Moving from Facebook to Twitter

In the past month or so I have been gravitating more towards Twitter than interacting much on Facebook. I started using Twitter more than usual when I started watching Masters of Sex and would go on Twitter and interact with other people who watch the show. I didn't know any of my friends that was turning in to the show and realized it would be a better opportunity to tweet about an episode without ruining it to the people who followed me. I realized when I started tweeting more that using hashtags on every television series that I watch will eventually lead to the beginning of a conversation. It's hard to live tweet while watching cable shows because there are no commercials I would like to thank DVR for making this a lot easier to deal with. It also opened my eyes and wonder if this is how watching television will be like from now on. Watching a show and at the same time having my phone right next to me ready to type less than 140 characters about what I just saw. The way I use Facebook and Twitter has dramatically changed since I first made an account for both social mediums. Whenever I am on Facebook I would make an interesting status that will probably develop to a decent amount of likes, a quote that I enjoy, share a link that I know other people would interesting and use the messaging section to have conversations with some of my friends instead of texting them. Twitter is so much simpler, I prefer the newsfeed of information instead of Facebook's, retweet something interesting and throw all my thoughts in a short amount of space; the app is also simple to use on Twitter

I remember creating my Facebook account sometime in the fall of 2006 because that was the year I graduated from high school and started college. I created a Twitter account because I made a bet that I had to give up Facebook for lent later on I watched an episode of Big Bang Theory in which they discussed Twitter. Afterwards I did a little research on the site and created an account. It was the perfect way of breaking a rule but sadly I didn't know anyone that was using Twitter besides celebrities. Twitter doesn't give you the amount of information about your account that Facebook delivers statistics. I stumbled upon this website http://twopcharts.com/howlongontwitter and I was impressed with the information I found. In two months I will officially been with Twitter for 5 years, it might be a bit sad that I made this statement similar to how someone would speak about a relationship. I love looking up stats and here are my twitter statistics: 1,768 days, 2,256 Favorites, following 644, 362 followers, have been on Twitter for 61.5 of its existence and have been on Twitter longer than 98.9% of all other Twitter users. Many will call it obsession but I find it interesting to look at numbers like this I might be afraid to see my Facebook stats considering I have been on that site for about three years longer.

I started to dislike Facebook not for what they are able to do but the content that people are posting. Twitter is about the same but it's expected. It's nothing malicious but friends of mine are treating their Facebook pages identical to Twitter. Those same friends are the ones that say there is no point of having a Twitter account. I guess for someone that knows about social media I know the goal for brand pages is building an audience and engaging with them. I understand that brands are the ones to be doing the engaging but I feel that individuals should be doing the same. When I am on Facebook I pay more attention to the pages that I like than the friends that I have on the site. People post things mostly to get attention while pages would post interesting or funny content. I am an individual and I might tend to focus statuses on myself but not in the way I see other people do. I'd rather see someone brag about something they have accomplished than moan about something that is going on to get attention. This is why there is the messaging section on Facebook  so you can discuss personal issues with a close friend than announce it to associates that you have in your life. Tweets involve the same thing but to an extent but I guess my issue is that I use my tweets to engage with people who like similar hobbies or interest hence why the hashtag works perfectly for that social media. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining or ranting I just notice I tend to spend more time on Twitter than I do on Facebook. Facebook has officially become a place where I'll share an occasional status see some page posts and exit while I'll spend more time on Twitter actually looking at what people have to actually say. 

Happy 200th Episode to How I Met Your Mother

It all started when I bought season one of LOST on DVD and finished it in two days, the early days of binge watching before Netflix became a thing. I had two days before the season two premiere of LOST and decided to go to CBS and watch the series premiere of How I Met Your Mother ( September 19,2005) and it’s been history ever since. If it wasn't for these two television shows I wouldn't be the addict I am now.  I have watched every single episode since that day and never more than 24 hours after the show has been aired. I’m impressed that this show has lasted as long as it has I recall when the show was always on the fence of being canceled during the middle seasons. I find it impressive that this is the only series that I have watched from its series premiere all the way to when the finale will actually air.

