*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLAYRE [Kc Qc]
SLAYRE - Calls 20
JERSEYCITY__ - Calls 20
ALBERICH10025 - Folds
PETESEGERIUS - Raises 110 to 110
ETERNAL41 - Calls 110
KAREN CAROL - Folds
MICHELA - Folds
REDTHAI - Folds
NOJINGLE - Folds
SLAYRE - Calls 90
JERSEYCITY__ - Folds
*** FLOP *** [2s Jc Ac]
SLAYRE - Checks
PETESEGERIUS - Bets 380
ETERNAL41 - Folds
SLAYRE - Calls 380
*** TURN *** [2s Jc Ac] [10c]
SLAYRE - Checks
PETESEGERIUS - All-In 1,010
SLAYRE - All-In 1,010
*** RIVER *** [2s Jc Ac 10c] [5d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
PETESEGERIUS - Shows [10h Ad] (Two Pair, aces and tens)
SLAYRE - Shows [Kc Qc] (Royal flush)
SLAYRE Collects 3,160 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot(3,160)
Board [2s Jc Ac 10c 5d]
Seat 1: JERSEYCITY__ Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 2: ALBERICH10025 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 3: PETESEGERIUS HI:lost with Two Pair, aces and tens [10h Ad - P:Ad,B:Ac,P:10h,B:10c,B:Jc]
Seat 4: ETERNAL41 Folded on the FLOP
Seat 5: KAREN CAROL Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 6: MICHELA (dealer) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 7: REDTHAI (small blind) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 8: NOJINGLE (big blind) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 9: SLAYRE won Total (3,160) All-In HI:(3,160) with Royal flush [Kc Qc - B:Ac,P:Kc,P:Qc,B:Jc,B:10c]
sure is fun when it does tho.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
live and steps
well, i made it to the live tourny i halfass mentioned in my last entry and i faired well. both wth playing and the 'getting around/card handling'. i finished 9th outta 54. made it to the final table. went out with A5s vs 'i forget' at about the 3rd or 4th hand of the first round..
i shoulda posted soon as i got home cuzi had went over the details all the drive home.
i was short stack to start with and blinds were going up pretty quick. i think they were 400/800 when i made my allin move(2100tc) and they would be 600/1200 with me in the bb wthin in the next cpl hands.
one caller. dont recall his hand nor if i was better off. bot ii dink i turned a flush only to see him spike his boat on the river. johns out.
was fun. i got a koozie and a key chain for showing up. got a photo album when they drew my name fer a door prize.
top 2 pizes were really nice poker chip sets. basically the same cept one was in a metal box the other wood or plastic, not sure.
i had a huge bottle of water and used that to hide my cards when i peeked at them.
dealers were there soo i didnt have to worry about shuffling.
it was a fun experience.
steps - well instead of trying to come up with witty words, ill use cut and paste, or u can click the link, if i did it right. feel free to use my name if your joining absolute fer da 1st time. SLAYRE
Here's The Deal
For just 10 cents, you can win:
A WTP Foxwoods Prize Package - Step up your game and win your way to the luxurious Foxwoods Resort Casino, where you'll participate in the legendary World Poker Tour. Our $12,000 Prize Package includes enough cash for your $10,000 entry into the WTP Foxwoods Main Event, accommodations, and travel.
Enter STEP 1 for $0.10 and keep winning your way to the next STEP by finishing in the top two places of each STEP. Conquer the 10th STEP to win your $12K Main Event Prize Package. You can also take a detour by playing STEP 7a to qualify for our Sunday Super Satellite.
What is a STEP tournament?
A STEP tournament is a type of Sit-n-Go that allows you to win your seat in major land-based events for a significantly low buy-in. Absolute Poker offers 10 STEP tournaments, with the final STEP featuring the big prize. Players advance from one STEP to the next by finishing first in a STEP. Players who don't finish first or second but still rank high enough will be invited to replay the STEP.
How does it work?
Each STEP tournament series consists of 10 STEPS, or 10 individual Sit-n-Go tournaments. The buy-in for the first STEP is $0.10. As the STEPS advance, the buy-ins increase.
How do I move through each STEP?
First two winners of STEP 1 advances to STEP 2 without having to buy in. The first two winners of STEP 2 advances to STEP 3, and so on. This goes on until STEP 10 where the winner secures the final land-based tournament package.
What's this about trying again?
If you don't finish first in a STEP, it's not necessarily game over. STEP tournaments give players the opportunity to replay a STEP, depending on how they finish in a tournament. That means as long as you can finish high enough, you can still hang on to fight another day and conquer your way to the next STEP.
Can I enter a STEP tournament at any STEP?
Yes. However, you'll have to buy directly in with cash. The only way to secure your spot in a STEP tournament for free is by advancing from a previous STEP.
i shoulda posted soon as i got home cuzi had went over the details all the drive home.
i was short stack to start with and blinds were going up pretty quick. i think they were 400/800 when i made my allin move(2100tc) and they would be 600/1200 with me in the bb wthin in the next cpl hands.
one caller. dont recall his hand nor if i was better off. bot ii dink i turned a flush only to see him spike his boat on the river. johns out.
was fun. i got a koozie and a key chain for showing up. got a photo album when they drew my name fer a door prize.
top 2 pizes were really nice poker chip sets. basically the same cept one was in a metal box the other wood or plastic, not sure.
i had a huge bottle of water and used that to hide my cards when i peeked at them.
dealers were there soo i didnt have to worry about shuffling.
it was a fun experience.
steps - well instead of trying to come up with witty words, ill use cut and paste, or u can click the link, if i did it right. feel free to use my name if your joining absolute fer da 1st time. SLAYRE
Here's The Deal
For just 10 cents, you can win:
A WTP Foxwoods Prize Package - Step up your game and win your way to the luxurious Foxwoods Resort Casino, where you'll participate in the legendary World Poker Tour. Our $12,000 Prize Package includes enough cash for your $10,000 entry into the WTP Foxwoods Main Event, accommodations, and travel.
Enter STEP 1 for $0.10 and keep winning your way to the next STEP by finishing in the top two places of each STEP. Conquer the 10th STEP to win your $12K Main Event Prize Package. You can also take a detour by playing STEP 7a to qualify for our Sunday Super Satellite.
What is a STEP tournament?
A STEP tournament is a type of Sit-n-Go that allows you to win your seat in major land-based events for a significantly low buy-in. Absolute Poker offers 10 STEP tournaments, with the final STEP featuring the big prize. Players advance from one STEP to the next by finishing first in a STEP. Players who don't finish first or second but still rank high enough will be invited to replay the STEP.
How does it work?
Each STEP tournament series consists of 10 STEPS, or 10 individual Sit-n-Go tournaments. The buy-in for the first STEP is $0.10. As the STEPS advance, the buy-ins increase.
How do I move through each STEP?
First two winners of STEP 1 advances to STEP 2 without having to buy in. The first two winners of STEP 2 advances to STEP 3, and so on. This goes on until STEP 10 where the winner secures the final land-based tournament package.
What's this about trying again?
If you don't finish first in a STEP, it's not necessarily game over. STEP tournaments give players the opportunity to replay a STEP, depending on how they finish in a tournament. That means as long as you can finish high enough, you can still hang on to fight another day and conquer your way to the next STEP.
Can I enter a STEP tournament at any STEP?
Yes. However, you'll have to buy directly in with cash. The only way to secure your spot in a STEP tournament for free is by advancing from a previous STEP.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
more drivel
i been playing some low stakes ring games online at absolute last few wekks snd actually winning fer da most part.
today, just a few minutes ago i noticed my brain/mind was recalling tried and true 'methods' from a time afore the stroke, that allowed me to celebrate a farly nice profitable cash out. some months ago.
i will share those recollections shortly, as best as i can remember and also, as i remembered them, which may be humorous.
1 - luck favors the stupid. this really doesnt help me or anyone win more pots but for me it eased the sting of a bad beat.
2. why did that fool bet here? alot of times find myself not understanding why a person would bet at a certain street and i call or raise, usually call, then scoop the pot then chuckle and debate answering the almost always 'how do you make that call?'
3. dont play mediocre cards in poor position. no humorous ancedote here. this just happened dis morning and made me think about posting here.hmmm
basically it went like this
i'd call that raise fooker if i wasnt in such a crappy positon.
im sure there were/are more but my ass hurts.
sng play has been a poor showing.
im breaking evev with my play money. but have horribly lost the last 4 real money sng's i bought into.
and i know the problem too, which is why there have only been 4 sng's.
i get bored by the 3rd or 4th hand of the first orbit. its pretty sad.
i've got a live tourney coming up in about a month. its a charty event and no cash prizes. but my goal is only to see how i fare with getting around and card/chip handling. i hope they have deallers. i cant shuffle 1 handed.
peace
today, just a few minutes ago i noticed my brain/mind was recalling tried and true 'methods' from a time afore the stroke, that allowed me to celebrate a farly nice profitable cash out. some months ago.
i will share those recollections shortly, as best as i can remember and also, as i remembered them, which may be humorous.
1 - luck favors the stupid. this really doesnt help me or anyone win more pots but for me it eased the sting of a bad beat.
2. why did that fool bet here? alot of times find myself not understanding why a person would bet at a certain street and i call or raise, usually call, then scoop the pot then chuckle and debate answering the almost always 'how do you make that call?'
