G1 Climax Day One
New Japan’s annual G1 Climax Tournament, undoubtedly the biggest annual tournament in wrestling, began yesterday, and we had the usual mix of hot matches and upsets on the first night of competition.
Totally expected. Makabe will likely end up with 0 points, but he may get a single point, if later results indicate a pattern.
This was a surprise, but it might not be a big one. With Tanahashi losing to Takeshi Rikio at the NOAH Dome Show, it’s possible that New Japan didn’t want a guy they plan on giving a big push to, Yano, losing to a guy who himself just lost to an outsider. With that said, I think the best Yano seems destined to get out of the rest of his matches his a win over Makabe, if that, and clean jobs in the rest. Tanahashi will probably win most of the rest of his matches. This is the result that makes it possible that Makabe could theoretically get at least one point, with a possible draw against someone.
This is the Day One match I want to see the most. I’m a big fan of Nishimura and Suzuki, and watching them wrestle for thirty minutes can only be a good thing.
The result isn’t that much of a surprise. The length of the match is, but I would put that down to them not wanting to risk Fujinami going long in matches that don’t need to go any length of time.
The result and length of the match is no surprise, as Fujita should only go long against super workers, which Goto is not, and any losses Fujita suffers in the G1 should be against potential challengers for the IWGP belt, and Goto doesn’t warrant a title shot by any stretch of the imagination.
No surprises here, as Nakamura seems set for another big push, as he prepares to take another foray into MMA, which is a terrible idea.
Not much of a surprise here, as both men seem assured of finishing well, so either man could have won here. Not a definitive win for Chono, as he got the pinfall with a cradle rather than a big move, but a win nonetheless.
The only logical result here, Kawada making an impact with his first ever G1 match with a win over Tenzan. This is exactly how the 2003 tournament began, with Tenzan losing to the outsider. Tenzan went on to win the 2003 tournament, and with Tenzan predicting a third consecutive G1 Climax win and being in dire need of being rebuilt, we could see the same results this year too.
The big matches of the second day, which takes place tomorrow, see Kawada take on Fujinami, Tenzan take on Chono, and, in a rematch of their IWGP Title match last June, Fujita takes on Tanahashi. I’m thinking we’ll see Kawada, Tenzan and Fujita walk out the victors, though it is possible Chono might win against Tenzan. Other bouts see Yoshie take on Yano (Yoshie winning or a draw), Nakamura take on Makabe (Nakamura winning), Goto take on Nakanishi (Nakanishi winning), Nishimura taking on Kashin (I have a feeling Kashin will win this, but I hope I am wrong), and Nagata v Suzuki (Nagata winning).
This years G1 started off well, and I’m hoping that continues, as this years G1 really needs to be kickass, not only for New Japan, but wrestling in general.
What...what...you mean that he has to give up Eddies son?...snore...
Here are the results:
MNMJ vs. Booker T & Chris Benoit w/Sharmell
The Match was better than it had to be: ***
Rey Mysterio vs. Christian
*** stars...again better than it had to be.
Its a tossup this week. It depends on who you think had the better 5 matches.
Some WWE news of note and nobody likes when movesets are downgraded.
from PWInsider
Some Indy News:
Ok, now to Puro:
And the first link is:
NSFW And NSF56K
Results for The First Part of the G1 Tourney:
Wrestle-1 Results:
Ok...so now to the Fire Pro News, and its very intresting.
First off, last week- we had a masked man talking about how the game is going. Well, his name is Mask De Spike. (actually, hes Dino from DDT-you know...the gay dude...) he metions there will be a new hard core match, along with the all of the wreslers avaiable. (by last count, it was 327- but it could be more than that) The new hardcore match is the mine field match, made famous by FMW. He also stated that there will be another version of Fire Pro in the future, and that will have accdental selling...
This weeks update has new pictures and new videos, plus more info from Masked De Spike. I will have more details and the week before the new game comes out, all the videos will the linked here for all to see (I know there are more moves...)
Thats all for this week...
Since I have watched a few episodes of Deadwood and have absolutely adored it on every level, I shall now put it in the coveted top 10 - thus bumping Survivor off the list.
2. Lost - tremendous first season, the last episode had me freaking out which put it over the top, for me. Outstanding in every single category.
1. Angel - I forgot how much I loved this show, but this probably should be #1 cause I freaked out more for this show than any other. Fucking wicked consistant, Season 2-5 was a fucking masterpiece. This should be #1. I am changing it.
3. Gilmore Girls - I get this warm feeling after watching every episode. I think I will have to write an seperate post to explain how fucking good this show is.
4. Firefly - Gah. Fallen! I'll explain this in another post. I'll say right now that after seeing every episode at least 6 times, I can't bring myself to watch any of them. They seem a lil cold to me now.
5. Deadwood - When LOTC introduced me to the very notion of watching the show, I asked "does it have any supernatural elements?" he said no. As you may notice, only 3 of my top 10 are set in our current reality (though Gilmore Girls is very much not of our current reality, the pop culture references ground it there). I asked if there was any gimmick - a hook - that would make it interesting. He said Deadwood is a town built on the basis of a goldrush, and since its on Indian land there is no law. Not bad, not bad, there's enough there to attract different kind of folk but no vampires? no klingons? no black rock? How on earth would I ever enjoy such a show?
Interesting Characters, you cocksucker.
Great acting, you fucking cunt.
Al fucking Swearengen, you motherfucker.
Oh, and a way to tie together two characters who seemingly have nothing in common and still manage to make them believably bond and thus form a rich tapestry across the entire town where you could connect the dots and connect everyone in Deadwood together in 2 degrees or less. Deadwood has made me re-evaluate my entire list to see where it goes, because to be honest, it has made TV suck a lot more because it's so fucking good. The bar is set very high, as are my expectations.
6. CSI - Amazingly, I can find replay value in this show. Grissom is my hero, I love all the cast and the way they interact. I must see Season 5, though, as I've missed most of it. Their peak episodes are fantastic.
7. The Shield - I love silly and fantastical shows, as this list proves. This is the only show that isn't like that. It's serious, it's straight, and there are no supernatural forces. Unless you call Cleetus Van Damme a supernatural force. It's a badass show with some great acting and well written stories and plot developments.
8. Buffy - Too many "poorish" seasons for me to put any higher, and I've been well removed from the great years. Still, to make it in the top 10 is an acheivement, and it deserves to be here on season 5 alone. One of these days I'll pick up some Buffy DVDs and revisit and see why it belonged higher.
9. Star Trek DS9 - I had to pick a star trek, since I love Voyager and Next Gen as wel, but this stands out for having thee best star trek episode, as well as being a lot more consistent.
10. Carnivale - I need to see Season 2, but Season 1 was really fucking good. Some have said that they slow played it too much, but I enjoyed it. No one particular episode stands out, but rather, the entire story is what I remember best.
I'm having somewhat of an early life "crisis' in that I have no direction and am not sure how I want to live my life.
My ambitious side desires that I become a productive member of society, working in a meaningful profession and making a difference in the lives of those around me and society in general.
