Here we go again…back into the fray.   I truly never leave this area.   Take 7 starts now. 

The Blues open a three game homestand tonight against San Jose.  All year, they have had an inability to win consistently at home.  That’s not the ideal situation for a playoff team.   Jason Arnott wasn’t signed because Alex Steen and Andy McDonald are coming back.  My question is…how long do you keep three goalies in a playoff push?  Brian Elliot can’t afford to hold a therapy session on the ice right now.  His head is gone and won’t be back.   A relief appearance is his only hope. 

(Update: The Blues beat the Sharks 4-2 on home ice and start it off right.  They get a lucky skate bounce from David Perron, a couple goals from Chris Stewart(rebounding nicely from a porous 2011-2012 season) and another solid performance from Jake Allen.   The kid isn’t perfect but is 6-1 and has a save percentage of 95 percent.  Its going to be hard to sit him when he is producing those kind of results.)

If it is true the Rams are letting Steven Jackson and Danny Amendola go along with Quentin Mekkel(3 million), there must be money to at least pursue a free agent wide receiver.  Either use the cash or dangle the draft picks.    The Rams probably can’t afford to fix both areas so seal up one before the season starts.   A backfield of Darryl Richardson and Isaiah Pead won’t spark fear in the hearts of any defense.  Did you see the Rams offense without Amendola in 2011 and 2012?  Few receivers could get space or break away from a defender.    Chris Givens and Brian Quick are talented young players but how will Givens do without a slot genius like Danny and can Quick get more snaps?  If you don’t shore up an area and power up an offense, this team will take a step back.   The defense is strong but will break under the pressure of a 3 and out offense.   Sam Bradford needs weapons.  Proven weapons to throw to.  He can also use a backup.  The Rams are facing a huge test this summer.  The 49ers and Seahawks, the best two teams in the NFC in 2012, went out and acquired premium proven receivers yesterday.   What will the Rams do?   They HAVE to react.  If not, you suffer a recession.   Jeff Fisher and Les Snead want to build the team out from under with drafted talent and young core players.  That’s great.  Every team needs a few threats on the field.   On offense, the Rams may have none in 2013.   Just saying.  Where is the money going on this team?  You can draft safeties and offensive lineman in the middle to late rounds.  The time to put your hands on the free agent table is now. 

With Ty Wiggington on the bench and acting as your primary corner infield backup, I don’t see a lot of starts for young husky slugger Matt Adams.  The kid is white hot down in Jupiter right now, but can you afford to put him on the roster to fill a glorified bench spot at this stage in his career?  My vote, right now, is no.   Wiggington will be backing up Craig and Freese with help from Descalso and Matt Carpenter, who looks to get a ton of reps at 2^nd base.  Adams needs to play every day and build his stamina and stay ready.  If Freese or Craig goes down, he gets the call.   I am also a member of the camp that thinks the Ty Wiggington signing was marginally acceptable and I do not like the 2 year 4 million dollar term.  With Adams, Descalso and Craig in play, Ty wasn’t really needed.  He hasn’t hit well in four years.   Just putting it out there.

Twitter continues to be  valuable tool for me and my website.  Along with being in contact with the entire Banshee cast, I also talk to sports and film fans on there and connect with people I’ve never met.  I can count Bernie Miklasz as a follower as well after bonding over cigars last week.   I am in the Twitter cause deep down.  It’s not for everybody but for me its EXPOSURE for my writing and website as well as a chance to, you got it, connect.  I also find the challenge of 140 character thoughts to be harder than it seems.  Lots of quality opportunity on Twitter if you like the attention and exposure.

I haven’t seen a great film yet in 2013.   I have seen crap(Identity Theft), DVD worthy films(Dead Man Down), and a few quality films(Snitch, Side Effects) along with my preferred blend of 1980s action that can’t be considered more than decent material(Sly, Arnold and Bruce’s latest adventures).   I’m looking for a film to blow me away.  One that makes me laugh out loud works as well.  The Incredible Burt Wonderstone may be funny tonight or it may miss the mark.  With a cast including Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Alan Arkin, Olivia Wilde and James Gandolfini, my hopes are slightly off the floor.  Still, I haven’t been blown away or really thrilled with a movie in theaters.  The Place beyond the Pines, with Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper, about the intertwining lives of a cop and a thief, comes out in 2 weeks and may be that power packed preferred dose of cinema I have been waiting for.  Until then, happy hunting for this guy at the movies.

Update-Burt Wonderstone was very funny and Steve Carell anchored the whole thing.  A nice little ode to the tough aging process of performers.

I will say Perks of Being a Wallflower, on DVD right now, was one of the best movies I’ve seen in a while.   That is worth checking out.   I went all in.   Bought it the next day and now own the wickedly sharp soundtrack.   Must see.

The Following just went to a whole new level with its episode last night.   An effective thriller about a serial killer inspiring people to follow his code and build an army got the much needed jolt of chills in its latest hour with the killer, played by a wickedly sinister and talented James Purefoy, dispatching one of his followers after the man failed twice on a mission.  It was the background music, the slow buildup and the weapon of choice(a big knife) that completed the climax to the episode.   Kevin Bacon and Purefoy are the primary protagonist/antagonist duo of the show, but the rest of the characters are mysterious and the writers complement that well.   The shocking deaths happen every hour and the drama is building.   How many more will die before Bacon’s FBI agent tracks down killer Joe again?  The characters have their quirks and backgrounds colored in shades of grey and the series improves every week but last night the first season was officially set in motion.  I stated that when Purefoy’s Joe got out of prison and fully engaged with Bacon’s cop, Ryan Hardy instead of being locked up in a jail cell, the show would take off.  It did.  Shit got real and quick!

Time to go back to life.  Thanks for reading.

Here’s a dose of what I think.  When the work on my website, Film-Addict.com, is done and the time for me to expand my mind and fire off shots at the more general topics comes to mind, I come here.   If you care to read, scroll or scan, I appreciate the eyes.  A writer is only as good as his audience’s analysis.

Good afternoon friends(or good evening or night, depending on how you roll),

Everybody works different shifts and leads a different set of hours.   That’s why we get worried when certain people don’t say a word for weeks or a month.  Dumb selfish people put together a scenario where that one friend is hiding in a corner laughing at the torment he or she is dishing this particular person.  In fact, none of it is probably true(unless you have haters in your life).   This is the way I take it.  Life is busy.  Time flies.  People forget.  I get it.  If you ever think I am wondering about a response to one of these self centered bitching sessions, think again.   I do love feedback of any kind.  Until that reply button is touched, let’s a few quick things said.  

This might rock your facial features or just come off as regular prose.  A stream of consciousness with no particular order.

The Blues only remedy was to change the goaltender.  Bring up the kid. They Did.  This is the first step.  Believe me.  With 26 games remaining, the best thing this team can do is make a quick dramatic change in a position that affects the entire team.   You defense can’t vastly improve its skills inside a season.  They are who they are.   The goaltender gives the entire team confidence if he can make a save percentage shine better than 16 saves out of 21 shots.  Talking to you Mr. Halak.  Bring up Jake Allen, who showed in a handful of games the future looks bright in net for the team.  A small sample size for sure but this is a short season so you have to go with your strongest weapon.   Brian Elliot is a scared man right now with zero confidence.  He needs a fresh start.   Put him on waivers and let Allen share starts with Jaro, who I have never been convinced is a #1 starter anyway.   Do this or rupture the entire season.  Remember when Manny Legace was put on waivers and Chris Mason’s iron man work for 32 games pushed Blues into playoffs.  This team needs that kind of jolt.  Allen starts tonight.  He played well when Elliot freaked out weeks ago and Halak went down.  The situation is similar now.  Facing the Coyotes tonight, the youngest kid on the ice needs to take the entire game over or at least make a save percentage better than the Blues league worst 83 percent.  That’s it.

I wouldn’t be surprised if TJ Oshie or David Perron didn’t end the season as a Blue.  They aren’t kids anymore and not that cheap.  Grow up or get out kids.  Oshie takes games off and Perron takes horrible penalties and tries to deke the entire team.  If I had to choose,  Oshie goes.

Rafael Furcal is out for the season with a torn ligament.  It’s official after 4 doctors.  He will require Tommy John surgery and miss the entire 2013 season.   Now, show me your shocked face.  I am not shocked at all.  I knew this back in September.  He went down with a partially torn ligament and is a long throw making shortstop so damage can reoccur here.   In November, after three months of rest, the ligament was showing improvement.   Of course it did, coming from the unofficial doctor in the room here.   When you don’t work a muscle or put stress on a ligament, magic happens and it improves.   However, when you test it, bad things can happen.  When Furcal tested it this month, he tore it completely.  I believe that.  It makes sense.  At least I want to believe it and digest the fact that the Cards gambled and lost big time here.  Look, I took a flame thrower to them the other night.  Here, let me recount the temptation of the front office when Furcal’s elbow showed improvement in November.   You are paying an aging ballplayer another 7 million dollars to hopefully play in 2013.  You gamble and hope he comes to camp, makes throws, starts games and does well.   The Cardinals seemed to come to camp with few questions and little worry.  That, my die hard fans or casual lookers, was a false impression.  Trouble has surfaced and is sticking around.   This is an unfortunate situation.   The gamble backfired and Furcal tested the elbow and it blew up Wainwright style.   Bye bye 7 million.   I get mad about them doing nothing in the winter and I think, well, who was out there?  Stephen Drew.  Really?  For 9 million dollars, you want to bring him on board.  16 million dollars to a past his prime decent guy and an aging former All Star.   No way.  Trade for the Indians young shortstop or the Rangers solid shortstop.  Sure, if you want to give up at least two young pitching prospects.   Mo didn’t break and stayed with his gamble, all his chips on red.   It didn’t work out.  Now he is stuck with Pete Kozma and some guy I want to call Roger who is really former cub Ronny Cedeno.  Two weeks into camp, and even Mo said on the radio today that the older Ex-Cub isn’t doing well.  Cue the Kozma uprising.  Pete homered today.   Pete is the shortstop.  Remember what he did against the Nationals.   Good.  Remember what he did against the Giants.  Yeah, I know.  Scramble those two together and that is what you get.  A person who needs to overachieve.  Back to the bad gamble.   Along with Furcal going down, Chris Carpenter walks in and says he is done.  Crying while he speaks over the phone.  Toughest man in the world(who has Chuck Norris’ rib in his shoulder somewhere) is breaking down.   This happened a month ago.   You are watching two guys now sit on the bench making a combined 19 million dollars.   Stop, think, slice up the Benjamins and eat up.   Your other ace, Wainwright, is discussing a long term deal with the team that is going up and down depending on the day.  It’s a lot of money and years because other teams went crazy with their ace and your guy is coming off TJ surgery himself.   If you wait and he has an explosive 2013, you are paying him 24 million dollars in 2014.  Sign him now and it may only be 18-20.  What do you do?  Albert 2.0 or a more Yadi Molina type ending?   Also, Carlos Beltran, your 12 million dollar balky kneed outfielder is playing in the World Baseball Classic.  That’s like letting another country borrow a bunch of diamonds for an exhibition and hoping to get them back.   You also have a key piece of your bullpen, Mitchell Boggs, throwing for the USA in the same tournament.  Lots of key pieces around the table.  You have a rotation that will be dominated for young unproven men.  You have a player with 85 year old ankles playing third base.  A guy who fucks up his legs every year at first base.  A center fielder who crashes into walls.  A left fielder who likes to deadlift 500 pounds in season and hurt his back.  A catcher who doesn’t mind collisions at home plate.  A bench that is dominated by young unproven men.  A closer who….has a big beard and pitched very well in 2012(had nothing on my boy Motte there).    Anyway, a supposedly smooth spring has turned into a typical St. Louis Cardinals spring.   Let’s all say it.  FUCK!  Enjoy the rest of the fake games and take your meds now.

Keep this in mind.   Trevor Rosenthal is better suited for bullpen.   Imagine a Rosenthal-Boggs-Motte end of game door slam crew.   Deadly for teams.   Our team has pitching to spare and pushing a cannon arm like RosenGAS to 5-6 innings hurts the rotation. Keeping him as a late inning bullet means the starter just needs to give 6 quality innings every night.  Think about it.  Shelby Miller and Joe Kelly are more suited for the rotation than Rosenthal, who carries a deadly offspeed pitch and a 101 mph propane heater that has a little movement to it.  

What else?

