Mom's cooking chicken and collard greens...

'Tis the season y'all. Time to Celebrate with Run DMC. Make sure to turn up the speakers in your office so everyone can enjoy.

Run DMC - Christmas in Hollis

Friday Morning Music

3-plus weeks between posts. Not bad. At least I am updating with greater frequency than Ryan and Sujay.

I haven't really got anything clever today, so I'm posting some music for everybody. In different categories, no less!

Humerous International Music Videos

-Yatta!

-Daler Mehndi: Tunak Tunak Tun


Contemporary Rock (as seen on SNL last week)

-James Blunt - Goodbye my Lover - (buy)

-James Blunt - You're Beautiful


Hip Hop Videos
(courtesy of The Video Crates and Old School Music Videos)

-Funkdoobiest - Dedicated

-Buckshot Lefonque - Music Evolution

Fun at Work 11/14/05

Although I have some great coworkers, there are some dim bulbs that work here as well. Case in point...

As I walked past one of my colleague's desks yesterday, I noticed why he hadn't said much in the previous few minutes. He was busy Googling the word "Google." Knowing Mark, he probably expected some sort of IT paradox to rip apart the space-time continuum.

Brilliant.

Tipoff 2005

Welcome to the best time of year for sports fans. College Football and NFL seasons are in full swing. Hockey is back (hooray!), and Pistons' fans will get their fix starting tonight.

• Here's ESPN's take on the 05-06 Pistons. Their one-sentence analysis of Ben Wallace:

"Who else could make Ron Artest back up like traffic?"

Who indeed.

Lions Report 10/24/05

Lions win today, so Detroit fans should be happy, right? That depends on your perspective on this season. As I see it, there are two choices we have at this point:

• Hope for an 8-8 season that will probably be enough to win the division, followed by a hasty exit in the wild-card round.
• Hope for a whole bunch of losses in order to usher in the Matt-Leinart-in-Honolulu-Blue-Era.

As it stands now, we're realistically looking at 6-10 or 7-9, followed by using the 8th pick to take another WR. Charles Rogers will be carpooling with Joey on their unceremonious departure from the Motor City in January. So long, guys. Have a nice life.

Still, it was nice (although somewhat strange) to have some confidence in the offense while watching Sunday's game. If Garcia can do this well with Vines and Martinez, well, that's good. Still, he's not the long-term solution. Too early to tell if Orlovsky is, either.

Here's a few takes on this year's team thus far...

Quarterback

See above. Joey Harrington is a nice guy. He plays the piano pretty well. Too bad he also has an anxiety disorder. He should write a thank you note to Jeff Tedford for his millions of dollars, and proceed to live out his days as a third string player for the Giants (or some other team where he has no chance of ever seeing the field.) Don't feel too bad for the guy - it's a good gig.

The length of Garcia's tenure will be dictated by his health. I anticipate that a high draft pick will once again be spent on a QB. Unless perhaps a quality free agent becomes available. Billy Volek? Matt Schaub, anyone?

Running Back

Kevin Jones is Kevin Jones. No need to worry about this position. I've definitely been encouraged by the increased PT for Artose Pinner. He's the type of guy who can keep the chains moving as long as he has good blocking. He would get 1300 yards in Denver, to put it another way. Jones, on the other hand, has the ability to make something out of nothing. Bryson rounds out this stable of backs rather nicely. Until Jones further refines his pass-catching game, he remains the best receiver out of the backfield. With the return of fullback/bulldozer Cory Schlesinger, the running game should only improve as the season continues.

Receivers

Charles Rogers appears to be a bust. Somebody apparently forgot to tell him that medicinal cannabis is not an approved treatment for osteoporosis. And I still think he looks like Osmosis Jones. If (if) Roy Williams could stay healthy, he'd probably make the Pro Bowl, or at least Plays of the Week on a semi-regular basis. Mike Williams looked decent against Cleveland, but it's still too early to tell how he'll do. Something tells me he'll be playing TE in three years. Considering all the drops by Pollard & friends, this might not be a bad thing. Scottie Vines has filled in admirably when called upon, but he's a #4 receiver at best. Kevin Johnson was supposed to be the veteran leadership at this position this year. It looks as though he's spending the rest of the season in street clothes and one really large boot. Glenn Martinez has apparently won a raffle drawing of some sort where the prize is an NFL roster spot. Good for you, Glenn.... now please assume your position next to the Gatorade cooler. And I just realized he kind of looks like Jesus.

