Archive for the 'Television' Category

Oct

Post Season Predictions

Half of my predictions were true for the division series round. Hopefully I can do a little bit better than that this round.

Although they are already down 1-0, I’m going with the Tigers in 6. Teams can win a series without having their ace win. Tom Seaver lost game 1 of the World Series for the Mets in 1969 and we all know how that turned out.

Perhaps I’m allowing personal feelings about a team to cloud my judgment here but I’m going with the Brewers in 7. First, the Brewers barely ever lose at home. They still have great pitching and a great lineup. There seems to be a bit of magic surrounding the Brew-Crew.
Make no mistake about it, I’m not a fan of either of these teams. I basically picked the team I hate the least. That would be the Brewers.

I’ve been wondering if the Brewers are creating some sort of Looney Tunes live action thing. Pitcher John Axford looks like Yosemite Sam. Nyjer Morgan acts a bit Daffy. I think they might be on to something. If only they can get someone to pitch like Bugs Bunny.

The Reds off-season is not off the start that I was hoping for. Rumors are swirling that the Reds are willing to trade Joey Votto if the right deal comes along. It seems the Blue Jays and Marlins are leading candidates. If the Reds do this they better get a lot in return.

Good News for Simpsons Fans: We were worried for nothing. The show has extended the contracts of their actors and the show will continue for a 24th and 25th season. Good news.

posted by Mr. Dowling in Television,The Reds,Uncategorized,baseball and have Comment (1)

Oct

The End Is Near For the Simpsons?

Simpsons To Leave Television???
I’m not so sure life would be the same without the Simpsons. It is amazing how much the actors get per episode according to the article. It seems like a lot of money but then you think about how the Simpsons has been a consistent ratings grabber for over 20 years. Also, merchandising alone brings in $8 billion dollars. I would assume that FOX would like to see that continue.
I don’t watch the Simpsons as much as I used to but I would still rank it as one of my favorite shows on television.
Any of you out there Simpsons fans? Perhaps we can add it to our Laughs and Lunch rotation. Let me know what you think.

posted by Mr. Dowling in Current Events,Television,Uncategorized and have Comments (9)

Sep

The Weekend of 9/24

The baseball season is sputtering to a stop very soon. Perhaps not soon enough for a team with high expectations that did not pan out. The Reds have 5 games remaining and need to win all 5 in order to finish above .500. Given that they have found it impossible to beat the Pirates and Mets this year, I don’t see it happening.

Perhaps as a consolation prize, the Dolphins will beat the Browns this week.
But the big question is can the Giants beat the Eagles? Your thoughts?

Remember that your 8 note cards and poster are due on Tuesday. We will review in class and then I will collect your work. The Native American Cultural Diversity assignment is worth a test grade.

The oldest living Reds player died recently. Danny Litwhiler died at the age of 95. The “new oldest” player is now 93 year old Lonnie Goldstein. If you haven’t heard of either of these players you are not alone…I’ve never heard of them either.

Danny Litwhiler with Jackie Robinson

We managed to discuss breakfast cereals twice yesterday, once during homebase and once at the end of an afternoon class. I stand firmly by my stance: Cereals with marshmallows are terrible. I’d rather eat chalk than eat Lucky Charms.

Question of the Day: A recent letter to the editor in Newsday questioned the “sport” of competitive eating and whether it is in bad taste (ahem…pun intended) to over eat for sport when their are so many people struggling to find a meal during these tough times. The writer made a good point. What do you think?

Obama Repeals Portions of No Child Left Behind Legislation
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I’ve always believed that legislation for schools is more geared towards places that are not succeeding and not a school district like Port Washington. Port Washington has the best of the best when it comes to teachers and students that strive for success. Are there weak students? Sure. But we do everything we can to help them achieve. We don’t need a law to tell us to do so. Just my opinion. What is yours?

Mrs. Dowling and I have added “Up All Night” to our weekly television viewing. It is about a couple with a baby and what life is like with their new addition. Obviously the humor is a bit funnier to those who are experiencing or have experienced having babies. Of course as I’m writing this I look over to see DJ with a bucket over his head pretending he’s a robot! All in a day’s parenting!
Speaking of Mrs. Dowling, she will return to school on Monday. If you see her, welcome her back.

posted by Mr. Dowling in Current Events,Food,School,Television,The Reds,Uncategorized,baseball and have Comments (16)

Sep

Monday, 9/12

I’m still proud to be an American. Patriotism is not a 3-4 day a year job. It is a lifetime of dedication. We need to remember that.
A lot of the heroism happened in the days after 9/11 not just on the day itself.

