Game 1 - World Series - Unpredictable!

I’ve been watching baseball for a really long time and last night goes to show you, just when you think you know the game, you truly don’t.  I guess that’s what’s so great about baseball.  You just never know.  I along with many others thought last nights game would be a pitcher’s duel.  No way would this game be a slugfest where both teams score 18 runs and 25 hits, but that is exactly what happened.  The best pitcher of the postseason the last two years, Cliff Lee, lasted only four and two thirds innings while the great Tim Lincecum lasted only an inning more.  I really thought we’d see an exciting pitcher’s duel but instead I was kept up most of the night by an exciting hitter’s duel.  Maybe it’s me, but baseball (and I guess to an extent sport’s in general) is just unpredictable.

Doesn’t that make it great though?  When you think you have it all figured out, games like this happen.  If you had told me before the game that it wouldn’t be a pitcher’s duel and that one team would score 11 runs and get 14 hits, I would have guessed that team was the Rangers.  The Giants were one of the lowest scoring teams in the league, the team is built around their pitching so there is absolutely no way I saw this coming.  Great game and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

Who said it wouldn’t be an exciting series?  I was truly into the game last night like it was my own team.

1.21 GIGAWATTS!!!!

I’ve come to the conclusion that they just don’t make movies like they used to.  Last night some friends and I attended a 25^th anniversary showing of Back to the Future.  Maybe it’s the nostalgia or maybe it’s the fact that movies used to be original, fun and magical.  I wasn’t old enough to see this movie when it was first released, I do remember seeing part three in the theaters but when part one was released I was only five years old.  I missed out and that’s why these showings are so special and fun.  Maybe it’s me, but more movie theaters should screen older movies.

Not only for my benefit because the theater I saw it with was a packed house.  I would say 85% full and into the movie.  This was the second showing, the first happened on a Saturday night and I’d be willing to bet they had the place full to capacity on Saturday.  Think about it, it was a Monday night showing of a twenty-five year old movie opposite a really good Monday Night Football game with the Cowboys vs. Giants and they had 85% capacity.  The Giants are huge here in Connecticut so to me that’s pretty impressive.  I never expected the theater to be even half full.  Not only was it full, people were into it.  There was one guy dressed in full Marty McFly gear.  While I would never do it, the inner nerd in me was pretty impressed.

There was hardly any promotion for this showing as well.  I found out through a movie website that AMC was re-releasing the movie for its 25^th anniversary.  I then did a search in CT for AMC theaters and was lucky enough to have one 25 minutes away.  I didn’t see AMC promoting it at all and if it wasn’t for the movie site I visit, this experience would have been missed by me.  I think it’s a shame they didn’t get word out, obviously they didn’t really need it as they still had a packed crowd but think of how many more people they could have gotten.

Please movie executives, bring back the classics!  People will come.  Maybe it’s me, but I think there’s a market out there for older movies.

Update on Friday Night

This is more of an update than an actual post today.  As you all know I went to a late night showing of Paranormal Activity 21 on Friday.  I wanted to let everyone know that my theater experience was average and I think I will stick to matinees and day visits to the movies because people just don’t care.  About twenty minutes into the movie about 4 out of control teens came in and carried on like special kids and disrupted pretty much everyone in the theater.  After that, just had people constantly talking or laughing at spots in the movie where there really shouldn’t have been any laughing.  Just some dumb idiots I’m sure but it took away from the movie.

On the plus side, the movie was good and overall my experience wasn’t horrible say for some select moments.  Seeing a horror movie in a packed theater can be fun and mostly everyone was good but still, we have some ignorant assholes screwing it up.

