Earlier this decade I really got into the NCAA basketball tournament, aka: March Madness. As an Indiana University alum, I'm excited about our team's chances of making it to the Sweet 16. We had a little bit of a bump/wake up call on Saturday when we lost to UCONN, 68-63. UCONN played very well and I.U. barely got any points in the paint. Regardless, of the loss we still stand at 17-2 overall, 6-0 Big Ten. National ranking of #11. Not too shabby my friends. I don't think we'll win it all (Memphis, Kansas, etc. are just too damn good.) However, it ought to be a pretty exciting journey from here until we get knocked out in the Big Dance.
Eleven games remain in our regular season. My guess is we go 9-2. One loss against Michigan State and the other against Purdue. Don't ask me why. Just a guess. That'd make us 26-4 at the end of the season, 15-2 in the Big Ten. Provided we kick some a$$ in the Big Ten tourney we could have a sweet seed!
I’ll Have Some Of That: + Internal anticipation of the Ryan Adams solo acoustic show in Claremont, CA + Phoenix Coyotes record (over .500) + Chuck returns for back-to-back new episodes this Thursday night + Lauren Conrad of The Hills + Martha’s sun-dried tomato scramble; get some wheat toast with it and put some scramble on a piece of toast- D-lish! + Murg Saag (sp??? It’s an Indian dish with spinach and chicken) + Howard Stern , Mon-Thurs. + Urban photography + Peter Lik photography + Face-to-face time with friends who don’t live in the NYC area and getting to say “goodbye” + Family Guy
I’ll Pass, Thanks: - People who don’t understand what “OCCUPIED” means on an airplane lavatory - Phoenix’s lack of culture and the arts - Three hour delay for an hour and twenty minute flight - Howard Stern, Fri. (they did into the old school archives, not as entertaining to me) - Reality TV…it’s only a matter of time before I score my own show for who knows what? - Tank tops at the gym - Sushi – I’ll eat it; I’m just not that into it anymore -- use brown rice and maybe I’ll change my mind - The dude at the gym who spends more time hitting on girls than he does working out (can you not read their facial expressions that show signs of disinterest and annoyance? Are you that clueless or do you just not give a damn?)
Was searching YouTube tonight and ran across this little gem. Acoustic guitar version of Damien Rice singing "9 Crimes." (he usually plays it on piano.)
Packaging can play a major role in the appeal of a brand. "PICK ME! PICK ME!" I'll tell you what would make you pick you damn it...(wait towards the end of the video. sorry couldn't find the lone ad for it)
How bad ass is that packaging??? Too bad you can't tell how awesome it is with all those super bright lights in the cereal aisle of a grocery store. Come on now cereals companies. Don't try to lure us with overly busy packaging with a zillion different colors. Turn off the lights and Ghostbusters cereal would fly off the shelves! Keep it simple like in the video. Bring that sh*t back!
Staying on the subject of cereal, does anyone aside from my two brothers and mom remember this cereal?
If this were an ad today and if I had kids, there is no way I'd buy a cereal for my kids whose mascot is a coked up cowboy!
With all of the HGH/steroid scandal in Major League Baseball buzz going on right now, I can't help but think how long it will be, if ever, that the government tracks down non-professional athlete users. The FBI and government did a great job when they had some major steroid/HGH ring busts in 2007. Hopefully there are more to come.
As I looked around the gym today, burning my legs on the bike, I noticed that there sure are a lot of guys in the gym who seem to be abnormally large. I'm not saying, nor am I accusing, all of these guys for using performance enhancers. However, when I see a guy in his 40's doing sets of bench at 225 lbs. with easy it throws up a flag. How? How is this possible? And what's up with the guys with shoulders that are bigger than my head? That must be some amazing protein protein powder!
Hypothetically speaking, what if the FBI/government busted all of these guys? The gym would become fairly empty with basically myself, a handful of honest hard working guys, and most of the girls before the bust. Maybe then I'd finally be able to rip out a few sets on the bench press.
That’s basically what a lot of music that comes out now days sounds like. Thanks for helping make my point Brick (Steve Carell's character in Anchorman) Or maybe it’s like throwing some instrument tracks into a large blender and instead of hitting “puree”, or smooth, some producer hits the button that chops ice. Depending on which method you choose, you are going to get two very different results.
How often do you listen to a song and are actually able to feel the raw emotion(s) that gave that particular song life? It’s pretty damn rare. You’ll never find me tuned into a Top 40 radio station. Most of the songs in rotation are about as full of emotion as Death Valley is full of water. Is a little emotion in songwriting too much to ask? I want to feel, almost [temporarily] experience, that artist’s emotion. Sort of a “paint your story on an empty canvas in my head through your music and make me feel what you felt.” (Okay, so I admit that there is more than just emotional radiance that makes me like a song. – i.e.: melody, lyrics However, emotion is a big component for me.)
Have you seen the movie, Once? If you have then you know the kind of emotional music I am referring to. The song the lead male character [Glen Hansard] sings at night on the street during the opening credits, “Say It To Me Now”, is one of the most raw forms of emotionally charged songs I’ve ever heard. It’s about as naked as a song can get. A guy. A guitar. A voice. That’s it. Nothing gets lost in over produced, super enhanced music. Here, just watch (Glen Hansard really is singing, it’s not some scene where the song is overdubbed.)
To use a popular phrase in Ireland, “brilliant!”
Want to know what else I love about music? How it can enhance a scene in a movie or TV show. It’s almost as if it helps direct one’s emotions/feelings for that short period of time. Zach Braff seems to have mastered the rare skill of placing a song perfectly within a scene, or series of scenes. (Check out the movie The Last Kiss to see what I mean.) Who ever is in charge of placing music in the NBC TV show, Chuck, has the gift. Same goes for Grey’s Anatomy and Scrubs.
Here's one of my favorite examples.
[Scrubs "My Cold Shower" season 6 episode 19] [Song: "Stolen" by Dashboard Confessional]
There you go folks. More random music thoughts in the future.
Adios,
Biggie Burt
PS-I’m sitting in Newark airport and all I can smell is greasy fried potatoes. The scent is making me nauseous…and my flight doesn’t leave for another three hours. Sonuva bitch!
