I think I'm gonna make it a weekly feature to play along with my friends at Sports Illustrated. For those of you not so familiar, every week my favorite segment of the mag is the "Pop Culture Grid", where they ask four athletes random questions about their favorite things, thoughts on life, etc (Some of you may remember "A Little More Personal" from First and Goals a long time ago...I was inspired by the grid and tried to cross it over. It's now sitting somewhere in the buried files like that Web site that shows all the Ben and Jerry's flavors that have been retired...which reminds me of how much I miss the Pecan Pie and Makin Whoopie Pie flavors).
Anywho, here's this week's grid with my answers:
-I always () before I go to bed: Shower
-Name of my first pet: Phoebe
-Season premiere I waited for all summer: Does the NFL count? If not, probably Entourage
-All the women I'm attracted to have...: Quick wit
-Person I'm dying to get in the ring with: Scott Schoeneweis
I'll probably be back either later tonight or tomorrow to wrap up my weekend in sports hell
JC
Monday, September 29, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
THIS WEEK IN MY HISTORY: ALL SYSTEMS GO
(I had to amend this one to "this week" since I meant to do it Tuesday but never got a chance...whoops)
Tuesday, September 24, 2003 is etched in my mind permanently for the most random reasons. Granted, I remember most of what happened freshman year by the minute, but that's just who I am. For the most part, I remember that piece of my college tenure for being "Red Tuesday", which is a story and blog post for another day.
Most of you should know that I am a sucker for the "alternative, pop-rock" genre most people these days like to mock. Whatever. I grew up on Z100 (before the format change) and 99x, so it's in the blood (in a Better than Ezra sense...nevermind). Everyone's got their different musical preferences, and I can't stand those who think there's is so much better and demean others, but again, that's another rant for another day.
One of the first things I penciled into my calendar when I moved into Russell was this Tuesday being the release of Vertical Horizon's "Go" CD (and Nickelback's "The Long Road"...not too proud of that one I'll admit). Ironically, it was during my first freshman year that I discovered and became hooked on Vertical Horizon. "Everything You Want" is still one of my favorite songs ever (a lot because that video is so awesome), and the CD of the same name is also very good. So naturally, I was excited to hear how they followed up since I was technically a fan in development.
In hindsight, that album was one of the most important of freshman year and my college experience in general.
Musically, "Go" is a mixed bag. There's some slower, more "soul-baring" ballads but some good "radio rock" songs as well. That's what I like...a little bit of variety. What makes a great album for me though is hearing several songs and just being drawn in by the words, which makes you want to go back and listen more and more.
I remember driving back home and hearing "Forever" for the first time. In its deepest sense, "Forever" is inspired by the death of someone close to the band, and the slow tune complements it well. I couldn't help but think, "This is gonna be an important song for me", and in a way I guess I was right. For where I was at the time, that song struck a lot of the conflicts I was having with myself and a lot of other people and helped me deal.
There were others of course. "Echo" is my favorite of the rock songs probably because it sounded the most like something from "Everything You Want". If I could ever listen to "Sunshine" without it skipping, that would be up there too. And I've fallen in love with "Goodbye Again" over the years.
More importantly, Vertical Horizon became a link for some of my closest friends and best experiences of that year. Along with listening to their music non-stop, I saw them twice in concert over the freshman run. The first one at the Variety Playhouse around Halloween was kinda ho-hum, with a dead crowd and the band still working out the kinks on the new stuff. In March, the band came to Athens and played what is still one of my favorite shows ever. The energy from Vertical Horizon and the crowd was a complete 180, and my voice was shot.
The best part though was hanging out afterwards and meeting the band, taking pictures, etc. Sean Hurley (one of their guitarists) is a great guy, and I remember him talking to us about what to call Athens since Atlanta was "A-Town".
To this day, Tyler and I still play/sing Vertical Horizon songs largely inspired by the fact that we talked about their music so much freshman year. I'd say there's a rare time when we hang out and don't talk about how awesome that show was and how we need them to come back soon.
