Dealing.... Just Dealing

Greetings Readers

Emotionally - this may have been a tough weekend for me, in a manner of speaking.

So innocent I was Thursday night.

Excited about going to the Batman Marathon in Lone Tree Colorado.  I had bought my movie ticket back on 06/25/12.

And the only reason why I bought the ticket was to see "The Dark Knight" with the Joker.  I was not really excited in seeing the third movie.  Bane.  I know nothing of him and I had already heard that the test screen audience had some issues with hearing Bane speak.

Anyway.

What I want to address is that I listened to the Dark Knight soundtrack as well as watched the movie and the first one since cable was showing the movies on TV this weekend.  I also pulled my DVD copy off the shelf

I stayed away from the news and the newspaper; though I did get some news from the internet.

Bottom Line - I knew nothing of what transpired Thursday night / Friday Morning until I got to work on Friday.  I had slept about 2 1/2 hours that morning and woke up to the sun shining through the windows.  What a beautiful sunrise to wake up to.  Tired, but nice.  I was excited that I did commit to seeing the BatMan marathon, the 25.00 bones I spent was well worth it.

I get to work on Friday Morning ... "Did you hear?"

No. I responded.  And now most of the world now knows.

I am very thankful that this did not happen at the theatre that I was at.  Of course, in my mind this would be no different from leaving your house every day and not knowing that a car accident may kill you later that day.  The odd are not in your favor in that scenario.

Lone tree theatre is not a big theatre nor really a big screen and is on the South Side of Denver.  No Imax and no special sound system - just digital.   And that is why I think that the theatre was not sold out.

I am okay, but I am thinking what if that night / morning...

What if.

I just don't know Readers.  I just do not know. 

In the last 11 days - my life has been down.  A friend passed away.  And perhaps...

I "closed down" this past weekend. 

I just wanted to blog about this since it is... there in my mind and I have no one that I can talk to about this experience second hand.

Until the next time

Daryl Charley
The Fallen Athlete

The Devil's Got a Hold of Me

Greetings Readers

That the is the song lyric from the second official trailer for Season 4 - Breaking Bad.

It's got a beat, It's got a nice singer, but so 180 degrees from the piano dramatic playing in the first Breaking Bad teaser trailer.

And I have to admit that when you see these two sentences in the trailer while that song is playing - you can not help rockin to the beat and getting caught into the trailer that shows snipets of Season four scenes - as well as past season scenes.

"Walt is not in Danger.

He is the Danger."

as Walter White would say calmly with authority...

"yeah."

Until the next time

Daryl Charley
The Fallen Athlete

Axl's Letter & concerning the Hall of Fame Induction

Greetings Readers

This was no surprise to me since I knew this was coming, due to me knowin' (so to speak) Axl's feelings towards his former band members. And if any of you are true "Guns N Roses" fanatics/followers you knew this was going to happen, but exactly how or what would happen be said is always the mystery of Axl..

Anyway... In case you Readers have not heard (or read) you can read Axl's letter...

To: The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Guns N' Roses Fans and Whom It May Concern,

When the nominations for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame were first announced I had mixed emotions but, in an effort to be positive, wanting to make the most of things for the fans and with their enthusiasm, I was honored, excited and hoped that somehow this would be a good thing. Of course I realized as things stood, if Guns N' Roses were to be inducted it'd be somewhat of a complicated or awkward situation.

Since then we've listened to fans, talked with members of the board of the Hall Of Fame, communicated with and read various public comments and jabs from former members of Guns N' Roses, had discussions with the president of the Hall Of Fame, read various press (some legit, some contrived) and read other artists' comments weighing in publicly on Guns and the Hall with their thoughts.

Under the circumstances I feel we've been polite, courteous, and open to an amicable solution in our efforts to work something out. Taking into consideration the history of Guns N' Roses, those who plan to attend along with those the Hall for reasons of their own, have chosen to include in "our" induction (that for the record are decisions I don't agree with, support or feel the Hall has any right to make), and how (albeit no easy task) those involved with the Hall have handled things... no offense meant to anyone but the Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony doesn't appear to be somewhere I'm actually wanted or respected.

For the record, I would not begrudge anyone from Guns their accomplishments or recognition for such. Neither I or anyone in my camp has made any requests or demands of the Hall Of Fame. It's their show not mine.

That said, I won't be attending The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction 2012 Ceremony and I respectfully decline my induction as a member of Guns N' Roses to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know that no one is authorized nor may anyone be permitted to accept any induction for me or speak on my behalf. Neither former members, label representatives nor the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame should imply whether directly, indirectly or by omission that I am included in any purported induction of "Guns N' Roses".

