25 and still kickin'

Mad Monkey turns 25 today. I must have given my mother hell…I was born at 3:29 in the morning! No wonder I wake up earlier than I want to…

Also today, Mozart was born in 1756. Thomas Edison filed the patent for his electric incandescent lamp in 1880. The National Geographic Society was founded in 1888. John Logie Baird launched the television craze in 1926 when he publicly demonstrated the device in LondonIn 1945, Auschwitz was discovered by the Russian Army. The New York Giants beat the Buffalo Bills at Super Bowl XXV in 1991.

In 2006, Hamas gained an upset victory in Palestinian elections over the ruling Fatah party for seats in the Legislative Council. It's stirred up quite the hornets' nest over the globe, as the Fatah party was expected to win by a slim margin, according to earlier reports. Hamas has had an aggressive stance against Israel, refusing its existence and wanting it wiped off the map, basically. With Iran's president blasting Israel, Hamas gaining victory in Palestine and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon inactive, things don't look so good. The direction of the Middle East will basically be decided this year…here's hoping for the best.

More on this later…I'm off to eat cake!

Super Bowl XL

Alright…I yield. I concede defeat to the hands of fate. To the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team that has boiled the blood of every Bengals fan around, knocked us out of the playoffs, injured our star quarterback, and have been our most hated rival in the NFL since before I can remember….I salute you.

The Steelers may soon be considered the ultimate road team in the NFL. They've won three straight road games in the playoffs and have one more to go in two weeks. Their travels and their play are taking them to Detroit, to play the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL (*cough*…40). Big Ben had a great game against a Denver team that never found its stride. Jake Plummer made costly errors, including two fumbles and two interceptions, that never gave the Broncos a chance. The end result was a 34-17 victory for the Steelers, giving Jerome Bettis and Roethlisberger their first Super Bowl appearances. It'll be especially sweet for Bettis, as Detroit is his hometown and the big game may be his last in a Hall-of-Fame career.

On the otherside of the country, Seattle manhandled Carolina, earning the Seahawks' first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. It should be a fun game to watch. Two running teams that have the pass option and great defenses. If Seattle's D plays like it did against Carolina, this should be a great game to watch. Pittsburgh's defense is fun to watch just as well, especially Troy Polamalu. That man just flies everywhere on the field. Somehow, he remains highly underrated compared to the league's other big defensive stars, such as Ray Lewis and Champ Bailey, but the man makes plays outta nowhere in clutch situations. He is probably the best overall defensive player in the game right now. Seattle's rookie linebacker Lofa Tatupu has been solid as a defensive leader, calling plays and making smart adjustments. The next Ray Lewis? Too early to say…but he's off to a good start.

Pittsburgh vs. Seattle? Who da thunk it? Maybe there is parity in the NFL.

All in all, it's shaping up to be a good game. Both teams have solid running. Seattle probably has a better advantage in passing and overall offense, but hey…what do I know? Pittsburgh, I think, has an overall better defense, but again, Seattle's D is nothing to scoff at, especially fired up. The Steelers have more play makers on both sides of the field, so I give them the advantage. Plus, they have the Bus. He'll be playing with emotion and I feel sorry for the linemen that get in his way.

And with Stevie Wonder opening and The Rolling Stones at halftime, this Super Bowl should rock.

Pittsburgh: 31
Seattle: 27

Patriots: 0. Hehe, I couldn't resist.

Oh yeah…in basketball news, Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in a single game last night. Yes…the Lakers won. But again…81 points in a single game…Kobe, as much as I don't think very highly of you…I salute you.

Peace!

Congress for sale?

Apparently, the whole Jack Abramoff scandal has the Democrats up in arms. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced the "Honest Leadership and Open Government Act" to try and stem the flow of lobbyist money pouring into Congress. Democrats lined up to sign on and show support for the bill. It would ban such things as privately funded trips and increase the "cool off" period for lobbying from one year to two. It also does away with lobbyists being able to give anything to Congress members, including free meal tickets. The Republicans have come up with their own measure, but it is less stringent. For example. The meal limit would be reduced from $50 to $20.