Conversely, my cynical side says that "nothing matters because we are all going to die anyways" and in turn, pushes me towards a lifestyle of enjoying the moment and apathy towards work.
My ambitious side wants me to read books so that I may acquire knowledge and grow in the future, while my cynical side wants me to waste time playing video games. I think you get the picture so anyways....
I'm currently allowing my ambitious side to captain the ship that is my life, as I'm in college and working hard to put together a top shelf resume but the cynical side is slowly pulling at my conscience. I'm faced with the question: will the hours spent hitting the books, working throughout the week, and constantly forcing myself to grow and adapt to function in both the workplace and society be worth it in the end? As life is relatively brief, is it not better to "buck the system" and live a simple life spending time "hanging out", traveling, and accumulating memories?
Essentially, I can't tell if my cynical side is bread from immaturity and that living such a life would leave me unfulfilled when I grow older; OR if my cynical side is enlightened and has given me the early realization that the wear and tear of the life society promotes is a waste of our short time on earth and that in old age I'd be regretful of all the time I had spent working if I lived according to my ambitious side.
Feedback???
NOAH Destiny
Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Mitsuo Momota and Katsuhiko Nakajima v Masashi Aoyagi, Takashi Sugiura and Suwa
This was an enjoyable opener, with good moves from both teams. Finish saw Suwa pin Kikuchi with a pedigree, that looked great.
Tamon Honda and Go Shiozaki v Takeshi Morishima and Mohammed Yone
Shiozaki looked good here, and he should do really well in the future. The match itself was decent enough, with Yone pinning Shiozaki after a kinniku buster.
Masao Inoue, Kishin Kawabata, Akitoshi Saito and Shiro Koshinaka v Akira Taue, Takuma Sano, Jun Izumida and Haruka Eigen
Not bad, but kind of just 'there', Inoue pinned Izumida after an ax bomber lariat.
Black Mask v Mushiking Terry
This match had some great high flying moves, but little in the way of transitions or psychology. These were two characters aimed at kids, and to that end it did it's job, as they kids were into it. Terry won with a german suplex.
KENTA v Yoshinobu Kanemaru for the GHC Jr title
This was good stuff, and it included a sick looking spot with Kanemaru coming off the second rope and catching KENTA with a leaping DDT and KENTA coming straight down on his head. The other highlight of the match was KENTA hitting Kanemaru with a flying knee and Kanemaru taking a 360 bump. KENTA picked up the win, and the GHC Jr Title, with another flying knee.
Jun Akiyama and Makoto Hashi v Minoru Suzuki and Naomichi Marafuji for the GHC tag titles
This was a really great match, that went over 20 minutes. Nothing too wild in terms of moves, but the story of the match was Akiyama and Hashi fighting to not only win the tag titles, but to stay a team, as they vowed never to team again if they lost. The crowd really got into this near the end, and there were some great near falls. In the end, Marafuji nailed Hashi with a shiranui off the top rope to get the win.
Hiroshi Tanahashi v Takeshi Rikio for the GHC title
This was above average, but that was all down to Tanahashi who worked his ass off to get something out of Rikio. Rikio just does not have it to be GHC champion, and he absolutely is not main event material. Sad to say that Rikio picked up the win with his muso, and while it's understandable why Rikio retained, they have to get the belt off of him fast, because he's doing less than nothing to make the title mean something.
Genichiro Tenryu v Yoshinari Ogawa
Fun stuff, all due to Tenryu being the greatest 53-year old badass on the planet. Tenryu picked up the win after shotgun lariat.
Kensuke Sasaki v Kenta Kobashi
OUCH!!! These two just beat the piss out of each other, with the highlight being a five-minute portion in the middle of the match where they just stood there, going back and forth with super stiff chops. After that was done, you could see bruises and welts on both their chests, and it even looked like Sasaki's chest was getting scarred. The big spot of the match was Sasaki hitting Kobashi with a Northern lights bomb off the apron. The finish saw Kobashi hit 4 spinning chops, get this weird smile on his face before hitting a fifth one, and then finally hitting a stiff lariat for the pin. Both men got a standing ovation after the match, which was more than deserved. This is one to go out of your way to see.
Toshiaki Kawada v Mitsuharu Misawa
Kawada and Misawa were in a bad position having to follow the previous match, and they couldn't rise to the occasion. The match was ok, with all of their usual spots, but it wasn't ever going to live up to the reputation of their previous matches, and coming right after a MOTY candidate didn't help things. The finish saw Kawada kick out of a some hard elbows, before Misawa hit a final super hard elbow to get the win. Another standing ovation followed, though it was borne more out of nostalgia and respect than the quality of the match.
Overall, I'd give Destiny a solid thumbs up, and it's easily the best major event of the year so far.
Well, I'm using th blog again, because I have something I want to get off my chest. I just went with my family on vacation, and I'm regretting it. The room was nie, the surrounding area was dull, but I could live with it. My problem is...my little brother's frog died while we were gone. I told my mom I wanted to stay home to feed it, but she said no, it'll be fine and I was threatened that I would have to walk every bit of the non bus and train portions of my trips to work and school if I didn't come because my mother is a control nut who has to get her way, so I went, and I was right, the frog died, and I got yelled for feeling bad about it. I'm usually not bothered by a lot of things but this was one of my mother's lower moments. At least i think so, but please, comment if you have an opinion
Hey to those who decided to read my blog. I know I'm kinda new to the forums so I hope me creating my own blog won't be a problem.
I've read a lot of reviews recently for Coldplay's 'new' album, X&Y. Most of them stating just how nice Coldplay are, and how lovely their music sounds. Their new single is fairly listenable, in a way, and they're the first British guitar band in ages to get somewhere in America.
So why do I detest them with every fibre of my being?
Well, it's a hard question, but one I can answer. For a start, they have no literally ambition whatsoever. I'm not talking about wanting commercial success, but rather a desire to stretch their abilities, their audience, and the format of music. They've risen from an unspectacular and overly insular indie band (with a couple of distinguishable singles) to an unspectacular and overly rich pop band within a fairly short space of time, so someone must like them, or so you'd think. But that's the thing - no-one really does. Coldplay are the perfect band for those people who don't really take an interest in music, but think they need a couple of pop culture items in their living room to accompany their digitally remastered Shawshank Redemption DVD and paperback copy of The Da Vinci Code. It's this coffee table, background music mentality that is killing innovation and keeping the radio interest-free. Not that it's new, but it's certainly not right.
One thing to note is the wildly varying reviews for the album, which range from 'poor' to 'classic'. This highlights exactly what is wrong with Coldplay, namely the way they meld cliche into cliche so effortlessly that they could do it forever, and no-one would ever know if it was any good. Despite claiming Thom Yorke et al as an influence, they are really the anti-Radiohead, taking all development out of popular British music and replacing it with perfectly boring songs about aboslutely nothing. I really can't be fucked to search for some Coldplay lyrics, but if you have a few minutes, try it.
