It's Halloween Bitches - Get Your Inner Slut On

I just don't know.  I really don't.  How did Halloween get so skanky?  In the end, these are just things that you don't question.  You accept them blindly and see what happens.

Halloween is a Paegan holiday, and I don't know how the "Festival of the Dead" spurned children to go door to door and demand candy for fear of the "trick" retaliation.  But my childhood was all about Halloween.  Halloween has apparently had a few stages as I've progressed through life.  In my earlier years, Halloween was a fun night to dress up and play "People" for the entire day - at school, in the evening, and procuring free candy.  Siick.

This phase lasts through most of elementary school and then as you move to Junior High/Middle School you come out of the "Halloween is cool" phase.  While moving away from your traditional Halloween activities, you still try to procure candy.  In lieu of ending your night by 8 or 9pm and counting candy, your night now continues with shaving cream, and, if the cops didn't already take them from you, eggs.  Shaving cream battles would commence in the streets, and all fun was to be had.  Instead of costumes and bags of candy, kids wore all black, a scary mask, and a backpack to carry the paraphernalia.

As you move towards college and your late teen/early 20s, Halloween celebration takes on a newer, sexier, kind of following.  I have never spent so much effort on my costume's as I have in recent years.  You don't want to do something stupid, you want it to be smart, and fun.  A few years ago I was "Cloud with a Chance of Rain".  I carried a water bottle and sprayed people while I had cotton around most of my body.  This year, for the second time, I was Peter Parker in transition to Spider-Man.  It's easiest for me, and I've received some positive response.  A few kids at the door said "Nice Shirt!"

But Halloween now is all about the ladies.  How slutty can I be?  How big can I make my tits look?  There is some sort of illusion that you aren't yourself on Halloween.  I won't correct them - I'll celebrate them!  Let's take a look at some of this year's skanky outfits that sluts might be wearing at a party near you...

Happy Halloween, Except YOU, Sex Offenders!

If you are a sex offender and were getting all tight pants'd by the thought of little dressed up kiddies coming to knock on your door ready to give them roofied treats and naughty tricks, think again!  Especially you Rob Corddry- Larry David's Seder will have you, but not Whiteside County.

Alex Rodriguez The Centaur?

A centaur is a mythological creature which is half-man, half-horse (not half-pig).  Allegedly Alex Rodriguez has a portait of his likeness in the form of a centaur above his bed.

Pedro Flashes Back And Attacks Manager Manuel

This is unheard of, just unheard of. - Bud Selig, Major League Baseball Press Release

In Game 2 of the World Series, as manager Charlie Manuel came out to relieve Pedro Martinez in the 6th inning, Pedro flipped Charlie Manuel onto his back - Don Zimmer style.

NFL Week 8 BuDa Pick'Em!

Kind of an upsetting week in football for me last week - a few calls seemed really great early, then faded away into a crapfest with me coming out as the loser.  Also, I had the lowest fantasy points for 2 of my football leagues (I'm only in 2 football leagues - yeesh!)  How'd we do in Week 7?

7-5-1; 7-6

Seemingly getting better at gambling.  I ended up pushing the '9ers-Texans.  Oh well.  See the full Pick'Em for last week here (Week 7).  Let's do it for Week 8 - as always, BOLD teams are home teams, and all straight up picks are gut calls.  Let's do this chums!

From Around the League

A few quick notes on this Thursday afternoon for the National Football League - as always, look for my weekly Pick'Em sometime tonight or tomorrow morning.  I am going to try posting the picks on Tuesday or Wednesday night for the rest of the season, but I had some personal things to take care of in the middle of this week.

Not sure if you saw these, so I'm hitting you with it now...

World Series Game 1 Foreboding?!

FACT:  Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia have never faced each other since they were teammates, fact. - BuDaMan

That's a true fact.  Irrefutable.  FALSE:  You would be foolish to believe such "facts".  I misled you to bring you back to the flock - follow me for a minute...

Thursday April 16, 2009 - Opening Day for the "New House", the New Yankee Stadium.  1:00PM/ET game time.  The New York Yankees host the Cleveland Indians.  On the hill for their respective teams, the squad's ace's:  C.C. Sabathia for the Yankees, and Cliff Lee for the Indians.

It's Official Bitches

After a week of speculation, rumors, and creepy handwritten messages from fugley 22 year old production assistants, Steve Phillips has once again been fired from a job.

Personally, I'm just really excited that we don't have to listen to this moron say "I'm the guy who found David Wright", because no one cares.  No one cared then, no one cares now.  Steve, if you didn't say it every single time you were on the air, I wouldn't mind so much.  But it's ALL the time man!  If you brought up the Mo Vaughn deal the same amount as the David Wright stuff, I would also give you a bit more credit for owning up to how good (bad) you were as a General Manager.

New York Football Jets - Quick Notes

The game isn't over yet, but I have two notes:

1. Leon Washington definitely snapped his leg.  It was gross.  The only information back is that he won't return for this game.  I know what a broken bone looks like, and that was it.  Crack reporting at ESPN.com has the following to report:

SportsNation Question

Question the nation, ESPN.  Glad to know that I represent 50% of the nation - siick.

