Support The Yankees

Growing up, I never like the New York Yankees baseball team. Not only were they competitors for the Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics, but they were also representative (or so I thought) of the worst American excesses. Now I realize that makes no sense, but the hatred directed towards the Yankees is fierce and it’s easy to get caught up in that when you’re young & passionate about your team. Anyway, I’ve recently become a fan of Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon, mostly because he hit someone with a chair on an episode of TNA Impact, which was all kinds of cool. So I bought a blue Yankees shirt, with Damon’s name and number 18 on the back, washed it this weekend and wore it today.

Turns out that the Yankees fans are pretty cool.

Numerous men and women said hi to me on the streets, started talking about the Yankees and were generally quite friendly simply because I wore a shirt with the Yankees logo on it. Hell, I even got hit on by women because they assumed I was a big Yankees fan! Everyone was genuinely kind, acted like they’d known me forever and really made me feel welcome in my new home. It’s amazing how much sports do bind people together in a positive way and not just in that negative way we so often see represented by the mainstream news media. Some of these fans can also be jerks– if I’d been wearing a Boston Red Sox hat, I would have been the target of some snarky comments I’m sure– but I’m not concerned about that right now. All I know is that I had a dozen or more people welcome me to their city, take time to say hi to me and put a smile on my face.

So the moral of the story is simple– Yankees fans are cool people, just like fellow fans of your favorite sports teams, and when in New York, wear some Yankees gear!

Fanboy Planet Loves Arune!

…well, mostly Marvel, but the reporter who visited– Ric– was a nice guy and wrote a good report on visiting the famous Marvel Comics offices. You can read all of Ric’s report right here:

I arrived at the Marvel Offices at 417 Fifth Ave on a rainy Thursday morning, signed the guest book in the lobby and took the elevator to the 11th floor, where I was met by Arune Singh, sales coordinator for Marvel. Arune has only been with Marvel for a few weeks, having previously written for Comic Book Resources.

Arune has a very cool Iron Fist tattoo, and I wish we had a photo of it. However, once we were inside the Marvel offices there was no photography allowed. There were simply too many “secrets” lying around.

I think there’ll be another report later, so stay tuned for more reports. And yes, I’ll have some less egotistical things to post later this week, so you’ll get that Arune.Com goodness you’re missing.

Breaking Up With Television

As a result of the move and Time/Warner’s schedule issues, I haven’t been watching any television for the past two weeks, save catching TNA iMPACT and The Shield at my brother’s place. It’s been interesting to get such a clean break from television and with my enjoyment of most shows fading (24 leads the list of shows not working for me anymore), it wasn’t an unwelcome change. Finally having access to hundreds of channels again, I find I’m keeping the television off or simply using it as background noise, not really paying atention to most of the programs and not really caring much either.

There are some programs I still quite enjoy, such as the above mentioned shows, plus Battlestar Galactica, House and Heroes, but I’ve found my interest in most televisions shows has waned. Due to the spoiler heavy nature of the Internet and the office environment, I find that if I miss a show, I hear what happened the next day and so I don’t feel a burning need to see the show right away. I can wait for the DVD sets or leave episodes on my DVR till a later date. It’s not about quality of programming– there’s a lot of great television out there– and it’s not about a general disinterest in entertainment, just that as I grow and my tastes develop, I find that I’d rather watch fewer excellent programs than simply good television shows. I’ll try a new show every so often– just finished the first season of How I Met Your Mother on DVD and it was a great show, one I might not have watched on television long term but the DVD set allowed me to really get into the show. I barely spend ten hours in front of the TV per week, when I used to watch 3-4 hours of television per day. I’d still love to catch reruns of King Of The Hill, but frankly, I don’t have the time. I’ll just get the DVDs someday, which is the way I feel about most television.

So if you see less writing about television on the blog, that’s why– I’m just not watching much. I’m very excited about some shows, but I’m finding that I’m more in the mood to discover New York, meet new people and kick ass in the gym, so television viewing is falling by the wayside. However, I’m open to suggestions for new shows and if you’ve got some, leave them in the comments.

Nectar Of The Gods

Work days can often be long, perhaps because of one’s activities the night before or just because it’s one of those days (even when you love your job as I do), so often we turn to drinks. Gatorade. Red Bull. Mountain Dew. These all help to keep us awake. But what if you created on super, non-alcoholic drink?

Then you’d have The Nectar Of The Gods, my newest invention.

All you need is a 20oz bottle of Mountain Dew, a large bottle of orange Gatorade and a can of Redbull. Drink the Gatorade down to the lip and pour in the other drinks. Shake it all up and drink. You’ll be awake and alert as long as you keep drinking it and then finish off some water (it leaves a funny taste in your mouth).

Thank me later folks. You know you’re going to make it. And love it.

I’ve Been Blogged!

Newsarama blogs about my move to Marvel by net-buddy Graeme McMillan. Thanks Graeme!

Learn English?

I can imagine that it’s hard for people coming to America to learn English quickly enough to satisfy some. I can also imagine that English classes for new immigrants are quite useful. With that in mind, this subway sign I’ve seen around the city confuses me.

So why would someone print a “Learn English” sign in only English? After all, if you’re trying to learn the language, it would seem hard to read a sign about learning the language in the same language you’re trying to learn.

Arune.Com’s Weekly YouTube Fix

Finally, The Arune has returned with some new videos for your enjoyment. The first is from American Wedding, highlighting the moment when alpha male jock moron Stifler tries to help his friends secure the services of a dress designer at a gay club.

If you’ve never seen the British show Coupling, you’re missing a hilarious and heartfelt series (if you doubt the latter, just watch the series finale). This is from an episode where Steve, the main character, is berated at a dinner party for watching a film called “Lesbian Spank Inferno.”

We can end with a clip from a film I can’t get enough of right now, namely Casino Royale. Here are the opening credits: