Hanger 18, SC

A King Comes Riding

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:42:44 GMT

"My son, ask for thyself another kingdom, for that which I leave is too small for thee." -- King Phillip of Macedonia to his son, Alexander The Great.

Jacob Warringer Jaconetti
5/30/2009
1:07 PM
19 1/2"
7 lbs, 14 oz.

Mom and Baby are both doing great. Pictures later.

Seriously, This is Important

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 21:56:33 GMT

If you read only one of my posts all year, make it this one.

Yes, TJ & I are having a baby boy. He is due May 21st.

I'm becoming a father. Words cannot describe this sensation. I mean, just, wow.

From The Desk Of Ljacone

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:05:25 GMT

To: Larry Brown, Head Coach; Michael Jordan, Director of Basketball
Operations
CC: Bob Johnson, Owner
Re: Trading Richardson and Dudley for Bell, Diaw, and Singletary

What the hell?

Signed,

Ljacone (LJ)

What the Ljacone?!

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 02:44:10 GMT

Man, I sound really whiny in that last post. I don't know why I got all choked up, but I tell ya, you should never post when you're emotional. Yeesh, it sounds like I regressed like 6 years in a single post! Forget that!

Emotional Resonance

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:45:59 GMT

I was reading something today and it made reference to Maurice Sendak’s
Where The Wild Things Are. So that got me thinking about the book (which
of course I had as a kid) and what it means, and I quickly looked up the
text online and re-read it for the first time in many many years.

When I got to "But the wild things cried, "Oh please don’t go- we’ll eat
you up- we love you so!"" I started crying. I'm not really sure why. I'm
tearing up as I type this. Clearly there's something in these words which
is really effecting me and I don't know what it is.

The only thing I can think of is how cruelly and harshly I have treated
those who care about me and love over my lifetime and how undeserving of
their love I am. I'm just glad that today is an Off Friday and thus
there's no one here at work to hear me crying.

The 11th Ljacone

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:35:05 GMT

Today, all you Americans, find yourself a Veteran and shake his or her
hand and thank them for helping keep the greatest nation in the world safe
and free. I know I did.

The Ljacone After

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:55:36 GMT

Well, at least it was settled pretty early.

I'm going to say the same thing I said in 2004: I hope that this country
can move forward, and that all this talk of "unity" is not just a bunch of
political baloney. I don't know if it is or isn't, but I hope it is. We
shall see. Furthermore I hope that the industry my present job is in is
not bankrupted or regulated into submission.

Maybe I am "naive" or "simple" but this is the greatest country in the
world. And I consider myself an American above all else. So bring it on,
Dems. Show me that you are serving your country and not yourselves.

Hardcourt Ljacone -- Goaltending?

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:46:36 GMT

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/story/282477.html

Fox Sports is splitting the FSN South Feed into three regions (South,
Tennessee, and Carolinas), with FSN Carolinas hosting the Hurricanes and
Bobcats. SportSouth will continue to be broadcast throughout the region.
(You ask me this was long overdue, as FSN South was the largest of Fox's
regional sports nets insofar as served viewers, and also contained the
most amout of teams, from the sheer volume of states covered coupled with
the increased density of pro teams in the region.)

The real test will be tomorrow night. The Hurricanes are at St. Louis at
8:30 on FSN, and the Bobcats (according to the broadcast schedule) are at
Cleveland at 7:00 on SportSouth. I have every confidence that the
Hurricanes will be on, but I have serious doubts for the 'Cats. Still,
here's hoping! *crosses fingers*

The Nerd-Rage of Ljacone

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:08:40 GMT

I think I have crossed some sort of nerd-threshold.

Last night, I became very angry while watching an episode of Doctor Who.
The old Doctor Who.

Yeah, I rented Vengeance on Varos last night, and in the first episode
when the guard slaps Peri across the face, I got pissed off. What the
hell, man? Of course, this story features prisoners being tortured on
television for the entertainment of the masses, slapping Peri? That's
crossing the line!

