Song Dedication on the brink.

The following is a song that I love so much, not only because of it's melody, guitar power, percussion, and that awesome Oberheim synthesizer sound, but also of some uplifting lyrics.

This comes at a time when someone needs a lift the most. Who? The St. Louis Cardinals.
They had a good start at Busch in Game 1, but lost it in the second along with a bad fall by Reggie Sanders.
Then Game Three came to Minute Maid Park, and a matchup that included the ultra-powerful Roger Clemens, and another loss.
Game Four was yesterday, and while Cardinals pitching was great, their offense wasn't. The strike zone was as consistent as the staff racing the trains on Racer at Kings Island. I thought the officiating was downright fixed. I can't blame LaRussa or Edmonds for getting ejected. The Astros won that one too.

The album is The Grand Illusion. Performed by Styx, it's "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)." This one is for you:

You see the world through your cynical eyes,
You're a troubled young man I can tell.
You've got it all in the palm of your hand,
But your hand's wet with sweat and your head needs a rest.
And you're fooling yourself if you don't believe it.
You're kidding yourself if you don't believe it.
How can you be such an angry young man,
When your future looks quite bright to me?
How can there be such a sinister plan,
That could hide such a lamb, such a caring young man?

And you're fooling yourself if you don't believe it.
You're killing yourself if you don't believe it.
Get up, get back on your feet,
You're the one they can't beat and you know it.
Come on, let's see what you've got,
Just take your best shot and don't blow it.

And you're fooling yourself if you don't believe it.
You're killing yourself if you don't believe it.
Get up, get back on your feet,
You're the one they can't beat and you know it.
Come on, let's see what you've got
Just take your best shot and don't blow it.

Having dedicated this song to the St. Louis Cardinals, I say best of luck! "Show me" you can!

"We show you tomorrow."

“How do we stay relaxed? We show you tomorrow.” - Albert. Pujols

After all, his team is from the "Show Me State!"

Carpenter. Petite. And the Pujols guy. Tonight. Game Five!

SPORTS!!!: WHY???

A good pitcher in Jeff Suppan, a nervous Brandon Backe for the Astros, and good bats of Albert Pujols and Reggie Sanders...

So why did manager Tony LaRussa and center fielder Jim Edmonds get ejected?

I promise you, I was mad as much as I would be with Kings Island announcing it would remove many of its large coasters to become a full fledged family park (the KI scenario only being a hypothetical situation)

Either it was bad luck, or there were umpires looking for their 15 minutes of fame, by intentionally making some ass backwards calls.

BUT... just like I'm optimistic of my home park getting that dreamy B&M hyper or floorless. I am optimistic that the Cardinals will beat Pettitte, leave Houston with a win, and beat the Astros and Clemens in games 6 and 7 at Busch!

Just in... whoever wins the NLCS will play American League Champion Chicago Wite Sox! The Sox just defeated Anaheim in Game 5 at Angel Stadium, 5-3.

LET'S GO CARDINALS!!!

Something BIG is coming later this October!

Yes, something BIG is coming to the Allen Arena 'network' later this month.
Plans are tentative and not truly FINALized as of yet...

But do check allenarena.com and this blog regularly for more updates on this thing of possibly WORLDwide proportions...

Apple releases video-capable 5th gen. iPod

They say that 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Apparently, Apple Computer wasn't listening. After they make a great best-selling product for a little while... they replace it.

They started the iPod, which was seen as a 'niche' product in 2001. Rather than keep it the same, theyve increased the capacity, improve the battery life, reduced the physical size, lowered the price, etc... There's even been the iPod shuffle, that's the size of a pack of gum.

Then in early 2004 they introduced the iPod mini, a smaller version of the original 4GB iPod. Around Christmas that year, they couldn't keep it on the shelves, and therefore became the best-selling digital music player. And just a month or so ago, they replaced it with the iPod nano, an even smaller one, this time with a color screen, flash rather than hard drive capacity, and about as thin as a #2 pencil.

