar to Mash you get a TV show about a war that lasted longer than the war itself.

Are You Being Served? - 1972-1985, 10 series, 69 episodes.
I was a fan of this show before I even knew how awesome British comedy was. Thanks to PBS this show, Monty Python and Black Adder were known to me before I knew about US comedy. That's a good thing because this has earned a place on my all time favorite list. Somewhere between an early version of The Office and a good slacker comedy comes the exploits of the few, the proud, the men and women of Grace Brothers. God bless those crazies, especially my personal favorite Mrs. Slocombe (played by the late Mollie Sugden).

Other/Reality

Top Gear - 1971-2002 (Original format) 2002-present (Relaunch) --18 series. 133 episodes
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May, the Stig.  Some say this is the most illegally downloaded show in the world. Others say that car shows don't get any cooler than this. All I know is that at 133 episodes over 8 years and 18 series...the current format of Top Gear is a force to be reckoned with! With numerous spin off shows in other countries (including a US version I don't totally hate) the show is as informative as it is entertaining. Just don't tell US authorities if the boys try to come back. In that case theya re strictly an informative show! With laps around the track in super cars like Lamborgini's, Koenigsegg's and Bugati's down to "stars in a reasonable priced car" and comedic challenges...the show is a hit by any standard.

On the flip side of the long running shows you have some greats, especially comedies, that only got a few series.

Life On Mars --  2006-2007, two series, 16 episodes
Ashes to Ashes -- 2008-2010, three series, 24 episodes
Monty Python's Flying Circus -- 1969-1974, four series, 45 episodes
Coupling -- 2000-2004, four series, 28 episodes
Black Adder -- 1983, 1986-1989, 1999,  four series 24 episodes and three specials

Fawlty Towers -- 1975, 2 series, 12 episodes.
     *Possibly my all time favorite comedy...period...hands down!! With a total of 12 episodes this show was comic genius. John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Connie Booth, Andrew Sachs (Manuel esta funny!!), If I was forced to name a favorite episode it would be a tie between all of them. But seriously, "The Germans" and "The Kipper and the Corpse" are my top two of the twelve.

Games 11, 12

6-6

GAME 11

Well, James Russell started the game, he threw some baseballs at home plate....but things really didn't go according to plan. Unless his cunning plan was to just play for and inning and two thirds and to give up 5 runs on seven hits! Russell was follow up by Jeff Samardzja who didn't really fair any better. Samardzja went three innings giving up three runs on two hits to put the Cubs down eight to nothing.

The good news is that Cubs pitching didn't give up any home runs in the game. The bad news is that they did surrender 11 runs on 16 hits. When the Cubs finally got on the board in the seventh inning on a solo home run by Tyler Colvin the Astros answered right back with another four runs in the inning.

Brett Meyers pitched seven strong innings to pick up his first win of the season. Russell fell to one and one on the year.

GAME 12

Carlos Zambrano was again lights out for most of the five and two thirds innings that he pitched. Big Z was charged with five earned runs, all of which were given up in the sixth inning. With three walks and four runs Zambrano left the game with a 6-5 Cubs lead and a chance to pick up the win if the bullpen could hold the lead.

The Cubs put a five spot on the board in the first inning with a two run double by Jeff Baker and a three run home run by Alfonso Soriano.

The Astros fought back and tagged Zambrano in the sixth for five runs. RBI singles by Carlos Lee and Brett Wallace, and a RBI ground out from second baseman Bill Hall brought the Astros to 6-3.  Zambrano would then give up a 2-run home run to Matt Downs and walk catcher J.R. Towles before being lifted for reliever Marcos Mateo.

The insurance run in the top of the sixth ended being a big run as that run staked Zambrano to his one run lead. The home run, a solo home run to left center, came off the bat of the pitcher himself. Chicago would add 3 more runs in the top of the ninth on a double by Starlin Castro, a throwing error on a Marlon Byrd hit and a single to center by Aramis Ramirez put the final tally on the board to give the final score of 9-5.


