the RANT

I finally saw the Dark Knight last night and was really impressed with the entire production. From the moment the movie started until the ending some 2 1/2 later it held my interest and left me wanting more. Heath Ledger should be nominated for his roll as the Joker. His performance was spectacular and by far the best of all the actors who have played the character in past movies and the television show. I am not suprised that Ledger had issues on the set as he was totally into the role of the Joker. Just an awesome performance. Christain Bale was again in control in his role of Batman/Bruce Wayne. The ending of the movie leaves the audience wondering just how we are to look up his character. As a super hero of villain. He takes on the responsibility for the murders so that the D.A. can be seen as the savior for Gotham yet he is the one responsible for the drop in crime and the capture of the Joker and all the mafia bosses. The Batman can take on the hatred of the population knowing that the people that are aware of the TRUTH are those in a position that can help Gotham remain more or less crime free. BATMAN FOREVER!!! Well worth the price of admission!!!

The Phillies beat the Nationals in Washington tonight 8-5 while the Mets were losing to the Marlins 7-5. The win catapulted the Phillies over the Mets and into 1st place by 1/2 agame. The Marlins are now 1-1/2 behind the Phillies and 1/2 game behind the Mets. This is turning out to be a pretty interesting race with no team taking control of the division. The Marlins are close to a big three way trade that would land them Manny Ramierez. The addition would give them the experience and bat they need to help their young guys learn what it takes to make it to the playoffs.

The Phillies took a 2-0 lead in the 1st after Pat Burrell hit a bases loaded single to left that scored Victorino and Utley. The Nationals came right back with 3 runs off Jamie Moyer in the bottom of the 1st. Willie Harris led off with a solo shot and Jesus Flores a 2-run blast to give the Nationals their only lead of the game. Moyer settled in to pitch 6 solid innnings allowing just the 3 runs to notch his tema leading 10th win of the season. Brad Lidge came on to collect his 26th consecutive save to nail down the victory for the Phillies.

The July 31st trade deadline is quickly approaching and any team in the hunt for the pennant is jockeying for position to acquire the finishing touch they hope will put them over the top for the World Series. Of course pitching is the number one concern for most teams but with C.C. Sabathia already gone to Milwaukee and Rich Harden picked up by the Cubs there really isn’t much top talent left to trade. Even teams that were dangling players like Mat Holliday and Brian Fuentes of the Rockies are holding out for the most minor league talent they can get. The races have tightened up and there are not too many teams that don’t have a shot so there may not be any more big deals before the deadline. Teams are going to have to make the most of what they have and hope their talent can put it all together in the stretch much like Colorado did last year. It should be a great September run for the entire baseball world to see who takes home the title.

The time is drawing near for our yearly week in Ocean City, MD. This year in particular we are really looking forward to spending the week on the beach and just basically doing whatever we feel like without having to worry about a clock. I spend my weeks hustling between three jobs trying to keep my family clothed and fed with a roof over our heads. This has been becoming increasingly more difficult over the last year. Things have gotten extremely tight and the ecomic situation in our nation has definitely hit our doorstep. My wife and I discussed not going on the trip but I had to miss last years vacation and really need to spend some quality time away from all my jobs. I am sure we will be hurting after we return from the shore but after carefully weighing the pros and cons I am really counting down the days until August 23rd. The shore is a great way to relax and waking up with the ocean out our bedroom window is our idea of perfection. What a better way to open your eyes than the waves hitting the beach and watching all the other vacationers going about their business. Ocean City is really beautiful and the perfect place to spend a week or two.

Why is it that when the price of a barrel of oil rises it is reflected at the pump the very next day ? It sure doesn’t take the stations long to up the price but when there is a drop in the price of a barrel it takes 4-6 weeks to be come down. That is what happened today when it was announced a $5 drop in the oil due to a reduction in demand. People are apparently driving less because of the high cost and even though it is summer the demand has dropped considerably. I guess ths s–t has finally hit the fan. I know my budget can’t take another hit with another increase. The drop will be welcome if and when it comes but I’m not going to count on it. These oil companies are just entirely too greedy to give anything back on the prices they have worked so  hard to elevate to the rate it is today.

How much patience should one have with a teen who just graduated high school and thinks he should not have to pay room and board? This is from young man who will go out and spend money on a cell phone, Chinese food and drugs but doesn’t think he should have to pay to live in any home. His board is a mere $50.00 a week which he is already behind on. We are just trying to teach him the importance of putting money aside for rent and food. I really don’t want his money but he makes it so that I enjoy taking it from him because if the attitude he has. He thinks $50.00 is too much to pay for a roof over his head, food, electricity (air coniditioner man) and clothers on his back. How do we get this young man to adjust to being a responsible young adult? Am I asking too much ????

A couple of days ago my boss called me into his office to give me my annual performance review. Now I have always been a model employee and follow all the company policies and procedures in order to help the company reach its goals. I in return expect to be rewarded for doing a job that has been evaluated for many years at the highest rating the company allows for a non-management employee. This year things changed and although my performance rating is the same the company is not giving any raises until further notice. I for one don’t understand how a company can expect me to have the desire to help them achieve their goals when they are not rewarding their employees with increases. My manager more or less told me that this the way it will be and if I’m not satisfied then that’s too bad. I am now 48 years old and have worked very hard for this company for 15 years and if I leave now will loose all the extras that come with longevity in a company. This is really frustrating and I will ahve a tough decision to make in the future. Stay here and be abused and unappreciated or leave and have to start all over with another company. I have a wife and children to support so I really can’t react like I would have twenty years ago. I really wish I could but kids have to eat. I always thought that if you work hard rewards would come. I guesss in today’s world things are a lot different and company’s just don’t give a damn about the employee anymore. What a world.

The Flyers traded R.J. Umberger to Columbus thus creating some cap room to resign Jeff Carter and Randy Jones. I think it was a good move because Umberger would not be a 1st line player for the Flyers and he will center the top line in Columbus. Sorry to see him go but it’s a better move for him and his development. The Flyers has until July 1st to sigh Carter and Jones or take the risk of losing them to free agency. They are both restricted and the Flyers could match any offer but hopefully it won’t come down to that.

The summer seaon is absolutely the worst time to watch a television. I know that most people are off doing the outdoor summer things so the program scheduling is mostly reruns. The USA network is one of the few stations that has at least a few fresh episodes of shows like Monk, Burn Notice (my favorite), Psyche and a new hit In Plain Site. The cable stations do offer an alternative to the same old same old of network stations. Thank God for that. 

The NBA season ended last night when the Celtics captured the crown by absolutley destroying the Lakers in game six 131-92. This game was over before it even started. The was no life or effort in the Lakers team form top to bottom. I am glad they are not my home town team because the embarrassment would be too much to endure. You can a loss if you see your team is trying to win but there was no such effort last night. Boston cam out hot and continued to dominate the entire game. They deserve the title because are by far the better team. Paul Pierce received the MVP award and it is well deserved. Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen led the scoring with 26 points each while Rajon Rondo added 21 points and Pierce threw in 17 points. The Celtics accomplished a feat that has never been reached before by going from last place with 24 wins last season to winning 66 games this year plus the NBA title.