BootLeG Year in Review

As another year near its end and a lot of stuff happened to say the least.  There have been much stuff happening around the world and, well, if you want some perspective for that, you could visit some other kind of credible place.  But for now, I'm just gonna place some of the things that I think were important to me and what impacted my blog.  So here's a year in review of the blog that just is for 2011.  Just for the record, it's not like I don't pay attention to current events and what not, it's just that it's my blog and I want to give myself a little praise.


First off, it was a good year in the fact that I try to be as proactive as posting as frequently as possible.  I honestly and earnestly made the valiant effort of doing a once-a-week blog here.  And for the most part (obviously some weeks were a little off because of scheduling and holidays) I did my part.  For 2012, I hope to continue with that effort and keep the caliber of the content at least at the level that it is now, but always trying to expand on it.  Which brings me to my next point.  I wanted to expand on more of a video aspect.  This also comes across as a time and scheduling constraints that I had.  Honestly, time management is something I still need to work on.  Hence why I'm gonna try my damnedest on 2012 to put up more video content.  Let's not forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel to see all the crap that I'd put up so far.


As far as gaming is concerned, it was all well for me finally experiencing the epic awesomeness of all that is the PS3.  Sure it's about 4 years too late, but still, it's badass.  The power of blu-ray and all the games I've played so far, it's gonna set me up for one helluva new year.  It's the main driving force for me to get back on what I stated for my 2012 resolution of playing Final Fantasy VII and complete it by the end of 2012.  It's just that friggin' awesome.  I'm in love with it, it's the only acceptable mistress that the wifie will allow me to have.


Music related, it's just been me listening and enjoying.  Although the urge to play have been great, I've been learning little by little how to play my 12-string acoustic guitar and also thinking of new instrumental accompaniments that also will help with my resolution of writing a new song a month.  So it's all good that I've been just laying it low, and feeling refresh for everyone.  Once again, it'll be a better year next year for that.


As far as other stuff, well, with the work that I'm still putting on the eventual transformation to a new design for the blog, it was pretty laid back.  I promise you, look forward to 2012.  Adios 2011, it's time had left us to a pretty damn good year and set for better times for the next year.  So I leave you with a line from of course one of my favorite bands, doubleDrive; "Give us some confetti here we'll have us a better year"  Hot damn it's almost 2012, see ya next year (or Tuesday, whatever comes first...)

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Early Start on New Year's Resolutions

Here it is getting towards the end of the year and I'm certain among the list of holiday parties and presents and get-together's, I'm certain that somewhere you might have contemplated about what you're trying to do to improve yourself for the next year.  The setting of resolutions and the eventual breaking of them by spring.  Hence why I didn't set any this past year, but I'm feeling a little different this year.  I was thinking about what I could do to improve personally and what goals I thought of what I should do that I haven't accomplished yet.  So I've compiled a reasonable list and this is what I think would be great for resolutions, at least for me.

• Beat Final Fantasy VII, finally :: It was the RPG that changed the landscape of all other RPG's for a generation.  I remember when I first played it back in high school and was fascinated by how badass it was.  It's been a goal since I can remember for such.  So I figured why the hell not.  I've already downloaded it off of the Playstation Network and figured this will be the year I will beat the game that haunted me for the past 15 years.  I'll even post some updates about it later, but this will finally resolve my obsession of beating my white whale.
• Read, something else that isn't webcomics :: As a homeschooling parent the wifie and I stress very strongly the importance of reading to my sons.  They see my wife read a lot, me not so much outside of articles online.  I feel that this is a personal resolution to not help myself be more literate, but be a good example to my sons.  I'm a strong believer that reading is indeed fundamental, and I want to take that example across the board to my sons.
• Write a new song/lyric a month for next year :: I've been personally neglecting myself with writing new material for the past two and a half, well, close to about three years now.  A lot of stuff happened and I wasn't feeling much creative and that I was kind of depressed at that time.  But now since I felt that I've took a long enough hiatus, I want to bring my musical juices back and ripen them for the thoughts that I've had the past time.  I feel pretty good about this and I am assuring myself to put a new song/lyric up once I'm done by the end of each month in 2012.  Get ready for some kickass stuff to come out of this.  And to further on with this, by the end of the year, I will make sure that I learn how to play the guitar and preform one of my songs via a youtube video.  I figure guitar because bass solos, even though I like them, not as sexy as an acoustic guitar.  So look forward to some great content on that end.
• Learn to manage all that's on my plate ::  Lately I've been trying to work on other web content manage systems such as Wordpress and Joomla to help with other's requests for sites.  I have been stuck putting my stuff on the back-burner thinking of other's need before mine.  Which is in essence a good thing, but I need to take some me time to get my stuff off the ground.  I didn't do as much as I thought I would do such as videos on this blog or even upgrading the look and feel just yet, but I will with this resolution.  I want to make time for me to do what's good for me while not neglecting any of the time I devoted for others.  Of course I still need a day job and family time, that's not gonna go away, but I feel that with this resolution, I can get something going for myself as well as others.