Movie – 7/10

Movie Experience 4/10

Movie Theater Experiences

I can’t wait to see the new movie coming out this Friday, Paranormal Activity 2 but at the same time I’m dreading it.  I don’t know if you’ve been to the movies lately, but I’ve almost completely given up on seeing a movie opening night due to horrible movie theater experiences.  Instead, I now opt for a Saturday or Sunday matinee or if I can, a weekday showing.  Movies are far too expensive to sit in a theater with immature, inconsiderate assholes.  Basically you pay $15 for a ticket, then possibly another $10-$15 on snacks, so $30 to sit in a crowded theater with dumbass kids and old ignorant idiots that obviously are rich because they could not care less about the movie just isn't for me.  I don’t understand this at all.  There must be a lot of rich people out there because when I got to the movies I see a lot of people basically throwing $30 down the toilet.  Maybe it’s me, but if I pay $15-$30 to see a movie I actually plan on watching it.

Maybe it’s the theater but in my area, there is really only 1 major movie complex in a 20 mile radius so it’s very popular.  My friends and I used to attend a movie almost every weekend but with the theater etiquette we started experiencing it turned us off and we almost never go.  If we do go, it’s a matinee and I have to say, it’s just not the same.  I’m a fan of seeing movies in theaters because seeing it in a packed theater with a controlled crowd can add to the experience but nowadays people are more interested in talking on the phone, talking amongst themselves or just plain fooling around than paying attention to the movie.

I was a kid once, and believe it or not I can not recall ever acting like these fools do nowadays.  Granted I didn’t have half the technology to distract me (iphones, cellphones, etc.) but I was always into the movie.  I shouldn’t say always because there are times I was making out or doing other x-rated things but I always did it in a politely DISCREET manner.  Lately, kids just don’t give a shit.  I can’t tell you how many times, my friends and I have had to tell someone to shut the fuck up in a dark movie theater.  Then in a moronic twist of events, they get mad at us for yelling at them.  You’re at a movie you idiot, shut up.  If you want to talk with your friends, go to Denny’s.

Old people are bad too.  If you’re too old to follow the movie and have to ask the person you’re with more than once what’s going on, get the fuck out of the theater.  How hard is it to follow a movie?  Just shut up and pay attention.  Half of these old people shouldn’t even be allowed out of the house let alone DRIVING and SITTING through a two hour movie.  My parents aren’t even that old but they drive me crazy with this.  They’ll have full conversations about a certain actor or actress or about parts they missed.  Drives me crazy!  It’s to the point where I avoid going with them to not be grouped in with the assholes.

Now that it’s off my chest, I’ll just cross my fingers we don’t have any idiots at the Friday showing I plan to attend.  This will determine if I just give up entirely on premiere nights and become a matinee person.  Maybe it’s me, but can’t people just watch the movie and shut the fuck up!

Facebook Bitching!

Yeah, I know.  Double post but there is something I really need to get off my chest.  It has to deal with Facebook and all the people that feel it’s appropriate to air out their private thoughts and feelings.  My wife has a cousin that totally blasted his uncle on Facebook last night and not only was it inappropriate but it was also disrespectful and something that should be talked about in the privacy of family not to the entire media population of the world.

This is not the only instance of this I noticed.  In fact, I have a “friend”, it’s really more of an acquaintance than a friend but you can’t separate them on Facebook.  He’s the type of friend where if I see him, we’ll say hi and chit chat a little bit but I’m not going to seek him out to hang out or talk to everyday.  They type you see every so often and you’re friendly but in reality you could give two shits about.  We all have them so don’t act like you don’t think the same thing.  Can’t Facebook come up with something to separate all your “friends”?  Some type of separation with, “friends”, “acquaintances”, and even “enemies”.  I’d love to see an enemies section on there.  You know the saying, “keep your friends close but your enemies closer.”

Anyway, back to this acquaintance.  He pretty much had a nervous breakdown on Facebook last week and while entertaining it was annoying and quite frankly a little sad.  He was obviously having ladies issues but felt the need to air out all these problems for his “friends”, family and acquaintances to see.  It got to the point where his real friends were posting to cut it out and the girl he was talking about was telling him to stop posting stuff.  It was a real live Facebook soap opera!  Again, entertaining but embarrassing.  In fact, I don’t know if I could look this kid in the face if I see him again.  I would take him off my “friends” list but I don’t want his next post to be blasting me….