Watchgroups say that these proposals won't do much. Much of what is being presented is already there, but not being enforced. Neither the House or Senate ethics committees have taken action on the Abramoff scandal.

A valiant effort by the Democrats? Not really. It all seems well-intentioned, but when you dig a little deeper, there were Democrats that benefited from the Abramoff scandal. Though many claim to have given the money back, they still took part. This will turn out to be nothing more than showboating by both parties. The Dems are basically saying, "Hey! America! They're the bad guys! Look at what we're trying to do!". A lot of the proposals in the bill are a bit ridiculous. Wining and dining is almost key to lobbying, just as it is in any situation when you have to appeal to clients. Things such as houses, trips, boats, etc…those don't seem very necessary as part of the lobbying effort. This bill, if passed, could come back to haunt any of those shady Dems hanging out in the corners...you know they exist...the Democratic party isn't exactly made up of saints.

John McCain (R-AZ) hopes for a bipartisan solution, which, if this is to be productive, should be the case. Or maybe we can go another route and have a nonpartisan solution for a change…would be nice.

And you thought the giant squid was bad...

Japan seems to be having all the fun in discovering all the ocean's giants. Late last year, they were able to photograph the first live giant squid. Now, it seems the giant jellyfish are coming out to play. Called "Nomura's jellyfish", these suckers have been giving the Japanese fishing industry a bit of a problem. When fishing, it's common to have some jellies of the smaller variety get caught in nets. Most usually slip out through the holes, but even the ones that stay don't cause too many problems. However, the Nomura jelly is no miniscule critter. It weighs in at around 200 kg (or, for us Americanos, 440 lbs.). The "Sumo" jelly…if you will.

Take a look at the picture. It's big. Not that poisonous, but normal folk wouldn't want to swim with it regardless. The fishermen have been catching these suckers in their nets, thus leaving little to no room for the fish. The fish that do get caught with the Nomura are usually crushed and tainted by the poison. Again, it's not lethal, but no one wants to eat poisonous fish.

It's an interesting read.

A curse on Peyton Manning...

The Steelers weren't supposed to win this past weekend. They just weren't. They were going against the top team in the NFL and they were to lose badly. Fate and the Devil were to ruin their high hopes by having Edgerrin James actually run the ball slicing the Steelers defense and have Peyton Manning grow up and be a team player…none of that happened.

Somehow, the Steelers beat the Colts in Indianapolis. Why? Because Peyton Manning sucks. There, I said it. Yes, he sucks. As a quarterback, he's phenomenal, slicing and dicing defenses like they were tender meat. As a team player…he blows. It's a fact that's been overshadowed by a few things this season. The Colts defense stepped up and proved it could play well, taking some of Peyton's limelight. The whole 'undefeated season' schtick was attributed to Dungy more so than Manning. The suicide of Dungy's son probably took away Peyton's spotlight a bit. But now things are clearer. Peyton Manning is a glory hog. He loves to play the hero. He doesn't play the game for fun or the sheer thrill of the sport…he plays to be perfect at it. And when he's imperfect, someone else has to take the blame. A lot of the focus is on his bashing of the Colts offensive line, saying that they didn't give him enough protection…which, to an extent, is probably true. But how's this? Edgerring James was a nonfactor in this game, save for one TD. Pittsburgh blitzed the hell out of Manning, leading to five sacks. The blitz leaves big holes in the middle, allowing a running back to get some yardage. Manning is as good as picking up blitzes as anyone in the league. Does he change to a running play? No. Does he give a chance to his consistent running back who could have built yardage to setup the pass plays or get those critical first downs on 3rd and short? No. It's a pass-happy offense feeding Manning's ego and the Edge gets screwed because of it.

Most people in Indy will blame Mike Vanderjagt for missing the wide-right, 46-yard field goal which would have tied the game. It's a fair assessment. It's a kick that should have had a shot, but went way off. But the real culprit is Manning. On the 3rd and 2 prior to the botched field goal, Indianapolis was on the Pittsburgh 28 with 25 seconds left plus two timeouts. Manning gunned a pass to Reggie Wayne that fell incomplete. It was a long pass too, at least 15 yards or more. Instead of just trying for the first down, Manning gunned it in hopes of closing the distance for the field goal or, for us more cynical types, wanted to hit the endzone and play hero again.