Watching the documentaries yesterday was like reliving a bad nightmare. The CBS doc in particular was amazing and I’ve seen it several times now. The bravery that the firefighters showed on that day still causes me to get emotional.

Check out some of the cartoons that Chris posted on an earlier link. They were pretty good.

2nd week of school…2nd of many! We’re starting to pick up the pace a bit and we’ll really be rolling soon enough. There is so much content to cover in 7th grade but we will get it done. That is a promise.

posted by Mr. Dowling in School,Television,Uncategorized,history and have Comments (4)

Sep

9/11/11-10 Year Anniversary

What a terrible day 9/11 was many years ago. It is hard to believe that it is ten years ago now and many things have changes in our lives. Most of them you don’t even realize.
I recall hearing the tragic news while I was in Dr. Borrero’s class at St. John’s. I then rushed home in a complete panic as there were still planes unaccounted for. It was a relief to find that my family members who worked near the site of the Twin Towers attack were alive. Unfortunately, not everyone was as lucky.
Take some time today to reflect on what happened and remember those people who died and especially the heroes who didn’t think twice about attempting to save people in the chaos.
Also, take time to reflect on the fact that we live in the best country in the world. There is no place I would rather live. We’re not perfect but I’m still proud of my country.
Take time to watch some of the shows that will commemorate this sad event. We should see these images (age appropriate of course) because you don’t remember it live. If you never see it because we shelter it from you we risk that we will forget these acts.
In addition, I recommend that you watch the Mets Classics presentation of the Mets first game post-attack against the Braves. That was the first major even in New York post-9/11. It was a chilling moment. Even if you don’t watch the entire game, check out Liza Minnelli’s performance of New York, New York. If you don’t get chills watching this, you’re not human.
The Mets (and other sports teams) played a huge role in the healing process. The game is on at 3:30 on SNY and is followed by Reflections on 9/11: The NY Mets Remember.

I’ll be wearing my red, white and blue today.

Mike Piazza’s Big Home Run Post 9/11

Liza Minnelli: New York, New York

posted by Mr. Dowling in Television,Uncategorized,baseball,history and have Comments (4)

Sep

I’m Back!!!

After an extended break from the blog and website, I’m back.
My time away didn’t exactly go as expected. I ended up having several family members come to my house as they had to flee evacuation zones. Of course, of all the homeowners that stayed with me only my house lost power.
We ended up not having power for 5 full days. I’ll avoid being critical of LIPA because I know they had a big job but thank goodness this wasn’t a huge storm.
I wasn’t too worried about losing the power because my family and my parents were slated for a trip to Lake George for 4 days. Unfortunately, that never got off the ground. After driving for hours and hours trying to find a way around closed roads, we finally decided to give up and cancel our vacation.
And it was a good thing that we did. It turns out that the place we were staying in Lake George lost all power. It was likely we would have been miserable there anyway.
We turned our vacation into a staycation as we stayed with my parents until power was restored. We ended up taking trips to 2 parks/playgrounds for DJ to play, Adventureland (he’s still a bit too young but did like the train ride around the park) and the beach.
I wouldn’t say this was the best vacation ever but at least we made the best of a bad situation.

Speaking of bad situations, the Reds must have been experiencing deja vu as they were once again swept by the Phillies in easy fashion. The good news at least is that Chris Heisey returned from the disabled list with a 3 run pinch hit homerun. The Reds also called up rookie catcher Devin Mesoraco to see what he’s got. The Yankees aren’t the only team with a catching phenom. The Reds now have 3 games against the Cardinals. Whether the Reds are in 3rd place or last, they will always want to beat the Birds. I hope they get it done.

Another Study On Soda
If you’re a loyal reader of the blog, you know that I enjoy soda. I drink it more often than I should but my excuse is that I don’t drink coffee so that makes up for the coffee.
Check out this article on soda. It was staggering to find that according to the article, 5% of people drink 4 cans of soda a day. The most powerful part of the article was the quote from an upcoming ad campaign, “”If you wouldn’t eat 22 packs of sugar, why are you drinking it?” I never thought of it quite like that.