Marmol finished out the gave in the ninth, even though it wasn't a save situation, striking out one. On the season Marmol already has ten strike outs to go with a record of 0-1 with four saves in six and a third innings on the season

Spooks



I miss the original Spooks
Crew!

If you aren't a fan of British TV you may or may not be familiar with this great program. Spooks (also known as MI-5 in the states) is probably one of the most addictive shows I have ever gotten sucked into watching.

Fans of shows like 24 should be kicking down doors, or at least running to the store, to get their hands on the DVD's of this show.

The show follows the exploits of the British secret service department (MI-5) that is tasked with keeping Britain, and the rest of the world, safe from terrorism and other threats. The threats are real world types. Situations that you can believe will/have happened. But, most importantly, the outcome isn't always a positive one.

Like in the real world...sometimes the terrorists win the battle. Sometimes the innocent do suffer. Sometimes those tasked with protecting us do lose their lives in service of the greater good. That is what makes this show such a must watch in my book.

Between the rotating cast and the up-to-date political intrigue you still get moments of tenderness and light hearted fun. Granted the fun is few and far between when you have to live in and protect a country where suicide bombers are a possibility.

The heart and soul of the show is the relationship between the head of MI-5 Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) and Spy/information analyst/all around amazing gal Ruth Evershed (played by the amazing Nicola Walker). The dance that those two do on the will they won't they relationship front is fantastic drama in and of itself.

When I found this show through reruns on A&E back in the day I only remember it as the show that I got to see Anthony Stewart Head play a bad ass who wasn't Giles from Buffy. When I revisited it just about a year and a half ago I got pulled in with a gusto that had only previously been reserved for jumping on the Lost bandwagon a few seasons late.

At the time I started with series one Spooks was airing series 8. As a BBC drama series I didn't have the usual 150+ episodes to catch up to the current. Plus, since it wasn't airing in the US I had to resort to DVD and eventually (psst...don't tell) *other* sources to get my fix. At the time I was only 64episodes behind.

That started as, "Oh, I'll watch an episode over lunch each day at work!" Quickly changed into, "Okay so I can watch one episode at work....then another three or four when I get home!!" The next thing I know I am waiting for new episodes to appear "online" after they air. I truly wish that American TV was this good. At times it can be...but for the most part I prefer British television any day of the week.

Spooks, Robin Hood, Ashes to Ashes, Life on Mars, Dr. Who, Torchwood, Cracker just to name a few.

I was left in shock at the end of last season of Spooks. Not by the events of the show (granted that was epic too) but by the fact that there was no word on the fate of the show being picked up for a 10th series. Lucky for me, and everyone else, a new six episode series 10 is set to air this year in the autumn. Crisis averted!

Now that the BBC iPlayer is a subscription app for the iPad....and available to users in the US I may finally have a reason to pick up an iPad!!

Games 9 & 10

5-5

It's early in the season but the Cubs are already having to test the depth of the organization when it comes to pitching. With Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner on the DL the Cubs recalled  2nd year pitcher Casey Coleman. Coleman was 4-2 in twelve appearances, including eight starts, last year and showed that he can hold down the fort while the starters are on the mend.

Game 9 -- The Cubs hitters helped the pitchers never fall to far behind in this game...for the most part.  Cubs pitching really only made three mistakes during the game. Too bad they were all two run homers! Making his first start of the season Casey Coleman left the game after five innings with the score tied at four each. The Cubs then took the lead in the top of the seventh on a RBI ground out by Tyler Colvin.

The eight inning was turned over to Kerry Wood who couldn't manage to hold the score and set up Carlos Marmol in the Ninth.  The Brewers third two run home run was hit by former Cubs farm hand Casey McGehee. The other two run bombs for the Brewers were off the bats of Ryan Braun (his fourth on the year) and Prince Fielder (number 2 on the season).

Kerry Wood took the lose  (0-1) for the Cubs, while Kameron Loe pitched and inning and two thirds for his first win (1-0) John Axeford work the ninth for his third save.

Game 10 -- Ryan Dempster vs Nelson Figueroa

This was the first game in a new series with the Houston Astros...and a series that will hopefully see the Cubs string a few wins together.  Dempster again pitched well for the Cubs, going  six and a third strong innings. Well, really he went about six strong innings. It's hard to call three runs in the span of three batters "good"...especially when those three batters go Home run, single, Two Run Home run.