I found it as a relief to Friends even though I didn't start watching that show until the final season. The show developed well from becoming a show that makes you laugh with its 80’s references to even making you cry when Marshall found out when his father died.  I enjoyed this show for many reasons many friends would assume that it’s Barney, it is hard not to pick him because of the amazing lines that were written for him.  Everyone has that couple that has been together for many years and are the parent figure of a group that pretty much sums up Lily and Marshall. Robin is that girl next door who has her father issues and that is why she never wants to have kids and even commit until the later seasons. Some friends that I know were not pleased with Barney and Robin getting together because they are too similar but I believe that works because they understand each other and at some point the people who were most afraid of relationships will end up embracing it that will be me one day. Finally we have Ted the protagonist of this series I love the up and downs he had with relationships because it’s realistic someone is not going to not date and assume to get married, he went through every phase happiness depression and will finally find his one true happiness at the end of the series. The beauty of this series is that it’s a great resemblance to life every character goes through ups and downs, uncertainty with their life and career choices and issues with their parents. Anyone can relate to this show and that is why I have kept around so long.

I have compared this final season similar to that awkward Scrubs final season. I was even surprised they renewed it when they gave the show such a great send off. I knew this season would be similar to season 8 with a lot of fill-ins to the final episode. There have been some nice episodes this season with the premiere episode of ‘The Locket’ when we meet the mother, ‘The Rehearsal Dinner’ and last week’s ‘Unpause’. It may be easy to say because it’s the most ingrained episode in my memory but the 200^th episode named ‘How Your Mother Met Me’ will be one of the top episodes of the series, it was so special and bitter sweet to the whole series as a whole. I laughed and yes there were some tears but that makes for a memorable episode and experience. I didn't want to make any judgments about the mother until I actually got to meet her. I am glad I made that decision because throughout the season she has been the main positive of the show next to Lily and Linus joke and Barney getting down to the last few hours of being “single”.

After this there will be spoilers of the episode.

The episode begins where the series began at MacLaren’s Pub Ted met Robin and Marshall and Lily get engaged. The show starts with its usual humor and goes straight to the sensitive pace that will remain throughout this episode when the Mother’s boyfriend is late to celebrate her birthday. She receives a phone call and finds out he got in to some accident and left her a ukulele. We flash forward to St Patrick’s Day and find out how the umbrella ended up at that bar and where we get a series flashback with the return of ‘The Naked Man’ named Mitch. I’m glad she ended up being the one of the three but it was too funny that as soon as she leaves her apartment her roommate sleeps with Mitch, it works so well that I might have to try this.

We then flash-forward again to Ted’s first day as a college professor, it was cute when she laughed at Ted’s many punned induced jokes. We find out how the mother and Cindy become roommates and what takes place after Ted sees her ankles. This is where Cindy kisses a woman for the first time and realizes that she will have made the transition from men to women. She then dates this guy named Louis who believes MacLaren’s is named Puzzles and she questions it just like Ted and Barney did earlier in the series was pure genius. The moment when Louis proposes to the Mother and she asks Max for his blessing was heartwarming leading up to her still carrying the ukulele and ending the episode with her singing put the cherry on top of this fantastic episode.

I sure do hope that there are more mother sightings before the final episode. I hope Cristin Milioti gets nominated for an Emmy as a guest actress besides being one of the bright side of a very off season she did a tremendous bringing this mysterious character to life. A lot of people were not pleased that she was mom when we got a first sighting last season in the train station. I was glad they picked an unknown actress instead of an actress that everyone knows. That way we were able to have a clean slate of this person instead of comparing her the mother to roles that the actress has done beforehand. The mother has lived up to everything that Ted has described her to be. I  enjoyed seeing Milioti in Wolf of Wall Street and she continues to expand her other projects. You have won me over and I hope the rest of the season can continue to blossom as this episode did. 

