Week 12 NFL Picks

Happy Thanksgiving folks.  I had to get my picks in even earlier this week since the NFL insists on having crappy Thursday games (and I have seen the match ups, they are indeed crappy).  Except, of course, for the Denver/Giants game that I have no access to.  I am not thankful to the NFL Network this year needless to say.  I did well last week so I think I’ll continue my trend of paying no attention to whatever my record is.

Green Bay over Detroit.  Could possibly have been a decent game if Stafford was playing but likely the same outcome.  GB seems to have bounced back after their Tampa debacle so I’m going with them.

Dallas over Oakland.  Need I say anything?  I’m aware that Oakland has managed to knock off the Eagles and the Bengals but did they beat them or did those teams beat themselves?  I’m also aware that Dallas has sucked the last few weeks and they’ll do nothing in the playoffs, again, some more.  But I figure they’re at home and it’s Turkey Day and they’ll feel like playing tomorrow.  Watch and see.

New York Giants over Denver.  Denver is who I thought they were.  Which was a team captained by a quarterback that I didn’t believe in in a division which sucks.   The Giants may be back on track but we’ll see, they do need to win here.  I say they will.

Atlanta over Tampa Bay.  Oh, my sweet Bucs.  They’re so terrible that I just want to kick them.  38-7 to the Saints…yeah.  I think they’ll hold Atlanta to two less touchdowns but that doesn’t mean a heck of a lot.  Another lock of the week.

Miami over Buffalo.  Dear Lord there are a ton of terrible teams out there aren’t there?   This is almost depressing.  No wonder my NFL mojo has been dead for months now.  I still love it though, even if it disappoints me.  Anyway, Buffalo still sucks so I’ll go with Miami, who I still can’t figure out but they’re better than Buffalo.  No doubt about it.  The most interesting thing about this game is no doubt the Shanahan speculation.  All this means to me is that the Bucs aren’t going to get a major coach again this year.  Yay, I’m thrilled.

Cincy over Cleveland.  Nice choke job, Bengals.  Just when people are truly coming around on you you go and dick up vs. Oakland.  I know it’s almost impossible to lose to the Browns so you’ll have to try real hard if you want to give away the game again.  I’m going to assume you don’t want to do that and take you with the rebound win.

Seattle over St. Louis.  You could not pay me to watch this game.  That is all.

NY Jets over Carolina.  Battle of the interceptions!  I think Jake Delhomme will win that, say 5 interceptions to 4 for Sanchez.  The Jets are a better team, somewhat, I guess, so I’m picking them.  Who the hell knows?

Philadelphia over Washington.  Yeah, the Skins managed to win a game.  I say they won’t win another.  At least not divisionally.  Another atrocious team.

Indy over Houston.  Peyton Manning owns Houston.  That’s just the way it is.  The Colts keep winning, close games but they are winning.  It’ll make them more prepared for the tough games in the playoffs.

San Diego over Kansas City.  Another week has gone by since I called them soft and they chalked up another win.  You’re welcome, San Diego.  I will take credit, I have no problem with that.  KC is bad but not as bad as a lot of the bad teams.

Jacksonville over San Francisco.  I have no idea why I am going this way, the fact of the matter is that neither of these teams is impressing me but Jax seems to be on a bit of a roll so I’ll go with them.  I’m sure they’ll make me regret it.

Minnesota over Chicago.  You know, I’m almost tempted to say that Cutler is going to rise up and have a good game.  I have no idea why that is and I’d like to bitchslap myself for even thinking it.  Of course, thinking it doesn’t mean endorsing it and I’m going to go with Minny for the win.  I haven’t been able to poke fun at Favre all year, it feels strange.  Still love me some AP.

Arizona over Tennessee.  Zona is better on the road than they are at home.  I know Tenn is on a 4 game win streak right now but who have they been beating?  Nobody too fabulous if I recall.  I’m too lazy to look it up, you know me.  Anyway, I think Tenn’s streak comes to an end.

Baltimore over Pittsburgh.  The champs continue not to be the champs and now Ben has a sore head and he’s still playing, or he says so.  Against Baltimore.  A team that hits very hard.  I don’t think that makes for a good idea, Benjamin.  I think this’ll be close but give Balt the edge due to the beat up Steelers.

New Orleans over New England.  I’m using reverse psychology here cause I think NE could easily win this game.  They should have knocked off Indy but we’re not going to discuss that again.  This should be a very fun, high scoring game.  The team with less turnovers wins.  I give the Saints the edge because they’re at home and I’m working on the reverse whammy.  Go Pats.

Last week I think I missed one game.  Awesome.  Here’s hoping this week is a good one and that everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving.  Back with you next week!

 

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Supernatural Gives Hope With Abandon All Hope

And then there were 4...not these 4 though.

Finally!  I use that word two ways.  Yes, I’m finally doing a Supernatural blog and yes, finally Supernatural has given me a reason to blog again.  Sorry I didn’t write this weekend but I was busy with my New Moon Mania and had to wait to address this.  Plus, I wanted time to ruminate on it a little as well.