I fear that I have now become too far gone to be saved from the black
hole-esque cone of nerdery.

Hardcourt Ljacone -- Denied!

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:11:26 GMT

Ya know, I don't ask for much. New comic books to read on Wednesday. A
good meal at night with my wife. A warm bed to sleep in. And the chance,
nay, the opportunity to watch my NBA team on television.

Apparently, wanting to see the Charlotte Bobcats on television is akin to
squeezing blood from a stone.

In South Carolina (in fact, most of the Southeast) we are served by two
allied regional sports networks: FSN South, and SportSouth, which used to
be Turner South for those who remember such things. And signed with FSN
South and SportSouth are, in no particular order, the NHL's Carolina
Hurricanes and Atlanta Thrashers, and the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and
Charlotte Bobcats. The Canes play exclusive on FSN South, the Thrashers
are exclusive to SportSouth, and the Hawks and 'Cats split between the two
nets.

Now. I live in South Carolina. Upstate South Carolina at that. I am
much closer to North Carolina than I am to Georgia, whether by driving
distance or as the crow flies. So the fact that I get the Hurricanes
games on FSN South makes sense. But I cannot figure out why the heck I
get the Thrashers games on SportSouth instead of the Bobcats. Huh?!

I mean, I know as a relocated Yankee I love me some hockey, but uhm?
Carolina? Not Georgia? NBA Hoops? Bobcats? Orange and Blue? Please? I
just want to watch the Bobcats for crying out loud. Since the team joined
the league I have seen a total -- a TOTAL -- of 6 games on television.
Nevermind the ridiculous job that Stern did in not giving them any
national games for TWO YEARS. But when they have a deal with the local
regional sports channel, I should be able to watch them on the LOCAL
REGIONAL SPORTS CHANNEL!

I guess it truly is too much to ask.

Gridironed Ljacone

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:46:44 GMT

At Dougie's behest, what do I think about the removal of Tommy Bowden from
the head coaching job at Clemson?

Well, I was surprised. Not so much with the act but the timing. From
what I have read, AD Phillips wanted to give Bowden the score (IE, win the
ACC or you're gone) and Bowden countered with "Just fire me now." It's a
rare thing for a coach to be let go or quit in the middle of the NCAA
football season. (Before a bowl game is more common, but in the middle of
the regular season? Very rare.) Bowden had clearly lost the team and
things were getting muddled, and the embarassing outing on national TV
against Wake Forest was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

Here's the thing though: most of the problems that this program is facing
aren't Bowden's fault. The blame lies at the feet of the OC, Rob Spence,
also let go yesterday. Spence's offense was innovative when he came on
board... in 2005. But the offense has not changed appreciably since that
point, and what used to be snappy and different has become old hat. How
many times do we have to run that ridiculous "slip screen" for little to
no gain before the guys in the headseats start to realize, "hey, maybe
they've caught onto it." And the offensive woes have really been the
downfall in the two conference losses this season -- I am discounting the
Alabama loss, mostly because 1) Alabama is a legit threat who was
underrated and 2) Clemson had no business being #9 nor favored in that
game -- so that's where I put the fault. So the fact that Spence was not
asked to come back may actually be the bigger benefit here.

In the same spirit I don't have many problems with the DC Vic Koennig. I
mean, hey, the defense has been playing pretty well. But there's only so
much you can do on D when you can't put the damn ball in the endzone.

As far as the idea that Bowden was a failure, I don't buy it. My first
year at Clemson (1998), we won 3 games, one of which was over Furman. So
don't talk to me about the glory days of Tommy West. West did pretty well
in the 90s but no better than Bowden, taking the team to the Gator Bowl
and twice to the Chick-Fil-A-nee-Peach Bowl, and never amassing more than
8 wins. Bowden got 9 wins twice, and did serve to push Clemson back into
the national spotlight. And therein lies his biggest fault: when Bowden
came in, the talk of ACC Titles and National Championships started up
again. And he simply is not a talented enough coach and Clemson not a
taleneted enough program to be able to pull that off.

