Leprechaun Vs. Fair Game

$4,000.00. That is what we are out to have our sewer pipe redone today. Now I don’t know about you, but to me that is a TON of money. Seriously. The thing is we had saved, paid off, and planned our way to a point where we were out from under the thumb of debt. ‘The Plan’ had FINALLY come to fruition, and we were about to embark on a time of unrivaled prosperity and opportunity, all that work gone down a drain that is no longer working, and with it $4,000.00.

I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about this. Part of me wants to be mad, but when we do the math it won’t be that difficult to pay off, in fact less than a year. This doesn’t even take into account the fact that once this is done we should NEVER have to deal with any of this again. EVER! So the reality is while I’m miffed, and more than a little stressed, I’m not that upset. It does put some serious fiscal crimps into our ‘Plan’, but you know what it’ll just need to be modified.

Really we just need a stress respite. It’s been non-stop since Halloween and it hasn’t let up. The funny thing is it has all been situations where it could have been ‘worse’. I think my feelings on that are why couldn’t have just been ‘better’? Maybe this will end up being a good thing, sort of a re-focusing on priorities type of event. Perhaps it’s an opportunity to re-work our ‘Plan’ and change the time table on some things. See what I’m doing there, I’m trying desperately to be positive. It doesn’t look good on me does it?

GAH!

So in order to deal with my frustrations I watched disc 1 of CM Punk: Best In The World (Infinite *’s out of 5!) last night.

It was the documentary disc and let me just say, “WOW!” I’ve always been a ‘Closet Wrestling Guy’. It’s that weird thing that I enjoy but am sort of humiliated by my love of it. I dug the 80’s WWF and even the NWA before it became WCW. Then in the 90’s I was hooked again with the ‘Attitude Era’ and the ‘Monday Night War’ between WWF and WCW where it seemed anything could happen. During that time period though I discovered ECW and I really got into Wrestling as a whole again. Since then my interest has ebbed and flowed depending on time and availability of ‘good product’. Every time I thought I was “OUT!” something would pull me back in; Lucha Libre, N.W.O., the “Invasion” storyline, Ring Of Honor, Chikara, discovering Puroresu etc. The thing is none of them had too much staying power. Then about a year or so ago CM Punk dropped ‘The Promo’ on RAW, and re-ignited my interest, as well as a lot of other people. He went on stage and dropped a scathing promo regarding his feelings about WWE, the McMahons, the fans, etc. It was and remains one of the single best promos ever cut. I’d dug Punk’s work ever since seeing his famous three matches with Samoa Joe in Ring Of Honor, and even went so far as to hunt down the so-called ‘Summer Of Punk’ in R.O.H. just to get a feel for what all the fuss was about. The man doesn’t have bad matches, and he does NOT cut bad promos. He is what I dig about wrestling; talented performers, who take their craft seriously, but don’t insult my intelligence. After seeing his R.O.H. stuff I just sort of figured that in WWE he’d be just another ‘King Of The Indy(s)’ that they would destroy. That is Vince’s M.O. after all, to take the ‘Toys’ of others use them, break them, and dump them. It appears he tried that with Punk, he actually tried it several times, and he failed. Not only did he fail, but he created a monster in the process.

If anything Punk now is light years beyond what he’s ever been. He’s been the company’s best ‘Face’ (that’s a good guy for those that don’t know), he’s also been the best ‘Heel’ (that’s a bad guy) in ALL of wrestling, and at times he’s been every shade in-between. He’s done all this without compromise and without the ‘Look’ that Vince so loves. He’s not a ‘roided out body builder with a three word vocabulary, he’s not 6’5, he doesn’t have model looks. He’s a tattooed up, scruffy, skinny dude who can wrestle his ass off and talk shit like no other. He’s smart and he knows how to push the buttons of the crowd and the viewers. For the love of all that’s holy just watch his ‘Straight Edge Society’ stuff where he is basically playing Straight Edge Angry Wrestling Jesus. It’s brilliant! It’s funny, sort of creepy in a cultish way, the matches and ‘stories’ are solid, and he kills it on the promo’s. Suffice to say I went into the documentary interested, I was ill prepared for how blown away I was. It’s a damn fine honest piece on a complicated guy. He’s fiercely loyal to friends and ‘Family’, and use that term in quotes because he is estranged from his biological family. He is a loner but a leader, and he’s sort of a prick. I mean he REALLY seems like a guy you would want to hang out and talk comics with, but you’d have a really tough time getting through to him easily. There was a TON of conversations in the film that broke ‘KAYFAB’, which is where we stop pretending that wrestling is real. I was shocked a bit by that, especially by who was doing it. At the same time this just solidified my feelings on Paul Heyman. He was, and is, one of the most creative, intelligent, and progressive thinking individuals in the business. The fact that he saw all this in Punk, just like he did with ECW, and stood by him amazes me. It also re-affirms my idea that the writers and guys like Michael Hayes over at WWE corporate have no F’Ning idea what they are doing, the only saving grace was listening to Triple H, now the head of talent relations, talk about his experiences with Punk and how to best utilize him. That man has a head for the business, IF he can just stop backstage politicking he could literally change the industry. The story behind the now infamous ‘Promo’ and the subsequent Money In The Bank match in Chicago are just incredible. This doesn’t even begin to touch all the other aspects of Punk like his tight relationship with the guys from the band Rancid, his upbringing, what he did for Joey Mercury, etc. The guy has an incredible story. So whether or not you dig on wrestling, or maybe you’re just a ‘Closet Wrestling Fan’ like myself, do yourself a favor and watch this documentary, it is fantastic story about a guy who will never compromise his personal moral code or sell out.