Offensive Line

After watching Sunday's game, I'm not sure what to think of this unit. Either: a.) They looked good because they were playing, well... Cleveland. or b.) They are awesome, they all hate Joey, and let the pass rush upfield for their (and our) collective amusement. Hahaha.

Defensive Line

Rogers and Wilkinson are bueno. Shaun Cody appears to be solid as well, but he needs a nickname. How about Big Poppa or something. Hall and Redding, while not spectacular, round out the starting unit. Many thanks to whoever woke up Kalimba Edwards from his three-year nap.

Linebackers

Here's the position with the most quality depth on the team. Boss Bailey (welcome back) has enough range to possibly play SS in a pinch. Holmes is a force in the middle, and Teddy Lehman continues to improve. Curry and Rainer are valuable special teams contributors, and James Davis has one of the coolest nicknames in the league. Check out his website. Alex Lewis will add to the group when he returns from injury.

Secondary

Did anybody know that Dre Bly was going to be this good? My only complaint is the hot-potato antics on interception returns, but I'll take it as part of the package. Fernando Bryant weighs 120 pounds, so perhaps we shouldn't be surprised at his fragility. As I correctly predicted, R-dub has been a great addition at CB and KR. Goodman got a pick Sunday as well. Time will tell if Keith Smith and Stanley Wilson pan out. Terrence Holt has been solid if unspectacular thus far in his first year as a starter, and Kennoy Kennedy is a league-imposed-fine waiting to happen. Just ask Jake Delhomme.

Special Teams

A coworker asked me today what life would be like without Jason Hanson. Amazing how much we take him (and the kicking position in general) for granted, isn't it? Here's hoping that his successor has a similar 15 year run. As an aside, what do folks think his Hall of Fame chances are? People have mentioned Eddie Drummond in the same breath as Dante Hall from a couple years back, but he needs to stay healthy.

Coaching

Am I the only one who feels like Steve Mariucci is too nice of a guy to coach the Lions? After the last six or seven seasons, what this team needs is a no-nonsense results-oriented guy. I'm not sure if Mooch is the guy to maximize the results from this team's talents. If somebody tells me that Parcells and Dungy are holding bocce tournaments during the off season as well, then I'll gladly retract these comments.

Management

Perhaps people were too quick in their praise of Millen's draft success. We'll see.

El Gato Volador

I ran across some great pictures on the internet following the PSU victory, including my favorite right here. I'm all about the "sad kitten" look. Check out some more photos here.

A co-worker with minor mental illness (I'm only half joking) sent me a link for people who do really strange things to their pets. Don't worry, it's work safe. Hopefully, this doesn't give any of you with cats any bright ideas.

On a somewhat sad note, Furry Tractor is still winless in the Fantasy Football League. Let the fire sale begin.

In other randomness, I happened upon Alex Bird this morning while surfing around on Friendster. And Joby.

Lords of the Underground - Madd Skillz - (buy)

Main Source - Fakin' the Funk

Drop the puck!

Thankfully, hockey has returned. Even if televised hockey hasn't. By the way, what channel is OLN on Comcast? Anyway, here's a pic of one of my favorite Wings. He looks happy.



I'll also leave you with some chilled-out British rock. If you dig these tracks, check out Starsailor's website. It's got videos and additional songs as well. Enjoy.



Starsailor - Way to Fall - (buy)

Starsailor - Four to the Floor (remix) - (buy)

Reasons for Optimism - MSU week

No doubt some will view this as a naive exercise in denial of the inevitable, but on any given Saturday, blah blah blah. Sparty's going down, and here's why.

