Author: D. Buffa

A regular guy who feels a journalistic hunger to tell the news. I blog because its wired into my brain to write what I think in print. I offer an opinion. A solo tour here. Take regular stories and offer my spin on them. Sports, film, television, music, fatherhood, culture, food, and so on. Commentary on everything. A St. Louis native and Little Rock resident who wants to write just to keep the hands fresh and ready.

Banshee Finale(We All Pay Eventually) Recap-Reloaded

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Gregory Shummon/Cinemax
Photo Credit-Gregory Shummon/Cinemax

It’s only been four days, but for the first time in three months, there isn’t a new episode of Banshee to look forward to this week. That’s sad and makes me long for an antique violin to strum on my deck, but let’s go back to Friday’s finale and have some fucking fun. I wrote my official reviewcap then. This is a more of a bang for bang, whatever said goes, funny, dark, light, mindfucked take on my favorite show. Why write more? I have two hands and this show gets to me, Let’s fire it up with the pre-credits sequence.

Tick…tick…tick…20 second countdown sequence. It all makes sense now. All the images click. Lucas with the gun, Kai staring up at the cross, Rebecca at the mass, Job in the chair, Burton closeup. All the images that have racked our brains for weeks now all carry a special identity.  (more…)

The Slow Death Of A City I Love

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AP_FERGUSON11_140814_DG_4x3_992All I can think about right now are two parents who will wake up tomorrow without their four year old boy. It’s Friday, and that’s always a big deal when you are a kid because the school week is over and it’s almost time to play. The hours fly by and it’s almost time to be free again. After reading this beautifully written piece about a young boy dying in North St. Louis City this week, I had to write about the madness that is overtaking my city. This violence probably happens elsewhere in the country and the world, but these crimes in my city feel close and personal.

(Photo Credit-Robert Cohen, STL Post Dispatch)

The saddest part is I am not even there. I am currently in Little Rock, Arkansas. Every time I hear about a senseless death, I tighten up and become full of rage. It could be the innocent hotel manager dying at the Drury Inn in South City weeks ago because a man decided to walk in, pull a gun and destroy lives. It could be the two cops who were shot last night outside the Ferguson Police Department. The violence in Ferguson that repeats itself due to one kid, Michael Brown, dying. A kid who wasn’t a saint or perfect, but since people need an agenda to push or get behind, they support the protesting and scream things like, “If you had taken care of this two months ago, this wouldn’t happen” in the video taken as the shooting broke out last night outside the Ferguson PD.  (more…)

God Doesn’t Know What To Make Of Banshee

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Banshee-Season-3What-Banshee/ Where-Cinemax/ When-Friday night

Review of Episode 309-“Even God Doesn’t Know What To Make Of You

Directed by Loni Peristere

Written by Jennifer Ames and Steve Turner

It’s a common thing on Banshee to be mindfucked by the past. No matter how far or how fast the characters run, the past is sprinting way ahead of them, sitting down and sipping a drink, waiting for those tortured souls to arrive at the next brutal punching of the clock. “Even God Doesn’t Know What To Make Of You” taught us that no matter how we try, the hardest thing in this world is changing what you are. Switching from something that previously defined you and moving into a whole new skin. Asking for another hand from the dealer or requesting a redo or description of the blue pill. We are who we are in this world. Kai Proctor(Ulrich Thomsen) learned that in the hardest way possible this week.

It’s one thing to be mercilessly beaten half to death by a punch of large suited men, but it’s even worse when you have no idea why. Last week, Proctor was reunited with his family and welcomed back home by his father. He was connecting with his youth and finding love in Emily Lotus. It all went up in smoke when The Black Beards hauled him and his new love away like bodies being retrieved by their souls. Kai had no idea Rebecca(Lili Simmons) was dealing under the table with the Salvadorians. When the leader(who just had to be blind and carrying the voice of Louis Gossett Jr. with a couple pulls of reverence added to it) told him what his sweet little niece did, the resignation on Kai’s face was fatal for that brief glimpse of optimism that walked into his life. It dimmed for good when The Black Beard told him he would repay this lapse in judgement with his life. Kai may be a man capable of violence, but he has always retained a principle in his dealings. I love Peristere’s intercutting here with what seemed to be Kai’s internal struggle. Seeing him approach the room of prayer and worship slowly over the episode while being splashed with the final look on Kai’s face. Peristere did it in Evil For Evil in Season 2 and shows us a man in Kai who is slowly slipping back into the skin he has grown comfortable with for the majority of his life. Last week, he was smiling and had a few buttons opened on his shirt. He was loosening up and going warm, not soft. This week, he went back to being cold blooded and wound tight, never to return to his mother’s wishes or his father’s comfort again. Kai Proctor is a man apart. (more…)

Floyd and Manny Create The Ultimate Fight

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Pacquiao-vs-MayweatherGet ready to rumble, boxing fans!