And yet, three patchy albums into a half-baked career, Coldplay are now possibly the biggest band in the world. Which is undoubtedly a problem for us, as comsumers, because the signal it sends out loud and clear to record companies is 'we love mediocrity'. So what do we get? Endless hours of emotion-by-numbers from bands like Snow Patrol, Keane and Athlete, none of whom will have Coldplay's success, but all of whom could make average records for average people for the rest of their lives.
So here's something; rather than waste the best part of an hour, and an even better part part of fifteen quid buying X&Y, check out British Sea Power's album Open Season, which is pretty much everywhere for a tenner. Same influences, more originality, and it's actually good.
But Not A Ladies "What was that?"
WCW Smackdown is FULL Of Suprises...
Christian and Orlando Jordan vs. Booker T (w/Sharmell) and Chris Benoit
** stars. Orlando should not have the title.
Animal and Heidenreich (Dumb GAB booking decision #2) vs. Chris Hammrick & Chuck Sealy
I rember Hammrick from XPW and CZW... But squash and dud.
Melina (w/Jillian) vs. Torrie Wilson (w/Candace Michelle)
**RANT**UPN are full of gay people. No, I agrreed with them about Arab issue with Hassan, but seriously, Viacom outside of Spike TV and Nick are GAY, GAY, GAY. Please come out of the closet Mr Moonves, the asian girl trick aint working. You mean to tell me you can censor stumak turing shit like that thing on the Transexual Jillans face, but here comes the Censors on Melina's CR..ACK-OH! (Big Joe refrence) but then have a ad promoting summerslam with the diva's SANS Melina. A-FUCKING MAZING. No person in there right minds would PUT Veronica Mars OVER on CBS, over Enterprise. But you know what, Viacom SUCKS- And Spike TV along with Nick has so far excaped there suckyness. So keep blurring out nice, femine asses for all us breeders, ok faggots? ***RANT OVER***
William Regal vs. Scotty 2 Hotty
NO Match. Mexicools are too cool to have one (but they did pretty damn well against Mistero)
JBL (w/Orlando Jordan) vs. The Undertaker (#1 Contender’s match)
I have to give this a * star. I am sorry, here comes my second rant of the day
**RANT** you would THINK that a champion would have to PIN SOMEBODY! NOBODY has PINNED JBL outside of The Blue Meanie in the last year and a half. That is BULLSHIT on the highest order. You mean the Blue Meanie is better than Booker T, John Cena (he made him quit in the best match of there careers tho), Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Bastisa etc? At least a Heel Top Lion would PIN for a win without interferrance. He still is falling on the wedge of the arm for his Lariats, which with his hips damaged, makes it even MUCH more weaker than before. EVEN TORRIE WILSON can get the Lariat CORRECTLY! And that utter bullshit because she doesnt even have a great moveset. I dont understand why the WWE still puts over JBL as some Stan Hanson- where Stan was motherfucking powerhouse. When he fased off Misawa back in 1993, Stan could NOT take the Tiger Drivers, but Misawa knew he was SO DANGEROUS. Stan could KNOCK the EYE SOCKET of one of the TOUGHEST Compedters in the game Vader. JBL will NEVER be in the League of that type of warrior so stop booking him as such. **RANT OVER**
Well Raw won this week. It had better storylines. As soon as TNA gets on Spike TV, I will reviewing that as well... Smackdowns long time review Peter Koaska is leaving for RAW starting august.
Here is some Brand News...
Is it me? Or even tho the Brand is like shit, the website sings like a golden harp? Its amazing...and a bit troublesome...
The troublesome part is this:
UGH... can we put some of the internet guys on the writing team...please?
Indy News:
If you think The WWE Is Bad...New Japan is WORSE...
The next day:
Whoa...
Holy Cow. Its bad...Bad Bad Bad...
Here is some fire pro news: But its in Japanese...
http://www.spike.co.jp/fr/column_no1.html
I will see you next week...
Lou Thesz/Karl Gotch vs. Antonio Inoki/Seiji Sakaguchi - 2/3 falls
This is my first full-match exposure to Karl Gotch who I have appreciated for a while now due to his contributions to MMA, but haven't seen enough to appreciate as a wrestler. The general perception of mat wrestling, especially during this period of time, is that it is boring. That it's just one headlock after another. Karl Gotch (and Lou Thesz) really shatter that stereotype through various twists, turns, and technique.
Gotch is very animated in his movements - almost ballet-like as he goes to apply a hold. He does really silly, needless, set-ups which are as entertaining as they are bizarre. Very convoluted stuff like doing a double knucklelock, kicking his opponents hand down, and then turning it into a hammerlock and turning that into a single-leg takedown from behind. The MMA fan in me says it's unpractical, but the wrestling fan in me says it's just the right amount of carny to spice up regular holds.
Thesz does more effective, logical, mat work and his rolling kimura takedown is great. From what I have heard about Thesz, one thing gets left out - he's one entertaining motherfucker. The first match I've ever seen of him was against Antonio Rocca and he did some great heelish gestures such as hiding in the ropes to avoid getting hit. In this match, he is very lively - whispering to Gotch when he makes a tag, as if they are planning something; yelling at the ref; taking some cheap shots; really selling the back after a Sakaguchi bearhug; pulling Gotches leg from inside the ring trying to get a rope break; hiding in the ropes after losing the teams first fall. I kinda think Thesz would still be over today with the wrestling fan because of the way he acted in the ring. No one else really does this stuff, and fans would love those lil touches.
The match itself is very good. I'd say it ranges from ***1/2-***3/4. I can't quite give it a **** rating because it is a little sloppy at times, and this match relies on the technical aspects of wrestling rather than storytelling, so the botched spots really hurt it. There aren't many, but let's just say this match would have been so much better without the ropes. It's very much a catch-as-catch-can match, very little rope running and very tight holds and, surprisingly, the pace is good. They do work a hold longer than wrestlers would today, but they did it differently back then. They presented it as real, so there was a sense of danger in the holds. The wrestler in the hold was in trouble and had to think of a way to get out. The wrestler applying the hold held on tightly, since he had his opponent in trouble, and tried to fight-off the escape attempts, which gave the holds legitimacy.
The variety of the holds is what keeps this match from being dull. Headlocks, Armlocks, leg vices, scissorholds, kimuras, Armbars, bearhugs, toe holds, bow-and-arrow, hammerlocks... the list goes on. Part of the fun is seeing which different hold will be used now, and that mainly results from the great Karl Gotch. Also, the frequent tags break the monotony. They work different combinations, Inoki starts with Thesz, then tags in Sakaguchi, Thesz works with Sak until he gets tired and tags in Gotch, Gotch wrestles with Sakaguchi until Sak tags in Inoki. Logical tag work, not very southern, but still good for pacing purposes.
