Last night my friend Brett and I met up for dinner at The Counter on Sunset. It’s possibly one of my favorite places to go to in LA. When the bill came last night he said that the meal was on him since I was unemployed. I fought him on it but he insisted.

I found out today that he was laid off from his job.

Life can be incredibly cruel but we all have a path.

When my contract was not picked up at TMZ I saw it as a chance to really take a look at my life and take steps to where I want to go in life.

Working at TMZ was not what I expected in life. Truth be told a little part of me died while working there, but it made me stronger.I made some great friends who still work there. Amazing people. The job just was not for me and that’s ok.

I will leave you with something that someone from TMZ posted on Facebook. It’s a red carpet interview with Hal Sparks.

Hal Sparks on TMZ

Well today Los Angeles hit record highs of 113 degrees.This isn’t New York City heat, it’s dry desert heat that just drains everything out of you.

My friend Ryan is a huge Chicago Bears fan and wanted to hit up a Bears bar down the street from us to watch Monday Night Football. We arrived at Tinhorn Flats only to find out that they do not have an air conditioner but they do have a mist machine out back on the patio.

I really couldn’t take it.It was hot. I was sweating just standing there. I was complaining like a drunken sorority girl at a really lame frat party her girlfriends brought her to.

I suggested we hit up Big Wangs which is right down the street from our apartment.

Ironically, Big Wangs is a sports bar and not a gay bar as one would think. Coincidentally, the air conditioner shorted out and was possibly hotter than the previous bar. I really just wanted to head home to my apartment and watch the game in cooler weather.

Our waitress told us, “The beer is still cold! Promise!”

We ended up at Hooters in Burbank.

It’s one of the worst words out there. It’s also one of the most overused words for anyone in college. Everyone procrastinates in their own little way.

I have come into a lot more time to myself lately since I was laid off back on September 1st. For the most part you go through a period where you just want to sleep. Then there is the minor freak outs that only those who have lost their jobs can relate to.

I recently met up with my friend Shep, who I worked with at ABC. We caught up on all the stuff that has happened at our former workplace and then talked about the detox that takes place once you leave working in TV news. He said something to me that really hit home.

Over the last 5 years I have never had a month where I have kept regular hours. At ABC, I worked the Overnight shift, although it was crazy, I had a lot of fun there.

Then the clusterfuck that was ESPN’s schedule. Anyway you look at it this has been the first string of days in the last 5 years that I have had daylight hours. My old job I arrived at my desk at 6am. I’ve been lazy as of late. Applying for jobs here and there on Craigslist. Seeing comedy shows here in LA and watching a lot of TV. I feel like I needed this detox time.

I’m waiting to bring my buddy Andrew to the Van Nuys fly-away and don’t feel like sleeping yet. I was also reading a friends Tumblr site and noticed she’s been doing 30 Days of Movies and Jonas Brothers pictures.

I decided, this morning, to get back into a daily routine of writing. Something. Anything. I will be writing.

There was a time in my life where I filled yellow legal pads full of stories, notes and random shit about life.

We’ll see how this 30 Days goes.

Growing up attending games at Giants Stadium I was used to the feel of the old Stadium. No nonsense; just like the franchise itself.

There were a few things I liked and a few I didn’t.

Parking and Walking in

We arrived at the Stadium at about 8:15am. Our old parking space was now reserved for premium parking passes and had to park a little farther away near the Racetrack.

Walking in the outside of the stadium has NO CHARACTER during a day game. There is nothing that really jump out at me. We entered through the Pepsi Gate and it looked really sterile. The old Giants Stadium had multiple escalators bringing fans to the 3 decks of the Stadium. Now, there was only one for all three decks.

When I say character, Giants Stadium had the spirals outside that gave it it’s unique look. The video pillars outside are very cool (more on them in postgame)

We opted for the ramp to the left and walked up to the 100′s. Exiting the ramp was great because there were bathrooms that were not too crowded to our left and a wide open concourse.

Pregame

The one thing I have always hated about introductions is that in the previous years, with the exception of winning the Super Bowl, nothing has made the introductions really special. This year the GMen come out of the tunnel to Defense/Offense introductions through a tunnel of smoke and sparklers. It looked very cool.

