Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from December, 2011

Dome Pondering – 2011 Year in Review

Welcome to the Dome Pondering Year in Review, 2011 edition! Much like every completed calendar year ( Dome Pondering - Year in Review 2010 ), the DP commemorates and reflects while celebrating the upcoming new year with the DP Year in Review - this blog's biggest post of the year.  The completion of 2011 marks yet another successful and exciting year for Dome Pondering. With this post, we've reached a full Major League Baseball season worth of posts for the year, 162, which is a new record. Also, the DP has seen a growth in hits, visitors, feedback, and overall interest more so than any other year. Not only have we been mentioned on 9.24, which DP devotees are familiar with, but we have been mentioned on 1050 ESPN radio during the Rucco and Lundberg Show this year. It's been a big year, and hopefully, 2012 will be even bigger. Thank you for your continued support, feedback, and overall interest. Hopefully, you have enjoyed the past year as much as I have, and I look

Dome Pondering Movie Review: The Company Men (2010)

What is it about? Three very different men deal with the ramifications and impact on their lives after they lose their jobs during corporate downsizing. Who is in it?  Ben Affleck - Bobby Walker Tommy Lee Jones - Gene McClary Chris Cooper - Phil Woodward

Five Keys To Knicks Season 2011-2012

And we are back! Quite honestly, I didn't think we'd have NBA basketball this year. However, the sheer voice of my tag team partner in the morning urgently waking me up to the beautiful words of, "Heeeyyy, the NBA just announced they agreed to a deal, there is going to be a season", was a Christmas gift come early. Ahhh, like music to my ears. No offense to college basketball, which I do enjoy, and the National Hockey League, which still failed to grab my attention with no opportunity better than having an NBA lockout, but the NBA is my winter focus. When Roger Hornsby answered the question of what he does in the Winter when there is no baseball with the slight quip that he stares out the window and waits for Spring, I can understand and second that sentiment. Except, unlike Mr. Hornsby, I can't stare outside that long waiting for Spring, and the NBA gets me there much quicker, especially my oh so beloved New York Knicks.

Interracing: A Look At The Torch Interracial Couples Carry Today

In many ways, I've been very blessed in my life. Amongst many of them, is the city I grew up in - New York City - more specifically Brooklyn, NY. A borough, which stands alone at roughly over 2.5M people, has the ability to become the fourth largest city in the nation if separated from NYC. It is a city that is filled with every person, from every walk of life. A blend, mix, and "melting pot" if you will, that I was fortunate enough to be around everyday.  Growing up I had friends of all backgrounds. White, black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, Middle-Eastern, tall, short, fat, skinny, athletic, quiet, introvert, extrovert, Irish, Italian, Russian, Haitian, and the list can go on and on. We played together, and as kids do, we had our squabbles and feuds over block supremacy in the neighborhood, over boys, over girls, and just about all the other ridiculous things/drama kids and teenagers fight over. Yet, through it all, that difference never quite ph

2011 Bucket List - #15 Create A Film/Movie/Short Clip

#15 - Create a film/movie/short clip Keeping in line with the December spirit of completing these 2011 Bucket List tasks, yours truly has knocked off another one. This time, it is #15 - Create a film/movie/short clip. With very little time, and very little ambition (necessary looking to create the next blockbuster film) yours truly set out in the world of Windows Movie Maker to create a slideshow that is not only somewhat respectable, but reflective as well. There is not much that I can give away on the substance, design, or formation of the video, other than it is connected to the biggest DP post of the year, the Dome Pondering Year In Review. However, I will say that I have dabbled in Windows Movie Maker in the past, once making a goofy slideshow for the tag team partner on Valentine's day, and it is something I find myself having a lot of fun with. Moving forward, I see videos becoming a larger part of the DP. Video blogs? Maybe. Video packages ala UFC and WWE? If I onl

Dome Pondering Movie Review: Fast Five (2011)

What is it about?   Dominic and the crew find themselves on the run again from a Brazilian mob and U.S. federal agents as they attempt to pull of one last job to secure their future freedom. Who is in it? Vin Diesel - Dominic Toretto Paul Walker - Brian O'Conner Jordana Brewster - Mia Toretto Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - Lou Hobbs

2011 Bucket List #52 - Attend a Broadway Show

#52 Attend a Broadway Show For a professional wrestling enthusiast like myself (which is still an understatement), the art of entertainment and performing on the big stage is a form that I greatly appreciate and understand. While I do understand that pro wrestling is indeed scripted (yet, not fake), I am still told this message by every individual who becomes aware that I am a fan, as if it were some sort of secret wrestling fans have been closed out on for years. Nonetheless, part of my love for wrestling is the theatrical part. I simply love the way it tells a story in the ring, as well as out of the ring.  Due to this affection of storytelling, I've managed to enjoy various plays and theatrical performances throughout my life. I understand that it isn't something most guys enjoy, but oddly enough, maybe because of the similarities to pro wrestling, it is an art that I enjoy. The theater is an atmosphere where viewers can have a live experience that removes them from

The Albert Pujols $hakeout

Courtesy: AP $254 Million for 10 years. It's not everyday someone receives a contract as enormous as that one - then again, it's not everyday a player the caliber of Albert Pujols comes around. Upon hearing the news that Albert Pujols will somehow take his talents to Long Beach, or some beach near Anaheim, it issued a specific type of feeling that we've seen and felt before. It seemed almost like a cross between Alex Rodriguez's blockbuster signing with Texas ten years ago, and the colossal trainwreck that was "The Decision" just last year. How can a man so beloved and revered in St. Louis pack up and head west to play for a team that no one had on the radar as a possible destination? Pujols was guaranteed a statue in front of New Busch Stadium when his playing days were over. Not very likely now.

