Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Blood On The Turntables
Saturday
June 14, 2003
Who was the winner in yesterday's NFL trade that saw the
Arizona Cardinals trade RB
Thomas Jones to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for WR Marquise Walker? If you ask both sides, they each say it was a draw:
"This is a trade that should be good for both parties."
-Bucs general manager Rich McKay
"I think it's mutually beneficial to both parties."
-Cardinals head coach Dave McGinnis
Hell, even the quotes are a draw. The trade certainly addresses needs for both teams, with the Cardinals having serious issues at WR with the off-season loss of David Boston to
San Diego (for which the Cards received nothing in exchange) and the Bucs needing to shore up their RB spot (with RB
Michael Pittman facing felony charges and all).
A story I suggested to Matt Drudge appeared on the Drudge Report this morning. It's about the Wrigley gum company applying for a patent for a Viagra gum. It wouldn't be available until 2011 at the earliest (when Viagra can go generic), but it's interesting (and the possible source of endless jokes).
The Mostly Robot CDs went out in the mail last night. I spent about an hour getting them ready to go after I got home from work, and from there it was off to the airport post office (which is open 24/7). Unfortunately, during my drive I encountered a massive rainstorm. Once at the post office, I thought I'd just wait it out. But ten minutes later the rain was still pouring, so I decided to tough it out and go on in.
The woman working behind the counter seemed annoyed that I was mailing off 47 packages at once. But, much to my surprise, I found that the mailing costs were much less than I anticipated (in the $50 range, considerably lower than the $100-$150 I had expected). I suppose that's the flip-side to the longer-than-expected setup time for getting the CDs ready to send out. Also, in the process I found out that they all cost the same to mail, whether it was across town in Tampa or all the way up to Seattle. Next time I can just get the postage ahead of time and then mail them off without having to make that 15 minute drive.
Right as I got back from the post office, Scott and Carrie were arriving in Ybor. At this point it was past 8 PM, and I hadn't eaten yet. Gary told me he wouldn't be in before 9 PM, so I went with Scott and Carrie down to Centro Ybor.
|  | | How could I pass on a shirt like this? |
I ended up going with them over to Urban Outfitters, this clothing store that has some unusual outfits (whose designers sometimes try too hard to be "hip"). But I found this one shirt that I just had to buy. It said "I'm not a beaver... I'm an otter." It's part of the Paul Frank collection out of California. It cost $24, which is steep for a t-shirt. But it was too strong to pass on; hell it even came in my fraternity's colors (Harvard Red and Old Gold). Of course this would've been perfect for my Phi Tau brother Brad Ott (aka Otter), but ever since he got married two years ago he's disappeared. So it goes. That shirt is available on UrbanOutfitters.com, along with a t-shirt of the ABA's short-lived Baltimore Hustlers (the ABA decided not to allow the team to use the name "Hustlers"; in a related note, just recently I changed my fantasy football team's name to the Hustlers, as I'd been looking for a permanent replacement for the "Snipers" nickname that I was pressured into dropping last year). But I digress.
From there the three of us went to Barley Hoppers, where I had a quick meal. They brought my Caesar salad out in record time, but unfortunately I wasn't able to finish fast enough to make it back before Gary arrived. Gary called me just past 9 PM (reason #3,674 why I'm glad I have a cell phone) and told me he was outside my apartment. Feeling a little sheepish, I told him we were finishing up at Barley Hoppers and invited him to meet us down there.
Luckily the bill came quick, and we met Gary outside of Starbucks. From there it was back over to the apartment for a little hang-out time in the AC. I don't know how people lived in Florida in the pre-air conditioning era. Make no mistake, the widespread expansion of home air conditioning units has played a major role in helping to spur the growth of the number of full-time residents in Florida in the past 40 years.
Scott and Carrie went to the Genitorturers concert over at Masquerade, while Gary and I hit the Amphitheater for a techno show called "Blood on the Turntables, Part 6". See, it was Friday the 13th yesterday, and in keeping with that theme they had the sixth in the series of Blood on the Turntables shows (which have all been on Friday the 13ths).
The double main event was
Jackal & Hyde, a team that is known for putting on solid shows, and Monk (from Rabbit In The Moon). There was a $15 cover, which is stiff for a Friday night, but with a pretty strong lineup and a special event it wasn't unreasonable. Plus they were giving away free Rabbit In The Moon remix CDs at the ticket counter with every purchase.
This was my first visit to Amphitheatre since they dropped the age limit to get in down to 18. The result was a younger, less snooty crowd. My main beef with Amphitheatre in the past (besides friends of mine being assaulted by bouncers there in 2002, which is another story for another time) was the Hyde Park-esque uppity attitudes of some of the people there. But now with a loosened dress code and an 18+ atmosphere, the place (at least last night) seems to have loosened up without losing its fun factor.
Heineken was a sponsor of the event, and they had $3 Heinekens available. That might not sound so special, but consider that everything else was $5 and up and that drink prices there are notoriously high. Kid Rock can drink about 15 Heinekens; I'm not quite at that point anymore myself, but I had several coldbeers and was feeling fine. At one point they did a t-shirt giveaway for people drinking Heinekens, and I held mine up high in the air; soon after someone from on stage threw a strike, wrapping a t-shirt around my wrist with a perfect throw. So I came away from the night with a free CD and a free t-shirt. That's some sweet action.
I wasn't sure if some people would be coming out in costume or what, with it being a horror themed event, but that wasn't the case. There were plenty of scantily clad women (I love Tampa), and overall it was a great time. My ears are still ringing from the insanely loud music, but hey that's how it goes.
The turnaround for tonight is nice, as my friend Amie is having a house party. Should be fun. I'd hoped that Katt from 98 Rock would be able to go, but I think she went out of town this weekend. Scott and Carrie are planning to go, and it should be fun.
Well time now to get some exercise in and hulk up for tonight...
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