It's really hard to believe it's been five years since "Go" hit the market (and that's not counting the 2005 re-release...though I like "Better When You're Not There", it's not the same). But I truly believe that that particular album began a snowball that changed my freshman year and college experience for the better. Those songs are some of my favorites from my four years at UGA, and Vertical Horizon became a focal point for some great times with friends old and new.
Hopefully, five years from sometime in the near future I can note the impact of "Burning the Days"
Tuesday, September 24, 2003 is etched in my mind permanently for the most random reasons. Granted, I remember most of what happened freshman year by the minute, but that's just who I am. For the most part, I remember that piece of my college tenure for being "Red Tuesday", which is a story and blog post for another day.
Most of you should know that I am a sucker for the "alternative, pop-rock" genre most people these days like to mock. Whatever. I grew up on Z100 (before the format change) and 99x, so it's in the blood (in a Better than Ezra sense...nevermind). Everyone's got their different musical preferences, and I can't stand those who think there's is so much better and demean others, but again, that's another rant for another day.
One of the first things I penciled into my calendar when I moved into Russell was this Tuesday being the release of Vertical Horizon's "Go" CD (and Nickelback's "The Long Road"...not too proud of that one I'll admit). Ironically, it was during my first freshman year that I discovered and became hooked on Vertical Horizon. "Everything You Want" is still one of my favorite songs ever (a lot because that video is so awesome), and the CD of the same name is also very good. So naturally, I was excited to hear how they followed up since I was technically a fan in development.
In hindsight, that album was one of the most important of freshman year and my college experience in general.
Musically, "Go" is a mixed bag. There's some slower, more "soul-baring" ballads but some good "radio rock" songs as well. That's what I like...a little bit of variety. What makes a great album for me though is hearing several songs and just being drawn in by the words, which makes you want to go back and listen more and more.
I remember driving back home and hearing "Forever" for the first time. In its deepest sense, "Forever" is inspired by the death of someone close to the band, and the slow tune complements it well. I couldn't help but think, "This is gonna be an important song for me", and in a way I guess I was right. For where I was at the time, that song struck a lot of the conflicts I was having with myself and a lot of other people and helped me deal.
There were others of course. "Echo" is my favorite of the rock songs probably because it sounded the most like something from "Everything You Want". If I could ever listen to "Sunshine" without it skipping, that would be up there too. And I've fallen in love with "Goodbye Again" over the years.
More importantly, Vertical Horizon became a link for some of my closest friends and best experiences of that year. Along with listening to their music non-stop, I saw them twice in concert over the freshman run. The first one at the Variety Playhouse around Halloween was kinda ho-hum, with a dead crowd and the band still working out the kinks on the new stuff. In March, the band came to Athens and played what is still one of my favorite shows ever. The energy from Vertical Horizon and the crowd was a complete 180, and my voice was shot.
The best part though was hanging out afterwards and meeting the band, taking pictures, etc. Sean Hurley (one of their guitarists) is a great guy, and I remember him talking to us about what to call Athens since Atlanta was "A-Town".
To this day, Tyler and I still play/sing Vertical Horizon songs largely inspired by the fact that we talked about their music so much freshman year. I'd say there's a rare time when we hang out and don't talk about how awesome that show was and how we need them to come back soon.
It's really hard to believe it's been five years since "Go" hit the market (and that's not counting the 2005 re-release...though I like "Better When You're Not There", it's not the same). But I truly believe that that particular album began a snowball that changed my freshman year and college experience for the better. Those songs are some of my favorites from my four years at UGA, and Vertical Horizon became a focal point for some great times with friends old and new.
Hopefully, five years from sometime in the near future I can note the impact of "Burning the Days"
Monday, September 15, 2008
GARBAGE CAN
CURRENT SONG OF CHOICE: "In the Blood" - Better than Ezra
I figure I'll probably be doing a "collection-of-random-thoughts" post every now and then. I needed a name, and then remembered that on R and B budget, I would call every compilation of Sports Comm-backed news and notes the "garbage can". What the hell, I'll make that stick here.