Now, they have overhauled the regular iPods with the fifth-generation model. The biggest
new feature is a long-awaited one: video playback. And iTunes has been upgraded to 6.0 to allow videos, and the iTunes Music Store now sells a handful of music videos, TV shows, and short films that will be priced at $1.99 each, that will play on the 5th generation iPod.

The screen is bigger (2.5") to better please the video buffs, but the unit itself is smaller... the 60GB 5th-gen is even smaller than a 30 GB 4th-gen iPod. Since money is a bit tight for me, it might be a while before I own one (i might keep my 4th-gen 40GB monochrome one for another year, at most, and opt for a nano or shuffle for more rigorous activities) but I'll likely make a trip to the Kenwood Apple Store within the next week to check it out!

More info: Apple and iLounge

Cedar Fair interested in Six Flags?

Toledo Blade article

League Championship Series all set

Monday night, the Angels held off the Yankees in Game 5 (longest LDS this postseason), and will play the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago... Tonight! Tuesday. Game is 7PM.

Both LCS' I think might go at least six games. I've raved about the Cardinals' power for a while, but the Astros have a lot as well in pitching and hitting.

Wednesday, it's Carpenter vs. Pettite, but I'd be a bit surprised if the Astros got this one at Busch.

Baseball Humor

Jim Edmonds: "Tell #5 that I'm Albert Pujols!"

Regional Discrimination?

There's a lot of great sports action available on the tube here in Cincinnati.
ESPN has the 'titanic struggle' between the Braves and Astros in the NLDS.
FOX and CBS had a couple of games on the TV at 1pm - Chicago at Cleveland and New England in Atlanta.
Now there is one game on FOX, the Philadelphia Eagles at the Dallas Cowboys... but where's the huge fan base?
Especially since the Indianapolis Colts are in San Francisco at the same time.
To me, that would be like carrying the Northwestern/Illinois game instead of the Ohio State/Michigan game here.

Here's what I don't get:

The local media heavily covers Ohio State football. Columbus is two hours away (driving time).
The local media heavily covers Kentucky basketball as well. Lexington is two hours away.
BUT, even though Indianapolis is also two hours away, the Colts get almost no coverage here. Neither do the Pacers.
You think that with a 4-0 record (as of this moment) and the QB genius that is Peyton Manning, FiveNineTwelveAndNineteen would root for the blue.

However, does Columbus like the Bengals a lot? Do they even really care for the Reds? Do the Capital City stations even take a moment to mention the University of Cincinnati?

Go down to Lexington: do they show clips of (my good friend) Bradley Glatthaar scoring a touchdown for the football Bearcats? I thought not.


So what is CBS showing now? Paid programming, championship skiing, and the CBS Evening News! WOW! Who needs Kings Island to have excitement?!
Sure..... they could show a Colts game, but its 'bad for business reasons.'

If people haven't been near Paul Brown Stadium (OR RCA Dome) on early Sunday, there's tons of people willing to spend money for football. Are football fans bad for business?!


Similar to some selections on FOX Saturday Baseball... the two choices are the Cubs and the Brewers or the Cardinals and the Braves... Oddly enough, we love the Cubs, even though they haven't won crap for almost 100 years, so we pick them and the suddenly-good-after-years-of anonyminity Derek Lee. We could show the consistently good Cardinals and Albert Pujols... but he's a bathroom word, and they last won it all in the 1980s. Do the damn math, FOX 19.

Yes, the Bengals are great... but there's another NFL team of such high (I argue even higher) caliber just two hours away from Cincinnati... and they're just as newsworthy as the Nuts or Wildcats could ever be.

NL Semifinalists!

Congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals for sweeping the San Diego Padres in the NL Division Series, with a late night win 7-4 at PETCO Park!

On Wednesday, the Cardinals will host either the Atlanta Braves or the Houston Astros for Game One at Busch Stadium.

This coming week, tickets for the final World Series at Busch should go on sale...

