Holiday Position Round

This week marked the halfway point of NJP Bowling Team of Destiny's road to the top. We came into the special Holiday Position Round in 8th place, and left it in at least 7th. Once again The NJP took 3 points from our helpless opponents. We won the first game only to be hit by a large "bowling out of our tree" bomb in the second game. It did not matter because in true NJP fashion, with a huge effort by PeelBerry, we went on to glory in the third game sealing our 3 game take.

I don't think we can be stopped.

Oh yeah...No 50/50 winnings, no high game winnings, and no one played the pull tabs.

NJPMAN's Top Ten Flicks of 2005

This year was a fun year for movies. That is a good thing because we in The NJP love us some movies. I personally didn't get to see all the movies that I wanted to this year, but that's alright. I have certainly seen enough to be able to bring to you the first ever, annual NJPMAN TOP TEN FLICKS of THE YEAR, or the NTTFoTY. So without any further to-do these are my top ten flicks of 2005...

Okay. Maybe not yet. I guess I should at least quantify what I believe to be a good movie.

1. Critics' top 10 lists are meaningless to me.
2. I like what I like, and I know not everyone will.

There you go, and now on with the show.

10. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- I admit being a sucker for the original, but Tim Burton's re-imagining of this beloved children's book is amazing. It really captures a darkness that the original movie only hinted at. Wilder's Wonka was nutso and that was awesome, but Johnny Depp really nailed the effect that all of Wonka's years of isolation would have on a man who was obviously eccentric to begin with.

9. Kung-Fu Hustle-Stephen Chow rocks your ass with just an amazing kung-fu spectacular. You can feel Chow's love for kung-fu just flowing out of this picture.

8. Land of the Dead-Zombies!! Not just zombies, but George Romero zombies. This man is the godfather of the genre and he came back in 2005 to show people how its done. I am not one of those purists who think that all the recent zombie movies are trash because they tweak the Romero formula(I love running zombies!), but I have to admit this man is still the master. He is able to tie in great social commentary into his zombie films, and that is the difference.

7. Wedding Crashers-Here we go. A great R-rated raunch comedy. You just don't see many of these anymore. Truly funny performances all around, but especially from Vince Vaughn. Don't forget these two words...Chris Walken.

6. King Kong-Peter Jackson's epic retelling of this classic tale is amazing from start to finish. Especially once they hit the infamous Skull Island. Kong himself may be the greatest CG character in the history of cinema. He truly lives and you will believe. The rest of the cast is great because you can tell they believe in the world around them, even if they couldn't always see it themselves.

5. Rent-Jonathan Larson's amazing 1996 musical finally hit the big screen in 2005, and it is just as good as it ever was. The outstanding musical numbers are belted out by a cast that consists of 75% of the original Broadway players. Rent's themes of love, family and art ring as true today as they did when the musical first hit Broadway.

4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire-I didn't know if it could be done, but it was. Book four in the Harry Potter series was turned into the best movie of the series and arguably one of the best movies of the year. This is to be expected because Goblet of Fire is one of best books in the series and the true turning point from fun kids books to the more adult themed books they are now. It is a great stand alone film with excellent performances from the whole cast, but especially newcomers Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort and Brendan Gleeson as the loony Mad-Eye Moody.

3. Sin City-Robert Rodriguez's adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel exploded onto screens this year with almost more style than it knew what to do with. Picture perfect visuals, outrageous violence and sharp performances grace this film from start to finish. The standout is definitely Mickey Rourke's Marv. Also not to miss is Elijah Wood's scary ass cannibal, Kevin.

2. Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith-After almost 30 years it is finally done. George Lucas has finished this amazing 6 part film series. Revenge of the Sith was not just great Star Wars, but it was great film. With a dark tone that even puts Empire to shame at points this movie really hits hard with death of the Jedi and the Republic. Don't get me wrong, it still has some really cheesy parts, but for my money it is the best of the series and one of the funnest movie experiences of the year.

1. Batman Begins-Batman F'n Begins. One of the most needed restarts of a movie franchise came in 2005, and it lived up to all expectations and then some. Christopher Nolan took the helm of this picture and raised it to wondrous heights with excellent decisions all around. The cast is amazing with Christian Bale leading the way as billionare-playboy Bruce Wayne, with excellent role players filling out the cast including Liam Neeson, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman. The setting was perfectly dark, with no neon lights to be found. The villains were awesome with Cillian Murphy doing a great Scarecrow. I can't really explain how awesome this movie is. If you really haven't seen it...go see it.

There you go. The top 10 of 2005. I bet not all will agree, but I don't care. That is what makes movies so neat. They all mean different things to us all. Who knows what we will see in this column come this time next year.

Some funny ass stuff...

This is from last Saturday's SNL. I wish the whole show could be this funny.

CLICK HERE!!