But Clemson alums, students, and fans are so devoted to their team that a
loss on Saturday means a statewide Suicide Watch for Saturday night. When
Bowden lost his first game (a heartbreaker to Marshall, who kicked a
walkoff FG to win), the student paper (creative titled The Tiger) called
for his firing later that week. The hype and hoopla is all bought into
immediately, and then once it is broken, the doom and gloom replaces it.
This is a goofy town. There's not much in Clemson besides Clemson. In
Columbia, there's other distractions besides the Gamecocks. In Tiger
Town? Not so much.

Bowden's expiration date was coming up fast. Clemson decided to toss him
a little early, and take Spence out with him. Losing Bowden is not the
best solution but ditching Spence is a good move all around. Let's hope
that the Tigers can turn things around.

For Your Consideration:

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:09:30 GMT

Please complete all steps to receive full credit.

You are a screenwriter who has been brought in to save a very bizarre
film. You have a set cast and crew, but no script to speak of, not even a
plot treatment. The cast is, in no particular order:

Linden Ashby
Bill Nighy
Andrew Divoff
Ray Milland
Brad Dourif
Matt Frewer
John Saxon

And the director is Brian Spicer.

Your task is to create a story for the film, complete with which cast
member you would use in what role. Also, create a title and a tagline.

Example:

Capitol Kill: Red, White, and Death
"Only Their Fists Of Iron Will Save Liberty And Justice For All!"

Linden Ashby and John Saxon play kung-fu expert cops who are unwilling
partners with one another, assigned the case of the kidnapped Vice
President, played by Ray Milland. The VP is being held hostage by a
terrorist of unclear ethnic origin (Divoff), his two henchmen (Frewer and
Dourif), and a crazy scientist (Nighy) who has dememented plans to
brainwash the Vice President and use him to assassinate the President.
After many battles, the film ends with Ashby and Saxon stopping the Vice
President from doing the deed at the State of the Union address.

Give it a try!#end

Identifying As Ljacone

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:16:26 GMT

I am officially announcing that I am legally changing my name to Luke El
Jacone Uno Sei.

No, seriously, though, I want to talk about the concept of the Fan
Identity: how you identify yourself as a sports fan, and how I think I
have done a poor job of that over my lifetime but have settled it out
pretty well now that I am a legitimate adult.

Sports have always been in my life. My father is a big sports fan, and as
such both myself and my brother are fans. It was imprinted from an early
age. But while my brother's teams mirrored those of my father -- the
traditional teams for someone who grew up in the Bronx, the Yankees,
Giants, and Rangers, with an affiliation with the Knicks -- I never went
that way. Looking back I have to chalk this up to my being the younger
brother. It was a way of being different and standing out, to like
different teams.

The first team I ever remember liking were the Islanders. Part of that
was that I did like Pat LaFontaine, one of the best of his era. But that
they were still a New York team, but not the Rangers, that made them
attractive to me. There was something stodgy about the Rangers that the
Isles didn't have. And that started me down a stupid path of chasing
after teams to support, which I managed to continue the entire time I
lived in New York.

In baseball I supported teams such as the A's, the Blue Jays, and the
Padres. On the gridiron, it was the Raiders, the Steelers, the Jets, and
the Saints. On the ice, it was the Sharks, whom I must admit I supported
pretty solidly, and they remain my "Western team," if you believe in such
things (a belief I am losing). And on the court, I was shameless, going
from the Suns to the Spurs to the Blazers to the Rockets, the last one
because of Hakeem Olajuwon, who remains my favorite NBAer of all time.

So I had no identity as a fan. I was all over the damn place in my drive
to be different from my family as well as those around me in New York. I
look back at this and cringe. All those years of stupidity and aimless
bandwagoning. I feel like a moron for all of those disloyal jumps and
moves. But them's the breaks, I guess. You try to learn from your
mistakes and move on. So I did.

