This week, we close out 2009 and the decade at large with something special: a fond look back at some of our greatest hits over the past several years here at Riding with Rickey. And while you’d think that a mere three years of blogging might not qualify somebody to post a decade retrospective about their blog posts, that most certainly will not stop Rickey. Not today.
Today, we give you the greatest holiday gift of all: yet more Rickey. Some posts are intentionally funny, while others… not so much intentionally. And now, without further delay, we present some of our greatest hits here at RwR, sorted categorically for your OCD-driven pleasure. Strap in folks, because from here on out, it’s hyperlinks a go-go!
Rickey’s Far-Flung Travels! Generally, whenever Rickey ventures out of the apartment, seriously horrific shit occurs. Witness:
In which Rickey barely escapes fiery death enroute to a Mets game
In which Rickey wreaks havoc at a a bat-mitzvah in Williamstown (the irony is that Rickey pretty much forecasted this turn of events the day before)
In which Rickey seeps himself in Americana in its finest in Las Vegas
In which Rickey travels to an Irish bar and is regaled with a rather shocking story about a deer
And of course, there’s the ultimate: In which Rickey gets stuck in the mud in Costa Rica. If you read just one story this year about getting stuck in the mud on the way to Mal Pais and having to trade your wife for a horse, make it this one!
Rickey’s Middling Movie Reviews! Hey kids, what does one college cinema theory class and the gift of gab give you? Some seriously uninformed movie criticism! Behold:
Rickey reviews Tom Hank’s crazy Catholic romp in “Angels & Demons”
Rickey attempts to spell M. Night Shyamalan’s name 25 times correctly while reviewing “The Happening”
Rickey tries to shoehorn “Iron Man” into a tenuous political argument
Rickey reviews “The Dark Knight” (our one and only positive movie review!)
Rickey’s Guide to Blogging! The internet is a lawless realm of fuckwitterey, and somebody’s got to enforce some order. That somebody is Rickey. Because it’s just plain old fun to make up rules for blogging, we give you:
Rickey’s Commandments of Blogging, Part I
Rickey’s Commandments of Blogging, Part II
Rickey’s Commandments of Blogging, Part III
Rickey’s Cutting Edge Sports Commentary! For a website revolving around a famed athlete, it’s rather ironic that we know relatively little about sports. However, this hasn’t stopped Rickey from churning out the following sports-centric rib-ticklers:
Rickey Previews the 2008 Shea Stadium Promotional Games
Rickey Reports from the Johan Santana Press Conference
Rickey Live Blogs the 2008 Superbowl
Rickey analyzes thrilling advancements in the world of heckling
In which Rickey previews the 2008 Subway Series!
In which Willie Randolph gives one of his last pep talks to the Mets
In which the effects of the recession are felt within the Mets locker room
In which Rickey brings news of Billy Joel crashing his car into the Mets clubhouse
In which Rickey attends a Mets game and sits next to Susan Sarandon and Tim Robins (even two years ago, Rickey saw the warning signs!)
In which Rickey noshes with Joe Girardy and Mike Francessa
A Boston Red Sox employee arrested for public indecency? Oh you better believe Rickey was gonna write a “Dateline NBC” spoof about it…
Rickey’s Prescient Political Punditry! Again, a field that Rickey knows scant little about, a trait that by no means has stopped him from reveling in the absurdity of American political theater. For those longing to relive the craziness the 2008 Election, we think you’ll get a kick out of:
Sarah Palin’s New York City Itinerary
Rickey foolishly attempts to find logic in the rantings of Joe the Plumber
Rickey’s preview of the Vice Presidential debate
Rickey’s Republican National Convention drinking game!
Henry Paulson to Wall Street: “Nothing is Fucked Here Dude” followed quickly by….
Henry Paulson to Wall Street: “Repent Fuckers, the End Times are Nigh”
To kick off a new era in politics, we give you Rickey’s Guide to the 2009 Presidential Inauguration
And wrapping things up is President Obama’s Pick for the next Surgeon General
Rickey’s Beard Bloviation! Nearly two years later, we’re still not entirely sure why Rickey felt the need to constantly blog about his beard. We’ll let future generations weigh the cultural merit of journaling one man’s relentless quest to grow scraggly facial hair. Judge for yourself:
Day 5 of Beard Watch 2007!
Day 18 of the Beard!
Day 25!
Day 89!