I don’t know what these people are thinking.  A lot of people are doing it and not only is it embarrassing to the people posting but it’s embarrassing to the people it’s about and it’s something that should be handled privately.  Please stop putting personal grudges, personal feelings and overall your personal shit live on Facebook for the world to see.  Instead, try this, pick up a phone and have a conversation.  Trust me, it’ll work out a lot better in the long run and will make you look like a grown up instead of a twelve year old girl in grammar school.  Maybe it’s me, but some things should be kept PRIVATE!

Performance for the Ages

What a great pitching performance again last night in baseball.  I’ll take a great pitching duel over a slugfest any day and boy was I treated to something special last night.  Cliff Lee was fantastic and I think we have to give it to him as the best postseason pitcher of the last two years.  He has been so lights out in the postseason the last two years it’s not even close.  He’s like that one pitcher in little league that makes everyone just look stupid.  It’s seriously unreal what he is doing and I’m astonished every time I see him pitch.

Then yesterday, we see him up against arguably the best postseason pitcher in the history of the game, Andy Pettitte.  He was brilliant as well, making really only one bad pitch to Josh Hamilton.  He amazes me too because the last two regular seasons he’s been very average, but in the postseason, he’s masterful.  He just knows how to pitch in the playoffs.

I remember at one point in that game saying, damn!   Someone open the game up so I can go to bed, it’s almost eleven!!!  Then the Yankees took out Andy and the Rangers proceeded to piss all over the Yankees bullpen.  I was a little relieved as I could finally turn off the T.V. but what a great 8 innings of baseball last night.

Maybe it’s me, but give me a good pitching duel over anything in sports.  Truly captivating.

That's What She Said...

I always thought that a joke at some point will get old and not as funny any as they originally were.  Then, the “that’s what she said” joke came around.  God that joke never gets old.  Seriously, it’s always funny.  I was thinking about it yesterday while watching football with some friends, it just never gets old.  No matter who says it, when it’s said and how many times it’s said, it’s just as funny as the first time.

Before I go any further I guess I should explain the joke in case you’ve been under a rock somewhere playing with Osama and oblivious to pop culture the last few years.  The “that’s what she said” joke is basically when in casual conversation someone says something sexually provocative or sexual in nature by accident or unknowingly, usually a male but it can still be funny when a woman says it.  Then after it’s said, you immediately say, “That’s what she said”.  Here are some examples (from yesterday in fact).

My buddy is eating a kielbasa and actually says, “Man, that’s some good kielbasa!”  I then without missing a beat say, “That’s what she said”.  Room erupts in laughter (even from the ladies).  My buddy just shakes his head and chuckles.  Maybe an hour later, an announcer on TV says something to the effect of “wow, great penetration”, my buddy without missing a beat, “that’s what she said”.  Again laughs.  But the best one had to be later on when I was putting the garbage out for pickup in the next morning.  The garbage was in the garage and I had to have my wife move the car so I could get it out.  I said, “Babe, I need you to pull out”, my buddy says, “That’s what she said”.  CLASSIC!!

It then proceeds to go on all day long and it never gets old.  It will always get a laugh and whoever can put the “that’s what she said” on the best non-sexual comment, gets the biggest laugh.  Maybe it’s me, but some jokes just never get old, in fact the longer you keep it going the better it is….

That’s what she said!

WTFF! - What the F&@k Friday!

WTF Friday!  You ever look at a news story and just scream WTF!!!  Well, it seems there’s something in the news every week that just makes no god damn sense.  This week’s is this article (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101008/od_nm/us_lennon_fingerprints) on the FBI seizing John Lennon’s fingerprints before an auction.  I know the article is from late last week but I still can not get over it.  It seems the FBI thinks it’s important to seize a fingerprint card of John Lennon from his citizenship card from 1976.  I’m not sure why this is a top priority as Mr. Lennon has been dead since 1981.  Not only did they waste tax payers money in the seizure of this “important” document but think of the time they’ve wasted seizing this useless document.  I hope there was no new information on a terror attack that day because the FBI had their hands full seizing the fingerprints of a man that has been dead for almost 30 years!!!

