Ring a Bell for Stringer

There aren't many television shows or movies that make me want to sit glued on the couch and staring at the screen for hours anymore. I watch a movie maybe once a week and all of the TV shows I watch (this is important b/c tv shows that my wife watches that I may take a peek at while pretending to read a book do not count) are 30 minute comedies, i.e. Scrubs and The Office. But one show stands alone. The one-hour HBO drama The Wire is my cup of tea. I ended up "getting" season one after the series completed its five-season run on HBO this year...and I've been hooked ever since. Just finished season three today and if I had a flag it would be at half-staff in honor of Stringer Bell. Definitely didn't see that one coming. String and Avon were like the Lennon-McCartney of Baltimore's ganster drug ring. They both grew up together in the streets, found something they were good at in the Game and then rose to the top with a partnership that dominated the Game. Then Bell (McCartney) wanted to expand and become legit and get away from his roots, while Avon (Lennon) wanted to stay in the Game and stick to where he came from. Ultimately they turn on each other. Only difference is that McCartney gets the bullet instead of Lennon. Was that a stretch of a comparison? Yes, and I don't care.

In case you don't watch the show, here's a brief synopsis: takes place in Baltimore, involves cops and druggies, involves corrupt politicians, and the show goes from there. That was by far the worst description I could give the show as it goes much deeper (each season deals with a theme like season 3 with 'reform') and if you like violence, gangster films or police dramas this is up yer alley. Seriously, check it out...do it. Season 5 releases on August 12 so you could technically watch the entire five seasons in three days non-stop. This is your task. On to the links:

My Top Five:
A list of my top five characters from The Wire through Season 3.
5. Bubbles
4. DeAngelo
3. McNulty
2. Omar
1. Stringer Bell

2 minutes...2-ah
Here's an article at Hoops World that talks about the Pacers being a threat in the conference this year. The writer says that no one is talking about the Pacers, which isn't true since a SI writer just picked them to make the playoffs, but it's always good to hear some people saying good things about the team. At this point it looks like they could sneak in for the eighth seed, but I'll give my expertise on the situation later on (anticipate on that bitches). Also, here's a pic of the first-round picks of the Pacers. Now introducing Mr. Brandon Rush (left) and Mr. Roy Hibbert..he's tall.

Mrs. Thug Mrs.
Nice long story on yer girl Lauren from yours and mine favorite TV show, The Hills (this show does not fall under the categore of my wife's shows as I don't pretend to watch it. I watch this show with the passion of a Heidi and Spencer fight..."You're making yourself cry thinking of the things you've done"..you can't make this stuff up.

Hello Mr. Radio
Figured I'd just include a picture of Lauren for ya this week...enjoy.

Info for Bo
I'm sure all wrestling fans have seen this but I just ran across it. Mr. Freddie Prinze Jr., is becoming a writer on Monday's RAW. First of all, I don't know what they need writers for in a professional sports program anyways and second of all, he better write this new dumb GM off the show right away and get Regal back in a position of power. This needs to happen immediately.

You tube...no, you're a tube
About 15 seconds of the new Oasis single is at the end of this promo clip that features snippets of all the other Oasis singles and music videos. Sounds awesome!

I'm No Superman [Scrubs Edition]