101.1’s The Fast Lane is a decent guilty pleasure radio show.   Randy Karraker is a know it all fossil, Chris Duncan knows his baseball and D’ Marco Farr needs to go off and be fat somewhere else.  He can barely talk football without a huge bias streak entering the room and knows little about baseball or hockey.   He annoys the hell out of me, yet I listen to these three guys every day after work.  Why not give Steve Savard a football show, Duncan a baseball show and Kelly Chase and Tony Twist a hockey show.  All these guys know their sport and aren’t overly bias and are fun to listen to.   Two thugs, a tryout football player and a failed left fielder who owns a ring.  Go with it.

The Rams don’t have to resign running back Steven Jackson, but have to either select an impact back in the draft or make a run at Michael Turner.  Sam Bradford can’t take over this offense by himself yet. He isn’t that type of quarterback and the offense isn’t designed around him.   

Danny Amendola deserves to get paid.  That man has went from little known slot receiver to the the best slot receiver in the NFC and a reliable if fragile football player.   He is good, tough and the Rams need to figure out a fair balance in a long term deal.  He gets hurt a lot but he is worth the cash.  Without him in the lineup, our offense looked one note and lost.  He is too valuable to let go.  YES, the Rams could use another wide receiver.  A big name.   Will it happen?  NO.  I would like to see Brian Quick given a bigger role along with Chris Givens.  Brendon Gibson is too inconsistent.  Tight end anyone?

Dead Man Down is worth seeing for its cast, director and gritty crime thriller story.  This critic hasn’t seen a film in 16 days.   That’s what having a small yet reliable staff can do.  Save you time.   

Banshee is awesome and has two hours left on its season.    Doom and gloom will be coming into this week’s episode with the pasts of its two central characters, career criminals turned noble role players, starting to lose their grip on their second lives.   My twitter feed is exploding with material about this show because I can’t stop thinking about it.   

Let me frank here.  Justified is still the best show on television.   In it’s fourth season, the lawman series continues to break boundaries and maintain its story and versatility in character development.  Timothy Olyphant and Walter Goggins are the heart and soul.  

What else???  Losing my ideas here.  Let’s play 5.

Warm weather is making a cameo.  

Baseball games for real start in less than a month. 

The Cardinals can STILL hang with the Reds in my opinion.   Remember.  Pitching is huge in a 162 game season.

The Movies are dead right now.  No REAL killer film yet in 2013.  Normal.  Is Dead Man Down that killer film?  Tomorrow I will know.

This man is starting a new job next on March 18th. Details to come.  

Goodnight and good luck,

D. Buffa

Greetings friends and readers,

Let’s call this a rendition of the usual suspects that continue to roll around my head.  I make time to do things I am passionate about and while my website, film-addict.com, quenches my film appetite, the urge to inform about broader subjects always occupies a space in my mind.  I lack an edge if I withhold from sending out an occasional(or weekly to bi weekly) dose, so play along here and get my take on things.  What makes you stay beyond this point has to do with having skill or playing a con.  You decide that while I write.  Starting with, an update on my TV crush.

Banshee is still must watch television after its 7^th hour produced a thrilling reveal to the endurance and resilience our main character, Lucas Hood, built in his 15 years in jail time.  Let’s just say that it involved a knife, a bald muscle bound albino, a 45 pound weight and a barbell with smashing involved.  This show is fearless when it comes to sheer violence, blunt nudity and the limit people will go in order to survive their predestined fate.   Everything about this series feels like an exposed nerve.  The fight scenes are clothed in a silent horror, without music and only producing the bone crunching sounds of fists and knees colliding with weak joints and breakable bones.   Antony Starr is the anchor of the show, a New Zealand getting his first real shot.  He has the ability to be intense and convincing without overacting.  Steve McQueen school.  Ivana Milicevic, a Bosnian actress who has existed right outside Hollywood’s notoriety for quite some time(she poisoned Daniel Craig in Casino Royale) is also getting her first real shot and doing a lot with it.  She is tough, vulnerable and coiling with emotion without being melodramatic.  It’s a credit to Showrunner Greg Yaeltonis that these actors got a shot and are running with the roles.   As the two main leads, Starr and Milicevic’s tortured souls masquerading as normal people share a past as well as chemistry.  They pull us in and keep us going.   The supporting cast is wicked as well and sets this show on an unpredictable path.

It gets better with this show.  I wrote a piece about the Cinemax series for Film-Addict in a crossover piece on last Friday.  I did this because its female star Ivana Milicevic urged me to do so.  I am not lying and clothed in truth right now. Milicevic is a Twitter lady and gets on there along with the cast and showrunner to hype up the rookie series that is the best new show on television in 2013.   She and I exchanged a few tweets about the show’s greatness and she urged me to write a review of it for my site.  She knew it wasn’t film but indeed the “INDIE OF TV”.   The lady is classy and a good fine looking actress as well.   After 12 hours, the piece had 120 reads, which is a lot for our site.  Four members of the cast and the showrunner retweeted it (sending it to their followers) in the coming hours.  The piece is right now around 300 reads.  The site is getting more hits because of it and this is how websites grow larger and start to make money.  When you market a piece of entertainment and people respond.   Give it a look here.  The 8th episode premiered last night and included the a brutal hand to hand fight scene between Ivana and a Russian thug that can only appropriately re-position the way we look at women in action.   The best thing about Ms. Milicevic and the rest of the fierce women on Banshee is that they come across as brutal as your first impression of them hits your head.

I will keep talking about this show until it goes off the air, starts to suck(not happening with these kind of storytellers and creators) or I get feedback.  There’s 8 hours to jump into and here is my FA piece to get your lips wet.  Read it.  Get involved.

http://www.film-addict.com/news-reviews/daily-dose/item/1411-banshee-on-cinemax-cinematic-television

Cards Spring Into Action

*First, calm down.  These games mean nothing and are scrimmages carrying the idea of scouting and monitoring injuries.  Obsession, meds, addiction, panic, joy, thrill and anticipation.  That’s the spring.  Fake games.  Lots of players.  Opportunity for fans to see the future and for that crop to see the field.   Second, please don’t worry about Adam Wainwright’s long term plans.  I don’t think he is going anywhere, especially if him and the team use their brain.

First Impressions-

*Wainwright is bound to be paid and one can only hope the Cards don’t lowball him with an offer but he understands the Cards aren’t on the West coast and can’t pay him 22 million a year over 8 years.   John Mozelaik let Albert Pujols walk.   Wainwright will be no different if he lets feelings or pure greed enter the deal.  He gave this team a discount on his last deal and this time he wants to cash in.   I get his situation and the Cards and will let this play out.  Part of me wants the team to stop the bus and get him signed and part of me wants Mo and his suits to do their due diligence.  Without Carpenter for 2012 and beyond for sure now, keeping Waino is a big step towards solidifying a rotation that will get very young very quick in 2014.  Let’s hope the Cards and Waino hammer something out in March and get it off the table.  If not, the door will be open and I think it will get done.

*Oscar Taveras is a certified fresh talent and isn’t even 21 years old yet.  Give him time.  I agree with Jon Jay when he urges people to let Oscar play.  Stop comparing him to Albert Pujols.  It’s ridiculous, crude and short lived.  Let the kid get out there, get dirty, hurt, rebound, go through rough patches and rise again.   He isn’t going anywhere.  Let’s not fuck him up the way we did Anthony Reyes or Colby Rasmus.  Just let Oscar roll right along.  He can’t even order a drink yet or say Jack Daniels in English properly.  He popped a grand slam this week and hits the ball to all fields really hard and can take an outside corner pitch to the opposite fence.   He is going to be insurance behind Carlos Beltran in right field in 2013.  He will be on the team by June at the latest.

*Same for pitcher Michael Wacha, who is opening eyes this spring.  The kid was pitching college ball a year ago and has an excellent swing and miss changeup to go with two other quality pitches.  He has only thrown 136 innings in a season.  Let him get time at Springfield and Memphis before we anoint him the next Wainwright.  For the first time in years the Cards have more pitching than their current MLB roster can handle.   That’s a great thing.

*Imagine if Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran and Allen Craig all stay healthy for more than 3 weeks at a time.  The possibilities are endless and most of them include bad nightmares for pitchers.   Our team is a wrecking ball that just needs to swing.   We were beaten in our first two games and then destroyed teams for four days straight before tying the Astros yesterday.   The games don’t count, but the trends spell things out more clearly.  This team can score but has to work on the consistency of manufacturing runs without their A-team.  At some point, one of the vets will go down.

*While Jaime Garcia is impressing me with his shoulder strength, I am disappointed in the Cards and Rafael Furcal.  He really should have gotten elbow surgery in September instead of holding out to make an appearance in the playoffs or try to make it through the winter on rehab.   You can do that with a muscle.   When it comes to ligaments and elbow cartilage and connective tissue, surgery is needed.  That kind of pain doesn’t just go away.   There is a problem here.  It’s March 2nd and Furcal can’t throw for full power from shortstop or bat righthanded.  He won’t make it through a month before he is on the disabled list.   He is making 7 million in 2013 and shouldn’t have been fucked with.   Regret is a huge price to carry on your shoulders.   Also, Roger Cedeno isn’t an option and Pete Kozma won’t be given a real chance even though he showed a real bat in the fall last year.

Funny Thought-Albert Pujols isn’t playing this spring.   He had knee surgery.   They say he may play in a week.  Really?  He had the minor procedure in October!!  I still think the guy’s body is going to explode and that is a funny thing now.   What was once a constant worry for me(the state of AP’s health) is now a comical thing.  And the Cards are 30 million lighter.

5 Quick Things About The Blues-Frustration, dangerous trends and an uncertain future

–Injuries do play a part but don’t cover up the reason ballet by themselves.  Steen, McDonald and Tarasenko are key players and make a dent on the ice but this team either has energy or looks flat.  Against the Blackhawks on Thursday, the Blues looked dead and lost for nearly the entire game and got embarrassed at home.  Take away Chicago’s unbeaten record and I still require dignity from a team with this much talent.   Injuries happen to every team.  How you react determines if you get in or not.

–NEED A LEGIT GOAL SCORER.  Does this sound familiar?  I’ve been saying it for years.    Vlady impressed, Berglund looks better but acquiring a player like Jarome Iginla and putting him on this team with this talent could change the season.  I’ve sang it for years.  Team needs a player that makes other team adjust instantly.  Is Tarasenko that guy?  When he can play again, that question will continue to gather steam.   Call Jarome Iginla’s agent and tell him we can help him escape the misery of being a Calgary Flame.

-Start the Brian Elliot Watch.  Jake Allen proved he could play and do it very well.   Elliot becomes trade bait.

-The Blues rebounded from a horrible start last night and won 4-2 at home.   What was once a powerhouse strength for the team has been a hazard in 2013.   The Blues simply haven’t played well at home.   Their big 5 game losing streak included an 0-3 stretch at home.   The Hawks beat them on Thursday.  Last night, the Blues remembered they were playing the Oilers and found a way to win.   This team can’t walk a straight line anywhere and it happens every season.

-The Good news.   The team is 11-7-2 and tied for 4th in the conference.   They are 5-5-1 at home and 6-2-1 on the road.  I can’t tell you how the next 18 games will go but I can remind you and this team that wasting any more games on injury excuses or flat play will result in a quiet playoff period in St. Louis.   All we have to do is survive, stay in the hunt, add a weapon and get healthy.  It was never supposed to be easy.  No sport is or ever will be.

Oscars Recap

Seth McFarlane started fine and then either (A)Ran out of ideas (B) Got told to tone it down or (C)underestimated the widespread panic that’s sets in stage that’s turns one either into a zombie(James Franco) or makes them too hyper(Anne Hathaway).   Last year’s safe routine with Billy Crystal sucked and the year before with Franco and Hathaway was the worst but Seth did mix in his brand of new age prank and gasp humor and got mixed results.   I do like his comedy, loved Ted, get a kick out of Family Guy, so I was looking for him to give a fresh take.   BUT…after the long opening act, he too often tried to dance or fire off weak offensive jokes to shock the crowd.   He laughs too much at his own jokes too.   Next year I really hope they give it to Conan O’ Brien.

*As far as the nominees go, I was very pleased with Argo winning Picture and Screenplay.   Ben Affleck not getting a nomination or the award took away from the thrill  but that’s the Academy for you.   Argo won best editing and deserved it for being a taut tight historical thriller.  Affleck got the last laugh with a wonderful speech that wrapped around a hyper opening but ended with a touching ode to redemption in Hollywood.   “It doesn’t matter if you get knocked down.  Only that you get back up.” He was citing his career turnaround from young Oscar winner to disgraced movie star to renegade filmmaker/supporting actor.  Affleck is pure emotion and didn’t hide a thing.  Good for him.  I’d drink a cup of coffee and eat a twinkie if I was up there with an award.   Suck it orchestra!