SPORTS!!!! Update early Sunday 10/9

From the past weekend:

High School Football: Joe Harbin's Blog.
Around town, St. Xavier is still the one, defeating LaSalle. For the Lancers to make it into the playoffs, Elder must beat Indianapolis Bishop Chatard... the win may get Moeller in the 'Playoff Eight' as well.
Whether Colerain has a home or away playoff opener depends on how a matchup in TEXAS goes, as well as a matchup in Kentucky...


The NHL is back! While it sucks to have no professional hockey in Cincinnati (the last time was 1989-90,) the big guys took the ice this week after a nasty labor stoppage that erased the 2004-05 season. Tidbits:
- All rinks have "Thank You Fans!" real big on the ice
- New rules, from new line designations, like the 2-line pass
- No ties! After regulation, there will be a 5 minute overtime period. If there is still a tie, there will be a shootout, like the IHL had. This makes the games exciting, especially when the Penguins lost at Carolina Friday in a shootout... that goalie did well against Lemieux and Crosby!
- Wayne Gretzky is head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, and made a lineup boo-boo his first night...
- At least Columbus and the beautiful Nationwide Arena are only 2 hours away!

Some upsets in College Football:
- After almost 20 years, Minnesota finally has the Little Brown Jug, by beating Michigan 23-20 at The Big House. Some good work by MINN's QB Bryan Cupito (who played at McNicholas HS in Cincinnati) and Center Big Greg Eslinger...
- Penn State on the same level as USC? After defeating Ohio State in Happy Valley 17-10, Joe Paterno is proud to have held off retirement, as the Nittany Lions are 6-0.
- Northwestern defeated Wisconsin at Ryan Field near Chicago, 51-48.

(Double for Pujols.)

And last, but certainly not least, the Cardinals are leading 7-2 in San Diego in the 6th at this moment. An RBI for Pujols, a 2R HR for Eckstein, 2R RBIs for Molina and Sanders.
Looks like it's the Cards against the Houston Astros (or possibly the Atlanta Braves) on Wednesday at Busch Stadium for the NL Championship Series.

Church Sign Generator

While browsing the forums of the Glenn Beck Insider, I saw another one of those funny sign generators... this time, church signs.

If you are a Simpsons fan, like myself, you have noticed the many humorous messages found on the marquee at the First Church of Springfield.

Now there ChurchSignGenerator.comthe webmaster was found some church marquees he either found on the Internet or in person, the signs all funny, whether or not they intended to be. He started this site to let people make their own church signs, as well as see some of those actual signs that give congregations some fame.

Here are some of my 'creations.'

From The Simpsons:

For all who listen to some national radio show on Friday mornings:


And for sports lovers like myself:

Cincinnati Area Coaster Enthusiasts

Tonight I made it out for the latest meeting of the Cincinnati Area Coaster Enthusiasts (or CACE). We met at O'Charley's on Fields Ertel Road, located southwest of Kings Island.

Some of the more regulars, like myself were there, as were organizer Derek Clayton, Mary Heck, Brian Neal, Brian Kosmac, and David Cornell. We generally talk about our coaster trips and what is new around here and around the world.

If you have read, I have visited several different parks this year, most recently Holiday World and Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. Our most adventurous member, however, was David, who recently got back from the European Coaster Club's big trip to Japan.

Some other stuff may come up, like sports. I am following the baseball playoffs, especially the St. Louis Cardinals, who lead the Padres in the NLDS 2-0. It's a good chance they will make it to the World Series - I hope to be there when they close Busch Stadium for the last time...

Anyway, if you live in the greater Cincinnati area, and you enjoy roller coasters, I strongly encourage you to join our group at Yahoo!, and then for some of our monthly dinner meetings! We also have special occasions, such as a regional dinner outing and park outings at places like Kings Island, Stricker's Grove, and WonderPark.

Again, come join us! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cincycoaster/

Our first poll: What day would you prefer to meet on the first week of November?