Smart thing to do? In my opinion, hand the ball off to Edgerrin James to get those two yards. With that you stop the clock, close some distance and get a fresh set of downs to work with. It could have been easily manageable with two timeouts. If not James, then run the two yards yourself. Regardless, it would've given some breathing room and some time to think. Hell, even a short pass would've worked. Fate and the devil played their cards right. They relied on Manning's ego to falter him, and in the end, I think it did.

Denver…you need to stop Pittsburgh. They must not win!

(For the record, I think the Steelers are a good team with many talented players and a good coach. Jerome Bettis is fun to watch when he pounds the crap outta everyone and Hines Ward is one of my favorite receivers. So, all this negativity isn't because they're a bad team…they beat Cincy…and injured our star QB, intentional or not…so, I don't like 'em.)

Would love to see Seattle and Denver in the Super Bowl. My prediction? Mick Jagger and Stevie Wonder steal the show.

Hopefully, back to some politicking soon.

No sunshine in Cincy...yet

It was like fate had money riding on the Steelers yesterday. It didn't want them to lose, so in response, it made the Bengals' first playoff appearance in 15 years a surreal trip through the most cynical NFL game I've ever seen. Fate's hand spelled doom and gloom for Cincinnati, twisting itself so the Steelers basically had the game in the bag. A devastating end to an impressive turn-around season…it was a sad state of affairs.

Carson Palmer, the endearing leader of the team and new king of the town, went back to throw his first playoff pass. It was a deep ball to rookie wide receiver Chris Henry, a 66-yarder that connected and had the crowd in an uproar of cheers and jubilation. It was a good start and a good sign of things to come. Henry got up and was just as excited. Then, fate must have made a deal with the devil, because everything the Bengals worked for this season, almost every reason for how far they'd come…was laying face down on the opposite side of the field, holding his knee in pain.

The Queen City and all Bengals fans around fell deathly silent in an instant. Carson Palmer was down, and he was hurt bad. Holding his braced knee, Palmer was in pain and couldn't get up. What the hell just happened? Replays showed that Steelers' defensive tackle, Kimo von Oelhoffen tugged Palmer's left knee after being blocked into it. He went down immediately after being hit and was carted away to the locker room. You've never seen a more dejected, depressed look on an NFL player. Cincy's prodicle son was out, and wasn't coming back for awhile.

And so it would be on the shoulders of Bengals backup, Jon Kitna, to carry the team forward. The Bengals were mad and playing emotional. And it seemed to be working. 5 plays after the Palmer injury, Kitna drove the team near the Steelers' red zone, threatening to score. Things were looking good.

Fate's accomplice in all this, the devil, played his own hand on the 6th play. Chris Henry, the rookie receiver Palmer hit for the 66 yarder earlier, went down. He wasn't hit, but something gave in, and he was on the ground in pain. Henry wouldn't come back, out with an ankle injury. With Kelley Washington inactive as backup, Cincy was left without a true 3rd receiver.

For the first half, Kitna gave a stellar performance. And there was still hope in the stands. Maybe we could pull this off. Palmer could come back in the second half if it wasn't bad and lead the team to victory! We still had Rudi, Chad, TJ, and Kevin Walters was putting on an impressive show with Kitna. At the half, the Bengals led 17-14.

Reports came in at halftime of Palmer having torn his ACL and MCL…if you've followed the NFL, you know it's bad. Months of rehab and it's an injury that has ended careers of many. The players didn't take it very well. It dwelled on them the entire second half and it showed. Kitna wasn't as effective and penalties were flying. The refs didn't exactly do a stellar job either. In the end, Pittsburgh won by bringing out the Bus (Jerome Bettis) and running over an emotionally distraught team. Their playoff experience helped and they remained focused on their goal. All that, and it was a home game too.