St. John’s University Basketball On The Rise
I was pleased to read that the St. John’s basketball team will have 17 national broadcasts this season. That shows that the schedule makers see the Red Storm as a team on the move. I’m glad. Basketball and St. John’s used to go hand in hand. Unfortunately, that was a long, long time ago. I like to see that they are returning to their prominence. I haven’t been to a game in years. However, college level athletics is always fun. I went to a St. John’s baseball game last year and loved every minute of it.
There are plenty of local colleges that you can check out. Hofstra, CW Post and St. John’s are all within driving distance. Best of all, their games are extremely affordable and sometimes even free.

I also managed to finish reading Shoeless Joe during the vacation. Shoeless Joe was the inspiration for the hit baseball movie Field of Dreams. I enjoyed the book, but like the movie must more. The storyline in the movie flows much better than the book. The book has a few addition characters that don’t add to the storyline and often detract from it. Perhaps I feel this way because I’ve seen the movie so often.
I think the movie is better because it focused on the relationship between a father and a son. The book (in my opinion) largely skimmed past that.
I’ll have the book in my classroom library if you would like to check it out. It was still worth reading.
Question of the Day: Do you prefer reading a book first and then seeing the movie, or seeing the movie and then reading the book? If you’ve seen a movie, would you still go through the trouble of reading the book?

It is a tradition for us to watch Field of Dreams during lunch in April. I’m looking forward to doing so once again.

One last thing, I’ve been watching the Phineas and Ferb movie with my son. Is it odd that I’m actually enjoying it. Am I the only one that enjoys this show?

We’re just days away from school. Enjoy what is left of the summer!

posted by Mr. Dowling in Books,Current Events,Food,Movies,Television,The Reds,Uncategorized,baseball and have Comments (8)

Jul

Friday, 7/15

Did you hear about the little girl who shot a hole in one? And it wasn’t even in mini-golf…no tricky windmills or anything. Unbelievable!
Here’s the article. I believe I read somewhere that it was an 85 year shot, nearly an entire football field. That’s pretty accurate!

Television during the summer is usually a graveyard of terrible shows and repeats. Mrs. Dowling and I managed to find a few good shows worth watching. We are currently watching the 2nd season of Master Chef and Hot in Cleveland. We just added a new show on TLC called Surprise Homecoming. Usually I call TLC the Freakshow Channel because this is the channel that brought us shows about Tree People, 1000 lb. people, wolf-man, etc. but this show is actually worth watching. It is about soldiers coming back from Iraq or Afghanistan to surprise family members who haven’t seen them in a long time. It is tough not to get emotional watching the show. It airs Mondays at 10 and is hosted by Billy Ray Cyrus. Definitely worth checking out.
Here’s the link to the show’s website.

Speaking of television, this Sunday on ABC Family is a movie called Cyberbully. Check it out. Let me know if you think it is better than Odd Girl Out. There’s a bunch of information on the website about the movie and the campaign to “Delete Digital Drama”. Check it out.

I used to love these when I was a kid. They are WWE Wrestling Ice Cream bars. They had a cookie with a wrestler printed on it with vanilla ice cream and a chocolate coating. If you ever see these in a store, pick it up. It is worth it, even if you don’t like wrestling.

Big series for the Reds this weekend. Reds vs. Cardinals. It is also Superhero Weekend for the Reds. Too bad they couldn’t have Superman or The Hulk in their lineup. I guess we’ll just have to settle for Votto and Bruce.
Here’s a good cartoon in honor of Superhero Weekend.

Have a great weekend!

posted by Mr. Dowling in Food,Movies,Television,The Reds,Uncategorized,baseball and have Comment (1)

Jul

The Weekend of 7/9

Ugh…that’s all I can say about the Reds recent meltdown. Something needs to be done and quick!

You can watch the Reds tonight at 7 on the MLB Network as they try to recover from last night’s loss.

Programming Note: There is an Indiana Jones marathon today starting at 1 pm on the SyFy channel. You can see all 4 of the movies.

Should Opening Day Be A Holiday?

The people of Cincinnati think so.
It would be pretty cool to have a holiday on Opening Day. I’m all for it.

