Did anyone see Oprah today?

Tom Cruise was on to promote his new movie War of the Worlds as well as his "relationship" with Katie Holmes. Now I know that everyone out there thinks that he's gay and that this is just another stunt to take the heat off of those rumors.
As for me? I happen to like the guy and could care less if he was gay or not. I've also liked Katie Holmes as well ever since she came on the scene as Joey on Dawson's Creek. And normally I like this type of Hollywood coupling thing that's going on here but something just doesn't feel right.
For starters when he came out he was all charged up. Part of it was probably because Oprah's audience is completely nuts. I swear they must pump in some funny gas in that studio that works those housewives up to a fever pitch. Then there he was, flashing that crazed smile of his and fist pumping like a madman. I honestly thought that he was high and that Oprah might be in for a "lively" interview.
As the show went on Oprah would ask him things about the movie but I knew that she was dying to get to the segment where she asks him about Katie. When that time came Tom decides to drop the 'L' bomb on everyone as if he was trying to fire off a pre-emptive strike of sorts. Oprah then took that as her cue. If you see the tape he never really answers her questions. When asked how they met, you can almost see Cruise starting to think of a good story to tell but nothing comes out. Maybe he wants to keep that stuff private? Perhaps. But he kept holding his hands to head and grinning that Cheshire cat grin of his in the attempt to buy more time whenever a new question presented itself. He also kept doing this annoying drop-to-a-knee-knock-on-the-floor routine.
Finally towards the end of the show Oprah decides to try and surprise Tom by telling him that Katie is in the building. Tom proceeds to tell Oprah that "she's going nuts right now" in part to explain why she didn't emerge out of the dressing room right away as well as to convey that he really "knows" her by now. Maybe she was still trying to cover up that nasty herpes outbreak that was circulated all over the internet.
He then marches back stage to claim his beloved Katie and he kinda puts her in a weird hammer lock and marches her out to Oprah. Of course they are all smiles when they get to Oprah and the audience is in a frenzy. They appear to be a lovey dovey couple but I after seeing what I saw today I have to say I am a little more skeptical than I was before.

God I Hate It When...

The Mets lose to the Yankees. Especially when it's a day game. It just puts me in a salty mood for the rest of the day. And when the Mets blew a 3-1 lead in the 8th by committing 2 silly errors, that really gets my goat.
Gotta shake it off though since they have a big road trip coming up against the front running Braves and Marlins. Can't afford to get caught up in this latest setback since the Skanks are not a division foe.
Still basking in the afterglow of seeing Episode III (twice). I'm glad that George (Lucas) came back with a movie that was worthy of all the buildup for a change. I realize that I am a lot more invested in the whole saga than a lot of folks but I honestly felt that this was a stellar movie. Granted, this is coming from someone that felt compelled to wear his Darth Vader voice changer to the theater. Aside from some painfully awkward dialogue, there isn't much I can find fault with Revenge of the Sith. As a self admitted Star Wars geek I felt that all the major questions that I had going into the viewing were answered. And that's all I could ever really ask for.

The Force Beckons...

The day started out harmless enough. After I checked my email I went to the bank to deposit my state tax return when I felt a strange feeling take hold of me as I approached the 7-Eleven by my house. Before I knew it I was inside paying for a Darth Vader Slurpee. It happened that fast. It's pretty much an oversized Coke dressed up in an oversized plastic cup adorned with the head of Lord Vader himself. Not bad for $1.99. What can I say? The Force made me do it. Ok maybe it didn't but it's definitely getting to be that time. I'm really close to reaching critical mass at this point.
Spoke to one of my dear old friends from the neighborhood today: Donnie Fatone. It's been a while since I last ran into him in the city. Today is his 30th bday and so I had to welcome him to the club. Back in the day we were always together. We were pretty much attached at the hip. I spent many a night at his house for dinner, since his mom was an incredible cook. I would then have to ride my bike and have dinner at my house but my mom eventually caught on and gave me crap for eating there all the time.
Once I went to college though things started to change. I was a year ahead of him and got caught up with being in college and even though he wound up going to NYU as well, things were just different between us. I can't explain it but at some point we both crossed a line where we didn't "need" each other anymore. It happens all the time I suppose which is bittesweet now that I think about it.
With that being said, I look back at that time when we were partners in crime and can't think of a better person to have gone through the Wonder Years with. And now that we're both older and supposedly wiser, hopefully we can get our act together and round up the old gang and hang out some more.