3. dont play mediocre cards in poor position. no humorous ancedote here. this just happened dis morning and made me think about posting here.hmmm
basically it went like this
i'd call that raise fooker if i wasnt in such a crappy positon.
im sure there were/are more but my ass hurts.
sng play has been a poor showing.
im breaking evev with my play money. but have horribly lost the last 4 real money sng's i bought into.
and i know the problem too, which is why there have only been 4 sng's.
i get bored by the 3rd or 4th hand of the first orbit. its pretty sad.
i've got a live tourney coming up in about a month. its a charty event and no cash prizes. but my goal is only to see how i fare with getting around and card/chip handling. i hope they have deallers. i cant shuffle 1 handed.
peace
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
fair warning -- hand history follows
i ended up qualdroopling my orig buyin($4.00) this particular session, thanks to a cpl bozos like the one up gaisnt me in this hand -
oh -- im slayre, but you prolly knew that
Stage #1168994451: Holdem No Limit $0.10 - 2008-12-24 17:53:38 (ET)
Table: BEECH AVE (Real Money) Seat #3 is the dealer
Seat 3 - ROSEBUD08 ($3.79 in chips)
Seat 4 - SLAYRE ($4.14 in chips)
Seat 5 - MAXIFLY ($4 in chips)
Seat 6 - OAC4307 ($10.15 in chips)
Seat 1 - JBOLIN ($20.31 in chips)
Seat 2 - PAULYPIRAHNA ($7.15 in chips)
SLAYRE - Posts small blind $0.05
MAXIFLY - Posts big blind $0.10
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLAYRE [Qs Qc]
OAC4307 - Folds
JBOLIN - Folds
PAULYPIRAHNA - Folds
ROSEBUD08 - Raises $0.35 to $0.35
SLAYRE - Calls $0.30
MAXIFLY - Calls $0.25
*** FLOP *** [10s 6s Qh]
SLAYRE - Checks
MAXIFLY - Checks
ROSEBUD08 - Bets $1.05
SLAYRE - Calls $1.05
MAXIFLY - Folds
*** TURN *** [10s 6s Qh] [3h]
SLAYRE - All-In $2.74
ROSEBUD08 - All-In $2.39
SLAYRE - returned ($0.35) : not called
*** RIVER *** [10s 6s Qh 3h] [10c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ROSEBUD08 - Shows [2h Qd] (Two Pair, queens and tens)
SLAYRE - Shows [Qs Qc] (Full house, queens full of tens)
SLAYRE Collects $7.54 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot($7.93) | Rake ($0.39)
Board [10s 6s Qh 3h 10c]
Seat 1: JBOLIN Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 2: PAULYPIRAHNA Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 3: ROSEBUD08 (dealer) HI:lost with Two Pair, queens and tens [2h Qd - B:Qh,P:Qd,B:10s,B:10c,B:6s]
Seat 4: SLAYRE (small blind) won Total ($7.54) All-In HI:($7.54) with Full house, queens full of tens [Qs Qc - P:Qs,B:Qh,P:Qc,B:10s,B:10c]
Seat 5: MAXIFLY (big blind) Folded on the FLOP
Seat 6: OAC4307 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
oh -- im slayre, but you prolly knew that
Stage #1168994451: Holdem No Limit $0.10 - 2008-12-24 17:53:38 (ET)
Table: BEECH AVE (Real Money) Seat #3 is the dealer
Seat 3 - ROSEBUD08 ($3.79 in chips)
Seat 4 - SLAYRE ($4.14 in chips)
Seat 5 - MAXIFLY ($4 in chips)
Seat 6 - OAC4307 ($10.15 in chips)
Seat 1 - JBOLIN ($20.31 in chips)
Seat 2 - PAULYPIRAHNA ($7.15 in chips)
SLAYRE - Posts small blind $0.05
MAXIFLY - Posts big blind $0.10
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLAYRE [Qs Qc]
OAC4307 - Folds
JBOLIN - Folds
PAULYPIRAHNA - Folds
ROSEBUD08 - Raises $0.35 to $0.35
SLAYRE - Calls $0.30
MAXIFLY - Calls $0.25
*** FLOP *** [10s 6s Qh]
SLAYRE - Checks
MAXIFLY - Checks
ROSEBUD08 - Bets $1.05
SLAYRE - Calls $1.05
MAXIFLY - Folds
*** TURN *** [10s 6s Qh] [3h]
SLAYRE - All-In $2.74
ROSEBUD08 - All-In $2.39
SLAYRE - returned ($0.35) : not called
*** RIVER *** [10s 6s Qh 3h] [10c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ROSEBUD08 - Shows [2h Qd] (Two Pair, queens and tens)
SLAYRE - Shows [Qs Qc] (Full house, queens full of tens)
SLAYRE Collects $7.54 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot($7.93) | Rake ($0.39)
Board [10s 6s Qh 3h 10c]
Seat 1: JBOLIN Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 2: PAULYPIRAHNA Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 3: ROSEBUD08 (dealer) HI:lost with Two Pair, queens and tens [2h Qd - B:Qh,P:Qd,B:10s,B:10c,B:6s]
Seat 4: SLAYRE (small blind) won Total ($7.54) All-In HI:($7.54) with Full house, queens full of tens [Qs Qc - P:Qs,B:Qh,P:Qc,B:10s,B:10c]
Seat 5: MAXIFLY (big blind) Folded on the FLOP
Seat 6: OAC4307 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Sunday, April 01, 2007
the journey has come to an abrupt halt
not the poker part i still enjoy poker altho i havent played much lately
i had a stroke early februry and it has left me with a paralyzed left arm, amoung other things..
so i decided to start a new blog
ill be making posts there from now on
peace
i had a stroke early februry and it has left me with a paralyzed left arm, amoung other things..
so i decided to start a new blog
ill be making posts there from now on
peace
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Home Owner ( or ower )
I bought a house today. At least, I think I did.
Last saturday, I went to the subdivision and picked out a small lil number that would be ready in 90 days.. then, over the weekend, I decided that I really didn't like the floorplan, so, when I went back this last Monday with my earnest money, I picked out a different plan, and they said that they would have to build from scratch.. ok, whatever.. as long as the lot isn't sucky..
so i picked some colors for the exterior and the interior, and then a few upgrades.. and signed a crap load of paperwork... then yesterday, i was at the lender's office, which wasn't really the lender, but an 'originator', who will sell my loan to a 'servicer'..
so Misty, that was her name.. went over another crap load of paperwork and had me sign it all, and when it was all said and done.. i asked..
so, did I just buy a house?
and she said 'pretty much'
So, I am not sure what kinda calculator they use for figuring out my credit, but, I want one for work.. figure it could solve a ton of my cobol problems..
anyway.. expected close is july or august, and until i actually get a key.. i doubt I will believe it actually happened...
plus side is that the monthly payment is only 28 dollars more than i told myself i could handle, and that was a high estimate on her part.. and I intend to bring more for a down payment than she figured in the magic calculator computations...
im kinda excited, and still kinda in shock... ( i doubt i picked matching colors for either inside or outside, cuz, i am no good at that.. and I am sure i didnt pick anything that matches my furniture, which at the time, I didn't know was necessary.. )
Its not a big home.. ( 1100sqft ), but its twice as large as any apt I have been in.. and it has a garage, and a yard, and a tax break...
I'll be taking pics as it is built, unless they decide to use a different calculator and figure me out..
peace
Last saturday, I went to the subdivision and picked out a small lil number that would be ready in 90 days.. then, over the weekend, I decided that I really didn't like the floorplan, so, when I went back this last Monday with my earnest money, I picked out a different plan, and they said that they would have to build from scratch.. ok, whatever.. as long as the lot isn't sucky..
so i picked some colors for the exterior and the interior, and then a few upgrades.. and signed a crap load of paperwork... then yesterday, i was at the lender's office, which wasn't really the lender, but an 'originator', who will sell my loan to a 'servicer'..
so Misty, that was her name.. went over another crap load of paperwork and had me sign it all, and when it was all said and done.. i asked..
so, did I just buy a house?
and she said 'pretty much'
So, I am not sure what kinda calculator they use for figuring out my credit, but, I want one for work.. figure it could solve a ton of my cobol problems..
anyway.. expected close is july or august, and until i actually get a key.. i doubt I will believe it actually happened...
plus side is that the monthly payment is only 28 dollars more than i told myself i could handle, and that was a high estimate on her part.. and I intend to bring more for a down payment than she figured in the magic calculator computations...
im kinda excited, and still kinda in shock... ( i doubt i picked matching colors for either inside or outside, cuz, i am no good at that.. and I am sure i didnt pick anything that matches my furniture, which at the time, I didn't know was necessary.. )
Its not a big home.. ( 1100sqft ), but its twice as large as any apt I have been in.. and it has a garage, and a yard, and a tax break...
I'll be taking pics as it is built, unless they decide to use a different calculator and figure me out..
peace
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Stepping up
Some moron left a huge comment about something or the other... I had to delete the post and redo it.. I just couldn't find anyway to delete comments... which, if there is not a way, is darn right silly.. anyway,, I copied my text, made another entry, and then deleted the original...
But, now, today.. I have something to say.. or rather, something to type about.. its probaly only important to me, but, thats ok.
I have made a huge decision and started the process of buying a home. originally, I had planned on a rent to own deal with a manufactured home community.. but, decided, if I am going to pay that much money each month, it should be a home... a real home, and not only that, a new home.. I applied online to a couple well known realtors in the area, for pre qualification. One called me and said that I prequalified... Now, I am not sure what it actually takes to prequalify, but, it certainly can not be too much, considering my credit rating...
I was able, with the prequalification, to pick a lot, a floorplan, siding, colors, and such.. and sign a crap load of paperwork.... but, I still need to clear the actual loan application process.. which, to be honest, I don't think any bank in the world will be willing to give that kind of moola...
I am still gonna go thru the process tho.. if worst comes to worst, meaning, if I can't get a house, I will still move, only it will be to a bigger apartment ( with a washer/dryer ).