Chad Eight-Five Looks to Kill BuDaMan

Seriously.  These latest events are a game changer for the BuDaMan.  Because of these events I will go from somewhat irrelevant, to completely and utterly irrelevant.

If you have ESPN, Deadspin, AND Chad Eight-Five doing what I'm trying to do, what's the point...

Check it out if you'd like, but I'm fucked...

NOT COOL

Seriously.  Not cool.  Jasper Howard, murdered this past week at the University of Connecticut after a homecoming game and festivities had witnesses to his murder, but they're being threatened with violence if they come forward.

Check it out.

My question is: WHO?  Who is threatening with violence?  A gang?  The mob?  A gang/mob combination?  Bloods, Crypts?  Was Howard involved in more than just football?

Random News

Just found this on Deadspin - I have to say, I found this hilarious.

Here you go, enjoy.

BuDaBro With The BOLD Claims

So as I am watching the Yankees get shalacked in the early (and middle) innings of ALCS Game 5, my brother has turned on Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon.

Great '70s movie - hilarious and ridiculous.  My brother made the claim that Bruce Lee was the inventor of modern day Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), which seems like a plausible claim.  It stops there.  He also claimed Bruce Lee invented nunchucks.  Nice try BuDaBro!  More like 17th Century, not 1970 something...

Next claim that made me write this article was that he claimed Bruce Lee invented the MMA technique of the armbar.  This sounds implausible... Let's do some Google Research...

Blown Calls? Not in MY World Series!!! (UPDATED)

According to certain sources, the umpiring crew to handle the World Series has been changed up.  An official announcement has not yet been made, but Major League Baseball seems to want a very experienced crew to cover the World Series in light of recent events.

I'd Never Have Associated "Brown" with "Gross"

I thought it was an unconfirmed rumor, or speculation, or something.  But it's true.  In my Week 7 Pick'Em, I reference the Browns having an H1N1 issue, and I finally found something on ESPN.com.

Check it out here.

The Browns are terrible, AND they have this going around.  Not good.

NFL Week 7 BuDa Pick'Em!

Let's make this quick and let's see how I did last week.

5-9; 8-6

Still suck at the spread (overall), made some nice calls, which I make note to here.  Let's get it on!  Week 7 picks motha flippa, comin' at'cha...

Baseball Nation

According to an ESPN "SPORTSNATION" Poll from about mid-day on Tuesday October 20, 2009, 52% of the nation believed the Angels would win Game 4.  The states that were predominantly voting for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were on the West Coast on the United States of America, and then connecting through the northern half of the "Mid-West" and Mountain region states.  As the states came to the New York and Pennsylvania border, the states began predominately selecting the New York Yankees to win, but beyond New York State to the east (New England) each state voted in favor of the Angels.

FYI - the New York Yankees won 10-1; CC Sabathia pitched 8 innings (and the home run to Morales can't be considered a mistake, that was an amazing swing of the bat - perfect location and speed, Morales just got it), and ARod has continued his success this post season.

Week 6 Wrap-Up

A few notes about Week 6 that I haven't covered yet (basically everybody in the league that isn't a New York Football team...)

Let's get right to it skanks...

Christian Bale says "You're Amateur!"

"Are you professional or not?!" - Christian Bale

Well Christian, I'm not amateur, but I guess that by all technical terms, I'm also not entirely professional either.

The truth is, I'm 80% professional, 20% amateur.

It's been this way since May.  Shit be wearin' thin, my friends, shit be wearin' thin.

What in gods name are you talking about BuDaMan?

I'm talking about work, silly goose!  I'm talking about work.

Jet-setting for Tougher Times

My feelings about the New York Jets defense have been widely publicized.  After being photographed together in San Tropez, I decided to completely disclose the relationship on the BuDa-BLoG.  I love them.  I just love the Jets defense this year.

I've gone as far as saying they're the best defense in the league (earlier this season - see BuDa Pick'Em Week 3) and after their stumbles have believed.  I believe the Jets will be back to 3-0 form soon enough!

Super Powers AND YOU!

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

NY Football Giants Test #1: FAILURE

The Giants went into today as an undefeated team, ready to duke it out against another undefeated team.  The 2007 road warriors were expected to be ready for a challenge.

On paper, the Giants have the edge in this game.  Although the Saints offense is one of the best this year, the Giants defense is held to a high standard.

So much for standards.

My Buddies

So I refer to some of my friends a little bit in my posts, and I think you should all get to have an idea of who you are dealing with.  In order to protect their anonymity, I will relate them to people who they are similar to that people may relate to.  HERE WE GO!

Who Do You Think You're Kidding Mr. Employer?!

Okay, I know what you're thinking.

BuDaMan, you are the most neurotic and paranoid dude, quite possibly ever.  What's wrong with you?

You'll be happy to know that I think the same thing pretty much every second of my life.  I know I'm a psycho.  I'm not normal.  I don't think in the normal way.  But your employer has no god damn right to have any idea what your health situation is like.  Period.