Her: The future of technology dating

I have not done an extensive movie review before, I am used to just giving a 0.5-1.0 rating on Rotten Tomatoes and discussing the movie with friends who have seen a movie or fellow movie enthusiasts. I gave this movie a 4.5/5.0 it is considered a very high rating because I don't give them out as much as I do fours and 3.5's. As someone who aspires to be a screenwriter I enjoyed the way Jonze wrote this script. It had an interesting and engaging open. I was a bit thrown off when he said "we have been married for fifty years" until you realize he is a man who writes personal love letters for people who can't express their feelings to their significant others.  This movie reminded me a little bit of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind because both can be considered Romance and Science Fiction even though Her has a lighter tone.  I was about to relate with Theodore's (Phoenix) complexity a bit, he is someone who is able to express a lot of feelings in his writing for others but was never able to do so with his soon to be ex wife Catherine (Mara) and never replied back to his friends voicemails. 


As much as it would be awkward for an individual to date and even have phone sex with an operating system it does look like a possible thing, I remember this being a joke in Big Bang Theory except Samantha is an Artificial Intelligent Operating System more advanced than Apple's Siri. The relationship with Samantha actually made Theodore less introverted and went on dates with Olivia Wilde and a double date with his awkward co-worker Paul (Chris Pratt). I really enjoyed the character arc of Theodore even though the ending is a bit cliche it was intriguing to see him develop through a relationship that is seen as normal as the movie progresses. Even his writing is effected based on how the relationship and his emotions.  I really enjoyed the technology that was placed in this movie besides the Operating System, the pretty interesting game with the cursing rabbit and that phone technology actually reads you any email and messages that you receive and what you want to do with that said email/message. 

Some spoilers will be seen in the following paragraph. 

Catherine is not seen throughout the movie except for flashbacks and the one meeting she has with Theodore to sign the divorce papers. It was hard for me to understand her a bit maybe it's because I'm a male but I really don't understand why she is upset that Theodore is with an Operating System when she is the one who broke up the marriage. I was not entirely fond with the approach of the breakup between Samantha and Theodore but I assume it was the best choice to go with.  I enjoyed the developing friendship that Aimee and Theodore have, it's one of those awkward ones where they dated in college and it never became anything. I like how they are both able to talk openly about their relationship issues and don't conventionally have sex when they are both in a depressed state of mind, Even though I won't spoil how the ending but I was actually content with it because it did not have the typical romantic comedy end. 

Compiled list of favorite movies

I recently realized that for the past ten years I have been watching movies by myself, friends, family or a date. The first movie I watched in theaters by myself was Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. It is one of my most memorable movie experiences for the one memory of not knowing know how long the movie was going to last. Yup that movie lasted 3 hours and a half and I had to pee during the epic fight scene that took place where Legolas took down that huge elephant. I knew I couldn't leave and didn't. I waited until that final cut scene to leave that theater. Ever since that day I have been addicted to watching movies. Since that day I noticed the rise of ticket sales and have found my way around that; going to a matinee saves you almost half the amount of money that you'll spend after 12 pm.

Ever since that I have watched about 600 movies in total which probably sounds ridiculous but I believe about 200 of those were watched in theaters while the other 400 came from DVD and cable. I am not a fan of watching films on television because they cut out parts and the idea of having commercials in between is a bit of a drag and takes away from the movie watching experience. I have felt in love with movies for many different reasons: the visual spectacle of a sci-fi or action movie to the emotion that I get from watching a drama and the laughs that comedies gives and even the suspense from thrillers and some horror films.

I'm trying to figure out how to make this list, most of the movies I have watched have been released after 2000 so I think I should make this list from that specific time frame or instead just make it an all time list because I was around the 90's and some of my favorite films came out before 1990. Hmm it's best to go with an all-time list of my favorite films. Just to be sure of any that is reading this, the list is not an all-time greatest films because I have not seen Casablanca and Citizen Kane yet I every list I have come across always have those at some point I will watch them also I have not seen every Oscar winning film. This list will be the movies that I have most enjoyed and watched multiple times throughout my life. Stay tuned throughout the year to see which one is number one because I don't even know what I will place up there yet.