Without a doubt, my favourite spot in the entire match and one of the coolest spots I've seen in a long time, comes from Inoki putting Gotch in a cravate (think of a headlock, except the applier is infront of the opponent with this arms in the position of a Stunner) and Inoki works the hold for several minutes. During this time, Gotch is doing everything he can to escape, but Inoki -very acrobatically, might I add- keeps holding on. There are tons of cool ways they work the hold, and I think the spot would get over huge today because it's just so different and wrestling fans like different. Gotch tries to bodyslam is way out, but Inoki holds on. So, later on, Gotch picks Inoki up for another bodyslam (and I'm thinking it's a bodyslam, and I'm thinking he's going to fail) but instead hits a backbreaker and is able to get out of the hold. FANFUCKINGAWESOME.
The first fall comes from Thesz giving Sakaguchi a backdrop driver. Sakaguchi responds later for the second fall in the match with an atomic drop. Something is not right there. I forgive the atomic drop fall because of Theszes great selling. First, he sold the back tremendously after the bearhug (getting caught trying to do a Thesz press), so since the atomic drop targets the same area (lowerback) and since Sak is presented as the big, strong, tall guy in the match, I can almost buy the impact. The second part makes me fully buy the fall, which is Theszes selling after the pin. He's on the mat for a few seconds - it wasn't a knock-out spot, it was more of a bodyblow that put him down - Gotch and company are attending to him. Thesz gets up, slowly moves to his corner to get out -but the ref doesn't let him- he must continue the fall. Gotch isn't too happy, but Thesz is like "No dude, it's cool, I'm ok, really, I'm fine" and then he backs the fuck away from Sakaguchi and tries to avoid all contact with him all-the-while taunting him on with his "come on" gestures. Really awesome stuff from Thesz here.
Half-way through the match, it gets a lil rougher. Thesz starts using punches on Inoki, which fires Inoki up to respond in-kind. Before a lock-up, Thesz slaps Inoki, the crowd is starting to heat up now. Thesz becomes a lil more of a cock after taking the pin, and while his brawling skills aren't nearly up to the level of his grappling ability, it's still nice to see. A running gag in the second part of the match is Thesz egging Inoki on and then hiding in the ropes - testing Inokis sportsmanship. Lou is an oldman, he's seen and done it all, he's proven himself, he can get away with bending the rules. Gotch provides nice juxtaposition as he had an opportunity to jump Inoki from behind after Thesz makes a tag, but he refrains. He has a chance to get in a cheap shot when the ref breaks them up, but he doesn't. The crowd sees the difference between Gotch and Thesz, and applauds Karls sportsmanship.
Karl Gotch would rather test Inokis inring ability, rather than his resolve as a wrestler. He clearly is having fun in the ring, and at times plays around with Inoki. He does this swank spot with a double knuckle lock, spininng Inoki around (and Spinning around Inoki) until he gets Antonio in a straightjacket choke. There is lots of jockeying for position between the two - more so than anyone else in the match. Lots of spinning and switches. A part I love is when Karl finally gets Inokis back, Inoki has the fear of death in him and runs towards the ropes, ducks between the second rope, and sends Karl over the top. The word "German Suplex" is discussed amongst the announcers.
The finish comes shortly after. Inoki hits a few dropkicks on Gotch, and then is able to take him down and do a bridging pin for the win. It's a very anti-climactic ending, but works within the context of the match as Gotch had tried to do similar pins to Inoki in previous engagements. However, I would have liked to have seen Gotch become more aggressive and less playful after getting tossed over the ropes (and then dropkicked when trying to enter the ring). Ah well. They shake hands afterwards, and are smiling to each other - it reminds me of when a fight is over and one guy has won, and another guy has lost, but the respect and the love for the game is still there and there are no hard-feelings. Really cool ending, don't see that anymore in wrestling and I would love to see it again.
***1/2-***3/4. That's not on a time-sensitive scale. That's saying if a match today was ***, this match is better. Highly recommended, if just to see Lou Thesz hamming it up.
From the Observer
Oh...man...They just waiting for October to Roll around dont they...
GAT (Great American Trash 2 as one would call it)
No need to review this PPV. Nobody got over a one. A ONE folks. Even ECW ONS had two 2 star and three 3 star matches. This is inxcuseable...
And some other Indy and Puro news:
60 Min Draw? But get this... there was some stalling during the match, so I am not sure how the match went.
Maybe the Phillies need this.
You cant make this stuff up.
HOLY COW...What in the world is going on here?
More on Thursday's Report...
With little else to talk about right now, I've decided to amuse myself, and maybe others, by saying what I really think about certain people. If you'd like to be one of these people then post here, and I'll tell you what I really think of you.
My buddy calls me up at 6pm for some poker. Since I have the house to myself for the next 2 weeks, I offered to host it. He said about 6 people would be there. 3 hours later, there's 10 playing for $10 each. We split into two tables. $100 pot: $80 for the winner, $20 for second. 60 chips each, singles. At my table is Mark, Doug, George, and Ibrahim (one of these things...). The other table has Charlie, Peter, Adam, Ibs friend, and Shane (Adam being the only white guy at the table - it was a random draw )
I've played with Mark and Doug several times before; Mark is a very tight player, but very good in his own right; Doug is good but not great. First two hands Ib. takes it with a straight and a flush consequtively. He plays smart, knows the angles and how to bet. I am very scared. You see, IMHO, I am a great poker player. I see the angles, I know how much to bet and when, I usually can tell what the guy across from me has... however... I lack... balls.
I see the angles, I know how to play them (Check, Check, Check, Check - it's on me... hmm... I should put out a small bet to test the waters and weed out those who have the cards and those who don't...), but I usually don't play them (...so I check as well). I've shown signs of brilliance - right down to the perfect performance to get more money in the pot when I have the nuts. I can go from playing like Gus Hansen, to playing like, well, Mark. I wear Sunglasses at the table fer crissakes. But, in the end, after about 20-25 games played over the past year (I play about once a week), I still haven't won a game.
Now, we play for $5 usually, so it's not a huge loss. I've played for $10 a handful of times (maybe 3 of those 20 times), so in total I would say I've lost a little under $100 playing. I usually justify it, and continue playing despite the frequent losses, as "having fun". Games usually go on for 3-4 hours, lots of gabbing at the table, jokes, good times. For five bucks, it's worth the fun. As good, or even better, than any movie in theatres. I rarely ever am first out, and usually come in second or third. The more people, the better I am (because the more free cards I get).
Back to the game.
I am down to about 50 after a few hands. I bluff myself 20 extra chips. The next hand I get pocket 10's. Now, next to 3/4 suited, 10's are my favourites. I get aggressive right away and George follows suit. We basically gun it out till I have half my stack in there. He shows his, I show mine. He has KK. I say fuck. The board had an ace and a queen on there, if I had played stronger when the ace showed up I could have taken it, but I was foolish. I played it like I had two tens. After this, I start playing conservatively. Winning some hands, folding most. The other table lost 2 players, so we had to give up George. Turn of the tide.