Credit to Jon Kitna for the valiant effort. That's a lot to ask, and he did what he could. Are the Steelers a better team? Overall, yes. The Bengals have more talent and potential stars, but they lack experience, which tends to show in their emotions and procedural errors. It's a young team and it will grow. Palmer will be back. He better be…we just payed him a boat load of money to stick around. Marvin will work on the wrinkles and we'll be back in the playoff hunt next year. The Steelers won this round, but their time is coming. The rivalry will grow and it'll be fireworks the next time these two teams play.

A dark day in Cincy, but in retrospect, an overall good season. Palmer proved he can lead this team and play well. We got our first winning season and playoff birth in 15 years. We beat the Steelers earlier in the year. Rudi broke his own rushing records. TJ brokeout and became a star receiver. Chad had the Riverdance and Proposal, and led the AFC in receiving yards. And, we stood up to Indy. The town was on fire. The Jungle will be back…no worries…we'll wait and see what happens. Who-Dey!

This...is...awesome!

If you've ever played video games, heard of video games, heard of Nintendo, had a childhood, etc...then you know Mario. You may even know the song to the game, which happens to be a pretty fun and good piece of music on its own. Many have given tribute to the Italian plumber that could...

Here is one more for your viewing pleasure. It is quite cool...enjoy!

Mario Unleashed: Provided by Google Video

...and easy on the 'shrooms!

This monkey wasn't meant to ice skate...

Hola amigos,

Came back from a good NYC/NJ weekend. Went to Nutley, New Jersey to visit the cousins and family there. Four hour drive wasn't bad. Cousins didn't even ask to stop, by which I was highly impressed. They made it by munching on snacks the whole way there. We arrived a little after 12pm Friday. Lo and behold, mi madre was standing there with a cynical, happy smile. Apparently, her, the father figure and siblings came the night before on a surprise visit. Pretty cool.

Went to Times Square that night and reveled in the mass adverstising and light show that probably takes more electricity than all of Pakistan. If you've never been, it's quite the experience. A tad overwhelming if you aren't used to big cities, but cool, no less. Our destination was Rockefeller Center. We made it, only to go to the bathroom and walk right back for the bus we came in on. But still, we managed to check out the Hershey store and what not. Good times. Need to ask my brother for the pictures he took...if you're reading this...send 'em.

Next day we went bowling and kinda just chilled at the house, playing video games, watching the Street Fighter movie (cannot believe how bad that movie is...). I think the rest of the family watched 'Finding Nemo' twice in a row. Counted down the New Year with Dick Clark. That stroke has really taken a toll on him, but good to see him still out and about.

Next day, ma familia left for Ohio. The rest of us went ice skating. My Maryland cousins (the ones I live with) had never gone before (I think), but they got the hang of it pretty quickly. I was doing fairly well myself until I decided to be a klutz and sprain my right ankle. It's about twice the size now and feels really pudgy. Still hurts. Probably wasn't a good idea to drive six hours with it, but I didn't have many other options. Anyway, after the ice rink, a support bandage and some Tylenol, we headed into NYC to get food from this place called Platters. It's actually a cart on the corner of 53rd and 6th I think? But apparently, it's the most well known cart in the city. We waited two hours for that food!! The line was huge!! But ah...it was worth it. Some of the best chicken-and-gyro-with-rice combo around. For $6, it could feed me twice. So good. Came back home, chowed down on the food and ended up watching an Indian flick called Bunty and Bubbli. It's a take on Bonnie and Clyde (sort of) with a little "Catch Me If You Can" thrown in. Pretty decent flick. If you're into Indian films, check it out. Amitab Bachan shows up again though...he's turning into the Samuel L. Jackson of India in that he's in freakin' everything! But I still give props to Sammy J. Baddest mofo around.

Left Monday afternoon...took 6 hours on a bum foot due to traffic and rain...grrrr. Ah well, we made it back ok.

All in all, a good weekend. We'll see how the ankle does. Hope everyone had a good new year. More Mad Monkeyisms coming in 2006!

Peace!