A Little Surprised

I am a little surprised that I am posting an entry before NJPMAN but I will take this opportunity to first inform everyone of the NJP's recent success. This week The NJP took 3 from a very formidable opponent in the Bashers (The Porters). We were tied with this team until we took 3 points in our continued rise to the top. Though there were no really great games, my best was a 210 and I do believe NJPMAN led the way with a 212. The pins didn't really fall great for either team with a lot of pocket shots leaving some real garbage on the lanes. Yet the NJP still triumphed and will keep on moving toward that top spot in the league. Josh did, however, win $28 in the 50/50.

Sorry for the short entry, but 3:45 am is fastly approaching and I must go.

Peace out peeps!!!!!


ShrekZilla

Who do you think you are smoking in my bar?

Here in the NJP home base state of Michigan there are rumblings going around our state house of a smoking ban in all public places. This would also include restaurants and bars. I just want to go on the record now and state that smoking is a dirty habit. It is unhealthy as all get out and it makes you, and your belongings stink like ass. I will also freely admit that while I have never smoked a cigarette, I have in the past been a cigar smoker. I haven't had one in like a year and a half, but would smoke one again if the opportunity came up. Now that we got that out of the way I want to talk about this ban.

I will be pretty straight forward here and say I think that a blanket ban on smoking in all public places is wrong. I agree with getting it out of the most highly trafficked areas that bring a lot of people together for different reasons. Like malls and grocery stores. I agree with bans of smoking in public parks or other government controlled land. Second hand smoke is undoubtedly dangerous and no man, woman or especially a child should be exposed to it without a choice. On the other hand, I do not think the government should tell a place like a bar they cannot let their patrons smoke.

I think the debate should start by defining the term public place. In what way is a bar a public place? I know that it kind of is by the fact that people enter from the public realm to eat and drink in there, but is it not a privately owned business? The smoking inside a bar or a restaurant is contained to the establishment. It is not like the local lounge is billowing smoke out onto the unsuspecting public. I know that question gets a little trickier when you talk about a place that has smoking and non smoking sections, but the rational that it is a private business that people from the public realm go into applies to this too. I understand that you really can't have it both types of sections in a restaurant, but that really isn't the point. Second hand smoke is dangerous, and that isn't the point either. The point is, and this always gets me in trouble with my wife, is that a privately owned business should not be made to cater to the wants of a few at their expense.

In America no one has the right to a smoke free burger. You just don't. A business owner has the right to operate his or her business the way they see fit(within the law, and as of right now smoking is not illegal). You may not have the right to smokeless fries, but you have a much more powerful right at your disposal. You have the right to spend your hard earned money any way you see fit. You don't like the fact that your local Red Lobster has a smoking section? Don't go. If enough people feel the same and that Red Lobster starts losing money, then you can bet your nicotine free behind that the no smoking signs will be up yesterday. The neat thing about this little idea is that you as consumer will not be exposed to dangerous second hand smoke, and hopefully shape how area establishments do business. The whole thing revolves around the fact that you control your life, your priorities and what you will put up with. If my wife told me today we would never go in a smoking restaurant for a date ever again I would support her. That is because I support my wife, not a ban on smoking in those places.

It is all hypocritical anyway. Because if the government really cared about public health, half the foods these bars and restaurants serve would be banished from the menu.

Don't Call It A Comeback!!!!

As the song goes, "Don't call it a comeback, we've been here for years". And this is a very true statement. As everyone's scores didn't reflect anything to write home about (Best I did was a 214 and the worst a 141) we were still able to overcome about a 100-pin deficit every game. We did all this against the number 2 team in the land and our slow journey towards greatness and immortality will continue.

One thing about this league that I still don't like is the fierce handicap. Although we have been able to overcome it, the handicap is still a rather large problem. The idea is good, to allow all bowlers to be on equal footing, sounds great on paper but once put to the test out on the lanes it quickly looses all credibility. It gives certain teams an unfair advantage over others. Almost punishing any team that has averages over 140. If a 100 average bowler throws 2 strikes in a row, anyone from our team must throw about 4 to make up for that. I suppose the thought is that if an individual has an average so high then he should be able to throw that many strikes very easily. But I suppose until a better solution is found we must live with the current train of thought and practices.

Well folks, The NJP is surely making its wrath and fury felt upon the lanes as we near the midway point in the season. We just must hope that we can maintain this feverish pace and march to our rightful places at the top of the rankings.


This is ShrekZilla saying, I'm outtie 5000!!!!!! BIOTCCCHHHH!!!!!!!


NJP 4-Life

4

Four is an interesting number. It is an amazing number.

It is also a number that until last night had been long overdue...

Last night The NJP Bowling Franchise of America finally returned to true glory and won all four points last night. No one bowler really rocked it(I actually bowled pretty bad), but we all helped each other when we needed it. That help for each other was the true difference between this week and all the other weeks. During our now 18-6 run that we have been on, almost every single game that we have lost is because we gave it away. We all bowled good or we all bowled bad. This week every time one guy was down another came through. It was beautiful.

For the recap...

