Hiatus

As you may have noticed, I have taken down several posts on this blog. I have determined that due to significant personal issues and out of respect of those that I care for and care for me that it is appropriate to take these specific posts off the blog.

Furthermore, I have decided that I will be going on a hiatus for writing this blog. I am undergoing some very intense personal issues that I will need to work on before I am able to resume writing for this blog. I will resume at such time as things in my world settle.

I wish all of you well during this process.

I'm Back!!!

It has been quite awhile since I last posted and an awful lot has happened in that time span. Recently, I have had people coming to me stating that they had checked this blog to see if anything has been posted only to be disappointed by having to view stupid videos made by people who have too much time on their hands. Like who really has time to super impose Star Wars warships onto the streets of San Francisco? Then I had to ask what the hell is wrong with me that I would looking for such a dumb video? Then I thought...I am wasting too much time on this blog. I was missing out on sporting events, sex, booze, work, and living with a North Korean dictator. I started to also have doubts that I know what I am doing. My football picks are terrible. I went 37% on pro football picks last weekend. My cat can do better than 37% by merely taking a leak on the helmet of one of teams playing the game. So I doubted that my picks and thus my knowledge of sports was badly suspect and that I was not a good enough writer to make this piece of shit blog interesting. So I went on a hiatus in order to figure out what to do next. There were several days that I thought that I would log-in and shut the site down. There were other days that I was going to state that this thing was going to be shut down because Dippy was killed in a biker bar outside of Portsmouth. By the way, Dippy was indicted on federal drug charges for running a drug ring through the pool locker room at the Virginia Beach Wyndham hotel. However, there were many people who came to me asking when I would return including the individual that calls himself Kidnapper #47 who kidnapped and drugged up Dippy a few months back because I was turning into a sports fan hypocrite.

Other things that have occurred in the last three weeks:
1. I went to Minnesota for four days, partied excessively, ate excessively, listened to everyone who talked like Sarah Palin, partied more excessively, and spent most of the week saying "Yeeeeeah."
2. The economy is in the toaster and it's stuck there turning black as the thing won't pop up again. The stock market is about to turn into the biggest looting grab bag for our oligarchs in two decades. Trust me when I say that the rich will get enormously richer in the midst of massive lay-offs and lost lives. It's also strange that the cost of everything else is creeping up slowly right now except for the cost of gas which is falling...right before the elections. Hmmm...
3. The Falcons are 4-2 going into the bye week. People are ragging on me for not believing in my team. Sure I have picked against them six times in a row. How is that believing in my team. Matt Ryan is playing out of his mind and over everyones expectations in his first six games. Of course, I pleaded with porn star Arthur Blank to not draft him in favor of Dorsey. And where is Dorsey now? I have no clue.
This proves I probably should not be let out of the house ever. Not even to buy food for the North Korean dictator living at my house.
4. I went to my high school homecoming weekend (yes, I am a loser) for the eighth straight year and ran into a friend of mine that I have not seen in over ten years. One of his first words to me: "I check for your blog from time to time."
5. The same weekend that my significant other and I were at the homecoming weekend she was dreadfully sick and kept us up all night every night...for all the wrong reasons.
6. I found a wonderful set of beers from a brewery out of all places Fredrick, Maryland called Thirsty Dog. They have a lager, a stout and several other genres. All extremely good. Try the Imperial Stout that is the most bitter stout I have ever had and packs the biggest punch of any beer I have ever had. By the way, the stout is 8.9% alcohol. Try out their website: thirstydog.com

7.   The election is almost over.   Thank God.  Either way it turns out I am happy that it is almost over.  I do not believe that McCain will win.  The most reliable projections that I have seen shows Obama winning the electoral vote fairly easily.  I do not know if he is indeed the best person for the job.  I have no idea how well he will do in the Oval Office, but I have to say that Obama is better than the alternative.  The alternative is a third Bush term and a vice president who is also likely going to be pretty loose with a gun and is being called the possible new face of the GOP.  That would be great...if the GOP wants to resemble the trailer park association of western North Dakota.  