• The guy on the right here is pretty darn good, and keeps getting better each week. The coaching staff seems to be recognizing this, and Mario's becoming a bigger part of the gameplan. And the Ranchero Crew assigned him a theme song. 'Nuff said.
• Lamarr Woodley has one and only one purpose on Saturday: to break each and every one of Drew Stanton's ribs. At least twice in the first half, look for Jim Herrmann to call the infamous Sawin "fire drill" blitz, with all 11 guys rushing upfield (finally, a play that Shawn Crable can understand). If Stanton is once again taken out to the Woodleyshed, good things will follow.
• The run defense has improved somewhat since the season opener, and none of MSU's tailbacks are as good as Brian Calhoun.
• Even if Stanton stays healthy, I'd like to think that the UM defense has a better handle on defending rushing QBs than last fall. Much has been made of Michigan's inability to defend QBs with scrambling ability, and for good reason. It's similar to the '98 season and our inability to defend the option: It sucked, but Herrmann and the defense finally figured it out. That will be the case here as well, and hopefully it will start to materialize here on Saturday as opposed to much later.
• Ryan Mundy will not play.
• Michigan will have better athletes on the field. Period. Argue about mental toughness and poor coaching all you want, but you can't dispute this fact.
• Michael Hart is reported to be back in action. No negative rushes + no fumbles + pressure off Henne = less ulcers for Michigan fans. You've got to wonder how much the hamstring injury has contributed to Henne's regression.
• Intangibles. How will each of the teams respond to media expectations for this showdown? MSU showed us something by not suffering a let-down last week after a great victory for their program. What happens when you now find yourself heavily favored over your biggest rival? From the other side of I-96, we get to see how well the UM program (not just the team) responds to adversity. This game will be the turning point that either leads to 9-3 or 6-6.
• Unless Henne is denser than dense, he's got to realize that his grip on the starting job is loosening pass by underthrown pass. Gutierrez has looked decent in limited action thus far, and coaches and teammates have consistently raved about his understanding of the game. If this doesn't light a fire under Chad, I'm not sure what will.
• I think it would make a cool birthday present for Sven if Lloyd & co. pull this off. After he's done walking around southeastern Ann Arbor Saturday afternoon, hopefully he can return home with a really nifty gift waiting on the TiVo.

Little Brother - Lovin' It - (buy)

Soul Coughing - Super Bon Bon - (buy)

Bueno / No Bueno 9/26/05

Pretty self-explanatory. Here Goes.

Bueno: Mario Manningham

No Bueno: Take your pick of anybody else that happened to be wearing maize and blue at Camp Randall over the weekend.

Bueno: New fall TV shows!

No Bueno: Having to delete all the old episodes of "I love the 90's" to make room on the TiVo.

Bueno: The NFC Central-leading Detroit Lions.

No Bueno: The inevitability of reality setting in.

Bueno: Defeating Ryan in fantasy football by three points.

No Bueno: Getting immasculated by Sawin the following week. (I'm now one-for-Ranchero).

Bueno: Hockey season is almost here.

Extra Bueno: Stevie Y and Pavel Datsyuk on the roster.

Bueno: Funny pictures of Michigan coaches.

No bueno: Results said coaches have exhibited thus far this season.

Bueno: A night at work that's slow enough to update the blog!


P.O.D. - Boom

Nappy Roots - Aw Naw (remix)

Undefeated!

KMD & the Ninja Posse

Allmusic has always been great. Music + Internet makes Homer something something. If you don't know, check it out.

Well, it just got better. Allmusic is collaborating with Singingfool, and they now have music videos. What makes this so nifty is the fact that they're much better organized than on Launch or Blastro, and they have a much more extensive library. I just spent the majority of my workday listening to Wu-Tang and Skee-Lo. Boo. Yah.

Enjoy some old school jams, my friends.


Lords of the Underground - Tic Toc

Kool Moe Dee - I go to Work

Addition by Subtraction

College Football News is reporting that Trev Alberts has been fired; later confirmed by Sports Illustrated. Apparently, he didn't show up to work on Sunday morning because he's not "happy with his role." Amen, brother. Now let's just hope Mark May follows suit.

AC reports that Notre Dame will not be bringing their band to this Saturday's game. Apparently, the athletic department informed them that the available space for the band was less than the full number that they had planned on bringing. Rather than bringing slightly less than their full numbers, they elected to take their kilts and stay at home. I don't expect this to have any substantial impact on the game, but it certainly doesn't hurt. No word yet on how this affects the leprechaun's plans for the game. Maybe he'll head down to the west sideline and hang out with Chuck Winters.

Pep Love - T.A.M.I.

Gang Starr - Skills

Song of the Day 8/31/05

Three cheers for ebaumsworld! Not quite as cool as "Peanut Butter Jelly Time," but close.