Ten games into the season and it looks like the Cubs pitchers are going to be giving up a ton of long balls this year. Thankfully it also appears that it's not going to take Aramis Ramirez and the rest of the hitters almost half a season to get in the swing of things.

Starlin Castro also had a Cubs first today when he stole second. With that swipe the Cubs finally have a stolen base for the season. Prior to the steal the Cubs were the only team in the majors not to have a single stolen base. Castro would end the game three for five with three runs scored and the stolen base.

Ryan Dempster finally picked up his first win (1-2) and Carlos Marmol struck out three batters in his inning and a  third of work to pick up his fourth save in five chances. Nelson Figuerora, who gave up all five of the Cubs runs in four innings of work, fell to 0-2.

Nine of the last ten runs given up by Cubs pitching have been by the long ball. (4-2R HR, Solo HR).  James Russell will make the next start for Chicago in place of Randy Wells.

Ugh...

So...for some reason the power went out at the house last night.  Apparently that was the straw that broke my external hard drives back.

The Western Digital drive was about three years old. But, that is 750gb of data that I won't be getting back anytime soon.  I had a lot of the data backed up on other drives that weren't plugged in at the time. Mostly I lost my iTunes library. But, since I no longer own most of the CD's that are in the library I took precautions to double back that up.  So all that was really lost was a crap ton of downloaded movies and music videos. Most of which were taken from movies I already own so, while a process, I can get that back.

Right now I just have the drive plugged into a different port on my computer hoping for signs of life to the point where I can back up the most important files to my computer hard drive for a transfer to another, as yet to be purchased, hard drive.

Suck......

Random Movie thoughts

Random thoughts while watching a few movies and tv shows this week along with reading a few articles on-line.

1. Geena Davis needs to get another good role! -- I really missed the bad ass Geena Davis. I don't care what the critics say, The Long Kiss Goodnight was a fun movie. Cutthroat Island....not so much. For fun though check out this look back from Den of Geek.

2. On Joan Jett's brief appearance in Repo! The Genetic Opera -- She looks pretty damn good for a 53 year old Rock Goddess!

3. Arthur's being remade!! -- This one both saddens me greatly and makes me really happy. Dudley Moore was a comic genius. The original Arthur, along with Arthur II on the rocks and Wholy Moses are some of my favorite comedies of all time. Russell Brand is an acquired taste. From what I have seen in the previews and interviews...this could be great. I loved him in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek. His stand up kinda does nothing for me. But, I will reserve judgement until I see the movie this weekend.

4. Sequel to Monster, Inc is coming in 2013 -- All I need to say about this is... HELL YES!! More Mike and Sully? Yes Please (plus any world where Billy Crystal is still making movies, animated or not, is a better world)

5. When Harry Met Sally 2 --  Just watch...then see above comment.

6. I now officially hate MTV  with every fiber of my soul...and it all has to do with this news release (I hate them so much...I'm not even going to type the words!)

7. Hop took in more in it's first weekend than Sucker Punch as to date...makes me kinda worried for Superman!

8. Diary of a Wimpy Kid has taken in almost $10 million more than Sucker Punch...makes me kinda worried for Superman!

9. Back for another Den Of Geek story that has me excited -- Taken 2 Finds is director, and Maggie Grace is back.

10. Bill & Ted 3?? -- Still undecided about this one. Keanu has stated that he thinks there is still a story there to be told. Me...I'm not too sure. One thing I know is that, San Dimas High Football Rules, the movie will not be the same without George Carlin.

Game 8



4-4


Wow...this game was so bad I don't even want to call it a Cubs game. The Cubs were there, they were both in the field and at bat, but I wouldn't say they actually "played".

Brewers jumped on Matt Garza early and often to start the game and never looked back.

There was never really a point where the Cubs threatened. Heck, the only exciting point for the Cubs was when Starlin Castro whiffed on a throw down to second and took the baseball right off the face. 