Yankees sign Tanaka

I knew the Yankees were going to sign Masahiro Tanaka when it was between them and the Cubs. I'm a little surprised that he was given 7 years and $155 million more surprised with the years. I was assuming 5 years and $110 million but I do know that this was a bid and the Yankees were going to over spend the Cubs and Dodgers (since they finished signing Kershaw) so it was a bit expected. The problem with these major contracts that we have been seeing in baseball is based on expectations.  I did see that the Yankees are allowed to opt after 4 years so that works pretty well. He is young which is a great plus, I am hoping he is like Darvish or at least close to him. I saw a stat that his workload has been longer than those of Darvish and Matsuzaka, if this offense produces better than it did last year that will help him out. I would be content with him pitching 200 innings and an ERA of around 3, I can't be a typical Yankee fan and assume he will pull off his past Japanese season in the MLB because there is no way he is going 24-0 and 1.27 ERA pitching in the AL East. 

Now for the Yankees they have Tanaka, CC, Kuroda and Nova. I like how Nova pitched later in the season and we will see what the Yankees will do about the 5th spot. I don't mind giving Phelps a chance but the Yankees have this win now mentality so here's hoping they don't sign a 35+ year old pitcher. If Jeter and Tex stays healthy which is a huge if and the additions they made can stay healthy as well I think the Yankees can do well this season. I have no idea who will be their second and third baseman. Every team goes through some kind of injury so only time will tell what happens. I won't expect a World Series with the Cardinals, Tigers, Rays and Rangers pretty filled in their roster and playoff experience. If they do win this year I hope it won't be a repeat of 2009 when they signed players won one championship and then nosedived the next few seasons. 

The Final 4 of the Super Bowl

As much as I enjoy predicting sports games I am having the hardest time deciding who I think or would root for this Sunday. If there is one thing I can say these are the two match ups fans and the NFL wanted. The most debated quarterbacks of the past 10 plus years and the best overall teams in the NFC. A field where two teams won 12 games and the other two won 13. The best four teams in the league playing each other and I believe there is no clear cut favorite, even Vegas has both games under 7 points.  In the beginning in the week I claimed that my Super Bowl pick would be Patriots and 49ers. It's Friday and I am still flustered. I would like to see a Broncos and Seahawks game because not only is a game between both number one seeds but the best offense against the best defense. I like the idea of the 49ers winning the SuperBowl because the lost in the Championship game 2 years ago, lost in the Super Bowl last year and then comeback and win it this year. I am not a fan of the Patriots but you have to admit this team has been consistent for such a long stretch and to see them win it all after 9 years would be impressive, I am not sure how many people have won Championships between such a stretch besides Jeter and the Yankees. Broncos playing the 49ers doesn't sound as entertaining except for the fact that it would be a West Coast Super Bowl being played n the East Coast. To finish off this long week I just want to watch two great games that go down to the wire being won or lost in the last drive.

And the Oscar nominees are.....

Best picture

"12 Years a Slave"

"American Hustle"

"Captain Phillips" 

"Dallas Buyers Club"

"Gravity" 

"Her" 

"Nebraska" 

"Philomena" 

"The Wolf of Wall Street

I saw 12 Years, American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Gravity and Wolf of Wall Street. I'm not surprised the first 4 got nominated. I did enjoy Wolf of Wall Street but I'm a bit shocked it got a Best Picture nom. I will be watching Her this weekend and I definitely wanted to watch Dallas Buyers Club and possibly Nebraska. If I had to choose a movie I would go with Gravity or 12 Years A Slave. I assume 12 Years takes the Oscar and if not it will go to American Hustle. 

Director

Alfonso Cuarón, "Gravity"

Steve McQueen, "12 Years a Slave"

Alexander Payne, "Nebraska"

David O. Russell, "American Hustle"

Martin Scorsese, "The Wolf of Wall Street"

Saw 4 of the 5. As much as everyone would say Russell or McQueen. I would put McQueen over Russell but I think Cuaron should win. Gravity will win for Cinematography for sure but directing such a different kind of film should be taken accounted for.