Some news out of Scrubs-land (which happens to be me and your's favorite television show) has prompted me to chine in on the recent developments involving J.D., Turk and Janitor. The show will be airing its eighth season on ABC instead of on NBC this fall. One episode is already being talked about where Janitor's wedding in Bahamas is being called one of the funniest episodes of the series. The Janitor's wedding...love it already. But the biggest news right now is the fact that the eighth season may not be the last afterall, at least for everyone but Zach Braff, a.k.a. John Dorian. The star of the show has said it will be his last, but the end-all-be-all creator of the show, Bill Lawrence, said the show might continue without Braff as the show is incorporating new interns this season who could take over Braff's role. If you just ran to cry in the supply closet with Elliot then you're not alone. Upon hearing the news, I thought "Great, Scrubs could be on forever." But about five seconds later I realized the slippery-slope the show would go down without it's lead character. Think That 70's Show without Forman and Kelso in those final seasons. They're nearly unwatchable (shoutout to Bo for the comparison). A lot of fans of the show get caught up in Janitor, Kelso, Eliot's hotness (see pic below) and forget about Braff's character. Although he has got whiney these past couple of seasons, I just don't think the show can stand on its own with J.D.'s voiceover, his daydreams, his affection for appletini's ("I hate cleaning up after those messy old queens. Ooo, appletini. When did they start drinking straight guy drinks?"), and his guy love with Turk (see below).

Anyways, I'd rather see Scrubs go out in true form and finish with J.D. than rather cling to its funny past with new characters. Think the Packers without Favre, not a good thing. On to the links.

It's Beetles...with an A
So if you've followed recent Beatles news alerts, you've been kept up-to-date on the whole Jay-Z and Oasis fight. Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher said Jay-Z shouldn't be allowed to perform at one of the biggest rock festivals in Britain cuz rap wasn't allowed. Jay-Z responded by performing a version of Wonderwall and now is using some fighting words saying that Oasis ripped all their music from the Beatles. Considering Noel has been sued countless times for ripping off other bands, I don't think Jay-Z is bringing anything new to the table.

My top 5
A lot of new segments are appearing in today's blog and this one has been in development for years. Simple and sexy, that's what we're about here.
Top 5 Scrubs episodes:
5. My Way Home, Season 5
4. My Last Day, Season 1
3. My Conventional Wisdom, Season 6
2. My Screw Up, Season 3
1. My Best Friend's Wedding, Season 3

The next 3 sections are devoted to my faithful followers. Each link is dedicated and catered to that person's tastes. This blogger's wife will be featured in the "Mrs. Thug Mrs." section, my cousin will be featured in the already sold out section of "Info for Bo" and my former roommate will get his worth in "Hello Mr. Radio."

Info for Bo
In honor of our pending greatest moment ever in Indianapolis when the Undertaker reappears at Summer Slam to destroy Edge, here's a link to some dude's blog talking about the situation. In case you forgot what he looks like, here's the deadman.

Mrs. Thug Mrs.
As we viewed the latest episode of So You Think You Can Dance Last Week, the Mrs. Thug Mrs. became extremely upset with Will being kicked off the show. He was the best. There's no doubt. So here's a link to some other people who agreed with the wife. Share yer tears together.

Hello Mr. Radio
You want girls, here's Elliot (to your right). Also a link to a photogallery of your favorite doctor.

You tube, no you're a tube
Guy Love, nuff said...

You may be a lover, but you ain't no dancer

Nearing the end of July, which means only one thing...another disappointing year of the NCAA Football video game. Yes it's true! After playing last year's version on the Xbox 360, I was pretty disappointed with the improvements in the game, despite the amazing achievements in the design. But, after selling my Xbox so I could get a Wii and dominate at Mario Kart (Yes it's true!), I was forced to buy the Wii's version of the game. Ugh...blah...yuck...fucking shit. Any of those reactions to playing the "All-Play" game fits accordingly. It's awful. Yet I'm still playing it, which shows my moronic and bored nature. The game is truely a step back in time by 5 years. At first everything seems normal. You start dynasty mode, pick a team, then you notice a few minor things missing...namely, half the features provide the usual depth to dynasty mode. But you don't care. Play the game! That will fix everything. So I roll into Notre Dame's stadium hoping to see Touchdown Jesus on the horizon when the camera pans around the stadium introducing the game. INSTEAD, the stadium that is brought up looks like an NFL stadium, like something out of Tampa Bay. All that was missing was Jesus riding a pirate ship screaming "RRRRRR, ye saved yet?" Things get worse as gameplay is dumbed down for the most ignorant gamer to the point where receivers light up green if they are open or red if they're covered. I know, awful right? The only plus I find with the game is the controls. I love using the nunchuck with the control stick to throw, but even those are used on a basic level. Anyways, I was pretty excited about the product when EA said it was going to be different and an advance on the previous versions. What I got instead was NCAA 2002 with NFL stadiums, no online mode and a game with awful value (go to Half.com and buy the game for only $30! I sell every game I own and this is the quickest any game I've bought has lost so much value). So here's to you EA, for royally fucking up my July game and let's hope you can screw me again in August when you kill my love for Madden.