Your employer provides you with shitty health insurance, so they probably think they have the right to know what your health situation is like.  Here's the deal - They have the right to dick.

Doing Work | Done Working - NFL Week 6

Okay everybody, here's the deal.  I give you my heartfelt opinions and beliefs about who is doing well (and will continue to do well) and who will not produce for some time to come.

That's what DOING | DONE is all about.  I'm going to try to change a few things about the format, and I also don't think it will be a weekly article.  Seems a bit much.  Would love some feedback and thoughts about what you think about the column - seriously.  Going to try to be a bit shorter with my explanations and do it more like a list with some quick hits along the way.

Let's get into it!  Who is Done, and who has entered Beast Mode?  Find out... RIGHT NOW!

To All The Haters - I Don't Like You Either

And you thought MY posts were long?!  Bitch Please.  Check this out.  It's really long (TWSS).

NFL Week 6 BuDa Pick'Em!

Straight up, usually my bread and butter, was not getting my schwerve on last week. Let's see how we did.

8-6; 6-8

As always, BOLD teams are home teams, straight up picks are gut calls.

"He who waits, masturbates."

Stupid Corporate Emails

So who hates receiving stupid emails at work from people you don't know?  I do.  Happens all the time.  Complete your timesheets, fill out your expense reports, if you are taking off the day before a holiday be sure to log it as a personal or vacation day, please remember to flush the toilet when done, wash your hands before returning to work.  But the worst out of all of these, the good bye email you get from someone you don't even know, or care about.

ESPN's Shitty Crew

Is it just me, or is Trent Dilfer just too much of a douchebag for his own good? I'm sorry, were you good at football or something? I thought you were very widely regarded as the worst quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl.

See that picture to the right? Jerkoff central, right there. Seriously, the guy is too much of an asshole for me to watch as an "analyst" or "expert" on ESPN. Honestly though, he's still better than Keyshawn Johnson.

Curb, or BuDaMan?!

Who saw this past week's Curb Your Enthusiasm?  Larry bumbled and fumbled with different ways to undo a bra.  It was actually very similar to the episode of Seinfeld where Jerry and George are talking about the "ways" they can and can't go.  "I'm a lefty, can't go left".  Maybe Larry is stealing my ideas (See this article).  Probably not, but no one is reading this anyways, so let me delude myself.

MNF Graphics

So I'm watching Monday Night Football this evening - Jets versus Dolphins - and I'm noticing that ESPN has a schnazzy little graphic for the first down/line of scrimmage marker.  Most television networks have a standard yellow as the first down line, and then have a standard blue, or some dull color, to mark the line of scrimmage.

BRUUCE!!! Oct 9 Review & Recap

Well everybody, it's over.  It's finally over.  October 09, 2009 at Giants Stadium, Bruce rocked the house (and built a house...of love, and faith, and music, and Jersey Soul, and noise...), and now all we have to look forward to is their hiatus.

Well, let me break down the set list for you, and provided you with some comments from my evening.  The moral of this story?  "Old people suck, and just aren't fun."  I'm not talking about Bruce, but I am talking about certain people - you know who you are.  Here's the set list (and as always, the handwritten list to the right.

Doing Work | Done Working - NFL Week 5

So you know that periodical I was going to start doing next week, fuck it, I'm doing it right now!

Here's how it works - I will list players that are Doing Work, and I will list players that are Done Working.  More or less, this is not only a snap shot of the NFL, but also my thoughts on their career.  It's both a power poll of players I think are red hot (and will probably stay that way) and player I think are broken down (and no mechanic is fixing them).

For now, I'll list 5 players in the Doing column - for the 5 quarters of ball these beasts practice and play for - and I'll list 5 players in the Done column - for the 5 days of practice they'll be lucky to get on the scout team for.

First up, the DONE Column.

NFL Week 5 BuDa Pick'Em!

Little bit better against the spread in Week 4, but not by much - I still suck at gambling.  Gambling - the only area left for me to achieve "Awesome" status!  How'd we do last week?  Check it, before you wreck it:

6-8; 9-5

Alright friends, right to it!  BOLD teams are home, all straight up picks are gut calls.  By reading this, you have just confirmed that I am the man.

Windows 7 launches October 22

Hate Vista?  Hate XP?  Still own a PC?  Windows 7 launches as a non beta version to the public on October 22.  Check out this review for some more details.

My take is that (A) I need a PC for programs I use for my industry, and (B) I'm going to wait until after the October 22 date for a new computer so that it can be built for Windows 7.  The upgrading process sounds horrendous for XP.

ALDS on TBS

So I'm watching the Twins @ Yankees tonight on TBS, and the game is about to go over on time. Dude comes on the screen from the studio and notes that the game will run late, and "...we will begin the Cardinals @ Dodgers game on our sister network, TNT, when that game is ready to begin. So if you are interested in watching that game, please switch to TNT in about... 8 minutes or so..." Awesome. There is nothing I hate more than poor coverage of sports, especially when I consider a game that I am watching "important". Turner Sports - thank you for not blacking out even a minute of coverage, or forcing me to change my television station. Well done sirs.

