kevin.

Piñero, starring Benjamin Bratt. I vaguely recall some press about this movie back when it came out a few years ago, but finally got interested after I read a few of Miguel Piñero's poems. I won't claim to know a ton about the guy, and the movie focuses more on his inner demons than actual biographical fact, but the scene of him reciting the amazing poem "Seeking the Cause" makes the movie worth it.

And, for the record, this movie will really make you want to drop any alcohol habits for a long, long time.

I haven't used livejournal in a couple years, and really don't even jump on to read friends' entries except for maybe once every 6-8 weeks, but it always feels nice to occasionaly go back and read about my exploits in 2004 or something. In my brief spat of nostalgia today, I found a few items that made me smile, even though it may only be because I'd forgotten the context.

5/13/05: my roommate says santa barbara has the worst pollen in the country. then again, he also said that chevy chase played drums for steely dan.

4/27/05: john is sleeping with my PSP. i wish i could say it was the first time.

2/9/05: YEAH SO... THUMBS UP TO THIS MOST RECENT TROUBADOUR SHOW FOR GETTING ME DRUNK.... sorry, i didn't notice caps lock was on

1/31/2005: my hair is red and black again. i think there's some blonde left too. whatever. i was drinking when i did it. it happens.

1/11/2005: i'd been getting these random calls from a 916 area code (sacramento) the past week or so. turns out it was the FBI. so yeah.

11/22/2004: n0carri3r: i'm gonna run to the bathroom
kevwad: mmmk
n0carri3r: hopefully nobody takes computer
kevwad: haha
n0carri3r: if i start talking shit, it's not me
kevwad: haha okay
kevwad: if i start talking shit, it is me
n0carri3r: typical

11/4/2004: my roommate dan is hammered right now - i've never heard him struggle with the english language so much. i drove him to in n out after the show to soak up all the alcohol he consumed and he insisted that he wanted a cheeseburger (he's a vegetarian). he's now giving me some sort of theory on the actor tim allen. i wish i had a tape recorder.

That's enough for now.

Mid-late 30's overweight bald dude sitting in his Honda Accord by the curb on Sunset Blvd. just east of Cahuenga with the windows down and engine off blasting The Talking Heads' "Life During Wartime."

It's like looking into the future.

My iPod is confused. It's summer in LA, and it somehow produced this section of songs today.

Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
Pet Shop Boys - Suburbia
Eels - Saturday Morning
David Bowie - Young Americans
Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man
Zombies - This Will Be Our Year
Method Man - Tease
Stephen Brodsky's Octave Museum - Kid Defender
Rocky Votolato - Uppers Aren't Necessary
Depeche Mode - People Are People
Massive Attack - Protection
Otis Redding - Security
Common - The Corner

Go find these songs, burn them to a CD, and save them for the first day of fall.

EARTHQUAKE!



I've been in Southern California three and a half years, and other than one in Goleta that felt like a slight gust of wind, I've never felt an earthquake. It's about time I lost my floor surfing virginity.

KCAL failed to interrupt their normal late night crap with any news coverage, so I can only assume that no buildings were leveled, much to the chagrin of thousands of elementary school students dreading the looming first day of school.

In light of Barry Bonds knocking a couple of the biggest 4-basers of the last several years and my resolve in paying attention to ESPN to make sure I witnessed the historic blast, I'm going to count down the five best home runs that I've personally watched. Bonds ain't coming anywhere near this list of home runs that genuinely made me leap out of my seat. I grew up as a Baltimore Orioles fan, so apologies for the bias.

5. May 17, 1996: Chris Hoiles (Orioles vs. Mariners)

This was one of the coolest baseball games I ever watched. It was during the Orioles' power surge of the late 90s (a year later the team had ten players hit over 20 home runs), and they were facing Ken Griffey Jr. in his prime. The teams combined for 7 homers in a 14-13 contest that ended with Chris Hoiles' walk-off grand slam with the Orioles down 13-10, based juiced, 2 outs, full count: the exact situation every kid dreams of. Even for a game only 6 weeks into the season, it felt like a wild playoff game and the ending was absolutely thrilling.