Brewers starting pitcher Chris Narveson got the win with six strong innings of six hit baseball, striking out nine and walking one. He was helped by a monster game from Prince Fielder who had 4 RBI on two big doubles.

Next up for the Cubs is the rubber game that will feature newly called up righty Casey Coleman who will take Randy Wells spot in the rotation while Wells in on the DL with forearm stiffness. Coleman was 4-2 last year in 12 appearances (including 8 starts). Coleman will be opposed by Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo (1-0) who pitched a complete game shutout in his last appearance to beat the Atlanta Braves.

MLB at Bat 11...

Just another reason why this app is awesome!!

Just realized that each game has the option of free (for now) "look ins".

Essentially when the orange "L" is on the screen you can view free live video from the game you are listening to. So, if you only want a little TV fix of the game your are listening to then this is a fun tool.

In other awesome news...thanks to Volvo all users of At Bat 11 (or at least everyone who bought the full version) have free MLB.TV access on the phone for the month of April.

Way to go Volvo...you made my month, but I'm still not buying a car from you. Sorry!

Game 7



4-3


Carlos Zambrano -vs- Randy Wolf

Zambrano was the old Z that Cubs fans love to see take the hill. Over six innings Zambrano allowed four runs on seven hits, while walking three and striking out five. He did give up an early home run to Prince Fielder...but Z's boys had his back when they exploded for five runs in the top of the fifth.

Aramis Ramirez got a gift single, when a ball fell between three Brewers. Geovany Soto made them pay for the mistake with a long home run to dead center field that tied the game at two each. Just a few batters later Alphonso Soriano singled and Zambrano helped himself out with a single. With those two on base Jeff Baker came up and drove a pitch out of the park to put the Cubs up 3-2, a lead they would not give up.

The Brewers would get two runs back with a tally in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings.

Jeff Baker was the star of the day though. He came back up in the sixth and gave the Cubs another insurance run with his RBI single. Marlon Byrd would then drive Barker in for the final run of the game on his ninth inning RBI double setting the final score at 7-5 Cubs.

Carlos Marmol came in and struck out two more batters on the way to his third save in four chances this season.

Bear Down Chicago Bears...

If you haven't heard this story you may not be a Bears fan...or you just may be avoiding good news in this day and age.

Turns out that Cliff Forrest, age 10, of New York City has reached out to former Bears player William "the refrigerator" Perry in a rather unique way.  He has gift the ex-nfl star his own Super Bowl Championship ring.

According to numerous news reports, Perry had to sell the ring when he ran into hard financial times dealing with Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune disease that can lead to weakened muscles.

The ring found it's way to Mickey Mantle's Restaurant in NYC...where Forrest spied it. Seems this ten year old really likes his sports collectibles. So he bought it using $8.500 of his college fund (wish I had that kind of money to blow). But, after researching Perry on the Internet he decided that Perry could use the ring more than him.

According to NBC sports, "Cliff was able to add to his collection on Saturday. Although he wasn’t looking for anything in return, Cliff received two autographed Bears jerseys and some cards from an appreciative Perry, who was conducting an autograph-signing session. “It was exciting,” Cliff Jr. said. “He looked really happy. He said, ‘Thanks.’ “It’s what I wanted to do. When I Googled Mr. Perry after I got the ring, I saw he had the disease and went through rough times. And I thought he needed it more than I did."

My favorite part of the story was the last line when it was pointed out that Forrest isn't even a Bears fan.... he's a Steelers fan.  Either way I say good on ya kid!

Movie Review -- Monsters (2010)

Monsters (2010) -- Whitney Able, Scoot McNairy

For a movie called monsters...not a whole lot of "monsters"!

Imagine a world where an alien organism has "infected" portions of the Earth...as usual it was all out fault! By "our" fault, I mean America. A NASA probe that was gathering proof of life in other parts of the solar system crashes on return to Earth. In the process Infecting a large portion of Mexico and Central America.

That portion became...the Infected zone. In order to flee to America people have two options. 1) Pay a crazy price for a ferry ride to a US port. 2) Risk a trip through the Infected zone on foot.