The last few years at Giants Stadium the video introduction was very cool. “Our City. Our Pride. Our Team” motto pumped fans up.

This season the video intro was fantastic. A subway train with the “ny” on the front zooming through Manhattan with players as Giants above the skyline. The subway train makes its way across the George Washington Bridge to the new stadium. I always thought that the GWB should be used more and the video really just pumped me up.

During the game

I was listening to WFAN on Monday and there were mixed feelings about the Stadium. I did not have any problems during the game. I never waited for a urinal. I never waited in line for soda, fries and beer. I walked down to the Flagship Store to grab programs and walked back with out standing in line. While walking I really didn’t miss any big plays because there were screens everywhere.

The Giants Legacy Club is small but fantastic. The Giants have a lot of history that younger fans need to know. My grandfather talked about Charlie Conerly and going to games at the Polo Grounds and Yankee Stadium. I am sure the Giants will add to this as time goes on but everyone should take some time to visit and it should be open for at least an hour after the game.

Halftime

The Jets got Green Day. Giants fans got a weird banner at midfield with Carl Banks, Frank Gifford and Harry Carson at midfield thanking the fans for their loyalty and their money.

The video (should be posted soon on Giants.com) was awesome. Started with Eli throwing a pass in 2009 at the last game and all of a sudden it zoomed back to 1925 and showed old clips from the Polo Grounds, Yankee Stadium and Giants Stadium. They left out Shea and Yale Bowl but I think most Giants fans want to forget those years.

Overall

The Stadium felt more like a home to me. There was bunting and banners in the concourses that said New York Football Giants. I like that. There is a huge screen by the Giants Legacy Club that was showing NFL Red Zone after the game where if you keep that going… with the concession stands right there people may congregate there post game and spend some more money.

I don’t think the Giants are done adding little things here and there around the Stadium. It’s a great home for the Giants. I did not think it was needed but I enjoyed my first game.

Wait… so let me get this straight… the Giants are the third most popular team in the NFL behind the Cowboys and Steelers yet have small ratings in the number one market? This makes no sense to me.

Giants VP of Communications Pat Hanlon tweeted some numbers:

What WSJ doesn’t mention is that no team in the #NFL other than #NYG delivers the 1.1 million plus viewers in its home market every week.

In the NY/NJ market, #NYG has avged following viewers/game past 3 seasons: ’07: 1.33 million viewers, ’08: 1.64 million, ’09: 1.47 million

One thing that surprised me about this list is the fact that the over hyped NY Jets are ranked 18th on this list. I thought for sure with Hard Knocks and all the talk out of the Atlantic Health facility that the Jets would be ranked a little higher.

Looking at this list you have to think that the Top 5 on this list are, without a doubt, the only franchises you can call “storied” in the National Football League. They also share a common statistic; championships.

As much as I hate the Cowboys, they are one of the most popular teams in the NFL and the world and have 5 Super Bowl rings. The Steelers with 6, Giants with 3 Super Bowl rings plus 4 World Championships pre-merger, Packers at 12 and Bears at 9, also including pre-merger championships.

This is not a knock on the other franchises in the NFL. There are other organizations like the Patriots, Eagles, Redskins and Colts who have a tremendous amount of history and are important to the league.

Courtesy: NY Daily News

If you are a Giants or Jets fan you know about Flipgate.

If you don’t here is a rundown of everything that has happened so far:

• Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner, conducted a coin toss to see if the Giants or Jets would open up the new Meadowlands Stadium in September. The Giants won.
• The Jets were told that the Giants won and they flipped out that no team representatives were there.
• The Jets released a statement Saturday on their website saying that the NFL had agreed to host a coin toss at the Jets suggestion to see who would host the opener. Knowing that they had lost to the Giants already.
• The NY Daily News gets wind that the Giants have won and both The Blue Screen and Jets Stream pick up the story and run with it.
• Woody Johnson, owner of the Jets, goes off on the NFL in a statement.
• Gary Meyers says that the Jets should have the opener to come out from behind the Giants shadow. (REALLY?!)
• Goodell announces that the Giants will play on Sunday afternoon and the Jets will play Monday night on opening weekend.

