Zip's Wiseguys, 2:45am.

As I walk in the door to get two slices of cheese pizza, all I hear is screaming and yelling. This is a common occurrence at this particular pizzeria, so I don't think much of it. I realize, almost immediately, that it is the man working the register who is yelling, and he his yelling into his cellphone. "I'll kill you, nigga, punk bitch mutha fucka". This continues for a few moments. After he notices that I am standing at the counter, he says "hold on" into the phone. His tone changes, and he says, "Can I help you?" in a calm, polite voice. I ask for my two slices of cheese pizza, pay for them, and leave the pizzeria. As I am walking out, I hear the phone conversation resume. "I'll drive over there and kill you right now, mutha fucka......".

My current job.

I make my own schedule now, and the results have been interesting. No more eighty hour weeks and no more being on call twenty four hours a day, every day. Sometimes I work forty hours, sometimes I work twenty. It's opened up a world of opportunities school wise, and time for more creative ventures. So far, however, I've found myself staying up all night, arguing with teenagers over how much I think Nickelback sucks on youtube. It's not really what I envisioned for myself. I'll figure it out, but in the meantime, Nickelback does suck!

The Baptist Church

We used to play hockey in the parking lot of a Baptist Church, in South Buffalo. I couldn't tell you the actual name of the church, as I still only know it as the "baptist church". It was a natural place to meet up for games of hockey, as the parking lot is quite big, and someone (we thought it had to be a church member, but looking back I'm not so sure) painted hockey like markings on the blacktop. I say hockey like markings, because everything was crooked, and nothing lined up. Both of my brothers played there, as well as most of the neighborhood kids (for better or for worse, it was scary to be matched up against drug dealers who weren't afraid of flashing their weapons). I spent hours and hours there, crafting my trade and trying to impress the girls who would inevitably stop by. One of the last times I played there, my youngest brother (Scott) was playing goalie, and was stopping everything the other team threw at him. I was on Scott's team, and my younger brother (Chris) was on the other team. A kid from the neighborhood (Brian) took a shot that Scott stopped and trapped on the ground with his baseball glove (this was south buffalo, no fancy street hockey equipment there). Brian proceeded to hack and slash my brother, using every demeaning curse word used at the time (faggot and bitch come to mind). My brother Chris immediately dropped his stick, grabbed Brian by the throat and slammed him against the brick wall of the church (Brian was bigger than Chris). I did my part by threatening Brian's life with a variety of adjectives. Brian apologized to Scott, and we continued to play the game. My friend Paul, who was hanging out with us for the first time that day, left sometime during the scuffle. We thought we scared him off (maybe we did), but he's still around, and one of our best friends.

Post - Election Letdown

I have to admit, I miss all of the pre-election news coverage, the same coverage I swore off so many times, only to seek it out a few hours later. I obsessed over it (thank god I have an amazing girlfriend, who doesn't mind my obsessive watching and reading of political coverage - or the NHL, for that matter!), and I feel a (sort of) void in my life, now that it's all over. Economic stimulus packages and corporate bailouts don't excite me much, and it's hard to get fired up over the vile stream of shit on fox news or right wing radio, because they don't really matter anymore. Not to be misunderstood, I am extremely excited about the Obama presidency, and the prospects of real change. I just miss the McCain mis-steps, the Palin Interviews and watching the strategy of the Obama campaign unfold. I'm sure it will be a temporary lull, things are already starting to pick up.

Buffalo isn't dead.

Cool article from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/arts/design/16ouro.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&emc=eta1

Rush is right?

Since the election, I've been listening to a lot of talk radio in the Buffalo area. Buffalo offers two subjects (for the most part) on talk radio, sports and politics. The overwhelming majority of political talk shows are presented from a conservative, right wing viewpoint (Rush Limbaugh's show sits between two self - described social conservatives who routinely idolize Sean Hannity). It's been interesting, to say the least. There is almost a sense of panic on the right. One day, they blame the left wing media. The next, it's moderate republicans, and the next, it's black people. They don't have a general sense of where things stand, or what they need to do next. Their usual tactics didn't work, and they're lost. This election signified the end of cynical, divisive politics. Rush, Sean and the rest of them are on the outside looking in.

Sarah Barracuda

Will Sarah Palin disappear? It's doubtful. I initially hoped that she would return to Alaska, never to be heard from again. After thinking about it, though, it seems she could be the democrats biggest ally. It's true that she excites the conservative base (or what's left of it), but it's not enough of the electorate to make a real difference (the same may not be true in four years), and she provides enough ridiculous sound bites to make anyone seem more qualified for public office than she is. I'm sure she will study and come out better prepared in 2012, but I wonder how much she can actually retain. I've been reading some of the interviews she's given, and it's hard to make out what she is trying to say. She talks in circles, contradicts herself, and makes no sense at times. Her interviews sound bad, but they look even worse on paper. I'm not sure she can improve. Time will tell, but she does make for good copy.