Talk about a full day

Ever since the fire I promised myself that I was going to live every day like it was my last. Sure it sounds like a cliche but I assure you that I really mean it. I bring this up because yesterday was one of those days that really had me making the most out of my allotted 24 hours.
First thing on my plate was the Mets-Cards game with Mark and his brother Carl. It had been ages since I saw either of them and since Pedro was pitching it was a no brainer not to take Mark up on his offer. You couldn't have asked for better weather either and had it not been for Roberto Hernandez everything would've played out perfectly. Instead, the Mets lost 7-6 dropping my season record to 2-2.
Next up was to drink my sorrows away at this Upper East Side bar crawl. I was meeting up with Beispel and Kelly and since I had 6 beers in me from the game, I figured I might as well keep it going. During the course of the night Rocco and Jawn met up with us as we continued our drinking binge. One thing lead to another and several bars later I found myself in dire need of a real meal. At some point I apparently bet Jawn $50 that Felix Trinidad was going to knockout Winky Wright. Lesson learned: never bet against a guy named "Winky". Good luck collecting on that one big boy!
We went to Brother Jimmy's and threw back a few pitchers as well as one of their trademark fish bowls, while devouring a couple of orders of french fries and an order of nachos. I was really glad that Kelly hung in there with us til the end. She's a really cool chick, which I already knew, but it was great that the other guys got to see that she wasn't as reserved as they thought she was. This is where the evening started to get interesting....only not for me.
Since I had started drinking so early I was really starting to feel the effects of all the alcohol that I went through and I felt myself slowing down. And that was unfortunate since Beispel was trying to get me to stay out longer because he was going to meet up with a friend of his who happened to be in the company of a porn star! I can't remember her name but normally I would've sucked it up and saw where the rest of the night took me.
Unfortunately, my liver had a meeting with my brain and they decided that the best course of action for me was to get my ass back to Long Island. Needless to say that turned out to be quite an odyssey. First I puked my head off in the LIRR bathroom and then had to wait for the 1:09 am train to Mineola. I shoulda known something was wrong since that train wasn't listed as the Ronkonkoma line but merely said there was a connection to it. As it turned out I had to get off the train at Mineola, board a bus with a bunch of other drunk Long Islanders to Hicksville, get out there and then board a train to Ronkonkoma.
When it was all said it done I was home at a little after 3 am wishing that I had stuck it out with Beispel but instead was grateful that I was in my bed. So in review: baseball game, bar crawl, massive alcohol consumption, squandered a chance to meet a real live porn star, 2 and half hour commute back to Long Island.
Now that my friends is one heckuva day.

Big Toe Woes

Once again I am plagued by the damn big toe on my right foot. What makes matters worse is that I am going to the Mets-Cards game tomorrow and I don't know if I'll be in tip top shape for it. The last time I limped my way through a Met game they lost to the hated Braves. I just popped a couple of liquid Advils so hopefully that'll do the trick. At least the pain isn't as bad as it was a few weeks ago when I was thinking that my knee was also screwed up.
As if my nagging injury isn't enough to worry about, I have to worry about whether or not the game gets rained out. It's supposed to be warm out at least but still, I want to see Pedro pitch in ideal conditions against one of the best lineups in all of baseball. So please Mother Nature, if you're listening, can you please hold up on the wet stuff til tomorrow night?
In addition to seeing Pedro, it'll be great seeing Mark and Ed as well. I can't think of the last time the 3 of us all hung out together. It's funny how time flies some times.

She's everywhere and nowhere...

Without warnng she appears in my mind's eye.
She resides there, perfect, in my subconscious.
That feathery brown hair, those preposperous blue eyes,
The small constellation of freckles,
That spread across her perfectly oval face.
The coup de gras of course was her smile, ah yes that smile.
She graced me with it numerous times but I was never worthy of it.

Whenever I think of her, it's often with hope in my heart.
Hope that I'll see her again one day.
Hope that she thinks of me as I think of her.
My time with her was all too brief and yet I am richer for it.
Is it greed that governs my heart?
To want something that was not meant to be?

Chillin with Britney...