Cups in the Front, Hoops in the Back

"You know about the cup sizes and all?  They have different cups. . . Ya got the A, the B, the C, and the D.  That's the biggest." - Frank Costanza

I'm a dude.  I trained my brain to know the way a bra worked, so that when the time came I would know what to do.  I have trained myself to be able to get a bra off in about 2-5 seconds without more than two fingers.  I don't think I'm special, I think I'm normal.  Most dudes probably mastered these techniques.

A few days ago (and it wasn't the first time) I was thrown a curveball.  Has a woman ever asked you to hook her bra ON for her?  Well it blew my mind.

Jesus Christ Almighty!

I won't make any bones about it - I'm not religious.  I was raised Catholic, and now I'm a bad Catholic.  I know a lot of bad Catholic's, but most bad Catholic's go to every Easter, and every other Christmas Eve mass.  Me?  I'm done.  So I guess I'm a really bad Catholic.  For all technical purposes, I'm actually Agnostic.  I may not necessarily be able to prove God exists or doesn't exist, but I can assure you that there is a lifetime of scarring thanks to the enlightenment I received growing up.

I am most familiar with Catholicism, but from time to time in my religious rants I may stumble across other religions.  I would apologize for my possible future ignorance, but it's your own ignorance that you should probably be apologizing for anyway, so we should both let it slide.

What I don't get is that a book written thousands of years ago, and written over thousands of years, can be regarded as absolute truth by modern day followers.  THE WORD OF GOD!  FYI dumbass, those aren't a god's words, nor are they Jesus's words - they're interpretations of interpretations of interpretations.  For all you know the Gideons could be fucking with all of us!  The actual bible was written in ancient Hebrew, and has been difficult to translate on a 1-to-1 basis, so explain to me how we have moron's in America talking about the word of god, and "What Would Jesus Do?"

REVIEW: Dead Space (360)

Dead Space is a game in the "Survival Horror" genre, as coined by Resident Evil, and in fact has a over-the-shoulder third person point of view as seen in Resident Evil 4 & 5. Dead Space incorporates some features from other survival horror games such as minimal ammunition, and a four-dimensional item box (safe). Where Dead Space deviates from the traditional is where the game manages to be at its best.

I Hate Bosses

This picture makes me laugh, but it also makes me think about how ON Gary Cole was to totally nail the Bill Lumbergh character. I hate my bosses. I do. I don't do well with people telling me what to do, especially when 90% of the time they're telling you to do something you've already been instructed to do one way, and now in the 11th hour you're being asked (demanded) to do it a completely different way. Not such a big fan of management, because most of the time their true title should be mismanagement.

Social NetFailing

According to old people, you need to mind your facebook manners.  The truth is that all of the social networking sites have now been infiltrated and are well past their prime.  Facebook.com, an internet social networking site created by Mark Zuckerberg, first came on the scene and linked college students to one another.  With wall posts, messages, and eventually picture posting, stalking one another, or finding out if some dude you hooked up with at the bar has syphilis, became easier than ever.

Fast forward a year or two, and you have the Facebook network no longer discriminating against high school students, and eventually allowed people to subscribe under the network of "No Network".  This "No Network" turn was only the beginning of the end.  With application additions, and people logging on to Facebook simply to play some sort of stupid ass mini-game, the old Facebook of harmless stalking and learning about people's lives without ever talking to them became a thing of the past.

RECAP: NFL Week 4

Let's go over a few things so you all have some awesome reading for your shitty Monday's at work.

A few picks I'm happy about:
Bucs (+7) OVER Skins, but Skins win outright (Nailed It!) and Broncos (+2.5) OVER Cowboys and winning outright (not to mention the GMeN!)

A few picks I'm not so happy about:
Ravens (+2) OVER Pats and winning outright (really thought they had it in them!); Titans with points and straight up OVER Jags (I'm shocked, just shocked); Jets (+6.5) OVER Saints and straight up (I think I have to concede in quest for the Saints crappiness); and the Bills OVER Dolphins straight up (yeesh...)

So what can we conclude from this week of play?  Well the first and foremost in my mind is that (A) the Jets are human, and yes, they do have a rookie quarterback at the helm, and (B) the Saints look legit.  Before today, you can say the Week 2 victory over Philadelphia MIGHT have been an aberration, but not after today.  The Jets could have kept it closer, but two early touchdowns and they were fighting from way behind - something they never had to do to this point in the season.  Reggie Bush is ACTUALLY effective with Pierre Thomas as the primary running back, and Brees' receiving corps is full of so much talent, you never know who gets the ball and they're all dangerous with it.  Very difficult to guard against.  The Jets versus the Saints wasn't the only game that occurred this Sunday though...

I'm Whoring Myself Out

Sorry guys, it's official. I'm enabling advertisements on my page to see how much money I can make. (Seriously, if it's more than $1 per month, that will make my millennium)

Honestly, I love the BuDa-BLoG, and I love it in its pure, unadulterated, free form. If the ads hurt the BuDa-BLoG in any way, I will have them removed somehow. I more or less just want to see how this crap works.