*Zero Dark Thirty’s snub was predictable.  It’s just too bold for the Academy.  They let it hit him with Hurt Locker but never again.  Zero Dark is better than that effort.  It’s a tough unflinching look at the war on terror and had some horrifying (wink wink) torture in it.  I praise Kathryn Bigelow, Jessica Chastain and Jason Clarke for staying away from sentimental value and delivering a brutal retelling of the takedown of Osama.

*Jennifer Lawrence deserved it for Silver Linings Playbook and another award for honesty.  After tripping while going to the stage, she quickly acknowledged it and didn’t let it stop her from her speech which was good and short.  Lawrence was an exposed nerve in the film, reshaping the genre and rewriting the map for female stars in edgy romantic comedies.  Bravo 22 year old foxy lady who now has 2 nominations.

*Kristen Stewart talks like a meth addict with Pink Floyd playing in her head.  Cast someone better and the Twilight films are instantly better.   I fucking hate her.  Break the other leg.

*Christoph Waltz didn’t deserve it for best supporting actor.   He was good but not as good as Robert DeNiro(Silver Linings) or Alan Arkin(Argo).   I was the only person on the planet who didn’t like Django Unchained.  It was long, boring and cartoonish and over the top, which is saying something for QT’s movies.

*Daniel Day Lewis deserved it for Lincoln.  While I wanted Bradley Cooper or Denzel to upset him, it’s hard to argue with his performance as Abe.  He was the guy for 2 .5 hours and is the best of what’s around.   He is as good as it gets accepting awards as well, always speaking with sincerity and grace.   The man is a marvel and hard to argue against.  He is playing Barack Obama next.

*I’m kidding but imagine his prep.   Hours upon hours with the Obamas at the White House mimicking the President and everything else.  Don’t count him out.

*Adele is talent personified and I could listen to her filthy naughty British accent all night.   She can be my voice for the Siri on my IPhone any time she wants.

*It’s hard to pick between the Best Picture nominees.  I saw 6 of the 9 films and loved 5 of the 6.   Silver Linings Playbook made me smile.  Lincoln made me emotional.  Zero Dark Thirty left me drained and inspired but feeling free to continue to let other people chase terrorists around the globe.   Argo was just a perfect blend of drama, thriller, action, and power inside one 2 hour movie.  Affleck didn’t waste a minute.  That’s why it deserved to win.

I don’t mind the Oscars being 3.5 hours long.  I wish it didn’t feel as long.  The Bond tribute sucked.   Barbara was flat.  William Shatner didn’t need to show up.

They need to tighten up the telecast.  Remedies to follow.

The Random Pile

Baseball Movies come to mind during spring training.   Bull Durham is my favorite baseball movie because I can’t get enough of the minor league hustle and Kevin Costner’s performance as Crash Davis is legendary.   There are several jewels.   Field of Dreams, Sandlot, The Natural, Eight Men Out, and Cobb.   Major League is the Anchorman of baseball film lore.  A very quotable film.   Go to my website in the Addicts Corner and vote on your favorite.

Film-Addict Interview with three more members of the Twilight Cast on Friday.   Patrick Brennan, Lisa Howard and Marlane Barnes had very small roles in the last chapter(which was crap by the way), but meeting actors in person and seeing the real people behind the big screen presence is always a cool experience.  They are all theater trained and still young in Hollywood so I hope they get a shot.  Chatting with them was a good way to spend an hour at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Rams-LOOK AT MICHAEL TURNER.  Seriously, Les Snead and Jeff Fisher need to call Turner’s agent.  Atlanta has a young running back in the waiting and didn’t want to pay Turner his money.  With Steven Jackson on his way out, Turner’s power running style with an additional ability to catch is just what the offense needs.   He is explosive and durable.  The Rams acquire Turner and become a deeper threat.   That way, they can focus on beefing up the offensive line in the draft and not have to waste another pick on a running back.   He was unable to pass a physical for an ankle injury suffered in the playoffs but given time he can be 100 percent and accumulating rushing yards again.  In his five seasons with Atlanta, he averaged 1150 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns per season.  He did work in a better offense but he can be a plus addition to the Rams.  Without Jackson, the Rams look weak at the halfback slot.

Vincent Mania.  My kid turns 18 months in 12 days and is already wearing 2T clothing(24 months and up).    He is a true beast and is doing new things every day.   The hardest part I find with being a parent is making sure your kid is getting the right information and growing in the mind as well as the body.   It all happens with time but if you are as impatient as my wife and I, the process is hard.   Vinny is intuitive, passionate and happy, but is starting to put words together, learn a few manners and act like a good little man.   I just can’t believe he’s 18 months and wearing bigger clothing.  He is my son indeed!

JOB STATUS is going as good as it possibly can.  I work at Ronnoco and make a wage that is less than I need and I know I need more money so I keep looking.    I am sinking my teeth into the job market again because with the stability of a job comes the patience in checking the market.  I can be more selective now because I have something.  It’s different when you are out of work and money and need a gig.   I am not settled and ready to post up at Ronnoco.  They are a company with new owners and plans and won’t be paying their employees more money.   The job search continues.

Running is something I want to be doing more of.   By eating well, working a physical job and going to the gym at least 2-3 times a week I have gotten into great shape but I want to carve even more off.  I can’t wait for the spring so I can get out on the open road and run my ass off.   There’s a freedom and energetic spell that comes with running outside on the streets that can’t be found in a gym.   With the cold holding me indoors at times, I am disappointed that my running dates have decreased.   However, the best thing about fitness is you can always do better the next week.

Coffee Consumption is something that will never stop.  It’s my favorite thing and along with water, takes up most of my liquid diet.   I have already had a 3 shot espresso and dark roast 12 ounce with a shot of espresso today and it’s only 2 p.m.  Working a coffee warehouse(albeit one with shitty coffee) leaves me with the aroma and odor of a coffee fanatic but I flesh out my true identity with serious consumption.    It’s mood boost and a confidence syrup at the very least.  Find your passion in a cup ladies.

Music crush continues to revolve around The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, a San Francisco rock band that has flew under the radar for 15 years.   They are energetic punk cool rockers who make a brand of music that combines elements of rock, blues and alternative genres.    I am tracking down all their music and have purchased a shirt with the letters, BRMC with a crossbone on the front.   That way people ask about it and I get to explain to them my new music passion.    Put their music, Banshee, a cup of strong coffee and bacon into a quiet screening room together with my wife and I am as happy as it gets.   Plus, my son Vinny dances to their music.   Apparently, any band with BLACK in the title makes him dance his ass off.   The Black Keys and BRMC.  Go figure.  Like father like son.

Finally, a closing rant.

The Reason why I don’t get into politics is…

Simply put, I don’t see the direct effect on my life.  There are certain people who probably see it better or could list me reasons why it does directly affect my everyday life but I just don’t see it.  From politician to politician I see no change on me.  Gas prices go up and down.  Groceries vary.  Bills vary.  No easy scale to judge a significant change by.  I wake up, go to work, and have a life.  Merchandise and car payments are the same.  When I lost my job, I needed government support but when I found another it was back to normal.  I pay my taxes, do my thing and see nothing that Obama, Bush or Clinton for that matter have done to change my life.  To me they are all hacks in a suit trying to do a very difficult job.   Make all the mouths happy and the streets clean.  Leave it better than when you found it.  I understand their job but I choose to think in the other direction.  I just keep living, no pun intended.  I wake up, work, inject passion on my own dime and go back to sleep.  I am sure someone could tell me to make speeches, spend everybody else’s money, authorize a war that kills thousands or put my foot further in the ring but I decide not to unless I see a real benefit or change.  I get through life by cutting the bullshit away from it as best as I can.   I don’t get into politics because I don’t see a real valid reason to take time away from things that make me happy.  Two things happened this week that prompted this slice of Buffa life.  I got a notice in the mail for voting for the next primary municipal election.  Who gives a shit?  Vote the next bone headed Alderman into office and I will keep moving on.  I also got a smart ass comment from a facebook “friend” who told me the Cards don’t do shit for me so why should I care for them.  I responded by telling him that I don’t ask for any direct love from the team.  All I want is for them to play the game I love and do it well.  What fan asks for unconditional love from athletes?  It’s a two way street.  We show up, pay our taxes(their salaries) and they return the love by playing.   Sports gives more back to myself and millions of others because we know what we are getting and how much we aren’t getting.  It’s an easy give and take.  Movies are the same.  I get a lot of meaning and enjoyment out of them than I do with politics’ dirty game.  Until it gives me a reason to engage myself, I stay away from harm of getting shit on because I am sure I already do without much effort on my end.  When I give my passion to something, it’s full tilt.  Trust me.  One day, my son Vincent may tackle the world of politics.  He may be a firefighter or a doctor.  An artist or a freedom seeker.  I won’t tell him what to do.  I will give him my advice and it is this. Politics is not a healthy way of life and doesn’t directly affect my life in a way that I can calculate or give a shit about.  The end.

That’s it.   Thanks for reading.   Hope it left a dent or made you think a little.   I never know until you respond.    Read and digest.

Sincerely,

Dan L. Buffa

Good morning folks,

Let’s drop a round in the chamber and see what words hit the ground.

Exposure for Film-Addict 

One of the ways to guide your website into the upper echelons of premium exposure is to connect with the right people.  The right people can be actors and filmmakers or people with money.  This week my colleagues and I are going to dive into the fragile yet ambitious ground of putting yourself out there in front of the audience.   Contacting publicists (not agents, we aren’t offering the actors film roles) for interviews and seeking credibility.  There’s nothing more powerful in this marketing world than attaching a well-liked celebrity or athlete to your brand.   Do you think Robert Griffin III really likes Subway?  Probably not, but putting him on those commercials brings credibility to Subway and helps their bland tasting sandwiches tromp mom and pop sandwich shops.   Think a whole lot less money to work with and you have my site.

Exposing The St. Louis Blues

*The Blues pulled out a 4-3 overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings tonight after I wrote this section and while the team stands at 7-6 and in decent standing, questions still exist for this team.   Celebrate the win tonight but maintain the concern over this team.

Is this team in a minor funk or are they being exposed a ¼ of the way into the schedule.  After 12 games, this team is 6-6(never mind soft NHL win-loss columns adding a lane called “Overtime or shootout losses”) after starting 6-1.  Trouble brewing in paradise?  Let’s take a look at this crime scene.

*Plenty of blame has been thrusted on the Blues goaltending.   In a way, this is valid and in other ways it’s not.   Let’s get something straight.  Brian Elliot isn’t a #1 goalie.   Take away his 2011-2012 lightning rod season where he played out of his skates and above his skill level and look more at his career statistics.  He becomes exposed after starting 3-4 games in a row.   Take into account Jaroslav Halak’s groin injury leaving Elliot exposed.  Both of these guys play well off each other and not so much without the opposing force.  Halak has struggled to live up to the big trade and contract he got here.  He is more of a 2/3 amount of games starter or even a part timer due to his fragile body and ineffectiveness.   Put together, these guys are great.   By themselves, they are ordinary.   The Blues have lacked a legit #1 goaltender since the days of Grant Fuhr.   Roman Turek makes me too angry.

*Furthermore, the Blues goalies didn’t face a ton of shots during the 6-1 start.   Halak has two shutouts where he only faced 12-15 shots.   Starting with the Blackhawks defeat and the last 5 games, the shots against have increased and no one has been there to rescue Elliot from danger.   Just a thought for you to chew on.

*The news that Halak is out for another week means there’s a good chance that Jake Allen, our Peoria prospect, will get a shot in goal.   You have to give Elliot a rest because marching him out there to give up more goals will do nothing for his confidence.  In some areas of life, confidence is more valuable than skill.

*The defensive front isn’t helping the cause.  Forwards failing to forecheck or defensemen getting beat to the puck and not clearing rebounds.  It’s a domino effect on the ice when one unit falters.   Elliot isn’t a big stop goalie so he can only handle so many odd man rushes before the levees breaks.  The defense forgot who Teemu Selanne was on Saturday night, letting the owner of 667 goals sneak behind the net, pop out on the other side and punch in a rebound that started the Duck takeover at Scottrade and really put this team in a hole.  Losing to Detroit, Nashville and LA is bad for business but failing to get two points from Anaheim was hurtful.

