In these Off-season Open Threads, I’ll sum up the week that was, provide you with TMI-style information, and throw some random spaghetti at the wall and see if it sticks.
Tonight is a bit different because I’m sticking my AFL season preview in this post instead of making it a separate post.
This week, I started a new workout program, arrived late for work at least twice (not due to traffic, mind you. I simply overslept.), did some filming, and was on TV talking about projects.
It was very productive.
BTW, I suggest to you that when you are late for work, you do not apologize and simply say, “Yes, I’m late but I’m worth it.”
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This year’s AFL season starts on March 7 (Wednesday Night/Thursday morning) with a weird Round Zero. There will be four games in Round Zero. The teams that play in those games will then have a bye in Rounds Two, Three, Five, and Six. Then, there will be more byes around mid season. So, those 8 teams will actually have two byes.
The game schedule is as follows (all times Pacific):
March 7, 2024
12:30 AM – Sydney Swans v Melbourne Demons at the SCG
March 8, 2024
12:40 AM – Brisbane Lions v Carlton Blues at The Gabba
9:20 PM – Gold Coast Suns v Richmond Tigers at Heritage Bank Stadium
March 9, 2024
12:30 AM – GWS Giants v Collingwood Magpies at GIANTS Stadium
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Clearly, the Match Of The Round is the Giants-Pies clash because it’s the defending champion (Collingwood) going into BFC’s home turf. It is also a rematch of last year’s Preliminary Final in which the Pies barely beat the Giants to get to the Grand Final. In that occasion, they won by one, the smallest margin of victory in their entire finals run.
Do yourself a favour and click on the links to BFC’s posts about his trip to Australia and the games he went to see. I’m still jealous but very happy he was able to do it.
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As I mentioned above, the Collingwood Magpies are the defending champs. They beat the Brisbane Lions, who had beaten the Carlton Blues in the other Preliminary Final. In the Semi-Finals, Carlton had beaten Melbourne and GWS had beaten Port Adelaide. That was, of course, after GWS had beaten St. Kinda in one Elimination Final while Carlton had beaten Sydney in the other.
Here is last year’s ladder:
- Collingwood
- Brisbane
- Port Adelaide
- Melbourne
- Carlton
- St. Kinda
- GWS
- Sydney
- Western
- Adelaide
- Essendon
- Geelong
- Richmond
- Fremantle
- Gold Coast
- Hawthorne
- North Melbourne
- West Coast
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Who will be good this year? I don’t know, but there were a LOT of changes!
Oh, and there was this little thing about a NEW TEAM IN TASMANIA!
Yes, the Tasmanian Devils are going to be a thing!
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Your weekly Psych gif:
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Your weekly hot girl pic:
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Your weekly music video:
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I’m assuming there are sports on tonight, but honestly I don’t care.
Today’s Historical Event:
Where were you and what were you doing when the Rodney King verdict was announced and the LA Riots of 1992 started?
I was in college at UCLA living in an apartment off fraternity row on the west side of campus. I think I’ve told this story before. The highlights:
A failed attempt at visiting the Hollywood Tropicana for oil and mud wrestling. “Oh, look! Another dumpster on fire!”
Running over a bicycle on the freeway in The Valley. “It will be safer to come back through The Valley than taking the 10!”
Going to Zuma Beach when school got cancelled. “Back way through Sunset and then PCH. No one is rioting in Malibu!”
What say you? Where were you and what happened where you were when the LA Riots broke out? What did you loot?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAiMLoJNk60
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtmxTj9pKqg
You’re up late, I’m up early-what the hell is going on?
I’m up early (I’m on the east coast right now)
What are you going to get done today?
Cut and paint wood to mount two solar powered external security lights on masonry; cut wood to mount two internal electrical outlets on masonry; install two stainless steel handrails on a tile bath shower; drink another cup of coffee.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaZhnNlutuQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWxMJnS7JRk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0DiM2LW2sE
LOL Ice Yinz
Ice Stillers is the preferred nomenclature
I’ll be BOTG on the 16th for an Ice Stillers game. Should be entertaining
Fuck ‘em!
I misplaced my Hippo transciber this evening.
Think the fun’s over.
1992? We were living in Groton. Gumby’s boat was doing trials, and I was working at Foxwoods. I remember watching the riots on tv and thanking my lucky white stars I didn’t have to experience that mess. Why can’t we all just get along indeed?
