This is the best Valentine’s Day I have ever had. First of all, I have somebody with whom I can spend Valentine’s Day…and pitchers and catchers report to spring training! How much better can a day get?
Anyway, since it’s Valentine’s Day, I thought I would post this YouTube video featuring the romance of “Wuthering Heights” combined wiht the comic genius of Monty Python…this sketch is one of my favorites.
The Semaphore Version of Wuthering Heights
As you probably know, I am a huge Phillies fan. I also consider myself relatively intelligent and, of course, I’m an Internet geek.
That’s why one of my favorite Web sites is PhilliesPhans.com, which features the Renegade Phan Phorum. The Phorum has some of the most intelligent baseball–and non-baseball–conversation around and exists at the opposite end of the spectrum from Philly’s so-called sports radio station, 610 WIP-AM.
I haven’t posted too often on PhilliesPhans.com, but I read it a lot because there are many conversations about sports, news, politics and even religion.
PhilliesPhans.com was started several years ago by a Philly-area transplant named Dave Snyder, who was the owner of MVP Software in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Before tonight, that sentence would have read “…Dave Snyder, who is the owner…”
I went to check the site earlier this evening to see if anything was going on and saw this thread title:
Is MVPSoft OK?
Now, MVPsoft is…was…Dave’s screen name. The thread’s initial poster went on to say he saw on another message board that Dave had been killed in a car accident today (as it turned out, the poster had been on a Rutgers message board where Dave’s cousin, whose son recently signed to play college football at Dave’s alma mater, Rutgers, broke the sad news). Since there had been no comments about it on the board Dave created, that first poster figured there was nothing to it.
But soon links started appearing on Michigan news sites that confirmed the worst…
I-196 clear after fatal accident
One Man Dies in I-196 Accident
So, yeah, my only connection to this man was that he created a Web site that has become a big part of my daily routine. Yet, it still feels like I have been punched in the gut.
He gave intelligent Phillies fans a place to go and get away from the idiotic rhetoric written in the Philly newspapers and being talked about on WIP.
At least I know I’m not the only one who feels like this.
The reason for this outpouring of emotion is because when Major League Baseball Advanced Media first took over the Web sites for every MLB team a few years ago and completely messed up the fan communitiy the old Phillies.com site had built, Dave stepped up to host a Phillies message board that would foster intelligent conversation based on analysis and thought…not one that would allow trolling and name-calling. Through the years, PhilliesPhans.com evolved into one of the best online communities around.
However, there were several dust-ups that led to many popular PP.com posters being banned by Dave for breaking his rules one too many times. But those dust-ups would lead to the creation of new Phan communities, PhilliesBoard.com and BackSheGoes.com, which are now called home by former and current PP.com members. In fact, it was just this past December when Dave pulled the plug on the Phorum for a few days after a thread went out of control and he contemplated shutting it down for good. However, he was convinced by the members to bring it back under new registration and posting rules.
So even though many PP.com members had battles with Dave at one time or another, one thing is certain: He was a man of principle devoted to his family and the Phillies. And a huge number of Phans “met” through the community he built.
You will be missed, MVPsoft.
UPDATE (2/11/07): I have just read that, in a strange twist of fate, it was exactly six years ago today that Dave launched the Renegade Phan Phorum at PhilliesPhans.com.
😦
Since the very sight of the Mooninites from Cartoon Network/Adult Swim’s “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” gets certain people from Boston worked into a panic (because, you know, they couldn’t take the time to actually check out what the devices were BEFORE going apeshit all over town while screaming “they’re bombs! they’re bombs!” and blowing up what essentially were Lite-Brites), I will suggest that those people look away from the this movie trailer for the greatly anticipated “Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters.”
Enjoy…
And speaking of that whole ATHF-Boston thing, here is a very funny take on it (includes profanity…very funny profanity)…
OK…this is getting ridiculous…but in a great way!
It was genius casting to get Robert Downey Jr. to play the title role (and alter ego Tony Stark) in the upcoming, Jon Favreau-directed film adaptation of “Iron Man.” Then, Terrence Howard signed on as Stark’s friend/pilot, Jim “Rhodey” Rhodes.
And getting an actress of the caliber of Gwyneth Paltrow to play Stark’s assistant, Virginia “Pepper” Potts, was an absolute coup. Surely, that was enough star power for what many non-comics people call a film based on a “second-tier” Marvel Comics character.
Well, apparently that wasn’t enough as Jeff Bridges has joined the cast as what is being described as a “character…central to the entire storyline of the film.”
According to this story at Superherohype.com, Bridges will portray a close business associate of Tony Stark–a confidant and longtime employee at Stark Industries. The article also says Bridges’ character plays a major role in shaping Tony Stark’s life.
Also, if you haven’t noticed, all four actors mentioned above (Downey, Howard, Paltrow and Bridges) have been past nominees for Academy Awards, with Paltrow winning Best Actress in 1998 for “Shakespeare in Love.”
“Iron Man” is slated for a May 2, 2008, release…and it can’t get here soon enough.
Well, the Indianapolis Colts may have won Super Bowl XLI, but as far as I am concerned, Prince stole the show.
I was at a party where everybody seemed to be mocking the fact that Prince was the halftime act. I kept on responding to these people that Prince is an incredible musician and songwriter who was going to put on one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows ever.
Well, I think he did just that…and the AP’s Douglas Rowe. and CNN’s Todd Leopold seem to agree.
(By the way, some of the comments to Todd Leopold’s post are ridiculous…Nickelback and Bon Jovi BETTER than Prince? C’mon…and all the wannabe metal guitarists who don’t understand you don’t need to constantly use your strumming hand on a guitar to get it to produce notes…PUH-leaze! These are people that make me want that persistent asteroid to hit the Earth at some point.)