First was the Mets. I'd always felt more of an affinity for the Mets than
the Yankees, and again I think that comes from being the younger brother.
The Yankees were everything my brother was: well-liked, successful, did no
wrong, a winner. The Mets were more like me, always lacking some measure
of respect, looked down upon as second banana, and always walking the thin
line between triumph and humilating defeat, more often falling into the
latter. So I think my personality meshed more with them, and I found
myself wanting to watch the Mets fight instead of seeing the Yankees roll
AGAIN (remember the timeframe here).

Also, I don't like the DH rule.

So I deemed myself "Mets Fan" before I moved out of New York and have
never looked back. I have Mets books, gear, apparal, no less than 4 Mets
hats (including one reserved completely for yard work), a Mets pennant in
my cubicle, a Mets bumper sticker for my car (which I keep forgetting to
actually put on but thats neither here nor there) and so forth. You come
into my house, and you're on Mets turf.

The Hurricanes were easy. I had been to a handful of Whalers games at the
old Hartford Civic Center ("the buzzards don't even come up this high!"),
but generally felt little inclination towards the team until I arrived at
Clemson. They're the regional team for the Carolinas, obviously, and I
thought about them for a long hard while. And then I just frigging did
it, and became a Caniac. Once I started at Clemson, I had already began
to think of South Carolina as my new home. That was my relationship with
New York coming into play. So regionalism definitely played a strong
part. The Canes (and the NHL in general) is still somewhat obscure here
in SC (though hockey itself does quite well), so this was an easy enough
transition. And since then I have been a loyal Caniac, through the
strangely inconsistant play as well as the damn cancelled season, finally
getting that "moment" in 06 when the Perfect Storm of Life put me in
Greenville, all by myself, starting a new job and being scared out of my
balls, only to be comforted by the Canes winning the Stanley Cup and
knowing that anything is possible. "Hockey in Carolina?" You damn right.

The Panthers were a little bit stranger. I had followed them a little bit
when they started up because, let's face it, the Panthers have always been
an awesome looking team. I mean, I have a "first edition" Panthers hat,
before the blue was quite as electric and before they had their crazy
font. I fell out of the Panthers habit, oddly, as I enter the Mets
fandom. See if this makes sense, because it doesn't make sense to me. The
Mets are the traditional "second" baseball team in New York right? Well
then it only makes sense to also follow the Jets, the "second" football
team! The Jets and the Mets do more than just rhyme, they also espouse a
lot of the same virtues by being second bananas. So I ran with that for a
couple of seasons until I started to realize the main difference between
the Mets and the Jets: the Jets are a Long Island team. And my life
experiences as a second banana did not jive with a team who was a second
banana from Long Island. The "better than you" attitude you so often find
in New England teams is the same on the Island teams, even when they suck.

So I took another look at the Panthers, who were in the midst of the great
1-15 season. I decided to table the NFL for the rest of the season and
start fresh the following fall. Which I did, going with the Panthers,
falling back on "new regionalism," as I have taken to calling it. The
Panthers squad that I saw was one which I liked: scrappy, constant
underdogs, fighting for each score and each win. The lunchpail mentality
worked, and I made the call to brand msyelf as a Panthers fan, full-time
this time. And I haven't looked back on that one either. The Panthers
represent the entire Carolina region, and they represent me, too.

And what of the Bobcats? That story is more one of being a
disenfranchised NBA fan more than anything else. Through high school, I
played hoops (I was always the "garbage 4," playing weak forward on a 3
guard set, getting all my points on putbacks and generally being more
interested in rebounds and defense... can you see why I like Okafor,
Patrick?), but I was just constantly getting turned off to the NBA game.
After my playing days were over, I'd watch the college game, but ignored
the pros pretty completely. As the years went by I started getting bitter
about my time playing hoops. I started thinking about how my father
treated me during that part of my life, and the feelings of inadequacy and
depression would rise up in me again. This was fueled by the rest of my
life: I had graduated from Clemson but not gotten anything close to a job
I wanted, a fact I was reminded about on a weekly basis by my father. Too
many hurt feelings and ashamed memories of me as a failure started to
crowd out any good memories I might have associated with basketball.

