DerekGMZ

i must have put a decimal point in the wrong place or something.. sh*t. i always do that. i always mess up some mundane detail. 
well this is not a mundane detail, michael!

By Ellen Bell, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer - 
Picture this: It’s the summer of 1947 and you’re on the grass at Ebbets Field. You’re feeling the heat in your Dodger flannel as you watch Jackie Robinson fly by right before your eyes, safe at first.  
This wasn't a dream, but the first day on the set for Rob Goldman who spent five weeks as an extra on the film, “42.”  
“I kept thinking to myself that day, ‘Holy Cow, how did I get here?” said Goldman, an actor and life-long baseball fan. 
For Rob Goldman, the journey to his summer of “42” began years ago, when as a boy he met Jackie Robinson at Dodger Stadium. It was an exhibition game in 1971 honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Goldman crossed paths with Robinson in the stands and got an autographed program as a souvenir. 
“I had my own Jackie Robinson moment,” he said.  
Years later, as an actor who has appeared in such films as “Dances With Wolves” and “JFK” , Goldman heard about the possibility of a movie about his boyhood idol. Several different directors tried to make the film, but writer-director Brian Helgeland was the first to get a green light and make it a reality.  
“When I heard about the project,” said Goldman “I had to take a chance.” 
In May of 2012, Goldman traveled to Birmingham, Alabama to begin shooting the baseball sequences for the film. Extras aren't guaranteed screen time on a film. Like minor league baseball players, they need to be ready when it’s their chance to bat. On the first day of shooting, Goldman saw an opportunity and stepped up to the plate.  
“People were taking the field and I saw that there was no one coaching first base,” Goldman said. “Instead of waiting for someone to ask, I just took the spot. I hit my marks on the first take and it became my job for the rest of the shoot.” 
That’s where Goldman can be seen in the film, coaching first base and getting in the umpire’s face after a blown call.  
“ I've played and coached a lot of baseball so I brought my experience to the film. It felt good to contribute and be part of the team.” 
Teamwork was prevalent on the set, as more than 100 baseball players worked together   to film the action scenes. There were three different baseball groups; the cast members who had speaking roles and the “Graf Dodgers” named for the college students led by second unit director Allan Graf, who played the other teams. Goldman was part of the third group, called The Rovers.  
“We were the guys who would fill in the holes, playing whatever else was needed.” 
As weeks of shooting passed, the groups of actors became a real team, contributing on the field and joking around in the locker room.  
“There was an atmosphere of teamwork on the project,” Goldman remembered. “The actors weren't ego driven at all. Chad (Chadwick Boseman who played Jackie Robinson) was just one of the guys. Harrison Ford had no trappings, no entourage. He just wanted to be part of the team.” 
“Everyone was committed to the project. The subject matter was too important and everyone wanted to get it right. They put their egos aside.”  
The result is a film destined to become a baseball classic. “42” is a powerful portrayal filled with teachable messages for children. 
Jackie Robinson’s widow, Rachel, was very involved in the making of the film. She felt that the tone should be honest yet appropriate for a younger audience. The racial language is disturbing but necessary in the context of the story. Ultimately, the story of Jackie Robinson is given the respect and reverence it deserves.  
So how does it feel to sit in a darkened movie theater and watch yourself on the screen? Rob Goldman says that, at first, all you see are the technical aspects of the film. Like the way Engel Field in Chattanooga, Tennessee was transformed into Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field though the magic of digital technology.  
But about halfway through the screening, something began to change.  
“I stopped noticing the technical stuff and got swept away in the story, “ Goldman said. “At some point the story took over.” 
So were the 16-hour workdays in southern humidity and weeks of Motel 6 stays worth it?  
“I walked out of the theater feeling very content. This movie’s going to be around for a long time, and I’m proud to be a part of something that can have such a positive impact,” 
Thinking about his life-long admiration of an American hero, he said, “This movie serves the legacy right.”
Pick up a copy of Rob Goldman's book "Once They Were Angels" here!  View the full article

Can't wait for the entry titled "He doesn't love you".
 
Glad you are doing well, Derek.

http://goderekgo.com
 
I have officially joined the blogosphere. There's also a quick write up on Angelswin and spring training. 
Check it out. If its your kind of genre, let me know what kind of things you would want to hear about from a Las Vegas poker player/dealer. 

http://goderekgo.com/2013/04/13/spring-training-and-angelswin-com/
 
Sweet Spring Training report!

awesome dude. im stoked to read about the inside scoop on vegas poker stuff.
bummer on the money management issues btw. that sucks. 
glad you got it straightened out now.

This is a series of pics that also represent my wet dreams.  Very safe for work.
 
http://imgur.com/gallery/LSfzu

More appropriate.

godzilla!!
 

Just load Weaver up with some deer antler spray and he'll be back on the mound for his next start.

I'd hate to see what happened to his elbow if his xrays were positive. 

First of all, the sky isn't falling. Its three games into the season. I know that Hamilton and Pujols are 2-23, but let's give this some time.
 
That said, the Angels are going to Texas for a three game series. Chances are they leave Arlington 2-4, even 1-5. If either happens, don't panic!
 
My preseason prediction (not sure if I voiced it here) is that they'd be around .500 in April (13-14?), start warming up in May and be hot in June and hopefully strong for the rest of the year.
 