Thank fuck the 2008 election of Barack Hussein Obama righted all racial wrongs, until the end of time.
Can you dig it? Right on!
I first saw that moviefilm at an official NC State Blaxploitation film festival. Perhaps it was not intended for White Devils like myself, but I sure as fuck enjoyed it.
I later learned that my parents actually saw it in theatres when it came out. Which…I did not expect. My folks were not Das Raycess, but very straight-laced.
“Can you dig it?” Is from The Warriors (1979).Not exactly the Blaxploitation genre. What movie are you talking about?
Shaft!
Right on
Okay, yeah I see it now. It’s in both of them, but I like Cyrus’s “Can you DIG IT???” at the big street gang convention in The Warriors.
I’m trying to watch all the nominated movies this year and I’m only missing 2 right now.
My favorite so far was American Fiction.
I hope that’s OK for an elderly white man.
Great script. Just a wonderful film.
One thing to consider, and maybe it’s a subject for another post:
OJ Simpson was found not guilty precisely because of the LA Riots of 1992.
The OJ verdict was announced in 1995. The city was still recovering from 1992. The feeling was that if Simpson was found guilty, there would be another riot. If I recall correctly, the city went on Tactical Alert on the day the verdict was announced.
The jury was primarily made up of black women. There was no way he was getting convicted.
It was a classic makeup call.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CR8u-2TKb0
Didn’t hurt that they had the trial in Simi valley either.
Simi Valley was the Rodney King trial and was primarily white jurors. Hence the verdict against the black people.
The OJ trial was in DTLA and primarily black jurors. Hence the verdict for OJ.
I came to my law school class the day of the acquittal, and struck the Heisman pose. Hey, one of my buddies laughed!
Where was I? Lemme see… I was First Sergeant of a company of instructors teaching Ranger students desert tactics and survival at McGregor range NM (Ft. Bliss).
It was hot there also, but it was a dry heat.
Ciao tutti, buona Dominica.
My brother was stationed at Ft. Bliss for three years. He was trained as a Hawk missile mechanic, but spent all of his enlistment as OPFOR, running around playing Army and attacking units that were out in the field. He mentioned that it was a tad bit warmish.
My neighbor was a Hawk missile instructor until the Army finished with the, by then, training of foreign troops on that system. They reclassed him as an E7 to EO.
Where was I during the Riots? I was 7 and living in Bridgeport Connecticut. I have zero recollection of anything about that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1dPKfxRhk0
Fuck yes.
Kinda strange how well this song’s message aged
For the OJ thing I had just brought my whole damn family up from San Diego to LA for my new job.
Oddly enough the house we lived in is about 75 yards from where I’m living right now as we goddamn speak.
It was not an easy task delivering microfiche to downtown LA at that particular time.
This city had a righteous burn going on.
We had so much smoke from the burning you could see it from south Orange County. Right about San Clemente your brain said why the fuck am I driving into that?
OH and to answer Balls’ “where were you” query, I was working at my first post-college job at an insurance company (had to wear a suit with a WHITE shirt every day…for 25k a year) in Orange County (near Huntington Beach), so the riots were a whole-ass county away.
However, my girlfriend lived in Long Beach (home of D-O-Double G) and when I went over to her place, we could see smoke from a few miles away. So…”Hey, let’s just go to Vegas” and we arrived late that night with no hotel plans (pre-internet) but that was never really a problem back in the day.
Spent a couple days drinking and gambling as opposed to dealing with the reality of the riots and what they meant and how it all started. Which was for the best.
Fyi you are neither legally nor contractually obligated to answer any of Balls’s questions.
Don’t we have a fuck ton of lawyers on here to reiterate this?
That’s not what my high-priced lawyer Alina Habba said.
I’ve been thinking and I just can’t recall. I was in college, I know that. I think that was when I talked to one of the Black dudes on my hall about what it felt like to experience the “driving while Black” phenomenon. But that might have been from a more general conversation.
That’s a great way to deal with it!
Really. Excellent plan.
I was a sophomore in high school in Montana. Barely registered as a blip there.
Matt Rempe doing his best to bringing fighting back to the NHL
https://twitter.com/MissinCurfew/status/1764119183636443360
Which will inevitably lead to his developing CTE and all sort of neurological issues.