One of the biggest hands at the table came down to me and Ib. I had ace queen. I play it like I have it. He plays it strong too. Flop has an ace. I bet big, he calls it. The turn has a Queen. In my mind, I am untouchable. But I don't play it all that strongly. Flop comes, I bet, he reraises huge (calls me all in), I call and flip my nuts on the table and take the pot. Shortly after, George was out at the other table and we merge. I have about 120 in chips, feeling very confident. The rest of my table had about 20-40 each. In my mind, I was thinking "I might go into this table as chip leader!"
We show up at the other table and Adam has about 300 in chips - HALF OF THE ENTIRE POT! It is disgusting. I've played Adam before - he's really good, but I've been able to get the better of him before (2/3 suited, all in before the flop, for the flush). But now, the odds are certainly against US. Peter had about the same amount of chips as I, and Peter is a good player as well. I played heads up against him a few games before and was able to bust him up pretty well and mess with his head before deciding to split the pot. I was sitting the the left of Adam, which meant he had the advantage in betting. Not a good position to be in.
Ib gets taken out first by Adam. Then Mark goes shortly after. I am able to take Doug out with A-5 suited. He had A-6 unsuited. I manage to pick up a 5 on the river and build my stack up a lil. Peter is down to about 20 chips, and goes after a few hands. Heads up time, me vs. Adam. I have about 100 chips. He has 500.
He had five times the chips.
12 hands later, I am down to about 30.
He has NINETEEN times the chips.
What happened was pretty simple - I got shit cards. 5 9 unsuited. 3 8 unsuited. It was constant folding. And whenever I DID enter a hand (J 5 unsuited) (Q 4 unsuited), he'd muscle me over after the (shitty) flop. Meanwhile, he is getting four Kings, straights - everything. "I am not playing against you anymore. I clearly am playing against fate." I should note that the blinds are 10/20 by now, and soon they'll be going up to 20/40. I am getting slaughtered.
I know I shouldn't be playing this way - I know "it's not the cards you have in your hand, but the cards you make your opponent think are in your hand", but when you don't even have good enough cards to bluff with and the guy across from you has 19 times what you have, it's hard to make him think you're anything but a loser... so that's what I do. I feed into it, I play it up.
Then, something strange happens. I GET A GOOD HAND! A K! I GO ALL IN! He FOLDS immediately! I GET HIS BLIND! FUCK! The one time I play it strong and have a chance to double up and he has shit cards in his hands. It wasn't big slick that doubled me up - of all hands - it was 10 8 suited. "I've got a good feeling about this hand" I sez. "I shouldn't play this hand." I sez. "This is an awful hand" I sez. "It's a battle between my head and my heart" I sez. I play it. The flop gives me a Jack and a 7. The turn gives me a Queen. I have a inside straight draw. I need a nine. River. Shows. A. NINE! I double up to about 120, maybe 140. I am back in the game. I didn't put a dent in his stack, but I have chips to leverage with now.
Right after that, I play it hard. I steal the blinds on the next hand. A nice declaration of my newfound strength. Somehow, someway (I can't even remember), about 10-15 minutes later and I manage to take the chip lead! Now, this is by far the comeback of the century. There was no way in hell, going into the merge, that anyone could beat Adam. And there was certainly no way in hell that I was going to beat him heads up. Infact, the certainty was so small that the others went to play another game rather than watch the inevitable. Only Doug stayed. "So, you're going to bare witness to my miracle comeback" I said to him as we started to play heads up. "Yup" he laughed. Mark walked in as we were playing. I had about 340 in chips lined up. He walked in, saw it, his eye went WIDE open, he threw up his hands and walked out. That said it all.
Adam stole the blinds a few times - overbet some pots. It was getting close to being even. I saw the momentum swinging and knew I had to stop it. I had Q 9 in my hand and the flop had 2,3,9. Suit didn't really matter. I was dealing. Adam checked, I bet, he reraised big, I went all in and he immediately called. Now, I had top pair. He didn't bet before the flop meaning he didn't have a Queen or a king or an ace, let alone them together. So top pair with a 9 seemed good. Instead, he had 2 3 as well - two pair. I needed a Queen or a 9 - anything else would have killed me. 6 cards would save me. 39 would kill me. That's about 75% chance of losing.
River.
Shows.
A.
NINE!
For the first time in my poker playing career, I WON. And not only did I win, I won the largest pot I've ever played for. I won against disgusting odds. I did the improbable. Fuck yeah, motherfucker! I won and let out a big "WHOOO HOOO!!" 80 bucks richer. That's not a lot for most poker players, but for a lil fish like me, that's amazing. The guys at the other table were astonished, and I got congrats from both Mark and Charlie (who've taken my money many-a-time) and I will go to sleep tonight, for just one night, the greatest poker player in the world. A Poker God.
Well as with everything I've ever done in terms of online writing, I foudn an outlet, wrote some things for it, then got bored and stopped. I imagine this blog will be updated fairly infrequently from here on out.
However, I must say I really enjoyed last night's Border City Wrestling show. It was cool to have Bret Hart sign my SummerSlam 1997 box. The opening Six Man Scramble match (Johnny Devine vs Ryan someone (he was good but I don't recall the name) vs. El Reverso vs. Some guy from Chatam that I found out was there because he paid $500 vs. Kris Chambers vs. Derek Wylde) was a great spot fest. Kris Chambers messed up a spot with Devine so Devine stiffed him. I laughed. I heard that Johnny was mad he didn't get the Ryan character's Reverse Rana spot sold 100% correctly but it was still insane to see attempted and it still looked cool. They also did the Pyramid spot with the man on top taking a rana... nice.
The main event was Petey Williams vs Alex Shelley vs AJ Styles vs. Chris Sabin in an elimination match. Really enjoyed this one. It came down to AJ and Petey and that started dueling "Let's Go AJ / Petey" chants. Williams won with the variatio nof the Canadian Destroyer he used on one of the TNA PPVs where he starts the motion on the 2nd turnbuckle (after the first normal one didn't finish the match).
Good show all around.
Buff Bagwell recently gave an interview where he said that Spike Dudley didn't belong near a wrestling ring. I guess that's why he lasted over 4 years in WWE Buff, while you got fired after less then 4 weeks. And how did you make use of your time in WWE Buff? You were late for every training session at Titan Towers, ruined what might have been a decent Invasion storyline by entering your typically sub-par performance, missed house shows and had your mother calling in sick for you, and, oh yeah; got bitchslapped by The Hurricane. So, while a guy who had 'no business' being near a wrestling ring was making a decent, albeit low-level, six-figure income for 4 years, you were restricted to making about $1,000 a shot on the Indy scene, when you could get booked. Life must suck for you Buff, knowing that Spike Dudley was on national television while you were scratching with the chickens.
Is it just a coincidence that some of the most nonsensical stuff posted is from people who clearly either don't know what they are talking about, or are desperately trying to hold onto some misguided bias?
Earl Hebner was fired this past week, apparently for selling merchandise without permission. I'm sure Hebner can find solace in the fact that, after Montreal, he got a raise to $500,000 a year, meaning he's earned around $3.5m or so since then.
