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How quickly can someone move from sympathetic good guy..to colossal jackass?  Well just ask Carl Edwards (#99 in Sprint Cup racing).  Carl has a great deal going for him; he is young, good looking, graces the cover of Muscle and Fitness magazine regularly, once had a recurring role on the series 24, has a brand new baby, and really tries to portray the ah shucks (Eddie Haskell) persona when speaking to the media (oh yeah..he is also a pretty good race car driver).  I say “when speaking to the media”, because I believe he doesn’t quite have that same reputation with fellow drivers, and the reason for that was on display this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Early on in the race, Carl got into a little bump-em-up with Brad Keselowski, and ended up sitting in the garage for some 150 laps while his car was being pieced back together.  Now Brad is a Carl starter kit..young, good looking, strong racer, and in good position for a promising career.  However, also like Carl, he doesn’t have the best reputation amongst other drivers.  He is a really brash rookie, more than willing to put someone in the wall when it suits him.  So…a couple of disclaimers (as I can see PGTerrill’s head about to explode).  All good drivers have the knack of “moving” other cars out of their way, and won’t hesitate to do it when push comes to shove.  The difference here is that Brad 1) Is a rookie; 2) Doesn’t have an on/off switch for such driving.  He will wreck you on lap 20, just as quickly as on lap 200.

True to form, Carl says all the right things to the media…Geeze louise, I sure thought that was deliberate..but watching the replay it doesn’t look that malicious (or something to that effect).  And the race goes on..with Brad actually up in the top 10 or so with virtually no laps left.  The fandom will surely be siding with Carl after the race, afterall, the young rookie wrecked ol’ Cousin Carl..and went on to score a good finish..poor Carl.

So now we have Carl’s dilemma…once he get’s back on the track (with very little to gain by being out there)…what does he do?  He could choose to finish out the race as a non-factor and pay the kid back in a couple week (where it is expected to rub a bit more..given a slower more physical track).  NOPE…in a “what were you thinking?” moment, Carl takes not 1 BUT 2 runs at wrecking a top 10 car (so obvious that the camera shows his shiny white gloves jerking the steering wheel to the right each time).  The second time, he got what he was looking for (kinda).  Unfortunately for Carl, unlike his wreck, Brad ends up flying through the air, upside down and smashing into the wall.  RED Flag….safety crews rushing to the scene, Brad comes over the radio “I don’t know if I am ok or not”..and the crowd holds their breath, consider the sympathetic figure now reversed.

NASCAR promptly invites Carl to park his car and visit the principal’s office for a thorough tongue lashing, as Brad, in a dazed stumble, jumps into the back of an ambulance for the mandatory ride to the infield care center.  As he is being ushered to the woodshed, Carl continues to display his ass-ness, by rationalizing that Brad knows how they race and if that is how it is going to be, then that is fine…oh but I didn’t plan for him to fly through the air..and I am glad he walked away.  CARL…YOU FREAKIN’ MORON….SHUT UP!!! Dude..in two weeks you have a perfect track for payback…hell it is why they practically built the damn track..and you can’t hold your tongue any more than that……what is wrong with you!?!  To be clear, this type of thing happens all the time..but as most veteran drivers will tell you..there is a place and time for payback.  Atlanta Motor Speedway (where they regularly reach over 200 miles per hour) when you are a non-factor in a race AND where your enemy is a top ten car just isn’t it.

This should make for great theater in a couple of weeks in Bristol…something tells me NASCAR is going to tell both these gentlemen that if they so much as think about racing the other in something other than a gentlemanly fashion, they will find themselves in a world of trouble.  I guess time will tell.