In which Rickey bloviates about famous bearded politicians
In which Rickey completely goes off the deep end with this beard thing and imagines himself as a modern day Ernest Shackleton
Cooking with Rickey! Want to know what Rickey’s most excited for in his new house? The nice big kitchen. Rickey can’t wait to spread his culinary wings in an area far larger than a galley kitchen. In the meantime, marvel at some of the most delicious man-food recipes you’ve ever seen crafted, courtesy of Rickey:
Rickey cooks his Recession Blues Chili
Rickey cooks Steak Diane, Dish of the Huntress
Rickey cooks Buffalo Chicken Tenders
Rickey cooks Matzo Ball Soup (this stuff will cure cancer)
Rickey cooks his Tasty Tamil Tenders
Rickey cooks Irish Stew
Rickey’s Potent Potpourri! Pretty much any random cultural item that Rickey blogged about goes here. Stuff like..
Rickey’s mishaps on the company softball team! And back by popular demand, here’s the second installment
Rickey’s expose on the thrilling world of Finger Jousting, complete with angry response to Rickey’s post from the “Lord of the Joust” himself!
That time Rickey made the mistake of hosting a blog carnival about “24”
That time Rickey bought a pair of aviator sunglasses and somehow wrote 5,000 words all about it
That brilliant post Rickey wrote about Indiana Jones’ accountant
That awkward post enumerating Rickey’s obsession with a children’s videogame about Piñata animals
That time Rickey reviewed a rather odd piece of food left in the second floor staff kitchen at work
In which Rickey tells you why the Sopranos finale was sheer genius and that you’re a philistine for disagreeing with him
And finally, there's that time Rickey went completely apeshit when his blog got a handful of negative reviews. Good times all around!
Wrapping things up, there’s the always enjoyable….
Rickey Recommends (The link will take you to a page containing all of ‘em. Every freaking 'Rickey Recommends' post. Every single piece of advice you need to live a life worth blogging about.)
Whew, well, that’s it we guess. Did we miss something? A funny post that Rickey omitted, perhaps? Feel free to let Rickey know in the comments section. Happy New Year’s everybody. See you all in 2010.

For these next two, I switched over to Space Wolf Grey for my primary color, which oddly, isn’t grey at all but actually blue (kind of like how “Nantucket Red” is actually pink). I’m pretty happy with the outcome so far on these guys. Still not impressed? Consider for a moment that these little dudes are only one inch tall. THAT’S 25 MILLIMETERS, PEOPLE!
Well this can't end well. What you’re looking at here is a pack of miniature Warhammer 40K figurines (Space Wolf Grey Hunters, to be precise) intended for one purpose only: to conquer my tabletop gaming opponent. They may not look impressive, but bear in mind that these snarling fellows came completely unassembled and had to be painstakingly glued together piece by piece. They arrived looking like THIS:
And I haven’t even primed or painted ‘em yet. And if you think that’s bad, it gets worse. Oh so much worse.
Imagine it happening in slow motion, followed by me staring blankly at it for several minutes, wallowing in the not-so-subtle symbolism of the event. Yes, when stuff like this happens to me, it is usually this blunt (last night I was playing “Batman:
Attention advertising companies: I heartily approve of any product involving gorillas. You slap a gorilla on the label and I will purchase it. For me, the addition of any kind of simian likeness will bolster a product’s appeal by roughly 145%. For example, did you know that there’s an airline company called
I will often torment others with intentionally bad suggestions. The current one? I am steadfastly demanding that Erika and I name our future children “Whipple” and “Spaulding.” The thinking behind this is similar to Johnny Cash’s “Boy Named Sue” logic—our kids will be toughened up by relentless tormenting from their peers, and they will certainly never ever receive any form of scholarship or financial aid, because names like “Whipple” and “Spaulding” are 100% white bread. They start off white and bleach themselves to transparency by the end. No, I will not budge on this issue. Do not attempt to debate me on this. 







Damn you Francoeur, the “curl into the fetal position to avoid the ball” is MY MOVE, not yours. 14 RBIs in 12 games does not excuse you from this blatant theft!
Costa Rica! A country of natural beauty and splendor! Home of primo coffee beans, world class sport fishing, and the hit TV series “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!” Costa Rica: the Switzerland of Latin America! Rickey and Ms. Henderson are thrilled to be spending three weeks in this virtually untouched Eden and yet there are most definitely several issues that those who travel to this exotic land must be aware of. For your enlightenment, we’ve listed them below.