After the huge negative reaction to the terrorist angle on Smackdown two weeks ago, UPN told WWE that Muhammad Hassan can no longer appear on Smackdown. Subsequently, it's now been confirmed that the Hassan character will be dropped altogether, with his match against Undertaker this Sunday presumably being his swan song. I'm probably going to talk about this one in a little more depth in a future blog entry, so I'll just say for now that the people who blindly defended this angle, and most of the people defending it were doing so blindly, probably have no clue how much damage that terrorist angle really did, but I doubt they even care about that.
Another RVD thread, and another round of people showing their bias and a lack of understanding of wrestling. This is another subject that I'll cover in a future blog entry, but suffice it to say that, yes, in some ways RVD is overrated, but to write him off for that is incredibly short-sighted. And the comparison to Shelton Benjamin is funny for all the wrong reasons,
There's a Smackdown PPV this weekend. No, really, there is a PPV this weekend, though you might not know it. There isn't one match on the card that I'm interested in seeing. I'm sick of JBL in the main event, and even if Batista beats the shit out of him and pins him clean, which he should, I don't want to see it, because I've zero desire to see JBL in the main event. Animal and Heidenreich v MNM? MNM should win, and they should beat Animal, but knowing Animal's hatred of doing jobs, it'll be the guy sticking around who does the job. Undertaker v Hassan might be interesting, in that with WWE having to drop the Hassan character, I'm wondering if Vince will try and get one last tasteless angle out of dropping the character.
I was sad to hear that Lord Alfred Hayes passed away a few days ago. For me, Hayes was the most underrated commentator of the 80's. He called the matches with an air of legitimacy, treating everything that was going on in the ring as if it was real, and he did it in a way that didn't insult your intelligence either. He made it a lot easier to listen to matches if Gorilla Monsoon was calling the action as well, because Gorilla was really terrible from around 1988 onwards, and Hayes was good at offsetting him.
Also sad to see the passing of Shinya Hashimoto. Hashimoto was a favorite of mine in the 90s, due to his punishing style of heavy kicks and chops, as well as his hot comebacks. One of my favorite matches of 1996 was his match against Riki Choshu in that years G1 Climax tournament. It didn't have any insane moves or crazy spots, but it was filled with intensity and emotion, and the crowd were going nuts as Choshu had to hit Hashimoto with I think it was 9 lariats before Hashimoto could get pinned. I remember that G1 for Hashimoto, who was the IWGP Champion at the time, doing the clean job in all three of his matches, and in doing so creating three fresh challengers for the IWGP Title, but the real beauty is that the nature of the matches meant Hashimoto was still crazy over with the fans, and so everybody won.
You cant Lariat for **** dawg!
AH YES! Two good matches is better than...yeah...diva search...
ON WCW Smackdown Last Night:
Rey Mysterio vs. Super Crazy (w/The Mexicools)
DQ. Roided Eddie interrfeared in the near *** 3/4 match. Super Crazy has not lost a step. Looks like the Crusers are the ones to watch in WCW Smackdown.
Animal and Heidenreich vs. Team Jobber:
DUD. Why is Heidenreich in this? Intresting Doomsday Device.
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit:
3 and 3/4 stars. Wonderful, Wonderful match with great Germans, Brainbusters and the good stuff they are known for. Sadly, Eddie chickened out of the **** match.
Booker T (w/Sharmell) vs. Simon Dean
Please dont mention Salad Jokes anymore...
"Full Matchups for WCW Great American Bash 2005"
The bWo vs. The Mexicools
Melina Vs Torrie (keep your kids eyes closed) bra and panties match
Benoit Vs Jordan (US Title)
Road Warrior Animal and Hidernrich Vs MNM
Eddie Vs Ray
Number One Contenders Match for World Title: Hassan Vs Undertaker
World Title Match: JBL Vs Bastista
Smackdown wins this week!
Now to some news:
Then WWE Stated this on the website:
Then Metzer stated:
And all the while, TNA looked like stars:
Wow. Two Diffrent companies. Two diffrent idioglies...and one wins by staying true, the other loses by playing emotions.
In Indy News (small)
From Lance Storm's site:
This will make you go...holy ****.
Damn...thats...a damn big Japanese Soap Oprua right there...
This leads into fire pro news!
Pro-wrestler Kiku-taro (Mitsunobu Kikuzawa) is advertising the new "Fire Pro Returns" PS2 video game coming out in September (9/15) by Spike. It will sell for 7,140 yen ($70 USD).
Heres some new info:
http://www.spike.co.jp/fr/subwin2_pub.html
327 Wrestlers (this does not count locked)
1,647 Moves
559 (Headsets)
Cost is 70 bucks US
They have no more updates listed. We will see whats up next week...
The Great American Bash is Sunday- reviews on that monday...read the match review for Kobashi vs Sasaki. I will see you soon
Note -- did not load up on PhosagenHP for the first week and just took the normal dose
1 week, 1 day
Warm up reps, did minimal stretching
Usual 87 for 7
109 for 7
129 for 7
IBP -- 153.6 for 11 reps. Felt strong here and am now up to what I was before last cycle's unsuccesful go. Was not at the failure rep.
Kenta Kobashi Vs Kensuke Sasaki
Kenta Kobashi (Ranked By DVDR - 7) (2003)
Kensuke Sasaki (Ranked By DVDR -126)
This match was long awaited. It didnt dissapoint. One thing that makes NOAH a great company now, consitanicy and idologley when it comes the wrestling style, at times, yes its over the top but it works and keeps things simple.
Sasaki is one of those men, that never gets any respect. Like Shina Hashimoto before him, he could have a great match with anybody (just ask Bob Sapp) and won the IWGP title.
Kobashi is a power house. Even though he loses more than he wins, when he wins he wins big. This guy is just as good as a big man as many WWE stars.
They both have very dangerous lariats (MUCH BETTER AND CLEANER than JBL's, which he falls down fully, making his larat much much weaker- and thats why he cheats to win, because hes clumsly-his legs give out too easy- watch his legs when he goes for a neckbreaker, he takes five steps when you only need three)
So the match starts (after good entrances and nice elivators)...Kobashi walks in and gets punished with a back drop. Now you notice he got stunned. That had to hurt youre pride. Croud is stunned. STUNNED. With all the problems New Japan is having, there thinking that New Japan has no good fighters. There best chance to get a better title was just STOPPED 15 min before! Kenta knows he is going for the long hawl.
Two Kicks to the head...
Then a toe kick, which lead into a chop (notice, no punches were thrown at ALL during the match) Then your NWA type chops, as Kenta returns the favor with a backdrop of his own. Now realise this, New Japan doesnt know where the hell its going. You know Sasaki is not going to take this liying down...as he uses the first Lariat of the night! They both leave the ring, and after some smack talking, they return back.
The test of strenth...lead into a grasped northern lights suplex, which is picture perfect. American Style Grapple, into a knee by Kobashi, that lead into a chop, then the irish whip, another knee, then as Kobashi holds him, he chops his neck and then as he is on the ground chops his neck again...then goes to the ropes and does a high chop to the neck. First Pin...NO. 2 count only.