This decision is personal. This letter is to help clarify things from my and my camp's perspective. Neither is meant to offend, attack or condemn. Though unfortunately I'm sure there will be those who take offense (God knows how long I'll have to contend with the fallout), I certainly don't intend to disappoint anyone, especially the fans, with this decision. Since the announcement of the nomination we've actively sought out a solution to what, with all things considered, appears to be a no win, at least for me, "damned if I do, damned if I don't" scenario all the way around.

In regard to a reunion of any kind of either the Appetite or Illusion lineups, I've publicly made myself more than clear. Nothing's changed.

The only reason, at this point, under the circumstances, in my opinion whether under the guise of "for the fans" or whatever justification of the moment, for anyone to continue to ask, suggest or demand a reunion are misguided attempts to distract from our efforts with our current lineup of myself, Dizzy Reed, Tommy Stinson, Frank Ferrer, Richard Fortus, Chris Pitman, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and DJ Ashba.

Izzy came out with us a few times back in '06 and I invited him to join us at our LA Forum show last year. Steven was at our show at the Hard Rock, later in '06 in Las Vegas, where I invited him to our after-party and was rewarded with his subsequent interviews filled with reunion lies. Lesson learned. Duff joined us in 2010 and again in '11 along with his band, Loaded, opening in Seattle and Vancouver. For me, with the exception of Izzy or Duff joining us on stage if they were so inclined somewhere in the future for a song or two, that's enough.

There's a seemingly endless amount of revisionism and fantasies out there for the sake of self-promotion and business opportunities masking the actual realities. Until every single one of those generating from or originating with the earlier lineups has been brought out in the light, there isn't room to consider a conversation let alone a reunion.

Maybe if it were you it'd be different. Maybe you'd do it for this reason or that. Peace, whatever. I love our band now. We're there for each other when the going get's rough. We love our fans and work to give them every ounce of energy and heart we can.

So let sleeping dogs lie or lying dogs sleep or whatever. Time to move on. People get divorced. Life doesn't owe you your own personal happy ending especially at another's, or in this case several others', expense.

But hey if ya gotta then maybe we can get the "no show, grandstanding, publicity stunt, disrespectful, he doesn't care about the fans" crap out of the way as quickly as we can and let's move on. No one's taking the ball and going home. Don't get it twisted. For more than a decade and a half we've endured the double standards, the greed of this industry and the ever present seemingly limitless supply of wannabes and unscrupulous, irresponsible media types. Not to imply anything in this particular circumstance, but from my perspective in regard to both the Hall and a reunion, the ball's never been in our court.

In closing, regardless of this decision and as hard to believe or as ironic as it may seem, I'd like to sincerely thank the board for their nomination and their votes for Guns' induction. More importantly I'd like to thank the fans for being there over the years, making any success we've had possible and for enjoying and supporting Guns N' Roses music.

I wish the Hall a great show, congratulations to all the other artists being inducted and to our fans we look forward to seeing you on tour!!

Sincerely,

Axl Rose

P.S. RIP Armand, Long Live ABC III

Readers, I am actually the same way Axl is in a manner of speaking. I would not reunite for something like this - if particular circumstances were presented to me as it were to Axl to date. There is just too much "stuff" that has happened for a reunion of any kind.

I do not have any comments about the letter since I just read it so perhaps I may comment on it. Then again, maybe not.

Was the letter a rant? A fuck you? Just something to say? You can come to your own conclusion Readers.

Sometimes, the past is better left as a memory.

Until the next time

Daryl Charley
The Fallen Athlete

The Return to the Road Bike

Greetings Readers

Today I am back on the bike after two days of running - granted I was suppose to run today also, but due to what needed to be done at work early this morning I had to bike in.

I have to admit I was looking forward to this morning. I got the bike ready last night.

The run home last night was 30 degrees colder from the previous night. I will admit it was nice. I was not working up a sweat, in a manner of speaking, and I actually felt comfortable running last night. I did have to change Oakley sunglass lens due to the filtration of light into my eyes. I had to use a less dark of a lens. I wanted my eyes to be hidden so that no one can see my eyes. I do have a clear and orange heighten lens, but I did not want to use those two lens.

I was a bit cold when I started running last night, but after the warm up I was okay. Oh, the smell of food last night was... in the words of my ex-co-worker "awesome" I smelled some good Chinese food (as opposed to awful, cheap or just bad Chinese food smell) aroma from a restaurant I passed on the way home. Then, I smelled good hamburgers and I think that was about it. There are only a few restaurants on the way home after that it is trails and the communities that I run (bike) through to and from work.

Back to this morning - the bike into work was not as easy as I thought it was going to be. The Achilles tendon was a hurtin when pedalling. And of course, I am sure that is due to the 24 miles that I have ran in the past two days.