I also liked the idea of starting each post (or close to every one) with the "song of choice". Essentially, I'll just put up whatever song is stuck in my head, reflects the mood I'm in, recently heard and struck some nerve, etc. For instance, I heard the aforementioned BTE song running yesterday and it's fresh on the brain.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I realized in the span of 20 minutes yesterday why I need fantasy football/picking winners/some side form of NFL enjoyment in my life.
The last two games of the day were the San Francisco-Seattle NFC West crapfest and the Broncos-Chargers instant classic. To stay alive in my weekly F and F pick'em pool, I needed both Denver and San Francisco to win, both mild upsets I guess.
First, the 49ers and Seahawks pulled to a slugfest while Darren Sproles' TD put the Chargers ahead. From there, the madness began. I really wish I had one of those real-time "minute-by-minute" counters they do on Primetime every now and then, but I'll improvise.
San Francisco and Denver both begin drives within a few minutes of each other. The 49ers complete a pass to set up a field goal at the end of regulation, which Joe Nedney shanks and sends me into a temporary coronary.
At the same time, Brandon Marshall pulls in his 399th catch of the day for the Broncos. I guess I should have also said that in two fantasy games, a touchdown or two from Eddie Royal would have been nice for cushion points.
As Denver's driving, Nedney gets a second shot and nails it: part 1 complete.
Of course, most of you probably saw the ending of that Denver game from where Cutler puts the ball on the ground. At this point, I'm pissed, thinking that being the lone person to take the 49ers wouldn't matter since this clown just dropped it in the red zone. From somewhere, Batis...I mean, Ed Hochuli comes up with some contorted logic to allow the Broncs to keep the ball.
And who scores the eventual winning TD and two-point conversion than Royal.
Could this have worked out any better? Maybe not. In the end, I pulled off one of the greatest Yahoo Pick'em rallies in history. And I realized how much I love the side games that go with the NFL.
Onto other bits of, uh, garbage?
- Why is everyone so surprised that Georgia had to struggle to survive Columbia? Do the talking heads not realize that every year's game between these two is a low-scoring, brutal, "let's get out of here with the win regardless" game? So somehow, for another week, winning isn't good enough, let alone winning on the road. Now Oklahoma is good, but how is dominating a shitty Washington team in their house more worthy than winning an SEC road game against a defense these same pollsters claim to love so much? If we beat a formerly-ranked Arizona State next weekend in their place, do we drop even further?
- While we're at it, so glad to see USC drop Ohio State like a bad habit...or Adam Banks (thanks Jack Reilly for the reference). I figured it would be close early and then the Trojans would pull away, but the Buckeyes got exposed early, hopefully ending their free path to the title game. Oh, and USC's kinda good in case you didn't see.
- Meanwhile, the Mets...you know what, it's not worth the oxygen anymore
- I may be an early nominee for Wingman of the Year...that'll be a post for another day. But if anyone needs a hook-up, apparently I can in fact be the Vince Vaughn to your Owen Wilson
- Line of the week, from who else but Kevin: (on that polygamist cult in Texas) "I mean, the state really cock-blocked that guy"
- Big Brother finale tomorrow...kinda sad to see it end. I think it's surpassed Survivor as my favorite trash reality show. As I've been since about week 3, I'm pulling for Dan to bring it home for the white, skinny, geeky side of humanity. I hope the jurors see he's played the best game and look past the fact he may have pissed some people off.
- On a related note, I don't know whose idea "I Love Money" was, but I swear that show displays everything that's right in America. Last night, the four-skank alliance broke apart and ended with the four girls dumping a variety of Gatorade products on each other and screaming, cursing, ho-calling, etc. I fully believe that all conflicts should be solved in this fashion from now on...political debates, international incidents, lawsuits, we can fix anything with a little Lemon Ice over the head.
I promise a post of more substance later this week...maybe.