Needless to say, I am rather excited.. altho, I really should try not to be... if all goes well... I should be able to move in my new home, this coming August... if not, well, then I'll be be moving end of March....
So, Hiro found out his father is not who thought he was... and Claire, who has known for sometime her father is not who he appears to be, has found her mother... incase you missed it last night.. George Takei, you know, Sulu, showed up at the end of Heroes last night... and he didn't look too happy... ( that reminds me, the name of the street my home is going to be built on, is Enterprise... the neighborhood has a NASA theme for the street names ).
Prison Break was phenomenal as usual... they don't make them much better than this, least not on network television....
Well, I had to turn on comment moderation, due to the last one to comment.. so, I am sorry for all you regular commentors... but, I know have to screen my fan mail...
;)
peace
But, now, today.. I have something to say.. or rather, something to type about.. its probaly only important to me, but, thats ok.
I have made a huge decision and started the process of buying a home. originally, I had planned on a rent to own deal with a manufactured home community.. but, decided, if I am going to pay that much money each month, it should be a home... a real home, and not only that, a new home.. I applied online to a couple well known realtors in the area, for pre qualification. One called me and said that I prequalified... Now, I am not sure what it actually takes to prequalify, but, it certainly can not be too much, considering my credit rating...
I was able, with the prequalification, to pick a lot, a floorplan, siding, colors, and such.. and sign a crap load of paperwork.... but, I still need to clear the actual loan application process.. which, to be honest, I don't think any bank in the world will be willing to give that kind of moola...
I am still gonna go thru the process tho.. if worst comes to worst, meaning, if I can't get a house, I will still move, only it will be to a bigger apartment ( with a washer/dryer ).
Needless to say, I am rather excited.. altho, I really should try not to be... if all goes well... I should be able to move in my new home, this coming August... if not, well, then I'll be be moving end of March....
So, Hiro found out his father is not who thought he was... and Claire, who has known for sometime her father is not who he appears to be, has found her mother... incase you missed it last night.. George Takei, you know, Sulu, showed up at the end of Heroes last night... and he didn't look too happy... ( that reminds me, the name of the street my home is going to be built on, is Enterprise... the neighborhood has a NASA theme for the street names ).
Prison Break was phenomenal as usual... they don't make them much better than this, least not on network television....
Well, I had to turn on comment moderation, due to the last one to comment.. so, I am sorry for all you regular commentors... but, I know have to screen my fan mail...
;)
peace
Monday, January 29, 2007
New Ice, not so nice
Well... last week it was cold and wet here in Austin, and surrounding areas... cold and wet enuff to make ice.. lots of ice.... and a bit of snow in some places.. Now mind you, alot of people here in Austin would have called it 'alot of snow', but, I've been to places with actual snowfall, and believe me, it was not really even snow.. but, who am I to pop anyone's bubble..
April took a few photos.
For me.. it meant not having to work Tuesday or Wednesday of last week.. Monday was already a holiday.. but, since we got behind, I ended up working Friday(another holiday), and Saturday, to help catch up... They talked about working 12-16 hour shifts this week...but, that was not gonna happen for me, certainly not on Monday (yesterday).
I've been catching a bit of American Idol... and it is only because I can not find anything else halfway interesting enuff to pass the time.. ( on tv anyway ). Same ol crap from all the other shows.. I think the next show has them in Memphis.. make way for Elvis, he is sure to make an appearance or two, or three.
Pretty much zero poker online.. I pretty much quit with the announcement of the illegal online gambling thing. I still like to play live, and need to make more of an effort to actually go out and play live... City of Heroes/Villains is not helping much.. If they ever add some sort of hold em to this game, as an 'in-game'. I will be in trouble..
I am currently in the market for a new home.. I would like to stop the apartment living and move into an actual home. Even a 'manufactured' home would be good enough for me. I've looked at a few, and they are nothing like what they had when I lived in one as a child. Anyway, this endeavor prevents me from spending to much money on things that are, hmm, lets say, not exactly necessary.. booze, hookers, and poker.. Hopefully, by the end of March, I will be in a new home... maybe I can host my own poker tourneys, and people will come to me..... ok, well, its a thought.
I haven't seen any standout movies lately.. I did catch a few lil known films on an off channel the other night..
Hell in the Pacific - directed by John Boorman, starring Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune
Deliverance (prolly well known) - directed by John Boorman(imagine that), starring Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Jon Voight, Ronnie Cox
To Late the Hero - directed by Robert Aldritch, starring Cliff Robertson and Michael CaineI forget which channel, prolly TCM (Turner Classic Movies).
Welp, back to work for me...
peace
( i had to redo this post due to an anon comment... couldn't figure out how to delete the comment.. have turned on second level of comment security... sigh )
April took a few photos.
For me.. it meant not having to work Tuesday or Wednesday of last week.. Monday was already a holiday.. but, since we got behind, I ended up working Friday(another holiday), and Saturday, to help catch up... They talked about working 12-16 hour shifts this week...but, that was not gonna happen for me, certainly not on Monday (yesterday).
I've been catching a bit of American Idol... and it is only because I can not find anything else halfway interesting enuff to pass the time.. ( on tv anyway ). Same ol crap from all the other shows.. I think the next show has them in Memphis.. make way for Elvis, he is sure to make an appearance or two, or three.
Pretty much zero poker online.. I pretty much quit with the announcement of the illegal online gambling thing. I still like to play live, and need to make more of an effort to actually go out and play live... City of Heroes/Villains is not helping much.. If they ever add some sort of hold em to this game, as an 'in-game'. I will be in trouble..
I am currently in the market for a new home.. I would like to stop the apartment living and move into an actual home. Even a 'manufactured' home would be good enough for me. I've looked at a few, and they are nothing like what they had when I lived in one as a child. Anyway, this endeavor prevents me from spending to much money on things that are, hmm, lets say, not exactly necessary.. booze, hookers, and poker.. Hopefully, by the end of March, I will be in a new home... maybe I can host my own poker tourneys, and people will come to me..... ok, well, its a thought.
I haven't seen any standout movies lately.. I did catch a few lil known films on an off channel the other night..
Hell in the Pacific - directed by John Boorman, starring Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune
Deliverance (prolly well known) - directed by John Boorman(imagine that), starring Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Jon Voight, Ronnie Cox
To Late the Hero - directed by Robert Aldritch, starring Cliff Robertson and Michael CaineI forget which channel, prolly TCM (Turner Classic Movies).
Welp, back to work for me...
peace
( i had to redo this post due to an anon comment... couldn't figure out how to delete the comment.. have turned on second level of comment security... sigh )
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Monday, January 08, 2007
To,Too,Two,2,Tu-Tu
So, we are 8 days into the New Year and I am happy to report, no tradegies to report, from me... jeesh, last year, especially the last half, seemed like each month something dreadful and foreboding happened to me or someone in my family... here's looking forward to a much bettre year..
So, better late than never I guess, let me finish my Vegas write up.. before we get into the time frame where it won't matter, if we haven't already...
I'll just add my thoughts from the list I made on the original post:
1) another hold em tourney, at the Imperial, which at first seemed that it might be my saving grace
Hmmm.. after the blogger tourney, I went back over to the IP and signed up for one of their $55 dollar tourneys.. I started out in seat 3, just like the blogger tourney, so I figure I was doomed already.. and the button was at seat 10, which I had never seen before, but, made sense.. first three hands I get the same crap I was getting at the event, and my frustration level, which was already high, and barely starting to subside, starting rising again.. then, on the button, when it is my turn to act, I look down and see a pair of Black Queens.. I creamed my jeans as they say... the BB was 50, and there were 4 callers before me, so, I popped it to 200, everyone folded except for the guy to my immediate right, who cold called.. flop shows.. KhQh8s, and this guy checks.. I figure he has a King perchance, or maybe an Ace with a weak kicker, and I bet out with my set, a pot size bet of about 600.. he cold calls.. hmmmm.. flush draw is what I think now... turn is 2h... he bets 300.. I figure he got his flush right here, and to find out, I raise him 600 to 900.. he goes all in before I even finish my turn... so, I say nice flush and flip my cards, he flips J6hearts.. and we never see the river... bout 2/3 my chips are gone..
next hand I get ATs, 3 callers before me, I push, get one call, and his T7s beats my hand with a 7 on the river... IGSlotsN
2) some texas hold em bonus
I tried out the fairly new Texas Hold'em Bonus table game, of which the IP had two. I bought in for 60 bucks, lasted about 2 hours, had about 8 drinks, and tipped the dealer one red chip.. I like the game simply because the only idiot available to beat you, is you.
3) slots
I don't play slots to gamble, I play to get drunk... I usually play the penny machines and I try to find one that has a min payout of 5cents per credit.. they do exist.. what I mean is, I hate betting a nickle a spin, and 'winning' 2cents, cuz, your really not winning anything... anyhoot.. I also try to pick a machine where a waitress happens to be near.. otherwise, I might be waiting forever for a drink, and that defeats my purpose.. so, with those two things done, I ask for my drink, give her 5 bucks at that time, and smile.. this trip.. I prolly put in 20 bucks into the slots at the IP, took out 40, and tipped various waitresses 40-50 bucks.. on the way out of Vegas at the airport.. and yes I know, never play the airport slots.. but, I was bored.. first machine I tried was a quarter machine, and on the 3rd spin, 1 credit, I won a 30 dollar jackpot... next machine was a nickle machine and on the 5th spin, I won a 17 dollar jackpot... some quick Slayre type math, and I find myself ahead on slots, for this Vegas trip...\
4) flirting with the most beautiful cocktail waitress in the world ( who got more and more beautiful with each drink she brought me
Hmm.. I forgot her name.. she was cute, and sexy, and she paid much attention to me... most likely due to her getting the majority of the tips I mentioned up there in #3. She promised to look for me in June or July, which is when I expect to return.. and I promised to look for her as well.. I imagine only one of us will keep that promise.. ;) you figure out which one.