Spectator Dies At Baseball Game
This was a tragic story. We forget how many dangers there are at a baseball game. This isn’t one that immediately comes to mind. The guy was 39 years old and with his young son. From what I’ve read, Josh Hamilton was devastated by the accident. Hamilton was the player who flipped the ball to the guy.

Are the Pirates really in 2nd place??? That just makes me feel worse!

This Day In History
1850-Zachary Taylor dies after 16 months as President of the United States
1868-The 14th Amendment is ratified. The 14th Amendment was created to grant citizenship and protect civil liberties of freed slaves.

posted by Mr. Dowling in Current Events,Movies,Television,The Reds,Uncategorized,baseball,history and have Comments (2)

May

Memorial Day

Once again, let’s not forget why we have off today. Often, we take a lot of the freedom that we have for granted. Many, many, MANY people made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can safely eat our hotdogs, go to the beach or do whatever else we are doing today. Take a little time to appreciate all that our soldiers have done for us.

There have been several great shows/movies on lately. First, check out Turner Classic Movies and the AMC for great war movies. The history channel has a show on Gettysburg tonight. The Military Channel had 2 specials on Gettysburg last night (one on the battle and one on the address). My DVR has been overworked lately.

Speaking of overworked, the Reds bullpen has been overworked. The Reds (2-8 in their last 10) have played a 19 inning and a 12 inning game over the last week. They’ve made more bullpen moves in one week then I ever recall happening in such a short period of time. The Reds go up against the Brewers over the next 3 games. It might be too early to call these must win games, but they pretty much are. These next few games could make or break the team.

Looking forward to getting back to school tomorrow.

posted by Mr. Dowling in Movies,Television,The Reds,Uncategorized,baseball and have Comment (1)

May

The Weekend of 5/14

Mr. Cooke shared this article with me. You might want to check it out.
Pretty sad story about what this youngster had to deal with. Drugs are terrible and impact so many people around you.
I can’t imagine pitching a no-hitter and then following that up with 4 homeruns. That is like a season’s worth of highlights in one day.

Speaking of major accomplishments, a bowler I bowl with was 2 strikes away from a perfect game last night. He had to settle for a measly 289. Boy, I really hope that one day he learns to be a better bowler! I, on the other hand, stunk up the joint with my scores of 120 (we lost the game by one point), 145, and 175 (we lost the game by 3 points). We are now mathematically eliminated from finishing in first.

Speaking of mathematically eliminated, I’m sure all of Weber is glad that state math tests have been eliminated from our schedule. Our parting gift is next week’s field test. Will it ever end?

Have you seen this Geico commerical? Simple, yet funny.

How about this one, which yet again reminds me of Toonces the Driving Cat.

The Reds came back last night from being down 4-0 to win in extras against the hated Cardinals. Joey Votto came through in the clutch with the walkoff base hit. However, Edgar Renteria’s walk to put Votto to the plate was huge! Glad to see Nick Masset is getting hot. He was lights out last night. It was especially important for him to get dominant now that Chapman is struggling. Although this game made me feel like I needed to reach for rolaids, I’m glad it ended happily for the good guys. Now the Reds have to do it again today at 4. You can watch the game on the MLB Network. You might want to check it out. It is the first time that Johnny Cueto is facing the Cards since the brawl last August.

Did You Know?
I read this today. Obviously just because you read it doesn’t make it true. Listen to this one: Andrew Jackson’s pet parrot was in attendance at Jackson’s funeral. However, he had to be removed after he began squawking profanities. Could this really be true?

I’ve added some items to the 8th grade section. You may want to check them out if you are in 8th grade.

The first place Cincinnati Reds go for 3 in a row against the Cardinals today. It won’t be easy. The Reds face nemesis Chris Carpenter and Pujols hasn’t hit much lately. He’s due for a huge game. Then again, other than being walked (and a walk off hit), Joey Votto hasn’t done much either.

2 days until the budget vote.

It was announced yesterday that Mike Huckabee will not be running for President in 2012. It should be interesting to see who will be the Republican candidate in 2012. Too early to tell at this point. It seems that the Republicans have candidates that are too conservative or not conservative enough. Any thoughts?

posted by Mr. Dowling in Bowling,School,Television,The Reds,Uncategorized,baseball and have Comments (2)

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