Finally, after years of delays and close calls, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will step into a boxing ring together on May 2nd with the intent to beat each other up. After politics, egos and attitudes prevented the clash of the century, the two fighters got old school and agreed to terms Thursday evening. First reported by Yahoo Sports, the expected split of the revenue earnings will tilt in Floyd’s way, 60-40. That means Manny only takes home 80 million, which isn’t bad for a night’s work of bashing inside a square ring.

The fight comes at a time where the sport is in need of some broad spectacle. MMA and UFC are becoming increasing popular with the short attention span crowd or the other fair portion of entertainment fans who don’t care to watch two guys tap each other for 12 rounds. If you look close enough, there are still brawls in the world of boxing(see that Terrence Crawford and Yuriorkis Gamboa clash of undefeated fighters), but for the most part the sport as a whole is fading away. An entertaining bout between Mayweather Jr. and Pacquiao can bring it back. The fight will break several records for Pay Per View buys, gate ticketing and also a purse that will exceed 200 million without breaking a sweat.  (more…)

The Idea of Love/Marriage 10 Years Later

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exchanging ringsTen years ago this very minute, I married my wife, Rachel. February 18th, 2005. I had hair, a few different friends and got married at a small venue in St. Louis called Orlando Gardens. Friends and family were there from both sides. I watched my dad bring down the house with his dance moves and even got my mom on the dance floor. My friends smiled and danced. It was a different time because back then, times were tough, responsibilities were limited and the future was so distant. There was no Vinny. There was no need to determine the course. There was just Rachel and I, eating Dominos Pizza near midnight in a crummy apartment off Laclede Station Road. All we had was love.

I’ll admit I was nervous as shit that night. When you get married at 23, nerves are hanging around you no matter what. It’s part of the deal. You are giving away a piece of your life and taking a piece of someone else’s life. Marriage involves sacrifice because your lives do begin to change. For the first time in your life, you put someone else ahead of yourself. Dating is nice. Getting engaged is sweet. Getting married is the final step. Get in or get out. I got in and I was nervous. By the end of the night I had little doubt. There I was eating cheap pizza watching a 27 inch television in my tux with my wife(slowly peeling the makeup off her face with each slice of pizza). It’s real when you wake up the next day and see the ring on your hand, at least for a guy it is. So many couples get engaged and decide to NOT go through with it or worse, decide to do it just because it’s what others expect or think they should do. (more…)

Brian Elliott Stands Tall For The Blues

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ElliottBrian Elliott has waited his turn to be the main man in net for the St. Louis Blues. By circumstance, injury or natural default, Elliott hasn’t enjoyed a smooth ride to the #1 position for the Blues but that only makes the perch sweeter for the 29 year old  Canadian native of Newmarket, Ontario. The 291st pick in the 2003 draft came to the Blues after a terrible 2010-11 season split between the Ottawa Senators(whom he guided in 2009-10) and the Colorado Avalanche but found steady success in St. Louis rather quickly.

As the backup to fellow newcomer and big offseason trade recipient Jaro Halak, Elliott quickly established himself as an above average netminder in the 2011-12 season for the Blues. He posted a 23-10-4 record with 9 shutouts, a 1.56 GAA(goals against average) and a .940 save percentage. Elliott didn’t find a starting job, but he definitely found a home. Together with Halak, the Blues had the best goaltending combo and it proved to be vital in the postseason. In the playoffs, Elliott got the chance to show his true worth when Halak went down with a knee injury against the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the playoffs. Elliott stopped 17 shots in that game and helping the team win the series before the Blues were swept by the Kings. Overall, Elliott’s .909 save percentage and 2.34 GAA were solid in helping the team advance into the second round after Halak went down. The Kings proved to be too much and Jonathan Quick dominated the series. (more…)

All The Facts About Stay At Home Parenting

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Stay-At-Home-DadHello, I am going to write about being a stay at home parent. Let me get this out of the way first. I will spare you all the heartwarming shit. The babble about how it is such an adventure and an honor and the most wonderful thing on earth to clean snot out of a kid’s nose as he screams in public or how cool it is to find dried up cheetos crumbs underneath his finger nails before bed time. I will save that for another post where we all eat pancakes together, sing a Beach Boys song, and discuss the joys of parenthood with matching glasses of Irish Whiskey.

