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)