If you’re wondering why I didn’t blog the past couple of weeks, it’s because I was just done with all the silly episodes.  They were fine, good even, but I wanted more.  I wanted this.  I wanted epic goodness, mytharc and Lucifer and Castiel.  I finally got all that and more and now will celebrate it with you.

The two episodes I skipped, with the trickster that was really the angel Gabriel and the Supernatural fan convention were fine on their own.  And yes, we learned something.  We learned, again, that Dean and Sam are not going to compromise and become meatsuits for Michael and Lucifer and I guess we learned that the angel faction is getting a bit impatient for things to end, one way or another.  We also learned that Dean and Sam may think their lives suck but at least they get to do something that matters in the world.  Thanks, FatFakeDean, for imparting that wisdom.  Oh, and Becky told them where to find the colt, which is what led us to Abandon All Hope.

Castiel was made of adorable in this episode.

We open with the demon Crowley making a deal.  He’s our man with the colt and the first demon that I have fallen in love with on this show.  I would totally do the seal the deal with the kiss with Crowley and his sexy accent.  Even his kiss with the ugly bank executive did not diminish his awesomeness in my eyes.  It was cute that Cas was all James Bond spying on him too, saying the deal was “going….down.”  Cas follows him but he can’t get into the house.

Crowley's minions captured The Hardy Boys, til Crowley shot them

Dean and Sam bring Jo into things, dressing her all sexily in an attempt to distract the guards and get them onto the grounds.  The boys kill the demon guards and head in to meet with Crowley.  He calls them The Hardy Boys and snarks on how long it took them to find him and they’re silly attempts to trap him by defacing his priceless rug.  The boys get captured but Crowley kills the two demons holding them and offers them the gun.  This is when I fell for him, by the way.  He reveals that he spread the rumors about the gun being around so that they would come get it and kill Lucifer.  Sam and Dean don’t understand why he would want that but Crowley tells them that Lucifer will kill the demons once he’s done getting the earth as his own.  He also calls the boys functional morons which made me giggle.  Sometimes they are.

Evidenced by Sam taking the gun and promptly trying to shoot Crowley after he asks where the devil is, who of course had removed the bullets.  He gives them the ammunition and yells at them for awhile about not missing when they go after the devil so he doesn’t come after him.  Then he vanishes.  Goodbye, my elegant Crowley, may you return again.

Ellen and Castiel are having a shot contest and after a ton of shots Cas is finally feeling something.  He’s so damn cute.  I cannot say that enough.  The boys are planning to head to Carthage, Missouri, where the devil is supposed to be on Thursday per Crowley’s intel.  Dean tries to tell Sam that he shouldn’t go but Sam points out that they need to work together and that they never do the smart thing anyway.   It’s apparently “insult the boys intelligence” day.  Crowley did it better. hehe  Dean eyes Jo and decides to make a move but she rejects him, further cementing her own idiocy in my eyes but making me happy because I never wanted Jo/Dean.  Self respect my ass, if Dean asks me to sex him, I’m going to do it.  Period.  Bobby takes a photo of the gang all together again, which we know is a big sign that not everybody will be returning.

The gang enters Carthage, minus Bobby who stayed home to man things from there I guess.  Castiel rode with the girls and he sees what they can’t, that the town is full of reapers.  Lots of them.  More than means great catastrophe is coming.  He breaks away to find out why they’re there and ends up getting trapped by the devil. How cute was it when he tried to lie to Lucifer about being alone?  I love when Cas lies, he’s so terrible at it.

Meg got the better of the boys but Cas got the better of her.

The only visible person in town is our old pal, demon Meg, who I actually enjoyed in her new meat suit.  I’ve always liked Meg.  She tries to get the boys to come with her to meet Lucifer but they refuse so she unleashes Hell Hounds on them.  One gets Dean and Jo saves him but in the process she’s pretty much gutted.  Dean carries her into a store and the 4 of them hole up while Castiel talks with his “brother” Lucifer.  The devil is starting to molt a bit, looks like he has leprosy or something.  Cas tells him he can’t have Sam Winchester.  Lucifer tries to explain to Cas that they’re on the same side, both have lost the favors of heaven.  Cas tells him he’ll die first.  Sweet Cas.  I was very worried about him all episode.  Turned out I was worrying about the wrong person/people.

Pretty pic of our pretty boys.

Dean radios Bobby and tries to admit that Jo isn’t going to make it but he can’t get the words out.  Bobby guides him about what they’re doing next and helps with researching.  He’s able to pinpoint where Lucifer is going to work a ritual to unleash the Angel of Death.  Yet another Horseman.  They have to go to William Jasper’s farm for the ritual at midnight.

The boys try to concoct a plan to get the girls out and get away from the hounds and such but Jo puts a stop to that, pointing out that she’s going to die.  She offers to stay behind and set off a bomb to take out the Hell Hounds while the boys go after Lucifer.  Ellen and Dean try to argue with her but there is no other solution so they go with it.  Ellen and Jo have a very nice moment with Ellen trying to argue but knowing it’s futile and Jo tells her to treat her like an adult for once.  I won’t lie, I teared up a little here and a lot more when Jo actually died and Ellen was there with her and had to set the bomb off herself.  Dean gave Jo a kiss goodbye…bet she regrets not giving in to the end of the world moment now.  Sorry, that was bitchy, but true.