Lead actor

Christian Bale, "American Hustle"

Bruce Dern, "Nebraska"

Chiwetel Ejiofor, "12 Years a Slave"

Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club"

Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Wolf of Wall Street"

I would love to see Leo win, McConaughey has the momentum and will probably end up taking the statue. 

Lead actress

Amy Adams, "American Hustle"

Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine"

Judi Dench, "Philomena"

Meryl Streep, "August: Osage County"

Sandra Bullock, "Gravity"

I sure hope Redbox has Blue Jasmine because everyone is saying that Blanchett is the hands down favorite. In the movies I watched I would probably put Adams over Bullock. 

Supporting actor

Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”

Bradley Cooper, “American Hustle”

Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”

Jonah Hill, “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

I'm a bit shocked that Jonah Hill is nominated here. I haven't seen Dallas but seems that Leto will take home the statue considering the role he played and his Globe win. In movies that I have watched I'd like to choose Fassbender and see him take him the prize.

Supporting actress

Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine”

Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle”

Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”

Julia Roberts, “August: Osage County”

June Squibb, “Nebraska”

It's hard for someone to win an Oscar in the same category two years in a row and I think Nyong'o will end up winning this category. It wouldn't surprise me if J Law won but it's tough to do. 

Animated feature film

“The Croods”

“Despicable Me 2”

“Ernest & Celestine”

“Frozen”

“The Wind Rises”

I saw Frozen and Despicable Me 2. My vote would 100% go to Frozen.

Cinematography

“The Grandmaster,” Philippe Le Sourd

“Gravity,” Emmanuel Lubezki

“Inside Llewyn Davis,” Bruno Delbonnel

“Nebraska,” Phedon Papamichael

“Prisoners,” Roger A. Deakins

Like I said earlier Lubezki for Gravity.

Visual effects

“Gravity,” Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould

“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds

“Iron Man 3,” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick

“The Lone Ranger,” Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier

“Star Trek Into Darkness,” Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Daltonis 

I assume Gravity will pick up this one as well. 

Adapted screenplay

“Before Midnight,” written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke

“Captain Phillips,” screenplay by Billy Ray

“Philomena,” screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope

“12 Years a Slave,” screenplay by John Ridley

“The Wolf of Wall Street,” screenplay by Terence Winter

 I would love to read these scripts in order to make such a decision but I wouldn't be surprised if John  Ridley would win this category.

Original screenplay

“American Hustle,” written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell

“Blue Jasmine,” written by Woody Allen

“Dallas Buyers Club,” written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack

“Her,” written by Spike Jonze

“Nebraska,” written by Bob Nelson

With Her winning it's share of screenplay awards I think this or American Hustle would take home the prize.

I really have no idea how to choose some of the next categories since I didn't see any foreign language films or any of the shorts or documentaries but I'll leave the nominees up here if I see any of these movies that change my mind I'll make some edits. I'll bold my random selections for costume and other random categories. 

Costume design

“American Hustle,” Michael Wilkinson

“The Grandmaster,” William Chang Suk Ping

“The Great Gatsby,” Catherine Martin

“The Invisible Woman,” Michael O’Connor

“12 Years a Slave,” Patricia Norris

Documentary feature

“The Act of Killing”

“Cutie and the Boxer”

“Dirty Wars”

“The Square” 

“20 Feet from Stardom”

Documentary short subject

“CaveDigger”

“Facing Fear”

“Karama Has No Walls”

“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life”

“Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall”

Film editing

“American Hustle,” Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten

“Captain Phillips,” Christopher Rouse

“Dallas Buyers Club,” John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa

“Gravity,” Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger

“12 Years a Slave,” Joe Walke

Foreign language film 

“The Broken Circle Breakdown,” Belgium

“The Great Beauty,” Italy

“The Hunt,” Denmark

“The Missing Picture,” Cambodia

“Omar,” Palestine

Makeup and hairstyling

“Dallas Buyers Club,” Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews

“Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa,” Stephen Prouty

“The Lone Ranger,” Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny

Original score

“The Book Thief,” John Williams

“Gravity,” Steven Price

“Her,” William Butler and Owen Pallett

“Philomena,” Alexandre Desplat

“Saving Mr. Banks,” Thomas Newman

Original song

“Alone Yet Not Alone” from “Alone Yet Not Alone”