5) somewhat rotound young lady sporting two of the extra large hugh yard glasses they use for the daquiris.. like the bandeleros you would find on a mexican bandito...
I am not gonna say too much about this one.. it was a strange sight.. in addition, she looked like she was on the prowl, for I'm not sure.. but I knew if I had eye contact, there was a good chance I would be her prey... and so... I took an immediate left turn, pretending I needed something from the baggage hold area...
6) guy describing, in detail, his idea of a very undesirable female body part, due to bad hygiene and what not, to his friend, who is leaning over the sink... dry heaving
apparently, a group of young men were out and about drinking and carousing.. and one of them got sick, but, couldn't vomit.. and I imagine, cuz, its not like I have been there before.. but it is my guess, that 'he knew if he could just throw up, he would be alright'.. so, his friend was describing the grossest stuff he could think of... trying to get him to vomit... I thought it was pretty funny....
7) guy walking out of harrahs, right in front of me, to the street and just heaves ho..
different guy than #6. we are walking down the strip.. and this guy just walks out to the rail between the road and the sidewalk, and just projectiles a couple of loads, wipes his mouth on his sleeve, and then goes back in to the casino.... I figured I would see that again before the trip was over, but, no......
8) actually winning slots at the airport, yeah.. 45 bucks to the good ( teflon ) for the hour I was there...
Already talked about this.. but, wanted to mention (teflon).. my buddy, who traveled with me, and put up with all my poker talk and what not.. wasn't quite sure what I meant, when I used the term, 'stuck'.. as in, "I am only stuck 60 bucks at the blackjack table".. so, he asked, and I explained, best I could.. so then he asks "What term do you people use when your ahead?".. and I tell him.. we use the term "Ahead". He thought we should use a better term, and suggested teflon, cuz, stuff don't 'stick' to teflon... so, 'I am 45 bucks teflon at the slots'.. you decide.
9) chatting with derek and pauly
oh what can I say about these two clowns that has not already been said... they are two of the nicest people I have ever met... pauly, mentions things to me, something or the other he saw on my blog or whatnot.. and it means alot to me... and derek just makes me laugh... nothing but good thoughts for these two. ( I don't think either one of them 'really' know how to play poker )
10) star trek encounter
weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee... did both the klingon experience, and the borg encounter.. the latter of which was a complete waste of time... the first one tho.. well worth it, and I would tell you about it, but, Capt. Picard instructed me not to.. so... ( maybe this guy can tell you about it )
Edit: and he does, sorta
11) monorails
oh lord.. don't get me started.... the monorail stations are at the back of the casino/hotels.. which, depending on which station you are getting on at, or off.. is a good/bad thing.. I am only goning to mention one bad example, and then one good one... MGM Grand station.. OMG!.. we got on there, to get back to the IP.. ( btw, we bought a day pass ), and to get to the actual station, you have to walk thru the casino.. well, I am not positive, but, I would bet a shiny nickle that it is a shorter distance from the MGM strip entrance to the IP strip entrance, than it is from the front of the MGM to the back, where the station is... funny thing is.. we did that 3 times.... ( strip walk would have most likely provided better people watching entertainment as well )
Now, we also went the other way.. getting from the elevators at the IP to the station, is a quick 5 minute walk.. and we used it to go to the Hilton, for the Star Trek thingy... once you get there, and go down the stairs.. the Star Trek part of the Hilton is right there.. so, that was nice...
12) casino impressions
This is a stupid topic and I never should have listed it... the IP, by comparing to the rest, or most of the rest of the center strip Casinos, sucks... but, the price is generally right...
13) atlantis show
I think this was at Ceasars.. its one of the free shows that various Casinos offer.. it was pretty cool... nice lil story and some pretty decent effects.... I would never pay for it, and I prolly will never bother to see it again... free or not.. but, it started up right as we were walking by, so..
14) mirage volcano ( that was it!?!?! your freaking kidding me )
yawn... keep walking, move along, nothing to see here.
15) auto show
oh my God.. they got rid of over half thier cars.. and all the good ones to boot... last year I was in there for over an hour.. this trip, 10 minutes, tops.... I was so disappointed.
16) eats
um.. i don't recall my thoughts from the time I listed this.. IP buffer sucked.. don't remember it sucking so bad my first trip.. but, then, I had never had a Vegas buffet before... we didn't starve..
17) how much bourbon did I drink ( see #4 )
more than most of the bloggers, much less than the SoCo Al most likely drank.
18) lost comb
I don't have much hair, but the little I do have, requires a comb, at least once a day.. well, it promptly disappeared, 5 minutes after getting into our room.. only to reappear 5 minutes before we left.....bizarre.. I had thought about growing my hair back out.. but, have since shaved it all off again..
19) stolen money
Every day, I put whatever change I had in my pocket on the table, no, not the table, the top of the bookcase thing they were using for an entertainment center, in the room... on the 3rd day, monday(we left tuesday morning), after coming back from breakfast, or lunch, it was gone.. about 4 bucks worth of change... I suppose the house staff figured it for a tip.. so, the next day, I left my change again, in the same place.. all 4 pennies.
20) things I saw that made me wish I had brought my camera ( see #5 )
I didn't bring a camera and I wish I had... and if you have ever been to Vegas without a camera, you prolly know what I mean.
That's it.. I actually completed my list... there is lots of other mundane stuff that happened, nothing much worth blogging about..
Much thanks to April for putting it all together... hugs
Oh, I got a kick out of the Japanese couple on the elevator that spoke absolute zero English, but, were very impress with my knowledge of their language.. which is simply counting from 1 to 10. Which was enuff to let them in on which floor I needed, and alot more fun than me just pushing 16 myself...
don't touch my moustache
Peace
So, better late than never I guess, let me finish my Vegas write up.. before we get into the time frame where it won't matter, if we haven't already...
I'll just add my thoughts from the list I made on the original post:
1) another hold em tourney, at the Imperial, which at first seemed that it might be my saving grace
Hmmm.. after the blogger tourney, I went back over to the IP and signed up for one of their $55 dollar tourneys.. I started out in seat 3, just like the blogger tourney, so I figure I was doomed already.. and the button was at seat 10, which I had never seen before, but, made sense.. first three hands I get the same crap I was getting at the event, and my frustration level, which was already high, and barely starting to subside, starting rising again.. then, on the button, when it is my turn to act, I look down and see a pair of Black Queens.. I creamed my jeans as they say... the BB was 50, and there were 4 callers before me, so, I popped it to 200, everyone folded except for the guy to my immediate right, who cold called.. flop shows.. KhQh8s, and this guy checks.. I figure he has a King perchance, or maybe an Ace with a weak kicker, and I bet out with my set, a pot size bet of about 600.. he cold calls.. hmmmm.. flush draw is what I think now... turn is 2h... he bets 300.. I figure he got his flush right here, and to find out, I raise him 600 to 900.. he goes all in before I even finish my turn... so, I say nice flush and flip my cards, he flips J6hearts.. and we never see the river... bout 2/3 my chips are gone..
next hand I get ATs, 3 callers before me, I push, get one call, and his T7s beats my hand with a 7 on the river... IGSlotsN
2) some texas hold em bonus
I tried out the fairly new Texas Hold'em Bonus table game, of which the IP had two. I bought in for 60 bucks, lasted about 2 hours, had about 8 drinks, and tipped the dealer one red chip.. I like the game simply because the only idiot available to beat you, is you.
3) slots
I don't play slots to gamble, I play to get drunk... I usually play the penny machines and I try to find one that has a min payout of 5cents per credit.. they do exist.. what I mean is, I hate betting a nickle a spin, and 'winning' 2cents, cuz, your really not winning anything... anyhoot.. I also try to pick a machine where a waitress happens to be near.. otherwise, I might be waiting forever for a drink, and that defeats my purpose.. so, with those two things done, I ask for my drink, give her 5 bucks at that time, and smile.. this trip.. I prolly put in 20 bucks into the slots at the IP, took out 40, and tipped various waitresses 40-50 bucks.. on the way out of Vegas at the airport.. and yes I know, never play the airport slots.. but, I was bored.. first machine I tried was a quarter machine, and on the 3rd spin, 1 credit, I won a 30 dollar jackpot... next machine was a nickle machine and on the 5th spin, I won a 17 dollar jackpot... some quick Slayre type math, and I find myself ahead on slots, for this Vegas trip...\
4) flirting with the most beautiful cocktail waitress in the world ( who got more and more beautiful with each drink she brought me
Hmm.. I forgot her name.. she was cute, and sexy, and she paid much attention to me... most likely due to her getting the majority of the tips I mentioned up there in #3. She promised to look for me in June or July, which is when I expect to return.. and I promised to look for her as well.. I imagine only one of us will keep that promise.. ;) you figure out which one.
5) somewhat rotound young lady sporting two of the extra large hugh yard glasses they use for the daquiris.. like the bandeleros you would find on a mexican bandito...
I am not gonna say too much about this one.. it was a strange sight.. in addition, she looked like she was on the prowl, for I'm not sure.. but I knew if I had eye contact, there was a good chance I would be her prey... and so... I took an immediate left turn, pretending I needed something from the baggage hold area...
6) guy describing, in detail, his idea of a very undesirable female body part, due to bad hygiene and what not, to his friend, who is leaning over the sink... dry heaving
apparently, a group of young men were out and about drinking and carousing.. and one of them got sick, but, couldn't vomit.. and I imagine, cuz, its not like I have been there before.. but it is my guess, that 'he knew if he could just throw up, he would be alright'.. so, his friend was describing the grossest stuff he could think of... trying to get him to vomit... I thought it was pretty funny....