It was a lovely moment when Ellen refused to leave Jo.  She pointed out that somebody had to let the Hell Hounds in.  I couldn’t help but wonder what John Winchester would have done if the situation were reversed.  Would he have stayed behind with his dying boy?  Either one of them?  What do you all think?  I really don’t know but my guess is no.  Ellen got the bombs ready, told Jo she would always love her and wrapped her arms around her and Jo died before the hounds came in.  So it was quite good that Ellen stayed.  She cried, kissed her, and told her it was okay and then blew the hell out of the building.  And I cried some more.

The boys found the possessed townspeople at the farm and refused to have any last words.  Sam got Lucifer’s attention and Dean shot him in the head with the colt.  Not surprisingly, the Gun that Kills Almost Everyone Except When It Doesn’t (trademark TWOP) failed to work again.  Lucifer was a tad bit annoyed and threw Dean into a tree but was no worse for the wear after his head healed up.  Apparently there are only 5 things the gun can’t kill.  God is probably another.  I’m guessing Michael is the 3rd.  Who are 4 and 5?  Dean and Sam themselves, the vessels?  But they’re mere humans so probably not.  Maybe we’ll find out 4 and 5 later.

The Devil's meat suit is getting a little worse for the wear and he's ready for a stylish new Sam suit.

The devil chatted with Sam about becoming his vessel within the next 6 months in Detroit.  Sam got all vengeful and yelled but the devil didn’t care, he was happy about it because he’s fueling the fire in his belly.  The devil compared himself to Sam then, about idolizing his older brother and being rejected by him.  Michael, of course, who turned on him and called him a freak and a monster.  Then he asks Sam if that is familiar.  Certainly, it does, but Dean never called Sam a freak.  So I wonder if we’re going back to last season’s emotions for D&S again now.

Lucifer begins killing all his demon townspeople and gets the ritual underway.  He does say they’re just demons, showing that Crowley was rather right about Satan’s plans.  Castiel, meanwhile, chatted with Meg while working his escape.  He knocked her into the hellfire and she taunted him about being unable to use his angel powers on her.  He didn’t care and pushed her into the fire and walked over her to get out.  I love Cas’ resourcefulness.

He shows up with Sam and Dean and cautions them to be quiet as Lucifer raises the Angel of Death.  The ground shakes and he says, “Oh, hello Death” and we cut away.  They’re at Bobby’s and listening to the radio about some bad storm in Carthage.  Bobby throws the picture he just took into the fire and we watch it burn, focusing closely on Ellen and Jo.  I guess he was joking when he took his roll picture to remember them by.

And that’s how we’re left for two months (SOB) but at least we went out on a high note.  I’m sorry to lose Ellen and sorta sorry to lose Jo although I was not that attached to her, but better them than Bobby and Cas, both of whom I was worried about all episode.  They got a beautiful final moment and I really enjoyed it.  Now we are left to ponder what the Angel of Death being loose means for the world as we know it as well as to wonder if Sammy is going to go all emo reject on us again.  I hope he learned his lesson with Ruby but that moment with Satan felt heavy-handed as can be.  I’m really glad we got to go out like this, even if it was depressing.  This was the kind of Supernatural episode that I have been craving for over a month.  Hopefully we’ll come back to more of them as well.  See you in January for more!

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New Moon The Movie

I liked this picture, what can I say? Obvious reasons. Take her out, insert me, happiness.

So, know that this is my initial blog post on this movie and I’ll either come back and edit, add or create a whole new blog after subsequent viewings.  I don’t think I wrote my Twilight blog for about 4 months after the movie which I had seen 20 odd times by then.  So, needless to say, I had a lot more to say then.  But we’ll go with what I feel right now and then expand as needed, okay?

So, my first initial reaction?  After I have a couple of kids with Rob I would gladly pop out a little one in honor of Chris Weitz.  Yep, he earned a child in my eyes.  Now, you don’t think this because you don’t watch football with me, but about a decade ago, when my teams were good, I used to promise players children if they would do something I appreciated.  Thankfully I was never held to said promises, because I would have a hundred or so kids by now, but you get my drift.  It’s a high honor that I bestow on the worthy.  Weitz is worthy.  He got it.

The last movie I broke down on various points so I think I’ll do that again.  It worked well for me last time.

If you didn't know, Paul is on the left. He is yummy. I approve of the shirtlessness, heartily.

The Aesthetics

• How about that shit, Chris Weitz knows what a meadow is!  Flowers, lots of pretty multi-colored flowers surrounding our young lovers in Bella’s dream.  I’m quite glad he didn’t go with Hardwicke’s spot of grass with some dandelions stuck in it or whatever the hell that crap was.
• Sparkling!  You could actually see the sparkles when Edward stepped into the light without the aid of high def TV that was required with the first movie.  Not to say the sparkling was magically cool, but at least it looked better.
• Make-up.  So much better.  The vamps looked more natural, particularly Carlisle who I thought looked terrible in the first movie.
• Hair.  Still not great, but somewhat better except in the case of Jasper.  His curly girly ‘do does not work for Jasper, at all.  Go straight and shaggy and maybe a little long and he’d be perfect.  Well, better anyway. hehe No, still not in love with Jackson Rathbone but I disliked him less this go-round.