“Happy” from “Despicable Me 2”

“Let It Go” from “Frozen”

“The Moon Song” from “Her”

“Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”

Production design

“American Hustle,” Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Heather Loeffler

“Gravity,” Production Design: Andy Nicholson; Set Decoration: Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard

“The Great Gatsby,” Production Design: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Beverley Dunn

“Her,” Production Design: K.K. Barrett; Set Decoration: Gene Serdena

“12 Years a Slave,” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Alice Baker

Animated short film

“Feral”

“Get a Horse!”

“Mr. Hublot”

“Possessions”

“Room on the Broom”

Live action short film

“Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)”

“Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything)”

“Helium”

“Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)”

“The Voorman Problem”

Sound editing

“All Is Lost,” Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns

“Captain Phillips,” Oliver Tarney

“Gravity,” Glenn Freemantle

“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” Brent Burge

“Lone Survivor,” Wylie Stateman

Sound mixing

“Captain Phillips,” Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and Chris Munro

“Gravity,” Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro

“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson

“Inside Llewyn Davis,” Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland

“Lone Survivor,” Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow

Will Trout be the next $30 million player?

Yesterday it was announced that Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers have agreed to a 7 year, $215 million deal, making him the highest paid player per year: I got these numbers from an ESPN article... 

Clayton Kershaw, LAD ('14-20)	$30,714,286
x-Roger Clemens, NYY ('07)	$28,000,022
Alex Rodriguez, NYY ('08-17)	$27,500,000
Justin Verlander, Det ('13-19)	$25,714,286

I know baseball contract have been ridiculous the past few years but I think it's understandable to shell out that kind of money if you have it available. I can't argue as a Yankee fan when I was fine with them signing so many players in the early 2000's to make the playoffs to then get ousted in the first round. The only reason I'm against them is because of the history of long contracts working out. We all know how A Rod has turned out, Pujols has been injured the first two years of his ten year contract, Prince Fielder got traded and his numbers dipped, Joe Mauer's numbers aren't the same and he is no longer playing catcher, Texiera has not been the same since that championship season, CC is the brightest part of that rotation but not the same as before, Tulowitki and Werth are iffy as well and Verlander may be slowing down. I believe Manny and Jeter has pretty good seasons during their long careers but it is a tough investment. 

Positives I can say is that Kershaw has been the best pitcher in the league the past three years. I will be using stats from http://www.baseball-reference.com... He's has 6.0+ WAR the past three seasons (6.5,6.2,7.8 respectively) and has led the National League in ERA the last three seasons only been twice before (Greg Maddux and Sandy Koufax). I guess win total (13,21,14,16) is not a factor when it comes to judging a pitcher when you have the ERA  and pitchers at least pitching in 200 plus innings the past four years. He is 26 years old and his contract will expire at 31 if he decides to opt out and 33 if he doesn't. He has the potential and previous stats to do well. The best pitcher in the league will always end up getting the highest contract and I can't argue why he was given the money. I'm just concerned about the years and that he doesn't turn in to a Lincecum. 

Now to Trout by far my favorite player in the league. I grew up player outfielder and in the 90s I was a fan of Bernie Williams, Griffey, Edmonds, Andrew Jones. So in a way I'll be subjective and objective. I'm objective because the way he plays reminds me of Griffey, Hunter and all the amazing outfielders during that era. His defense is amazing, has hit a plus .300 average, 25+ Homeruns, lead the league in SB two seasons ago. He has all five tools ( has a good arm, runs for speed, hits for average, hits for decent power and everyone knows he can field. I love looking up numbers and he posted a WAR of 10.9 and 9.2 the last two years. He is an everyday player and will definitely get his money, he probably won't get A Rod money unless he improves the numbers he posted in the next two year.. He is 21 so I won't be surprised if he gets a long term contract but not with $30 million. Only time will tell and LA has the money to do so. Baseball has slowly shifted to the West Coast, maybe I should move back/ These two players will keep me interested in baseball for the next decade or so. 