8.   I have been approached with multiple new professional opportunities that I am strongly considering.  Obviously, none of these people have ever read this blog.

So I feel like I have just got of prison after several years and the whole world has changed.  Instead of that old guy in Shawshank Redemption I am not going to freak out and hang myself, but it's going to take something to get used to.  I do not know how often I will write in the post or what it will be I will write about, but I am back.

Taking A Break And Having A Real Meal...Just Like This Guy

As the political landscape of the country is turning into a bizarre Wizard of Oz motif, Dippy's 401K is headed into the toilet, and we are at the All-Star Break in baseball, I am taking a hiatus. I know that it is undeserved, but so was Paul Newman's Oscar. I am taking a break anyways. Call it a separation to clear my thoughts of work and family disturbances. Cloud my brain with good beer, good real meals and better times away from home (I know some of you are asking how this will be any different than when I am on a work related trip...just stop). I will become in the next few days what I hate the most...a tourist. I don't care, it's been awhile. It'll be fun. I think. I get to ride on a subway and dodge bullets. However, I hope to come back with my mind as fertile as Angelina Jolie's uterus.

I need to get away from work. I need to get away from dealing with the mustard gas fire that is Atlanta professional sports....

An aside here. I am truly wondering if I should divorce Atlanta professional sports. It should be (and is, according to Sensai Bill Simmons)allowed that if the owners of your teams professional franchises egregiously damage the team and the fan's psyche with crazy plans and even more ridiculous moves then you can divorce them and go somewhere else.

Case in point, The Hawks Josh Smith is being courted by a number of teams who are in need of his services. He is one of the most coveted free agents right now. He has been linked to a number of teams. The LA Clippers is one of them. Smith has been a key component of the Hawks pseudo resurgence. I'll admit that he has been a bit of an underachiever, however, he grew up a little bit in the play-offs. He is key to the team's future success. The Hawks need him more than most other teams. If the Hawks lose him to any other team (especially to the only inferior franchise in the NBA, the Clippers), then this will mean that the ownership "group" does not care about building for success. It will show that they are more concerned about the bottom line than winning. This group did the same thing to the Thrashers after their first ever play-off appearance last year. So I would not be surprised. Just like I was not surprised that Heath Ledger ended up dead in his New York City suite. I expected that to happen. Just like I expect the ownership group (nobody really knows who owns the Hawks or the Thrashers) to scuttle the team right after a play-off run.

The porn king that is Arthur Blank has totally destroyed the Falcons from now and into eternity. Matt Ryan? No offensive or defensive line? Signing Vick to a $100 million contract that is still being counted against the cap? Please. This is worse than Hannah Montana doing a porn video with the Olsen twins, which is probably Blank's (wet) dream. Well, I guess it would be worse from her father's perspective.

The ownership company that owns the Braves has hand-cuffed the GM from doing anything productive. They need to make a choice about the near and far future. They are leaning towards buying or doing nothing. The two worst moves the team can make. When your team ends up being run by a corporation (aside from the Yankees and the Angels), then your team is doomed to live in the bottom line world where mediocrity is OK as long as we make a profit.

So I am frustrated. The owners do not care about winning. They care even less about the fans. It is not a recent issue either. For the exception of the Braves in the 90's, the owners of all of the sports teams have done their level best to screw up everything. I am tired of dealing with it and living in the 3-13 world of the Falcons or the 24-58 world of the Hawks. So I am thinking of calling my attorney and drawing up the divorce papers just like A-Rod's wife (oh, she's already done it...OK).

That was a long aside. Getting back to the point. Once I clear my head with bad toothpaste, sketchy Richmond, Virginia food, and really damn good beer then I'll make a better decision about Atlanta sports, the market, gas prices, Iran, and whether or not to post Dippy's bail for teaching his puppy how to hide drugs in his mother's house.