*TJ Oshie and David Perron continue to be two players who can be brilliant for a game and two and then disappear.  Streaky talent.

*Vladimir Tarasenko cooled down after a hot 5 games before scoring a power play goal tonight in Detroit.   He is a bursting at the seams talent and teams were smart to keep the puck away from him but he is a player I don’t worry about simply because of his intelligence with the puck in stride.

*Jake Allen got his cherry popped in Detroit tonight and while the kid let in some soft scores and seemed rattled(must have been the road start in Joe Louis), he did quite well.   He stopped 21 shots and didn’t blow up Elliot style.  Halak will miss a few more games and Allen will have to be ready because there’s no telling when Brian Elliot will shed that Marc Bulger fright.  The kid did well tonight after being thrown to the wolves.

This team won a game tonight and recovered a little dignity but still strikes me as a team that can get shut down, outlasted or look quite lost on a hockey rink at any given time.   This 48 game season will expose and tire out certain teams quick.   Who makes it to the finish line intact is anyone’s guess?  The fast start turned heads but this Blues team will have to be tenacious and consistent to get the better of this division.  Blues fans feet will touch the ground.

Cards Camp Opening Notes

Pitchers and catchers reported, along with several other position players on Tuesday.   The real issue will be signing Adam Wainwright to a long term deal before the season starts.   If the Cards don’t do so, they risk facing Albert Pujols stand off Part II.   I won’t put Waino with Alberto here but the idea of letting your staff ace dangle outside the market with plenty of teams needing a good arm is dangerous.   Waino is coming off a long season after Tommy John but gave this team a bargain for 6 years and deserves to get paid.   He must realize that the Cards don’t have Giants or Dodger money and can’t give him Matt Cain or Zach Greinke money.  It’s just not possible.  However, the Cards can’t lowball Adam and think they can survive without him in 2014.   Do you want to see Jaime Garcia be the ace of the rotation next year?   Excuse me but I declare hell no on several counts of logical based thought.  I know agents go for the highest dollar and players need to get paid market value but sometimes I wish it would come down to one man coming into a room and just saying this is what I have to make.   Matt Cain isn’t a better pitcher than Wainwright, nor is Zach.  When all three at their best, Waino is as good as anybody.   That doesn’t matter here though.   Market value and location do.   The Cardinals won’t and shouldn’t hand any pitcher a contract that extends over 5 years.  If I were the Cards, I’d him 4 years with a vesting option for a 5th at around 18 million per season.   He gets a raise from 12 million in 2013 to 18 in 2014.   If that isn’t enough money, and feelings need to be healed with dollars, then I am afraid Waino could be leaving.   Let’s hope this gets solved before camp breaks.

Baseball is back.  Amen!  On to other things.

Firing Round-

Joe Paterno can’t be saved by a positive report.  Let me make something clear.   Whether or not we will ever know the amount of information that he knew about Jerry Sandusky has no bearing on his legacy now.   Forget his 400 plus wins and mastery of college coaching or that legendary jog to the sidelines.   Joe Paterno will be branded by the biggest oversight in college football history.   Sports history.   Any time you think of him it will be associated with sexual molestation.  That’s the uncomfortable truth.

The Rams hired defensive backs coach Tim Walton to lead their defense.   I like the low key hire.   This is Jeff Fisher’s team and more importantly, it’s his defensive scheme.  Walton will cut his teeth with this gig and learn a lot.

A Good Day to Die Hard works so well because of the relentless action, a key car chase and fast pacing but mostly due to Bruce Willis not taking the role of John McClane too serious.   He always seems to be winking at the audience while he does miraculous things.   This movie is a good time and then some.

In this week’s On A Role, I explain the brilliance and underrated career of Willis.  Check it out on my site.

It’s too bad Chuck Norris couldn’t lend Chris Carpenter a rib bone to get him one more season of vintage bulldog domination.   Listening to Carpenter talk openly about his future this week at Busch was another reminder that they still make athletes tough as nails and honest as a sniper’s rifle.   David Backes didn’t mince words when describing the Blues struggles.   He said they sucked and needed to be better.  Tonight they were.  It’s not rocket science.  True leaders just do their thing effortlessly and others follow.   Carpenter and Backes went to the same school of old school toughness.   Raising a glass to Carp tonight.

Halak Injury+Tarasenko Cooldown=Blues losing streak? I’m a detective circling a crime scene so feel free to help.

Dear Academy. Argo fuck yourself for not nominating Affleck. I know he was too big of a threat to Spielberg but still..you’re pretty stupid.  Yes I will continue to say this.  The man didn’t just deserve a nomination but he deserved to win the award.   Affleck’s accomplishments need to be fucking celebrated.

Now that the baseball gods are meeting at the table, I need to start tuning back into the MLB network and get my daily dose of news and reports.  I don’t get all this wise old man knowledge through osmosis friends.   I need my local cat Greg Amsinger(Lindenwood) to fill me in.  If there is one guy that deserves a radio show and TV show, it’s this guy.  Very intelligent young baseball mind and a Cards fanatic.  He does weekly hits on 101.1 ESPN Fast Lane.

I am in need of a decent coffee mug for work and for that I am buying a Thermos mug that keeps coffee hot for nearly 8 hours.  How?  A double wall of stainless steel that is vaccum sealed every time you close it.  That’s how.  Exciting development.  Self Indulgent quip#1.

What can I say?  I really like new shoes.   Puma, Nike or Under Armour.   I will be purchasing a new pair this weekend.   For so long I went with one or two pairs and wore them out quick.  Now, I can split time between many sets and keep shoes fresh and in shape a longer period of time.  Self Indulgent Quip #2.

Stop with the comparison between movies and real life violence.   Take a look at mental health stability first and I know it’s harder to figure out and more depressing but telling me a guy walks out of Die Hard 5 and wants to kill innocent people doesn’t roll even in my mind.  Chew elsewhere politicians and stupid protesters.

Ryan Fucking Reaves can play hockey and isn’t just an enforcer.   Something to be proud of Blues fans.  Another home grown fighting talent who may be able to do more.  Personally, my favorite Blues player to watch.  I have a soft spot for asskickers on skates.   Once upon a time, I was one.

Banshee is still a great delight.  Justified is the best television at the moment and other shows are DVR’ed and watched days later.

What are you doing this weekend? I’m taking my wife out for our eight year wedding anniversary.  Still the best move I ever made.

That’s it.  Goodnight.  Thanks for reading.

Yours truly,

Dan L. Buffa

A few words before the evening gets underway on this gloomy yet sunny Saturday in the southern end of St. Louis city.  I have been hanging with the kid all morning and day, and we are dealing with our own issues.  His poor ass is as red as a cherry and I am struggling to be able to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee.   There are times when you make coffee and get side tracked, which results in cold shitty not as mood boosting coffee.   I am on my third cup, a special five shot espresso shotgun gunpowder round of caffeinated ammo that should propel me into the later hours.   While I am riding that high, I thought I would share some humble Buffa opinion.   Here are some things that have been gathered over the course of the past few hours.

Blues facing deadly reality check early on

*The goaltending is becoming a liability quick.   Jaroslav Halak is hurt and Brian Elliot is being exposed.  Neither goalie can handle a #1 gig but they thrive off a shared schedule.   Elliot was able to maintain an unrealistic level of play last season but right now he looks overworked.  What was once a strength is now a weakness until The Blues get their tandem back.   It may be time to give Jake Allen a start after Elliot allows 11 goals in two games.  Just a thought.

*Their even strength play isn’t as strong as their power play.  What a change in such little time.    There is a lack of urgency at 5 on 5 that is killing these guys.

*Losing to Detroit and Nashville by a combined score of 11-2 is one thing.   Doing it at home is quite another.   The Blues need to understand this season doesn’t last 82 games.  This shortened schedule(inner conference games only) will make or break teams.  The Blues suffered a 12 point swing in the last three games against teams they are battling for a playoff spot.   This got ugly really quick.

*Attention everyone.  Vlady Tarasenko’s feet have finally touched down to earth’s surface.   The renegade Russian has cooled off and hasn’t recorded a goal in 3 straight games and looks a little tired.  This whole team looks slower to react and not as hungry as the first two weeks where they play relentless hockey and got off to a 6-1 start.

*The good thing is we know what this team can do when 100 percent.   We also know what they can do when they suffer a few injuries to key positions.  Look at their home games against Detroit and you see a potential mirror to their upcoming season.  A lopsided win and defeat that carry an equal bit of the sweet and bitter flavor.

Will this team break our hearts again or are they just in a slump?  Its one thing to lose 3 straight but it’s another to lose three straight games against divisional rivals by a margin of 15-5.   This was never supposed to be easy.  A 48 game sprint that will test a team’s resolve and endurance.   Who falters first and who recovers last?  The 2013 season will once again feature the classical Zig Zag Blues we have all come to know, love and fear.  They are still exciting, talented and capable.  They need to get hungry again.   They are lying on the canvas but there is no 10 count left.  We have 38 more games to go.  Many bandwagon fans will jump off now that the real Blues have shown up.  I’m not going anywhere.  This team can go all the way. They just need to realign themselves in this dogfight.  I may not know all there is to know about hockey, but I can tell the difference between good and ugly hockey.  In the Blues first 10 games, I’ve seen both.

Five Things about A Good Day To Die Hard that make it look worth seeing-

*This is the first original screenplay written FOR A Die Hard film.  The previous four entries were scripts that were adapted to fit the hero’s latest tale.

*R rating.  The first three Die Hards were solid R and for a reason.   Violence, profanity and excess.   Live Free Or Die Hard wasn’t bad but it went soft with the PG-13 rating and withheld our hero from spitting out his famous line.   This time its R and packed with explosive action and testosterone dialogue that includes George Carlin’s favorite four letter word, Fuck.

*The film runs 96 minutes.  Crisp, potent and relentless.  We don’t expect a complex plot here.  Just set up the bad guys and some traps and throw McClane in the fray.

*The setting goes outside the USA for the first time.   McClane is fighting Russian terrorists on their own turf.  Moscow will be left in pieces by the time the credits roll.  It will be fun seeing a wild Yankee like our hero run around the dirty mobster town with Vodka flowing like spring water.

*Bruce Willis as John McClane.  Worth the price of admission alone.   His most iconic character always entertains no matter the setting, plot particulars, bad guy or sidekick.

Cards Talk

*The Cardinals have a lot of money coming off the books after 2013 so signing Adam Wainwright to a long term extension shouldn’t be an issue.   Here is the tally of cash leaving.

Chris Carpenter-12.5(gone, baby, gone)

Rafael Furcal-7 million(gone)

Carlos Beltran-12 million(may return)

Jake Westbrook-9 million(gone, or dead)

That’s near 40 million this team could be without in 2014.  If Oscar Taveras explodes in 2013, he takes Jon Jay’s spot or Beltran’s.  Shelby Miller(barring injury) takes Westbrook’s slot.  The Cards invest in a young shortstop or put a one year stop gap there.

*David Freese and the Cardinals were able to come to an agreement and avoid arbitration.  The Cardinals haven’t had a case go to a hearing in over 14 years and this wasn’t the place to end that streak.   David Freese played very well in 2012 and was a World Series hero in 2011.   He showed a willingness to stay healthy in 2012 that was previously unheard of when it came to the career of this city native.  The one year contract will pay Freese around 3 million, which is right between the 2.4 offered by the Cardinals and the 3.7 that Freese requested.   If he bangs out another solid season, it will be team for the Cardinals to hand him a multi-year deal.

Film-Addict Bits-A tease to get you to go to the site for the full reviews

*Bullet To The Head-No Brains But A Lot of Fun.  The phone call from director Walter Hill to Stallone was similar to the fliers Sly handed out for his Expendables films.  “Let’s go blow some shit up and get paid for it.”  The result was an entertaining simplistic action bender.

*Identity Thief-The Worst Movie I’ve seen in months, or since Cloud Atlas scrambled my brain for no apparent reason.  This movie robs your time!  Jason Bateman is wasted and Melissa McCarthy is annoying.  It’s not funny and kills its DVD chances with a softcore rotten finale.

*Side Effects-Easily the most impressive film I’ve seen in 2013.  While it’s worth the trip, Steven Soderbergh’s latest thriller is also a smooth riddle of a story and has a solid payoff while cementing Rooney Mara’s status as a legit leading actress and gives Jude Law a role to chew on.  The twist at the end isn’t a gimmick but instead a perfect capper to the mystery that comes before its reveal.