That's all for now. Be nice
JC
I figure I'll probably be doing a "collection-of-random-thoughts" post every now and then. I needed a name, and then remembered that on R and B budget, I would call every compilation of Sports Comm-backed news and notes the "garbage can". What the hell, I'll make that stick here.
I also liked the idea of starting each post (or close to every one) with the "song of choice". Essentially, I'll just put up whatever song is stuck in my head, reflects the mood I'm in, recently heard and struck some nerve, etc. For instance, I heard the aforementioned BTE song running yesterday and it's fresh on the brain.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I realized in the span of 20 minutes yesterday why I need fantasy football/picking winners/some side form of NFL enjoyment in my life.
The last two games of the day were the San Francisco-Seattle NFC West crapfest and the Broncos-Chargers instant classic. To stay alive in my weekly F and F pick'em pool, I needed both Denver and San Francisco to win, both mild upsets I guess.
First, the 49ers and Seahawks pulled to a slugfest while Darren Sproles' TD put the Chargers ahead. From there, the madness began. I really wish I had one of those real-time "minute-by-minute" counters they do on Primetime every now and then, but I'll improvise.
San Francisco and Denver both begin drives within a few minutes of each other. The 49ers complete a pass to set up a field goal at the end of regulation, which Joe Nedney shanks and sends me into a temporary coronary.
At the same time, Brandon Marshall pulls in his 399th catch of the day for the Broncos. I guess I should have also said that in two fantasy games, a touchdown or two from Eddie Royal would have been nice for cushion points.
As Denver's driving, Nedney gets a second shot and nails it: part 1 complete.
Of course, most of you probably saw the ending of that Denver game from where Cutler puts the ball on the ground. At this point, I'm pissed, thinking that being the lone person to take the 49ers wouldn't matter since this clown just dropped it in the red zone. From somewhere, Batis...I mean, Ed Hochuli comes up with some contorted logic to allow the Broncs to keep the ball.
And who scores the eventual winning TD and two-point conversion than Royal.
Could this have worked out any better? Maybe not. In the end, I pulled off one of the greatest Yahoo Pick'em rallies in history. And I realized how much I love the side games that go with the NFL.
Onto other bits of, uh, garbage?
- Why is everyone so surprised that Georgia had to struggle to survive Columbia? Do the talking heads not realize that every year's game between these two is a low-scoring, brutal, "let's get out of here with the win regardless" game? So somehow, for another week, winning isn't good enough, let alone winning on the road. Now Oklahoma is good, but how is dominating a shitty Washington team in their house more worthy than winning an SEC road game against a defense these same pollsters claim to love so much? If we beat a formerly-ranked Arizona State next weekend in their place, do we drop even further?
- While we're at it, so glad to see USC drop Ohio State like a bad habit...or Adam Banks (thanks Jack Reilly for the reference). I figured it would be close early and then the Trojans would pull away, but the Buckeyes got exposed early, hopefully ending their free path to the title game. Oh, and USC's kinda good in case you didn't see.
- Meanwhile, the Mets...you know what, it's not worth the oxygen anymore
- I may be an early nominee for Wingman of the Year...that'll be a post for another day. But if anyone needs a hook-up, apparently I can in fact be the Vince Vaughn to your Owen Wilson
- Line of the week, from who else but Kevin: (on that polygamist cult in Texas) "I mean, the state really cock-blocked that guy"
- Big Brother finale tomorrow...kinda sad to see it end. I think it's surpassed Survivor as my favorite trash reality show. As I've been since about week 3, I'm pulling for Dan to bring it home for the white, skinny, geeky side of humanity. I hope the jurors see he's played the best game and look past the fact he may have pissed some people off.
- On a related note, I don't know whose idea "I Love Money" was, but I swear that show displays everything that's right in America. Last night, the four-skank alliance broke apart and ended with the four girls dumping a variety of Gatorade products on each other and screaming, cursing, ho-calling, etc. I fully believe that all conflicts should be solved in this fashion from now on...political debates, international incidents, lawsuits, we can fix anything with a little Lemon Ice over the head.