Trip Report: Holiday World 10/1/05

From Dale, IN

Holiday World held its first enthusiast event since 2003 on Saturday. Although it was hosted by CoasterBuzz, it was the begin to a return to some normalcy. Although the over 150 attendees paled in comparison to the old Stark Raven mad events, it was a good restart.

First of note was the live recording of a CoasterBuzz.com podcast in the Holiday Theater, which I arrived upon during its recording. To hear it, you can subscribe to it through Apple's iTunes, or go to podcast.coasterbuzz.com. Hosted by Jeff Putz, some of the CoasterBuzz staff participated, with special guest Holiday World President Will Koch.

After the podcast, I met up with some friends, like Dave Bowers and Paul Drabek, and went for some rides on the three coasters, as well as the Liberty Launch.

One of the coolest parts of the event was the construction tour of the park's next wooden coaster, the Voyage. So far, the lift structure has reached 2/3 of its height, and one of the 90 degree banked turns was being completed.

Shortly after the construction walkback, dinner (pizza, chips, fudge) was held in Kringle's Banquet Hall, where an auction of old coaster parts raised over $600 for the Red Cross.

The end highlight was the exclusive ride time on the Raven and The Legend. Throughout the day, I got 11 Raven rides, and 12 on Legend. Later on in the night, double rides were being given. Just like I remember, the two were full of air and laterals, like that of few other coasters.

Thanks to Jeff Putz, as well as Mrs. Pat Koch, Will Koch, and Paula Werne for making this event such a memorable time!

A memorable farewell to Busch Stadium

From Dale, IN, near Holiday World, where the CoasterBuzz Club Fall Affair was held today.

Over 47,000 fans, like myself, went to Busch Stadium to see the Reds and Cardinals play in the final regular season series at Busch Stadium on Friday. We saw greats, from the past, like Herzog, Smith, and McGwire, today, like Pujols, bring the fans to their feet with some great memories.

One of those memories was a grand slam by Albert Pujols.

Pujols makes history in Cards' win
A grand slam, his 40th of the season, and 200th in his career.

Also, Mark McGwire, who broke Maris' home run record at Busch in 1998, and set the record at 70 later that season there, was selected to count down the final season, from 3 to 2.


(Tom Gannam/AP, stlcardinals.com)

The Reds had some offensive effort, but the Redbirds prevailed, 12-6.

Saying goodbye was hard for me, but it was fun and exciting at the same time! The fans and staff I ran into were just as friendly as the folks of Holiday World were today.

Except where noted, photos of/by Tom Allen/The Allen Company, allenarena.com, copyright 2005.

Dr. Phil's Words of Wisdom

I have compiled some quotables from Cincinnati's own Bill Cunningham.

However, there must be some readers who could care less about some 'small town talker.' (Hey, I take offense to that!!)

But by (not so popular demand), I am linking to Dr. Phil's Words of Wisdom.
These clips were aired on The Late Show with David Letterman during the 2002-03 season.


Here are some of the best:

"I've had a vasectomy, and I've had it reversed!"

"I want to be Miss America."

"From this point forward, I want you to start living a a gay woman."

"You say another word, I'm gonna fine you $10,000 a word."

"I want you to make two separate trips to the cemetery."

"Call your wife a bitch."

"Jay Leno is one of my favorites."

"Just wanted to let you all know, I'm insane."


That (and more) is Dr. Phil's Words of Wisdom!

A rough weekend of sorts in sports...

For me, the sports fan, this weekend has been rough, not only because I have the flu,* but also some of my favorite teams lost.

- The St. Louis Cardinals dropped 4 of their last 6 games, to basement and near-basement teams like the Reds and Brewers... but then again, they did clinch the NL Central Championship a week ago. Pujols is still at 39 homers, but that may change before they close Busch for its final regular season.