Here is my two cents: Why is this such a big deal? Last April, the NFL really messed up and had the Jets close out GIANTS Stadium. I was angry. After talking with my father, who started going to games at Yankee Stadium, he said that it was a good thing because “Jets fans would try to destroy the stadium before the Giants had their last game.”

Well, we suffered through that last game at Giants Stadium and after the game sat in Lot 6 and starred at our new home. Unnamed Stadium.

I understand that Woody Johnson wanted to first game and that the way Goodell handled this was sketchy.

The Jets are playing the first Monday Night game. No one else will be playing Monday night. You will have the spotlight to yourself.

Giants fans like 1:00pm games anyway.

I don’t understand why this is such a big deal…

Google announced the arrival of Google Buzz… a link sharing, Twitter/Facebook looking child. It fascinates me.

Kevin Rose, founder of Digg, has put it best…

“Google announced Buzz today, a photo/videos/link/status sharing service. The big news here isn’t really the functionality of Pownce Buzz, but that Google is boldly integrating this directly into Gmail – essentially taking the product from zero to millions of users in a matter of hours.  If Buzz is a success it will mean real competition for Twitter and useful real-time public data for Google.”

I’m really excited about this. I find myself reading and loving a lot of different stories, videos and pictures on the web everyday. I try to post the best ones on Facebook. Sometimes it can be annoying for friends (so I am told) to take over their friend feed. Obviously the stuff I post is hilarious but Facebook is more friend centric. Seeing what “friends” are up to.

Google Buzz is just another fantastic add-on to GMail.

I already use Google Talk more than AIM. It’s now my default chat program. I use my GMail account more and more everyday and want to possibly get rid of Mobile Me.

Buzz is new. It’s flashy. People are trying to gauge how to use it and what it will be used for. I remember when I got my Google Wave invite and was so excited to go on and try it. I don’t think I have checked it for about a month. I have no use for it. I could see how Buzz and Wave could change that.

Molly Wood doesn’t like the thought of Buzz,

“I know some of the technorati are losing their minds over the awesomeness that is Google Buzz, but I think that Google’s making a lot of Facebook’s privacy and opt-in mistakes right out of the gate, and it’s going to bite it big-time, if it doesn’t fix it pronto.

I, for one, have already opted out of the entire endeavor.”

For what it’s worth… I may post links and share articles that I find amusing…

Only time will tell if Buzz is worth all the buzz.

Hat tip to Gawker

Courtesy of The NY Times

My friend Lara said, “It sounds like a feminine hygiene product. No thanks.” 

I’ve had some time to look at the specs and reviews from different tech blogs and I think I have formed my opinion on this new, mythical magical device. 

 First off, it looks amazing. It also looks like a giant iPod touch. 

Right now I have two computers. A 27-inch iMac and a 13-inch Macbook. I use the Macbook much more often than I use the desktop computer. 

I use the laptop to blog, Facebook, e-mail and write. I carry it around the house and usually have it on the coffee table while watching football in the livingroom. 

Can the iPad fill the role of my Macbook? 

The Biz of Baseball has a really cool look at MLB.tv’s “At Bat” application. I am pretty sure that the NFL and NHL will try to develop something very similar. Imagine NFL Red Zone doing something like that but with your Fantasy Football teams. 

I think that tablet PC’s will eventually replace textbooks. There are many journalism classes that now require an iPhone or iPod touch for class. The iPad may be next step for students. You could have text books, a text editor and ways to post interactive content right to the web. 

What I don’t like about the iPad is that you can’t watch Flash videos. This may have to do with Apple wanting to sell digital subscriptions to television shows through iTunes.Either way, the first generation of the iPad will preview what we have in store over the next 2 years when it comes to tablets and e-readers. Apple and others will build on this model and make it better.

At least, one can only hope.

Internet and television personality Alex Albrecht claimed to have insight on the price of Apple’s rumored tablet during the latest episode of Diggnation, which also featured actor John Hodgman from Apple’s “Get a Mac” commercials.

Apparently the tablet will be “shockingly low.”

These guys have inside information that they leak out in small amounts. I would trust everything they say.

Sports Illustrated released a video (after the jump) about how the magazine will look when reading on a tablet device. Is it just me or does it look like Mac OSX?