That changed for me one day in 2003. I was in Aiken for the weekend, as
usual. TJ was out, I think, or maybe on the phone? And I was surfing
around and found a Hawks game (I want to say against the Pacers?) on FSN
South. And for some reason I left it on.

Watching the hard-nosed Eastern play reminded me of the way the teams I
used to play on played. I never had the skill or athletic prowess to be
that kind of player (you know what I mean), so I had to do it on hustle
and hard knocks. And that was what I was seeing from the young Hawks,
clearly outmatched but still pushing and trying to fight their way back
into the game. I ended up watching the rest of the game (I had caught it
early in the 3rd) and then the post-game. And suddenly, just like that, I
was back into the NBA. I adpoted the Hawks for the balance of the season
just to have a rooting interest, but as soon as I had found out that the
NBA was coming back to the Carolinas (which I did the first day back at
work after watching that Hawks game), I knew I would be a Bobcats fan, and
lo, here we are.

So now I have my Fan Identity, and I don't see it changing. I've watched
the Mets grind their way into the World Series, and then narrowly miss
another, and then blow it all in September. I've seen the Panthers come
within a breath of winning the Super Bowl, then claw and try to climb
their way back up that mountain. I've seen the Hurricanes fight for
legitimacy and respect in a league full of "hockey snobs," only to get
their names engraved on the greatest trophy in the world. And I have
watched the Bobcats struggle, hustle, work, and scrap for everything they
have ever gotten, since it seemed that even the NBA has been down on them
since their inception.

These are MY TEAMS. They represent ME, the sum of Luke, the South
Carolinian who came via New York, who may have made a bunch of missteps
but learned from at least some of his mistakes to make a pretty decent
life for himself.

The moral of this story? Your Fan Identity is important. Don't blow it
by chasing fads and trends, think about it and commit, dammit.

And I'd like to think that solidifying my Fan Identity has helped me. My
father and I have a much better relationship now than we did a few years
back. Yeah, part of it was I went back to school and got the "right" job.
But I'd like to think that part of it is that I have a measure of respect
from him that I didn't have before, for deciding to stand for something
like a man and not chase around favorites like a child. Maybe there's
something to that, and maybe there's not, but I know one thing: I feel
better having a true Fan Identity. And that's whats important.

Beached Ljacone

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:16:05 GMT

This weekend TJ and I took a trip to what may very well be the ritziest
part of the fair Palmetto State: Hilton Head Island.

We went down on one of those timeshare promotions. You know, give us $69
up front and come stay at our resort, then listen to our pitch and we'll
give you back your money plus $50 towards dinner, or whatnot. Neither of
us had ever been to Hilton Head so we thought what the heck.

We left work at lunchtime on Thursday and headed south on 95, like we were
going to Florida, but got off right before the Georgia line and headed
East for the coast. Hilton Head is surprisingly easy to get to, mainly
because there is only one way -- it is an island, after all. The bigger
problem is finding stuff on the island, since, because of local laws and
regulations regarding signage, all signs are low to the ground and
designed to blend into the surroundings. Which is all very pretty and
eco-friendly, but murder when you are looking for something and your
eyesight is not the best to begin with.

We were disappointed that instead of staying at the timeshare's resort, we
instead were put up at their associated hotel 2 blocks away. It was a
typical hotel; it even lacked a microwave. Still, it was comfortable and
clean, so there was that.

We had Friday all to ourselves, so we got up fairly early and took a trip
to Harbor Town, home of the Harbor Town Lighthouse
(http://www.harbourtownlighthouse.com/) as well as lots of shopping and
dining. The Lighthouse itself is very neat, with a museum inside and a
heck of a view from the top. We ate lunch at the Harbor Town Cafe, which
came recommended and was a good price. It's not often that you find a
good Cuban sandwich in South Carolina, but this was one of them. We also
headed down to South Beach, the southernmost point on the island, for some
more shopping, as well as the Baynard Plantation Ruins. The Ruins were
very neat -- all that has survived of this old Plantation house and the
surrounding buildings is portions of the tabby foundations -- tabby being
a form of concrete made from crushed shell which was typical in the
coastal southeast during this period. Very neat if you like your local
history.