The story in Monsters is that of freelance photographer Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy) who is tasked with getting Samantha Wynden (Whitney Able) the daughter of a publish mogul, who he happens to work for, back to the US safe and sound.

You've probably guessed that things aren't as simple as putting the young woman on the last ferry ride! What should have been a quick drop off at the docks turns into a nightmare push the the Infected Zone. Which is where the movie got both awesome and crazy for me.

As I said earlier, for a movie called "Monsters" there were very few glimpses of any.  With the exception of one main action sequence in the middle and an encounter at the end Monsters is more of a drama piece about two strangers thrust together and forced to survive in an unpredictable situation.

I don't want to ruin the film but I will say this, "If you are going in thinking it is going to be a monster attack movie like Godzilla or Cloverfield....you won't be happy." If you go in looking for an interesting character movie with a genuinely nice twist at the end then you will be pleased.

Right now it's available to watch via Netflix instant and is, in my opinion, worth the 94 minutes

Kids in the Hall

I can still remember the time that my buddy Ryan and I were at his house as kids watching Kids in the Hall and this came on. I don't even think we fully got the joke at the time. We just knew that "Faggot" was a bad word...and we weren't supposed to be watching Kids in the Hall. So, when his sister who was probably all of 7 or 8 (if that, I'm bad with dates and ages and the such) started running around the house singing "running faggot" over and over at the top of her lungs we knew we were in trouble.

I still can't remember if/how we got her to stop before Ryan's parents got home and killed us...but the sight of her running around "singing" almost made us two young guys have a heart attack.

My how times have changed...Brooke is getting married soon....and I doubt this spot would run in a re-airing of Kids in the Hall.

Game 6

3-3 on the year

Well, today was not a good days in Cubs land. Day started with word that Andrew Cashner AND Randy Wells were both headed to the DL. Wells is heading to the DL with a strained forearm and Cashner a sore rotator cuff. So, 40% of the rotation just went down. Should be fun three to four weeks! But, at least we have Ryan Dempster pitching pretty well. Oops!!

Things got off to a rocky start for Dempster again this game, Willie Bloomquist slammed a triple into left center scoring two runs. Aramis Ramirez tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a two run home run, his first of the season. Willie Bloomquist got the D-Backs rolling again in the 5th with a single scoring one on way to a three run inning and a 5-3 D-Backs lead. 

Alfonso Soriano brought the Cubs within one run with a solo home run in the 7th. But, Arizona catcher Miguel Montero matched that score with his second home run of the season to give his team a 2 run lead in the top of the 8th.

That Montero insurance run would come in big when the Cubs would score one more run in the bottom of the 8th when Tyler Colvin grounded out with the bases loaded driving in Starlin Castro for the final tally of the game.

J.J. Putz came on to notch his second save of the season for Arizona. The win went to Armando Galarraga (1-0) with the lose going to Cubs starter Ryan Dempster (0-2).   The Cubs fall to 3-3 on the season heading into a Friday, Saturday, Sunday series with the Milwaukee Brewers

$12...Really!!?

Nothing screams kickem' while their down like an offer of $12 to reimburse a person for their troubles. I don't think I'd be offended by that offer if I had to wait too long in line at a store or restaurant. I am fairly sure that the offer would piss me off something serious if it was to help ease the pain of my possible exposure to high levels of radiation!

That is what the people of Namie, Japan (and other town around the damaged Nuclear power plant) have been offered for their "troubles".

Seriously, what the hell!!  Too many dropped calls is trouble. A payment being misapplied is trouble. Growing a radioactive lump on your testicle or having a child born with half an arm is a little more severe.

According to a story over at CNN,  "The company (Tokyo Electric) called the initial offer "payment for their troubles," and would not detail how much money is being offered to each community. But Kousei Negishi, who is the manager of general affairs for Namie, said that it was 20 million yen -- about $12 for each of Namie's roughly 20,000 residents."

Talk about making a bad situation worse....We are so sorry for the inconvenience of you having to move out of your homes and your jobs. We understand that the stress of the situation, along with the possible effects of radiation leaks may cause a serious drop in your quality of life. So, for your troubles we would like to offer you this foot long sub, large Pepsi and a bag of sun chips....but wait there's more...free cookies!! 

