Category Archives: Misc

Our random ramblings reflected by our ridiculous writing

A Statement from Flimsy Film Critics

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I vividly recall hearing about the events in Charlottesville back in 2017.

That was the summer of the Unite the Right rally, where white nationalists, neo-Nazis and other various pieces of crap protested the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee, among other things. Tensions escalated and it ultimately resulted in the murder of Heather Hayer, who was killed when a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters. I was despondent over how atrocities like this could still take place in America (which was incredibly naive to say the least) and I wound up getting drunk and despaired over the state of our country. This followed a pattern that I established for myself whenever something this awful made headlines in the news: sympathy for the victims from afar, silent support for any movement protesting against racism, but no action taken by myself to try and help be a part of the solution.

Fast forward to today. The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers sparked nationwide protests against racism and police brutality against black people. These protests seem a little different than others from the past 10 years, as the public outcry has been more vocal and united to address the never-ending issue of systemic racism in the United States. I haven’t personally attended any of the protests. At first, I didn’t really know what the hell to do. Kevin and I weren’t even sure if we should keep posting on this blog, because white guys like us should just be listening and learning right now. Writing about films may be a passion of ours, but it pales in significance to what is happening in our country and what has been happening to black people since well before either of us were born.

However, I also don’t want to revert back into my cycle: outrage at the atrocity and sympathy for the victims, but only silent support from afar. I want to do better this time. And I think the first step towards that, in addition to being willing to listen and learn, is to admit that I’m part of the problem.

Allow me to repeat that: I AM PART OF THE PROBLEM.

I am not a racist, but my white privilege has afforded me the luxury of resuming my normal life after each one of these horrific events. What I didn’t understand before is that falling back into my usual cycle only perpetuates the problem and allows it to continue. To quote The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., “Such an attitude stems from a tragic misconception of time, from the strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills. Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively. More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.”

The appalling silence of the good people.

This is not about my guilt or my own inaction. All I really want is to help. There is a problem and I can do more to try and make a difference. I’ll take steps in my own life to learn and educate myself more. And I won’t allow myself to forget this time and blindly retreat back into my comfortable life. But what does that mean for this blog?

What I’d like to do is use the platform that we have to try and elevate films from black directors, black screenwriters and black actors. Shine a spotlight on those who understand what it’s like to be treated differently because of the color of their skin. Sure, we’ll talk about some movies and documentaries that you’ve heard of, but even more important will be to focus on the ones that you haven’t. Those are the voices and the people that need to be heard right now. And it’s not about furthering our own self-interest or about any sort of monetary gain. Truthfully, we’ve never made money off of this blog anyway, but that’s not the point. The goal would be to try and help these stories find a bigger audience. Then it’s up to the rest of us to open our hearts and listen.

That doesn’t mean we’ll never write about other films again. I have no idea when we’ll get back to that, but that doesn’t matter right now. What matters is that there is something terribly wrong with this country.

And we’re going to do what we can to help.

Pegboards’ Sixth Annual NFL Mock Draft

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Hello and welcome to Pegboards’ Sixth Annual NFL Mock Draft where the rules are made up and the picks don’t matter because we will be wrong 95% of the time.

Just like last year, we have pulled our “friends” Eric and Ryan into the mix to help us throw darts at the mock draft dart board. Why would we do this again, you ask? Is it because our friends added some much needed expertise and accurate predictions last year? Hahaha, no, of course not, it’s mostly because we are lazy (which you can tell by our never-ending lack of updates).

So here’s how it’s going to go, the draft order begins with myself, Kevin, and then it goes Ryan, Jesse and Eric. We were allowed to make trades and, spoiler alert, one of us actually did! Jesse and I will be providing most of the commentary for each pick. We will most likely use our pick’s commentary to praise ourselves and use their pick’s taking some deep shots at their character, intelligence, and overall self-esteem. So just normal, healthy friend stuff.

Without further ado, the Browns of Cleveland are on the clock… again. Just like last year.

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Are the Broncos Stuck in the Pit of Misery? – Part 2

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Welcome to part 2 of our offseason series for our beloved Broncos, and whether they are totally screwed moving towards the 2018 season. Can they escape from the pit like Bruce Wayne did in The Dark Knight Rises? Or are they stuck in there with a bunch of old guys and access to cable television? The consensus so far? Too early to tell.

But it’s not too early to continue speculating about the moves John Elway and co. will make to place the Broncos back among the contenders in the AFC. And that’s what we’re going to do.

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An Open Letter to Broncos Country

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Hello everyone,

How are you all holding up this season? I know it’s been tough. We aren’t used to seeing our team wallow among the dregs of the NFL, or being eliminated from the playoffs less than halfway through December. That’s on top of the eight-game losing streak the Broncos endured, the one time they were shutout by the Chargers and the fact that they are still winless on the road so far this year. Misery, misery, misery, everywhere we look this season.

Everyone has their own way of coping with this level of losing. Some take to Facebook to openly complain about how much they hate Vance Joseph and how John Elway is long overdue to be fired. Others simply tune the games out and find something better to do on Sunday afternoons, like go for a walk or tend to some household chores (or literally almost anything else). And there are evens “fans” who have stopped supporting the Broncos altogether and have jumped on another team’s bandwagon, such as the Eagles or Rams. To those people, I say good riddance. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out and don’t bother coming back when the Broncos turn things around.