~Cheers

PGBryan

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It’s that time of year when all eyes & ears turn toward the pampered, spoiled elite of Hollywood. We will be treated to a dazzling array of designer dresses that cost more than I make in a year and a never ending stream of soundbytes that will be played ad nauseum over the next two months. Yes, ladies & gents, it’s Oscar time. This Sunday, we will witness the 82nd Annual Academy Awards and be righteously indignant that our favourite film did NOT win the best picture category despite being overwhelmingly the best film of the year. This year, I think that the indignation will be more rife & relevant than in previous years, because this year is the year they increased the field from a manageable five nominees to a mind-numbing ten. In addition to that unprecedented change, they have modified the voting rules. No longer will the voting Academy members cast a single ballot for Best Picture. Nope. Now, they will rank each picture in order best to worst. The ballots will then be judged on a sliding, preferential scale which could easily mean that a movie with no clear majority could take away the Best Picture statuette. This will surely set indignant tongues wagging througout the blogosphere & likely send Perez Hilton into apoplexy. You can read all about the new set of rules at The Wrap because I’m not going to take the time to put to paper the ponderous system they’ve set in place when The Wrap has done such an admirable job of deciphering and translating the Byzantine voting structure. Instead, I will lay out, in order from Worst to Best the ten Best Picture Nominees for these 82nd Academy Awards.

10. An Education: I don’t think this picture even deserves to be in this list. Any movie that doesn’t show at a theatre within 100 miles of my house, can’t be a contender for Best Picture.

9. The Blind Side: I’m a Sandra Bullock fan. I really am. But, really? Do we need a weepy, sports sob-story as a Best Picture winner? Especially since it did such an incredibly poor job of actually, you know, telling the true story?

8. Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire: Didn’t see it. Didn’t want to see it. Shouldn’t win.

7. A Serious Man: Really? Are you serious? Why is this movie in this list?

6. Up in the Air: I liked this movie. I think both of the actresses in the film were outstanding and George Clooney did a fine job (but, I would imagine it’s not so much of a stretch for him to play a womanizing hard-ass). The girls deserve their nominations for their roles. The movie is most definitely not an Oscar contender.

5. Up: Rave reviews all over the place. But, there’s only been one animated movie ever to take Best Picture, and let’s be frank, this is not Beauty & the Beast.

4. The Hurt Locker: Never came to my hood. I wanted to see it. I’ve heard excellent things about it.

3. Avatar: The most expensive B-movie ever made. Weak, predictable, rehashed plot with some seriously kick-ass special effects. It should win in the special effects category, or possibly in the “Most Overdone Theme” category, but Best Picture? Nah. Not really.

2. Inglourious Basterds: Seriously. This was the 2nd best movie I saw all year and probably sits well inside my top 10 of all time. Even with a mis-spelled title, this movie has some serious chops. Great direction, superb acting (if Christopher Waltz doesn’t take Best Supporting Actor, I’m giving up on the Academy completely), brilliant plot & message and an overall enjoyably kick-ass piece of celluloid. Definitely deserves to be in the list and I wouldn’t be too upset if it wins.

However.

This last movie was hand’s down the best movie I saw all year and is my 2nd favourite movie of all time (sitting behind Danerous Liaisons). This is an incredible movie from start to finish and well deserves to be in the list and take it all home.
1. District 9

There you have it.
Let the indignation begin…now.

~PGK

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Celebrate March 2nd!

As most of you know I am a proud Texan. In fact, I am a 7th generation Texan. I can honestly say that my family gave blood for this land. So I hold today in particular honor and proudly spread the word to those of you who may not have been born in or grown up in the Great State of Texas. Today, March 2nd, is Texas Independence Day!

Now a lot of you may not understand and perhaps you find it silly or arrogant that Texans celebrate an Independence Day other than July 4th. If you do, I think it is because you don’t know the story about how Texas was born and what was endured to secure its freedom. I encourage everyone to read up on this fascinating history or even better… ask me about it at the next PubGuys.
To leave you with just a taste I present you the famous Alamo letter written by Colonel William B. Travis on February 24, 1836.

To
The People of Texas
and
All Americans

Commandancy of the Alamo—
Bejar, Fby. 24th 1836—

To the People of Texas &
all Americans in the world—

Fellow citizens & compatriots—I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna—I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man—The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken—I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls—I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & every thing dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch—The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier
who never forgets what is due to
his own honor & that of his
country—  Victory or Death
William Barret Travis
Lt. Col. comdt

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