• Camera work.  One of the things that most drove me nuts in Twilight was that the camera work was shoddy at hell.  Take the pivotal non meadow scene where Edward is in the tree and telling Bella that he wants to eat her.  Half of those shots you’d see only part of Rob, if any of him, one shot you randomly see his body for no particular reason, other shots you have half his face…watch that scene again and tell me that’s not crappy.  I didn’t have a scene that stood out that way this time around, there was some cutting between Edward/Bella during the break up scene that I would rather have seen both their faces but it didn’t bug me.
• Shirtlessness.  You can never really have too much male shirtlessness in a movie, at least in my book.  Did any of the wolves ever wear shirts?  Only Jacob I think.  Hilarious really.  No complaints though.  And you know I always like Rob to be undressed, so bonus points for that.

What? Like I wasn't going to use more Edward pics than anything else?

Casting

• The newbie vamps?  No complaints whatsoever.  Aro was made of awesome, I really want him to have an expanded role in subsequent films even though he’s not even in the book Eclipse as I recall.  Damn, I have depressed myself.  Caius and Marcus, bit parts but well represented, still would prefer an older Caius but I thought the actor did a good job in limited role.  The other vamps were all good, particularly Dakota Fanning as Jane, but I love her so that was to be expected.  Felix was hot, Demetri would have been hotter with black hair but I still liked him, Alec was rather cute for a vamp, hehe.
• The wolves?  Hello Paul.  It’s nice to meet you and your abs.  I wanted to lick him, sorry if that’s an overshare but it’s my blog and I’ll drool if I want to.  Liked the new Sam a lot.  Quil didn’t fit my image of him but liked all the rest.  Emily I expected to be prettier but she wasn’t bad.
• Charlie Swan, again, was made of awesome.  I am rather in love with Billy Burke.  He just adds a layer to Charlie that the books did not, he’s funny and sarcastic and loving and sweet and really fatherly.  Probably too fatherly if we’re looking for being close to the book but it doesn’t matter.  He was very good, again.
• Edward…what more can I say?  Rob is Edward in my book and I thought he nailed the tortured soul yet again.  He looked pained saying goodbye to Bella and so defeated when he thought she was dead that it took my breath away.  I didn’t cry but I came damn close.
• Bella.  If you read my Twilight blog you know that I didn’t care for KStew’s Bella at all.  I may have used the word hate somewhere in there, it wouldn’t surprise me.  This time out?  I still don’t love her and I can still think of many other actresses I would rather be her but she was somewhat better.  I’m not sure if this is because Bella is numb for so much of the movie and that’s an emotion that KStew can actually do or if she’s learned a little.  I will say that I liked the way Bella kept pushing Jake away and felt that it was made clear that despite all the time she was spending with him, Edward was still everything to her.
  

  TL bulked up nicely but still doesn't entirely work for me. I do hate him less though. High praise! hehe

• Jacob.  I was not overly happy that Taylor Lautner was returning as Jacob and though he won me over a little bit I still would rather they recast.  He’s still so damn short…in his brief scene with Rob I just felt like I was watching the child he actually is instead of the manchild he’s supposed to become.  And yes, his muscles are quite impressive, but he’s so short.  It kills me.  Beyond that, though, once he lost the wig he looked pretty good and the acting was fine.  I actually felt bad for him a time or two and anybody that knows me knows that I don’t feel bad for Jacob.  Not in the books anyway.
• Alice.  Loved her.  I liked her in the first movie in her limited role but this time around she got a chance to shine a little and Ashley Greene took it.  She actually sounds like Alice, you know?  I loved her snark at Jacob, actually made me think of Rosalie in Breaking Dawn more than Alice but it worked.
• Jasper.  I still don’t get the Jackson Rathbone love that I see in fandom but I will say that Jasper got to have a snarky line or two and I thought he delivered them well.  He still doesn’t look right but I liked the voice he used and enjoyed him in the voting scene because of it.
• The rest of the Cullens?  Still can’t stand Nikki Reed as Rosalie but she might have had two lines in the movie so it’s not a deal breaker.  Loved the little Emmett we got, including a scene that reminded me of my fic Emmett and pleased me highly.  Carlisle and Esme were fine in their minimal scenes as well.