But like I said, I'm still playing it. Just finished season #1 so here's how the 2008 season is going down for you folks who don't like surprises. Florida wins the championship against Oklahoma. Indiana shares the Big 10 title and wins a bowl game (and no I wasn't the Hoosiers). Ball State goes 7-4, but finishes with a 3-4 conference mark. It gets worse for the Cardinals. At the end of my season (as the Irish), I was offered an invitation to join the MAC. My team would replace good ole BSU in 2009. Phil Friend probably just shat himself.

on to the links...

2 minutes...2-ah
With Beatle news at a standstill, here's some links to the latest Pacer news where everyone is introducing our new players. Here's also a place where you can introduce yourself to the newest Pacemates.

You tube...no, you're a tube
Always love the news bloopers...

You know what else is intense?....camping

Fourteen days between is long enough!!

I hear my fans screaming and crying from my balcony of triumph and say, "You're correct, sir." Summer is in full swing here in central Indiana as the sun is out, the air is hot and the wife is glowing...wait, that's not what I want at all...she's just looking beautiful (found out she's reading the blog so I think that earns me two bonus points right there..boo yah). You know it must be summer if I'm being athletic at all. Been shooting hoops nearly every morning after a hearty bowl of Trix and then the Mrs. and I have been spotted on tennis courts on more than one occasion (two, if you're counting).

And then today, I even hit the links as I grabbed a bucket of balls and smacked a few on the driving range. I only the missed the ball like 5 times!! I know! You can cheer me, it's OK, you're in a safe place here. I'm not actually doing the driving range for fun, it's because I'm heading to Cumberland Lake with the wife's family for a 4-day vacation of fun (swimming), excitement (bear hunting), music (Kumbaya around the fire) and disaster (golf). I've only played a round of golf once in my life and that should be all I'm allowed to ever do. But her fam wants to go so I'm down with it. The golf clubs I own are rediculously old (my woods are true to the word, they are really woods). So I bought a $20 driver and $20 #3 wood to help out a little and I think my game just improved 93.7 percent. Anyways, the camping trip should be blast as I really need a break from my non-employment summer. Whew, playing Mario Kart Wii everyday is really starting to take its toll on my body. Enough with the jabber...on to the LINKS!!!!

It's Beetles...with an A
So the Guitar Hero and Rock Band stuff is on hold right now as they try to figure a way to make the most money from the situation, but while they're snoozing and loozing, Bloomingdales is dominating. The store just bought the rights to make a bunch of Beatle t-shirts and they will also produce a limited edition (as in only 100 made) Beatle iPod, which is have the entire Beatle song catalog on the iPod. Too bad I have no idea what or where a Bloomingdales is. C'mon Kmart, step up!!!

EDIT: Quick addition to this blog as I just came across this announcement that a special collector's edition Beatles Monopoly game will be released some time in August. Here's a link to a site that is already accepting pre-orders for the game and here's a link to another site that contains the listings of what Beatles related item represents each square. Check back later for more details!

2 minutes...2-ah
In Pacer news, well, not much happening. Unless yer signing big free agents right now, the NBA season hits a lull until October. So for a slow news day, here's a Indy report on ticket sales and how the Pacers are one of the only professional franchises not raising tix prices this year. I guess you average a league-worst attendance average, you can't really raise prices. Good thinking Pacer People!!!