From there we beat a path up Business-278 to Shelter Cove Harbor, where we
(just) caught a sightseeing/tour boat. We went up the bay, underneath the
bridge connecting the island to the rest of Beaufort county (the mainland
part of it, at least), and then out beside Spanish Wells -- yeah, I think
I could make due with property which is waterfront in the front AND the
back at the same time -- and Buck Island, which is entirely owned by a
couple from New York. We did get to see some wild dolphins splashing
around as well, to the delight of the kids on board. Once we returned to
land, we went to The Kingfisher for dinner, where we both ended up having
their All You Can Eat pasta, which was quite tasty. Then it was back to
the hotel room to sleep off all the sun and food.

Saturday morning we had our timeshare tour, and it was the typical fare.
But hey, breakfast and lunch were provided, so there is that. From there
we went back and soaked up some sun by the pool, then hit the hot tubs.
Dinner was at Hudson's On The Docks, a well-known eatery in the area which
Rachel Ray apparently dined at on "$40 A Day." Parking is suspect, but
the food was quite good; the hushpuppies alone were addictive. After
dinner, we came back down to "our" side of the island, and parked near
Coligny Circle and walked onto the beach. The large tidal action on the
island were evident, as the solid sand portion was at least a 40-foot wide
path. It was cool but not too windy, so we walked for an hour or so
before heading back, stopping at a local creamery for ice cream before
retiring.

Sunday morning we stopped at Signe's Bakery, another Rachel Ray
destination apparently, for breakfast. Our choice of poached eggs over
country potatoes and cheese evidently left something to be desired, as the
ageda set in pretty quick. We left the island at that point, bypassing
the ubiquitous Tanger outlets since they open late on Sundays. We did
take a quick spin through historic Bluffton, which looks like it would
make a good day trip if we return (in addition to Savannah, but we knew
that already). From there, we headed home.

A fun weekend, all told. This is the kind of thing which I always have
wanted to do as a married couple -- the Weekend Getaway (TM) that doesn't
involve visiting family or whatnot. The island itself is very beautiful
and very low key, with tons of bike trails everywhere and lots of boating,
watersports, fishing, and so forth if that's what you like. We'll
probably end up heading back there at some point, though we do need to
figure out where we are heading for our anniversary (odds right now on
Aruba). \

Still, all you couples out there, married or otherwise, should consider
taking a trip over to the Palmetto State and spend a long weekend on
Hilton Head. I think you'll enjoy yourselves.

Hardcourt Ljacone

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:59:32 GMT

Well, the Celtics pulled it out. I knew after they won both of the
openers in Boston that they'd probably take the title after they returned
East, and lo, so they did. Congrats to Kevin Garnett, who finally gets
his title, and Ray Allen, who also deserves the title, and Paul Pierce,
who has put up with more crap in his career as a Celtic than anyone else I
can think of off the top of my head.

Regarding the Mets and Randolph: Oy, what a circus this has turned into.
Here's hoping that all this can be put behind us for the remainder of the
season so that Manuel can have a chance to run this team his way. Knowing
that I do about 1) the NY Sports Media and 2) The NY Mets, that ain't
going to happen.

Ljacone's Second Favorite Holiday!

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:31:59 GMT

Happy Jason Voorhees Day everyone! Now, let's all celebrate in the
traditional way: Gather up all your nubile young friends, and head out
into the woods to a deserted old cabin. Then, make with the merriment by
having lots of alcohol, smoking a little weed, and make sure to have some
pre-marital sex (making sure that anyone watching can only see the gal's
boobs, and maybe the guy's butt, please)! Cap the night off by looking
for your missing friends with either only 1) a candle or 2) a flashlight
that has approximately 3 minutes of battery power. Then relax as the Camp
Blood Death Curse takes care of the rest... it's just that easy!