The Story

• Very close to the book with a few deviations that worked.  This is spoilery so if you haven’t seen it yet, this is the portion of the blog you might want to skip by the way.
• I liked that they made Victoria responsible for Harry Clearwater’s death.  That totally did not happen in the books but having her more or less frighten him to death while he was helping Charlie hunt the wolves was a pretty cool addition I thought.  Knowing that one of the wolves (Jacob?) thought they saved him adds weight down the road, should they decide to mine that, with resentment from the wolves to the vamps.
• Loved that after the Cullens left Bella sat at their lunch table alone for the months they were gone up until Charlie threatened to send her to Jacksonville.  It was a nice touch that worked instead of the books version of her sitting with her old friends and not talking. Made a more powerful visual.
• The humor.  Instead of B&E watching Romeo and Juliet alone at her house, having them do it in the classroom and seeing the teary reactions to the movie by Angela and much more hilariously Eric gave me a giggle.  Also, anytime you’re going to have the teacher call out Edward and have him recite some Shakespeare is made of win in my book.  Yum.
• There were a couple quick cuts wherein we were in one place, like class, with Edward telling Bella a little about the Volturi and then all of a sudden we were at their house and he finished telling them about them.  It was alright, not too jarring but a little choppy for my taste.  Would rather he have done it all in once place.  I guess I could have put this in the few complaints I had but it didn’t take me out of the movie so I’ll leave it here.
• The action.  SO good.  The Jacob/Paul fight scene was easily my favorite and you could almost feel the ground shaking the way it was shot.  Really good.  Also enjoyed the Volturi fight and of course the wolf/vamp hunting.  I have no complaints about the effects, that’s for sure.
• The movie within the movie.  I enjoyed Bella’s outing with Jacob and Mike Newton.  Face Punch?  Awesome, totally want to see that cheesy ass movie. hehe
• I did like the ending, cliffhanger or no, leaving it with Edward asking Bella to marry him if she wanted him to change her made me feel warm and happy inside!
• Addition #1.  Major fail for me, I forgot to mention that I really LOVED the way that instead of the Bella voiceover chatting at us when Edward was gone, she was writing to Alice via email and reading it to us that way.  It felt so sad and lonely…awesome.

 

I needed more for the reunion, can't help it.

Complaints

• I don’t have a lot to bitch about this time out, which is a nice change, but of course I do have some issues.  Most of them are Jacob/Bella related because I’m an Edward girl, what can I say?  I didn’t care for the near kiss scene because their lips were actually touching, albeit barely.  I am not supposed to endure a B&J kiss until Eclipse and that’s going to be very difficult for me, so I didn’t approve.
• Bella telling Jacob she loves him right in front of Edward.  Um…no.  First of all, she doesn’t utter those terrible words until Eclipse.  I should know because I’m doing my fic rectifying that shit.  Yes, she did follow it up by telling him that if he asks her to choose between him and Edward there is no choice, it’s always Edward, which pleased me.  But still.  No I love you, especially when they’re so stingy with giving me those three words between E&B.
• The Edward/Bella talk when reunited.  One of my favorite scenes in the books and one of my least favorite in the movie because it was too damn short and Bella was too quick to accept it.  No, I’m not saying that we should have been left to wonder about whether she would take Edward back, but the self-doubt was not apparent then like it was during the break up.  Her belief that he couldn’t possibly love her carries into Eclipse and it’s pretty important.  It just felt like he said sorry, I lied and I love you, always, and she was on board.  I needed more from that scene.

Wow, so I think those are all my complaints and that’s not too bad at all, really.  The first two were to be expected as a B&E fan so not a surprise.  The movie felt like it was over too quickly despite its 2:10 minute running time and I felt like walking right back into the theater and seeing it again, so pretty good endorsement huh?  I’ll be seeing it at least once more this weekend and likely twice, so I’m sure I’ll have more to say when I’m not as swept up in subsequent viewings.

I was thrilled to discover that New Moon blew away the opening night record and bought in $26 million overnight.  That’s awesome.  And for going to a 9:40 AM movie, it was pretty damn crowded this morning as well.  Mostly adults, too, though there were some kids who were clearly skipping school.  Ahhh, good times.

Anyway, I give the movie and Chris Weitz a ringing endorsement, especially when compared to Twilight.  I wish he had been in charge of that one too because I bet we would have had a much better movie, budget woes or no.  That’s neither here nor there, I guess we’ll see what David Slade can do with Eclipse.  Here’s hoping BD finally gets it’s green light and I’d be more than okay with a Weitz revisit if they decided to go there.  I’ve rambled enough for now, I’ll add more later.

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NFL Week 11 Picks

Can I just take a moment to complain about these Thursday games?  First off, I don’t get to see them thanks to the cable company sucking.  Second of all, it messes up my posting schedule thoroughly.  I’m in a good lazy period right now and having to post things earlier than I’m ready is not working for me!  And really, it is all about me.  Or it should be.

Douchetard? You know the answer but if you need me to write it down, I will.  Coach Belichick, of course.  You don’t give Manning a short field, ever.  Yeah if it worked I wouldn’t say boo but it didn’t so he wins.  Period.  On to the picks.

Miami over Carolina.  I really can’t figure either one of these teams out and Miami does take a hit without Brown for the rest of the year but Jake Delhomme hasn’t been himself for a couple of weeks (and by himself I mean a Douchetard) so I think he’ll revert back to form tonight.   I won’t be watching so even if I’m wrong I’ll pretend I was right.  That’s how I roll.

Dallas over Washington.  I don’t think Washington magically got well last week, Denver was just overachieving and has come back down to earth.  Simms at QB will do that to you.  Dallas doesn’t impress me but they’ll win this easily.

