Thursday, January 28, 2010

My Walt Disney World Fireworks Photography

This blog is going to feature some of my Walt Disney World fireworks photography. You can click on any photo to see a larger version of it.

Wishes fireworks at Magic Kingdom




Illuminations fireworks at EPCOT




You can see more of my Disney fireworks photos here.

You can see all of my Disney photos here.

You can see all of my photos here.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Friday Night Video

I've always loved this song, and it's one of my favorites of the ones Prince has written for other artists. There is another version of it (The Uptown Remix) that has Prince playing his guitar all over it. But Sheena Easton simply sings her ass of in this song. Part of me wants to wonder why this song didn't get more airplay back in the day, but the simple thing is despite how good this song is, it's not a pop song. One thing is for certain though: Prince and Sheena Easton were magic working together. Wish they had done more.

Sheena Easton: 101



4 every night that u`ve been gone i`ve lit a candle
There must be 99 around my bed, around my bed
Lying awake all night long tears in vain
Sometimes I think that i`d be better off dead
Being without you is murder baby

Get in a taxi, subway train
Don`t make me cry these tears in vain, baby
A hundred nights without u is murder baby
A 101 just won`t do, no!

Why do I cry 4 u - u probably found someone new
And no one deserves ya, I say, no one deserves ya like I do
Baby u know it`s true
Oooh - what we had u said was meant 2 be

If that was true tell me why`d u leave
Baby, I wanna know
I`m sick of, i`m sick of, i`m sick of
Crying these tears in vain baby

Why don`t cha get in a taxi, subway train
I`m going mad baby
I`m going insane baby don`t cha know
101 just won`t do - no, no listen

Nothing on TV, my girlfriends bore me
They try to please me but I need u baby
U and me need 2 be together, together physically
Why can`t you come see about me?
Why can`t you come see about me?
U`ve got 2 get in a taxi, subway train
Don`t make me cry these tears in vain, baby
A hundred nights without u is murder baby
A 101 just won`t do, no!
No just won`t do

I`m in the funk
I`m in deep
U got to come baby see about me
That 101 just won`t do

Friday, January 15, 2010

My Futile 2009 NFL Divisional Round Playoffs Prediction


Before I start rambling on about my thoughts on these games, I have something I need to get off my chest. And that something is this: Why the HELL do people bet money on these games? I mean, would these people also drop a few Benjamin's on a coin flip? I'm looking at all four of these games and its very easy to make a case for all eight teams winning this weekend. But yet billions of dollars are changing hands betting on these games. I know I'm here making an attempt at predicting these games but trust me, in no way would I even bet $1 on these games.

Especially after my prediction last week that New England would make it to the Super Bowl.

(That sound you just heard was a rush of people leaving this blog)

All four games this weekend are outstanding match ups. It's not just eight good teams playing football this weekend. The way those eight teams match up with their opponents are absolutely perfect.

Case in point, lets discuss the New York Jets at San Diego Chargers game. This game has by far the best defense in the AFC against by far the best offence in the AFC. These two teams also have the top two W/L records over the last five weeks of the season. The Jets 'D' is just sick. Darrelle Revis is by far the best cover corner in the league. Unfortunately for the Jets, San Diego doesn't have a #1 WR for him to shut down. San Diego simply has too many weapons on offence, and Philip Rivers uses them all. Everyone is all over San Diego this week. They did close out the year on that amazing 11-game win streak. Despite that I really want to pick the Jets. But I won't. Wait... yes I will. New York wins by 3. 27-24.

The next game I'll talk about is the Arizona Cardinals at the New Orleans Saints. I'll start off by saying this: As a Vikings fan, I would LOVE to have Ken Whisenhunt as our coach. I think he's fast becoming one of the best coaches in the league. But, in saying that, he's coaching by far the most unpredictable team in the league. When he has his team on top of their game, they can beat anybody. But when they are not on top of their game... phew, they stink. Kind of the same thing as New Orleans. They looked outstanding starting off the season 13-0. And then... man, did they stink those last three games. Here's my take on the Saints. If Drew Brees takes their offense and puts up a couple of quick scores, forget about it. That puts their defense in position to do what they do best, which is create havoc for the opponents QB's. But outside of that, if they are in a close game, I don't think their D can stop any of the teams left in the playoffs. Which also leads me to say I believe these are the two worst teams left in the playoffs. Not that that's a bad thing, but they are. The winner of this one? If Arizona couldn't stop Aaron Rogers last week, no way can they stop Drew Brees. New Orleans wins 38-23.