Have a good F13, folks!

Ljacone Of The Spaceways

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:33:35 GMT

Listening to "Major Tom (Coming Home)" by Peter Schilling this morning
really awoke a desire inside me to play Star Man again, impossible though
that may be. I always tried to mix some cosmic stuff in with the "Dude!"
and air guitars. I remember there was a discussion on the O-RM one day
about what the faction would do if Dr. Wily died. My response that Star
Man would simply drift off into space and become one with the universe --
a Star Man, literally -- was met with confusion and disbelief, so I guess
I didn't work my cosmic angles as well as I should have. In fact, that
was part of a plot I worked on for Dark Prophecy, where a celestial being
would make his way to Earth to pass judgement on the planet, and his
herald would be a golden-skinned man, a perfect physical specimen with
long flowing hair -- Star Man, found by this entity and
reshaped/reformatted into a pure form of beauty and enlightenment. The
concept of an android being the perfect model of humanity was part of the
story and all that, but mostly I wanted to play this hyper-evolved Star
Man, come back from the universe to touch the world of mortals once more.

This is some heady stuff, dudes and dudettes. Ah well.

Bulleted Ljacone

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:54:58 GMT

-- I'm not a highly paid NBA analyst, but you cannot (can -not-) go down
by 24 points to a team like this year's Celtics in Boston and expect to
get a win. It's just not going to happen. The Lakers will need to
dominate in Game 3 to have a chance at this point. Like, hit the Celtics
on the chin real early and shift the momentum back to LA's side.

-- It really drives me nuts when I go to get gas at Sam's Club, and other
drivers ignore the "pull this way only" signs and face the wrong way to
avoid having to wait. This causes a nightmare of traffic and near-misses
every single time I see it. What, buddy, you honestly think tha the sign
applies to all patrons except you?

-- I tell you, more than 15 years after it was released, Captain America
And The Avengers is still a pretty darn cool game. "You will be the one
escaping!"

-- Started my new project at work today, so it's time to read, read, read!
I know I love reasing Nuclear Regulatory Committee standards and
guidelines, as well as learning all new acronyms. My favorite new
acroynm: TLA, which stands for, you guessed it, Three Letter Acronym.

-- Any of you out there who read Gaiman's Sandman owe it to yourself to go
check out the new version of House of Mystery. The first two issues are
out now and really worth picking up.

-- It's been 100 degrees here for the last few days, and even while
getting soaking wet while power-washing the house, it's just too hot to be
outside for very long after about 11 AM. Hopefully we can get some rain
soon, but man, it's going to be another rough summer.

Hardwood Ljacone

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:09:17 GMT

Well, it's the time of year when even casual basketball fans take a mild
interest in the professional game: the NBA Finals. Although, somehow I
imagine that this year we're going to see somewhat better fast-nationals
than the last few based entirely on the oft-bandied (and much-dreaded)
"telegenics" as the Los Angeles Lakers meet the Boston Celtics for the
first time in just over 20 years.

Bleech!

I guess I shouldn't be that harsh. I mean, honestly, these are both
really solid, well-built, tough teams. And they both deserve it -- LA
more than Boston, but still. It's just that anytime a sport fields a
finals with two teams I cannot stand, well, it's just hard to get
interested, even for a hoops-nerd.

It's just... I dunno, I really cannot stand Boston in general (as both a
venue for sports teams, and a city in general), and the Lakers
historically have just rubbed me the wrong way (a remnant of the Showtime
era when I was a kid), so picking between the two for a rooting interest
is an exercise in relative measure. Which makes me feel less like a tool?
I guess, taken purely on that level, I would rather see the Lakers win;
Bryant has had a hell of a year, and I would rather see his hard work
repaid more than Garnett. Bryant has earned his "savior" status in the
NBA while Garnett's was pretty much shoved down our throats this last year
-- and if I have to see that one damn Garnett Gatorade commercial with the
music from Excalibur one more time, I'm going to throw my glass of Diet Dr
Pepper (no period) at the screen in a rage. (The same goes the My Better
Is Better Than Your Better commercial as well.)