Well.... Since I road in this morning I had to get the mileage of my run in on the running route I have carved out to and from work. I estimated 6 miles, but actually thought it was a bit longer. However, after I got to work I looked at the mileage and the mileage was 5.94 miles. Un-fucking-believable. I know where I can get the .06 mileage, but that means I will have to add a bit more to my run, which mind you is not in a straight line nor the shortest route home. I actually have to run around a dam as opposed to just climbing (running) up and down. I also have to stick to the path as opposed to crossing a park, a baseball diamond, a swatch of grass, etc. I mean I could, but then that would mean I would not know what the mileage adjustment would be and also would be shorter than the 5.94 miles I know for a fact.

For the record

Day 1

Home to work - 1:20.10
Work to home - 1:11.34

Day 2

Home to Work - 1:21.10
Work to Home - 1:12.57

In actuality, I only ran 23.76 miles in the past two days. I lost 3 pounds, could even be more, but I have been eating rice (Uncle Ben's) to replenish my Carbs I have been burning, in the past two days. I did switch to Chicken so that helped out on less fat in consumption.

Tomorrow, Friday, I had already designated my bike day so I will be riding to work tomorrow. I also have to run some errands after work (perhaps at lunch) so I need to be mobile. As much as I planned not to run this weekend I may have to run since I could not run today.

Which brings me to the Runnin' of the Green. Yes, it is that time of the year - and again I will not be running once more. I just started running again, my thighs are tender (sore) and I would feel that paying 40.00 dollars plus is not worth it for me. I know my legs would be still recovering and getting a good time is out of the question and furthermore I do not want to have an awful time officially recorded for a first running event of 2012 for this coming Sunday.

Also, the weekend is Daylight Saving Time. Which by the way Readers - I got to know a Colombian last year and apparently she does not have Daylight Savings Time in Columbia so she hates this. I just found out since I asked her how does it feel to lose an hour this weekend and she replied "What?" And that was when she said she did not know... well forgot since she is not used to DST change.

Anyway, we Colorado residents are going to have good weather for a bit - I saw the weather this morning and by Monday we may hit 68 degrees - not bad for the month known as the snowest for Colorado in history.

Until the next time

Daryl Charley
The Fallen Athlete

First Run to Work for 2012

Greetings Readers

Today was the first day this year that I made myself run to work. I have been planning this for a few weeks now, but I got sick about two weeks with a cold. Well, I got sick, but not fully sick so I postponed til I got better.

It was amazing that I had to shut down my body, to rest and drink and eat properly. Meaning, taking in healthy food, but also having won ton soup from two different Chinese restaurants. That was not a problem for me. I know that won ton soups is tremendous on helping me fight a cold.

What I liked but did not like was spending money on Orange Juice and Grapefruit juice - That shit is expensive. Needless to say I did and thank goodness they were on sale otherwise I would be paying about one dollar more.

So, with the start of this week I feel about 90 to 95 percent well. That said I made it point to start my first run to work. Perhaps I was looking for an excuse, but I really could not come up with one.

Lo and behold the morning came around and there I was lying on the floor. It was going to be a nice day and the air was just right for drinking... oops just kidding. The air was just right for running.

The alarm clock came on as she does every morning. Yet, this time I knew what was planned and I was already starting to plan. Planning on finding some excuse not to run. It was not a cold morning really. It was sunny and there was no excuse not to run this morning to work.

Well, the number one excuse would be is that my run to work is going to be about 6 miles and when I get off work tonight I am going to have to run another six miles to get home. And with me not running for a bit now I never know how my legs will react to running this many miles after so long for not running at all. Sometimes, everything goes great; other times I over do my body limit's and walking and standing hurts due to over working my muscles in my thighs and calves.

Anyway, I got the kitchen timer also this morning and started the countdown for 15 minutes. Soon, an hour past by and I was no closer from getting out the door. But, I was no closer to getting on the bike either. That was a good thing. I did not even think about getting on public transportation either.

Soon, zero hour came and I knew there was point I had to get moving or else I would be getting to work late.

I got up and soon I was packing a small backpack with only my work clothes, getting my winter running gear on and getting ready to leave the humble abode.

The first mile was tough in a manner of speaking due to not running for a long time. Yet, I found my pace and mantra with the tunes from my Ipod. I found my running mode.

It was hidden, but not too deep for me to find. I just had to re-discover where it was. Soon, the miles clicked off and then I got near work.

And that was when I found... er smelled... what I love to smell in the morning even though I do not drink. Starbucks Coffee. The wind was blowing the aroma of Starbucks coffee where I was running and that was the most wonderful smell at that moment. Lucky me. I think I smelled the aroma from about 1/2 mile away. Wow. What did that was also the cause why my running slowed down. I was running into the wind as well as running uphill. My speed dropped drastically, but I was not worried about it. I knew I was running at the pace I was at for the reasons of the environment conditions.

