Tuesday, March 29, 2011

PLAY BALL! Baseball starts on Thursday!

My attitude towards my favorite sports is experiencing a bit of a sea change lately.  My love for the NFL has started to wan in recent years, and my excitement every year for opening day of the baseball season has grown.  My frustration with the NFL primarily stems from the fact that the Redskins have been so abysmal for so long with no real improvement in sight.  Add to that the labor issues plaguing the sport, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Since I REALLY started following baseball in 1994 (the year MLB's own labor issues cost the fans the World Series), interest in the game has grown exponentially every year.  I started following the Orioles when Cal Ripken Jr. was on his way to breaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive game streak, and then switched allegiances when the Expos moved to DC and became the Nationals.  Now you may ask how I can lose faith in football because of the Redskins when the Nationals suck just as bad?  Well, it's easy.  The Redskins lose and have been losing for a long time in very predictable ways, and it's simply pathetic.  The Nats, while they have had back to back 100 loss seasons are at least entertaining.  They never lose the same way twice!  Also, unlike the Redskins, the Nats over the past two seasons have made some moves that should greatly improve the team in the next few years to come.  They've pulled in a few quality veterans through free agency (Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche) and infused the team with young guys like Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasbourg who should, if they live up to their potential, help the team turn around in the relatively near future.  Will the Nats be a contender this year?  Probably not.  But I think they have a shot at becoming a .500 team, which would be a vast improvement and instill hope into the hearts of even the most cynical Nats fan.

Anyway, I'm lookig forward to a fun season.  I bought the MLB season package, so I'll be able to watch all the games from opening day.  I'm also going to try to get in to Daejeon a couple times a month to see some Hanwha Eagles games.

GO NATS!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Song of the Day



TOUCH OF GREY
Grateful Dead

Must be getting early
Clocks are running late
Paint-by-number morning sky looks so phony
Dawn is breaking everywhere
Light a candle, curse the glare
Draw the curtains, I don't care, cuz
It's alright

I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive

I see you've got your fist out
Say your piece and get out
Yes I get the gist of it, but
It's alright

Sorry that you feel that way
The only there is to say:
Every silver lining's got a touch of grey

I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive

It's a lesson to me
The Ables and the Bakers and the Cs
The ABC's we all must face
Try to keep a little grace

It's a lesson to me
The Deltas and the East and the Freeze
The ABC's we all think of
And try to win a little love

I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears, but
It's alright

The Cow is giving kerosene
Kid can't read at seventeen
The words he knows are all obscene, but
It's alright

I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive

The shoe is on the hand that fits.
There's really nothing much to it
Whistle through your teeth and spit, cuz
It's alright

Oh well, a touch of grey
Kinda suits you anyway
And that was all I had to say,
And it's alright

I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive

We will get by
We will get by
We will get by
We will survive

We will get by
We will get by
We will get by
We will survive

Sunday, March 13, 2011

IRON MAIDEN: Seoul, South Korea, March 10, 2011

I've been an Iron Maiden fan forever. However, they've been one of those bands that I always managed to miss when they came through whatever town I was living in at the time. There was always something: work, lack of money or transportation, work. Well, when the opportunity presented itself to see the boys in Seoul, I jumped at the chance. Let me tell you, it was worth the wait!

The oddest thing about the night was the fact that only about 1,500 people showed up for the show. For those of you unfamiliar with Maiden, this is a band that usually plays to packed stadiums, so I imagine it was a bit of a shock. It did lead to one of the more amusing quips from front man Bruce Dickenson who said, "Amazingly enough, this is our first time in South Korea. When we come back next time, call a few friends, eh?" Despite the small crowd, Iron Maiden showed themselves to be the consummate professionals they are and played just as hard as if they had been playing for 50,000 people.

They played a good mix of new stuff from the Final Frontier album as well as all time classic songs like "The Trooper" and "Number of the Beast". Dickenson introduced the song Blood Brothers by saying that being an Iron Maiden fans transcend the political, racial boundaries that divide so much of our world. He ended his spiel by saying, "I'm sure there are a couple of folks up there in Kim Jong Il Land right now going, 'FUCK! I'm missing Iron Maiden!'" Needless to say, that got a few laughs out of the crowd.

All in all, it was a great show, and I'm happy to say I can finally cross Iron Maiden of my list of must see bands.

UP THE IRONS!!!