2011 Bucket List - #50 Attend Five Events For The Year

It's been said quite enough here at the DP that this year projected as quite a busy year for yours truly. From all of the planning, searching, and researching, it seemed like a free day on my personal calendar came around every month or so. With that it mind, the 2011 Bucket List was tailored to keep me motivated and to not only go beyond, but maintain as well. Every year, we all attend several events that interest us. As part of the 2011 BL, I wanted to solidify that in the midst of this crazy year, that yours truly will still get out to see and do new things. Because of this, "#50 - Attend Five Events" was added. Seems easy enough, right? However, my only rule was to not count events that yours truly attends every year such as Brooklyn Cyclones games (the tag-team partner and I have a Season package) or Brooklyn College Basketball games. The events for the most part had to be new, different, and a bit exclusive. So with out further adieu, here are five

2011 Bucket List - #2 Volunteer Or Assist For A Charitable Cause

#2 - Volunteer or Assist For a Charitable Cause There are various charities and foundations that contribute toward making the world a better place. Throughout the year, there are so many ways in which we as individuals can get involved. No time more important than the Christmas season. During a season when love, peace, and goodwill are of focus, acting on those sentiments is essential. Especially, for those who are in need of the emotional lift, and the others who are not as fortunate as the rest of us.  The last three years the tag-team partner and I have participated in Operation Christmas Child , a program by Samaritan's Purse. OCC provides gifts and the message of hope for children in areas and parts of the world where the season of Christmas isn't as bright. Most importantly, it sends the message of Christ - a message that can change the lives of many of these children in despair times.

2011 Bucket List - #51 Play A Steel Drum

#51 - Play A Steel Drum The instrument of the steel pan (or steel drum) is one that I've always been fascinated with. Since the days of my youth attending Carnival in St. Vincent, the sounds of such a raw product always seemed to ease me. The sounds the instrument produces creates such a soothing sound that just makes all of life's problems go away. And when there is a full steel pan band playing, forget it - I'm hooked.  As a child, I played the piano for five years, played the snare drum in a marching band for three, the xylophone for 2 months (way too heavy, and not very cool) and the trumpet for six months. Of them all, the piano was my favorite, and by far was the instrument I took seriously.

2011 Bucket List - #26 Become More Confident In Myself

#26 - Become More Confident In Myself Confidence: belief in oneself and one's powers or abilities; self confidence; self reliance; assurance; certitude.  DP devotees have long known that yours truly has dealt with the issue of self-confidence. For you new readers, don't worry, it's not a sappy cry-baby-type of issue, but one where sometimes I've struggled with the thought of something be deserving. More so, believing in the abilities that I possess. I'm sure in some way, shape, or form, we've all been there.

2011 Bucket List - #41 Design An Article Of Clothing

#41 - Design an Article of Clothing The 2011 Bucket List is one that was strategically put together. What seemed like a hypothetical and impending schedule of wedding plans, apartment hunting, and basically beginning a new chapter of my life, several easy-to-reach tasks were added. With this new chapter beginning in my life, the things and activities of the past are becoming less frequent, and some are being eliminated altogether. With that, the addition of those easy-to-reach activities were child-hood activities to simply have that one-last hurrah. One of the tasks meant to give that nostalgic last hurrah was: #41 - Design an article of clothing. Remember the days when clothes and fashion were not earth shattering decision? No? Well maybe it was a guy thing. Or maybe it was just me. My very limited wardrobe consisted of the following: basketball shorts, sweatpants, t-shirts, hoodies, baseball hats and sneakers. Of course there were others necessities, but th

Removing The Orange Haze

The recent scandal that has shocked Syracuse University ,  the surrounding community, and its alumni and fans, has grown into a story that is down right disturbing. Fresh off the Penn State ordeal which saw the fall of a legendary coach, several horrifying testimonies, and a great concern in the crisis decision amongst our society, we are once again lambasted with the same characteristics of that scandal - a potential smear on the legacy of Basketball coach Jim Boeheim, unsettling evidence in a recorded phone conversation, and once again, a huge red flag in the constant disappearing decency amongst our society. Looking at the Penn State case, I found it very difficult to grasp an understanding the way of life in State College, PA . I mentioned in a previous post that a caller to a local sports radio show claimed that on the mantle in every State College home was a picture of their family, Jesus Christ, and Joe Paterno . It helped me understand a bit more about the f

The Pondering 10 - Christmas Season Misunderstandings

Now that the calendar bears the month of December, the Christmas Season is upon us. It is a time of reflecting, a time of family, a time of peace and most importantly, a time of celebrating the birth of a savior amongst us all. However, with December and the season, we have seen this time morph into several forms which have become a farce of the true meaning of Christmas. as a society we have added, twisted, and taken away from the true meaning of the season ultimately creating a false Christmas Season. With that said, in the latest Pondering 10 list, let's examine the top ten most misguided things about the Christmas season.