Hey, got a few things on my mind. Why not blog it, I asked myself. And now here we are.
Item the first:
Mayor Street was heckled out of a line waiting for the iPhone.
Apparently he was waiting in line since 11 AM to buy the new iPhone when some 22-year-old kid just started heckling him with things like, "don't you have better things to do?" and, "why don't you try and solve some of those 200 murders?"
Street's response was, "I'm doing my job."
He defended his actions by saying he "loves to check out new technology." As an aside, he added, "Oh yeah, and, uh, it will help me conduct business, too."
Nice cover up, John.
Now I think it's hilarious that someone my age had the balls to heckle the mayor so relentlessly that he left line, and he was asking great, topical questions.
But here's my question.
You are the mayor of Philadelphia, which means you are in charge of one of the biggest cities in the most powerful country in the world...and you can't get somebody to wait in line for you???
You can't maybe set up a deal with the distributors?
I don't know, free parking, maybe...or a shiny new gun?
Politics is all about the art of the backroom deal, and our Mayor can't even secure himself a freaking cell phone.
That's really saying a lot.
Next Issue:
I don't know what to make of the Sixers draft. The main question is why Thaddeus Young over Al Thorton. Thorton appears to be better, but he's 23. Since when was experience such a nasty word in professional sports? Teams would rather have an unproven kid with a chance to be great over a guy who already is pretty darn good right now.
That's like playing poker and constantly passing on pocket Kings for a chance at a flush. Sometimes you just gotta take what they give you.
Who knows, though. The draft is a crapshoot. Billy King could end up looking like a genius, or at least a fully functioning adult. The thing is, though, it's gonna take this guy 2-3 years to develop. By then we will have forgotten about how big a deal this pick was, and that it is basically the main thing we got for Iverson.
Yikes.
Speaking of Iverson. This point was brought up in the Inquirer today: What if we had kept him? Chances are we would have finished up with an even worse record than we did (remember how spirited we played after he got traded?) That would have meant a better pick (Oden or Durant, possibly. You have to remember that the Sixers suuucked earlier in the year). Also, we still could have traded Iverson on draft night for a better deal than we got. Look how much worth somebody like Ray Allen was able to get. Imagine what the Celtics would have given up for Iverson. Suffice it to say, a lot more than the 21st and 30th picks, and a 33 year old point guard.
It almost boggles the mind thinking what we could have gotten.
Some very rough math to give you an idea.
Ray Allen = 5th pick
Iverson has to equal that, at least.
So we stink up the season with Iverson, end up with a top 6 pick (that's being conservative), and then trade Iverson for another top 6 pick, and end up with either 1 ridiculous player (meaning Oden or Durant), or 2 future stars, like Al Horford and Corey Brewer or something.
Unbeliveable.
Third, and final, Point:
BoDog, the online gambling site (I thought gambling was illegal?), now offers...
drumroll please....
BoDog Live!
That's right, you can bet on live action.
Like 20 bucks says Howard laces a double up the middle on this pitch.
Think about that.
Oh, and furthermore, Susan, if I end up going broke, you will know why.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Blog? What Blog?
I know it's been awhile, and I know nobody has probably even noticed.
But if you have, I apologize.
Blogging gets a little tricky in the summertime.
Phillies games...shore trips...sierra nevada summer ale...none of it is conducive to being near a computer.
Anyway, I heard today, after much speculation, that Weezer is releasing its 6th studio album in the very near future.
That brings up an interesting question for me.
Am I going to buy it?
Let's do a quick recap on the Weezer situation:
1. They release The Blue Album.
One of the greatest debut albums, in my humble opinion. It didn't just make them popular, it is a flat-out album, from start to finish.
Some high notes include the a capella breakdown at the end of Holiday, the closing to Only in Dreams, the opening of Surf Wax America, and all of The Sweater Song.
Not to mention the fact that it is able to include a ridiculously poppy and catchy tune in Buddy Holly and still have it mesh with the rest of the album.
Some other great songs on the album: My Name is Jonas and Say It Ain't So.
To me, Say it Ain't So is like Santeria, by Sublime. From the first note everybody kind of shuts up and listens, and its real hard to turn off.
Also, No One Else, The World has Turned and Left me Here, and In The Garage are all great songs, and kind of foreshadow the vibe of Pinkerton, which we will get to in a second.
But first...