The Hippopotamus Song

Tuesday Night Hip Hop

August 23rd came and went, and Hieroglyphics rocked the Blind Pig as advertised. It was one of those shows that felt like it only ended because the place had to close, or otherwise we could still be bobbing our heads down there right now (Makes you realize how extensive the Hiero Imperium catalog is). A few quick notes on the show:

• Del tha Funkee Homosapien wasn't there, which was too bad. He brings a unique energy to the group.
• Pep Love dropped some serious lyrical wizardry. At times, his talent almost overshadowed the rest of the crew.
• The opening acts went on for way too long. Boom Bap Project was worth the listen, though. Check out some of their audio clips on Allmusic. I'll try and post some tracks soon, if I can.
• The Blind Pig appears to be the spot in Ann Arbor for live hip hop. Check out their upcoming shows.
• Speaking of which, it looks like Little Brother will be coming through town on September 9th with additional members of the Justus League. Spread the word, and mark your calendars. I'll leave you with a couple tracks.

Little Brother - "War" - (buy)

Little Brother - "On the way"

Premature Conclusions 8/25/05

Apologies for the lapse in postings to those who might drop by this site from time to time (both of you). You've been left with Matt Schaub giving you that dirty look for far too long. But I'm back from vacation now (insert band camp joke here), and ready to drop some knowledge, or at least some speculation.

Through the wonders of TiVo, I've been able to catch both of the Lions' preseason games thus far, and form some opinions. After the loss to Cleveland on Saturday, I think I might have some small appreciation for how Sparty may have felt last fall. Manning to Harrison 2003 = Frye to Edwards 2008. You heard it here first. Anyway, on to some inaccurate season predictions based on limited information. Oh boy oh boy!

• Mike Williams will be seen on a number of occasions dragging would-be tacklers for a whole lot of extra yards. Like William Carr, but with speed, and height. And he's not as fat. And doesn't play defense like Carr did. But otherwise, the same.
• Our secondary is beginning to resemble the Green Bay Packers of two years ago: really long dreads. How long are R.W.'s? Let's put it this way: you can't tell what number he is wearing if you are looking at him from behind. Chris Cash has apparently never cut his hair since becoming a Lion either. As far as I'm concerned, this is a cool trend. Sprinting with dreads flailing behind you makes you look really fast. It's like when you would draw somebody in grade school with horizontal lines behind them. It implies swift motion. (By the way, I can't wait until this trend starts extending to white guys. Imagine Cory Schlesinger sporting a hairdo like Adam Duritz or the twins from the Matrix!)
• Speaking of McQuarters, he is going to prove to be an invaluable pickup; and by invaluable, I mean really valuable. He'll be able to step in for Eddie Drummond when he eventually goes down with injury. Hopefully, this won't be until week 12 or so, and after he has eight or nine touchdowns. He'll also be able to step in at one of the starting CB positions when Fernando Bryant goes on IR in week 2. Fernando will make the mistake of actually tackling a running back. A teammate will give him a congratulatory tap on the shoulder pads, and he will collapse in pain. While in the hospital he will lose 5 pounds, taking him down to 110.
• The linebacking position is definitely going to be a strength. When your depth is sufficient for Teddy Lehman to be a backup, you're in good shape.
• Scottie Vines has looked decent, and not just as a returner. He might have a future in the NFL after all. As a result, wave bye-bye to David Kircus.
• Howard Jackson will unfortunately not make the team. Luckily for him, there are other jobs out there. Emmanuel Lewis is looking for a stunt double.
• Finally, I'll go out on a limb a little here: Joey will not maintain his 93% completion rate for the rest of the season. Sorry, Jess.

Preseason Kickoff

The NFL finally began the preseason this Saturday morning at about 5 a.m. The Almost-Super Bowl featured the Colts and the Falcons playing to a frenzied crowd in Japan. Diehard fans such as myself actually watched the game live on ESPN. Despite the fact that the starters only played a quarter, the game was decent. A few observations:

-Michael Vick continues to look uncomfortable in the west coast offense. That's not to say that he and Jim Mora can't make some noise in the playoffs, but they will continue to be thwarted by teams with strong defenses, such as Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, especially Tampa Bay. Mora needs to recognize what Vick is and is not good at. He's great at scrambling for yardage (duh) and throwing accurately on the run (rollouts, bootlegs, etc.) For whatever reason, he's not able to get into a passing rhythm with both of his feet planted on the ground. If Atlanta's play-calling takes this into account, and if Jenkins and White continue to improve as receivers, I like the Falcons to win the division.