Awhile back Battlin’ Bob lent me Crossed (*** ½ out of 5) by Garth Ennis.

I’m not a Garth Ennis guy. I know that will upset some folks, but I thought Preacher was about 30 issues too long and I’ve never thought much of The Boys. That being said his ‘Welcome Back Frank’ Punisher run is without peer. So I figured I’d give Ennis’ take on survival horror a shot. Well it’s not terrible, in fact it’s alright. It is a bit like an expanded version of ‘The Crazies’, but that’s not a bad thing. I’m not sure why Ennis’ feels the need to beat us over the head with gore, but hey that’s his shtick, just like he loves to engage in ‘de-constructionism’ just for the sake of it. I’ve never really understood the almost self-loathing comic writer. You know the one who obviously thinks that 4 Color Comics are ‘Bullocks’, but yet makes his or her living writing them. Ennis’ is the poster child for this, but I digress, he does horror decently. He keeps the pace tight, doesn’t feel the need to tell us the whys and wherefores, and in the end allows us to cling to our humanity just enough to ‘enjoy’ the tale. If you dig the survival horror genre and don’t mind a LOT of rape, dismemberment, and general gore then you might want to give this story a bit of time.

How ‘bout we wrap this up with some…

RANDOM CRAP!

- I’m hoping the 360 arrives tonight or tomorrow because every moment where I have to KNOW that I own WWE ’13 and can’t play it is like a million tiny daggers into my very soul.

In fact I’m already trying to figure out how I can swing X-Box Live Gold membership for a month so I can download all the CAW’s I want as well as all the DLC stuff. Stupid Microsoft trying to take me money don’t they know that I just want a good version of Kenta Kobashi so I can beat the piss out of Ryback?
- I’m sick and the cold medicine I’m taking messes up my stomach. That’s right it’s “Super Fun Happy Times” right now.
- This Saturday and Sunday I might not even leave my couch. Seriously.
- The box chock full o’ Munchkin games came the other day, now I just need to gather around me a group to play.
- David and I rocked out another Podcast this week, it was sort of all over the place, but having listened back to it now it was quiet funny. I think David’s creepy southern accent is worth the listen by itself.
- I’ve been wrapping Christmas presents and have come to the conclusion that I’m terrible at it. Just terrible. However I think I will get some significant satisfaction out of watching people rip through that paper. I love Christmas.
- Tomorrow night is the “They Call Me Panda” Birthday for Hides. It’s a night of inexpensive sushi, loudness, Giant Spider Invasion MST3K, beverages, and Crappy BINGO! I’m hoping that it super fun for her as if anyone I know deserves a rockin’ b-day it’s her.

Alright I’ve dominated enough of everyone’s time, including my own, back to day dreaming…

“And during the few moments that we have left
We wanna talk right down to Earth in a language that everybody here can easily understand

Look in my eyes, what do you see?
The cult of personality
I know your anger, I know your dreams
I've been everything you want to be
I'm the cult of personality
Like Mussolini and Kennedy
I'm the cult of personality
The cult of personality
The cult of personality

Neon lights, a Nobel prize
Than the mirror speaks, the reflection lies
You won't have to follow me
Only you can set me free

I sell the things you need to be
I'm the smiling face on your tv
I'm the cult of personality
I exploit you, still you love me
I tell you one and one makes three
I'm the cult of personality
Like Joseph Stalin and Gandhi
I'm the cult of personality
The cult of personality
The cult of personality

Neon lights, a Nobel prize
When a leader speaks, that leader dies
You won't have to follow me
Only you can set you free

You gave me fortune
You gave me fame
You gave me power in your god's name
I'm every person you need to be
I'm the cult of personality (I'm the cult of, I'm the cult of)
I'm the cult of, I'm the cult of, I'm the cult of, I'm the cult of (I'm the cult of)
I'm the cult of, I'm the cult of, I'm the cult of, I'm the cult of personality (I'm the cult of)
Ask not what your country can do for you

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”

          * = Seriously, that many...