7) guy walking out of harrahs, right in front of me, to the street and just heaves ho..
different guy than #6. we are walking down the strip.. and this guy just walks out to the rail between the road and the sidewalk, and just projectiles a couple of loads, wipes his mouth on his sleeve, and then goes back in to the casino.... I figured I would see that again before the trip was over, but, no......
8) actually winning slots at the airport, yeah.. 45 bucks to the good ( teflon ) for the hour I was there...
Already talked about this.. but, wanted to mention (teflon).. my buddy, who traveled with me, and put up with all my poker talk and what not.. wasn't quite sure what I meant, when I used the term, 'stuck'.. as in, "I am only stuck 60 bucks at the blackjack table".. so, he asked, and I explained, best I could.. so then he asks "What term do you people use when your ahead?".. and I tell him.. we use the term "Ahead". He thought we should use a better term, and suggested teflon, cuz, stuff don't 'stick' to teflon... so, 'I am 45 bucks teflon at the slots'.. you decide.
9) chatting with derek and pauly
oh what can I say about these two clowns that has not already been said... they are two of the nicest people I have ever met... pauly, mentions things to me, something or the other he saw on my blog or whatnot.. and it means alot to me... and derek just makes me laugh... nothing but good thoughts for these two. ( I don't think either one of them 'really' know how to play poker )
10) star trek encounter
weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee... did both the klingon experience, and the borg encounter.. the latter of which was a complete waste of time... the first one tho.. well worth it, and I would tell you about it, but, Capt. Picard instructed me not to.. so... ( maybe this guy can tell you about it )
Edit: and he does, sorta
11) monorails
oh lord.. don't get me started.... the monorail stations are at the back of the casino/hotels.. which, depending on which station you are getting on at, or off.. is a good/bad thing.. I am only goning to mention one bad example, and then one good one... MGM Grand station.. OMG!.. we got on there, to get back to the IP.. ( btw, we bought a day pass ), and to get to the actual station, you have to walk thru the casino.. well, I am not positive, but, I would bet a shiny nickle that it is a shorter distance from the MGM strip entrance to the IP strip entrance, than it is from the front of the MGM to the back, where the station is... funny thing is.. we did that 3 times.... ( strip walk would have most likely provided better people watching entertainment as well )
Now, we also went the other way.. getting from the elevators at the IP to the station, is a quick 5 minute walk.. and we used it to go to the Hilton, for the Star Trek thingy... once you get there, and go down the stairs.. the Star Trek part of the Hilton is right there.. so, that was nice...
12) casino impressions
This is a stupid topic and I never should have listed it... the IP, by comparing to the rest, or most of the rest of the center strip Casinos, sucks... but, the price is generally right...
13) atlantis show
I think this was at Ceasars.. its one of the free shows that various Casinos offer.. it was pretty cool... nice lil story and some pretty decent effects.... I would never pay for it, and I prolly will never bother to see it again... free or not.. but, it started up right as we were walking by, so..
14) mirage volcano ( that was it!?!?! your freaking kidding me )
yawn... keep walking, move along, nothing to see here.
15) auto show
oh my God.. they got rid of over half thier cars.. and all the good ones to boot... last year I was in there for over an hour.. this trip, 10 minutes, tops.... I was so disappointed.
16) eats
um.. i don't recall my thoughts from the time I listed this.. IP buffer sucked.. don't remember it sucking so bad my first trip.. but, then, I had never had a Vegas buffet before... we didn't starve..
17) how much bourbon did I drink ( see #4 )
more than most of the bloggers, much less than the SoCo Al most likely drank.
18) lost comb
I don't have much hair, but the little I do have, requires a comb, at least once a day.. well, it promptly disappeared, 5 minutes after getting into our room.. only to reappear 5 minutes before we left.....bizarre.. I had thought about growing my hair back out.. but, have since shaved it all off again..
19) stolen money
Every day, I put whatever change I had in my pocket on the table, no, not the table, the top of the bookcase thing they were using for an entertainment center, in the room... on the 3rd day, monday(we left tuesday morning), after coming back from breakfast, or lunch, it was gone.. about 4 bucks worth of change... I suppose the house staff figured it for a tip.. so, the next day, I left my change again, in the same place.. all 4 pennies.
20) things I saw that made me wish I had brought my camera ( see #5 )
I didn't bring a camera and I wish I had... and if you have ever been to Vegas without a camera, you prolly know what I mean.
That's it.. I actually completed my list... there is lots of other mundane stuff that happened, nothing much worth blogging about..
Much thanks to April for putting it all together... hugs
Oh, I got a kick out of the Japanese couple on the elevator that spoke absolute zero English, but, were very impress with my knowledge of their language.. which is simply counting from 1 to 10. Which was enuff to let them in on which floor I needed, and alot more fun than me just pushing 16 myself...
don't touch my moustache
Peace
Friday, December 29, 2006
Baby nephew
a few posts back, I mentioned my nephew being born with a herniated diaphram, and a 30% chance of survival. ( he was born early october.. )
Couple of month laters, we have the normal, I am taking a poop pose:
Couple of month laters, we have the normal, I am taking a poop pose:
You go Hayden!
Peace
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Merry Christmas!
YAY ME!! I got City of Villians to compliment my City of Heroes PC game.. moo ha ha...
( Actually got a gift card from target.. but, target didn't have it, so picked up a movie, Fearless, instead.. then after hitting CompUsa, Circuit City, Office Depot ( cuz it was right next door ), finally found City of Villians at BestBuy. And I'll link them, since they had it.. )
Had to come in to work tonight, and after I fixed the problem, decided to stay for a shift, so, I can play CoV all day tomorrow.. so went to the 7-11 to get some java, and was approached, by a bum, asking for, not a quarter, not a buck, but, 10 dollars.... whoa!! Inflation at its best... Now, the story doesn't end there... this 'bum' noticed my Texas Hold'em cap and asked me if I was a gambler... to which I replied, "oh no, I never gamble, I just take calculated risks".. he found that amusing and challenged me with:
"If I tell you a funny poker joke, will you give me 10 bucks?"
I chuckled and said, " If it makes me smile, I'll buy you a cup of coffee." (which I had planned on doing any way) "and if i decide to share it, I'll buy you breakfast".
"ok" he said.. then, cleared his throat:
( now I have no idea how old this joke might be, but, I never heard it before )
"Why don't elephants play poker in the jungle?"
"I just don't know" was my humble reply.
"Too many cheetahs."
heh, well, I handed him a 5 dollar bill and told him I would share it will my poker buddies... he thanked me and then said:
" I got another one... "
heh.. I had to go.. but, I figured he earned that finsky... I was gonna give it to him anyway.. being Christmas time and all, and he didn't smell too bad, ie, drunk.
We draws name in my family, at Thanksgiving, to decide who buys what for Christmas.. the adults do anyway.. the deal is, each adult gets one gift from some other adult, but, the kids get whatever.. with the parents of the kids being responsible for the crap they don't need, ie, Wii, Nintendo, Playstation, et al...
I try not to spend more than 20 bucks on each kid.. I used to spend up to $100, but, that was back before there was a dozen of them.. back when then were only 2... ie, mine. heh.. times change tho, and families grow.. anyway.. I picked up a mechanical wine bottle opener for my mom.. let me see if I can find one to link to... sumtin similiar to this, which will come in handy for her, as she is becoming elderly and all that comes with that... ( she doesn't drink wine alot, but, likes to open a bottle for guests and what not ). Her and my dad, pretty much have everything they could possibly need, or want, so, its not that easy to find sumtin for them.. Anyway, I picked up a bookshelf style game, Stratego and he flipped over that.. he is 12 years old.. I had that game when I was a kid..
But, the piece day resistance.. I pulled out the magic singing magnets.. heh.. of which I had picked up 4 sets the day before.. 3 bucks a set.. 12 bucks plus tax.. one for my dad, my bro, my bro in law, and my afore mentioned nephew... you would think I had given these 4 men a million bucks.. they forgot all about all their other gifts, and proceeded to spend the rest of the day, playing with their magnets.. go figure....
Peace!
( Actually got a gift card from target.. but, target didn't have it, so picked up a movie, Fearless, instead.. then after hitting CompUsa, Circuit City, Office Depot ( cuz it was right next door ), finally found City of Villians at BestBuy. And I'll link them, since they had it.. )
Had to come in to work tonight, and after I fixed the problem, decided to stay for a shift, so, I can play CoV all day tomorrow.. so went to the 7-11 to get some java, and was approached, by a bum, asking for, not a quarter, not a buck, but, 10 dollars.... whoa!! Inflation at its best... Now, the story doesn't end there... this 'bum' noticed my Texas Hold'em cap and asked me if I was a gambler... to which I replied, "oh no, I never gamble, I just take calculated risks".. he found that amusing and challenged me with:
"If I tell you a funny poker joke, will you give me 10 bucks?"
I chuckled and said, " If it makes me smile, I'll buy you a cup of coffee." (which I had planned on doing any way) "and if i decide to share it, I'll buy you breakfast".
"ok" he said.. then, cleared his throat:
( now I have no idea how old this joke might be, but, I never heard it before )
"Why don't elephants play poker in the jungle?"
"I just don't know" was my humble reply.
"Too many cheetahs."
heh, well, I handed him a 5 dollar bill and told him I would share it will my poker buddies... he thanked me and then said:
" I got another one... "
heh.. I had to go.. but, I figured he earned that finsky... I was gonna give it to him anyway.. being Christmas time and all, and he didn't smell too bad, ie, drunk.