4. October 3, 1990: Cecil Fielder (Tigers vs. Yankees)

Cecil Fielder ended up getting completely buried in history, but this game featured his 50th and 51st home runs of the season, signaling the end of the modern dead-ball era. I was completely fascinated by this story, as no one had ever hit 50 home runs in my lifetime, and players knocking 30 homers were considered bona fide sluggers (7 years later even the scrawny Brady Anderson would hit 50 homers). The best part about this story was that Cecil Fielder had been exiled to the Japanese leagues the year before this, and struggled to even qualify for Detroit in spring training. The home run to eclipse 50 was nothing epic, but I remember rooting incredibly hard for this dude and was completely blown away that someone could hit 50 home runs. Admittedly, I was 9.

3. October 23, 1993: Joe Carter (Blue Jays vs. Phillies)



If I had to throw in one obvious one, here it is. Joe Carter of Toronto's World Series-clinching home run off the Phillies' Mitch Williams is still recognized as one of the most famous home runs of the modern era. I was watching this game at my grandparents' house rooting passionately against the Blue Jays. They were already defending World Series champions, and had, on an annual basis, been the one road bump keeping the Orioles from a string of playoff appearances. When Joe Carter ended this series, I'm pretty sure I started breaking things.

2. October 15, 2003: Kerry Wood (Cubs vs. Marlins)

This was the series that the Cubs were supposed to win, even after blowing a 3-1 lead in the series over Florida and having to try to save face in game 7. With Kerry Wood on the mound, this seemed like a sure thing, even with Florida jumping out to an early lead. Down 3 in the second inning, Chicago gets two on base, and Kerry Wood steps up and nearly slaps one clear out of the stadium. Pitchers never hit home runs, much less game-tying home runs in game 7 of the NLCS. I honestly thought I'd just watched one of the biggest home runs in playoff history. Unfortunately, Chicago couldn't hold it together and the Marlins managed to win the game (and subsequently went on to beat the Yankees to win the World Series), completely erasing the impact of Wood's home run.

1. September 5, 1995: Cal Ripken Jr. (Orioles vs. Angels)



This was one of the happiest moments of my life. Cal Ripken goes yard in the game where he breaks the unbreakable record, playing in his 2,131st consecutive game. He went on to play 2,632 before taking a seat for a day (the day the streak ended was worse for me than the day my first guinea pig died). One of the most fitting and wonderful moments in sports history, hands down. No home run ever hit by Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire could compare to the gravity of Cal Ripken saving baseball after the 1994 player strike.

Being nowhere near Baltimore, I no longer watch any baseball. The Dodgers don't interest me, and the Angels just annoy me. These five home runs will probably remain my top five for an extremely long time.

No one likes you (other than the occasional sheltered kid from the midwest) and I wish you'd shut up, but guess who you'll never even touch on the "instilling unnecessary rage in others" scale?



Bonds hit a bomb for the record-breaking home run tonight (albeit off the pitching staff of the Washington Nationals, whose combined talent puts them only slightly above the level of batting practice pitchers). I've always quietly been a fan of Barry Bonds (now you all know), which I suppose is ironic since my childhood hero is baseball's good guy, Cal Ripken Jr. (who was inducted into the hall of fame a week ago). Sure, Bonds was on the juice, but, first of all, so were all the pitchers he faced; second, there's no way he's done anything of the such in the last several years as he continued to put up respectable numbers for a guy old enough to be my dad; finally, aren't steroids supposed to make you get injured, like, all the time? Oh wait, Bonds is injured all the time.

Anyway. Not saying the guy's better than Hank Aaron, but he's whacked more baseballs over a fence in our time than anyone else will (A-Rod ain't doing it - you heard it here first), and been the most feared player in the game (on and off the field, incidentally) - possibly in all of professional sports (short of Tiger and Jordan). He also did it without being the soulless money-driven mercernary like guys such as Roger Clemens who constantly team-hop to the highest bidder. If Bonds had gone to the AL last time his contract was up, he'd already be at 800.

No one gives Lance Armstrong a hard time for cheating. No one gives Babe Ruth a hard time for not having to face black pitchers. Give Barry Bonds his due. Guy might be a jackass, but he's fairly good at baseball.

And also, can people stop taking pictures of and interviewing those two idiots? Perez Hilton's probably not even going to mention one of the biggest sports stories of the year, despite it being riddled with drama and controversy, but I'm sure he'll continue to provide exclusive hourly updates of where the famous frauds are hanging out.

Photo: Washington Post. Don't sue me, please