Detroit over Cleveland.  Really?  How many piss poor matchups is the NFL going to have this year?  I mean every week it seems like we have two absolutely unwatchable games.  This is definitely one.  Maybe I should be impressed that the Browns had a scoreless tie going with Baltimore until the 3rd quarter on Monday night but…I’m not.  At all.  And Detroit still blows but I think they blow a little less.  And my Calvin Johnson should be playing.  I heart Calvin Johnson so I go with his team.

Green Bay over San Fran.  The instant I got on the 49er bandwagon it derailed and I jumped ship.  Green Bay lost to Tampa but then came back and beat Dallas.  Um..you figure that out because I sure as hell can’t.  I’ll pick the Pack…I have no reason, I am just picking them.  You’re welcome.

Pittsburgh over KC.  The champs are not the champs this year, that’s for sure, but they’re still pretty good.  And pretty much everyone is better than KC.  So this is an easy pick.  I’ll make it my lock of the week as a matter of fact, they have to be pissy about getting swept by Cincy and they can take it out on the poor Chiefs.

Minnesota over Seattle.  It’s amazing to me that Minny is actually this good.  I mean, you all know I’m no Favre fan but I get why they wooed him like bitches in heat all summer.  He’s not being stupid, for once, and Peterson is there to carry the load which makes Favre much more effective.  It works.  Seattle is a nonentity, so this is an easy pick.

New York Giants over Atlanta.  Why am I making this pick after the Giants have burned me several weeks in a row?  I don’t know.  They’re at home?  Turner is hurt?  They have to win again sometime?  Eli Manning is going to remember that he won a Super Bowl?  Take your pick, but this is the pick I’m making.  I’m sure I’ll regret it come Sunday.

New Orleans over Tampa Bay.  Oooh, another lock of the week.  My Bucs have been competitive with Freeman on the field and he does make things happen and I am more or less won over.  But I’m not won over enough to pick the Bucs defense over the scoring machine that is the Saints.  Not gonna happen.  The Bucs D has been torched by big plays all year.  Look for Brees to get HUGE numbers, maybe unprecedented ones against the Tampa secondary.  Big, huge win.  I would bet by 3 TD’s at least.  Sorry Tampa, love you much but I’m not dumb.

Jacksonville over Buffalo.  Apparently the Mike Shanahan watch has begun in Buffalo  If I were him I’d hold out for something better but what do I know?  Jax is another confounding team but they should handle the Bills easily.  Why is TO invisible and quiet this year?  I kinda miss his histrionics, if only for amusement factor.

Indy over Baltimore.  Yeah the undefeated teams should be okay this week.  Balt looked really good earlier in the year but now, not so much.  Remember, the Browns hung with them for 3 quarters.  That’s really all you need to know.  Manning is Manning.  I wouldn’t bet against him, well I did last week and suffered for it (thanks Bill!) but you get my point.

Arizona over St. Louis.  I still think the Rams are the worst team in the league.  I don’t make this claim lightly, I just feel that they are.  AZ is another roller coaster but even they shouldn’t choke against the Rams.  If they do, I will write them off forever.  Sorry, AGO, but could you blame me?

San Diego over Denver.  Do you think SD saw me call them soft?  I mean, I don’t want to flatter myself that people actually read my shit but ever since I called them soft they have done nothing but win.  Not pretty, but they’re winning.  Denver has been losing so I’m going with the streaks.  Plus Simms is looking like he might start.  What’s up with the former Tampa QB’s starting this week?  Grad in Oak and Simms in Denver?  Hee…terrifying, really.

Cincy over Oakland.  Speaking of Oakland, here they are.  Bruce Gradkowski, graduated of the Tampa Bay school of quarterbacks, is going to start for them this weekend and maybe for the foreseeable future.  He got a glowing commentary from the coaches, which I choose to see as more of a shot at poor Jamarcus than endorsement of Bruce.  Welcome back, Grad, enjoy getting the crap kicked out of you by new powerhouse Cincy.

New England over NY Jets.  I heard that Rex Ryan cried this week.  If there’s no crying in baseball, there really should be no crying in football.   NE owes the Jets some payback and I expect them to get it here.  Plus, you know, the whole Indy debacle probably has some of them a little pissy.

Philly over Chicago.  Philly is another team that has sucked ass in recent weeks for some inexplicable reason.  But Chicago has Cutler (sorry Paxton) and his magical interceptions, so I’m going to expect the Philly D to win this game since the rest of them won’t.  I don’t understand these teams.  Why is nobody doing what they’re supposed to?

Tennessee over Houston.  Vince Young’s going home!  Tenn has been on fire.  Houston has beaten some teams they should beat and lost to the ones they should.  They are what I thought they were.  I’m torn here but I’m going to assume VY will shine in Texas just like the good old days.

So there you have it.  I’ll be having a New Moon weekend so I don’t know how much footballing I’ll be doing.  A girl has to have her priorities and pretty vampires are mine.  I’m aware that I’m twisted.  I don’t care.  I’ll be back next week with picks and we’ll see how the weekend goes.  Can’t be any worse than last one was.  Enjoy your games, I’ll enjoy my movie.

Last Week: Don’t know, don’t wanna know

Season Record: Not nearly as good as it once was.