*Silver Linings Playbook-My Oscar hopeful is still in theaters and worth more than a couple visits because of its superb acting (rooting for all the nominated souls), flawless direction and edgy take on a well-known genre.  A gritty romance and truly award worthy film that’s hilarious at one moment and heartbreaking in the next scene.  This film could sweep the major categories and I’d be happy.

Random Bits-

*Florence and The Machine’s covers of “Addicted to Love” and Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” are killer.  The redheaded shedevil with the pipes and presence to back it up makes the song her own and outdoes the original’s execution.   She sings it without any extra feeling that can’t fit into the chambers of her powerful voice.  Check it out.  It’s only 7 minutes.  It will be justified.  You can do it while reading the rest of this blog, which may indeed take 7 minutes.

*Steven Soderbergh isn’t retiring folks.   Actors, filmmakers, musicians, and general performers never retire.  You can always take a job, work a little, and produce something when you are in the creative field.  I am tired of people talking about his departure from film, and if it held any weight, I would join the discussion.  Soderbergh jumps genres, challenges himself constantly as a filmmaker and storyteller and having that deleted from the movie world would be a blow.   However, he isn’t retiring.  It’s not possible.  He can always call up his agent, a few actors, and jump on the train when a good script perks his interest.   This isn’t sports.  It’s life.  You can always work if you want in that field.  Judging by his last effort, Side Effects, I hope he doesn’t wait long before getting behind the camera again.

*Ben Affleck not being nominated for an Oscar for Best Director is still getting on my nerves.  Pardon me if I care to complain again about this injustice.  The man deserves to be awarded with the biggest movie prize possible for a filmmaker on February 25th and it won’t happen.  His three shot dose of film(Gone Baby Gone, The Town, Argo) deserves attention on a stage.  It’s a shame people in the Academy of Arts and Sciences can’t let go of someone’s past failures in order to appreciate what they are accomplishing in this day and age.  Spielberg, Bigelow, Russell and others did a great job with their films.  Russell is my next deserving filmmaker for his magical blend of love, madness and life in Silver Linings Playbook but to me Affleck’s retelling of the bravery of the USA and Canada in the Iran Revolution was superb.  The greatest thing about it is that his face was all over the movie and people finally got the idea that Ben is pretty fucking talented and may be more stepping ahead of his good buddy, Matt Damon.  Triple threat.   Fuck you Oscars.

*St. Louis weather is irritatingly inconsistent.   Up one day and down the next.  No real snow accumulation.   Boring in a sense.  I wish we had more action here in the weather department.

*Justifed, Banshee and Archer are the shows I look forward to the most these days.  The other ones I watch are either treading water, waiting too long to shock us or slowly yet surely starting to suck.

*There isn’t much a father can do about their kid having a diaper rash.  You change a diaper as quick as you can, shut out the screaming and try to keep him happy.  Vinny had a runny shit last night while sleeping and we didn’t get it right away, so he now has an ass that resembles a red apple.  The kid screams when I barely wipe his ass and even makes an attempt to throw punches at me.   I feel like swatting them away and screaming back, but the kid is in pain and can’t help it.  A father is helpless here.  You just tryt o get by without being a dick.   Kid don’t have it too easy.  They don’t know how to take care of themselves or what the hell is going on when things go bad.  One sympathizes.

Weird yet true things(Self-indulgence section)-

*A man never forgets an anal story.

*A wife likes to eat slowly at first and monitor how much the husband is eating the portion of a dish.  That way, she can yell at him for eating it all even though plenty is left.

*Coffee gives you a mood boost only if it’s good.  Bad coffee reminds you of the injustice and evil in the world.

*Nobody likes to do the dishes or laundry.   It’s a task built in ritual and execution but never in fun attained.  If someone likes doing laundry or dishes, please come and do mine as well.

*Boxing can be just as brutal, shocking and violent as mixed martial arts if one can have patience when watching it.  There’s something sinister yet honest about fighting in front of an audience using only your fists.

*Wrong expectations can ruin a movie going experience.

*The key to a good comedy is a good script that doesn’t go too soft or safe in the end.

*If everybody had a little more bacon, world peace wouldn’t so laughable.

*A good fitting t-shirt goes a long way.   There something about throwing it on and knowing how it is going to make you feel for the next 12-16 hours that is instantly comforting.  It doesn’t matter how it looks or feels on someone else.

*There’s no football until August but spring training games start in two weeks and hockey is in full swing.  Rest easy America.

That’s it.  Thanks for stopping by.  Take luck if you care for it and are good with taking it.

Sincerely,

D. Buffa

Good evening,
Allow me to spin a little banter about the weekend.  Extra bits from the previous blog and a little look back at very exciting, competitive and slightly controversial(not in my eyes) Super Bowl that capped off my birthday last night.   It's a new dawn, a new year and a new day for this mad writer from South City, so let's get to the goods.  The idea this time will be a list of things.  10 things about the Super Bowl.  5 things about the Blues.  3 things about the movies.   Something of that nature.  Stay tuned, and we are off.
Super Bowl bits-10 Things

The Joe Flacco exodus from average quarterback city is complete.  Last night, the dull looking and admittedly dull QB fired 287 yards and 3 touchdowns without an interception.  He was rightfully the MVP of the Super Bowl and owned the same distinction for the playoffs.  This guy turned my head and I must tip my cap.  He was David in a land of several Goliath's. The perfect postseason against the best of the best.   He outgunned Andrew Luck, the hot rookie.   He outplayed Peyton Manning, the comeback player of the year.  He upset Tom Brady in his own yard.  He took down Colin Kaepernick, the new kid on the block in last night's close and heavily contested matchup.  Flacco can rest easy now.  This is the same situation as Eli Manning discovered in 2007.  He beat Brett Favre in Lambeau in his comeback season and struck a huge hole in the Brady Machine in the biggest upset of the last ten years, or since Adam Vinateri pierced the Rams hearts with that kick in The Superdome, which was the stage last night.  Every minute of his series' last night, I was waiting for the Flacco hiccup.  The interception.  Deer in the headlights mistake.  Fumble.  Drop.  Wince.  It never happened.  He owned the moment and took what the 49ers depleted defense gave him.  He, like I said, can rest easy.  He must have been happy the Steelers didn't make the playoffs.  

Ray Lewis wins and can now go away. Thank you. I have had enough of his drama, crying, emotional speeches, and overall mystique.  Go home Ray with your two Super Bowls, tattoos, Deer Antler spray, bloody past and newfound faith and future.  He is a great player and sure fire HOF member but he took over the week in an annoying Brett Favre manner and its time for it to be over.  Now that he has won, he can retire with honor and get on the analyst desk and scare the shit out of Terry, Howie and Jay Glazer with a pre-Fox loud speech.   "Put your fucking game face on BRADSHAW".  It will happen.  Ray Lewis is crazy, inspirational, talented, tainted, dirty, faith capped, and a storm of power.   He is anything you want him to be.  Now he is gone. 

Kaepernick played with shackles on his ankles for two quarters of football. The 49ers restricted him and finally let him go. Once that happened SF nearly erases the biggest deficit in Super Bowl history. Why restrict a guy who has taken you to the doorstep of the promised land. Colin wasn't perfect but he was deadly and will be deadly for years to come. He learned painful yet valuable lessons.  He decided to throw at the 5 yard line in the third quarter instead of running the ball in and made other gun shy mistakes.  He opened up the scoring for his team with his versatile array of skills but also was held in check by his own coaches and a furiously resilient Ravens front seven.  This kid CAN PLAY.  Rams fans won't soon forget this guy's name.  He will be a freak of nature for a long time.   Go ahead and pack Alex Smith's bags for either KC or Arizona.

John and Jim Harbaugh battled like brothers and let it all hang out. Jim lost his mind in the end. Anybody who labels that whining doesn't understand a sibling rivalry. I grew up with a big brother and ALWAYS wanted to win. It's in your DNA. You love him but also want to put a pillow over his face in every sport. Those two coaches may not seem like class acts but they are great coaches. 

My take on "the play". The controversial 4th down play with Crabtree wasn't a bad call. Why? While he was held by the corner, Crabtree pushed off the defender's helmet himself thus committing his own foul. They cancel each other out and the pass was incomplete so that is that.  Enough.   This is where tough fans go to town.   ONE PLAY that signifies the entire four quarters of football.   The same people who are Blues fans telling me the only reason the Blues lost to Detroit on Thursday was because David Backes was given a major penalty and the Red Wings got away with it.   While true in some partial way, it never completes the picture for me.   The 49ers were slightly outplayed by a fierce Baltimore team.   SF started late, nearly made a comeback but Joe Flacco didn't make a mistake and the Ravens defense made a big stop at the end.   That leads me to my next point.

Credit the Ravens D with that goal line stop. After San Francisco sprinted down the field the balty defense laid concrete on the goal line and held them out. Even if Crabtree isn't held there's no way he catches Kaepernick's desperation heave to the corner. 