But in case you didn’t notice, the Broncos actually won a game on Sunday, in dominant fashion I might add. This may have felt like sweet relief to you, if you’re tired of watching your team fall flat on their faces every week and want them to end the season on a high note. Or maybe you were completely frustrated because you have embraced the tank and the Broncos are so bad that they can’t even figure out how to get that right. Either line of thinking is alright by me, because it’s your team and your free to support them however you wish.

That being said, it got me thinking about how that was the kind of performance we’re used to seeing from the Broncos, and that one bad season doesn’t change the fact that we are lucky to be fans of a team that has enjoyed so much success over the years.

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Power Ranking Ramblings: Week 14

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Hello and welcome back for another week of us critiquing everyone’s favorite sports channel to hate, ESPN! Every week ESPN posts NFL Power Rankings that are generally terrible but not as bad as the commentary they provide to the rankings. So Jesse and I decided it is our duty to endlessly mock the low effort that ESPN put forth (although this week, Jesse spends more time criticizing the Broncos and trying to get under Kevin’s skin, while Kevin drops some puns and attempts to avoid talking about a certain University.

This year we are doing things a bit different by providing ESPN’s commentary right here on the blog with our personal commentary right below so you don’t have to click between the two articles. But for those of you who want to see the actual rankings, feel free to check them out here:

Week 14 NFL Power Rankings: The most impactful rookies for every team

And thanks for tuning in. Enjoy!

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An Open Letter to John Elway

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Dear John Elway,

As we march toward the end of what has been a most trying season, I hope you are in good health these days c, especially considering you are probably not in good spirits. I know it must be hard to watch your team lose week after week, often in embarrassing fashion. It sure has been for me and the rest of Broncos Country. And while I’m confident that you are already thinking of all the ways that you can clean up this mess in the offseason, I thought I’d take the time this morning to offer you some advice.

This is not so much about specific moves or changes. I already covered things that I’d like to see happen last week, and I’m not going to spend time regurgitating those here. No, this is more about an important component that lies at the heart of leading any successful team or organization, particularly one that experiences any sort of regression.

Self-reflection.

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Power Ranking Ramblings: Week 13

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Hello and welcome back for another week of us critiquing everyone’s favorite sports channel to hate, ESPN! Apologies for the weeks that we missed, but every week ESPN posts NFL Power Rankings that are generally terrible but not as bad as the commentary they provide to the rankings. So Jesse and I decided it is our duty to endlessly mock the low effort that ESPN put forth.

This year we are doing things a bit different by providing ESPN’s commentary right here on the blog with our personal commentary right below so you don’t have to click between the two articles. But for those of you who want to see the actual rankings, feel free to check them out here:

Week 13 NFL Power Rankings: Where every team ranks no. 1 (well, almost)

And thanks for tuning in. Enjoy!

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How to Fix the Denver Broncos

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It’s been a long season for Broncos fans. Less than two years removed from watching our team win its third Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium, it’s become a chore to even sit through an entire game. Vance Joseph was adamant in his belief before the season that these Broncos weren’t broken and just needed a reboot, not an entire rebuild. As loss after loss has piled up, it’s abundantly clear that he couldn’t have been more wrong in his assertion.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Outside of a few early wins, the Broncos are in the midst of their longest stretch of futility since Josh McDaniels was fist-pumping and screaming at players on the sideline. They’ve already matched their worst losing streak in 50 years and are almost assured to finish the season near the bottom of the league. There is a silver lining that comes with that (you know, embrace the tank!), but while having a good draft pick will be nice, writing these recaps every week has become rather depressing. Watching the Broncos most recent display of vomit-inducing football is bad enough without having to relive it again.

Then this morning, Scotty Payne of Mile High Report posted an article about how the Broncos can reset their organization and get back to their winning ways, which inspired me to more or less do the same thing for my weekly recap. It sounded like a lot more fun than revisiting the rampant ugliness that is Broncos football.

I’ll offer some of my own thoughts on a few of Scotty’s ideas (hopefully he doesn’t unfollow me on Twitter) and present some that I’ve seen from a couple other guys in the Denver media (or “local bloggers,” as Mike Klis would call them). They are good ideas and they need to be shared as much as possible.

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Broncos Outbungle Bengals in Sixth Straight Loss

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It’s official. Pick up your Bud Light and cheers. The 2017 Broncos are getting an extended tour of the Pit of Misery. Dilly dilly!

Was it not that long ago when Peyton Manning told the world that, “I’m going to drink a lot of Bud Light tonight,” to celebrate his team’s victory in Super Bowl 50? Now we’re reduced to making jokes involving Bud’s most recent advertising campaign because it helps distract us from how miserable this season has been. What else can you do to mask the pain of your team losing to the lowly Bengals? I guess you could join me in embracing the tank, but if you’re not down for that then I don’t know what else to tell you.

This week’s poor excuse for a game was preceded by John Elway, the architect of this disaster, calling his team “soft” in public. Some players took that comment as constructive criticism while others took it personally, but regardless of whether or not such a comment was warranted, Elway isn’t wrong.

When you drop six games in a row, that’s the reputation that you earn as a team and everyone is to blame. The coaches, the players, John Elway, everyone.

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