Back in NJ

I just got back to my house in NJ after visiting my sister and her husband for Christmas.

Hope everyone has a happy, healthy, and safe new year. =)


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http://www.youtube.com/JosephVisaggi<>brhttp://www.youtube.com/wheelzNcards
http://www.youtube.com/legowheelz

My Achy Breaky Back

Err, okay, not really breaky. Definitely achy, though. I'm pretty sure it is because of the cold weather recently. =\


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http://www.youtube.com/JosephVisaggi<>brhttp://www.youtube.com/wheelzNcards
http://www.youtube.com/legowheelz

Happy (Early) Thanksgiving

:D


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http://www.youtube.com/legowheelz

I hate that it gets dark out so early =\

I forgot to mention that in my last post.


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http://www.youtube.com/JosephVisaggi<>brhttp://www.youtube.com/wheelzNcards
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I hate winter

I hate winter.
I hate cold weather. It isn't even winter yet, but it is already too cold for me.
On that note, I hate autumn. While the weather can be nice and there is football being played (and also the start of basketball),
I hate snow. It makes getting around so much more difficult.
I hate how the trees have no leaves in the winter. It is extremely depressing.
I'm sure there are more things I hate about winter, but that is all I can think of right now.


http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune
http://www.youtube.com/JosephVisaggi

Silly little things that make me happy - Part 2

This is another musical one. At the very end of the song Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera, 4:50 to 5:10 in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5dhyiqhR7Y

Note that I've heard other people perform this song differently with a slightly changed ending vocal. They raise the note each time the backing chord is changed. By doing this, they are RUINING the entire purpose of the piece. It loses its meaning. By holding the same note, the singer (in this case Michael Crawford) gives the chords so much more depth.

It is wonderful and I could listen to that part over and over and over again.

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune
http://www.youtube.com/JosephVisaggi

New wheel locks!

I forgot to mention this the day I got them, but I finally have new locks for my wheelchair. Previously I had scissor locks, but one broke. Since I liked push to lock locks better I decided to get those again as a replacement and they have been great so far. =)

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune
http://www.youtube.com/JosephVisaggi

My website is back up!

After about a year and a half of being offline, I finally put it back up. It is in dire need of being updated, though, so I still have a bunch of work to do on it.

=)

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune
http://www.youtube.com/JosephVisaggi

1992-93 Topps Stadium Club Basketball - Case Break (TRANSCRIPT)

Hey YouTubers, I have a little something different for you today.

If you read my blog, you know that I collect sports cards. Well, I recently busted a case of 1992-93 Topps Stadium Club Basketball. That was Shaquille O'Neal and Alonzo Mourning's rookie year. I've had the case for about eight years and initially I had planned to keep it for twenty years and then sell it, but I got the urge to open some packs, so I decided to open it.

I'm going to show you the cards I pulled from the case, but I have one more box to open first, *holds up box* so I'll do that and then show you the cards.

Alight, so I finished opening that last box and I should have mentioned before that the case had 8 boxes in it and each box had 36 packs. Each pack has 15 cards, with the exception of packs that have a Beam Team insert card. Those packs have sixteen.

There is suppose to be one Beam Team card every 36 packs, which is about one per box. However, I ended up pulling nine Beam Team cards instead of eight. Amazingly enough, the extra Beam Team card I pulled was Michael Jordan, which is pretty much the best card you can get from this particular product and it is the card that made me want to open the case in the first place. The only card I missed out on that I was hoping for was Shaq's Beam Team insert, but overall I'm really happy with what I pulled.

So without further delay, here are the cards.

**23 Robert Horry rookies. (They're) not really worth much, but he was a pretty good player.
**20 Latrell Sprewell rookies. (He is) probably most famous for choking his coach. ...or trying to, I don't know if he actually did.
**21 Alonzo Mourning rookies.
**20 Shaquille O'Neal rookies.

Here are some of the common cards that I pulled, but stars back in the day. John Stockton, Isiah Thomas, James Worthy, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler, Dominique Wilkins, Alonzo Mourning (Member's Choice variation) Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin, Jeff Hornacek, Scottie Pippen, Dikembe Mutombo, and another Dominique Wilkins (Member's Choice).

Then I also have about *counts* 23 Shaquille O'Neal Member's Choice cards.

...and... *counts again* 20 Michael Jordan Member's Choice cards.

Alright, so here they are. The best ones for last. These are the ones you get about one per box. The Beam Team inserts.

I'll start from the back.

Tim Hardaway
Mark Price (this was the one I got first in the box that Jordan was in, so I was really surprised when I got the Jordan)
Jeff Malone (I got this in the last box. Again, I was hoping for the Shaq, but still...)
Jeff Hornacek
Reggie Miller
Clyyyyde Drexler
Shawn Kemp
Dominique Wilkins
...and...
MJ. Michael Jordan.