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Sacrificial Lamb Chapter 20

New chapter is up on ff.net.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5390243/20/Sacrificial_Lamb

 

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Week 10 NFL Picks

This is going to be a straight up pick blog because I forgot about the Thurs game this week.  Douchetard? DeAngelo Hall, because he is one.

Bears over 49ers

Titans over Bills

Saints over Rams

Dolphins over Bucs

Vikings over Lions

Jets over Jags

Steelers over Bengals

Broncos over Redskins

Falcons over Panthers

Raiders over Chiefs (ICK)

Cowboys over Packers

Cardinals over Seahawks

Eagles over Chargers

Patriots over Colts (yes, breaking my In Manning I Trust motto, I am an idiot)
Those of you have cable companies or satellite and can watch tonight’s game, enjoy.  I’ll have a more detailed blog next week and update my results then.

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Heroes Rebounds

I'm confused too, Parkman. An actual good episode, who knew the writers were capable?

Regular readers may have noticed that last week I did not do a Heroes blog.  This was not due to my usual laziness or even disinterest.  It was due to the terrible crapfest that last week was.  It was so bad that I couldn’t remotely think of anything to say about it other than a lot of swear words.  Hiro’s stuff was beyond annoying, making Sylar look stupid at Hiro’s expense was just ridiculous and the HRG non-affair was a waste of time.  Period.  If Samuel wanted Hiro to work with him, he didn’t have to go to the trouble of taking Charlie.  All he had to do was tell Hiro that he would be saving the world.  Doofus would be there with bells on.  Done.  Nuff said.  I did like that when Future Hiro appeared everybody wondered where his cool sword was.  Too bad that future has been changed because I actually liked Future Hiro.  Jackass.

It may be a loveless marriage but it's filled with hotness like sweaty Peter.

Anyway, last weeks fuckery was enough to make me not want to watch the show ever again but love Sylar plus Pretty Peter keeps me coming back like like a yo-yo.  If they’re ever stupid enough to remove them from the equation, I will be gone.  But alas, I’m stuck in this almost loveless marriage.  I say almost because shows like this week give me a glimpse of what once was and what still could be.  I realize how ridiculous that sounds but honestly, it’s a metaphor that fits.  Can’t help it.

There are many reasons why this week was not only better but was actually downright good.  We’ll discuss them on a case by case basis.

Oh no, my would-be lover has left me! I have nobody!

1.  Gretchen is gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I thought about doing a whole paragraph of exclamation points to show just how very excited I am about this development but I will refrain, for now.  I will say that when she left, about twenty minutes into the episode, I was nervous every time they showed Claire or her room, fearing that Gretchen would return to her would-be lover.  But, we got through the episode and she appears to be gone for good.  Hooray!!!  She realized, after Becky tried to kill her and all, that maybe hanging out with Claire might not be good for her health.  Claire actually got teary and begged but Gretchen showed no mercy and took off.  Thank God.  Extra points to the return of the Haitian, wiping out the memories of the other sorority girls.  Haitian up!

That's my HRG!!!!

2. The Return of HRG!!!!

This season, HRG has been listlessly wandering around without a purpose, babysitting emo-teenagers and talking to Angela and thinking about boning Tracy.  Last week, of course, was the most egregious use of Noah Bennett, with his potential affair with random blond chick in the hotel room that time forgot.  I swear, it felt like he was only there so the whole episode would not be about Hiro.  It was made of suck.

HRG actually foiled Samuel, for now, not for long though.

But no more!  This week, Claire called him to tell him about Becky, he Haitianed up the sorority, burst in on Samuel and interrupted his attempt to coerce Claire into joining the circus, shocked Becky, nearly killed Becky and Samuel…yes, it was awesome!  I loved him staring down Samuel with his gun cocked at the ready and Samuel’s realization that Claire had been stalling him until her dad got there.  I love Samuel but up til now he’s been more or less a puppetmaster, getting his way at every turn.  Since most of our heroes are stupid, it’s nice to see someone stand up to him.

Why hello pretty Pasdar!

3. The Return of Nathan!

I am not as excited about this as I am other things and Pasdar is as good as gone, probably in the next episode or two, so this only got one exclamation point.  But, let’s be honest here, Nathan is hot and right now Sylar’s hair is an abomination so I prefer to limit some of my exposure to it.  Nathan’s brand of pretty is a nice break from that.  Plus, he put another crimp in Samuel’s plans by flying back into his brother’s loving arms.  Side note:  Hooray for the return of the hoyay.  The Petrelli boys were about half an inch from full on making out when they reunited.  Their love is a beautiful thing.

You're going to mess with me? Watch while I kill this guy using your body!

4.  Sylar vs. Matt: Battle To The Death!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For the first time in forever, Heroes not only did something awesome, they actually managed to surprise the hell out of me while doing it.  All episode we had Matt and Sylar battling one another for control.  Matt would attempt to thwart Sylar’s plan to get to New York to reclaim himself by planting guns in his baggage and sabotaging his car and Sylar would rebound by doing what Sylar does:  killing people and threatening to kill people.  I loved seeing real Sylar, who delights in toying with others, all over this episode.  Okay, Matt, you won’t let me drive to New York?  Fine, then I’ll kill the guy who kindly came over to help change my tire.  Okay, you won’t tell me whose idea the switch was?  Then I guess I’ll kill a waitress.  Side note: that little diner in Odessa, Texas is sure a haven for powered people.  They always end up there.  Loved Sylar remembering that he came there to kill a waitress. hehe

Parkman watches himself, as Sylar, die, except they didn't really.