- The Michigan Wolverines lost a good battle against Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium Satdurday night, 20-23. This was both their Big Ten and road opener of the season - the Wolverines have had a 'djoyyu' record in the past decade when it comes to road openers. But as I usually do, here at the offices of The Allen Company, I am optimistic that the maize and blue will do fine this season, especially against the Columbus Nuts.

- The Elder Panthers, a favorite HS team of mine, are 2-3, having lost their third so far to LaSalle and Tyler Sheehan** 20-40. And my old school, Princeton, is now 1-4. You can count the Vikes out, but I have a feeling that the Panthers will also be looking in from the outside after their meeting with the #1 Bombers of St. X.

BUT... not all was misery.

The Bengals overpowered the Bears today at Soldier Field 24-7. Expect Marvin, Chad, and Carson to have some smooth sailing into the middle of the season, where it could get rough against the more powerful like Pittsburgh and Indianapolis. But things do look good so far! 3-0!

The Colts, whom I will see play Ben and Pittsburgh on a Monday night in November, are also 3 for 3 after a meeting with Cleveland at the Dome, 13-6. The Steelers and Patriots, however, now are both at 2-1, after the Steelers' loss to New England at Heinz Field, 23-20. Adam Viniateri and my distant cousin Tom Brady got it done tonight after the upset by Carolina last week.


Finally, appropriate comments are encouraged. So if you have something normal, honest, decent, and even critical to say, go for it!

* This must be one of the perks to not being employed right now!
** I'm sure Tyler's mother isn't a loudmouth camera whore.

Positivly Kentucy!

This is a screenshot of Champion Windows' latest commercial. The picture was taken either Wednesday or Thursday. As of today, it was still on the air, uncorrectd.

Kings Island announces Nickelodeon Universe for 2006

After 5 years of winning the award for best kids area, Kings Island is going to revamp its children's area to an even bigger, better one...

KINGS ISLAND, Ohio– Paramount’s Kings Island, long ranked as offering the “Best Kid’s Area in the World,” Amusement Today Golden Ticket award winner 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, is excited to premiere the most elaborate collection of Nickelodeon-inspired rides and attractions in the world opening in the Spring of 2006. Nick Universe includes a total of 18 rides and attractions bringing to life Nickelodeon’s most popular character celebrities and adventures including Avatar™, The Backyardigans™, Blue’s Clues™, Danny Phantom™, Dora the Explorer™, The Fairly OddParents™, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius™, LazyTown™, Little Bill™, The Rugrats™, SpongeBob SquarePants™, and The Wild Thornberrys™.

The largest Nickelodeon area in the world boasts six all-new attractions including:

Thrill-seeking families take a whirlwind ride with Avatar on this first-of-its kind family roller coaster.

Kids can enjoy a free-fall ride in the hopes to escape the menacing wrath of Plankton, SpongeBob SquarePants’ nemesis.

Families fly with Danny Phantom as they spin through the air like a superhero.

All aboard Azul™ the train! – Passengers join Dora the Explorer and Boots™ on a storybook train ride adventure.

Kids join Blue for a jumping journey around her house.

Guests enter the adventures of Bikini Bottom through a pineapple under the sea to experience SpongeBob SquarePants’ underwater world.


Nick Universe also features two new neighborhoods containing a variety of Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants - inspired rides and attractions. In addition, this area has new dining, shopping and celebrity encounters with kids’ favorite Nickelodeon stars.


“Thanks to our incredible partnership with Nickelodeon, we are creating the next level of family entertainment. We are excited to offer a collection of new attractions that parents and kids can enjoy together, in conjunction with new family-friendly amenities such as spacious shaded walkways and additional shaded seating,” said Craig Ross executive vice president and general manager for Paramount’s Kings Island. “The Nickelodeon Universe area and attraction detail, along with other new 2006 attraction information, will be announced after the conclusion of our long anticipated WinterFest holiday event.”

While this means good-bye to Hanna-Barbera Land and its characters after almost 35 years (except for Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Mansion,) its something for the new generation that has better grown with SpongeBob, the Rugrats, Dora, Jimmy Neutron, Blue's Clues, and the Wild Thornberrys.