If you are interested in becoming a BuDinSIDER, all you have to do to join is pay the small one time amount of.... PSYCH! F*that shit, f* that shit big time. Enjoy the BLoG peeps.

FOLLOW UP: Why Would I Pay For The Internet?

As you know, I was at the Bruce Springsteen concert the past few days, and on Saturday while tailgating, my friends and I had a somewhat heated discussion about the internet, paying for it, and my blog.

First, let me say how flattered I was that my blog post sparked such an insightful riot of thoughful debate. Second, my opinion has not changed, although I would like to state that my fellow master debaters had very good arguments, and their opinions should be respected as such.

For those who don't know, the argument is essentially about "How to make money on the internet". My position is that subscription based "special" articles are bullshit for a heavily viewed and popular website to utilize, especially when there are advertisements galore, and floating ads that follow me when I scroll down the page. My friends who I were disagreeing with me didn't necessarily disagree with my position, but felt that the utilization of subscriptions (similar to ESPN's insider package) can only help to increase revenue.

BRUUCE!!! Oct 2 & 3 Review

Well everybody - week one of Bruce rocking the Meadowlands is done.

Below are the official set lists, and my comments, but let me first say this. Noticeably missing for all three concerts was Patti Scalfa, Bruce Springsteen's wife. They've been having relationship problems (according to the media that are even less credible than myself), so to me this is just weird. I know the stories that when they are in Jersey she spends time with the kids. Well great, if I was fucking Bruce maybe I'd be able to get a check for doing nothing - but most of America has to work for what they get! If you are performing at a place that is 20 minutes from your home base, get the sand out and show up. The rest of the band is there. Personally, she doesn't bring much to the table as she is just a backup singer who bangs Bruce, so she stand on the opposite side of Steven Van Zant - primo real estate! Show up! That's all you have to do. Show up! Bruce is the performer who is supposed to be able to relate to the average American. Personally, I cannot relate to the fact that they're performing around the corner from her house and Patti just needs to spend time with her daughter who is on an equestrian tour. Fuck that shit, fuck that shit big time. Show up and do your god damn job.

October 02, 2009

Wrecking Ball

Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

No Surrender

Outlaw Pete

Hungry Heart

Working on a Dream

Badlands

Adam Raised a Cain

Something in the Night

Candy's Room

Racing in the Street

The Promised Land

Factory

Streets of Fire

Prove it All Night

Darkness on the Edge of Town

Waiting on a Sunny Day

I'm Going Down

Be True

Jailhouse Rock

Thunder Road

Long Walk Home

The Rising

Born to Run

--------

Cadillac Ranch

Bobby Jean

American Land

Dancin' in the Dark

Rosalita

October 03, 2009

Wrecking Ball

Out in the Street

Outlaw Pete

Hungry Heart

Working on a Dream

Born in the USA

Cover Me

Darlington County

Working on the Highway

Downbound Train

I'm on Fire

No Surrender

Bobby Jean

I'm Going Down

Glory Days

Dancing in the Dark

My Hometown

The Promised Land

Last to Die

Long Walk Home

The Rising

Born to Run

Jersey Girl

------

Kitty's Back

Detroit Medley

American Land

Waiting on a Sunny Day

Thunder Road

I am partial to the performance on Sept. 30, because he played both Atlantic City and Growing Up - which are two of my favorite Bruce songs, and two of which I wasn't expecting him to play. Badlands is another one of my favorite songs, but I expect him to play it either first, or at least at SOME point in the performance. Saturday's show featured no Badlands. Still a great show, but I wanted Badlands more than most of the crowd, and Mike Francesa, wants Thunder Road - "You ain't gettin' no Thunda Road!" I really liked the Kitty's Back to the Detroit Medley portion of the Saturday night show. Those are songs that are great jams, and I wasn't expecting him to play that at all. Not a popular choice, but I was totally digging it. Unfortunately, Saturday's performance didn't have either Badlands OR Rosalita, which deviated from the handwritten set list. Still, a hell of a concert. Bruce is a phenomenal performer.

Friday Oct. 02 Bruce played songs from Darkness on the Edge of Town, which is a great album, and Sat. Oct. 03 played songs from Born in the USA. This is a special treat he's trying to give the Jersey crowd for the last performance at this Giants Stadium. I could also go for a block of The Rising - a little Lonesome Day and other songs! Very good album, and because it's one of his more recent albums, probably doesn't get the credit it deserves.

Fortunately, I had no problems with old men demanding I sit down either of these performances, and I had a great time. My tailgate on Friday night was a little longer than Wednesday nights, and it was myself, BuDaChick and two of BuDaChick's friends - good tailgate, good performance, good time! Saturday was a little bit more dramatic. The idea was an all day tailgate, weather permitting. At one point, it wasn't looking like the weather would permit at all - we kept the faith and drove through the rain, hit Jersey and BOOM! Rain stops, sun comes out, tailgate commences! It was myself, BuDaChick, BuDaChick's mom and BuDaChick's mom's friend, my buddy "DaMayo", and our friend "Mac'n'Kev" met us their via the train with his brother and his brother's girlfriend. Great tailgate, great people. Instead of all getting split up, we ending up joining together again in Section 227 for some Level 2 dance-partying and some bad ass Brucery!