So there you have it, that is pretty much just about everything I got in the case. I hope you enjoyed this case break video aaaand the next one I am going to do actually will be 2011 Topps Finest Football. I just got two cases of that, but I'm probably going to sell one. So hopefully you'll join me for that.

Bye bye.

(Something I forgot to mention is that 8 out of the 9 Beam Team inserts were found in a pack in the bottom right column in the box. So if you have a box of 92-93 Stadium Club, look there first.)

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http://www.youtube.com/JosephVisaggi

Silly little things that make me happy - Part 1

In life there are various things that make me happy. Some of them have to do with music or art, some are specific people that are a part of my life, and others are related to nature. (...and there are still others that I am forgetting at the moment, I'm sure.)

Anyway, the one that is shining bright in my mind is a snippet of the song Never Neverland from the musical Peter Pan. I love the entire song, really. It makes me happy and sad at the same time, which is quite the paradox.

The specific part that gives me a sense of euphoria, though, is from 1:15 to 1:26 in this video of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDbp0_vIlAg (Side note, Mary Martin was and will always be awesome.)

Now, the reason why it pleases me so much has to do with music theory. The chords played during that part are F, Cm, C#dim, Dm7, and F7. Listening to (and even more so actually playing that part) gives me a wonderfully great sense of well being that is unlike any other. This sensation seemingly only comes from music, for me. (As I mentioned before, a great many things bring happiness to me. This particular type of happiness only comes from music, though.)

Interestingly enough, there were two main composers for the music in Peter Pan. Mark Charlap and Jule Styne. Never Neverland is by Jule Styne. There is another tune by Styne in the show that I really enjoy, as well. The title of that one is "Wendy."

--> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xUSkX89rZ4

Still another by Jule Styne, Captain Hook's Waltz:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwuPqeG0qI4

For the most part Styne's songs are much more interesting (to play, anyway) than Charlap's compositions. Mark Charlap's songs are dreadfully boring to play. They are fine to listen to, but just not very interesting in a music theory sense.

I digress, though.

There are other songs that give me the same feeling that Never Neverland gives me, but I can't think of them at the moment. When I do, I will post about them.

Have a good one.

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune
http://www.youtube.com/JosephVisaggi

2004 Dodge Ram Van With Ramp - Transcript

Hey all. Today's video is to show how I get in my wheelchair van that has a lift (meant to say "ramp") and also to show how I transfer into the driver's seat so that I can drive the van.

*ramp goes down*

Sometimes the ramp gets stuck if there is a little lip on the ground, but most of the time that isn't a problem.

*next clip*

Okay, so once I'm in the van I park my wheelchair right here (between the driver and passenger seat) and then I transfer into the driver's seat.

Then I'll put up the ramp.

*next clip*

Alright, so there you have it. I'm in the driver's seat - I have the keys in the ignition - I'll put the chair up to where I'm comfortable - fix the mirror - get my seat belt on - start the car and I'm ready to go.

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Power

I finally got power back at around 6:30 today.

What an ordeal. The electric company claimed they didn't know our street was without power until Thursday night even though I called on Sunday to report it and so did a lot of my neighbors.

Anyway, thank God that is over with.

...I hope.

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

I have power!!!!!

No, not really. I'm actually using the free WiFi Internet at McDonalds.

My power has been out since Saturday thanks to Hurricane Irene and I have been told that more than likely my street won't have power restored until after Labor Day because the beach front business are more important than the residential areas.

*grumble*

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

My Wheelchair Broke!

Well, part of it. Yesterday, just before heading out to lunch the right brake on my chair cracked and then broke completely soon after. I'll have to take it in to be repaired. This is the first time that particular part of any of my chairs has every broken.

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Just felt an earthquake!

Totally weird. There was a 5.8 in Virginia 10-15 minutes ago or so and I think that is what we just felt here in NJ.

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

New YouTube Channel

I deleted all of my music related videos from my WheelzOfFortune account and have created a new account just for those (and future music videos).

The new account is http://www.youtube.com/JosephVisaggi

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Doing the wrong thing

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Back from Washington DC

The wedding was beautiful and wonderfully moving. While in DC I visited the White House (well, the gate outside it, anyway), the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the International Spy Museum, Arlington National Cemetery, the National Museum of Crime and Punishment, and the National Museum of the American Indian.

It was a fun and educational trip, but I am glad to be back home.

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Weddddddddding

My best friend is getting married today! Hopefully the rain will hold off until after the ceremony. =X

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Washington DC

I'm off to Washington DC for a few days for a friend's wedding!

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Sea Girt 5k 2011

I ran in the Sea Girt 5k again this year. I previously did it in 2009 and 2008. I finished in 32ish minutes. Expect a YouTube video of several race clips and a post race interview soon!

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Phantom of the Opera

I went to see Phantom of the Opera on Tuesday night. It was the second time seeing the show on Broadway for me. The performance was very good and, of course, Phantom is a great show in general. However, I really wish that Les Miserables would return to Broadway.