So those are just some of the resolutions I plan on taking.  It's not as serious as others like losing weight (which I do need to do) or stop smoking (which I don't smoke to begin with), but it's stuff that I contemplated for for a long time and I really want to get this going.  I love to continue on with this blog post but I really feel that this is enough for now.  It'll be a great year, and I hope that your's will be as well.

Happy holidays and a wonderful new year.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

WTF PEOPLE!?! Electronic Cigarettes

There's just something that I don't get at times.  Why to people try to gun a yellow light from 500 feet away?  What is the fascination of the lottery to most people?  Why the hell don't my kids listen to me?  But those are other discussions, well, maybe not, but it's open.  For now it's all about a growing trend that, well, just about as stupid as the one they're trying to abolish.  Electronic cigarettes trying to make way as the new trend to stop the hazards of smoking but making you look like a complete tool doing it.  I know there have been other things like patches, gum, twelve-step programs, and a bunch of stuff.


But these things now are like the big fad and they look stupid as hell.  I can't believe how popular it become.  Essentially the premise is that they charge from an AC outlet and you can puff and puff from your heart's content and blow out water vapor to look like smoke.  It's like a grown-up version of candy cigarettes.  Really stupid looking and impractical.  And not to mention it's like hella-expensive.  I've seen commercials for such going for a pack of e-cigarettes for $130.  A lot of money for smoke and mirrors (really bad joke, I know)  And for what, to look like this?!?

Of course I'm a big fan of good ol' going cold turkey.  I haven't had a cigarette personally for four years now.  Luckily for me I haven't been smoking all that long, so the process of going cold turkey was good.  And the fact that I was cheap just drove me to quit faster because cigarettes cost money; and that was money taking away from bills and family.  So one and one made two and that's that.


In closing, the point of this rant is smoking is stupid.  No matter what medium you use, it's friggin' stupid.  Unless you're that guy in the video, and then it's funny and stupid.  The easiest thing is if you don't smoke just don't, and if you do, stop.  You'll thank me and everyone that's been telling you to stop later.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

What The Phuck, Eagles' Season is Over

Welcome to another installment of What The Phuck, my perspective for Philly sports as a Philly fan, and an excuse to rant about it in a general forum.  The 2011 season for most NFL teams and fanatics have either been filled with wonder, awe, or heartbreak.  Sometimes a mixture of the three.  For me being a Philly fan, it's just been God-awful.  Let me emphasize on this a little bit.  It's week 12, there's 5 more to go, and a team that was held high for so much of the season even after failed ridicule and a hell-gauntlet of a division, the NFC East, to end up at this point being 4-7 is all but humbling at this point.  It's damn right embarrassing.  I like to point out my views on how come there is so much fail in the organization.