All in all a pretty good game. With no real horse and only a side picked(hint my team lost) I enjoyed the action on my birthday. 
Non Football Recap-
*Beyonce sucked.  Look, I am not a fan(AT ALL) and found her halftime performance to be mildly entertaining but nauseating at the same time.   Women are half naked so my attention is there but the music and dancing do nothing for me.  I just don't get into this shit.   I am not saying the woman isn't talented.  She clearly is and has a monstrous fan base.  However, like Madonna and The Black Eyed Peas, their music doesn't connect with me and I could think of at least 3 other rousing options for a halftime that don't begin and end with one woman dancing in a similar manner and lip syncing her tunes.  Boring show.  The power could have went out there.
*Yes the power went out in the second half.   Big deal.  I found the sideline reporters to be hilarious in their breakdown of what happened.   Let's go down to Solomon on the sidelines.  What do you got buddy?  "Well, it appears the power is out over there."  Thanks!  Got it.  The power went out and Brady and Belicheck were cleared of all charges.  The game went on.  No big deal.  Roger apologized for the 4,698th time this season and the action continued.
*The commercials were alright.  The Paul Harvey farmer spot was powerful, direct and blunt.   I am not a GOD person or farmer, but I got the message and approve.  It was the sequel to Clint Eastwood's well timed spot last year.  The Car spot commercial with the baby wolf was good, as was the Rock Milk spot.  The Oreo commercial was decent, but the Bud Light Stevie Wonder voodoo takes were absolutely horrible and not funny.  NO commercials made me laugh out loud.  Seriously.  It's been a long time since a commercial made me fall out of my chair.  I was disappointed the direct TV couple(the most convincing TV commercial couple of all time by the way) weren't included.  The guy from Minnesota with the Marley accent was funny but faded quick.  The Budweiser spots were alright while the horse one predictably went for the tissues.  All in all, the movie spots(especially the Fast and Furious Six and Star Trek previews) were my favorite, and that is no surprise.  
5 Things About the Blues-
*I can't say I am a fan of these gaps between the games.  After 8 games in 12 days, I want this pace to keep up.   Instead, we have had two lapses of 2 days between games.  This is a useless charge from a devoted hockey fan who loved the adrenaline of back to back games during the week.   This kind of slow down to the mad pacing is expected but I would be lying if I said this team didn't deserve National attention.   They are very good.
*Our only two losses have come on the second night of back to back nights on the road against the Hawks and Wings.   That's acceptable.  
*Our defense is stout but gives up quick 2 goal bursts far too often.  Our penalty kill isn't as strong as last year.   David Backes, Roman Polak and Vladimir Sobotka still flatten people on the ice.  
*Tarasenko was easily the player of the week.   The kid has 5 goals and nine points.  He is throwing every defense off their game and making great goalies look very ordinary.  Aren't you glad he is ours for a long time.  Something to remember. 
*Jaroslav Halak going down is as predictable as Steven Jackson going down.  It's bound to happen.  At some point, these guys pull a muscle.   This time, Halak pulled his groin.  Elliot will take over and Jake Allen will get called up.   This is where the Blues depth comes into play.  It's our biggest strength in this shortened campaign.
My One Thought on the Arbitration Decision with STL and the Rams-
*I like the Rams winning this one.   It means football will be improved and staying in St. Louis.   If the city wins, they get the leverage and may vote to not make any changes to the dome or build a new stadium, which puts the future state of this team in severe flux.  This way, the lease can go into a year to year status after 2014, but changes will be made to the dome or a new stadium will be built.  Two locations are the Bottle District or the old Chrysler Plant.  The idea of an outdoor football stadium is something to get excited for and with the renewed interest in this team and their improved state, I will pay my tax dollars towards it.  I like the way this team is moving and that plays into my decision and several other fans.   If the team is worth the dollars, then something will get done.  Two years ago, this would have been a different situation.  With Fisher, Bradford, Lauranitis and others in the fold and our record and play improving, the Rams winning the arbitration agreement is a good thing and means the state of football will improve one way or another.   I am no businessman and don't dare offer you the knowledge of the inner workings of this deal but the end game is, the city has to put up or shut up.   Kroneke wants to keep the team here.  Roger Goodell wants the Rams to stay.   If LA gets a team, it won't be the Rams, who have already set up shop and departed the west coast.  If LA gets a team, it will be an expansion team.   The team isn't going to London.  There's no guarantee the NFL can make that work or the money would be as good.   The Rams are staying put in STL and the decision on Thursday only strengthened that ideal.  
5 Thoughts on The Movies-
*Bullet To The Head bombed at the box office, gaining 4.5 million.   Stallone's latest couldn't muster shit and may need a hit with The Tomb(co-starring Arnold) to regain his mojo before Expendables 3 is greenlit.  I liked the film, but can't say I am surprised by the numbers.  The film was a B action movie blood fest with no real good guys and a bunch of mindless action.  I dug it.  Few others did.  
*Win Win is a very underrated film and deserves a watch on cable.   Paul Giamatti and Bobby Canavale are very good in this wrestling drama about a coach who finds a great talent and must come to terms with his own issues in life.  Tough potent little film.  
*End of Watch and Looper were added to my collection of film over my birthday weekend and they are certifiable golden movie goods.  Rent and watch if you want to see something original.   
*A Good Day To Die Hard is another John McClane story with Bruce Willis blowing shit up but this one is different.   It is the first script that was specifically written for Willis' character and not adapted, like the previous 4 films.   The first die hard was originally a Frank Sinatra detective story sequel.   The last three were scripts written for other stories that were given John McClane's protagonist and adapted.  This one will be good old fashioned action fun and it's set in Russia.  There is a contest on my site for STL moviegoers to win free passes.  Go there to the Daily Dose and get your chance.
*Film to look forward to.   A Place Beyond The Pines.  Bradley Cooper.  Ryan Gosling.  Eva Mendes.  Rose Byrne.  Ray Liotta.   A stunt biker takes heists to make money for his family yet runs into a cop and both their lives change forever.  Film spans 15 years and will be as power packed as it gets.  Fathers. Sons.  Choices.  Epic consequences. Count me in. Here is the trailer.
"If you ride like lightning...you're gonna crash like thunder."
http://youtu.be/G07pSbHLXgg
Final Words-
Don't be a Fake in life.  Please understand that.   If something in your life doesn't work, change it and don't look back.   Take care of yourself and just keep moving forward.   Sooner or later, you will make a choice and stick to it until the very end but first you need to get there.  Too many good people that I know stay locked to a situation and waste portions of their life.  It's not worth it.  The worst thing in life isn't a waste of talent.  There's nothing worse than faking it through life because it's easier.  Stand up.  Change things.  Get better.  
I am a happy man at 31.  I have a great wife and a wonderful young ambitious kid.  Every night I get with them or him I feel like the luckiest guy in town.   I am good.  You need to get there if you are lost.  Trust me.  Get busy living or get busy dying.  Just don't take all fucking day.
That's it.  Really.  I'm cooking bacon for the wife when she gets home.  We are making Texas toast grilled cheese sandwiches with havarti cheese and bacon strips.  Adding some salad and wine to it.  That's a night at the Buffa House.  
The Following and Banshee.  Bed.  Wake up.  Do it again.  
Goodnight,
D. Buffa

Greetings,

Let’s get it out of the way.  Tomorrow I turn 31 years old.   There will be a party, a few friends, food, a football game to watch and fun to be had.  It’s nothing special.  Just another year in the chamber.  I’m still alive and kicking.  Walking and talking.   Making decisions, paying bills, working full time and building a passion project on the side.  I’m still a father and a husband first and foremost.  That is what I am.  Everything else I simply decide to do.   There are things that you are born to do and everything else just falls under the daily docket.  I love my life while I admit that it can improve but you won’t hear me complain.  I am healthy, out of danger, at home and full of opportunity.   The greatest thing in life is still and always will be free will and finding people who make you a better person.   That’s not just America’s call of duty, but the world’s.   We are free…until we let ourselves get chained up by possessions and problems.   My advice to you at 31 years is be your own person, seek freedom, have some fun but stay healthy.  Your body goes to shit and your scale in life gets tipped downward.  The Bullet Round begins now.  These things rarely get written in one sitdown.

Vinny Buffa Rant

The kid just woke up from his nap after only 100 minutes.  Usually, Saturdays are long nap days for Big V but today he wakes up early.  Ranting is on hold.  After two hours, cuddling, feeding, laundry and checking him for stinks and snots, Vinny is playing around the house and acting like a tazmanian drama queen.  Full of energy, spiked with ambition yet feeling the need to cry and bitch about when a toy doesn’t do what he wants or it doesn’t respond to a demand.   My man is 16 months old and only beginning to discover the cruelest joke in this world.   Nothing happens on a simple command.   While he plays I will get back to the leading part of this latest blog.

Super Bowl Thoughts

The Super Bowl will be a grindhouse bloody bare knuckle battle.  Two teams known for their bone crunching defenses and fierce running games will match wits tomorrow night.  I don’t carry a horse in this race but will watch with the excitement of a guy seeking a close battle worth a set of eyes.   Taking place in the city of comfort in New Orleans and inside the haunted heroic Super Dome, it is a fitting return for the palace that featured the end of the Greatest Show on Turf.    When Warner, Faulk and the Rams ran into a buzzsaw called Bill Belicheck, Tom Brady and The New England Patriots in 2002, nightmares came to life and a great wonderful enterprise ended.   Suspicion haunted one team while a doormat existence settled into the other while the Superdome itself was a cathedral of refuge for victims of Hurricane Katrina.  Tomorrow night, two teams coached by brothers will take over the field and blood will line the streets.   The Ravens are led by Ray Lewis, king of changing identities and massive controversy lined up with intensity and a marked past.   This is Lewis’ last stand and he won’t go down easy, deer antler spray or not.  Joe Flacco has quietly put together a career of taking down beloved quarterbacks.   This past month he has ended Andrew Luck’s rookie storm, Peyton Manning’s comeback and Tom Brady’s quest for salvation.   Flacco has been nearly perfect and will take on his toughest defensive test to finish the job.  If he wins a Super Bowl, he won’t receive as much credit as others on his team like Lewis or Ed Reed but football fans will take notice and release Flacco from the shackles of bland only good quarterbacks.  Win a ring and you get respect.   The 49ers will feature an array of veteran and young talent.   Defensive beasts(both from Mizzou) Aldon Smith and Justin Smith, who will chase Flacco all over the field.   Quarterback rookie sensation Colin Kaepernick, who stretches any defense with his ability to plant and throw, tuck and sprint, or pass on the move.   Kaepernick is my secret weapon in this game and the main reason I think the 49ers will pull this out in a close battle.  Frank Gore and Ray Rice will smash heads together and try to force the opposing defensive coordinators to readjust their schemes.  Coaches Jim and John Harbaugh will pull every trick they can out of their book of intense tactics in order to take the other down.  There are tons of story lines going on this weekend.   The Harbaugh’s is the main one and I respect these two guys.  While others label them whiny or too intense, I happen to think of them as two solid leaders who love to stand up for their players.   They are close with their dad and help save his small college football program years ago and that earns my respect as well.  It’s amazing the way people will toss labels on everything.   These are the two teams nobody thought would make it to the Super Bowl but let me correct the annoying coach honors.  That award goes to Belicheck, Pete Carroll and Rex Ryan.   The Harbaugh’s are good old fashioned football minds.   They are the spotlight this weekend.   I am excited to watch Colin take on the Ravens defense and find the holes.   I want to see who dominates the ground game.   Which defensive line will break through?   If it is San Francisco, then its big trouble for a pocket passer like Flacco and a huge task for a lineman like Michael Oher to protect him.   In my mind, the unbreakable skill set here is the guy who do it all on a field and surprise people at will and that is Colin Kaepernick.   He will throw and run all over the Ravens but this game will be decided by a leg and not an arm.   This is where my pick becomes risky.  David Akers had the worst season of his career as a kicker on the Bay.   Neither leg in this game is direct money so this may be the most compelling story of all.  Which kicker chokes and which one thrives on the big stage?  Akers or young Ravens kicker Justin Tucker?

My Pick-49ers 27, Ravens 24

Commercials are always a secondary delight.   No football turns on the game just for the commercials.  That time slot is dictated for beer and food filling station trips.  However, I will be looking out for the fresh movie trailer spots and a few honestly hilarious spots like The Rock’s “Got Milk” ad.  They don’t hurt if they are funny.  It’s always interesting to see what Budweiser comes up with.  Just like the game itself, these are the championship rounds for television advertisers.

A Look At The Cards-A Few Things Before Camp

Camp opens in 10 days, so let’s run down a small list of questions, demands and investigations…

*Why isn’t David Freese signed yet?  Get it done.  The ball is in the Cards court on this one.   They don’t want to hand a third basemen who cranked out 20 home runs, drove in 79 and hit .293 while playing a decent third base slot.   3.75 million isn’t that expensive WHEN compared to what other third basemen are making this year?   There’s a guy named A-Rod making 30 million who struggled to produce what Freese did.   David is clutch, local and proved his health and worth in 2012.  Get it down Cards.

*I have no faith in Jaime Garcia’s left shoulder.   A ligament and area that has caused the fragile Mexican to miss significant amounts of playing time gets no encouragement here.   He broke down in the middle of the 2012 season and missed 2 months.  He came back in September only to break down in the middle of a playoff round.  How many more wait and see rehabs will this team go through before they order a knife job on the shoulder?  He makes 7 million dollars in 2013 to make in my estimation 18 starts.   He will break down again and require surgery.  This is simple anatomy and physiology class here.  That shoulder is bound to tear and need repair.

*Why did we sign Jake Westbrook to a 9 million dollar deal again?  He tore his oblique muscle in September, missed the playoffs but we wanted to bring him back anyway.   This team is stocked with two rotations worth of pitching.  Why hand Westbrook 9 million when Shelby Miller, Joe Kelly and Trevor Rosenthal sit at your disposal?  I have a feeling this is linked to the Garcia worry foundation.   Westbrook isn’t a bad pitcher but never makes you comfortable for too long when he is on the mound.   He puts runners on base, throws a ton of pitches and creates anxiety.  He has never won more than 15 games and didn’t need to come back when younger cheaper talent could put together than record.

*Why did we sign Marc Rzepcynzski to a 1.1 million dollar deal?  He sucked big time in 2012 and that came solely from his lack of confidence in his breaking ball.   He doesn’t have the heat to blow away a hitter so if he doesn’t execute his off speed pitches, he is doomed.   Are the Cards trying to assemble 10 million dollars or wasted cash in two players or just having fun because Pujols isn’t around?  Sam Freeman is young and talented and could improve with more innings.   He could team up with Randy Choate(our big offseason sign so far) and get it done.   Not to mention the fleet of arms crowding the pen with Kelly, Rosenthal, Miller, Mujica(signed), Boggs(signed) and Motte(signed).  Scrabble didn’t do enough to earn a return trip.

*Ty Wiggington, Roger Cedeno and Choate may prove to be understated wonders in 2012 but I am still waiting on Mozelaik to make a move sometime this month.   He has a lot of pitching and a weak bench.  I don’t think he is done yet.  This team doesn’t need a lot but still could use a bench bat unless Kolten Wong and Oscar Taveras make the team earlier than expected.   Bench power was a big soft spot in 2012.  Wiggington and Cedeno don’t make it look much better.  And I threw Shane Robinson off a cliff so he is no longer available.

*People do forget how miraculous this team’s 2012 run was because they forget about the injury.   Without La Russa and Pujols plus a ton of key injuries, this team came within 1 win of the World Series before succumbing to the team of destiny.   Lance Berkman missed nearly the whole season.  Rafael Furcal missed 2 months.   Allen Craig and David Freese missed a month each.  Chris Carpenter missed the first 5 1/2 months.   Garcia missed 2 months.  Skip Schumacher missed 2 months.   Jon Jay missed nearly 2 months.  This team rarely fielded a full squad for three games in a row and nearly stole the show again.   Duly noted.