I get that they are investigating how it came into the private collection of a civilian but are we really that concerned?  If the federal government had been auctioning it off, would it have been ok?  It just seems really silly to waste our tax money seizing a document that clearly holds no real importance to the government.  Maybe to make some money, the government should actually hold an auction on items like this.  Think of how much we could deflate the national debt by selling fingerprints and artifacts that they have in their possession.  Hell, they were going to get $100,000 or more for the fingerprints, just imagine what confiscated items from other celebrities and criminals could bring in.

Maybe it’s me, but I think the FBI and the government have better things to do with their time and money then to hunt down useless documents from dead celebrities.  They have no clue were half the terrorists are, can’t locate weapons of mass destruction, but don’t worry their hard at work collecting memorabilia from celebrities, man do I feel safe….

Parking Lot ROBBERY!

I was lucky enough to get a ride into work today by my wife so I escaped the robbery or I like to call it raping of parking in downtown Hartford.  I know that may be a bit harsh to describe the price to park downtown of a major city but that’s what I feel like happens to me every time I hand over my five dollars.  Now I know what you’re saying, “why is he complaining about five dollars a day?  That doesn’t sound so bad?”  Well, I park a half mile away in an open lot with no cover from the elements in a parking lot with broken concrete and pretty much gravel flooring.  Not only that, but the “lot attendant”  who is supposed to be supervising the entire lot looks like a pot head who I know goes around and tries the handles on all the cars to see if he gets lucky and someone leaves them unlocked.  I caught this guy doing this one morning when I forgot something in my car and had to go back to retrieve it.  He was lurking around my car and I saw him try one of the back doors.  I asked him what he was doing and he acted like he wasn’t doing anything.  I tried to find a different lot but unless I want to pay anywhere from 8-25 dollars a day, this shady ass lot will have to do.  Maybe it’s me, but it’s too god damn expensive to park downtown in major cities.

By the way, I work in Hartford, CT and the parking lot in question is located at corner of

Morgan St.

and

Main St

.

(also an entrance at

Chapel St

.

), stay AWAY!  The problem with this scenario is that I know it’s not exclusive to the city I work in.  I recently visited both Baltimore, MD and our nation’s capital Washington D.C.  Not only was it almost impossible to find parking but when I did find parking it was ridiculous.  We ended up paying $25 for the day in both cities because we parked for longer than 5 hours and you automatically pay the maximum price after five hours.  At least in those cities my car was in a covered garage and it felt a lot safer than where my car is usually.

Is there a solution?  I don’t think there is.  You have to come to the city and most of the time you have to park, unless you want to use public transportation, which come on, does anyone really want to ride the bus or train with the crazies?  So basically they got you.  They can charge whatever the heck they want and guess what, we’re going to pay it.  We have to, there’s no way around it.  They got us by the balls so to speak.  So, I’ll continue getting rides from my wife whenever I can and on the days I can’t, I’ll suck it up, bend over and take it like a man.

Holiday?

Off today on a “holiday”.  Does anyone even consider Columbus Day a holiday anymore?  I don’t.  How can you discover something that was already here?  Not only that, but there is some proof and theories out there that says he wasn’t even the first one here.  There are many documented experiences to this “New World” by the Chinese, Vikings and even the Hebrews.  Take a look at this article as I feel it has many good ideas and accounts of other people getting to America before Columbus: http://hubpages.com/hub/Was-Christopher-Columbus-Really-the-First-to-Discover-America_2

So why are we still celebrating Columbus Day?  Is it just easier to keep telling children the same ole story?  Is it harder then re-doing all the texts book all over again?  Is this story more romantic that all the others?  I don’t know what it is but most companies (1 out of 10 in fact) either do not acknowledge the holiday or call it something entirely else. (http://whoknew.news.yahoo.com/?nc&vid=22349437).

I’m not complaining though.  I’ll take the day off and explain to my five year old son that though Christopher Columbus may have not actually discovered America, he was one of the first to travel to and name our great continent.  I guess I’ll just sit back and enjoy the relaxation that comes with this “holiday” and be thankful that I work for one of the companies that recognize this day, even though they probably shouldn’t.