Anyway, the snark flowed on Sylar’s part and Matt was not his usual stupid self, he actually out-thought Sylar (and I can handle that from Matt way better than Hiro any day) and had Sylar doodle a threat on the napkin that he gave to the waitress.  They went out into the parking lots and got surrounded by the cops, for the note said that he had a gun and was going to kill everyone.  Sylar pointed out to Matt that if they killed him, he’d also die but Matt planned that all along.  He told Sylar he could control his body but never his mind and made it look like he was reaching for a gun.  Bullet holes riddled Sylar’s body, Matt disappeared and we saw Matt on the ground, bloody and dying.  Fabulous surprise.  Shocked the hell out of me.

Of course, they immediately fucked that up by showing us scenes in which Peter heals Matt and he opens his eyes to Sylar grinning down at him…so that kinda negates the awesomeness a bit.  I mean, couldn’t they let us think for a day that maybe Parkman was done?  We all knew someone had been let go and they could have had us believing that Pasdar was a red herring, but no.  Stupid.  But I will not let it diminish my enjoyment of an actual good twist and good episode.

What? I couldn't let you go without a picture of Petrelli love.

Not that everything was great.  Deaf girl the doctor was nice, I suppose, but a bit boring compared to the rest of the episode.  Emma dropped out of med school, apparently right before graduation because she was able to diagnose some passed out little girl with just a glance…okay, whatever.  That didn’t do much for me, I guess she’s embracing her inner helper a la Hiro’s coaching.  Don’t care.  Oh, and the Peter’s healing power is really draining the hell out of him.  Hopefully after he finishes making out with Nathan and saving Parkman he will take Sylar’s power again.  Please?  I can’t stand him not having awesomeness.

Next week, the return of Mohinder and much more Nathan and hopefully the Parkman/Peter stuff and no more Hiro.  You noticed that it was a good episode and that Hiro was nowhere to be seen, right?  Right. hehe  Right now I’ll just bask in a good episode and maybe even rewatch it.  Haven’t said that about Heroes in forever.  Back with you next week, hopefully the Haitian won’t erase my memory of a good episode by letting them give me a crappy one again.

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Week 9 NFL Picks

I know, better late than never though, right?  This is gonna be short but sweet, the parentals are in town this weekend and the time change has ruined my beauty sleep (and I need all I can get) and I ruined my own beauty sleep one night and I’m just behind.  Behind in everything and tired.  Sorry, but I will do my picks.  The Douchetard from last week was Kurt Warner, who pulled a Jake Delhomme against Jake Delhomme.  Unacceptable.  On to the picks:

Atlanta over Washington: Because Washington royally sucks.

Chicago over Arizona: Because Kurt Warner was a Douchetard last week.

Cincy over Baltimore: I don’t know why, could go either way but I took the home team.  You’re welcome for all this awesome analysis and reasoning.

Indy over Houston: Because of Peyton Manning, and because Indy almost always beats Houston.

New England over Miami: Because the Dolphins are a weird ass team I cannot figure out and the Pats have had 2 weeks off (counting playing against Tampa, haha).

Green Bay over Tampa Bay: Because Tampa is going to go 0-16, naturally.  And because they are going to blind me with those godawful creamsickle jerseys.  A word of hate for the throwbacks, I can’t stand ANY of them.  Keep them the hell out of my world.

Jacksonville over KC: Because Jax lost to a subpar team last week and needs to bounce back against another subpar team.  Thanks for that, by the way, left Tampa the only winless team.  Hate.

Seattle over Detroit: Sucky game of the week.  I think Calvin “Should have been a Buc” Johnson is still hurt, so picking Seattle.

New Orleans over Carolina: Still don’t think they’ll go 16-0 but should handle Carolina easily.

New York Giants over San Diego: Because the Giants have to win again sometime and SD is still soft.

San Fran over Tennessee: Can’t figure out the 9ers but I don’t have a lot of faith in the Vince Young era, win last week or no.

Philly over Dallas: Because I hate Dallas.  Really, that is why I’m making this pick.  Oh and STFU Roy Williams, you can’t out TO TO.

Pittsburgh over Denver: HA! I called Denver’s loss right last week, finally.  I still don’t have faith in them.  So going with the champs, who have been weird this year too, but the infamous Ben is doing well so there you go.

Hey, I thought I picked the Packers over Vikes last week and spent a week being mad at myself but I got it right!  Awesome.  Sorry, just a moment of self-celebration.  I know this is short but I have to go meet the fam, promise this week will be more in depth, as I am considering doing a whole blog full of hate for throwbacks.  We’ll see!  Back at you later.

Last Week:  9-4

Season Record:  79-38

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Sacrificial Lamb Chapter 19

New chapter up at fanfiction.net.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5390243/19/

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