Remember the days when the Super Bowl halftime show consisted of what seemed to be 35 pop stars on one stage at one time? I always thought that was the dumbest thing. It would have been so much better to get one huge act and let that act do its thing.
So maybe some good has come out of the Justin-Timberlake-induced-Janet-Jackson wardrobe malfunction. Ever since that happened, the Super Bowl has had singular acts during halftime…before Prince this year, there were Paul McCartney in 2005 and the Rolling Stones in 2006.
And on a rainy night in Miami, it just seemed appropriate that Prince’s show finished with “Purple Rain.”
(Watch this while you can…YouTube had to take down a bunch of Viacom videos recently and, of course, the Super Bowl was on Viacom’s CBS…2/7/07 UPDATE: Of course, the old video is gone, but I found this one at Daily Motion…let’s see how long this one lasts.)
(Photo credit: AP)
I just came across a link on SuperheroHype.com to this dark, but cool picture of Optimus Prime from the upcoming “Transformers” movie and thought I would share it here…
UPDATE: 1/24/2007 @ 2:40 p.m. ET
A couple of days ago, the following story became a non-story when the substance found hidden in Michael Vick’s water bottle was determined to be nothing that was illegal. However, it is apparent that he tried to hide something in this water bottle and take it onto a commercial airliner. How is that not at least a minor criminal act? Shouldn’t he at least be fined or something? And then I saw this story, which just makes all of this really, really weird.
But here is my original post…
Well, it seems the most overrated quarterback in NFL history, Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons, reportedly tried to sneak a substance “closely associated with marijuana” onto an Atlanta-bound plane at Miami International Airport by storing it in a secret compartment in a water bottle that he reluctantly surrendered to security personnel.
USA Today: Michael Vick’s water bottle raises suspicion at Miami airport…The Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback entered a concourse Wednesday morning at the airport with the 20-ounce bottle. He eventually handed it over and boarded his flight to Atlanta. But his initial reluctance to turn over the bottle aroused suspicion among airport security screeners, a police report said.
The bottle was found to have a hidden compartment that contained “a small amount of dark particulate and a pungent aroma closely associated with marijuana,” the report said. The compartment was hidden by the bottle’s label so that it appeared to be a full bottle of water when held upright, police said.
No charges have been filed but police said the bottle would be sent to a lab for analysis…
You can read the incident report here (PDF).
The most shocking thing I found in the incident report? Vick was a passenger on an AirTran Airways flight. What the heck was Michael Vick doing flying on AirTran?! AirTran only has business class and coach. The guy signed a 10-year, $130 million contract in December 2004…can’t he afford to fly on an airline with first class? I’m sure there were other carriers offering flights from Miami to Atlanta.
Then again, maybe he is trying to save his money. After all, when you a) allegedly spread herpes while using the alias of Ron Mexico, b) tell your team’s own fans “they are No. 1” with both hands, and c) are barely a mediocre quarterback, maybe Vick thinks the Falcons–and new head coach Bobby Petrino–will realize he is getting overpaid by, well, $130 million, and the team will try to void that big contract for conduct reasons?
Honestly, Vick is a tremendous athlete…I do not dispute that. He might be, as many claim, the most “electric” (whatever that means) player in NFL history…although those people should really watch some NFL Films footage of Fran Tarkenton (Vikings, Giants), who was ridiculously elusive and could actually make big-time passes (by the way, you should really get to know about the remarkable life Tarkenton has lived). I also think Randall Cunningham was a far better quarterback than Vick, but that might be the Eagles fan in me (even though Cunningham had his best days as a passer with the Vikings).
When it comes to being a quarterback, though, Vick just isn’t any good. His passing game is weak and he is not a good decision-maker…especially when it comes to deciding on an alias, apparently.
And he is definitely not worth $130 million.
(Photo credit: Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Wow!
For a supposedly second-tier superhero in the Marvel Universe, “Iron Man” — or at least the film adapation of the comic book — is attracting some of the best talent in Hollywood.
Jon Favreau is directing the film and Robert Downey Jr. has been cast as Tony Stark/Iron Man. Terrence Howard is also on board as Stark’s friend and pilot, Jim “Rhodey” Rhodes.
But getting an actress with the profile of Gwyneth Paltrow to play Stark’s assistant, Virginia “Pepper” Potts, is an absolute coup. Yet that is exactly what has happened.
“Iron Man” is scheduled for release on May 2, 2008…and I can’t wait!
(Photo of Gwyneth Paltrow taken at press conference for BAFTA Awards in 2002 by D.L. Parker.)
So…now that the Eagles’ season is over and the Flyers and Sixers are bringing new meaning to the word “horrid,” it’s time to start shifting my attention back to my greatest passion, the Philadelphia Phillies…led by 2006 National League Most Valuable Player Ryan Howard (pictured, courtesy of Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images).
I have been busy working on the latest Technology and the Arts podcast, so I haven’t posted here in a few days.
However, I have to keep something going. Since a few days before the Eagles’ 23-7 win at Dallas on Christmas, I have posted something related to the Eagles containing the E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES! cheer.
Well, my last post was a week ago today, which was before the Eagles’ last-second 23-20 victory over the Giants in the opening round of the playoffs. Hence, I haven’t done a pre-game post with the E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!” cheer for tonight’s tough matchup between the Eagles and Saints in New Orleans.
So consider this my superstitious, hopefully-win-inspiring post for tonight’s game.
Now, once more…with feeling…
E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!”
Brian Kelley 