We draws name in my family, at Thanksgiving, to decide who buys what for Christmas.. the adults do anyway.. the deal is, each adult gets one gift from some other adult, but, the kids get whatever.. with the parents of the kids being responsible for the crap they don't need, ie, Wii, Nintendo, Playstation, et al...
I try not to spend more than 20 bucks on each kid.. I used to spend up to $100, but, that was back before there was a dozen of them.. back when then were only 2... ie, mine. heh.. times change tho, and families grow.. anyway.. I picked up a mechanical wine bottle opener for my mom.. let me see if I can find one to link to... sumtin similiar to this, which will come in handy for her, as she is becoming elderly and all that comes with that... ( she doesn't drink wine alot, but, likes to open a bottle for guests and what not ). Her and my dad, pretty much have everything they could possibly need, or want, so, its not that easy to find sumtin for them.. Anyway, I picked up a bookshelf style game, Stratego and he flipped over that.. he is 12 years old.. I had that game when I was a kid..
But, the piece day resistance.. I pulled out the magic singing magnets.. heh.. of which I had picked up 4 sets the day before.. 3 bucks a set.. 12 bucks plus tax.. one for my dad, my bro, my bro in law, and my afore mentioned nephew... you would think I had given these 4 men a million bucks.. they forgot all about all their other gifts, and proceeded to spend the rest of the day, playing with their magnets.. go figure....
Peace!
Friday, December 22, 2006
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Shame is the pathway to grace...
So sayeth Jonas Blane, from The Unit.
Back from Vegas, and the Winter Classic... and nothing to report..
Just kidding.. just not much in a mood for writing... but, if I don't start, it will never get done, not to mention me forgetting the highlights, as mundane as they may be to most folks..
I would like to preface with stating that I went with much less funds than anticipated.... I was expecting a check from the insurance company of the truck that hit me back in late july..., and ofcourse, it did not arrive in time for the trip.. so, I had much less money to gamble with, that I had hoped for...( not enough for bowling dear April.. )
The tournament found me cold deck, to the extreme... in the first two rounds, the best hand I got, was QJs.... facing a raise, a reraise, and out of position, I reluctantly folded, only to see the 9 and and T of my suit show up on the flop... never saw the turn or river.. (which is prolly a good thing. ) Seriously for the first two rounds.. I never got any better than that, and it was mostly any semblance of 92 offsuit... I was trying not to show my frustration, but, I doubt I was hiding it well...
After the break, and early into the 3rd round... I found ATs, and raised Fallstaff's raise, but only did a min raise.. the idea was to isolate him, cuz, I was pretty sure I had him beat or at least could bet him out of the flop.. ( he may not know it, but, I was paying attention to his play ), unfortunately, a lovely young lady, whom I had previously not noticed.. called my raise, putting her all in me thinks, for 2/3 of my stack, and I had to call the couple hundred extra.. Falstaff folded... my ATs did not hold up agaisnt the lady's nines.. I'm shortstacked at about T800 at this point.. with the average stacking, prolly up over 5 or 6k....
next hand I believe I am in the bigblind, and I sorely tempted to just put all my chips out there before before the cards are even dealt, but, I figured this would look like 'too' much of a desparate move, and get more action than I would actually want, so, I left it up to the table to decide what I 'might' do.. In my mind tho, I was all in.. I wasn't even going to look at the cards..... I believe everyone folded to falstaff, who raised ofcourse, and I knew he would.. Ryan, to my left.. folded the SB, which suprised me, but, hey I was happy to be HU with my last 800 chips...
I flipped A2o, and Falstaff annouces I am ahead to his KJo... the flop was nice to me, but, around the turn is a Jack, with no river Ace... I am out of the tourney, prolly around the high 60's or so... maybe a tad lower.. I tried counting the remaining players.... but, getting out of there seemed to be more of a priority.
I would, and will do it all again, in a heartbeat!
The remainder of my trip involved
1) another hold em tourney, at the Imperial, which at first seemed that it might be my saving grace
2) some texas hold em bonus
3) slots
4) flirting with the most beautiful cocktail waitress in the world ( who got more and more beautiful with each drink she brought me
5) somewhat rotound young lady sporting two of the extra large hugh yard glasses they use for the daquiris.. like the bandeleros you would find on a mexican bandito...
6) guy describing, in detail, his idea of a very undesirable female body part, due to bad hygiene and what not, to his friend, who is leaning over the sink... dry heaving
7) guy walking out of harrahs, right in front of me, to the street and just heaves ho..
8) actually winning slots at the airport, yeah.. 45 bucks to the good ( teflon ) for the hour I was there...
9) chatting with derek and pauly
10) star trek encounter
11) monorails
12) casino impressions
13) atlantis show
14) mirage volcano ( that was it!?!?! your freaking kidding me )
15) auto show
16) eats
17) how much bourbon did I drink ( see #4 )
18) lost comb
19) stolen money
20) things I saw that made me wish I had brought my camera ( see #5 )
Well, now that I have a list, I can come back and put down my thoughts, but, I am at work, and hence, must try to catch up for the last two days.... I arrived home at about 5pm yesterday, and prolly should have started this then.. but, instead, I booted up Absolute and played some SNG's.. 3 of them... won every damn one of them too...
So for now, peace to you both. ;)
Back from Vegas, and the Winter Classic... and nothing to report..
Just kidding.. just not much in a mood for writing... but, if I don't start, it will never get done, not to mention me forgetting the highlights, as mundane as they may be to most folks..
I would like to preface with stating that I went with much less funds than anticipated.... I was expecting a check from the insurance company of the truck that hit me back in late july..., and ofcourse, it did not arrive in time for the trip.. so, I had much less money to gamble with, that I had hoped for...( not enough for bowling dear April.. )
The tournament found me cold deck, to the extreme... in the first two rounds, the best hand I got, was QJs.... facing a raise, a reraise, and out of position, I reluctantly folded, only to see the 9 and and T of my suit show up on the flop... never saw the turn or river.. (which is prolly a good thing. ) Seriously for the first two rounds.. I never got any better than that, and it was mostly any semblance of 92 offsuit... I was trying not to show my frustration, but, I doubt I was hiding it well...
After the break, and early into the 3rd round... I found ATs, and raised Fallstaff's raise, but only did a min raise.. the idea was to isolate him, cuz, I was pretty sure I had him beat or at least could bet him out of the flop.. ( he may not know it, but, I was paying attention to his play ), unfortunately, a lovely young lady, whom I had previously not noticed.. called my raise, putting her all in me thinks, for 2/3 of my stack, and I had to call the couple hundred extra.. Falstaff folded... my ATs did not hold up agaisnt the lady's nines.. I'm shortstacked at about T800 at this point.. with the average stacking, prolly up over 5 or 6k....
next hand I believe I am in the bigblind, and I sorely tempted to just put all my chips out there before before the cards are even dealt, but, I figured this would look like 'too' much of a desparate move, and get more action than I would actually want, so, I left it up to the table to decide what I 'might' do.. In my mind tho, I was all in.. I wasn't even going to look at the cards..... I believe everyone folded to falstaff, who raised ofcourse, and I knew he would.. Ryan, to my left.. folded the SB, which suprised me, but, hey I was happy to be HU with my last 800 chips...
I flipped A2o, and Falstaff annouces I am ahead to his KJo... the flop was nice to me, but, around the turn is a Jack, with no river Ace... I am out of the tourney, prolly around the high 60's or so... maybe a tad lower.. I tried counting the remaining players.... but, getting out of there seemed to be more of a priority.
I would, and will do it all again, in a heartbeat!
The remainder of my trip involved
1) another hold em tourney, at the Imperial, which at first seemed that it might be my saving grace
2) some texas hold em bonus
3) slots
4) flirting with the most beautiful cocktail waitress in the world ( who got more and more beautiful with each drink she brought me
5) somewhat rotound young lady sporting two of the extra large hugh yard glasses they use for the daquiris.. like the bandeleros you would find on a mexican bandito...
6) guy describing, in detail, his idea of a very undesirable female body part, due to bad hygiene and what not, to his friend, who is leaning over the sink... dry heaving
7) guy walking out of harrahs, right in front of me, to the street and just heaves ho..
8) actually winning slots at the airport, yeah.. 45 bucks to the good ( teflon ) for the hour I was there...
9) chatting with derek and pauly
10) star trek encounter
11) monorails
12) casino impressions
13) atlantis show
14) mirage volcano ( that was it!?!?! your freaking kidding me )
15) auto show
16) eats
17) how much bourbon did I drink ( see #4 )
18) lost comb
19) stolen money
20) things I saw that made me wish I had brought my camera ( see #5 )
Well, now that I have a list, I can come back and put down my thoughts, but, I am at work, and hence, must try to catch up for the last two days.... I arrived home at about 5pm yesterday, and prolly should have started this then.. but, instead, I booted up Absolute and played some SNG's.. 3 of them... won every damn one of them too...
So for now, peace to you both. ;)
Friday, December 08, 2006
Less than 24 hours
i know I know most of all of the rest are already there... or are on there way there.. me, Im not leaving til tomorrow am... thats right.. I am missing the pre tourney fun.... wish I wasn't, but, I am a cheapskate, in my old age... not a problem tho.. cuz Pauly promised to have a couple drinks for me each night I am not there, so, I should be feeling pretty uninhibited(did I spell that right?)
Still have laundry to do before I pack.... and I suppose I should shave my head, and my face along with it..... try to look somewhat respectable for the 3 days I will be there...
Anyway, I am here sticking out the last few minutes of work.... driving me crazy.. knowing how much I need to get done before leaving tomorrow, and not having any of it done... I guess that is what I get for putting it off.. heh..
See ya'll soon!!
peace
Still have laundry to do before I pack.... and I suppose I should shave my head, and my face along with it..... try to look somewhat respectable for the 3 days I will be there...