Trip Report: Michigan Football - U-M vs. E.M.U. , 9/17

Word of wisdom: Not all Ohioans are Buckeye fans. I am one of such people who love the maize and blue. Therefore, Ohio State fans are strongly discouraged from commenting.

I had followed Michigan football for over a decade, through all the great teams and players, and some of the less noteworthy since the mid-90s. I have seen local high school football, at famed places like the Pit at Elder HS, and even the state finals in Canton. I've gone to NFL games at Paul Brown and RCA. I've seen the college game at Nippert, Yager, and Ohio Stadium. But to me, I haven't reached the top of the football venue list.

Until this past Saturday.

I sat in section 24, row 18. I don't think I've ever gotten Bearcat football ticket seats this good! Of all places, the BIG HOUSE! This is the largest football stadium, with a seating capacity of over 107,000. The announced crowd exceeded 109,000. Nobody... NO NFL team, not Ohio State, not Penn State, not even Tennessee... is bigger! I've always said that bigger isn't always better, but damn, this was great!!

I'm sure everyone is familiar with the Michigan Wolverines. They defeated Northern Illinois at home for the first week, but lost hard to Charlie Weis' Notre Dame team the next week, so their chances to appear in the national championship, the Rose Bowl, are up in the air.

Eastern Michigan, like the University of Michigan, is located in Ypsilanti County, just a 10 minute or so drive from each other. Their first game was Cincinnati, in their debut game as a Big East member. EMU is a member of the MAC (mid-Atlantic) conference, like Miami (Oxford, OH), Bowling Green and Ball State... MAC is a tier-3 type of conference, Big East could be tier-2, and Big Ten (Michigan, Ohio State, MSU, Purdue, etc.) are tier-1, like the ACC or SEC.

The fact that EMU's close loss to UC (26-28) and nowhere near close loss to UM (0-55) say something about the schools.... Math-wise. Michigan > Cincinnati > Eastern Michigan.

The season is young. The Big Ten can be tough, so Michigan won't have an easy season, especially against Ohio State. Eastern Michigan is in MAC, so they might be decent in conference play. Cincinnati: don't be celebrating just yet the entry into the Big East, especially with Louisville and Brian Brohm...

Now back to Ann Arbor. There were several touchdowns. The band played 'The Victors' very often. Halftime was very entertaining, with a "Monty Python/Big 10" theme for UM's halftime show.

My review of some of the facilities:
- The stadium is served by a single concourse, that is, however, outside of the structure and is a large asphalt midway that encircles the stadium.
- The main concourse is located at the 73rd row. My seat was on the 18th. It was pretty impressive for Yost and architects to do in the mid 1920s, but a good hike for folks like me.
- Considering that there are almost 110,000 fans per game, parking is at a premium. Some of the closest lots charge $30 or $40 per vehicle. (Some parking facilities, like the UM Golf Course, may be unavailable due to poor weather conditions at times.) However, think of the money homeowners/renters (especially students), as well as the nearby Pioneer High School, all make!
- I parked in Downtown Ann Arbor, and my parking was less than $6, but it was a long hike. There are also shuttles available from area garages and hotels.
- There are many concession stands, not only underneath the stands, but outside the perimeter in tents.
- The M-Den has 3 trailers that sell fan gear and merchandise. I spent time in there. There was a line to enter, but it was minimal.
- The restrooms are OK, most mens rooms had waterfalls for men to urinate at. Sit-downs were however, located in stalls with doors (nothing unusual here). At peak times, inadequate, especially with women. There are portable toilets outside the stadium perimeter (which I try hard not to use when nearby permanent facilities are present).

There are plans, maybe as early as next year, to renovate Michigan Stadium. These include: premium seating areas, including some enclosed seating at both endzones, a new pressbox, and additional permanent restroom facilities, especially for women.

In short, there are better (and far worse) stadiums out there. The atmosphere sets this one far apart!