2. Rivers Cuomo goes totally crazy.
I'm not gonna get into the details, cuz i'm kind of hazy on them and I'm not gonna do the research (read: wikipedia it).
Suffice it to say that he went back to college, had an extremely painful surgery to make one of his legs as long as the other one (birth defect), and may or may not have fallen in love with a god-damn half-japanese girl.
3. Weezer release Pinkerton.
Pinkerton is also considered an album in my book. The whole thing goes together, the music, the lyrics, the theme and tone of the album are consistent.
It was also very different from the last album, but what could you possibly expect after that first album?
Anyway, I think this album might have made Rivers go crazy, I might have had that order messed up.
Bottom line, Weezer has 2 great albums under their belt, and what do they do next?
4. Release two ridiculous albums, Maladroit and the Green album, with lots of power-pop songs that seem like they took Cuomo about 30 seconds to write. Some are really good, but it is definitely hit or miss.
And frankly, it was disappointing going out and buying those 2 cd's the day they came out, and not getting what I expected.
So I didn't buy Make Believe when it came out, and I'm not going to buy this one.
However, I always suspected that Cuomo would go crazy again and release another great album, so maybe I will buy this one...
But I'll probably just download it (legally of course).
Speaking of killer debut albums, who else did it?
I'm not gonna actually look into this, I'll just throw stuff out there, whether it was killer or even a debut.
How about...
Guns n Roses - Appetite for Destruction. Not bad.
The Band - Music from Big Pink. Pretty solid.
Violent Femmes self-titled had Add It Up, Blister in the Sun, Gone Daddy Gone, Prove My Love, Gimme the Car, and Kiss Off.
On a slightly related note, I loved the White Stripes' second album, but am not going to buy the newest cd because they have just been getting weirder and weirder.
I will probably not buy the next Strokes album.
But no matter what I will buy the next: Wilco, Modest Mouse, and Kings of Leon.
Cds I wish I had already bought: The entire Hold Steady collection, the latest TV on the Radio.
I will take feedback.
What debut albums do you love?
What bands have disappointed you over the years?
What bands will you always buy their cds, no matter what?
What bands do you wish you had discovered earlier?
Oh, and furthermore, Susan, just a point to ponder. I have never gotten in to the Beastie Boys, and I don't think I ever will. Yes, I own Paul's Boutique, yes I love sabotage and what'cha want, but im sorry, they dont do it for me.
But if you have, I apologize.
Blogging gets a little tricky in the summertime.
Phillies games...shore trips...sierra nevada summer ale...none of it is conducive to being near a computer.
Anyway, I heard today, after much speculation, that Weezer is releasing its 6th studio album in the very near future.
That brings up an interesting question for me.
Am I going to buy it?
Let's do a quick recap on the Weezer situation:
1. They release The Blue Album.
One of the greatest debut albums, in my humble opinion. It didn't just make them popular, it is a flat-out album, from start to finish.
Some high notes include the a capella breakdown at the end of Holiday, the closing to Only in Dreams, the opening of Surf Wax America, and all of The Sweater Song.
Not to mention the fact that it is able to include a ridiculously poppy and catchy tune in Buddy Holly and still have it mesh with the rest of the album.
Some other great songs on the album: My Name is Jonas and Say It Ain't So.
To me, Say it Ain't So is like Santeria, by Sublime. From the first note everybody kind of shuts up and listens, and its real hard to turn off.
Also, No One Else, The World has Turned and Left me Here, and In The Garage are all great songs, and kind of foreshadow the vibe of Pinkerton, which we will get to in a second.
But first...
2. Rivers Cuomo goes totally crazy.
I'm not gonna get into the details, cuz i'm kind of hazy on them and I'm not gonna do the research (read: wikipedia it).
Suffice it to say that he went back to college, had an extremely painful surgery to make one of his legs as long as the other one (birth defect), and may or may not have fallen in love with a god-damn half-japanese girl.
3. Weezer release Pinkerton.
Pinkerton is also considered an album in my book. The whole thing goes together, the music, the lyrics, the theme and tone of the album are consistent.
It was also very different from the last album, but what could you possibly expect after that first album?
Anyway, I think this album might have made Rivers go crazy, I might have had that order messed up.
Bottom line, Weezer has 2 great albums under their belt, and what do they do next?