I'm not gonna point fingers to the players, yet...  Don't worry they got their share in this BootLeG approved ass-chewing, but the bulk of it have to fall on the coaching staff.  Andy Reid can't seem to place the players he have or lead them in a way to constantly perform.  The defensive coordinator can't seem to get their front line to hold a rush for anything.  Can't really place blame on the offensive coordinator, that's realistically the players fault.  But I've seen the decline of Andy's coaching performance throughout the years.  Hell, even when Donovan McNabb was still flying high and wearing green, it seemed that he couldn't even coach a kindergartner to eat a pizza at a Chuck E. Cheese.  This guy is really gone down the shitter in the past years and now here we are looking down the barrel of our first losing season since the late 90's, it's real disappointing.  I hope Jeff Laurie is reading this cause this should not continue if he wants his organization to be successful again.  Now, that's just the tip of the iceberg that I want to get out of my chest.  Let's dig a little deeper in the rabbit hole.


Sticking to what I love (now loathe) the most of my birds are is the offense.  I just can't wrap my head around such atrocity that have came into them.  Starting off with the QB that PETA and dog-lovers love to hate, Michael Vick, out with a rib injury because he want's to be a big tough dumbass and take every hit that comes to him instead of trying to keep away and stay healthy.  I swear he's about as useful as Matt Leinert to the position, not much for anything long term.  Not to mention the interceptions, on God, the interceptions that he threw.  It's not all his fault, but it's safe to say that 70% of all the picks that occur is because he can't or won't throw to the boys in green.  Almost like he doesn't give a crap now that he got his contract.  I got news for ya, that crap does not fly with me or any fan, and I'm sure it's not gonna fly with the organization as well too.  And speaking of QB's I'm really pissed at Vince Young pretty much jinxing the team calling it the Dream Team in the preseason and eventually dooming themselves to a Nightmare on Broad Street.  Finally bringing in something to the picture in the past two weeks now that he's been off of his injury in the preseason.  Ugh, these friggin' guys.  And keeping up with the pace with being offensive heavy, how about DeSean Jackson.  He's been on-again-off-again most of this season not being in top form for as long as I can remember.  When was the last time he made a decent punt return, oh yeah, the Miracle at the Meadowlands last year.  Also he's been dropping passes left and right, and when he does catch, it's for little yardage.  In fact, all of the Eagles' wide receivers are playing like crap this year.  The only decent player is LeSean McCoy.  Just about the only solid performer we have this year.  I have to say that he's the only pro-bowl athlete on the Eagles roster this year.  


But now, let me shift your attention to an extremely lacking Eagles defense.  I mean, the front line offers nothing to rush the opposing QB like what Trent Cole used to do a season or two ago.  It's just so pathetic and even worse the ones that do bring up effort in when it supposed to count, in the deep end where you should find the likes of Jason Avant and others that seem to have a hard-friggin' time catching up to the opposing teams wide receivers.  Especially in the forth quarter where they seem to forget that the game actually has that many.  That I think is what pisses me off most of all, is the fact of all the fourth quarter blown opportunities, hell, you could contribute to the fact that after the half they start to decline.  I think Andy Reid gives them stupid pills threatens to stomp on their balls if they actually start giving a damn after the half.  It's almost like their half time preparations consists of booking their bus tickets and hotel stays for the next loss in the next place.  Regardless, the only thing worse than the defense, but still in relation to it, is their special teams.  No real good returns for position, or touchdown for that matter.  And as for the kicking team, well, lets just hope to God that the other team either call a fair catch or take a knee.  All I have to say is please for all that is good and decent, just show up for jeebus sake.


So I'm willing to concede that the Eagles' season is over.  There's no way to compete in such debotchary.  It's not to say that we have the worse record this year so far, that's goes to the Colts being at 0-11.  But that could be easily contributed to the fact that they aren't shit without Peyton Manning which is true; versus that we have a slew of Pro Bowl contenders and with out a doubt completely blow it out their butts.  It's ridiculous and I'm pretty much done with it.  Thank God that I'm a football fan overall, and yes true my alliance is with all sports Philly, it's just that like all hardcore Philly fans, when shit hits the fan, we make sure they know about it, HARD.  Thank God the Flyers are doing well and hopefully the Phills can go for another 100+ win season next year.


BootLeG sampler.. signing out...