You tube...no, you're a tube
I found this video minutes after posting the "I am the Walrus" music video as my you tube post of the day. This was too good to pass up with the whole golf theme, so The Beatles will have to wait for another day...enjoy!

Helloooooooo July!

Goodbye, June, I hardly knew yee.

That was one helluva month with the whole wedding/honeymoon thing making that go by quick. Now it's on to July and I have a feeling this month won't go fast at all. But things get started off with a bang as my firecracker and I head off to the Tom Petty concert in Indy on Thursday and then back home for some fireworks with the fam on Friday. Whoo, what a weekend this is shaping up to be. Love Petty. Just love it. It will be the third time I've seen him in concert and it's supposed to rain/thunderstorm again like the first time when I decided to leave right before the rain storm blasted everyone at Verizon while I was safely on the road heading back to Munciana. This time though, I'm prepared for all types of rain and I'm sticking through with this one.

Petty is definitely in my top 5 artists of all time. The first time I saw him, the only thing I knew was the Greatest Hits disc, which started being played more and more frequently. So after the first concert, I dug into a couple of albums (Full Moon Fever, Damn the Torpedos) basically the classics. By the second concert I was into Highway Companion (which I still feel was a tremendously underrated record when it was released) and recently my buddy Tom got me the Playback set to get me into even more into Petty. Even Mudcrutch is making my playlist these days. The Runnin' Down the Dream DVD is simply amazing, by far the best music doc since the Anthology and No Direction Home. Anyways, Petty rocks my socks off. There's no doubt about that. He's just a pure rocker, a throwback who always sounds modern.

Here's an updated list of my top 5 artists:
5. The White Stripes
4. Tom Petty
3. Bob Dylan
2. Oasis
1. The Donnas...

J/K all the way ho...it's the Beatles

Three years ago that list would have had Zeppelin in the No. 2 slot, but I've really stopped listening them ever since I graduated from college (the undergrad years). Not sure why. I was into everything Zep for about six years so I guess I need a break. But Petty's taken their place and Dylan's climbed up as well, replacing the Stripes at No. 3. Ask me for my top five after Thursday and Petty and Dylan will no doubt change places just cuz Petty concerts rock hard and I'll be in the moment. But Dylan will probably always be over Petty. But never say never.

On to the links...
It's Beetles...with an A
Nothing too amazing happening to Beatleland these past few days, but a new/old interview has surfaced. Whatever. How many more things can honestly be unearthed of the band? I've run out of bootlegs to get cuz I got nearly all the outtakes released. I need something new damnit!!!! Unfortunately, that's not likely.

2 minutes...2-ah
Unlike in Beatleland, Pacer Nation has been extremely busy. With the whole draft, trades, Bird looking like death in interviews, things are heating up around Conseco Fieldhouse. Overall, I'd give the Pacers a B+ on the draft grade. It seems that everyone outside of Indy thinks the Pacers did amazing on draft day, but Pacer fans got caught up in the fact that we "stole" Bayless with the 11th pick, only to turn around and trade for Josh McfuckinRoberts, who obviously is hated and sucks balls. But, I am not one who thinks the Bayless trade was dumb. I think Bayless was suddenly overrated by the draft experts and eveyone in Indy started thinking it was 2005 again when we stole Granger with the 17th pick. At least for the first three years I think Rush will put up far superior numbers than Bayless because of experience and playing time. But after that, who knows? It's hard to trust Bird after he's been so adament about draft picks such as Croshere and Jasicabbages, but we'll see what he says when the NBA allows him to speak on July 9 (what a dumb NBA rule..seriously, Bird and the Pacers bring 4,000+ people to Conseco on draft night to talk to fans, and regain their support, about draft picks, but the league won't let them talk about it because of some dumb base compensation players..get real Mr. Stern).

You tube...no, you're a tube
Found this gem on a friend's facebook profile. If only he did this on Jeopardy on a nightly basis, imagine the ratings!!! Love the Trebek.