i am so not remiss

Yeah, it's time.

I've been pretty voidy lately and I apologize. I'll just quickly mention two things.

First, I'm very happy to report that while I wasn't blogging, I've been able to do my other internet stuff, namely my two podcasts -- the jon madsen movie commentary podcast and J.R. Watches Star Trek for the First Time. In the last week I've been able to upload episodes of both.


The Sixteen Candles commentary turned out to be pretty good. I really wish I had more people in the chatroom. Next time maybe we'll do it at a more convenient hour. Half of it was co-hosted by Dre, which made for some great conversation.

Many of you have been hesitant to give the Trek podcast a listen, and I understand that. You hate Star Trek, it's a basic human tendency. Still, in that case you may relate to our latest podcast in which we discussed some episodes that we really really hate. There's something for everyone! I am kind of happy though because our average rating on iTunes is four stars (based on one review (not us!)).

So go visit the podcast links on the right side of the page.

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The other thing i've been thinking about lately is the NBA Finals. Tonight as I was watching game 5, I found myself switching sides. Over the past month I've been cheering for the Celtics, but tonight I mostly hoped the Lakers would win (in case you didn't hear, they did).

I'm getting really ambivalent and antsy about the whole thing. I'm not a true follower of basketball, but I'm sucked in now. Strangely, I feel that I'll have anxiety no matter who wins. I shouldn't get into major sporting events. I'm never really rewarded -- it's lose-lose. My problem is that my sense of feeling sorry for losers overshadows my sense of pride in winners.

During the past week I've been reading Phil Jackson's book called The Last Season. I can think of at least three things wrong with that title. The book is about the Lakers' 2003-2004 attempt at the NBA championship. A more fitting title would have been Why Coaching Kobe Bryant is Such a Ginormous Pain. Although I don't commend Jackson for obviously spreading around the poor image of Kobe Bryant, I've sort of come to know him through his words. Even though I don't necessarily think he's a super cool guy, just the fact that I know him a little bit better makes me empathize with him a bit more. For that reason I want the Lakers to win.

At the same time, Kobe plays for the Lakers. For that reason I want the Lakers to lose.

Then again, Derek Fisher's daughter has eye cancer, so for that reason I want the Lakers to win.

Of course, Derek Fisher's daugher has eye cancer, so actually I want the Lakers to lose. I could go on.

The absolute biggest reason for momentarily switching sides is because I want the series to go to seven games -- anything to keep us from being drenched neck-deep in baseball season is fine with me. Plus, it'd be great for the Celts to celebrate in their own town the night they take it all.

Hopefully that won't be on Tuesday. I'm pretty busy that night and I won't see the game (on Thursday too, now that I think about it). Game 6 will also be rough on Joe, who has his band playing that night. He's stressing out about getting people in the door. I think they get paid better if they get more people in the door, so it's really the place to be. Ironically, he's the sports blogger.