I know that my man Mac'n'Kev wants to say hi to some girls in Section 227, Rows 3, or 4 or 5 - I don't know where you guys were sitting, but he definitely liked one and/or a few of you. I know this because he didn't know your names, not even close to knowing them, and cared to ask me to find out. I lean over and say "HI! I'm BuDaMan, what's your name?!" She says, "HI! I'm Tracy!...", immediately turning to the Mac'n'Kev to say, "...YOU DIDN'T KNOW MY NAME?!?" AH! Caught! I knew I liked her right then and there. To be able to sniff out that tride and true man-tactic in the heat of a rocking Bruce concert, well done sir (ma'am). I don't think it worked out though, because Mac'n'Kev was having a dance party with her friend a few more songs into the evening.

Good times - great times! I hope everyone I went with for the first time had a great concert, and I hope our tailgating lived up to the billing! Be back next week with a review of next Friday's concert.

I Hate Human Resources

"Toby Flenderson is everything that is wrong with the paper industry..." -Michael Scott, The Office

At work, nobody likes their boss. Bosses suck. Your boss has to get production out of you, so they have to be somewhat nice to you, as well as be a complete corporate douche.

The trolls from Human Resources are by far the most evil corporate incarnation imaginable. Their title implies that they are a resource for humans should you need anybody resourceful. Brilliant title - because it's a ruse! Their job has nothing to do with helping you. Their job has everything to do with finding better ways to fuck you.

If you work for a small enough company/office/firm that doesn't need the "assistance" of a Human Resources department, well then great, stay there for eternity. Human Resources are employed generally by larger corporate firms, and their charge is to make sure no one in the company says anything that could implicate them in a lawsuit, and to make sure that all employees use vacation and personal time when they want a long holiday weekend. If you have an actual problem your WORST bet is to go to these morons. First of all, they're horrible unhappy people (I could be generalizing but I don't care, because they don't) and they hate the fact that they have to work at all.

Go to HR for assistance and get ready for a series of grumbles and shuffling of papers, to invariably find that they reach for a specific sentence in some retarded employee manual/handbook. This sentence they are referencing has nothing to do with anything, but somehow negates your issue and anything you might say. This sentence could be construed and misconstrued a million times over, but to these beasts of the HR dungeon, it means only one thing and they want you out of their stupid cubicle so they can finish their McDonald's Apple Pie.

You are a busy employee, so you don't have time for this shit - so when you have a problem you will send the HR idiots an email. They will respond within 30 seconds saying "Please see me in my office." They don't want anything in writing that hasn't gone through the committee for approving verbiage, the committee for corporate messaging, and then the committee directing the assistance of human resources. Before you get anything in writing from an HR representative, it will have gone through light years of red tape. All you wanted to say was that the last time you went to take a shit there wasn't any TP available. Three weeks later after you've long forgotten whatever issue you have, you might get an email saying "We are currently looking into resolving this issue. Thank you."

Never talk to a Human Resource Rep. about one of your superiors. They don't work for you (which is what is implied but is completely not true), they work FOR your superiors and WITH your superiors. Anything you say in confidence to them will 90% of the time be translated word for word. Layoff time, "oh, well BuDaMan came to me and said you have nasty breath - not coffee related, just like ass. '...breath is like pure ass, almost all of the time...' were his words exactly." Awesome.

So who do you go to when you have a problem at the office? How, if you are not supposed to burn any bridges, do you resolve your issues without hurting anyones feelings?

The answer is, "You Are Fucked." Sorry pal. Suck it up, you've got no recourse whatsoever. Just like a marriage, put your head down, grin and bear it, and pretend like everything is okay - smile and nod.

So FUCK HUMAN RESOURCES. No one is looking out for you but yourself. Human Resources more than anyone out there is looking to find different ways to fuck you. Maybe we should all have Human Resources Appreciation Day, where we fuck with them all day. If I have to take one more benefits survey to determine how the company can best save money (and fuck me more), I'm just going to lose it.

NFL Week 4 BuDa Pick'Em!

Okay kids - what did we learn last week? BuDa is a bad gambler. Here are my stats from last weeks pick'em, spreads first, straight up second:

5-11; 10-6

I don't care what you say, because I still think I'm the man - I'm the BuDaMan dammit. Let's fucking do this thing. BOLD teams are home, all straight up picks are gut calls. Roll out homes.

Sunday October 04, 2009

1:00PM/ET

Ravens (+2) OVER Patriots; Ravens (+0) OVER Patriots

I'm probably over-estimating the Ravens offense at the helm of sophomore Joe Flacco, but what the hell. The Ravens defense is great, so is the Patriots offense. If I have anywhere to be wrong, this is it. This is going to be a great matchup.