Anyway, I am here sticking out the last few minutes of work.... driving me crazy.. knowing how much I need to get done before leaving tomorrow, and not having any of it done... I guess that is what I get for putting it off.. heh..
See ya'll soon!!
peace
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
I don't make stuff up
Hong Kong Subtitles
ACTUAL ENGLISH SUBTITLES USED IN FILMS MADE IN HONG KONG
1. I am damn unsatisfied to be killed in this way.
2. Fatty, you with your thick face have hurt my instep.
3. Gun wounds again?
4. Same old rules: no eyes, no groin.
5. A normal person wouldn't steal pituitaries.
6. Damn, I'll burn you into a BBQ chicken!
7. Take my advice, or I'll spank you without pants.
8. Who gave you the nerve to get killed here?
9. Quiet or I'll blow your throat up.
10. You always use violence. I should've ordered glutinous rice chicken.
11. I'll fire aimlessly if you don't come out!
12. You daring lousy guy.
13. Beat him out of recognizable shape!
14. I have been scared shitless too much lately.
15. I got knife scars more than the number of your leg's hair!
16. Beware! Your bones are going to be disconnected.
17. The bullets inside are very hot. Why do I feel so cold?
18. How can you use my intestines as a gift?
19. This will be of fine service for you, you bag of the scum. I am sure you will not mind that I remove your manhoods and leave them out on the dessert flour for your aunts to eat. [sic, of course]
20. Yah-hah, evil spider woman! I have captured you by the short rabbits and can now deliver you violently to your gynecologist for a thorough examination.
21. Greetings, large black person. Let us not forget to form a team up together and go into the country to inflict the pain of our karate feets on some ass of the giant lizard person.
ACTUAL ENGLISH SUBTITLES USED IN FILMS MADE IN HONG KONG
1. I am damn unsatisfied to be killed in this way.
2. Fatty, you with your thick face have hurt my instep.
3. Gun wounds again?
4. Same old rules: no eyes, no groin.
5. A normal person wouldn't steal pituitaries.
6. Damn, I'll burn you into a BBQ chicken!
7. Take my advice, or I'll spank you without pants.
8. Who gave you the nerve to get killed here?
9. Quiet or I'll blow your throat up.
10. You always use violence. I should've ordered glutinous rice chicken.
11. I'll fire aimlessly if you don't come out!
12. You daring lousy guy.
13. Beat him out of recognizable shape!
14. I have been scared shitless too much lately.
15. I got knife scars more than the number of your leg's hair!
16. Beware! Your bones are going to be disconnected.
17. The bullets inside are very hot. Why do I feel so cold?
18. How can you use my intestines as a gift?
19. This will be of fine service for you, you bag of the scum. I am sure you will not mind that I remove your manhoods and leave them out on the dessert flour for your aunts to eat. [sic, of course]
20. Yah-hah, evil spider woman! I have captured you by the short rabbits and can now deliver you violently to your gynecologist for a thorough examination.
21. Greetings, large black person. Let us not forget to form a team up together and go into the country to inflict the pain of our karate feets on some ass of the giant lizard person.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Turtles frequently turn topsy-turvy
Only a few days left until I get to be in Vegas meeting new blogger friends and old alike..
( above written 30 minutes ago)
I actually had a post in mind, but, I got called into an emergency meeting, and now I can't rememeber what I was gonna say..
peace
( above written 30 minutes ago)
I actually had a post in mind, but, I got called into an emergency meeting, and now I can't rememeber what I was gonna say..
peace
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Hero be me
Haven't nearly blogged as much as I thought I would, since I decided to get over my tradegies, mainly due to the fact that I have started playing City of Heroes again, and it pretty much has been taking up all my free time..
I try not to blog at work, as I am currently doing.. as I work for the state, and technically, its illegal to use state property for personal use... there's a thick line there, but still, I am supposed to be wiser in my old age, and more responsible.... go figure.
I still think Prison Break is currently the best new drama on television these days.. and next monday will be the last show until January.. along with the last show for Heroes as well... what the hell am I going to do on Monday nights now...
As I stated, I started playing an online game again, and this as kept me away from any online poker for the last 10 days or so... so, no news on the poker front, not that I ever had anything worthy of posting about anyway...
Still, the Winter Classic is coming up rather soon, and I am certainly stoked about that... I intend to win this time... or at least make the final table... as long as I stay in til the first break, or longer than F-Train, then I can say I did bettre than last year.
peace
I try not to blog at work, as I am currently doing.. as I work for the state, and technically, its illegal to use state property for personal use... there's a thick line there, but still, I am supposed to be wiser in my old age, and more responsible.... go figure.
I still think Prison Break is currently the best new drama on television these days.. and next monday will be the last show until January.. along with the last show for Heroes as well... what the hell am I going to do on Monday nights now...
As I stated, I started playing an online game again, and this as kept me away from any online poker for the last 10 days or so... so, no news on the poker front, not that I ever had anything worthy of posting about anyway...
Still, the Winter Classic is coming up rather soon, and I am certainly stoked about that... I intend to win this time... or at least make the final table... as long as I stay in til the first break, or longer than F-Train, then I can say I did bettre than last year.
peace
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
TV shows I try to watch all the time
or each time they are on, or whatever...
(in no particular order)
Heroes
Prison Break ( by far my favorite )
Jericho
Amazing Race
Survivor
Las Vegas
NCIS
The Unit
Deal or No Deal ( usually conflicts with one of the above, so only during commericials )
Meerkat Manor ( not really, just wanted to sound trendy )
(in no particular order)
Heroes
Prison Break ( by far my favorite )
Jericho
Amazing Race
Survivor
Las Vegas
NCIS
The Unit
Deal or No Deal ( usually conflicts with one of the above, so only during commericials )
Meerkat Manor ( not really, just wanted to sound trendy )
Monday, November 20, 2006
What does Mad Max have in common with penguins?
I saw Happy Feet yesterday.. was stunned.. instead of me stumbling thru a half ass attempt at a review... let me share this article I found at The Hollywood Reporter:
By Anne Thompson
Nov 3, 2006
Seven years ago, "Happy Feet" was just a gleam in the eye of Australian filmmaker George Miller, who produced both "Babe" films and directed 1998's "Babe: Pig in the City."Miller, whose other claim to fame was the "Mad Max" series, is a genial, sweet-tempered soul with wild curly hair and owlish black-rimmed glasses. (He started his career as a doctor.) Miller's foot-tapping, CG-animated musical "Happy Feet," about singing and dancing Emperor penguins, finally reaches theaters Nov. 17. The seemingly simple and satisfying hero's journey was actually devilishly tough to create and expensive to produce, at a cost of nearly $100 million.Miller studied the structure and interplay of camera, character and music in classic film musicals as well as such darkly moral Disney classics as "Pinocchio" and "Dumbo" as he crafted a story that combines family dysfunction, romance, dazzling vistas, dangerous action, musical numbers and global environmental politics."It's a film with a lot of singing and dancing rather than a classic musical," Miller says. "You're trying to layer, weave and shape the story so that it looks self-evident, clear and simple, but that belies a complex architecture. It's a Rubik's cube. All stories worth their weight, that have impact and endure, must have more to them than meets the eye."
Back in 2001, Miller was meeting with Alan Horn, Warner Bros. president and chief operating officer, when his producer, Doug Mitchell, impulsively whipped out the "Happy Feet" screenplay and asked Horn to read it while the filmmakers flew back to Sydney. Miller didn't want Horn to read such an early draft. But by the time they landed, Warners wanted to fund their little Antarctica movie about an outsider Emperor penguin who couldn't sing like the rest of his tribe but was compelled to dance.
But first, Miller had to shoot the fourth "Mad Max" film, "Fury Road," in Africa with Mel Gibson. He was two months away from principal photography in 2003 when the war in Iraq began and the value of the American dollar against the Australian dollar plunged. Suddenly, Miller couldn't ship his equipment to Africa. "Fury Road" was scuttled. Horn promptly ordered Miller to get moving on his Emperor penguins movie. The director was fascinated by the amazing landscape of Antarctica and the way of life of the penguin community, massing in the thousands to endure the frigid Antarctic winters and keep their eggs warm. It was the same drama that turned Luc Jacquet's documentary "March of the Penguins" into a 2005 sleeper hit.
When Warner Independent Pictures acquired "March" early last year, Horn called Miller to make sure he was OK with it. Miller figures it only served to prove that his subject was inherently commercial. Unlike most tentpoles, his movie isn't a sequel to anything. It's original."If they'd been singing and dancing," he says, "I'd be upset.""Happy Feet," which Miller wrote with old collaborators and co-directors Judy Morris and Warren Coleman and new scribe John Collee, didn't start out as a musical at all. "When I realized that penguins were all attracted by each individual song," Miller says, "it became a musical."Miller originally conceived the project as a blend of live-action and animation a la the "Babe" movies.
But after his frequent cinematographer Andrew Lesnie tipped him off to what Peter Jackson was doing over in New Zealand at Weta Digital with motion-capture technology and the first "The Lord of the Rings" film, Miller visited Weta, saw Gollum and realized his problems were solved."You can't train penguins to dance or sing, unlike pigs, which are domesticated animals," he says. "The moment I saw motion capture I said, 'I can get my dancing penguins.' "It was up to Miller's 27-year-old company, Kennedy Miller Prods., to create an animation studio from scratch. In 2001, computer animation was nowhere near what it is today. It took years of sweat, tears and R&D to form such complex operations as Pixar or Chris Wedge's Blue Sky ("Ice Age," "Robots").