But remember that this is a relatively new team - lots of new faces and it might take a bit to see how it all fits together. But I think it will. The most encouraging thing so far is how good the bullpen has been - that was one of the team's Achilles' heels going forward. And even if Trout takes a step back and Pujols and Hamilton don't return to peak form, they offense is going to score some runs. The only significant question, in my mind, is the starting pitching. But even then at worse it will be pretty average (but not poor). Best-case scenario and it is actually pretty good (but not great).
 
To put it another way, at worst the Angels will have an average pitching staff and a very good offense, which makes for an 85-90 win team. But that's at worst. More likely the staff is above average and the offense excellent, which makes for a 90-95 win team. And if everything gels just right then this team could win 95+ games.
 
So hang in there, but also temper your expectations, especially in April. Let the team figure out who they are.If they're under .500 on June 1st, OK, we can panic.

DiPoto is having a mid relief crisis.

Is anyone here looking forward to this game? I know I am. Been a long time GTA fan and this new one looks amazing. Just check out the trailers and give me your thoughts.
 
Release Date is 9.17.13
 

 

i havent played GTA since college.
but man we had fun on the one with the scarface soundtrack.

And the game looks beautiful. The map itself is bigger then GTA IV, GTA San Andreas and Red Dead Redemption with room to spare. Anything you see you can go to. From the tops of mountains to the depth of the ocean. Here are some screens to put it in perspective.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few years back, around the time Nick Adenhart was taken from us, I had an idea for a one-hour television series imagining pirates adapting to the modern world.  I thought the name "Adenhart" would make a terrific pirate name, so I kept that in the back of my mind as I was slowly breaking the story.
 
With Adenhart's passing, I named the main clan in my story after Adenhart.  Unfortunately, the script didn't go anywhere which is a shame.  It was a fun script to write.
 
I was digging through some files tonight and found a draft and thought, because of the Adenhart reference, some of you might be interested in reading it.  My script writing program isn't letting me convert to pdf, so I'm throwing up an attachment here in case anyone has the patience to read the first several pages.  Lemme know if you want me to post the rest of it.

The teaser's a bit wordy, which I'm not happy about, but it delivers us into a pretty good story, if I do say so myself.  Enjoy...or not.
 
ps:  I don't like the title I have for it now.  Any suggestions are taken mostly seriously.
 
Clans no name.htm
 
 

Say "I'm in the mood for a juicy, mouth watering steak"

AW Fanfests are always a good time.  Hopefully I can make it to the Summer FanFest this year.  Thanks for running a good show, BODs.
 
Since I have been to every fanfest since 2009, I feel like I am qualified to give excellent constructive criticism.  
I feel like we are wasting our time with these no name interviewees such as Salmon, Dipoto, Vincent Rojas and that Owner guy.  We should scratch all that mumbo jumbo and just open the floor to the board of directors and perhaps a magician or balloon guy. I have a cousin that does small parties. Just give me a call, I'll hook you up with a discount.
 
List of things the FanFest needs more of:
 
Cowbell
 
Things FanFest needs less of:
 
Accommodations for vegetarians
 
 
Thank you. I hope this helps.
 

Day 3-
 
Another hot one under the blazing Arizona sun, A rather depressing loss to the stinking Seachickens today. Didn't see much good, except for Howie, who continues to obliterate Cactus League pitching, and Speedy Petey who went bomb sauce again (Huh?). We'd had enough after 6 innings, so we decide to wander over to the back fields and see if anything's going on back there. There was. 2 minor league games against Chokeland. And ya just never know who ya might run into. Maybe a World Series MVP, or an 11-time Gold Glove winner, who knows?
 
My friend LongHairDontCare has a special talent: he is extremely gifted in the art of obtaining game balls, foul balls, autographs, batting gloves, pine tar rags, you name it. And today was no exception. He got balls signed by Hamilton, Jepsen, Kohn, Maronde, and Madsen. And that's just today. I asked him how many balls he's gotten in the last 3 days. He said "I don't know. 20 maybe?" If this were a marketable skill, he'd be richer than the Federal Reserve. My other friend HaloMVP is no slouch either. He got a signed Hamilton bat, and balls signed by Vernon and Frieri, not to mention the David Eckstein photo. Me? I'm not much into the autograph thing, so I got nothing.
 

This panel would look very nice in my living room.
 

Ran into some nice folks from AW.com. They are getting drunk with other folks from AW.com as we speak.
 

Stretch 'em if ya got 'em...
 

Bunch of rail birds.
 

Is Hanson replacing Santana or Haren? Can never remember...
 

Our new right fielder, whatshisname.
 

King of the Cactus League bomb sauce.
 
Meanwhile....
 

Don't get this kind of access at the Big A. But you do here at Tempe Diablo.
 

Eckstein and I exchanged hat compliments and chit chat.
 

I told Omar Visquel it's good that he's in camp to show the youngsters how it's done. He asked me if I was from Vietnam.
 

LongHairDontCare models HaloMVP's freshly signed Hamilton bat.
 

LongHairDontCare has excellent taste in tattoos.
 

HaloMVP models his new balls.

I miss HaloCreeper... Sure, he'd show up uninvited.  BUT, he would never flake.

http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/how-to-order-the-perfect-steak--212136469.html
 
Good info.

My boyfriend said it was cute that we all have an imaginary friend but that we should be grown out of that by now...