11 movies I can't wait to watch this 2014

I received my new issue of Entertainment Weekly and it was their 2014 Preview. They had their list of most anticipated movies, TV shows, book and etc. I am not sure why but I am not as excited about movies this year. The main reason is because I don't watch any new film between the months of January and April unless it really grabs my attention. Last year I wanted to watch Oz and 42 and ended up waiting for it to be released on Redbox. I also spent my January watching Oscar potential movies which I will do with at lease Inside Llewyn Davis, Her and Dallas Buyers Club. I already saw most of the favorites (Gravity, 12 Years A Slave, American Hustle, Wolf of Wall Street, Captain Phillips). It's early but here is my list of movies I want to watch this year. This order can change as the year progresses: 

The Hobbit: There and Back Again- I loved the cliffhanger to Desolation of Smaug and will finish the book in time for the release, I'm intrigued to see how they will end it and connect it to The Lord of the Rings.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1- I enjoyed Catching Fire and they kept it in line with book, my only issue is that I was not a fan of the Mockingjay book but these guys have made two entertaining films that I will watch in hopes they make it a better film than the book.

Gone Girl- David Fincher is back, the new Batman is in it and NPH. I want to see a trailer and actually read this book beforehand. Fincher directed Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I enjoyed both the book and movie so I'm willing to give it a chance.

Guardians of the Galaxy- New Marvel movie, I assume there will be a trailer during the Super Bowl but since it's a lead-in for the next Avengers film I will definitely watch it. It's good to see something new from Marvel besides Iron Man and the rest of the crew.

22 Jump Street- the first one was hilarious in my mind, I'm iffy with such a quick sequel and having them go to college and find another drug but the chemistry with Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum will bring me in to the theater.

Godzilla- I really didn't hear much about this on until the trailer appeared last month and looking at the cast and pretty kept quiet trailer. I might just give this a chance because I did not watch Pacific Rim and this might just a better choice.

Transcendence- DP of most of Nolan films, you got Johnny Depp and some of the Nolan cast, an interesting AI story. I may just go to the movies in April for once.

Amazing Spider-Man 2- I actually enjoyed the first film compared to many of my friends. Andrew Garfield was a better overall Spiderman and I enjoyed Gwen Stacey a lot more than Mary Jane. I'm a bit iffy of Rhino being a robot and I would like to see how Jamie Foxx does as Electro and Sinister Six lined up. That trailer sold me and I have a childhood love with Spider-Man.

X-Men: Days of Future Past- I fell in love with the first two films was disappointed with Last Stand and Wolverine. First Class was probably the best of the franchise next to X-Men United and combining both will be an interesting mix. I have been waiting to be ecstatic about an X-Men film for a while so here's hoping they don't mess it up.

Captain America: Winter Soldier- The trailer looked so good, it got me psyched and looks better than Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World. I enjoyed the first one and this darker take and closer connection to Avengers will help.

Interstellar- It's Christopher Nolan and I have my man crush with him since Memento, Inception and Dark Knight. This is a new original script with matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and others. I'm already sold without needed to hear the plot.