I promise a post of more substance later this week...maybe.
That's all for now. Be nice
JC
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
ANOTHER SECOND TIME AROUND
A few weeks ago, I commented on a buddy of mine's blog, and he asked me why I didn't have one of my own.
I thought "that's a really good question", then I had an Apocalypse Now flashback.
For those of you who remember, I tried this a few times before. All the memories from high school inspired by the Friedmanites. I remembered the "blog wars" that followed that nearly tore apart friendships that lasted three long years. I remembered everybody's mundane "guess the lyrics" posts (which I was guilty of). I remembered the blog thing fading once everyone went to school, even though I was the master of "This Day in A-Kids History.
I tried to keep it going in college, maybe just because I needed an outlet, but I think it faded away with the Facebook/MySpace invasion. I think fittingly my last post had to do with having to pass on a reunion trip to Lake Burton in the summer of '06. And this doesn't count the abortion that was my blog for PR class that I really did only because I had to.
And here we are.
Maybe it was the move, or the general transition point in life I'm in right now, but my mind's been racing a lot lately. I've had a lot of moments where I've really wanted to get a lot of stuff out but couldn't. I reached the point this weekend where I couldn't sleep one night because I had so much on my mind, a lot of little things really out of my control that may or may not even happen in the end. That's when I decided this couldn't hurt.
Periodically, I'll come on here to muse about whatever. I'll probably share stories or thoughts on the people who make my life worth living. Knowing my penchant for pop culture and sports, I'm sure I'll rant about that every once in a while. I know there's a lot of you that bitch about having to read song lyrics in blogs...I like them and will probably use them (or some allusion to a song) frequently, so deal with it. I also think I'll try to keep a form of "This Day in History" alive...maybe just longer reflections on the great days of the past (I'm a nostalgic freak; deal with that too).
I've already got a ton on my mind I wanna write about, so I'm sure there'll be posting a plenty in the near future.
Can I bring the humor of McCluca? Probably not, but I'll damn sure try.
What else is there to say...that's all for now, be nice.
JC
I thought "that's a really good question", then I had an Apocalypse Now flashback.
For those of you who remember, I tried this a few times before. All the memories from high school inspired by the Friedmanites. I remembered the "blog wars" that followed that nearly tore apart friendships that lasted three long years. I remembered everybody's mundane "guess the lyrics" posts (which I was guilty of). I remembered the blog thing fading once everyone went to school, even though I was the master of "This Day in A-Kids History.
I tried to keep it going in college, maybe just because I needed an outlet, but I think it faded away with the Facebook/MySpace invasion. I think fittingly my last post had to do with having to pass on a reunion trip to Lake Burton in the summer of '06. And this doesn't count the abortion that was my blog for PR class that I really did only because I had to.
And here we are.
Maybe it was the move, or the general transition point in life I'm in right now, but my mind's been racing a lot lately. I've had a lot of moments where I've really wanted to get a lot of stuff out but couldn't. I reached the point this weekend where I couldn't sleep one night because I had so much on my mind, a lot of little things really out of my control that may or may not even happen in the end. That's when I decided this couldn't hurt.
Periodically, I'll come on here to muse about whatever. I'll probably share stories or thoughts on the people who make my life worth living. Knowing my penchant for pop culture and sports, I'm sure I'll rant about that every once in a while. I know there's a lot of you that bitch about having to read song lyrics in blogs...I like them and will probably use them (or some allusion to a song) frequently, so deal with it. I also think I'll try to keep a form of "This Day in History" alive...maybe just longer reflections on the great days of the past (I'm a nostalgic freak; deal with that too).
I've already got a ton on my mind I wanna write about, so I'm sure there'll be posting a plenty in the near future.
Can I bring the humor of McCluca? Probably not, but I'll damn sure try.
What else is there to say...that's all for now, be nice.
JC
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