*I don’t think Lance Lynn owns the 5th spot in the rotation when camp breaks.    My feeling is Kelly or Miller will take it from him unless Mozelaik and Matheny hold up Lance Lynn’s run support inflated 18 win season in 2012 over the entire camp.   Lynn is a trade chip if you ask me.  Get something for him while he is valuable.  Shelby Miller is your longtime rotation answer.  Lance Lynn is a big band aide.  Just my thoughts.

*I expect Beltran, Holliday and Allen Craig to kill it this year.  Tons of power located in Busch Stadium this year and if our pitching keeps its legs beneath them, the Cardinals are a very dangerous team.

Blues Talk

They lost to the Red Wings last night in a bitter contest marked by inconsistent play and very bad referee calls but this team is still a pleasure to watch.   They erased a 2-0 deficit with two quick goals and took a brief 4-3 lead in the 3rd period against an angry Detroit team in Joe Louis Arena before allowing two strikes against their replacement stopper in Brian Elliot, who took net for an injured Jaroslav Halak.   The Blues are 6-2 on the season and those two defeats have come on the road in close battles.   That’s important to remember when assessing this team game by game.   How are they looking in the defensive and neutral zone?  How is their special teams work?  Do they play 60 minutes?  Can they compete on back to back nights?  The answers are all yes so far.   This team doesn’t quit and won’t win them all but will cause enough fucking trouble to make teams remember who they barely escaped.   A different kind of Blues team is taking shape before us.    There are 40 games left and the pace will only rise and with it the real test of these players.  They are young and have never played this many games so close together.   Who has endurance?  Patrik Berglund may finally be filling out the borders of his potential.   He has 5 goals, as does Russian sensation Vlady Tarasenko.  This team will score a lot of goals.  Every night.  Defense and goaltender health will be their difference makers.  We are good so far.  Take away a now defunct David Backes major penalty and the outcome may have changed last night.  That is how close these losses are and that is a positive development.

Rams and Rob Ryan Divorce before their Honeymoon Concludes

He wasn’t a real good find to begin with and was only a name based on his volume on the sidelines and his brothers.   Rob Ryan isn’t a bad defensive coordinator but was he worth his potential ship shaking trouble?  His best defense finished 19th and he ran a different scheme than the Rams 4-3 alignment.  Jeff Fisher got a call from Ryan on Monday and the two decided it wasn’t a good match.    The best thing about Ryan was his willingness to be honest.   The search will continue.

Bullet To The Head is a solid action 1980’s throwback and Sly Stallone proves that 96 minutes of brainless action still does the body good.   The film will tank and only gross around 6 million but I liked it.   It executed the promise of its trailer and that was it.  What Walter Hill and Stallone set out to do is what they accomplished and that was enough for me.  Far too many critics walk into films with higher expectations than required.  This was a guilty pleasure.  He has a long storied career and is smarter than many movie fans give him credit for.  He has two Oscar nominations, 25 screenplay credits, 8 directing credits and his scene at the end of First Blood is his Hall of Fame moment.   A long time ago, aka when I was born, First Blood was one of the first films to take a look at post traumatic stress when it dealt with John Rambo’s post Vietnam conditions.  He was great in that role and proved his acting chops at that very moment.   Find out more details by reading my full piece at the link below.

http://www.film-addict.com/news-and-reviews/on-a-role/item/1347-sylvester-stallone

Royce White Rant

Royce White is blaming his anxiety disorder for failing to play a game for the Houston Rockets.   The 2012 draft pick out of Iowa State was arguably the 5th best player in the draft but fell 20 spots because of his off court demands.   White has anxiety disorders, just like millions of people in this country, including my wife.   He is making 3.5 million dollars and trying to stage a crusade for mental health polices in the NBA to reform themselves.   If it sounds like bullshit and fragile souls, then you aren’t crazy like White.  Tons of people deal with his condition and clock in every day to work.   They just don’t make his millions while doing it.   He dominated Anthony Davis(#1 pick in same draft) in March Madness but can’t step on a court without a special doctor watching over his nerves.   Wow.  Hello 2013 drama.   White’s case is a slightly noble yet mostly futile mission.  He didn’t miss one game in college due to anxiety yet blankets his pro career with it.   Man’s a politician and he doesn’t even know it.   He will play sooner rather than later, at the exact moment the agent pulls the pacifier out of his mouth.

Papa Buffa Goes to Work

Since my dad only works weekends now, he is an asset to Film-Addict’s cause.  This past week, he watched an 11am screening at a local theater for me and left me a two minute voicemail that mainly consisted of him humping Al Pacino’s leg and recommending the film.   I wrote up a quick paragraph, registered him with the site and published it under his name.  This is versatility at its finest.  He watched it, I wrote it and he helped us out.   The funny part is me creating an email address for him since he doesn’t have one of his own and using that to create his Film-Addict ID, which is PapaBuffa54.   He grew up on movies like Stand Up Guys and introduced me to the fine arts of cinema, so I am putting him to work.

Banshee is my latest television crush.  A cinemax dark action drama with solid performances, blunt action and a good old fashioned anti-hero story anchored by the unknown Australian talent Antony Starr.   In it’s third episode, this series grabbed you by the throat.   Starr plays a long time con man who gets out of jail, goes back to his hometown, runs into trouble and ends up becoming the Sheriff of the town and butting heads with its corrupt suit, an Amish community gangster hiding his own past.   The show is relentless at times but has the ability to slow down and tell a wild tale of redemption and romance that contains brutal violence.  Alan Ball left True Blood to fire up this highly entertaining delight, so please take notice.

Listen to The National if you need a change of pace slow down folk rock cleanse.   These guys can really put together a song.

That is all I have tonight.   Thanks for reading.  Have a good night and week.  Catch me next time for more topical discussion.   It could be tomorrow or next Saturday.  I have no idea when I am going to set off.  I just know it will happen sooner rather than later.

If you have a message for me, send it to me here and avoid the bottle in the ocean trick.  It really doesn’t work.

Take luck,

Dan L. Buffa

You ever get the feeling that you don’t have a lot of time to get something done but it needs to get the fuck out of your head or you may explode and attack a person in the street?  Well, that’s my dilemma.  I’m catching fire right now so let’s scroll down the list of topics that are making noise in my head.  If there was a pill to make this urge go away, I’d take half and keep moving.  This will be fast, random and blunt.  Starting now..

Opening Round

• Stan Musial passed away at the age of 92 years old last Saturday at 545pm.   The true quintessential Cardinal was a staple on Opening Day and a man who truly was as great off the field as he was on it.   Musial won 7 batting titles, won a few World Series’ and collected more than 3,000 hits.   He also was a kind giant off the field.  He signed until the ink ran out in the zip code he was in and shook hands and greeted strangers.   Who else gets thousands of strangers to come to his memorial on Thursday night or to his mass today?  A legend.  He will get a highway, street and building named after him soon enough.    I was thinking to myself today if there was an overload of coverage on him a week after his passing and I reminded myself, “This is STAN FUCKING MUSIAL, asshole”.   Legends get this treatment.  Every time I think of Musial’s accomplishments and ability, I think of Albert Pujols’ stupidity in leaving this great city.   If he had stayed, Pujols would have accepted the key to the city from Musial last week when the elder statesman passed.  Instead, Albert looks 50 years old in LA and will keep declining.  That’s decisions for you.  Musial may have left if he had the free agent rights that Albert did but he did something more courageous than changing uniforms in a baseball league.  He took off the Cards jersey and put on a military one in 1945, fighting in World War II for the USA and returning to be the MVP in the World Series.   That’s Stan.  He defeated the enemies and came back and looked better than ever.  Take 5 minutes, look at Musial’s life and you will realize that you can’t write a story this great.   He will be missed, especially on opening day in 2 1/2 months.  Stan won’t be there riding up in a car, getting old, demonstrating his legendary batting stance, playing a few wicks of his harmonica and raising that hand to the crowd because it was something he wanted and needed to do.  Seeing Stan at Busch was a moment where for a little while the world seemed balanced and proud.   That is what he inspired.  Greatness, on and off the field.   He was a fire Marshall with that bat and glove, but he knew where his supporters were when he stepped out of the locker room.  He’d kill you with kindness, as one man said.   He would go 4-5 against a pitcher and take the guy out for dinner that night.  Stan was special and now he is gone.  Let the memorial construction begin.
• Rob Ryan as Rams DC.  This will be entertaining to say the least.  He’s a Ryan so he is animated, loud and in your face.   Jeff Fisher has a history with the Ryan’s so that’s the basis of the hire but it’s really a matter of shaking up the defensive presence.  Ryan took a 31^st ranked Cowboys defense and made them 19^th last year so there’s credibility here.  I can’t get over the fact there will be two Ryans in St. Louis(Tim is a lawyer in St. Louis city).  Fisher and Snead are making Rams relevant franchise once again.
• Blues aren’t just entertaining and talented.  They are serious playoff contenders.  Look at their first four games.   Two shutouts, one comeback and one near comeback.   2 Halak shutouts and an Elliot rescue.   The two goalie platoon gives them options.  Vlady “Frank” Tarasenko has 4 goals and draws all the attention once he hits the ice.  The kid wants to learn and matches the hype that got extended four months.  Oshie and McDonald also stand out and Ken Hitchcock has turned this team into a defensive juggernaut that suffocates teams in the neutral zone and strangles them before they can get set up in the offensive zone.  This team has become tactical.

More Cardinals Corner Action…

• Jason Motte 2 year deal is smart and worth the investment.  He proved his mettle in 2012 with a share of the NL lead in saves and is young and hungry.  Motte is the type of guy who won’t settle down with cash and giving me a 2 year safety package is smart, Mozelaik style business.
• What’s the holdup on Freese?  Why is 3.75 million dollars too much?  Why not go smaller and stretch out the term of the deal?  At this point, Freese wants security for those 60 year old ankles and has settled in as a clutch solid producing third basemen with platoon backup behind him.   I tweeted Joe Strauss when he reported the Cards and Freese are far apart on money and he told me to try and understand the arbitration process.   It’s simple.   Forgo it and sign Freese to a long term deal.  He’s been in the system for a long time, has proven to be a decent producing third basemen and wants 4 million dollars for his services two years after picking up this team in the World Series and a year after playing 25 percent more games and driving runners in and putting up good numbers.   What’s the problem, Mo?
• What’s wrong with Lohse?  Kyle is coming off the best year of his career, but can’t get a deal for his life.   That’s the tricky business of baseball and free agents.  Since the Cardinals offered Lohse a one year qualifying offer of 13 million, which he declined, the Cards were able to hold the rights to a draft pick from the team that signed him.  A high draft pick.   In 2013, teams are developing players more often and building up their farm systems so they don’t have to crash the market every winter.    Lohse is without a deal because the team acquiring him not only has to pay him 3-5 years and 12-15 million a piece but give the Cardinals a decent draft pick.   Hello reality for Mr. Lohse.  It also doesn’t help that his agent is probably demanding Matt Cain money for Lohse, who is a decent pitcher but will suffer if he is put in the wrong league, ballpark or team.   Just saying.
• The Reds will be our thorn once again.  With Aramis Chapman moving to the rotation and Jonathon Broxton moving to the closer spot, the Reds are taking a risk but getting more deeper in their pitching arsenal.   What if Chapman pans out as a starter and blazes a trail towards a Cy Young?   We are in trouble.   If he falters, the Cards could take the division in what is shaping up to be a two team battle.   The Cubs, Brewers and Pirates will be spectators.   The Reds and Cards will duke it out and in the end pitching will win this thing.   The Cardinals have plenty of it, especially in their rotation, so I expect us to push the Reds down sooner or later.  Health is the key as always.
• I think either Oscar Taveras or Kolten Wong will be playing every day with the Cards by July.  Too much talent to hold in Memphis and Matt Carpenter will back up Freese, Allen Craig and Carlos Beltran before he plays second base.   I don’t want to distract this guy from his wickedly strong bat with a ridiculous ploy for him to learn another position.   Let Daniel Descalso and Wong get the playing time at second and Carpenter be our universal backup.  Taveras will be on this team when Jon Jay slams into another wall or Beltran’s knees bark again.  The kids need the every day MLB experience.  They are profile future everyday players.