-The Colts' secondary is looking much better than it did at this time last year. It nearly reads as an All-Big Ten team from a couple years ago. Mike Doss is back with another year of experience. Bob Sanders is participating in his first training camp after a ridiculous hold-out last summer. (2nd round pick. Nice.) Perhaps the greatest improvement is the addition of All-American CB Marlin Jackson. During the game itself, Sanders had an INT, and Marlin put a vicious hit on Brian Finneran that you probably saw on SportsCenter. While the secondary continues to improve, Dwight Freeney will likely cause a number of poorly-thrown balls leading to interceptions.

-Inexplicably, Cato June seems to have a job in the NFL. As an actual football player! WTF?

-Did anyone besides me catch the Dave Pearson sighting?


-Deltron 3030 - Positive Contact - (buy)

-BDP - You Must Learn (remix) - (buy)

In my country there is problem...

Great news for fans of Ali G, and Borat in particular - There's a Borat movie currently in production. Season 3 appears to be on the way as well. Check out the Unofficial Borat Homepage for details.

Here's a link to couple of Borat Soundboards to commemorate the occasion.

By the way, I realize that there hasn't been any actual sports postings yet on this site. I anticipate that this will change as we get closer to football and basketball seasons.


Cypress Hill & Pearl Jam - Real Thing - (buy)
Black Moon - Who Got Da Props - (buy)

How the Mighty Have Fallen...

Remember 1995? When you couldn't listen to the radio or watch MTV for more than 30 minutes without hearing Hootie and the Blowfish? Well, a lot has changed since then. Ever since their SportsCenter-themed music video came out, things have gone downhill. ESPN continued to grow in popularity and eventually mutate into the present-day debacle we see today. Meanwhile, Hootie sold his soul to Burger King.


Which brings us to a rather disturbing discovery I made this afternoon: Said musical group will be performing this Sunday in Ann Arbor to promote their new CD. Where, you ask? Not at Crisler, nor at the Pig, but rather at Borders Books and Music on East Liberty. Preparations for the show have already been seen to, and they consist of 15 folding chairs (!) arranged on the second floor. Presumably, Darius will be available to sign the wrapper from your Whopper after they rock the house.


In other news, Hiero will be stopping by Borders prior to their August 23rd show at the Pig to sign autographs and hopefully spit a couple rhymes. Maybe Del does an Unplugged set, a la LL. Regardless, it looks as though our local bookstore is becoming the newest hot spot for live music. Perhaps I should stop making fun.

In anticipation of their upcoming show, I leave you with one of my favorite summertime jams. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

-Souls of Mischief - '93 til Infinity - (buy)

Tracks of the Day

You'll probably notice that this will be a theme in many of the posts here. I'll regularly have songs that you can click on and download, followed by the links to Amazon where you can buy them for yourself (the last thing I need is the RIAA on my back.) Anyway, enough. As MC Serch once said, Here it Comes.

Dane Cook came out with a new double CD this week. He's been on Comedy Central quite a bit, so you might already be familiar with him.

-Dane Cook - Heist/Monkey - (buy)

-Joydrop - Sometimes Wanna Die - (buy)

Welcome!

A sincere thanks and welcome to those who are here to check out my latest creative endeavor (read: abuse of time spent at work). I encourage everyone who checks out this site (both of you) to drop me some feedback if you feel like it. I decided to start up a blog despite all of the negative implications of doing so. Here goes nothing.

In the coming months, or depending on how quickly I get bored with this, I'll focus on the worlds of sport, music, and whatever else interesting I happen to encounter in my backwards-ass life.

A couple of examples for this Thursday morning:

-All of you kids from the 80's are going to have an aneurysm when you see this (HT: Straight Bangin').

-Hieroglyphics are coming to the Blind Pig on August 23rd, preceeded by an autograph session at Border's. I'll be the one standing next to Span actin' the fool. Check out a couple of their videos:

- "Soweto"

- "Make Your Move"

-T