The only way the $12 offer could have looked worse to me is if they had presented every person with a giant novelty check for the amount!

Seriously...get you act together and realize that just because the situation may call for an offer of money to the people doesn't mean you should make an offer with the first number that comes to mind!

Two in a Row

Glad to see the Diamondbacks are still good for a late inning collapse!

Game Five -- Andrew Cashner, newly anointed 5th starter for your Chicago Cubs, took the mound only to leave after five and a third innings with a sore shoulder. From there it was up to the bullpen...a bullpen that manager Mike Quade was trying to avoid using Kerry Wood and Carolos Marmol for a fourth straight game. 

Tyler Colvin put the Cubs up 4-1 with a two run home run in the third. But, the Diamondbacks got to the bullpen when they scored 3 runs in the top of the 7th. Thanks to some bad pitching and James Russell allowing all three of his inherited runners to score the Cubs found themselves tied going into the bottom half of the inning but put a 2 spot on the board to go up 6-4.

With Wood and Marmol unavailable, Quade turned to Sean Marshall to get the side out in the 9th for the save.  Marshall came through to notch his third career save and give the Cubs a series victory and a chance at the sweep on Wednesday.

Cubs, Games 3 & 4

Well, year in and year out some things never change. The Cubs will alternate between making me want to throw up and jump for joy. Four games into the season and not much has changed from past years.

Game 3 -- Matt Garza makes his first official start as a Chicago Cub.  Coming over in the off season to help bolster the front of the rotation Garza pitched a very good game. When you give up 12 hits it also helps if you get a ton of strike outs...and Garza did just that. A career high 12 K's to be exact. Leaving with the lead he turned things over to the bullpen. Which, in years past, has been a good thing. With Kerry Wood, Sean Marshall and Carlos Marmol things should have been locked down. Marmol was lights out the night before....sadly this ending wasn't the same. Carlos couldn't find a groove and the Pirates were allowed to come back and take the swing game of the 3 game set, dropping the Cubs to 1-2 on the season. But, there are more games to play so why dwell on this one?

Game 4 -- What's the best way to kick the bad taste of a losing series to the Pirates to the curb? Follow it up with a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Now, there is no way the D-backs can be as bad as they were last year. But, that doesn't mean they are going to be good either.  For the 4th game of the season the Cubs starter put in quality work with Randy Wells striking out 6 through 6 innings. His only mistake was a lead off home run to the games first batter. The Cubs would come back with one run in the bottom of the 3rd and 4th innings and added two insurance runs in the bottom of the 8th and Marmol came in and shut things down for his second save in three appearances this season.

Four games in and we've gone L-W-L-W....but we still have two more games with the D-Backs. So, fingers crossed that we get out of this with a string of W's and some momentum heading into this weekends series with the Brewers.

Best (worst) sign in the world

I really hate to see any business fail. A business going under means loss of jobs, families scrambling to make ends meat, one less option in the community of places to go for those services. Really, even if it's a business I don't use, I feel bad.

So why is this my new favorite sign?

Seriously, I almost cause traffic accidents when I spot a new Blockbuster is going out of business! Who doesn't like getting DVD and Bluray deals at up to 25% off the standard used prices? I know I sure as hell do!

The funny thing is that while they all seem to have the same selection and prices there are a few titles that stick out as odd.  The last store I stopped into had used PS3 games on sale for 40% off...but they were still marking a used copy of Tiger Woods 2006 at close to $15. Who wants to pay even $5 for a game that is almost six generations behind?

Movie titles are the same way. While I was excited to get a copy of Fast and Furious on Bluray for $5.15 I was shocked to see that they were looking for $60 for a used copy of Casablanca (granted it was 25% off but still...that's a bit crazy) or a used Bluray copy of Monsters (good movie) was listed, pre-discount, at $29.99.  The hands down winner was a Bluray copy of Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the ring for $84.99.  Call me crazy, but if you are going to buy a movie that has been abused like a rented mule...then it should probably list a lower than new prices. The whole Extended bluray trilogy is only $83.99!!!!