As for a prediction: I have to go with the Lakers, who with the addition
of Gasol seem to have the right formula. Yes, Boston looked strong
against both LeBron James (with partial sponsorship provided by the
Cleveland Cavaliers) and the Pistons, but I think back to the the Atlanta
series. If you hit the Celtics in the mouth, I think you can catch them
off-guard and lay a hurting on them. And the Lakers are the kind of team
that can do that. So I am taking the Los Angeles Lakers in 6 games,
leaving all the Bahstan-ites to cry in their beers and sulk all over again
(Team of Destiny! Team of Destiny!), only this time with the added bonus
of having it happen on their home court.

Oh, and if I may be so bold as to make one more predicition. With all due
respect to Allan Iverson, Larry Brown is NOT THE ANSWER.

The Crashing Silence

Fri, 09 May 2008 13:02:32 GMT

Great Googily Moogily, I have become one of those people who doesn't update. This will not stand. Well, it will for today, anyway. But it will not stand very much longer.

Frozen Ljacone

Sat, 19 Jan 2008 01:26:03 GMT

At least, that's what it was yesterday. Had about 1.5 - 2 inches of snow overnight on Wednesday into Thursday -- and pretty much all trace of it was gone by noon today. Still, the most snowfall I have seen in South Carolina since I was an undergraduate at Clemson. Woo, snow!

I promise, a better update will be forthcoming.

Riding The Pines With Ljacone

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 13:17:34 GMT

Dear Detroit Pistons,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful gift of Nazr Mohammed. We now have a complete set of Starters, each capabale of dropping double digits every night. It was very nice of you to think of us in this holiday season.

Happy Holidays!

~The Charlotte Bobcats

(Richardson, Felton, Okafor, Wallace, and Mohammed all scored in double digits in an easy win over New York last night, and Mohammed's production has gone through the roof (so far) since his deal from Detroit. Could this be the core nucleus? If the team continues it's winning ways, don't be surprised to see Morrison and May as revserves, or potentially shipped out.)

Into The Flood Again

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 02:26:35 GMT

Well, I've gone and done it.

I've updated The Vault of Horror, this time taking a look at Eli Roth's Hostel films.

Please check it out. Thanks!

I Don't Want To Be Here In Your Ljacone Dungeon

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 23:57:08 GMT

An exercise. Complete all steps for full credit

1. Click on http://www.undeadpunk.com/.

2. Click on "streaming player" on the right hand side, under "The Media."

3. Turn up your speakers and rock out.

This is a version of The Misfits "lost" 1980 album, "12 Hits From Hell," as played by their one-time guitarist Bobby Steele. Steele was fired from the band during the recording sessions and replaced. Many of these songs were re-recorded for 1982's "Walk Among Us." Steele is on bad terms with the original Misfits, including Glen Danzig and Jerry Only, probably rightly so. But this version of "12 Hits..." is still pretty darn good. Enjoy!

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 02:08:56 GMT

Ganked from flying_landon:

Go to the Wikipedia home page in your preferred language and click "random article." That is your band's name. Click "random article" again. That is your album name. Click "random article" 15 more times. Those are the tracks on your album.

Band Name: Centaurea Americana
Album: Imanol Arias

Tracks:
1. List of Asteroids/166901–167000 (Instrumental intro, of course)
2. Kaisborstel
3. The Monsters In The Morning
4. Peerage of England and Ireland in 1360
5. Iremonger
6. Melpers
7. World Outside My Window
8. Pride Air
9. Capalbio
10. Joseph Nollekens
11. Overline
12. Colin Fickes
13. Cimenná
14. Collegiate university
15. Fuller Pilch

A couple of these are great... the asteroids, Monsters, Iremonger, Overline, they could all be metal songs. And the band name is awesome.