Dude is going to have a short career. He needs to stop this narrative ASAP.
Exactly. I think it’s his sixth fighting major in 7 games
He’s 0-2 in the fights I’ve seen and eats some hellacious shots.
I’d probably put him at 4-2, 3-3 through 6. Not exactly the rate you want to be at.
Before anyone makes fun of BFC for watching preseason Aussie Football you should be aware that I’m watching the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles play the South Sydney Rabbitohs in what I’m almost certain is a game of rugby.
I do not know the rules, do not understand the terms being used, and frankly have trouble understanding the “convict English” accent the Aussies use.
It’s great.
I trust all y’all will let Hippo know if and when the Carlton Dance is warranted.
Not me. I have no idea what’s going on. Apparently a “try” is good.
So…we should make fun of both of you. Got it.
Georgetown is just really, really not very good at basketball.
They’s gonna make Ed Cooley’s hair get even MOAR fucked up.
Isn’t that cop in the somewhat fuzzy gif the same dude who was the big bad in Die Hard 2: Die In An Airport?
That ass!!!!
Man, I hope you’re not yelling that at another swim meet.
We are all on enough lists as it is.
Nothing like a Saturday night at home, drinking tea and watching hockey.
The tea is a black jasmine tea. The hockey is a small purple dragon (as Senorita Weaselo is playing Spyro 2).
Fuck the leafs. That is all.
Not gonna lie, St. Kinda is my personal patron saint!
That’s so hilarious, I’m not fixing my typo.
I legit thought you did it on purpose. They any good? Kinda.
It is wunnerful!
Ayo, want to do an F1 post for next Saturday morning? I want a week off from futbol.
“Verstappen’s gonna win like every race because the Red Bulls are hilariously good.”
That’s the post. Maybe throw in a “these new courses suck” in there.
Yes, but my initial outline has 6 different topics to cover!
Also we use the song as a wedding intro.
Back to back Sexy posts? I’m in!
Also, I assume the pill shipment will be delivered on time
Balls, what’s the new workout program?
Always looking for some to try
Chasing that girl in the bikini.
Is phase 2 when Richard Simmons chases you?
It’s called Iron Curtain and it’s based on a Soviet Bloc-type of training without the steroids.
Four weeks. Four workouts per week. Usually, it’s 1,2,Rest,3,4, Rest, Rest but you can switch it up.
The distribution of volume is low reps but more sets(5 sets of 5 reps per exercise is max) but heavy weight. You lift a percentage of your one rep Max and the lowest percentage is 65% with it going up to 92.5. Percentages change through the weeks. Each workout has about 5 different exercises in it. Rest periods are short. 90 seconds in between exercises/sets/reps.
Exercises include squats, bench, and full body exercises.
If you’re interested, let me know and I can get you more details.
My shoulders both developed SLAP tears just reading that.
It includes overhead press and push press. My shoulders have gotten super strong.
Mine are just waiting to betray me at this point.
My younger brother just had one replaced. Not recommended.
Thanks
I usually workout alone, and only have 150lbs of total weight, 2 adjustable dumbbells that go from 5 to 75lb each, so don’t think this is a program for me. And not sure what any of my 1 Rep maxes are and while there are apps for it, I’m trying not to hurt myself.
I’ve been trying to double up on exercise for the muscle to fatigue it. So for shoulders I do latter raises for like 10 reps and then go right into a shoulder press. So less weight then usual on the press but still a good burn
I’ve done programs with light weights. The trick is to minimize the rest time (like 30 seconds max). You’re not going to grow a lot because you’re not overexerting the muscle, but it’s a really good way to burn fat and get lean. You will then look better because the loss of fat makes the muscle stand out more.
I tore a rotator cuff doing lat pulls, does that count?
The GWS-Gold Coast preseason game got me pretty pumped about the Giants’ prospects this season IF (as always) they can stay healthy.
Shocked no one is making fun of me for watching preseason Australian football….
Why would we do that when we have so many other reasons?
I’m emailing Geelong because I haven’t received my Watch AFL activation code. I’d be watching right there with you.
That jogging lady in the gif makes every bathing suit a thong.
/solemn nod
//not breaking sight of gif
It’s mesmerizing
Did two loads of laundry around a decent enough depression nap. Putting off lining up new booky-books in library request queue because I’m just that fucking lazy.