Now lets talk about the Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts game. Are the fans in Baltimore over the Colts leaving them yet, or is this game festering in all of their hearts? OK, just like the other AFC game, we have one team with a shut-down defense (Baltimore) playing on the road against a team that can light it up (Indy). Up until their coach pulled the starters in week #15, Indy was unbeatable. Not only were they looking unbeatable, but they were also winning close games, which is a good lesson to learn come playoff time. Despite the turnover in coaches and players the Colts went through, Peyton Manning just knows how to make his team win. Baltimore looked outstanding in knocking the Patriots out of the playoffs last week. But outside of that huge victory last week, take a look at Baltimore's record against this years playoff teams: 1-7. That's why I'm going with the Colts this week. Baltimore played out of their minds last week and I don't think they can do it again. Indy wins 23-21.

And finally, lets talk about not only the game I'm most looking forward to, but the game that I believe features the two best teams playing this weekend. The Dallas Cowboys at the Minnesota Vikings. This game might be one of the best playoff games we've seen in a long time. Being a Viking fan that hates the Cowboys WAY more than the arch-rival Packers (dating back to the Drew Person out of bounds catch and push-off game), it pains me to say that the Cowboys are the only team left in the playoffs that scare me. I'm not saying any of the other teams left couldn't beat the Vikings, the other teams just don't scare me. The thing that makes this match up so good is how evenly matched these two teams are. Two teams that can dominate the physical game. Two teams that have enough skill players to score at a moments notice. Two teams that can stuff the run as good as anyone in the league. And two teams that have fans wishing for better coaches despite their successes this year. For all the national talk about how DeMarcus Ware will eat up Bryant McKinnie, it's laughable that no one is talking about the other side of the ball. Jared Allen gets to tee off on Flozell Adams, the most penalized tackle in the game, and a player that has obviously lost a step or two. I obviously hope the Vikings win, but nothing will surprise me with this game except for it not going down to the last play of the game. Since this is my prediction report, I have to call it, and I'm going to say Brett Favre carries the Vikings to a victory. Vikings 23, Dallas 21.

Enjoy the games. This should be a great weekend of watching football.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Sticky Bar


I have discovered a recipe for a wonderfully tasty and healthy snack bar that I'm going to share with you. I've tried it and trust me, you'll love how good this thing tastes! You won't believe that it is good for you. Below is the recipe as written in the Beachbody 'Thin Kitchen' recipe book. I'll share my little tweeks to it at the end of the recipe.

Tony Horton's Sticky Bar

You will need:
1/2 medium sized banana
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter (organic and natural, without hydrogenated oils)
1 cup unsweetened granola
Wax paper

Mix and mash ingredients in a bowl
Spoon onto a sheet of wax paper. Roll up contents into a cigar/hot dog shape. Set in freezer for about 90 minutes.

Cut in half. Eat frozen or throw into microwave for 10 seconds. This recipe will give you four servings.

Serving size: 1/2 of bar
Calories: 180
Fat Total: 11g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Carbs: 17g
Fiber: 3g
Protien: 6g

If that looks like a very simple recipe, you've got a good eye because it very much is a simple recipe. I did make a few changes to it though. The first one is I doubled the recipe. That gave me eight bars so I had enough to last the week. As for the peanut butter, I did use Natural Chunky peanutbutter. My grocery store apparently doesn't have the exact kind listed. Just make sure you don't use any regular peanut butter as then you'll lose a bunch of the heath benefits of the bar without really gaining any more taste. I use the Skippy Natural Peanutbutter brand. The third tweek is instead of using wax paper I used a small pan/bakery dish and spread out the mixture in that instead. I then cut it into eight pieces after I took it out of the freezer.

So there you go, enjoy it!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

My 2009 Photobook



I just finished putting together some of my photographic highlights of 2009 and I'm here to show them to you. The best way to view this photo journey is to click on the main link I'll provide in a bit, click on the first picture, and then scroll through each picture. The pictures come with stories about what was going on and when they were taken. The album is set up in cronological order and starts out with 2009's Pond Hockey tournament.

You can click here to see this photo album.

You can also view this album as a slide show by clicking here. You can sit back and easily enjoy the photos this way, but you wont get any of the captions on the photos.

Hope you enjoy it!