4. Release two ridiculous albums, Maladroit and the Green album, with lots of power-pop songs that seem like they took Cuomo about 30 seconds to write. Some are really good, but it is definitely hit or miss.
And frankly, it was disappointing going out and buying those 2 cd's the day they came out, and not getting what I expected.
So I didn't buy Make Believe when it came out, and I'm not going to buy this one.
However, I always suspected that Cuomo would go crazy again and release another great album, so maybe I will buy this one...
But I'll probably just download it (legally of course).
Speaking of killer debut albums, who else did it?
I'm not gonna actually look into this, I'll just throw stuff out there, whether it was killer or even a debut.
How about...
Guns n Roses - Appetite for Destruction. Not bad.
The Band - Music from Big Pink. Pretty solid.
Violent Femmes self-titled had Add It Up, Blister in the Sun, Gone Daddy Gone, Prove My Love, Gimme the Car, and Kiss Off.
On a slightly related note, I loved the White Stripes' second album, but am not going to buy the newest cd because they have just been getting weirder and weirder.
I will probably not buy the next Strokes album.
But no matter what I will buy the next: Wilco, Modest Mouse, and Kings of Leon.
Cds I wish I had already bought: The entire Hold Steady collection, the latest TV on the Radio.
I will take feedback.
What debut albums do you love?
What bands have disappointed you over the years?
What bands will you always buy their cds, no matter what?
What bands do you wish you had discovered earlier?
Oh, and furthermore, Susan, just a point to ponder. I have never gotten in to the Beastie Boys, and I don't think I ever will. Yes, I own Paul's Boutique, yes I love sabotage and what'cha want, but im sorry, they dont do it for me.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Royal Rumble XXX: Bungle in the Jungle
Whoa, doctor!
You need to stop whatever you are doing right now (besides reading this blog) and check out this YouTube clip.
It might be the greatest thing I have ever seen.
A while back I had a link to a clip that showed an alligator with a baby antelope in its jaws, and then a hippo came over, chased the alligator away, and got the antelope in its jaws. You thought that the hippo was going to eat the thing, but instead, it took it to shore and tried to revive it.
Things didn't work out well, and about 5 minutes later, the gator came back to reclaim its dinner.
Here is that link.
But this is much better. I don't want to spoil it, but let me tell you this:
It involves a gigantic pack of buffaloes, a pride of lions, and no less than 2 crocodiles.
If you have 8 1/2 minutes to spare, and like to watch Planet Earth or Animal Planet, you need to check this out.
There is another great link where some guy coaxes a still alive baby hippo out of its guts. I'm not gonna post that link, though. Do your own damn research!
In other news, there is no other news. It's officially summer and there is a great beer you should try called Sierra Nevade Summer Fest or something like that. It's delicious.
And furthermore, Susan, just a juicy little tidbit to get you through the weekend: Wade Boggs once drank a hundred beers on a cross-country flight. Wade Boggs! According to Wikipedia, Wade Boggs grew up in Oreland, PA...and anybody in the world can contribute to Wikipedia, so you know you're getting, like, the most accurate information possible.
You need to stop whatever you are doing right now (besides reading this blog) and check out this YouTube clip.
It might be the greatest thing I have ever seen.
A while back I had a link to a clip that showed an alligator with a baby antelope in its jaws, and then a hippo came over, chased the alligator away, and got the antelope in its jaws. You thought that the hippo was going to eat the thing, but instead, it took it to shore and tried to revive it.
Things didn't work out well, and about 5 minutes later, the gator came back to reclaim its dinner.
Here is that link.
But this is much better. I don't want to spoil it, but let me tell you this:
It involves a gigantic pack of buffaloes, a pride of lions, and no less than 2 crocodiles.
If you have 8 1/2 minutes to spare, and like to watch Planet Earth or Animal Planet, you need to check this out.
There is another great link where some guy coaxes a still alive baby hippo out of its guts. I'm not gonna post that link, though. Do your own damn research!
In other news, there is no other news. It's officially summer and there is a great beer you should try called Sierra Nevade Summer Fest or something like that. It's delicious.
And furthermore, Susan, just a juicy little tidbit to get you through the weekend: Wade Boggs once drank a hundred beers on a cross-country flight. Wade Boggs! According to Wikipedia, Wade Boggs grew up in Oreland, PA...and anybody in the world can contribute to Wikipedia, so you know you're getting, like, the most accurate information possible.
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