It took Kennedy Miller more than two years to build the infrastructure, hardware, software, pipeline and data-processing capacity. And with the glut of animated movies going into production, competition was fierce for top-tier animation talent. Miller and Mitchell, working closely with CEO Zareh Nalbandian, painstakingly built the FX house Animal Logic into an CG animation studio."The first two years were hard," Miller says. "We didn't evolve through making shorts. We had a standing start. We had no campus. We were figuring out how to do it. Inventing the culture."But slowly, the technology improved as they went. At first the movie was simpler and more stylized; Miller kept to wide shots because he wasn't sure that a character like his fuzzy lead penguin, Mumble, with 6 million feathers, could stand up to the detail of an extreme close-up.
But the movie got more and more sophisticated and realistic as the technology advanced, and eventually close-ups were doable. "Our ambition expanded," Miller says.Miller worked with his global hodgepodge of animators, whose average age was 26, as though they were his actors, responding to what they gave him. At first they had a tendency to do low-rent imitations of DreamWorks or Pixar films, but "we had to push it technically," he says. "This was like Olympics diving: the highest degree of difficulty. Once we got it going, it was wonderful." By the time they got to the film's frenetic final months, "they were doing magnificent stuff at an amazing rate," he says.It helped that Miller landed such a fine voice cast, led by fellow Aussies Nicole Kidman -- who had acted in several Kennedy Miller productions, including "Dead Calm" -- Hugh Jackman and Hugo Weaving, plus Americans Elijah Wood, Robin Williams and Brittany Murphy. Miller flew to New York and Los Angeles to grab taping sessions, putting as many actors together in a room as he could. Williams riffed and effortlessly played two parts in the same scene.
Sadly, popular Australian naturalist Steve Irwin completed the taping of his role as an elephant seal just a month before his untimely death in September. Miller dedicates the film to Irwin and the late Australian playwright Nick Enright, who wrote "Lorenzo's Oil."For the elaborate dance sequences, Animal Logic and choreographers Savion Glover and Kelley Abbey turned into mathematicians as they devised a huge repeating grid of individually dancing penguins. Every time they showed Miller what they could do, he'd tell them to add a few more thousand. "I can't sing or dance," Miller says, "but luckily enough we had a lot of people who could."Ace percussionist Glover, covered with white dots, tap-danced on a wooden soundstage, surrounded by infra-red motion capture cameras. Microphones under the floor recorded his flurries of taps. Technology turned those sounds into taps on slushy snow or hard ice. And computers enabled Miller to watch Glover and as many as 15 other dancers' moves on a monitor, instantly transformed into their animated penguin characters dancing in Antarctica, complete with shadows. The animators and the choreographers could watch what they were doing and make adjustments.
Amazingly, Miller was able to land all the iconic music he wanted, from Queen's "Someone to Love" to Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel." The exhilarating underwater penguin ballet is accompanied by the Beach Boys. Prince not only gave the project "Kiss," but after he saw the film, offered a new song for the closing credits."The music had to be disparate and ethnically eclectic, with rhythms and dramatic structure that fitted the contours of the story I was trying to tell," Miller says. "The songs and dance must tell the story and push the narrative."
By Anne Thompson
Nov 3, 2006
Seven years ago, "Happy Feet" was just a gleam in the eye of Australian filmmaker George Miller, who produced both "Babe" films and directed 1998's "Babe: Pig in the City."Miller, whose other claim to fame was the "Mad Max" series, is a genial, sweet-tempered soul with wild curly hair and owlish black-rimmed glasses. (He started his career as a doctor.) Miller's foot-tapping, CG-animated musical "Happy Feet," about singing and dancing Emperor penguins, finally reaches theaters Nov. 17. The seemingly simple and satisfying hero's journey was actually devilishly tough to create and expensive to produce, at a cost of nearly $100 million.Miller studied the structure and interplay of camera, character and music in classic film musicals as well as such darkly moral Disney classics as "Pinocchio" and "Dumbo" as he crafted a story that combines family dysfunction, romance, dazzling vistas, dangerous action, musical numbers and global environmental politics."It's a film with a lot of singing and dancing rather than a classic musical," Miller says. "You're trying to layer, weave and shape the story so that it looks self-evident, clear and simple, but that belies a complex architecture. It's a Rubik's cube. All stories worth their weight, that have impact and endure, must have more to them than meets the eye."
Back in 2001, Miller was meeting with Alan Horn, Warner Bros. president and chief operating officer, when his producer, Doug Mitchell, impulsively whipped out the "Happy Feet" screenplay and asked Horn to read it while the filmmakers flew back to Sydney. Miller didn't want Horn to read such an early draft. But by the time they landed, Warners wanted to fund their little Antarctica movie about an outsider Emperor penguin who couldn't sing like the rest of his tribe but was compelled to dance.
But first, Miller had to shoot the fourth "Mad Max" film, "Fury Road," in Africa with Mel Gibson. He was two months away from principal photography in 2003 when the war in Iraq began and the value of the American dollar against the Australian dollar plunged. Suddenly, Miller couldn't ship his equipment to Africa. "Fury Road" was scuttled. Horn promptly ordered Miller to get moving on his Emperor penguins movie. The director was fascinated by the amazing landscape of Antarctica and the way of life of the penguin community, massing in the thousands to endure the frigid Antarctic winters and keep their eggs warm. It was the same drama that turned Luc Jacquet's documentary "March of the Penguins" into a 2005 sleeper hit.
When Warner Independent Pictures acquired "March" early last year, Horn called Miller to make sure he was OK with it. Miller figures it only served to prove that his subject was inherently commercial. Unlike most tentpoles, his movie isn't a sequel to anything. It's original."If they'd been singing and dancing," he says, "I'd be upset.""Happy Feet," which Miller wrote with old collaborators and co-directors Judy Morris and Warren Coleman and new scribe John Collee, didn't start out as a musical at all. "When I realized that penguins were all attracted by each individual song," Miller says, "it became a musical."Miller originally conceived the project as a blend of live-action and animation a la the "Babe" movies.
But after his frequent cinematographer Andrew Lesnie tipped him off to what Peter Jackson was doing over in New Zealand at Weta Digital with motion-capture technology and the first "The Lord of the Rings" film, Miller visited Weta, saw Gollum and realized his problems were solved."You can't train penguins to dance or sing, unlike pigs, which are domesticated animals," he says. "The moment I saw motion capture I said, 'I can get my dancing penguins.' "It was up to Miller's 27-year-old company, Kennedy Miller Prods., to create an animation studio from scratch. In 2001, computer animation was nowhere near what it is today. It took years of sweat, tears and R&D to form such complex operations as Pixar or Chris Wedge's Blue Sky ("Ice Age," "Robots").
It took Kennedy Miller more than two years to build the infrastructure, hardware, software, pipeline and data-processing capacity. And with the glut of animated movies going into production, competition was fierce for top-tier animation talent. Miller and Mitchell, working closely with CEO Zareh Nalbandian, painstakingly built the FX house Animal Logic into an CG animation studio."The first two years were hard," Miller says. "We didn't evolve through making shorts. We had a standing start. We had no campus. We were figuring out how to do it. Inventing the culture."But slowly, the technology improved as they went. At first the movie was simpler and more stylized; Miller kept to wide shots because he wasn't sure that a character like his fuzzy lead penguin, Mumble, with 6 million feathers, could stand up to the detail of an extreme close-up.
But the movie got more and more sophisticated and realistic as the technology advanced, and eventually close-ups were doable. "Our ambition expanded," Miller says.Miller worked with his global hodgepodge of animators, whose average age was 26, as though they were his actors, responding to what they gave him. At first they had a tendency to do low-rent imitations of DreamWorks or Pixar films, but "we had to push it technically," he says. "This was like Olympics diving: the highest degree of difficulty. Once we got it going, it was wonderful." By the time they got to the film's frenetic final months, "they were doing magnificent stuff at an amazing rate," he says.It helped that Miller landed such a fine voice cast, led by fellow Aussies Nicole Kidman -- who had acted in several Kennedy Miller productions, including "Dead Calm" -- Hugh Jackman and Hugo Weaving, plus Americans Elijah Wood, Robin Williams and Brittany Murphy. Miller flew to New York and Los Angeles to grab taping sessions, putting as many actors together in a room as he could. Williams riffed and effortlessly played two parts in the same scene.
Sadly, popular Australian naturalist Steve Irwin completed the taping of his role as an elephant seal just a month before his untimely death in September. Miller dedicates the film to Irwin and the late Australian playwright Nick Enright, who wrote "Lorenzo's Oil."For the elaborate dance sequences, Animal Logic and choreographers Savion Glover and Kelley Abbey turned into mathematicians as they devised a huge repeating grid of individually dancing penguins. Every time they showed Miller what they could do, he'd tell them to add a few more thousand. "I can't sing or dance," Miller says, "but luckily enough we had a lot of people who could."Ace percussionist Glover, covered with white dots, tap-danced on a wooden soundstage, surrounded by infra-red motion capture cameras. Microphones under the floor recorded his flurries of taps. Technology turned those sounds into taps on slushy snow or hard ice. And computers enabled Miller to watch Glover and as many as 15 other dancers' moves on a monitor, instantly transformed into their animated penguin characters dancing in Antarctica, complete with shadows. The animators and the choreographers could watch what they were doing and make adjustments.
Amazingly, Miller was able to land all the iconic music he wanted, from Queen's "Someone to Love" to Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel." The exhilarating underwater penguin ballet is accompanied by the Beach Boys. Prince not only gave the project "Kiss," but after he saw the film, offered a new song for the closing credits."The music had to be disparate and ethnically eclectic, with rhythms and dramatic structure that fitted the contours of the story I was trying to tell," Miller says. "The songs and dance must tell the story and push the narrative."
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