On a side note, poor Native American Indians!  I’m sure they were thinking, what?  Discovered?  We’ve been here the whole time.  That’s like me “discovering” a house being built and moving all my shit it and claiming it as mine.  See you tomorrow, I’m off to enjoy the holiday!!!

Thank you, Doc!

Maybe it’s me but there’s nothing like a great baseball game.  What a great opening night of playoff baseball!  We had two close games and one magical game.  I don’t think it’s been said yet on this blog but I’m a HUGE baseball fan.  It’s by far my favorite sport to follow.  Even when my favorite team (Red Sox) isn’t in it, I’ll still watch the games and enjoy some good baseball.  I was lucky enough to listen (thanks XM radio) and watch (TBS – good job, love the strike zone tablet) all three games and I have to say I was thoroughly entertained all day and night.  Though all three games were great, I think you know which one I need to focus on.

Roy Halladay, one of the greatest pitchers to ever grace the game threw the second ever no-hitter of the postseason yesterday.  Let’s put that into perspective a little.  The baseball postseason has been around for 105 years (10 - postseason games started in 1903, before that they were considered exhibition games, and in 1904 and 1994 there was no postseason).   This is only the second time EVER that a no-hitter was thrown.  Amazing!  The last one happened in 1956 by Don Larsen (who threw a perfect game).  If you’ve ever seen footage of that, it’s in black and white and batters didn’t even wear helmets back then.  Roy came one walk short of a perfect game and though I’m not a Phillies fan, I can say that I was whole heartedly rooting for them last night.  I was just as excited for him as if it were my team.

I believe that is why there’s nothing like a great baseball game.  Who can sit there and honestly say they have been engulfed into a sports game and totally invested in the outcome even when their team is not playing?  I don’t believe you can.  Some may say the super bowl but honestly, my team has not been in the super bowl in over 15 years and I’ve watched it every year.  While I’m into the game, I can’t tell you one time where I’ve been invested in the outcome like I was in yesterdays opening round divisional playoff game.  It’s the historic, magic feeling that something great is about to happen.  The history of baseball is so rich, that watching something like what happened yesterday unfold in front of you is something not to be missed.

Maybe it’s me, but baseball gets a bad rap for the pace of the game and all the troubles it has went through the last few years.  Games like yesterday though, show you, why baseball is so special.  Thank you Roy Halladay and thank you baseball for providing me with a memory that I will never forget.  Baseball is so exciting because HISTORY can be made every time a game is being played.  Watch it, Love it, and EMBRACE it.

Death Penalty Debate Once Again...

The death penalty is once again being debated here in Connecticut.  If you are not from Connecticut or New England, you probably haven’t heard about the horrific home invasion murders of the Hawke-Petit family in 2007.  Check out this link as it gives the whole story of the horrific events that happened (http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20059158,00.html).  Two criminals broke into the home of the Hawke-Petit family, knocked out the father (William Petit), tied him up and ransacked the house for money.  When they didn’t find enough money, they made the mother (Jennifer) drive to the bank and withdraw $15,000.  They then raped one of the daughters who was only 11, the mother Jennifer and then set the house on fire, killing both daughters and Jennifer.  Somehow the Dr. Petit managed to escape and now has to live with this the rest of his life.  It was a horrific event by two criminals that showed no mercy and no remorse.  One of the criminals (Steven Hayes) was recently found guilty on 16 of 17 accounts and awaits sentencing.  The prosecutor is pushing for the death penalty and it seems everyone has an opinion.  Maybe it’s me, but why are we even discussing this?  Fry this son of a bitch and get on to the other one!

I’ve never fully understood those who oppose the death penalty.  Those opposed always say, what’s the use, it’s not going to bring back the victims.  Well, no shit, but it could bring closure to the family members and friends that have been left behind.  I know if my family just got murdered by some asshole, I’d want them to succumb to the same fate.  In fact, I’ll take it one further I believe they should let the family members administer the penalty.  That’s right let them inject the fatal dose.  I know that’ll never happen but I really think it could bring closure to the whole situation.