Relax, it's not what you think. I just felt compelled to write about the dream I had last night. I can't explain it rationally. All I know is at various points of the dream I was lying in bed with her and playing with her hair, cuddling, all that good stuff. It was almost like I was her lover, if you can believe that.
Then at other points she would walk around my house, wearing nothing but my Radiohead t-shirt, as if she'd been here before, while some of her dancers practiced in my living room and treated me like one of their own.
I'm thinking that in the dream they were on the road and they just decided to stop at my house since it was on the way. Still, no one spoke about any concerts and come to think of it they didn't really seem to care about where they were heading.
The whole time Britney was there she didn't mention her hubby and as far as I could tell she wasn't pregnant either. I remember telling myself not to ruin this by asking her about Kevin or the baby. She had long black hair which was weird but in a way it looked pretty good (go figure). There weren't even any paparazzi at all camped out on my lawn or my backyard. The whole time it just felt like we were really into each other and that's all that mattered.

Unfotunately, the dream ended with me not knowing why she was there or why she felt compelled to bring her dancers with her. Oh well, it sure beats counting sheep.

Who is the Crimson Bastard?

Well now that I sort of have a hang at this whole blogging thing, I think it's about time I let you all know who or should I say what the Crimson Bastard is.

The name came to me almost 5 years ago when I was still living in Queens with Mark, Ed and G. I can't remember how we got on the subject but I was talking to Ed and G about Captain America and I couldn't recall what the name of his nemesis was. Instead of Red Skull, I blurted out "You know who I'm talking about. That Crimson....Bastard!" Once I was corrected I didn't seem to care because I kinda liked the sound of The Crimson Bastard.

Shortly afterwards I thought about making him into a comic book character. I even went so far as writing a brief back story about him. Unfortunately I have yet to fully finish that story and like a lot of my 'grand' ideas over the years remains on the shelf. Still, the name has always been with me and now I've kinda adopted the name as my alter ego.

In case you didn't know this about me, I have a lot of free time on my hands.

Nothing Like a good old fashioned...

Bachelor party to rally the troops and circle the wagons for a much needed night out. Between most of the guys being married, married with children or living out of NY, it's rare that the Hayden Hall crew get together like that. The times are few and far between that's for sure. The fact that it was Gebbie's bachelor party, it's no wonder we were able to get most of the fellas to come out to Lorde Gregory's Ale House (you gotta like that name). I mean everyone loves Gebbie and I for one am not afraid to admit it. He's the kinda friend that every guy needs because he always has your back. And while I may have seen a little more than Nick and Gebbie than I bargained for, I have to say it was really great seeing everyone again, especially when strippers are involved.

Without violating the guy code I won't be able to divulge what transpired at Lorde Gregory's, but I will say that Rob fulfilled his best man duties to the hilt. Between the bar food, open bar and "entertainment" I"m pretty sure that everyone there got their money's worth. I know it sounds like I'm being redundant but it really was great seeing the guys (Bova, Morris, Jay, Ed, Gebbie, Nick, Gabe, KJ and even Brusco) again. The only ones missing were Julian and Jim, hopefully they'll be able to make it to the wedding. And what I miss most is the way we all relate to each other. I mean it's been awhile but we all just seemed to pick up where we left off, finishing each others jokes, like we were back at NYU.

On the disabled list...

Part of the reason why I've slacked off this time is due to some nagging basketball injuries I sustained a week and half ago. My injuries prevented me from playing in the 3rd Tony Regina bball classic (all proceeds go to his family's foundation). I still can't bend my right knee all the way but at least my right foot isn't killing me anymore. I guess mother nature is trying to subtley tell me that I'm not getting any younger. And boy do I get the hint. I just hope that with some more rest my knee will be ok. I'm trying to avoid having a doctor look at it since I still don't have health insurance. I hate not being able to see someone for my pain. I feel so helpless sometimes. I really need to do something about that. I'm at an age where it's ridiculous not to have any health coverage. Anyway...
Now that it's finally May that means I'm about to get into full Star Wars mode. I'm trying hard not to get too excited but I know that I won't be able to hold back too much longer. Especially since this will probably the last time I'll be able to geek out like this again. It's finally coming to an end and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I've been a fan for so long that it's kinda weird thinking of a world without another Star Wars movie to look forward to? I guess I'll cross that bridge when I have to.