We took 4.
Our record is now 31-25
No 50/50 winnings.
No High Game winners.
No Pull Tab winnings.
NJP 4 LIFE!!

GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!!

Lets get this NJP Nation jumpin' off. I propose an NJP Meet and Greet. Not that anyone would really come and see us, but just so that we can get together and have some fun. But if anyone we didn't know wanted to meet this NJP Phenomenon they could see us live and in person.
Where and when? Hell man I don't know. All I know is that I have to get up at 0345 to go to work tomorrow. But just an idea. Lets get some ideas going about the Official Annual New Years Eve Bash, back and better than ever. More organization would be great so that is why I think that we should get the dialog started ASAP!!!
Just a couple thoughts.

By the way NJPMAN, I love that photo of me, lookin all dignified and shit.


ShrekZilla OUT!!!!

Glory Restored?

NJP has struck once again into the hearts and minds of the enemy. The fowl stench of B.O. and what might have been decroded scat could not waver the teams ever growing commitment to excellence. As our march towards the ever elusive title continues, as does our journey to an ever greater future for the NJP and it's beneficiaries.

Though this may be trivial to some, and perhaps trivial to some within the NJP ranks themselves, the ever growing sense of brotherhood and camaraderie within these members continues to grow. As I have felt over the past few months, my departure from my last place of employment has impacted some of this brotherhood that me and my boys have for so long strove for. Possibly it is the fact that I do not see the same people everyday as I did for the past 6 years. But the need for a serious amount of change was needed. The need for myself to get off the fence and make a plunge for the better of my family and my own well being was needed. I just hope and pray that my choices do not adversely effect the way that my fellow brothers view me. My views on this subject and my overall views on this infinitely sad world are very clear and very simple. No need for convoluted solutions to clear problems. No need for small and timid steps when large and bold changes are mandated. Never turn your back on the people, places and things that made you who you are. If those things are regrettable, don't forget them, use them in your further ventures. Align yourself and the people around you to continued success in all of there goals and never downplay anyone's role and meaningless.

As I may have blabbered to much about meaningless things that probably 2 people in this entire world will read, I will apologize. I will apologize to those people that I may have let down in this life. To those people whom may just view me as one more person speaking about there problems. But this is not a whining entry. For this is an entry explaining to you how I feel about NJP. A circle of friends, possibly more than friends, that I am committed to. Forever shall I know these men (as long as they would like to know me) as intricate parts of my being. Perhaps it is my own need for acceptance, or maybe just an ever dying devotion to a group a people that I care deeply about. You make up your own mind.

This will be my last entry under these heavy conditions. From now on it will be business as usual for the NJP with fun and folly for all. To my partners, good job this week and lets keep up the good work. Hopefully in the coming weeks we can get some pictures put on here so that the world (or what few people make it to this site) can see the NJP for who they are.

Talk to you fools later.

ShrekZilla

3 More

Another week and another 3 points. We have no idea why, but we just cannot get over the hump. Don't get me wrong, 3 points a week is very nice, but we need to get four. It was especially cool that we got three this week because our opponents had a 219 pins per game handicap advantage over us. We now have a total record of 27-25 for the season and are on the cusp of breaking the top ten for the first time this season.

If I am not mistaken, ShrekZilla led us all with a 587 series. There was no money won this week in the high game or 50/50 drawing. I think that it can finally be said that NJP Bowling is on the way back to glory.

-F THEM PINS!!

RENT (A mini-review)

One thing that I want to use this blog for is to talk about movies that I love. So I figure I might as well start with one that is fresh on my mind. Last week I went to go see RENT. My wife and I saw the touring show when it came near NJP-ville a few years back, and it was amazing. When I saw the first trailer for it I got excited, but will admit that being so far removed from the stage show all I could remember was the feeling(amazed) I had when I left the theatre. Because of this I made a point of getting the movie soundtrack as soon as I could so that I could re-familiarize myself with the show. The problem with that is that it raised my anticipation to a fever pitch. I finally got to go on Black Friday, and what did I think?

It was phenomenal. It truly was. The tone, the music were all pitch perfect. Songs like La Vie Boheme and Take Me or Leave Me jumped off the screen. There were also truly touching moments including I Should Tell You, Will I, and my personal favorite in I'll Cover You(Reprise). One of the really neat things about this movie is that it used most of the original cast of the Broadway show, and it really helped keep it real. These people originated these roles and the love they have for them shined all throughout the movie. The real highlights were Wilson Jermaine Heredia's portrayal of Angel, Anthony Rapp's Mark Cohen and Jesse L. Martin's Tom Collins. Don't get me wrong, everybody else was really awesome, and I truly think that Wilson Jermaine Heredia's performance is Oscar worthy.

Because of all these great performers the shows themes of love, friendship and family in the face of anything really were quite tangible. People will maybe not want to see this movie because of the fact it deals with AIDS and half of the main characters are homosexual, but please don't let something that silly stop you from enjoying one of best musicals of all time and one of the best movies of 2005.

--No day but today!!