Another opposition view is that he’ll be treated worse in jail, especially those crimes that involve children.  I highly doubt this at all.  High threat prisoners are generally kept away from the mass population in prison.  They are isolated and not allowed to join the regular prison population because they are in danger.  Not only would that be a risk to other inmates, are we now condoning criminal acts in prison?  Isn’t the prison system designed to rehabilitate these criminals?  How is it better to let other criminals do basically what a lethal injection could do?  I don’t get the reasoning there at all.

There is one view I hear used all the time by those opposed to the death penalty that I actually agree with.  There is a risk of executing a potential innocent person.  Sometimes juries are wrong or the prosecution simply is better than the defense lawyers.  I totally agree with that, but I don’t feel that’s enough to eliminate the death penalty.  What I would do is enforce the death penalty but after sentencing, you wait one to two years before actually killing the convicted.  This way, appeals and more information can be looked at.  This is the only fair way in my opinion.  While I don’t like the fact that tax payers will have to pay to house these criminals for this set period of time, I feel it’s justified to make sure we’re executing the correct person.

Some also say we should put the criminals in jail and let them live with the guilt that’s associated with the crimes they committed.  Do you really think these animals have any remorse and experience any guilt?  I don’t.  These people clearly have a screw loose or something seriously messed up in their brain.  I don’t believe they would sit and think about what they did.  I really don’t.

I feel that keeping the death penalty and using it more often would help in society.  Maybe it’s me, but don’t you think murders would decrease if there was a death penalty?  I do.  I think the threat of being put to death would deter some murders.  Not all, that’s just unreasonable to think because there are simply too many crazies out there, but I’m sure it would help decrease the amount of murders, death is the most extreme penalty and  would surely scare some criminals into not committing certain crimes.

Scammers & Those That Get Scammed

I’ve never been a scammer, a schemer, or a person that can manipulate and take money from a person without feeling the enormous amount of guilt associated with it.  Are they born that way?  Do they need to be trained to behave that way?  Whatever it is, I clearly do not have it I have to admit though those people fascinate me.  I still remember my economics class in high school when I first heard about a man named Charles Ponzi.  Charles was a famous Italian swindler who came up with a technique to scheme people out of money, generally called a pyramid scheme nowadays.  From then on, I always found it interesting how these people work and the type of people they con.  With technology and information available at finger tips, it’s amazing there are people still out there floundering money out of people.  Maybe it’s me but it has to be hard to be a scammer nowadays.

Now, don’t get me wrong, in no way am I condoning these people, in reality I loathe these schemers and scoundrels.  But you have to admit, it’s a wonder how they are still operating when there are so many websites out there trying to foil their plans.  When you have some free time, take a trip to Google and type in “scam websites”.  You will be absolutely amazed how many websites out there give information on shady businesses that scam people out of money.  These websites, which I refer to as “tattle tale” websites should be killing these shady businesses but somehow they still are out there.  My favorite website (http://www.ripoffreport.com/) even has areas to file reports and get legal help.  How can the scammer get through to people when there is so much information out there pretty much telling on them?  I don’t get it.  Perhaps, I’m underestimating the amount of people that have the internet available to them or maybe I’m people simply don’t research information before giving away their hard earned money.

Which brings me to my bigger point, why are people still getting scammed?  Maybe it’s me, but you have to be pretty damn lazy and stupid to get scammed nowadays.  Full disclosure here, I’ve been scammed and shame on me.  My wife and I sat through a LONG timeshare presentation about six years ago because we were promised a three night trip to a number of destinations (five star resorts, free meals, etc.) as long as we sat there through the entire presentation.  Even if we didn’t purchase a timeshare we get the “free” stuff.  We thought, cool, no problem we’ll sit through the stupid presentation, say no, get our free shit and scam them all the way to the bank.  Stupid us, you can’t scam a scammer.