Buccaneers (+7) OVER Redskins; Redskins (+0) OVER Buccaneers

I guess I believe less in the Zorn-skins than I do in the Bucs. I think something good happened last week with Jason Campbell, and Santana Moss breaking out like that is what they need to be successful. You can't have Sanny Moss getting only 1 or 2 throws a game. By halftime, he needs at least 5 attempts. I think Redskins can win, but I just don't think it's guaranteed. The Skins have a tough front line, so Cadillac Williams won't have an easy time, and the Bucs QB isn't going to be Leftwich, so there is no guarantee they'll be on the same page.

Titans (-3) OVER Jaguars; Titans (+0) OVER Jaguars

MJD had a great game last week, but I'm still not sold on him being the primary every down back. Last year with an aging Fred Taylor, MJD should have established himself in a clear way. No way to the Titans go 0-4. Look for Chris Johnson to rock the shit.

Texans (-9.5) OVER Raiders; Texans (+0) OVER Raiders

The Raiders just aren't good. They're not. I have Darren McFadden on one fantasy team, and I'm benching him this week for Glen Coffee. JaMarcus Russell sucks - and I'm happy about that. That's what he gets for being a holdout biggity bitch. To be the sleeper darling the Texans have to get rolling soon, and who better than blowout a bad Raider team. Don't believe they're bad? The head coach broke his assistants jaw they're so bad.

Lions (+10.5) OVER Bears; Bears (+0) OVER Lions

Kevin Smith not playing is a big question mark, and the Bears aren't the Zorn-skins. Lions might have a chance at an outright win, but at Soldier Field, I'd have to go with, "no, they won't". I have to take the Lions with points, but the Bears are looking like a quietly solid team. Win over the Steelers, and Cutler seems to be settling in.

Bengals (-5.5) OVER Browns; Bengals (+0) OVER Browns

The Man-genius is looking more like a Man-moron. I am not on the "Brady Quinn is awesome" bandwagon, but 3 games as a starter isn't nearly long enough to get comfortable and establish himself. It doesn't seem like his team believes in him (Mangini), and the Bengals are looking very good - like Carson Palmer pre-knee injury good. Cedric Benson, wow, doubt he can keep it up, but ride those fantasy points while you can. Blow out.

Seahawks (+6.5) OVER Colts; Colts (+0) OVER Seahawks

Hasselbeck should play, right? If he does he'll be in pain when throwing. The Colts offense looks good even though I still hate Joseph Addai (fucked me over in 5 leagues last year...), and the Colts defense is a bit banged up. They should win, but I don't know, the Seahawks defense is good so I think it's close.

Giants (-9) OVER Chiefs; Giants (+0) OVER Chiefs

The Giants defense is banged up, and against the Bucs they still looked very good. You can't say the Bucs are a bad offense because they put up 450 total yards in Week 1. The Chiefs offense is good, but Dwayne Bowe might not play, and Larry Johnson isn't a primetime back anymore. The Giants should win this with defense alone, add their offense to the equation and I'm liking the over. Go Big Blue!

4:00PM/ET

Jets (+6.5) OVER Saints; Jets (+0) OVER Saints

I'm saying it again - I'm going against the Saints until they lose so I can say I was ahead of the curve. This team is good though, scary good. Brees is a great QB, and their running game (as long as it isn't Reggie Bush) looks great. Also, their defense isn't really that terrible. That said, they've played Detroit, Philly, and Buffalo. The Jets defense, in my opinion, is better than all of those, but honestly, Philadelphia's defense is good - I wasn't expecting the Saints to put up 48 against them. If they win big this week, you have to consider them legit. Until then, I'm sorry - I'm a hater.

Bills (-2.5) OVER Dolphins; Bills (+0) OVER Dolphins

Two and a half points?! That must have been determined before Pennington went down. No way does "Other" Chad Henne lead this team to a victory this week. True, it's against a division rival at home, but Ted Ginn Jr. looks like shit, and that leaves only the running game to shut down. I think Buffalo wins by 4.

Broncos (+2.5) OVER Cowboys; Broncos (+0) OVER Cowboys

I'm not a fan of the Cowboys, obviously. I'm also not a fan of Marion Barber the 3rd as the primary back, let alone as the primary back playing hurt. Tashard Choice should have a big game, so activate him on your team if you have him. The Broncos just seem like they have a good vibe going, and the Cowboys have no leadership. Wade Phillips or Tony Romo should be that leader, but they're not. Phillips took Parcells team and managed one good year. Then he started implementing his own plans and fucked it all up. I like the Broncos as a sleeper, and I like Brandon Marshall as a breakout WR this year - turmoil and trouble, rises to the occasion and helps turn the season around. It's got everything you want from a comeback story. BMarsh, count it.

49ers (-10) OVER Rams; 49ers (+0) OVER Rams

Ten point spread. Wow, that'll kill me. I think the Rams defense won't let it happen, but I just can't pick the Rams right now. They're 0-3, and the only real hint of a good defense is that Stevie Spags is there as the head coach. Glen Coffee, bring it on homie!