Today I am going to tell you why stay at home parents don’t get enough credit. Before the full time parents fire flaming arrows attached to a splintered tree branch at my ass, hear me out. Parents aren’t getting trashed here. Not even a little bit. Level with me. A parent who works a full time job only sees their child for a small portion of the week. The average parent works 40 hours, spend at least 10 hours in traffic, sleeps a rough 35-40 and crams all the kid time into the weekend. That’s honorable. My wife does that(except she works 60 hours a week at least). The fact is stay at home parents fight the beast of a child mano a mano all week. Every day. All day. Let’s not get into child care or the lack there of. Financial situation mapping out the way it is at the moment, it’s me and my three year old Vincent 7 days a week. How does it go? (more…)

Matty Rauch Talks Cinemax’s Banshee Season 3

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imageedit_9_2868330810This isn’t a standard interview. I’m not trying to reproduce 60 minutes here. This is an old fashioned chat between two Banshee addicts. For the second time, I talked to Matty Rauch, who inhibits the fearsome Clay Burton on Cinemax’s hit series.  Read up.

*This interview was first posted on Film-Addict on January 23rd.

Dan Buffa-It’s a big day for Burton with the big show down with Nola in this episode? Are you excited? The legion of Fanshees are ready to go nuts.

Rauch-It’s a big day for Banshee. Something we have all been looking forward to for a long time. I have seen a rough cut of it but not the entirety so I am excited to see it unfold.

DB-They are releasing small bits of your fight with Odette Annable online. The way the weapon slams into your chest at the beginning of that fight is epic. The show always comes up with ways to make the violence fresh and brutal. No fight ever feels the same on Banshee.

Rauch-We did some interesting technical stuff on this fight. The tech nerds are going to love this fight. We invented our own camera rig because it had to go inside and outside the car. There’s one long continuous shot. It’s Birdman style. It was one of the most challenging experiences of my life, professionally. I am excited for the fans to enjoy it the way we enjoyed it. A lot of people put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into it. I am so excited to see this fight. Odette and I worked very hard. (more…)

Super Bowl 49: The Good, Bad And Ugly

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marshawn-lynch-61b9f1fbc8be1ff6Call this a sneak peek for DOB readers. While this cooks in the KSDK oven, I fire it out of the cannon here. A look back at Super Bowl 49. I could spend an hour breaking down how bad the Seahawks playcalling was but I’ll stay with the big picture here.

GOOD

The Microsoft and Camry commercials. Common and Muhammad Ali narrating.  Men and women finding new ways to improve their lives via the software and  its abilities or the new found enhanced cohesiveness of the car. Finding new limbs, new lives and the acknowledgement of technology. A win here.   (more…)

A Birthday Boy Rant

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4d481075ed4fa.preview-1024I never think of birthdays as meaningless. New Years Day is a meaningless day. The day you were born is not. It signifies your landing on the earth. The beginning of the end. Every February 3rd, I ask myself what the fuck am I doing with my life. Where am I at? Where am I going? Do I like where I am? The right questions at the right time. Fuck New Year Resolutions. Go with the Birthday Interrogation. I turned 33 years old today. 33 years ago I landed at Barnes Hospital on Kingshighway in St. Louis in the middle of the biggest snow storm to attack The Lou in the past 50 years. As I like to call it, I landed in spring training and quietly ignited the Cardinals to a World Series title. Daniel Lawrence Buffa didn’t take an at bat but I will settle for a quiet producer credit. So let’s get back to those questions and why they matter.

I try to think back at least a year. I was unemployed and looking for work. In a matter of two weeks, I would get a well paid yet doomed night job at Conway Freight. Working overnight in the worst neighborhood. This was pre-Ferguson but riots and murder weren’t a new thing on Hall Street in North St. Louis. I lasted a little over a month there before going to Ronnoco. While it wasn’t a well oiled operation, my 2nd stint with the coffee shop was memorable for the friends I made and the people I connected with. In the most unlikely of places you can find a few gems. Those people know who they are. The others will just be left thinking. If you gather a couple good allies per year, you aren’t an asshole. (more…)