First Summission Hold of the match, a back headlock. Kobashi uses this as a set up for high chop at the edge of the ring. A second high chop, then he gets Sasaki out of the ring for a DDT. Kobashi does not stay long as he jumps out of the ring and crashes into Sasaki. Brings him back into the ring, then gets him in a head lock. However, this gives Sasaki the upperhand as he pushes him back, and gives Kobashi a chop and a small lariat three times each...at the turnbuckle, which leads into a top rope frankinstiner. Then Sasaki goes to the top rope and goes for a lariat from there... Second Pin...NO.
Sasaki takes Kobashi out of the ring-Sasaki goes up top from the black side of the turn buckle, has some trouble getting there but-does so and gets the top rope take down outside the ring. Sasaki gets back in the ring along with Kobashi for the Third Pin of the Match...no dice.
Sasaki asks Kobashi to get up...then does chop, irish whip to the turnbuckle and then bulldogs Kobashi, does the Fourth Pin but is only a one count...Sasaki does a toe kick, but Kobashi has the NO sell POWAH! The second toe kick...then CHOP FEST 2005 BEGINS!
Kobashi chops twice, but Sasaki no sells. Then he does the spitshine chop and Sasaki stands. Then it goes back and forward for about two minites with both men standing. I seen a lot of WWE matches, BUT i never seen chops that can split water particles. By the time they reach one of the turnbuckles-Kobashi goes for his 5 time chop! But Sasaki reverses it! He returns the favor with chops of his own! But, it was not over; Kobashi reverses, does a much longer version of the 5 time chop...but Sasaki counters. They back away from the turnbucles and chop again in the middle of the ring...Sasaki tried to lariat, but Kobashi stops him with a chop...the chop battle continues, short face off, and the chops go flying again! Kobashi tries the spit shine, but its not enough! Two more chops are extanged, but Kobashi wins it out with a reverse arm Lariat.
(Total Time of Chop Fest 2005? 4 Min 18 Seconds)
Both men are now down at the middle of the ring. Croud is now up in there feet. Kobashi runs, but falls victim to a PowerSlam. Sasaki is going up top, but Kobashi counters for a second rope brainbuster. Sasaki missed the Lariat, as Kobashi goes for the HELL (Half) NELSON SUPLEX... Picks him up, and does it again! Now you know that New Japan is buckling in its knees. Sasaki is there only hope now and he is near losing...
It seems hope is lost for Sasaki, as at the ropes, Kobashi goes for a brain buster, but Sasaki blocks it...Sasaki is blocked by Kobashi, then Kobashi goes for the 5 time chop, its hits and Sasaki goes down...Kobashi chops him twice, but Sasaki grabs him an does a high angle powerslam on to the floor...the Noah Fans are stunned.
New Japan still might not yet get embarrised...Sasaki's wife looks on with very stoic eyes. But it almost became a count out match, as Kobashi (legit) could not get back in the ring, until the 19 second mark...Croud sighs a bit of relief. Sasaki grabs him for the underhook suplex...and gets it with the Fifth Pin...forget it, Kobashi suffered worse- thats not going to do it...then as Kobashi gets up, Sasaki pulls out the LARIAT! The Sixth PIN...NO FUCKING WAY PEOPLE!
Sasaki is in utter disbelifve...but he tries for the finsher, but some how...Kobashi seemed to use his calf as a wedge, pushes down on Sasaki's arm, and then does a semi air rana... but as he gets up, Kobashi does a LARIAT! (Upper Fore Arm and then falls down JBL, not the wedge) Sasaki gets up and does a upper knee, into a unrange. Then he does a submission hold to Kobashi's arm...but Kobashi gets to the Ropes. Head strike by Sasaki...goes for his Lariat, but Kobashi, blocks, counters with the rolling chops...then Sasaki tries to finish him, but Kobashi does a brainbuster, but because of his size, Sasaki does not take the brunt of the brainbuster, then because of Kobashi's waight, he does not take much of the brunt of Sasaki's brainbuster, and then double collsion Lariat! Both men pass out...
Sasaki guts up, and runs for a Lariat to the back of the head...Then goes for the Lariat...BUT Kobashi Blocks it, then goes for the SLEEPERHOLD SUPLEX! (picture perfect too) I dont think Sasaki cant take any more of this. Kobashi sets up for the Standing Lariat (a move that Brock Lesnar took and somewhat made it into a STO because he moves his leg in front and does the standing closeline downward.) Seventh PIN and NOTHING! 2.99999999999999999! Body Slam by Kobashi! He finally goes up top and does a VERY well done (for his age) moonsault from the top rope! PIN... YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME! Sasaki is running on fumes. And not from the Kyoto Treaty. Sasaki goes for a short Lariat but NOTHING doing as Kobashi pulls out five reverse chops, runs to the ropes and then pulls out the final lariat, which wins the MATCH!
Kenta Kobashi beat Kensuke Sasaki (23:38) with a lariat.
Woah. I give this 4 stars. I love this match. This is Puroresu at is most fun. The latter match, which if I get a chance to see it, was better than this- but this was great for what it was. 1 and 2 in the big event at Tokyo Dome. Shinya would be proud.
I implore all ROH fans, GET YOUR Manhattan event tickets NOW! Kenta Kobashi is NO joke. You saw Liger and loved him, now get to see the man who could have Match of the Year!
Smackdown Review On Thursday Night and, Fire Pro news as well.
Until Then...
A couple more Raw thoughts (pretty much all bad by the way)
-Who's brilliant idea was it to do a battle of the bands with Cena and Jericho? They can't control the environment when it comes to musical preferences. You may take some Cena fans and turn them against him when you put their feud in context of musical tastes. Didn't anyone learn anything from the West Texas Rednecks vs. No Limit Soldiers feud? You can't do musical tastes battles in wrestling, period.
-Kane vs Edge in a cage was ok. For a TV match, not bad, but couldn't they have done this match without the cage? When you do unimportant things like throwaway cage matches on TV, then cage matches cease to be important. I remember when a cage match would be a match that could headline a pay per view. Now, it's a weak mid card match for a feud no one was buying into since day one. As for Matt Hardy, another well done bit. I kind of wonder if WWE is getting a little too inside with Edge saying things like "go back and work the indies" and such. Stuff like that flies over the heads of 90% or more of the fans. Philly is a smarter crowd than the norm, so it didn't hurt, but it could bite them in the ass later if they get a more markish crowd that doesn't know the backstory.
That's pretty much all I have for this week's show. It's obvious this particular show is kind of spinning the wheels around in the mud until after GAB so they can really start to focus on the build up for Summerslam. Hey, at least no HHH for a bit, eh?
It's in the sig now, so I'll talk about it at-length.
As shown in my first Blogging, this is one of my all-time favourite shows. I just started watching it about 2 months ago, though I had been intent on watching it for quite some time. Herc, over at AICN, had been pimping it along with some of my other favourites (Angel, Buffy, Firefly, LOST), so his tastes closely mirrored mine (though The Inside and Wonderfalls were a bit off), which meant that GG's could possibly be to my liking as well.