8:20PM/ET

Steelers (-6.5) OVER Chargers; Steelers (+0) OVER Chargers

This is not a bad team, just with a poor start. Polamolu or not, the Steelers defense is good stuff and trustworthy. I think the Chargers are overrated. Phil Rivers throws like the football equivalent of baseball's Johnny Damon - like a girl. He has terrible mechanics, and he's an asshole. Willie Parker is done, Mike Tomlin just doesn't want to make it public yet.

Monday October 05, 2009

8:30PM/ET

Packers (+3.5) OVER Vikings; Packers (+0) OVER Vikings

This is sort of a tough call because the Vikes are at home, which won't make it easy on the Pack. All this talk about Brett Favre playing his old team - call me when he's at Lambeau, until then, it's the same old story that I still don't care about. Favre isn't a game changer, and I still think they're a better offense when it's based off of Adrian Peterson, but Favre is better than Tavaris Jackson for sure. Plus, that was a fantastic pass to win the game. That said, they're not an amazing team, and they're LUCKY to be 3-0 right now. This is a good Packers team, and their offense is primed to explode. I would guess they'd do it indoors. Just a gut call that Rodgers has a solid day. He is a good quarterback and he got all the jitters out last year. Time to put up or shut up, and I think Rodgers is like rock on Monday night, while Favre has some heart palpitations.

See you next week.

BRUUCE!!! Sept. 30 - Giants Stadium #1

It's here people - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at the final concerts of Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. Siick.

I was there, and if I can describe it in one word: awesome. If I have the option of describing it in two words: fucking awesome. It was bad ass. Here is the official set list:

Wrecking Ball

Seeds

Johnny 99

Atlantic City

Outlaw Pete

Hungry Heart

Working on a Dream

Thunder Road

Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

Night

Backstreets

Born to Run

She's the One

Meeting Across the River

Jungleland

Waiting on a Sunny Day

The Promised Land

Into the Fire

Lonesome Day

The Rising

Badlands

No Surrender

---------------

Raise Your Hand

E Street Shuffle

Growing Up

American Land

Dancin' In The Dark

Hard Times

Rosalita

Bruce came on about 8:15pm and opened with Wrecking Ball, a new song he was rumored to be writing specifically for the final Giants Stadium concerts. It was true - and awesome. Bruce and the E Street Band managed to rock out for about 3 and a half hours, pretty much non stop as always. Overall a great concert.

Highlights of the night for me were Atlantic City and Growing Up as they're probably my favorite Bruce songs, and I wasn't expecting him to play either one LET ALONE BOTH. Awesome. Other highlights were American Land which was about 10 minutes long and I haven't heard live, and that went right into Dancing in the Dark. Bruce brought up an old lady on stage during this song and started dancing with her like she was Courtney Cox pre-Arquette. It was pretty awesome.

During the final concerts at Giants Stadium Bruce will be doing something "a little special" as he called it. They will be picking an album and playing songs from that album somewhere in the middle of the show. Last night was Born to Run. Friday will be Darkness on the Edge of Town, Saturday will be Born in the USA, next Thursday should be Born to Run again, and the final concert next Friday should be Born in the USA.

*SIDE STORY* I want to say somewhere around "Into the Fire", a good amount of the crowd sat down. I just want to point out that myself and BuDaChick did not sit down once, and only two times in the entire concert did a portion of the crowd sit - it was that awesome. Anyhoo... I get a tap on my shoulder, "Can you sit down?" I don't really feel like sitting down, but I decide to check with MY Boss, and BuDaChick replied, "No.", I said okay, and turned back to enjoy the show. Another second or two later I get a more hurried tap on my arm, "HEY, WILL YOU SIT DOWN?!" I turn around and say, "No. We don't want." I turn back to the show. This gentleman was very angry with this, because in no time I was forced to turn around, grabbed on the arm and was shook by him, and shortly after was threatened that he would urinate on my seat. I was called an asshole, to which I replied, "Yes. Yes I am an asshole. Now calm the fuck down, and don't touch me." We weren't the only people standing in the stadium, first of all, there were people standing next to us, and in this moron's row as well. My position is that if you pay for the seat, you can do whatever you want in that space. This guys point was that no one was standing in front of me and that I should sit down. I told him to go fuck himself, and his buddy chimed in. Another minute or two of this and I am really starting to get annoyed with this disturbance - I WANT TO WATCH BRUCE GODDAMMIT! I told these douchebag's that they would need to stop - they dared me to get security, and another five minutes later there were dudes in yellow jackets checking out the area. Listen people - don't fuck with anyone else in a public place, period. I didn't really care to get the security, but this fucker called me out on it. I wouldn't have cared if he was just asking me, but the moment he put his hands on me I was furious. This guy was a little too old for me to deck him and have me not be in the news and headed for a trial, which is a perfect excuse because there I'm so non-confrontational that I wouldn't have done anything anyway. You can tap people on the shoulder (excuse me, I'm trying to make my way through), but you cannot clench your knuckles around anyones arm or shoulders or boobs or ass - it's just not appropriate. Count it!