Anyway, I made a short video detailing the ride in on the NJ Transit train and will be uploading it to YouTube in the next day or two.

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Ted Nugent

I saw Ted Nugent at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, NJ last night. It was a great show. He really rocked the house. Thankfully he played my two favorites. Wango Tango and Wang Dang Sweet Poontang. =)

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Okay, so the blog is staying.

I didn't get 5 different people to comment, but I did get 3 and one email so that is close enough. Expect posts to be a bit less frequent than they were for the first few months, though.

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Deleting the blog

Unless this post gets comments from 5 different people, I'm going to delete the blog.

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

South Pacific auditions in two weeks!

The theatre group I often work with just announced auditions for South Pacific. I have two songs prepared. The first is Kansas City from Oklahoma and the second is We Kiss In a Shadow from The King and I.

Wish me luck. =)

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Oh food, how I've missed you

=)

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All set

I've got everything I need for the show: new shoes, new pants, improved muscles, various different instant and almost instant tanners, a crappy mood, and music

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

It is an interesting thing...

I don't particularly like sweets all that much, but now that I'm on a strict diet where I can't have any, I'm craving them. Cookies, brownies, chocolate cake, etc. Normally I'd rather have a watercress, tuna, or eggplant parmigiana sandwich than any of those. ...of course maybe half of the problem is that I can't have sandwiches either. =|

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

After the competition...

After the bodybuilding competition is over, I plan on making a batch of double chocolate chocolate chip cookies. I will eat them just after they come out of the oven when they are all hot and gooey because that is when they taste the best! Miam miam. I can't wait!

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Sea Girt 5k

I just registered for it today. As the title would suggest, it is a 5k (around 3ish miles) race. I didn't do it last year because of my right shoulder, but I did it the 2 years before that. I think this will be my last time doing it, though.

One last hurrah!

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Music!

I finalized my music for the competition a few weeks ago, but I just burned it today! I made sure to burn a backup disc, too, just in case.

This bodybuilding show is like the Roman god of Pre-Mature Ejaculation. ;-) ;-)

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Disc golf

In the description of the video I uploaded yesterday to YouTube regarding Disc Golf, I mentioned that you don't have to go to a "legit" course in order to play. I actually own 3 disc golf baskets. I bought them off Amazon and they are really great for use in your back yard. If you have a decent amount of property, you can even build your own course!!

Here is a link to the one I bought. It comes with 3 starter discs, which is handy. You can never have too many discs!



InStep Disc Golf Goal (See all Disc Golf Targets)

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Diet

I almost forgot to mention that I've changed my diet a bit. I haven't eaten any bread or potatoes since Tuesday and I won't eat any until after the show. I'm going to have pretty much just chicken, lean beef, eggs, fish, pork, broccoli, asparagus, may be a bit of lettuce/cabbage, carrots once in a while, and a little bit of fruit here and there.

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Ribs

Those of you that have seen my recent YouTube videos would know that I crashed my bike last Tuesday. I'm feeling quite a bit better now and I just got the stitches out from the wound under my chin yesterday, however my ribs just under my right pectoral muscle are still hurting quite a bit. =\

I'm hoping they'll feel a lot better by Monday because I only have 3 weeks left until the competition and only 2 weeks left of lifting (since I will be visiting my sister for a few days before the show).

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

FINALLY

The weather was nice enough for a relatively long bike ride today. 7 miles! I just need to do that or more every day from now until the competition and I should be in great shape.

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Some thought provoking wheelchair pictures

I found these a while ago and meant to post them, but forgot. (Note: I do not own the rights to these images.)













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Back from Vegas

The wedding was beautiful. Vegas was great. Now it is time to get back to business.

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What happens in Vegas...

I'm going to Las Vegas for a wedding this weekend! Yayayayayayayayayay!

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Before

I'm only posting this picture to show what I looked like before I started training for the bodybuilding competition. Hopefully my "after" picture will look much, MUCH better.




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A new poem!

Giving up or giving in,
Both of those sicken me,
Why wait 'til tomorrow,
For what could be done today?
Now is the time for everything,
Everything that matters,
Anybody can set a goal,
Not everyone can reaches their goal,
Swagger

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Southern Isles Championships

I am setting a goal for myself. I'm going to compete in the Southern Isles Championships bodybuilding tournament on June 25th in Georgia. I've got two months to prepare for it. This will be my first tournament and I plan on competing in the Wheelchair Nationals next year!

http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune

Progress

I am happy to report that my new diet and adjusted gym routine seem to be paying off dividends already. My muscles are getting bigger and more defined, which is totally awesome. I hope that if I stick with this that I will be able to participate in a wheelchair bodybuilding competition within the next year or so.

Hopefully this'll be me soon:



http://www.youtube.com/WheelzOfFortune