In the end I had to reject the copy of Monsters (finally watched it for free on Netflix instant) and picked up an obscene number of titles over the last few weeks.

1. Silence of the Lambs
2. Fast and Furious
3. The Mummy
4. The Mummy II
5. The Mummy III
6. Twister
7. Davinci Code
8. Angels and Demons
9. Day of the Dead
10. Land of the Dead
11. Brothers Grimm
12. Hot Fuzz
13. The Crazies
14. The Collector

My collection has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few weeks and there is still about 5 days before the stores close for good! Now, the only quesion is do I need a fax machine, filing cabinets, massive quantities of candy...or a box of 6 snuggies all at up to 80% off!! (P.S.--the answer to those is no)

The Ride Begins...

Just a few days into the baseball season and the roller coaster is in full motion. Please, keep all arms and legs inside the car.....this could be a bumpy ride!

Go Cubs Go!!

Game One:  Ryan Depmster is our opening day starter and things are looking pretty darn good. Demp seemed to have ironed out all the kinks that showed up in his last spring training start. That is until the top of the fifth when he got wild and ended up allowing a Grand Slam to Pirates 2nd Baseman Neil Walker. Two innings later Demp let another one fly when Andrew McCutchen connected on a 2 run shot.  The Cubs came back with 1 run in bottom  of the inning...but nothing more. It's kinda hard to win a game when you are out hit 11 to 7 and leave 8 of 10 runners in scoring position...in scoring position!!

Game Two: Carlos Zambrano was on the hill. Seven innings pitched while giving up three isn't a bad start of the season for a guy who had to seek anger management treatment last year. May have been longer if hand cramps hadn't gotten to him. Which is too bad because if he could have lasted one more inning he may have walked away with win. Seems the Cubs bats finally decided to show up in the bottom half of the 8th inning. Cubs batters strung together hits and walks to hang a 5 spot on the Wrigley Field scoreboard. Included in the rally was a two out two run double by pinch hitter Blake DeWitt To score the winning runs. Carlos Marmol Came in and struck out the side in the top of the ninth to notch his 1st save of the season and bring the Cubs up to the .500 mark.

So we are two games in and I have to say I like what I am seeing so far. I think that if the staff can stay healthy we have a shot of hanging with the anointed ones (Reds) and hopefully can handle our business with the Cardinals, Brewers and the rest of the NL.  It's early on in the season I know...but I'm hopeful that this is the year we turn things around!! Next year is here.

Which leads me to another thought....If the Cubs make the World Series this year....I will probably have to be up at odd times to get to see most of the series games since I will be in Europe!!! I can see it now, Cubs win World Series and I'm in France or England! The only way it would be worse is if they played the Angels or another team close enough to go see the games!  But, I would take it for the chance to say those immortal worlds, "WORLD SERIES CHAMPION CHICAGO CUBS"

Final Zombie Week Thoughts....

I'm pretty sure that if the zombie Apocalypse hits tomorrow I would have a better than average chance of survival based on my knowledge of the subject over my physical conditioning. But, if you are uninformed on the subject I will leave you with an abbreviated list of important things to know. (Stolen with love from Zombieland)

1. Cardio -- running is your friend, as long as the zombies are walkers!
2. Double Tap -- Better to be Safe than Sorry!
3. Beware of bathrooms -- Nothing like getting bit while taking a crap.
4. Wear seat belts -- applies to non-zombie apocalypse situations
5. Swiss Army Knife -- It's not just for MacGyver anymore
6. Don't be a hero -- well...unless you really have to (Example: she's really hot!)
7. Limber up -- Nothing sucks more than pulling a hammy and getting eaten!
8. Get a Kickass partner -- safety in numbers bro...safety in numbers
9.Check your back seat -- same goes for leaving the strip club...
10. Avoid strip clubs -- watch Zombie Strippers to find out why
11. Enjoy the Small things -- When the apocalypse comes this will be important to keep your sanity.
12. Hygiene -- Again a good rule to follow in all situations...but the smellier you are the easier you are to find.

Fido...