Time to change to fully watching Cable Television

This past week of the shows I usually watch on Network television did not impress me at all. Agents of Shield I have no idea what's going on anymore, it's almost as complicated as LOST but less interesting and more special effects. New Girl isn't as funny as it was the first two seasons, maybe it has to do with Nick and Jess being a couple, I still enjoy Schmidt. I watched How I Met Your Mother for 9 years and this season has confused me so much, reminds me of the last season of Scrubs, they got renewed for a last season and then I'm wondering why... I just saw the premiere of True Detective, it's only the pilot but it's a way more interesting and well written cop drama than my guilty pleasure action and jokes making shows of Almost Human and Hawaii Five-0. I had my issues with the new seasons of Homeland and the Newsroom but those shows still kept me interested and grit. The only network dramas I can actually agree to fully enjoying in all aspects is The Following and I binge watched it on Netflix. Now to Netflix I have to watch House of Cards and I am one of the few people who has not seen Breaking Bad, I know how it ends but I still want to see the change Walter White through. I have been a fan of gritty and dark story lines since I watched The Dark Knight and There Will Be Blood. I figure that cable shows are starting to implement this aspect more so I might just make the switch full time. Revolution and The Following are interesting and still have me watching but besides that I don't think I can keep up with network dramas much longer even though I will be watching 24 when it returns in May. Hostages worked but I have no idea how they will have a second season and if it wasn't for James Spader I think I would have given up on this show 3 months ago. Cables shows like Mad Men is coming to an end so I'm glad Masters of Sex came along to take over my 60/70's fix. Comedies wise I got more laughs from cable shows than I did from network television shows. I really enjoy the smart and dark humor of The League, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and House of Lies. Comedies in network television all seem the same with Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother and Men at work are the usual group of people talking about sex and some random jokes and then newcomers and the new Crazy Ones and Sean Saves the world remind me of comedies from the 90's. I network television is going to have to get grittier in order to keep my interest. Does anyone recommend any new series to watch? I say new because it's going to be hard for me to want to watch a series that has been around more than 3 years because it is going to be hard to catch up with a series that long if there are newer episodes coming out.

My Take on The Golden Globes

I have to start off by saying that I did not watch all the nominated movies. I still do want to watch Her and Inside Llewyn Davis. I watched 4 of the 5 movies nominated for Best Picture- Drama. I really enjoyed the 4 (12 Years A Slave, Gravity Captain Phillips and Rush), that's the order in which I assumed they would win. 12 Years A Slave was one of those films that will definitely win Best Picture at the Oscars because it's the film that was the most memorable in my eyes. Gravity was an amazing spectacle the graphics and continuous non fluff script really kept me watching. Captain Phillips and Rush were both an adrenaline rush in their own ways, I couldn't keep my eyes and anticipation from these films. I didn't watch Dallas Buyer's Club and I would love to mostly it looks like an interesting story and for it's critical praise. Best Picture Comedy I only saw Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle but like I said earlier I want to see Her because it won Best Screenplay and the story is original and interesting and Llewyn Davis because of the Coen Brothers. I loved American Hustle because the acting was on point, hard to argue with the cast and even though the story did not blow me away I was still interested to see what happened. I read Wolf of Wall Street and already had an idea of what was going to happen. Both movies were funny throughout but would not consider them legit comedies. I'm glad Leo finally got recognized but I didn't hear much buzz from the people going up against him. I am still mad he got snubbed for Django Unchained but I'm intrigued to see if he gets an Oscar nom. I think with Best Director anyone could have won because they brought different aspects to their film. It's hard to argue the direction of Alfonso Cuarón because Gravity was amazingly shot and I'm ecstatic to see a Latino Director getting notice. I never really pay attention to the TV portion because that show goes to the Emmys but I have to see I'm shocked that Brooklyn Nine-9 took home best Comedy when I have not heard much praise about it. The Oscar season is upon us and I have not done my top ten movies list of 2013 yet, I will probably have to leave Her and Llewyn Davis off the list because it's already 2014.

Tony Strikes Back

I haven't posted in almost eight months. I figured it was time to return to blogging on a more regular basis and it's almost my New Year Resolution. My goal is to at least have one blog post a week and if I can do more than one a week that would be perfect. My blog will consist on my opinion thoughts and reviews of movies, sports news and events and maybe even a few TV shows since I have to binge watch House of Cards before the second season resumes next month. Have a good weekend bloggers. My NFL Playoff predictions are Chargers, Patriots, Seahawks and 49ers. Another awesome Win for Syracuse and the Yankees save $24 million plus with the suspension of A Rod.