The thing is. Well. It's the "Gilmore Girls". It's a chick show. They're going to be talking about their periods and the not-so-fresh feeling, and boy troubles and bra sizes. I don't really care about any of that. There's going to be lots of crying, and they don't even have large titties, and none of them are slayers of any kind. Despite all this, I tried to watch the show. Bits and pieces. And those bits and those pieces weren't terrible, but the dialogue seemed Kevin Smithish. Unnatural. No one, on earth, speaks like that. It's too quick-witted. It seemed "written". It made it difficult for an outside, uninitiated, viewer to watch.
However, it was something that time fixed. After several bits and lots of pieces, I managed to watch a full episode. It was the one from Season 2 where termites have eaten the foundation of the house and Lorelai needs $15,000 to pay for the repairs. Then I saw another full episode - Richard helps Rory with a school project. Then I saw another one - Kirk gets a cat. Then I saw the one that ultimately sold me on the whole show - Lukes uncle dies.
Luke Danes is my favourite character in the show, and perhaps best represents you -the male viewer. He is an outsider-looking-in on the Girls’ universe. He notices their quirks and usually outs them on their BS, he is the straight-man, he tends to say and do what everyone is thinking, and he obviously is in love with Lorelai - and who wouldn’t be?
Lorelai Gilmore is probably my favourite female character in the history of television. The only thing I don’t like about her is her constant apologizing and the same tone of voice she uses when she does it. But the pros certainly outweigh the cons. She’s funny, hot, sympathetic, hot, quirky, hot, friendly and inviting, hot, conflicted, hot, and hot. Oh, and she watches a lot of TV and makes tons of pop culture references. The perfect woman, in my eyes. The creators of the show made Lorelai very-much not girly. She (and Rory) eat a lot, she doesn’t cook (and is proud of it), and generally doesn’t do anything girly (thus far, no “not so fresh feeling”).
Rory Gilmore amuses me perhaps more than she would most. Alexis Bledel -consciously or not- does these weird gestures (usually facial) that you wouldn’t see any where else on tv. Silly grins, strange postures, etc. Add to that her ability to turn any line into comic genius (“Poor Bunny” “Really? Which one” “You’re right, it (reheated french fries) does suck”, and you got yourself an underrated star. She, however, has a bit too much boy trouble - but I think they handle it better than most shows do and the whole Jess/Dean thing slow burns for about 2 seasons.
Dean. Poor Dean. Nice guy. Makes Rory a car. Clingy. Very Clingy. I like Dean, mainly because on the show he’s a giant and it turns out he’s like 6’2 - and I’m 6’2. So he is sorta my benchmark into this universe. I can tell how short people really are on TV if they stand next to him. Say, Rory... she has to be, like, 5’2. Paris? 5’0. Jess? 5’3. Anywho, because of this, I shall support the dude in his future endeavours... even if I normally wouldn’t.
Jess, Lukes troublemaking nephew, is a character that I want to hate, but just can’t. The actor (Milo Somethingorother) is really good at playing a smartass, which has me wondering why he doesn’t get more work. He also bumped like a freak on the bridge dive. When he showed up in Stars Hollow and “This is Hell” was playing, it was a great introduction to his character. Almost as good as Rob Lowes in Tommy Boy (*steps off bus drinking a carton of milk* *kid in bus with face against window* *Lowe with a backfist against the window knocking the kid out* *lady with a baby carriage walking by* *Lowe throws carton into carriage*). Every time Jess does some jackassery, I say “JESS, MOTHERFUCKER!”, because I tend to yell at my TV when watching good shows.
My third favourite character on the show would have to be Paris. One, I think Paris is kinda hot. Two, Paris is hilarious. That’s about it. Oh, and three, Paris is kinda evil. I like how people who don’t know Paris react to her. I also say “PARIS, MOTHERFUCKER!” whenever Paris does something evil.
Madeline and Louise are Paris’ cronies. I don’t know how or why they are, but they are. One flirts on the border of being hot, and the other is pretty hot. I don’t know which one is which, but the blonde should make like Christ and get nailed... by me... not that I crucified Jesus or anything. There are two particular scenes that make these two godkings. One is in my sig, and the other is when Paris asks them to study with her on a friday night (..but we have dates...)
The Parents (Elizabeth and Richard) are enjoyable. Richard, in particular, always makes good use of his screen time. I think they give
Then there are the townsfolk. Miss Patty doesn’t offend me. Sally Struthers and the tall dude are great. Sukie is great fun. Jackson rules for many reasons. Taylor used to annoy me, but then I started to look at him as a hitlerish character and he became fantastic. The Asian mom and daughter annoy me most of the time; the mom because she is a prudish bitch and the daughter because she tries too hard to be a rock aficionado.
KIRK is the motherfucking man. Pure gold. He should get his own spin-off, or something. The 24 hour dance marathon. The video. His photography. The odd jobs around town. KIRK, MOTHERFUCKER.
As for the show itself, I was really surprised at its serialized nature. Even some of the little things that sprout up in one episode will find its way into another down the line (Lorelai stealing her mothers pen, Rory finding it under a cushion a few episodes later asking her mother to return it). And it’s paced really well. They give 4 episodes to Lorelai and Max, which on paper doesn’t seem like a lot, but I think they maximize the potential of the storyline in those 4 episodes. Then, right after that, comes Jess (ok, the Harvard eps, then Jess). And then there’s Sukies wedding. They didn’t serialize it enough (like, say, Carnivale) to where it felt like the entire season was one big story with no distinction, so each episode has its own personality, but they didn’t separate it enough to where there wasn’t a throughline between every episode. Very good storytelling.
I also like the show’s “gimmick”. The show is not just about a young mother and her teenage daughter being “best friends”. Rory, at 16, is the same age Lorelai was when she had Rory. So Lorelai is feeling a lot of the same things her mother felt 16 years ago, and in that comes some realizations and understanding. These are not simple characters - they have depth and they think and they are conflicted and they influence and they are influenced. It’s not a girly show as many of the issues brought up in it are universal, and never once does it feel like I’m watching a chick show.
Overall, this is a very funny show that -if you sit down and force yourself through one episode- should surprise and hook you. They give each character their “moment”, and once you get to know those characters, then those moments become very enjoyable. I get happy when I watch this show, which is rare. I smile when watching this show. It’s a warm show, and it doesn’t play down to anything, it doesn’t make you feel guilty for watching it; it’s just a good show.
I recommend watching episode 2.1. There are plenty of funny moments in it, plus there are some serious ones. It gets across some of the main elements and themes in the show, and explores the characters’ relationships with each other. In particular, the dinner table scene with Richard and Dean. And when Elizabeth finds out that Lorelai is getting married and what she says to Richard afterwards. It’s a very accessible episode - you don’t need to know a lot about the show to watch it-, and those two scenes break a lot of your preconceptions.