We sat through a four hour presentation, were hassled like you couldn’t believe and then treated like trash when we said no.  We did get our “free” stuff but it was not what it claimed to be.  Though they claimed we’d stay in a five star hotel, we had to stay in a local Howard Johnson’s and attend even more presentations and dinners to get all this “free” stuff.  What a hoax!  All the fine print that comes with these “free” packages was ridiculous.  We ended up bailing when we went to the “local” (10 miles away) HoJo’s.  The blood stained carpet and stale “sex” smell didn’t do it for us.  We bailed before we did any of the presentations but they still got us.  We drove four hours (each way) and ended up wasting a perfectly good summer day.  In the end they pretty much stole 12 hours of my life that I will never get back.

So now, I follow three rules.  Do you know the old saying, “If it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t”?  Well, that’s my first rule.  If you get some type of “deal” that’s just way too good to be true, then RUN, RUN fast.  Don’t believe that you can go to Cancun for $199 a night with all you can drink and eat.  Come on, really?  Rule number two, do your RESEARCH.  Seriously, with all these websites and resources out there, you have to be pretty damn stupid to get fucked nowadays.  And lastly, and let me apologize to my wife up front (Sorry, honey), DO NOT LET MY WIFE TALK ME INTO ANYTHING!  The time share presentation bullshit, all HER idea.  I also can’t tell you how many gadgets and other crap I’ve bought because it’s something “we really need”.  Really honey, how’s that heat pack we bought at the local fair doing?  Yup, been used twice in two year, great investment!

Even if you loathe those scammers out there, it’s not their fault, in fact, they have it the hardest.  They have to compete with other scammers, tattle tale websites and smarter consumers.  Well, hopefully smarter consumers.  Do your research people!

Batman's Voice

I recently re-watched Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight this weekend and while discussing it with some friends I decided maybe it’s me, but I kind of like the way Christian Bale portrayed Batman’s voice.

Everyone I’ve ever spoken to about this movie generally agree that it’s a notch above all other super hero movies, but they also tend to wonder why Batman sounds like an old lady that’s been smoking six packs a day.  They don’t understand why Bale and Nolan chose to have Bat’s sound that way and why a different voice is needed at all.

I’ve been a Batman fan for longer than I can remember.  I still remember reading comic books on Batman and watching old re-runs from the campy original series staring Adam West with my father.  Then my ultimate vision of Batman came with the late 80’s movies from Tim Burton with Michael Keaton portraying the caped crusader.  While the series almost lost me with parts three and four and bat nipples, Nolan and Bale created an even greater Batman with Batman Begins.  He was dark, gritty and a more realistic approach to the character than we had ever seen before.

Batman is all about using fear to his advantage and using scare tactics to help him fight off his enemies.  He has no super powers, just gadgets and high intelligence.  The bat suit and persona of a bat is to instill fear and give him a competitive advantage.  How would that come across if he was just talking in a normal voice?  It simply wouldn’t.  A dark, gritty growl of a voice is needed to complete the persona.  I don’t know about you but if a grown man in a bat suit came out of the shadows using Bale’s Batman voice, I would definitely think twice about messing with him and also pray I had brought a second pair of underwear.  If he came out of the shadows with a regular voice, I may just think the guy’s crazy and off his meds.  The voice is needed to create the persona, it creates fear.

That’s not the only reason the voice is needed.  If Batman didn’t disguise his voice, I’m pretty sure someone would figure out who is true identity is.  Think about picking up the phone and instantly knowing who’s on the other end just from the “hello” from the caller. After hearing someone’s voice a couple times, you can recognize them from it.  Somebody, somewhere is going to figure out Bruce Wayne = Batman if he doesn’t disguise the voice somewhat.  This really is the only problem with Burton’s Batman.  Batman & Bruce Wayne have the same voice and to me it’s easily recognizable.  How cool would it have been to have Michael Keaton use the Beetlejuice voice when he was Batman?  At least then we wouldn’t be able to figure out who Batman was.

The Bale Batman voice is not a shortcoming of The Dark Knight.  It’s a great attention to detail that I feel suits the movie and should be applauded.  Maybe it’s me but maybe we should be more concerned that Bale is using the Batman voice in Terminator Salvation.  John Connor can’t be growling directions to the resistance….