Anyway, five hours later - I feel good and the legs are doing okay. I felt a tinge of my calves tightening a bit; perhaps wanting to cramp.

You may wondering, perhaps not, but I did this run since I am planning to start the P90X once more. I want to work off some stomach fat which I do have. But I want to start again. Nothing more or nothing less. Well, I want to start again since apparently there is now a P90X 2. And before I attempt to try that program I want to re-introduce myself to P90X since I know that program can, and will, kick my ass overall. Not funny, but funny since it does work.

Alright Readers, just thought to let you know, read, about my first run of the year as well as my first run to work. The time kinda sucks - 1:20:15.65 - for me from what I can remember, but can not remember. So, I am going to have to look for old calendars and see what times I did log for a run to work. I want to say I was, at my best, averaging 50 minutes - running to work. Remember, a run to work best - not an overall best time by no means.

I say I feel good, but the worst is yet to come when I wake up tomorrow morning. I will have delayed body shock to 12 miles of running in one day after months of not running a mile at all. I bet that I am going to be in some difficultly tomorrow.

Yet, what they say is true - No Pain, No Gain.

Until the next time

Daryl Charley
The Fallen Athlete

Star Wars - The Phantom Menace in 3-D

Greetings Readers

I really do not give a shit about 3-D movies. First and foremost – I am not interested in paying more money than the average non 3-D movie to see a movie in 3-D.

Granted, I did see Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 2 in 3-D and I will have to admit – it was amazing! I was impressed since this was my first 3-D movie in a couple of decades. No colored lens – the glasses were like real glasses – clear lens and plastic frames.

What I mean is that I grew up as child in the eighties when 3-D meant blue and red paper glasses and red/blue flimsy clear paper lens. If I remember correctly the movies that I remember seeing were Jaws 3-D, Friday the 13th Part 3 in 3-D, Treasure of the Four Crowns (or something close to that movie title), and… well, I know there is one more that I remember seeing. It was 3-D, but only for that time in history. Matter of fact – I have a couple of comics that are in 3-D also – meaning that you have to use those blue and red glasses.

Anyway, 3-D these days. There are a slew of them – I heard all, but a couple were good. Other films I heard, for example, Clash of the Titans 3-D, was simply awful 3-D. I would not know since I do not want to pay 15.00 dollars. Matter of fact, I have a problem paying 8.00 dollars or so for a regular movie. That is just me.

Hence, that is why I really do not post any more movie reviews on my blog on the ones that I go see in the movie theatres. So, I think I have been seeing about one movie a year. Then, about two years ago there was Tuesday super saver, but eventually that changed to $ 5.00 Sundays. Even with Sundays being cheap I have yet to go on a Sunday.

The main reason – Who in the fuck wants to see a re-make? Not me. For reals. I just don’t get it. Why make a remake? And believe me Readers there are a lot more than you think have been made. Oh, I better stick to the main topic. I may discuss/rant about this another time…

So, guess what – Star Wars I – The Phantom Menace has been re-done in 3-D and is scheduled for release next month. I am a Star Wars fan, but not of the prequels. Anyway, 3-D for that movie? I don’t know. Yes, George is going to clean up on revenue on this movie. Matter of fact, I can almost predict that movie theatres are going to up the price for this just because they can and the hard core people will pay to see.

Me? Most likely, but not sure. I will need to re-watch the movie to see what would be “3-D” worthy. Sure, the pod racing would be one scene that would be… in the words of my ex-co-worker - awesome in 3-D. I do not know about the light saber scenes – perhaps – but I cannot see it just wow-ing me over in 3-D.

Overall, if I go I am going to have to listen to Jar-Jar again, the lousy acting of Natalie Portman, the Gungan and Battle droids doing digital battle and other things which make the movie just too long to watch again. George, sorry Readers I am referring to George Lucas when using his first name, had a good idea but he overwhelms the audience with too much digital “stuff” in the movie.

The movie wasn’t all bad – I did like the light saber battle at the end where they are battling on the catwalks from a distance. And who doesn’t like “The Duel of the Fates."

P.S. I saw a trailer for Titanic coming soon in 3-D. Since I did not see Avatar in 3-D by James Cameron I may have to see this movie by James Cameron. Are 3-D movies made by the same company? I don't know. I know it will not be like Avatar since that was shot with 3-D cameras, but if the raves about Avatar's 3-D and perhaps the same company that did that 3-D may have did a good job doing Titanic in 3-D. Yes, I would see this in 3-D - yet I would have to hear "Jack!" and come to think about it this may be less worthy of being done in 3-D. Sure, some of the ship's angles and perhaps sinking, but other than that I can not see what else would be worthy of 3-D. hah hah.

Until the next time

Daryl Charley
The Fallen Athlete