Film-Addict Quick Bits-

• I strongly recommend End of Watch on DVD.  It was my favorite movie of 2012 and the best cop film in years.  Need more details.  Go here.

http://www.film-addict.com/news-reviews/daily-dose/item/1267-end-of-watch-buffas-best-of-2012-breakdown

• Quartet works as a comedy and drama and harbors fine actors with witty accents and talent to spare.  If Dustin Hoffman makes more movies like this, I implore him to cut into his acting hours.
• Kathryn Bigelow took some fire for the Osama Bin Laden film, Zero Dark Thirty, and her credibility and craft were attacked.  Here is my problem with Academy voters and politicians barking at the intensity of the torture scenes in the film.   Have they ever heard of a motto called “Whatever It Takes”.   That was the mission when Bin Laden masterminded an attack that took more than 2980 lives in one day.  Also, Bigelow doesn’t exactly support the tactics used in the film, such as waterboarding, starvation and beatings.  She is simply telling a story, bluntly and without a shade to cover up the nasty stuff.  Why should she be attacked for that?  This is why America isn’t the greatest country in the world any longer?  We scare so fucking easy.   Yes we do.  Aaron Sorkin had it right in Jeff Daniels’ thunderous speech in the pilot for the brilliant HBO show Newsroom.  This country used to wave off the idea of the views other countries had of them or the whispers around the corner about our tactics.  We did what we had to do and didn’t care about the fragility.   Ask the people upset with Bigelow dishing it right this question.    When “talking and asking” the people involved in 9/11 didn’t work, what was their idea for the next tactic?   Tell me along with the families who lost someone that day.  The day we all got it wrong.  What else can you do without using force to get a fucking answer in the war against crime?  Did Bigelow show the CIA turning into the enemy in their interrogations?  You are god damn right she did and I applaud her for it.  She didn’t shade the screen or play it safe.  She was bold and practical.   They pushed us and we pushed back.   Story told.  People got in trouble when they thought the film reflected her beliefs. She promised to tell the full and complete story.  Mission accomplished.  Thanks goodness for filmmakers like Bigelow, Christopher Nolan and Ben Affleck.  They are a part of the “not fucking around crew” and we are better for it.  Let’s put the voter and the politician in the room with the 9/11 suspect and see what he gets out of “talking”.   If you ever get an inkling of why this country has gone soft, link it back to complaints like these.   Weak people hurt our country every day.  As you can tell, this subject gets me going so I’m jumping onto something else.
• Here is Bigelow’s article to the LA Times explaining her take.

  http://touch.latimes.com/#story/la-et-mn-0116-bigelow-zero-dark-thirty-20130116/

• Jason Statham’s new film, Parker, was a disappointment.  He is great and effective as usual and still is the quintessential action hero of our times but got stuck in a bad script, directing gig and casting round up here.   While a few quality fight scenes help, Statham looks half asleep in other scenes and Jennifer Lopez reminds us how far she has fallen in Hollywood.  All together, a disappointment for a Statham fan like myself and something to wait for DVD for moviegoers.  Go watch Silver Linings Playbook or Lincoln instead.
• The Last Stand, Arnold’s comeback film, delivers the action goods promised in the trailer.  It doesn’t let a dumb plot, B movie acting and cliched plot threads get in the way of glorious one liners, brutal red action and a play on Arnold’s age bringing down the house.   Go see The Last Stand to get a whiff of that old loving feeling of the 1980s action hero.

• For more go to http://www.film-addict.com

Cheating Section

• Here’s what I think about Lance Armstrong’s big confession.    He’s a fucking fake and its more than just his biking abilities that are torched here.   His efforts, image and promise to the millions fighting cancer that looks awfully lame right now.    It wasn’t a bad thing that he cheated and doped during his career or it at least wasn’t the worst thing.   He lied.  He flat out lied.  Save me the attempts to cover him with warm blankets by telling me he has cancer and an image to hold up.  He didn’t have dignity people and that will create a nasty taste in people’s mouth for a long time.  A few months ago, when his Tour De France titles were stripped, he refused to talk about it and stuck by his innocent stance.  Tons of evidence against him yet he stood strong.   Right then, I got a feeling he truly was dirty but didn’t speak on it.   Why?  We all want to think he is clean and a hero.   We hate the reality.  We hate what awaits behind the curtain of shame.  Rafael Palmerio, Mark McGwire and Marion Jones all denied using before eventually coming out and silencing the demons by admitting to cheating.   Armstrong is no different, cancer campaign or not.  He supposedly was the ringleader of doping.   He passed out enhancers and drugs to fellow riders and increased the cheating spectrum.   How is it okay to overlook that in order to keep some feeble dream alive?  We bought into the impossible and got burned again.
• Speaking of flashy decrepit cheaters, The Patriots choked up again last Sunday against the Ravens, bringing to an end the march of Tom Brady and Bill Belicheck to prove their innocence.  The two biggest cheaters in pro sports faltered in their efforts to sweep away memories of Spygate and I couldn’t be happier.   They deserve what they get.  They cheated, stole calls, robbed the integrity of the game and deserve to never win another Super Bowl again.   The Patriots are sore losers and always will be because they have to the cold conclusion that they can’t win a championship without cheating.   The blueprint for stopping Tom Brady is still the same.  Get pressure in his face and force him out of the pocket.  Brady can’t throw on the run and can’t run for his life.  When he is posting up in the backfield, he is deadly.   Get him moving and his skills get sliced in half.   He isn’t Ben Roethlisberger, Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, Cam Newton or Colin Kaepernick.   He can’t win a game with his feet and arm.   He is vulnerable, just like Peyton Manning is vulnerable once he moves around.  That is why we call them pocket passers.  Kurt Warner and Brett Favre were the same species.  The Ravens and Giants know how to beat Brady and have stopped him from advancing to a Super Bowl title four out of five times in the past 6 years.  He is a sad, boring, bitchy and robotic loser.  Same goes for Belicheck, the TV actor(helping his kids with their homework and not wearing a hoodie), who hates interviews because he can’t stand to explain how his team played like absolute shit.   He doesn’t surprise me and neither do the Patriots.  They are cheaters and big time losers.  Which will fans remember more?  The three Super Bowl titles with a stain on them or the years following where they couldn’t win another?   I know my answer.  Do you?

Safe(yet naughty) section-Random Bits that Fall Under A Smooth Blanket of Coolness

• Who else can say that Blues hockey will save this winter from absolute boredom?  After four games, I concur and one can say solely based on the surprising entertaining play of Tarasenko.   I imagine the excited kid sitting near his locker, slurping vodka, muttering to himself, “I’m going to score so many fuccccking goals on this lame phony douchebags(vodka glass emptied and slammed!”
• Cast Iron Oatmeal Brown Ale goes down smoother than you think.   STL brewery Four Hands is a quality beer maker.
• Casinos/Gamblers still make me laugh.  I celebrated my friend’s 30th birthday last week at Lumeire Casino and soaked up the atmosphere of losers.   Losers all of them.  When they win, they keep playing until they lose.   Case in point my friend Josh.  He wins big, and then loses it all.  I don’t get it.   It’s not just money.  It’s money and every cent counts.  I sat, smoked a cigar, drank Bud Select and enjoyed not having the urge.  These establishments are the end of our existence.
• My faltering need for beer is hard to avoid.  While I did down that Four Hands product listed above and drank at the casino, I rarely drink at home.   Bottles and cans just don’t do it for me and I am cutting out all the extra calories in my everyday consumption.   I have homemade beer from my good friend in Chicago and a case of Shocktop Winter Ale but I haven’t touched it.  There are painful moments when I let a beer die, or let it get warm.  Pouring a beer down the drain is like dropping dollars on the street.   Disgraceful and liberating at the same time.
• NFL playoffs have been a blast if you ask me.  No Rams but plenty of drama.  Flacco taking out Manning and Brady.  Kaepernick upsetting Wilson and Ryan.   Ray Lewis getting one more shot.  The Harbaugh bitches going head to head.   Next Sunday, my birthday as well, will feature a killer Super Bowl of unexpected teams.  Save me the Destiny’s Child performance.  I am not a fan and have to say this is the worst Super Bowl band ever.   Yes, they are worse than the Black Eyed Peas.   Led Zeppelin(or Robert Plant in particular) must have said no because those fuckers can still play and play very well.
• Physical labor work isn’t a goal.   That’s the idea.  If you mess up or avoid college, you will work in physical labor like myself.  I don’t look down on it or call it a horrible existence but there are days where I look down at my monkey suit uniform at Ronnoco and wonder if I could be doing better.  The economy is shit but that doesn’t mean you have to aim low.   Young people and aspiring minds, reach for the fucking stars.
• Archer is comic gold on FX.   There are so many one liners, dirty jokes, funny sequences and inside jokes about James Bond that 24 minutes a week is hardly enough.   Jon Benjamin’s voice work as the title character is legendary.
• The Vinny Chronicles continue.   He keeps doing more every day.   He is saying things now, like “Uh Oh!”  He likes to do something that he shouldn’t and look at you at the same time. He walks confidently and can take a punch.  He is, as one gym daycare lady calls him, “a real Tazmanian Devil”.   The kid likes to hug, pounce and throw his 31.5 pounds at you with as much force as a 16 month old can muster.   He is bigger than other kids and more intuitive as well.  He knows more than you think and also wouldn’t mind having some of your food dish.  He has the sweetest and most heartbreaking build up to a cry and actual cry of any baby ever(thanks mommy).   He can make a plaid shirt on khaki outfit go boom!  He wears wife-beaters underneath his shirts like his daddy and Rocky.   He can rock a buzz cut and not resemble a cornheaded kid aka he  is like his daddy.   He is patient at times and reckless at others.  He flings his head back to the floor like its made out of rubber instead of wood.  He doesn’t know what pain is.  Yet.  The fact that he knows who I am and feels a need to come give me a hug and ask for me gets me through the tough days.   He waits at the door like you are leaving.  Cries like you aren’t coming back.   Kids are indeed dependents.  They grow up too fast.  Hopefully Vinny doesn’t get there too fast.
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day reminds us what can be accomplished when one is willing to give their life to a cause.  The next time you ride a bus with a white or black person, share a work place, have a talk at Starbucks with or share a table with at a restaurant, think of Martin Luther King Jr..   He gave his life to see a belief go through.   He could have given up and stayed quiet.  The man had a dream and it came true.   Listen to his speech and try not to get fired up about what can happen when you become fearless.   When I think of him, I think of Abraham Lincoln.   Another man who willingly gave his life for a cause.   They don’t make these kind of men anymore or at least I haven’t seen one lately.
• Banshee is a cool, macho drama on Cinemax right now that goes down quite easy.   It’s raunchy, bloody and carries a cast of unknown actors who fit perfectly into their roles.  It’s about an ex-con who gets out of prison, runs through a small town called Banshee that he has ties to and through a series of crazy events, assumes the identity of their dead new sheriff.   Antony Starr is the lead and he is a grizzled Australian version of Statham when it comes to looks, action and command of the screen.  For the first time, here is a Cinemax series that might not suck.
• The Following is a seriously creepy and chilling new drama starring Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy as an Ex-FBI agent and killer.   The pilot delivered the goods on the promise that FOX finally took a page from their sister programmer, FX, and created a deeper more provocative and dark series.  Bacon is the agent brought back in to take down the serial killer he once put away.   Trouble and death ensues.  Bacon and Purefoy have instant good-bad guy chemistry and the first hour provides plenty of background and shocks to either hook you or see you off.   Give it a shot while it’s young.   As a hater of network series, I can tell you The Following is different in the best way.
• Justified returned to television two weeks ago and is my only MUST WATCH television right now.  The modern western drama gets smarter and more enjoyable with each passing episode.  Great acting, and the best line readings on the television front today.  Timothy Olyphant continues to amaze.  There’s a scene with a rattlesnake in the last episode that can classified under legitimately creepy and scarier than anything in theaters recently.  Fantastic need to watch series on FX.
• Bob Costas tells it like it is and is a great speaker.  His words at Stan Musial’s ceremony today were as gracious, powerful and quite emotional as they can get.  Watch here.  I may not agree with all Bob says through his days, but when he is right, he is dead on.

http://www.foxsportsmidwest.com/pages/video?videoid=dbe74e83-5141-4744-9c23-7dbb04706ffb&src=v5:share:sharepermalink:&from=sharepermalink

There isn’t much more to say without repeating myself.   It’s time to go now.  The hour is later than I thought.  My kid is in a weirdly timed nap and the wife is coming home soon.  There’s laundry to be done and food to be cooked.  A night to be had.   Still, an ambitious soul like my own, brimming with a need to inform, has time to come here and dish it for a couple hours.   Thanks for reading and goodnight.

-D. Buffa